I love credit cards so much!

[bernina]

Is Venmo an option?

We both need the benefit of buyer/seller protection so PayPal seems the best option.

 

[bernina]

We both need the benefit of buyer/seller protection so PayPal seems the best option.

Actually it looks like PayPal doesn’t really offer any type of protection. So Venmo or even Plastiq I suppose could be options.

 

[Lain]

Actually it looks like PayPal doesn’t really offer any type of protection. So Venmo or even Plastiq I suppose could be options.

Venmo and Plastiq both earns 3x with the CIP on the payment and fee. Venmo’s fee is 3% and Plastiq charges 2.5%. Be aware of Venmo’s transfer and withdrawal limits.

 

[snugglebug]

As I was browsing the gift card rack at HEB yesterday I noticed Gift of College cards. I know several of you were getting those at TRU, I had not seen them at the grocery store before so thought I'd put that out there.

In 9 days I managed to do $1100 on my Freedom Q2 spend, most was HEB and Whole Foods legit spend. I love living close to Whole Foods and I love that they have Amazon GCs. My son's bed didn't survive our move so I upgraded his mattress and bed via Amazon using GCs from WF, yay me! With the kitchen still fairly packed we were doing a lot of eating out, so restaurant GCs covered that. I really did not think I would get that close. I did have the option to paypal the spouse, but decided not to right now. I did send him an actual real work invoice and had him pay that via Paypal to trigger my direct deposit because I was a tad short on my minimum payout for Thursday and I do need to do some work on his website.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Has anyone figured out why Disney Resorts / Hotels are no longer in the UR Portal? I have searched from today thru December & no Disney Rooms are pulling up.

I just check the Disney website and then call the ultimate rewards travel. They can see it in their system they don’t have to call Disney. So it’s not a long wait. Plus I like that they can give you the Disney confirmation number right when you book. No need to call another time.

 

[havaneselover]

As I was browsing the gift card rack at HEB yesterday I noticed Gift of College cards. I know several of you were getting those at TRU, I had not seen them at the grocery store before so thought I'd put that out there.

In 9 days I managed to do $1100 on my Freedom Q2 spend, most was HEB and Whole Foods legit spend. I love living close to Whole Foods and I love that they have Amazon GCs. My son's bed didn't survive our move so I upgraded his mattress and bed via Amazon using GCs from WF, yay me! With the kitchen still fairly packed we were doing a lot of eating out, so restaurant GCs covered that. I really did not think I would get that close. I did have the option to paypal the spouse, but decided not to right now. I did send him an actual real work invoice and had him pay that via Paypal to trigger my direct deposit because I was a tad short on my minimum payout for Thursday and I do need to do some work on his website.

Oh, nice on the Gift of College cards. Hopefully Kroger gets them soon.

 

[Limes96]

Ok, I've come here with my info, hat in hand, asking for advice. This could be long written out so I'll stick with bullet points.

From Credit Karma
- AAA Visa (Bank of America) 6/99
- Honda FCU Gold Visa 5/09
- Target Red Card 03/16
- Amex Blue Preferrd 02/17
- AAA Visa (Bank of America) 05/17

- home equity line of credit (for kids' college tuition) 08/17
- car loan 10/16

- credit rating over 800

Goals:
-Europe trip 2020 or 2021 for the whole fam (5)
-Pay for 3 kids to go to college (ages 19, 17, 15)
-DH and I would like to go to Hawaii sometime 2019

Other
-not frequent fliers currently, maybe one round trip every other year visiting family (DH has some delta miles)
-have 60,000 ish points with IHG, our usual hotel choice (goes back to when DH traveled a lot for work a few years back)
-only experience is with cash back cards - I know nothing of the points. Not sure whether to stick with cash back or branch out to points. Want the greatest value per dollar spent. And with a goal of a trip to Europe, maybe Chase is the way to go?
-DH is supportive of my money saving/making schemes, but not sure right now if he's interested in joining the fun. Maybe later?
- I'm not one to rush things so I'm happy to take my time on funding my long range goals. Did get in on the Fidelity deal this week, so not averse to acting quickly either.
- I read DoC, but never used Reddit before
- Not sure I want business credit cards, but I suppose I could ramp up my eBay business...

I'll stop now, I think you get the drift.
Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom any and all. Also I appreciate the non judgemental nature of this thread. I've been reading for quite a while now. You all are awesome!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

lol I think @SouthFayetteFan is back from vacation and catching up on all the bad news.

Well I managed to read every comment here...I was about 700 behind I believe.

