I love credit cards so much!

[palhockeymomof2]

So if I’m going for the swa Cp for 19/20 when should I apply? Want to have it ASAP in 19.

I applied in November of 2017....and made sure I completed the spend in January 2018

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Back from CA...will post a review of the two Marriotts we stayed at next week.
My husbands CIP was waiting for us...Yaa...question he has a personal card and online log in...is there a way to add the business card to this log in or do I have to open another business log in..Thanks

 

[palhockeymomof2]

APPROVED!

Congrats!!

 

[miztressuz]

I got an SM yesterday from Chase about benefits changing and didn't think much of it assuming it was another notice for the Sapphire. However, this is changes happening to the Freedom card:


Here's what's changing on August 26, 2018

• Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance is changing. Starting August 26, you can be reimbursed up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable passenger fares if your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather or other covered situations.
• Price Protection, Return Protection, Lost Luggage Reimbursement and Travel Accident Insurance will no longer be available.

For the CF they're taking out Return protection as well as the Price protection we knew about. I assume most people aren't using it for travel insurance so might not be a loss for the luggage and accident insurances. I didn't realize it had Trip Cancellation ins so not sure if that's a good or bad change

 

[GusGus16]

heh, wasnt me. credit goes to @gottalovepluto

if u fail a bank bonus, u fail, nothing comes to harm except for your bonus... keep trying! :]

@gottalovepluto Thanks so much!!!

I'm trying to make sense out of the marriott/SPG situation and figure out what to do and am hoping for some guidance please, pretty please!
I was reading about the Cat 5 Nights+Flights package DP's from reddit (thanks @Lain) that makes me wonder if I should try to book one before 8/1 (I understand it's YMMV, and really this whole potential plan might be farfetched, but I'd like to see if it's even possible.

I currently have 33k SPG points = 99k Marriott (SPG transfers to Marriott instantly, correct?)
Also was just approved for Marriott biz, so will have 78k (75k+3k) after meeting MSR
Total after MSR will be 177k Marriott

Cat 1-5 Nights/Flights for 5 nights costs 235k Marriott
235-177 = 58k adt'l marriott needed, 58/3 = 19k SPG points
19k SPG points on sale costs approx. $445 to purchase.

5 night cert would get me 120k RR + 5 consecutive nights at up to cat 5 property

If I was able to accomplish all of this before Aug 1, and used the cert to book actual nights at the Swan/Dolphin, I would be coming out so far ahead of what I can do post 8/1 with the change of the S/D to cat 6 it almost doesn't seem right. Am I missing something?

Other options I've thought about are just using my current SPG points (purchasing 3k to get to 36k) to book 3 nights at S/D, and just worrying about the Marriott 78k later. But looking at the reward chart, if I converted to SW RR, that would only be 25k RR. If I used those points at the S/D, that would only be 1 night.

It seems like the hassle to try to accomplish all of this is very worth it but am I missing something?!? Thanks so much for any help!

To accomplish this, I know I would need to meet the MSR by 1 week prior to stmt close date for my new Marriott biz, then have the points post to my Marriott account. I'd also need to transfer my SPG points to Marriott. Lastly, I'd need to get the right rep to actually book the 5n cert since technically it's only supposed to be for timeshare owners, correct? Anything else I'm missing that might trip me up?

Sorry for the long post, I've been researching/calculating since late last night. Also thanks for @wendow for posting her similar situation and @Lain for posting the DP's from Reddit.

Unfortunately, you won't be able to book the swan/dolphin with a current Marriott flight and night certificate until after August 1st, so many unanswered questions with the flight and nights cert's. I think it is a gamble, you may or may not be able to come out ahead, but what we know is that you won't be able to use the fight and night cert 1-5 after Aug 1st at swan/dolphin because of the category change (unless you upgrade the cert-still not entirely clear how they are going to handle that). The flight and nights cert may be worth it depending on your valuation of RR, and whether you are willing to not use the actual night cert. If you are only interested in booking swan/dolphin my opinion is book it now before Aug 1st, you could use all your current points plus the points earned from your Marriott biz and potentially still buy 30,000 starwoods points. If my math is current you would potentially have enough for 6 nights with the 5 night booked free.

I'm also debating buying a flight and nights certificate, would only be interested in the 5 nights, but would have to buy 30,000 starwood points. There is so much unknown, I do highly value RR points and could get the value from the RR points alone to justify the purchase, but I also know that I always have a use for these hotel points and could easily book individual nights at hotels of my choice instead of trying to optimize a 5 night certificate. Would make me happy to get points for my certificates, I already have 1 night 1-5 certificate from my anniversary from my Marriott card.

