I love credit cards so much!

[hsmamato2]

my poor little sis.... years back when she was a kid, our mom added her as an AU to like a million of her cards(she has a spending problem) so when she became an adult,married she had to repair her credit separately from that...what a mess! I know, OT but all this talk reminded me of that year...she fixed it b/c one thing our spendy mom taught us kids was that budgeting and frugality was the best thing to do!

 

[SBWB48]

How much did they offer? I'm going to be calling for the same reason in a couple of days. Just waiting for my RR anniv points to post first.

It was a $100 statement credit offer for the SW premier. Think @speedyfishy got the same thing. Very happy with a free 6,000pts, referral pts hopefully in a few months, and $1 profit for a 10min phone call lol.

 

[Judique]

DP: I bought $400 Amazon gift card from Lowe’s, with my AMEX BGR - should be getting $40 credit.
Used the Amazon gift cards to buy $500 in Safeway gift cards, emailed them to my SIL since we don’t have Safeway here, she just bought a $500 Disney gift card for me.
OOP $360, $500 Disney dollars
Thank you @gottalovepluto for the tip! This is enough to cover my marathon registration and my part of the hotel for the marathon weekend!

I'm still trying to figure this out. Do you have to have Prime to get offers? I don't have Prime. I just would order of my daughters and she's closed hers. I see nothing.

 

[miztressuz]

My DDs box has been sitting there for days. I told myself I would not open it. But you made me open it. hahaha Her score was actually low. It said 677 which surprises me because she signed up for credit Karma right before she applied and it said 730. She has been on AU on just one of our cards for right at 1 year now. She also has a very small student loan in her name. Maybe I should add her on another of our cards.

Credit Karma uses a different scoring model than Discover. Discover uses the Fico (Fico8 I think) whereas CK uses the VantageScore for the scores they provide to you. They look at different factors so I've heard of vastly different scores popping up between the two. I've noticed it myself where each model pulled from the same CR, at the same point in time, but I got a 30 point difference between them.

 

[Lain]

I'm still trying to figure this out. Do you have to have Prime to get offers? I don't have Prime. I just would order of my daughters and she's closed hers. I see nothing.

Amazon's 20% off when you shop with Amex Membership Rewards points promo is targeted. It's not limited to Prime accounts. Check if you qualify here: https://amzn.to/2lQ99MQ

 

[Judique]

Amazon's 20% off when you shop with Amex Membership Rewards points promo is targeted. It's not limited to Prime accounts. Check if you qualify here: https://amzn.to/2lQ99MQ

Thank you @Lain. I'm out the door to a doctor's appt, so I will do this in an hour or so.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Well, rookie mistake on my part. I finally called Barclays since I still hadn't received or heard anything about being approved for the AAviator business card. Turns out I didn't include a copy of the back side of my social security card. YES, THE BACK SIDE. The side that only tells you where to mail the card if you find one. The side with no identifying information.

Off to copy my card and mail it in.

 

[peel]

This weekend I was waiting near the cash registers at Panda Express for about 10 minutes (apparently no one orders mixed veggies - I had to wait while they made them). While I waited, I watched about a dozen people check out, at least half paying with cash. I wanted to step in and ask, how about you give me the cash and I'll pay for your food with my credit card?

This reminded me of the scene in Reality Bites when Winona Rider was cut off by her father but then realized her gas card still worked, so she stood at the pumps and took cash from everyone while paying for their gas with her card.

This past weekend, I noticed that my Dad had a Chase Freedom. I asked him if he had activated the quarterly categories and he said "I don't mess with the rewards". I wanted to say, I will activate the categories and take care of the rewards for you. Not sure he even has an online login.

I saw that my cousin has the Freedom and asked if the bonus categories changed what stores he shopped at each quarter. He said, "What bonus categories?"

 

[Lain]

This reminded me of the scene in Reality Bites when Winona Rider was cut off by her father but then realized her gas card still worked, so she stood at the pumps and took cash from everyone while paying for their gas with her card.