This will sound like I’m a spoiled “point” brat but I’ve almost stopped caring about the bad news...There was a time when I’d let it get me down - I really was bothered when a negative change occurred. Now I just always look for the positive and keep moving forward in the game. That might be easier for me to do with our balances vs a newbie who just managed to get enough points for that redemption that is now out of reach again.

 

[tink1970]

This will sound like I’m a spoiled “point” brat but I’ve almost stopped caring about the bad news...There was a time when I’d let it get me down - I really was bothered when a negative change occurred. Now I just always look for the positive and keep moving forward in the game. That might be easier for me to do with our balances vs a newbie who just managed to get enough points for that redemption that is now out of reach again.

Glad you're back!

Your perspective is the same as many of ours...this game is always evolving and I understand the maximum "he who holds the gold makes the rules" (ie banks) so while there are new rules for newbies and we'll always miss "the good old days" knowing the rules AND having good advisors I think is appreciated by all

 

[speedyfishy]

Ok, I've come here with my info, hat in hand, asking for advice. This could be long written out so I'll stick with bullet points.

From Credit Karma
- AAA Visa (Bank of America) 6/99
- Honda FCU Gold Visa 5/09
- Target Red Card 03/16
- Amex Blue Preferrd 02/17
- AAA Visa (Bank of America) 05/17

- home equity line of credit (for kids' college tuition) 08/17
- car loan 10/16

- credit rating over 800

Goals:
-Europe trip 2020 or 2021 for the whole fam (5)
-Pay for 3 kids to go to college (ages 19, 17, 15)
-DH and I would like to go to Hawaii sometime 2019

Other
-not frequent fliers currently, maybe one round trip every other year visiting family (DH has some delta miles)
-have 60,000 ish points with IHG, our usual hotel choice (goes back to when DH traveled a lot for work a few years back)
-only experience is with cash back cards - I know nothing of the points. Not sure whether to stick with cash back or branch out to points. Want the greatest value per dollar spent. And with a goal of a trip to Europe, maybe Chase is the way to go?
-DH is supportive of my money saving/making schemes, but not sure right now if he's interested in joining the fun. Maybe later?
- I'm not one to rush things so I'm happy to take my time on funding my long range goals. Did get in on the Fidelity deal this week, so not averse to acting quickly either.
- I read DoC, but never used Reddit before
- Not sure I want business credit cards, but I suppose I could ramp up my eBay business...

I'll stop now, I think you get the drift.
Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom any and all. Also I appreciate the non judgemental nature of this thread. I've been reading for quite a while now. You all are awesome!

Welcome!

I’d recommend the Chase UR earning cards since you won’t be able to get them once you are over 5/24 and there are lots of things you can do with them. Worst case you can redeem for cash, but if you have the CIP, CSR, or CSP you can get more value with the travel portal or transferring to travel partners. I think the CIP is the best if you are comfortable using your eBay business. I was nervous about applying for the CIP too so I listed $5 in buisness revenue and got approved. Id recommend listing more revenue than that though. lol

If you aren’t thought starting with the CSP/CSR would be just as good though. You can pick one or you can try and do both on the same day. I just double dipped my SO for the CSP and CSR and he got an instant approval for both.

The CIP is good though because if you apply for that and then refer your DH that’s 190,000 UR. 80k bonus x2. 20k UR for the referral, at least 10k UR for the spend.

Feel free to make a Reddit account and PM @Lain @Albort or @SouthFayetteFan with your username and they will add you to our private group. You can share support links for your cards and we also have some helpful guides on how to manufacture spend, using Plastiq, or using points for Disney trips.

 

[striker1064]

For those of us in the Northeast, new bank account bonus from M&T Bank, requires $500 DD. Enter zip code to see amount and checking account required to get it:

https://checking.mtb.com/

Credit to DoC.

 

[wendow]

Welcome back @SouthFayetteFan Hope your trip was great!

 

[striker1064]

Ok, I've come here with my info, hat in hand, asking for advice. This could be long written out so I'll stick with bullet points.