 

[mmmears]

So you’ve seen me mention the CSR, CIP (Chase Ink Preferred), CIC (Chase Ink Cash), Chase Freedom, and various Amex cards. These Chase cards earn us greater than 1x UR bonuses on almost every cent of spend. Our Amex cards are great for Amex Offers, and they have strong hotel co-brand relationships and card offerings. My Amex Platinum card is mostly a “perks” card at this point; I’ll put flights on it for 5x MR if I think I won’t need the trip insurance, and it gets decent Amex Offers, but it otherwise earns a terrible 1x MR pretty much everywhere.

Since you’re at 0/24 and your husband is at 2/24 (after the CSR+CSP double dip), you both have a lot of runway to get Chase’s cards, but being open to applying for business cards really helps to fill your wallet with very useful cards like the CIP (for 3x UR on Plastiq for bills that don’t otherwise take credit cards, like your DD’s tuition), CIC (5x UR at office supply stores – think gift cards, Gyft, and cable/internet/phone bills), and the CIU (a good “everything else” card that earns 1.5x UR); and stretches out how many Chase cards you can get with those 5 slots, because although you have to be under 5/24 to be approved for Chase’s Ink cards, they don’t add to your */24 count and leave slots open for more cards. Besides, the Chase Ink cards have some of the richest signup bonuses that Chase offers.

Look at where your spend is and find a card that earns you a bonus for that category of spend. Formulate a roadmap to adding that card to your wallet. It took me about a year to fill out my wallet to this point, and there are still a few cards I still want to get. Don’t hit Chase too hard, too fast; you’ll want to space out your applications to avoid the risk of Chase shutting you down. Alternate your husband’s applications with your own to slow each of you down as you meet MSRs on new cards. Use referrals when possible to pick up extra bonuses.



Good news for you, because UR points transfer 1:1 to Hyatt. So, you can transfer just what you need (I believe in 1k increments) so you have "enough" to book what you want. A lot of people find UR has great redemption value when transferring to Hyatt.



Does your DD’s college accept credit cards? Most do, but with a fee. If not, look into using Plastiq, which is a bill pay service that lets you use your credit card to pay bills that might not otherwise accept credit cards (or carries a higher fee) for a fee of 2.5%. As I mentioned above, I use this service for my DD’s tuition, charge it to my CIP, and Plastiq sends DD’s school a check in the mail. We have a guide to Plastiq on DISchurners.

As for flights, are you charging flights to the Amex Platinum? I assume that’s earning you 5x MR. However, like I pointed out above, a lot of people actually prefer to pay for their flights with the CSR for 3x UR instead because the CSR carries significantly better travel insurance. It’s worth looking into now that you have a CSR.

Thank you for your notes/advice! I really appreciate it and I'm taking notes now. And I will be checking out the Wallaby app as well.

Good to know about the insurance. It might make sense to switch to CSR for those flights. We definitely check the AMEX rewards now and try to use that card when there is a special deal that works for us. Guess we will need to check the 2 new cards for those when they arrive. We are definitely going to take our time. Right now the plan is to dip our toes in and test the waters and see if we can make this work for us. I don't recall about the college and the CCs - I suspect they do but with that extra % fee so DH won't do that. The bill is crazy high as it is without adding anything to it.

Great to know about the URs and the Hyatt points. We are always just a bit short of what we want when it comes time to using them but I don't want to buy point with actual money at this point.

I'm realizing that we put 8K (so we could have met the minimum spend in one week) on my car a couple of months ago - with roughly 6K being reimbursed by insurance. It would have been so easy. Live and learn, I guess.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

I applied in November of 2017....and made sure I completed the spend in January 2018

Thanks. I’ll have him apply early nov that way I can use it for the rest of the Xmas shopping. Just have to make sure I don’t meet the spend before Jan 1.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Can anyone figure out why DH's transunion score on CK would've dropped 23 points to 788? Here is the snapshot. No new personal cards since 9/2017. His current accounts are attached. Are mortgages included in AAoA, because we did move a year ago? In addition to his personal accounts, he also has a couple of my older accounts showing from when he was AU. For usage, he has one card reporting $894 balance.

ETA: He is going to close the 2 SW accounts when the anniversary points post. Wonder if that will bump up the AAoA...but really the AAoA hasn't changed since his last personal card, so still shouldn't be the reason for the drop.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Thanks. I’ll have him apply early nov that way I can use it for the rest of the Xmas shopping. Just have to make sure I don’t meet the spend before Jan 1.

This is my plan too!

 

[Psychodisney]

This is my plan too!

Me too...just hoping for good bonus points! Curious about the rumored new SW card too.

 

[Lain]

"Most Chase certificates will convert to the equivalent "Up To" Points amount as they are today in Marriott Rewards. As an example, a Chase Category 1-5 certificate will convert to up to 25,000 points. Travel Packages are being updated to reflect the new award chart pricing. They will be available to book at all hotels participating in Loyalty after our programs become one."