I love that movie.

 

[EC0323]

Ugh. I still need points for my Alaska 2019 trip. I am in Atlanta. I am at 3/24 (csr, marriot, and bjs) but just according to my credit report recieved my Marriott card. So is it too soon to apply for a new card? I actually have had 2 billing cycles.

The other issue is I am in Atlanta. Delta is King. I need delta points to fly. But i havent maxed out chase. I know next to nothing about Amex except my dh card never gets the deals you all post. i have an offer of 100k platinum card. Would I get those deals? Also i cant believe it $550. Delta card is only 195 but I don't see any good mileage offers out there. *sigh

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[miztressuz]

Hoping the DIS community can help me figure out which card to get next.

My current portfolio:
Sapphire Reserve
Freedom Unlimited
Freedom
Amex Blue Business Preferred
Citi DoubleCash
Barclay JetBlue Plus
Discover It
Mileageplus Explorer

I have an almost $3,000 expense coming up so a min spend of $3,000 will be easily met and could probably reach to $5,000 if need be. I don't travel much (and when I do, it's for work so it's on the corporate card), so the majority of my expenses are food related/coffee (so that goes on my CSR), gas (have an Amex Offer so been using the Amex), and all other spend typically goes on the DoubleCash.

I would hate to have an expense where I can easily hit minimum spend on a new card go to waste, so I was thinking of getting a personal Platinum card to get the 60k bonus. However, with how little I travel, I feel like it is tough to justify a $550 annual fee (if it was waived the first year, this wouldn't even be a question!).

I think there's a bunch of cards with lower min spends, so it's hard to suggest without a goal for the points. I think most hotel cards are around the 3k mark if you have a chain you prefer over others to go with your airline cards Personally I couldn't stomach the $550 AF for "only" 60k points on the AmEx Platinum. Have you tried any tricks to pull a higher offer? Some people are targeted for 75 or 100k. That card is very geared towards travel so if you don't travel much, like us, it's hard to justify the AF. The perks are nice for when you do travel, even for work, like the lounge access (which does get you more lounges than the CSR) and status matching... but is all that worth $550? Tough call. Do you have any good offers for the Gold cards? If just looking for points they have lower AF's than the Platinum but still 50k+ sign up bonuses.

I see you have the AmEx BBP so I guess you're open to business cards, have you thought about the CIP? It's got a 5k MSR so at the top of your range, but you have 3 months to figure out how to spend the remaining 2k. It gets you 1.25 cpp if you use the UR for travel, or if you're keeping the CSR then you can transfer the UR to there for the 1.5 cpp travel redemption. If you're not keeping the CSR then the CIP would give you a travel partner transfer card for a cheaper AF ($95, basically a business CSP). The current bonus offer is still 80k UR, at minimum that's $800 so a pretty good return for squeezing another 2k out in 3 months.

Increasingly I am partial to UR points as they're just so easy to figure out I am reminded again after looking at using my BoA WorldPoints and finding out I need at least 25k to get a 1cpp valuation if I want a statement credit With having Sapphire and Freedom's already, the Ink's would be the last UR option and the CIP has the highest bonus. If you keep the CSR (or decide to downgrade that to the CSP), then you could downgrade the CIP to a CIC later to avoid the fee and get different bonus categories.

When did you get your Chase cards? And what have you actually opened in the last 24 months? Chase isn't looking for inquiries (although I'm sure that's part of the factor), the 5/24 is looking at opened accounts reported on your credit report. Even if you've closed the card since then, if it was opened since 6/2016 (to be safe) Chase will count it. If you've got a good spacing on your cards you're probably still ok with Chase. You're still using your CSR for everyday spends (and hopefully the freedom for categories) so you weren't just bonus chasing, which is primarily what Chase is cracking down on. (and other points gaming habits)

 

[platamama]

Ugh. So I am clearly on a run of bad luck. I had DD buy 30,000 Starpoints and then transferred them into my account to try to buy one last Flight and Hotel package. After six business days they still had not shown up so we called and sure enough, the transfer didn't go through. The woman on the phone said they couldn't transfer since I had already bought points this year. My understanding was that they had this rule a few years back, but weren't enforcing it. Apparently they decided to against me! Anyway, I think I can get around it by creating a Marriott account for her, and then calling to make the Flight and Hotel package with the two Marriott accounts. Can someone correct me if I'm wrong, and/or let me know if there are any stumbling blocks to watch for. Her Starwood account is over 30 days old.