From Credit Karma
- AAA Visa (Bank of America) 6/99
- Honda FCU Gold Visa 5/09
- Target Red Card 03/16
- Amex Blue Preferrd 02/17
- AAA Visa (Bank of America) 05/17

- home equity line of credit (for kids' college tuition) 08/17
- car loan 10/16

- credit rating over 800

Goals:
-Europe trip 2020 or 2021 for the whole fam (5)
-Pay for 3 kids to go to college (ages 19, 17, 15)
-DH and I would like to go to Hawaii sometime 2019

Other
-not frequent fliers currently, maybe one round trip every other year visiting family (DH has some delta miles)
-have 60,000 ish points with IHG, our usual hotel choice (goes back to when DH traveled a lot for work a few years back)
-only experience is with cash back cards - I know nothing of the points. Not sure whether to stick with cash back or branch out to points. Want the greatest value per dollar spent. And with a goal of a trip to Europe, maybe Chase is the way to go?
-DH is supportive of my money saving/making schemes, but not sure right now if he's interested in joining the fun. Maybe later?
- I'm not one to rush things so I'm happy to take my time on funding my long range goals. Did get in on the Fidelity deal this week, so not averse to acting quickly either.
- I read DoC, but never used Reddit before
- Not sure I want business credit cards, but I suppose I could ramp up my eBay business...

I'll stop now, I think you get the drift.
Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom any and all. Also I appreciate the non judgemental nature of this thread. I've been reading for quite a while now. You all are awesome!

Looks like you're currently 2/24, so your best bet is to get rolling with Chase. The Ink Preferred is a good option if you're comfortable with maybe being questioned about your business (but this isn't a guarantee). Also try the CSR/CSP double-dip if you can handle the $8k spend required in 3 months. There is an IHG card that will net you 80k IHG points after $2k spend, but you can get that beyond 5/24 so don't worry about it right now.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Glad you're back!

Your perspective is the same as many of us...this game is always evolving and I understand the maximum "he who holds the gold makes the rules" (ie banks) so while there are new rules for newbies and we'll always miss "the good old days" knowing the rules AND having good advisors I think is appreciated by all

Welcome back @SouthFayetteFan Hope your trip was great!

Thanks guys!! We had a great trip, many long beach days and fantastic weather...it was very relaxing. I'll still be somewhat sporadic in my posting for the next 7 weeks, lol. This week is obviously 4th of July, we are in Captiva (Florida) the week of the 15th, weekend family reunion trip 27-29, 1st week of Aug bible school at our church, and we have a long weekend to Wash DC Aug 15-19. In between all of that I guess I'm trying to work too haha!

For those interested in if I got a resolution to my whole West Virginia Fairfield Inn debacle... after receiving 25,000 Marriott points and my free night cert back good thru 6/22/19 (and they paid for my night at the "quality" hotel)...the GM of the hotel called me the next day to apologize. He said that he was not made aware that my night (they cancelled) was a points night and if he'd have known that they wouldn't have cancelled it. He was very apologetic and offered me another 40,000 Marriott points. I took them and thanked him - probably won't stay there again though...haha. So for my 2 hours of hassle and driving down the road, etc. we got 65,000 Marriott points and a free Cat1-5 night. This brings our Marriott points balance up to 1,422,508! And we ate breakfast at the "Quality" hotel and continued on our path to Myrtle the next morning and didn't let it mess with our week at all.

 

[Limes96]

Is the only negative on the double dip right now that they may come back and lower your credit limit on both?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Ok, I've come here with my info, hat in hand, asking for advice. This could be long written out so I'll stick with bullet points.

From Credit Karma
- AAA Visa (Bank of America) 6/99
- Honda FCU Gold Visa 5/09
- Target Red Card 03/16
- Amex Blue Preferrd 02/17
- AAA Visa (Bank of America) 05/17

- home equity line of credit (for kids' college tuition) 08/17
- car loan 10/16

- credit rating over 800

Goals:
-Europe trip 2020 or 2021 for the whole fam (5)
-Pay for 3 kids to go to college (ages 19, 17, 15)
-DH and I would like to go to Hawaii sometime 2019

Other
-not frequent fliers currently, maybe one round trip every other year visiting family (DH has some delta miles)
-have 60,000 ish points with IHG, our usual hotel choice (goes back to when DH traveled a lot for work a few years back)
-only experience is with cash back cards - I know nothing of the points. Not sure whether to stick with cash back or branch out to points. Want the greatest value per dollar spent. And with a goal of a trip to Europe, maybe Chase is the way to go?
-DH is supportive of my money saving/making schemes, but not sure right now if he's interested in joining the fun. Maybe later?
- I'm not one to rush things so I'm happy to take my time on funding my long range goals. Did get in on the Fidelity deal this week, so not averse to acting quickly either.
- I read DoC, but never used Reddit before
- Not sure I want business credit cards, but I suppose I could ramp up my eBay business...

I'll stop now, I think you get the drift.
Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom any and all. Also I appreciate the non judgemental nature of this thread. I've been reading for quite a while now. You all are awesome!

