I love credit cards so much!

[calypso726]

Thank you, Albort, tink1970 and calypso726, for the comments and advice. You all helped confirm a lot my thoughts regarding cards and how to use them. Thanks again!!

You're welcome

 

[WVMomof3]

Have you looked for car rentals using the Chase Ultimate Rewards website? I've found rentals for less than half of Costco recently.

I have found the same!

I have been checking daily every site for rental cars. Every site has changed price up or down, the Chase Ultimate Rewards Site has not budged on prices, it is quoting me about $150 more for the same Alamo van. There is a Budget and a Thrifty Van on there for cheaper, but due to many bad reviews I have read, will not rent from them.

 

[tink1970]

Just an FYI---discover has posted its Q3 5x rewards category- Restaurants. Also for Q4 Amazon and more (more details coming in August 2017). Not super excited about restaurants but guess I'll switch from CSR to discover for a quarter.

 

[Tikitoi]

Thank you Lain and Albort for the info regarding mortgages and cc's...a lot to take in but very helpful.

I guess being one who has always paid cash I'm just trying to think of ways to do this with the bills I do have to pay. And I'll just have to decide which store cards are needed...

 

[Alice Sr.]

Check your Amex offers. I had Staples spend $100 get $20 statement credit and Office Depot spend $50 get $10 statement credit. Disney gift cards at 10%+ off? Yes please! Found mine on 3 of the business cards, Amex Platinum biz card, Delta biz card and SPG biz card.

I'm jealous, hope I can get Amex and Discover before 4th Q.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Check your Amex offers. I had Staples spend $100 get $20 statement credit and Office Depot spend $50 get $10 statement credit. Disney gift cards at 10%+ off? Yes please! Found mine on 3 of the business cards, Amex Platinum biz card, Delta biz card and SPG biz card.

None for me

 

[elgerber]

None for me

None for me either.

 

[Lain]

I'm just trying to think of ways to do this with the bills I do have to pay. And I'll just have to decide which store cards are needed...

To be clear, I'm not talking about "store" cards. Very few store cards offer benefits that are worth a hard pull of your credit report and a slot on it when you have banks like Chase that has a rule to deny new credit cards if you've opened 5 credit cards of any type in the last 24 months. Different cards offer different benefits, and what cards you'll want to apply for and get depends on your goals. This thread can offer you some suggestions, but Chase's cards is a good place to start because of their 5/24 rule.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Thank you Lain and Albort for the info regarding mortgages and cc's...a lot to take in but very helpful.

I guess being one who has always paid cash I'm just trying to think of ways to do this with the bills I do have to pay. And I'll just have to decide which store cards are needed...

To benefit from miles/points, you need to keep up as if you're still paying cash. Pay the balance in full every month, otherwise the interest & fees erase any points benefits.
Besides mortgage, you can often pay utilities without fees. I have cell phone, cable/internet and natural gas bills all on auto pay only a credit card. Electric co charges a fee so I don't charge that one unless I really need it for a bonus spend. We can pay taxes, insurance and other bills without fees also. I have never used plastiq or similar to pay mortgage & would only consider it to meet spend if absolutely necessary.

 

[wendow]

None for me

Me either. But I only have a personal Amex. These offers seem targeted for biz cards.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Me either. But I only have a personal Amex. These offers seem targeted for biz cards.

Yes, I only have SPG personal.

 

[calypso726]

I guess being one who has always paid cash I'm just trying to think of ways to do this with the bills I do have to pay. And I'll just have to decide which store cards are needed...

Since we started this hobby we never use cash for anything anymore if we can help it. Our new philosophy is cash doesn't pay us anything but credit cards do.

 

[calypso726]

None for me

None for me either.

Me either. But I only have a personal Amex. These offers seem targeted for biz cards.

Didn't have it in any of my personal cards and neither did DH. But I know some here have different Amex products than we do like Amex Blue Cash. I hear that card often has nice Amex offers. So I figured I'd post just in case. Also, to give a heads up to anyone else who has the same Amex business cards that we do.

 

[elfof2moons]

So I am preparing for our next WDW vacation which I think will be fall 2019 (after star wars land opens). I am trying to do everything I can think of to be budget minded. My plan was to use Discover rewards for Southwest gift cards via Amazon. Apply for a Disney credit card to start earning points to use for room charges. I also plan on buying monthly gift cards from BJs which seem to be the best savings I have access too.

And then I found out about the Southwest credit card. With just the initial bonus points our flights would nearly be paid for and that doesn't even include the anniversary points or the points earned. It seems a little too good to be true. I know there is an annual fee of $69 but still seems worth it.

So is all that correct? Have I missed something?

 

[Albort]

So I am preparing for our next WDW vacation which I think will be fall 2019 (after star wars land opens). I am trying to do everything I can think of to be budget minded. My plan was to use Discover rewards for Southwest gift cards via Amazon. Apply for a Disney credit card to start earning points to use for room charges. I also plan on buying monthly gift cards from BJs which seem to be the best savings I have access too.

And then I found out about the Southwest credit card. With just the initial bonus points our flights would nearly be paid for and that doesn't even include the anniversary points or the points earned. It seems a little too good to be true. I know there is an annual fee of $69 but still seems worth it.