Was her account open for a minimum of 30 days prior to requesting the transfer as the T&C state? That was part of the reason I didn't pursue buying more Starpoints in my situation.

Yes, you can open a Marriott account for her, link her two accounts, and then transfer her SPG over to Marriott.

The only hiccup I can think of is that Marriott members can only transfer up to 50K Marriott points per calendar year and there may be a $10 fee to transfer. In the past, when DH has transferred Marriott points to me in order to redeem a travel package there has been no cap to the number of Marriott points transferred and he didn't pay a fee (although he is Marriott Gold for some reason that I don't understand). That's the only exception I'm aware of to get past the 50K annual cap. But I don't know if it's only spouse-spouse or if it can be family member-family member. ETA: Looks like any Marriott reward member can transfer to another, and can exceed the 50K limit up to the amount needed to satisfy the reservation.

 

[miztressuz]

Well, rookie mistake on my part. I finally called Barclays since I still hadn't received or heard anything about being approved for the AAviator business card. Turns out I didn't include a copy of the back side of my social security card. YES, THE BACK SIDE. The side that only tells you where to mail the card if you find one. The side with no identifying information.

Off to copy my card and mail it in.

OMGosh! I've never seen anyone copy the back side of a SSC. I guess the greatest forger can get the front perfect and then goof up creating the mailing address??

 

[striker1064]

For my bank bonus peeps out there, DoC posted tons of state-specific bonuses this weekend, worth a look. (Unless you're a Californian like me, don't bother!) Also, they posted a new one for Salem Five that's nationwide but DPs are rolling in that it triggered a hard pull AND they are Chex sensitive- be very cautious with that one. Personally I'm passing as my Chex is solidly LOL/24 status these days and now that the hard pull DPs are rolling in $150 is definitely not worth it to me.

I'll just throw out that this was my 9th bank account in the last 3 months and I was approved, so I have no idea what their threshold for sensitivity is (but I thought I would be over it. Guess not). Also, I did NOT get a hard pull. It does seem like most DPs did though, so that's weird (unless the ones who got a hard pull are the only ones commenting - some kind of confirmation bias?).

There's an interesting thread on r/churning right now discussing burnout and generally getting too obsessed with this hobby. A lot of the comments get to what we often discuss here about how there's "no wrong way to churn" and using points however you feel is best, even if it's not the world's greatest cpp redemption.

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/8xcnaa/discussion_frustrations_with_the_act_of_churning/

That thread... encompasses a lot of the problem I have with r/churning in general. Lots of my responses got downvoted because they go against the grain, which is how I know I struck a particular nerve. But I dunno, there's just no reason to take it that seriously. Earn points, use points, rinse and repeat.

It's funny, when I started churning a couple of years ago, that subreddit used to be about earning a bonus, closing the card, and signing up for it again. Don't see much discussion of that anymore because everyone is so obsessed with Chase and 5/24.

 

[Disneyonmymind]

I need some help from you knowledgeable folks! I just found out my kid needs to pay her new lease tomorrow with a money order. It’s approximately $1,300 and I need to get the MO today. I have never tried the GC to MO thing and now I’m feeling the pressure to try to get some type of benefit from this spend. Is it much easier to do with only one swipe? Maybe I can get three separate MOs. Can’t imagine they’d have a problem with that.