 

[jhoannam]

Amex will continue issuing the SPG Biz (along with the SPG personal and lux) into 2019, when Marriott/Ritz-Carlton/SPG finally combine under a single brand, and presumably Chase will start issuing the mass consumer and premium consumer cards and Amex will issue the super premium consumer and business cards.

After 8/1, the SPG Biz will earn:
6x Marriott points at SPG/Marriott Hotels
4x Marriott points at U.S. restaurants
4x Marriott points at U.S. gas stations
4x Marriott points on wireless shipping services purchased directly from U.S. service providers
4x Marriott points on U.S. shipping purchases
2x 4x Marriott points on all other purchases.

I believe the SPG Biz will still carry the 2 elite stays and 5 elite nights that stack with other SPG/Marriott cards for 2018; but in 2019, that benefit changes to 15 nights that don't stack.

You think it would be smart for DH to get it? The sign on bonus sucks, but the 2 stay & 5 night would stack, until 8/1. That would put him at 51 nights, if I’m correct he would be gold until 2020? Can anyone confirm that?

 

[GusGus16]

"Most Chase certificates will convert to the equivalent "Up To" Points amount as they are today in Marriott Rewards. As an example, a Chase Category 1-5 certificate will convert to up to 25,000 points. Travel Packages are being updated to reflect the new award chart pricing. They will be available to book at all hotels participating in Loyalty after our programs become one."

Hmm, this is super interesting, I don't know how exactly to interpret this statement, sounds like the certificates will be converted, 1 night from credit cards to an "up to cert" and not just converted to points...and the night certificates will be updated???

 

[Lain]

You think it would be smart for DH to get it? The sign on bonus sucks, but the 2 stay & 5 night would stack, until 8/1. That would put him at 51 nights, if I’m correct he would be gold until 2020? Can anyone confirm that?

I know @miztressuz has been chasing 50 nights...?

 

[elgerber]

How long has she had the 3 cards? I think Chase wants a year of (independent) credit history.

A good two plus years before she applied.

 

[jujubiee4]

Can anyone share how they are buying groceries and the best strategies for their family.
I opened the amex blue cash preferred but wondering if the 95 is worth it.

I have 2 discovers with no fee so with the 5x grocery catagory in addition to chase freedom
im wondering if it is better to max all of them out with gift cards?

Basically "floating" the cards to be used all year. That is a lot to have around and of course the
danger of misplacing them in additon to the upfront cash outlay.

Does anyone do this or what do you use? thanks

 

[Lain]

Can anyone share how they are buying groceries and the best strategies for their family.
I opened the amex blue cash preferred but wondering if the 95 is worth it.

I have 2 discovers with no fee so with the 5x grocery catagory in addition to chase freedom
im wondering if it is better to max all of them out with gift cards?

Basically "floating" the cards to be used all year. That is a lot to have around and of course the
danger of misplacing them in additon to the upfront cash outlay.

Does anyone do this or what do you use? thanks

Just curious what grocery store(s) you shop at?

 

[schmass]

I just put in the request to transfer DH's SPG points to my account. Once that hits, then I transfer to my Marriott account and then I can book a Nights and Flight package? For me I think it's worth the gamble because I care most about the 100,000 RR points that I'll get. I don't really have a specific hotel in mind that I'm hoping to use the certificate for, so if they return the points to me, that's great, but I think we'll find a use for the certificate as well.

Also, would it make sense for me to go for one of the Marriott cards? DH and I both have the SPG Biz but no Marriott cards. I don't think that the SPG Lux is something I'm interested in, so I don't mind not being eligible for that bonus. I currently have:

Chase Disney - opened a long time ago
CSR - 1/18
JetBlue + - 1/18
SPG Biz - 3/18
CIC - 5/18

We are planning on going to DL next November, so I'm thinking I could use 3 free night certificates (2 SPG Biz, 1 Marriott) and then points for nights 4 & 5? Or possibly use the 7 night certificate from the Nights and Flights package.

 

[schmass]

Can anyone share how they are buying groceries and the best strategies for their family.
I opened the amex blue cash preferred but wondering if the 95 is worth it.

I have 2 discovers with no fee so with the 5x grocery catagory in addition to chase freedom
im wondering if it is better to max all of them out with gift cards?

Basically "floating" the cards to be used all year. That is a lot to have around and of course the
danger of misplacing them in additon to the upfront cash outlay.

Does anyone do this or what do you use? thanks

I currently use the JetBlue Plus card for my groceries, as I get 2x points. I'm trying to collect JB points and that is one airline that I can't transfer URs to and Marriott transfers to JB aren't the best value. Probably not the best value I can be getting out of my grocery purchases, but it's working for me at the moment. My card also has a $95 AF, but for the free checked bags, it's worth it to me.

 

[jujubiee4]

@Lain I saw your post about your use of cards. Great advice! I was curious
why you keep your amex prg? This is one card im debating on cancelling end of year.
I like the amex offers but not sure if it is worth the 195.