So is all that correct? Have I missed something?

earning power on the SW cards arent strong. SW cards is great if you are trying to earn Companion Pass. so like, buy a ticket for yourself, your SO flies for free. (110k points required)
You may want to consider looking into the Chase Ultimate Rewards line of credit cards. They have a better earning potential(3x on travel if you use CSR vs 2x on southwest with southwest credit card) and could also be used at Southwest. The points earned on Ultimate Rewards are more general points that can also be transferred to United, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, Fly Blue, etc. Chase UR line is Chase Freedom(5x rotating Category), Chase Freedom Unlimited(1.5x on everything), Chase Sapphire Reserve(3x on travel), Chase Sapphire Preferred(2x on travel).

 

[calypso726]

So I am preparing for our next WDW vacation which I think will be fall 2019 (after star wars land opens). I am trying to do everything I can think of to be budget minded. My plan was to use Discover rewards for Southwest gift cards via Amazon. Apply for a Disney credit card to start earning points to use for room charges. I also plan on buying monthly gift cards from BJs which seem to be the best savings I have access too.

And then I found out about the Southwest credit card. With just the initial bonus points our flights would nearly be paid for and that doesn't even include the anniversary points or the points earned. It seems a little too good to be true. I know there is an annual fee of $69 but still seems worth it.

So is all that correct? Have I missed something?

There's a lot of great things that can be done with credit card bonuses, perks and exploiting bonus categories that will sound to good to be true This is why many of us here will happily pick up a card with an annual fee for the bonus at the very least and often keep cards with annual fees if the perks outweigh or justify the fee. Getting both of the Southwest cards and making the bonus spend requirements will get you very close getting a companion pass. A Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve will earn you points that can be transferred to SW or used to redeem for travel.

The no fee Disney card earns 1 points per dollar and the one with the $49 fee earns 2 points on gas, groceries, restaurants. If straight cash back is your goal you can do better with a Citi Double cash card. It has no fee and you earn 1 point per dollar on all spend and then another point per dollar when you pay your statement. So essentially 2x on everything. There is no bonus for applying though. Some of the fee cards like a Barclay Arrival Plus or Capital One Venture will net you $400+ towards travel like room charges.

There are others here who can guide you to the ins and outs of a SW Companion pass and more salient points of cash back cards. My main focus is points and miles to obtain international flights in first class for the most part. But I thought I'd share some general info for you to ponder.

 

[Hatwriter456]

So I am preparing for our next WDW vacation which I think will be fall 2019 (after star wars land opens). I am trying to do everything I can think of to be budget minded. My plan was to use Discover rewards for Southwest gift cards via Amazon. Apply for a Disney credit card to start earning points to use for room charges. I also plan on buying monthly gift cards from BJs which seem to be the best savings I have access too.

And then I found out about the Southwest credit card. With just the initial bonus points our flights would nearly be paid for and that doesn't even include the anniversary points or the points earned. It seems a little too good to be true. I know there is an annual fee of $69 but still seems worth it.

So is all that correct? Have I missed something?

My family is going to WDW in June 2018. I'm earning plane tickets for my family of 5 using Chase cards and URs. I'm using my Chase Freedom and Freedom Unlimited. I will be applying shortly for the CSP for the bonus points and then the SW card after that. I will be way over the points needed for the plane tickets and will have some left over for my next trip .

I plan on using the Discover card to pay for whatever needed when I'm there because of the cash back rewards and the 0% interest.

I might get the basic Disney credit card for the meet and greets and the discounts that I get on resort rooms. But as far as rewards it's not a good cardfor that and there are better ones out there.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Don't forget UR portal can book Disney resorts with UR points

I have SPG Amex & Marriott card (100k bonus right now) for stays at Swan/Dolphin for free.

 

[Alice Sr.]

So I am preparing for our next WDW vacation which I think will be fall 2019 (after star wars land opens). I am trying to do everything I can think of to be budget minded. My plan was to use Discover rewards for Southwest gift cards via Amazon. Apply for a Disney credit card to start earning points to use for room charges. I also plan on buying monthly gift cards from BJs which seem to be the best savings I have access too.

And then I found out about the Southwest credit card. With just the initial bonus points our flights would nearly be paid for and that doesn't even include the anniversary points or the points earned. It seems a little too good to be true. I know there is an annual fee of $69 but still seems worth it.

So is all that correct? Have I missed something?

The Southwest card would be a good way for you to get your airfare taken care of. The annual fee is only $69 for the personal card, the current offer is 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 in the 1st 3 months (of opening the account). If that (plus the annual bonus and some additional spend) is going to get you what you need in points for your flights to FL then that is a the goal I would focus on for now. You can always change your goals as you go along and get more information about working the credit card/points world.

You already have the Discover card so you can use the quarterly 5% bonus options to buy Disney cards, another option would be the Chase Freedom (no AF) which operates similar to Discover with rotating 5% categories that you could also use for buying Disney cards. The current offer is below.

• NEW CARDMEMBER OFFER $150 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Depending on what your spending habits are there are other cards that might accumulate more points for you than the Disney card, especially if there is a bonus. Like Chase Sapphire Preferred (AF waived 1st year), the current offer is below.

• NEW CARDMEMBER OFFER 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $625 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

The benefit of the Sapphire cards would be good if you eat out a lot or travel a lot, the points are 2x or 3x for those spending categories. I am not that familiar with some of the other non-Chase options as I have just been at this since September. There is a lot of knowledge and help here for this hobby. Your goals seem very reasonable and it appears you have given yourself ample time, I look forward to reading about your successes

 

[SKYYCAMEL]

I just got approved for a Chase Disney card! My FICO is in the mid 600's so I'm really surprised they approved me. Let the point gathering begin!