 

[SBWB48]

I need some help from you knowledgeable folks! I just found out my kid needs to pay her new lease tomorrow with a money order. It’s approximately $1,300 and I need to get the MO today. I have never tried the GC to MO thing and now I’m feeling the pressure to try to get some type of benefit from this spend. Is it much easier to do with only one swipe? Maybe I can get three separate MOs. Can’t imagine they’d have a problem with that.

I don't know if one swipe is necessarily "easier", but I think some only do one swipe because it may draw less attention from the cashier. Personally, I've been doing this for the last 6-months and perhaps, I got lucky and found a cooperative WM location. I usually do two swipes, and I've even chatted up cashiers (they've chatted back about their own bank lol) about how it's due to my bank limiting each swipe to $500. It's not difficult to do and it's really your own comfort level with it. The cashiers at my WM don't bat on eye or ask to see the card. You can politely ask for the MO, wait til they run it, THEN say "I would like to put $500 on this card please". The worse they can tell you is no or ask to see the card and then you can walk away playing dumb. Usually, I like to wait til after they enter the amount BEFORE I inform them it'll be two swipes. If it makes you more comfortable doing three swipes, then try that first until you've tested the waters perhaps.

 

[SBWB48]

Has everyone also noticed or had issues with the Discover 5% bonus category this month? I've made a few restaurant purchases that have posted for a few days already and the tracker hasn't reflected them. I had one statement generated as of today and all restaurant purchases were not included in the 5% balance despite being included in this statement that just closed.

 

[MrPTato]

Has everyone also noticed or had issues with the Discover 5% bonus category this month? I've made a few restaurant purchases that have posted for a few days already and the tracker hasn't reflected them. I had one statement generated as of today and all restaurant purchases were not included in the 5% balance despite being included in this statement that just closed.

I have seen the tracker delayed a few days until after the purchase posts. I have not looked at the statement as it closes mid month. Curious if others are having the same issue.

ETA: A few days after the purchase posts...it seems the tracker updates...maybe 6 days after the swipe. Ugh...kinda wordy

 

[Disneyonmymind]

I don't know if one swipe is necessarily "easier", but I think some only do one swipe because it may draw less attention from the cashier. Personally, I've been doing this for the last 6-months and perhaps, I got lucky and found a cooperative WM location. I usually do two swipes, and I've even chatted up cashiers (they've chatted back about their own bank lol) about how it's due to my bank limiting each swipe to $500. It's not difficult to do and it's really your own comfort level with it. The cashiers at my WM don't bat on eye or ask to see the card. You can politely ask for the MO, wait til they run it, THEN say "I would like to put $500 on this card please". The worse they can tell you is no or ask to see the card and then you can walk away playing dumb. Usually, I like to wait til after they enter the amount BEFORE I inform them it'll be two swipes. If it makes you more comfortable doing three swipes, then try that first until you've tested the waters perhaps.

Thanks for the info! Do I get these at Customer Service or the regular checkouts?

 

[tink1970]

I know next to nothing about Amex except my dh card never gets the deals you all post. i have an offer of 100k platinum card. Would I get those deals? Also i cant believe it $550. Delta card is only 195 but I don't see any good mileage offers out there. *sigh

I don't know how Amex decides how to offer their deals but I suspect it's either the length of card or amount of offers you've used or a little of both. I can't quite figure it out but am fortunate to have 4 AUs (authorized users) who have separate log ins so I have several opportunities to receive "good" offers.

The Amex Plat is pricey but I enjoy earning 5X MR on flight tickets and skyclub access as well as the offers and using the $200 airline credit. I pretty much break even with it and would possibly come out ahead if I used uber.

Has everyone also noticed or had issues with the Discover 5% bonus category this month? I've made a few restaurant purchases that have posted for a few days already and the tracker hasn't reflected them. I had one statement generated as of today and all restaurant purchases were not included in the 5% balance despite being included in this statement that just closed

I noticed the same thing today when I was checking my Discover! Thanks for clearing it up @MrPTato