Agree with previous answers go with Chase cards for the UR points...either the personal cards CSR & CSP double dip or the CIP business for the 80,000 points...you do have a business...with eBay sales.....I sell there as well and had no issues getting the CIP

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Is the only negative on the double dip right now that they may come back and lower your credit limit on both?

That’s what I’ve seen on here so far

 

[wendow]

Is the only negative on the double dip right now that they may come back and lower your credit limit on both?

That is one negative that there have been a few DP's about recently.

Another negative would be having to make 8k in spend in 90 days. Depending on your spending habits, and tolerance for MS'ing, that may not be a negative at all.

Also, there is some stress involved with the double-dip itself. You need to (ideally) be approved for both on the same day so if you are not immediately approved for the first one, you gotta hop on the phone and call recon to get the approval before you can apply for the other card.

Other than that, there are so many positives...at least 113,000 of them

 

[wendow]

Ok, I've come here with my info, hat in hand, asking for advice. This could be long written out so I'll stick with bullet points.

From Credit Karma
- AAA Visa (Bank of America) 6/99
- Honda FCU Gold Visa 5/09
- Target Red Card 03/16
- Amex Blue Preferrd 02/17
- AAA Visa (Bank of America) 05/17

- home equity line of credit (for kids' college tuition) 08/17
- car loan 10/16

- credit rating over 800

Goals:
-Europe trip 2020 or 2021 for the whole fam (5)
-Pay for 3 kids to go to college (ages 19, 17, 15)
-DH and I would like to go to Hawaii sometime 2019

Other
-not frequent fliers currently, maybe one round trip every other year visiting family (DH has some delta miles)
-have 60,000 ish points with IHG, our usual hotel choice (goes back to when DH traveled a lot for work a few years back)
-only experience is with cash back cards - I know nothing of the points. Not sure whether to stick with cash back or branch out to points. Want the greatest value per dollar spent. And with a goal of a trip to Europe, maybe Chase is the way to go?
-DH is supportive of my money saving/making schemes, but not sure right now if he's interested in joining the fun. Maybe later?
- I'm not one to rush things so I'm happy to take my time on funding my long range goals. Did get in on the Fidelity deal this week, so not averse to acting quickly either.
- I read DoC, but never used Reddit before
- Not sure I want business credit cards, but I suppose I could ramp up my eBay business...

I'll stop now, I think you get the drift.
Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom any and all. Also I appreciate the non judgemental nature of this thread. I've been reading for quite a while now. You all are awesome!

UR's are my fav point system so I'm going to also suggest you go for a Chase UR-earning card first. Like others, I recommend either the CIP or the CSR/CSP double dip (which from my previous response to you, it appears you are considering). Either of those options would get you a great start on UR's. And you definitely would qualify for the CIP with your ebay business.

 

[Lain]

Is the only negative on the double dip right now that they may come back and lower your credit limit on both?

Yes. So you have been following along! And the need to figure out how to spend a combined $8k in 3 months. (ETA @wendow makes a good point that some people find a double dip more stressful because of the need to get both cards approved on the same day, it may mean having to call into Chase to push an app through.)

We don’t know this for sure, but I don’t think it’s happening to everyone. The churning community is fairly large and we can probably assume that a lot of people are double dipping Chase’s Sapphire cards or their other products subject to this one card/bonus per family rule (e.g., the SW, Marriott, Hyatt lines), since a double dip is a well known way around the restriction, but we’re only seeing sporadic reports of credit lines being lowered on the two newly approved cards shortly following a double dip. Again, in none of these reported cases has Chase closed either or both cards, or denied the bonus on either or both cards because of the one card/bonus per family rule.

It’s likely a credit line issue. The reason why a double dip works is because Chase’s automated system considers each application separately, and you’re trying to get the second card approved before the system sees you’ve been approved for the first one. But because of that, the automated system approves credit lines on these cards on the assumption you’ve applied for only one card. And for whatever reason, when the two cards enter the system, maybe the combined credit lines puts you over whatever Chase is comfortable extending to you, the cards get reviewed and their credit lines are manually lowered to something that lessens Chase’s exposure to risk. This usually isn’t a problem, but could be an issue if Chase reduces your credit line on a Sapphire card below $4k (like with @speedyfishy ‘s Player 2) because it could make meeting the MSRs challenging. This may not be an issue for you because you don’t have any credit lines with Chase yet.

And one more thing, it’s great seeing you over here from the Disney Gift Card Deals thread! You’ll see a lot of familiar names from there in this thread!