I love credit cards so much!

[1st*toright]

AF pep talk coming up. It’s not really $450 if you were going to be staying at a Starriott property anyhow. If you factor in the $300 credit then it’s a $150 AF. If you redeem the free night at a property that is more than $150 per night it’s a wash. Totally worth it for the first year at least.

I've been resisting the FOMO of the SPG Lux - I don't need another $450 AF, but I really could do with replenishing my Starriott stash, and I do have a Starriott stay planned in a couple of months. No rush, though, because I haven't gotten a Marriott bonus within the last 2 years, so I can wait and do it later, right? Its just going to start the 2 year clock when I can get the next Marriott card a little later, right? I did get the SPG Biz, but that doesn't seem to limit my ability to get the Lux bonus, right? Breathing deeply...

If you stay at a hotel with a convention rate, do you still get points and perks of status, etc?

Yes- you still get points and perks, even on a group rate (although not all brands offer all perks - if you are talking about Starriott, I don't think that Gaylord Hotels (big convention properties) give lounge access or breakfast to elites). In my experience, my points/nights from conference stays don't show up in my account automatically (even if I entered my rewards number when I registered). I usually have to fill out the "missing stay" paperwork, but everything eventually gets credited.

 

[Judique]

I do have to say it feels like a personal attack that Amex comes out with a 3k offer on the Hilton Biz the same day I'm awarded my Hilton points on the 89th day of my MSR after spending $5000

I felt the same way when they upgraded the SPG biz the day after I applied.

 

[striker1064]

I can't understand why the bank to bank electronic transfers take so long. I opened cap one 360 on the 20th and pushed from ally. My cap one acct says it is pending and will post on the 27th.

Someone else mentioned Cap1 being slow which I have no experience with, but I can say Ally transfers take several business days as well. It's just the way they are. It's annoying. I was planning to switch to Ally as our main checking, but with the amount of bank bonuses/transfers we do, I just couldn't deal with that. I'll just use their high interest savings for our emergency funds.

Does anybody have any datapoints on this yet (Paging @Lain, @gottalovepluto, @striker1064 and any other r/churning regulars)? This is certainly a good test offer because if they don't give you the bonus, you only spent $1,000, the annual fee is waived year 1, and you can double up on the travel credit for $200 - so you at least get that.

Has anybody else seen evidence of AMEX denying a bonus if this language popped up? I know the whole process is pretty new so it'll be interesting to see how it pans out. I fully expect to see this message for me on future AMEX cards (since I've basically abused them) so it's a particularly interesting situation to me

I haven't tried another Amex yet, but I will be soon. I assume I'm going to be a candidate for that popup because I have been hitting Amex hard this year, but we'll find out for sure. That Hilton Biz offer is really tempting.

 

[trenty]

A question to those that accumulate Delta points - Are there any ways to get points besides credit cards or shopping portals?

For example - in addition to various credit card points and shopping portals, I get SW and JB points through surveys; United has the MPX app....

Wondering if Delta has anything. I don't fly Delta but DS would like to use them when commuting to and from college. I can't get a co-branded CC now. I already transfer Amex MR points now and then.

 

[Lain]

What was your spend on the 100K upgrade? Mine was $1000 for 15K. I had already applied before they put an upgrade out for me. I wonder if I could do both? Slip it in before they look at it again? Sort of a double dip? That would be 2 of the 50K nights for me - worth $150 each. $150 is peanuts on those redemptions.

Chatter on r/churning days that’s possible. Think the Hilton cards. Apply for the welcome bonus, then upgrade for the points. If you take the upgrade offer first, you’re ineligible to sign up for the card as a new card and get the welcome bonus.

 

[Judique]

What about those early birds who applied for the SPG Lux before they knew they could’ve self-referred for another 20k if they have a SPG personal? Not exactly the same but the feeling’s real.

I have not yet had a chance to apply for the Lux yet!

It only takes 30 seconds.

 

[Lain]

It only takes 30 seconds.

I tend to overthink these things. I’m going to get some coffee now and do it.

 

[happ]

Has anyone stacked an Amex offer with a portal like topcashback, or Ibotta? I want to use the Amex ebags offer with Ibotta, but the terms say it has to be directly through the merchant.

I've done this several times with success. The only time there was a snag was with a Sam's offer, but I was able to get that resolved through Amex chat.

 

[Ava]

Didn’t think,of that lol..but no way is my husband traveling to JFK to get it until we have an international trip planned

I know this is a pretty old comment but I’m catching up.

Don’t know where you live or your husband works, but if Manhattan is more convenient there is an office downtown that does Global Entry interviews. It’s in the old Customs House, where the American Indian museum is now. Appointments there fill up farther in advance than at JFK, but if he can plan ahead it’s an option. I ended up going out to JFK for mine because I wanted to make sure I had it in time for our flights to CA last month. I took the subway/AirTrain from Brooklyn, which is a bit of a hike, but once I was there I was in and out in less than 15 minutes.

 

[tink1970]

Aack. I just checked (don’t know why) and I have the 100k upgrade offer too. Only reason have spg cards is/was transfer to Delta. I haven’t even followed it; are they still allowing airline transfers? I have a 10k msr haven’t even really started on yet..

Yes, at the new inflated Marriott rate...60,000 equals a bonus of 15,000 miles which then translates (for most) back to 25,000 miles since most airline transfers are 3:1 (including delta). I was tempted to do this after the merger then realized I wasn't going to take a chance with the Marriott IT still being pretty new/erratic/total train wreck (bitter much? I still can't see my 6 Marriott reservations AND it won't let me merge. Ugh).

Summary-yes at the 3x rate.

Are there any ways to get points besides credit cards or shopping portals?

I was going to say: flying, shopping portals, credit card spend/sign up bonuses BUT then answered @kmc8826 and remembered you can transfer from hotels (usually not a great proposition) and earn with car rentals. Sadly, the Starwood/Delta agreement ended July 15 and that was a nice extra bump.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I know this is a pretty old comment but I’m catching up.

Don’t know where you live or your husband works, but if Manhattan is more convenient there is an office downtown that does Global Entry interviews. It’s in the old Customs House, where the American Indian museum is now. Appointments there fill up farther in advance than at JFK, but if he can plan ahead it’s an option. I ended up going out to JFK for mine because I wanted to make sure I had it in time for our flights to CA last month. I took the subway/AirTrain from Brooklyn, which is a bit of a hike, but once I was there I was in and out in less than 15 minutes.

Thanks...we live and work on Long Island 10 minutes from Mc Arthur Airport......did the Pre TSA last year when they were offering it there...very easy....Once we have an international trip booked..hopefully in 2020...I’ll make sure we get it

 

[miztressuz]

Has anyone stacked an Amex offer with a portal like topcashback, or Ibotta? I want to use the Amex ebags offer with Ibotta, but the terms say it has to be directly through the merchant.

I think most of the terms say digital wallets and other 3rd party charges might not count. Like if you used your AmEx through PayPal it wouldn't be picked up. They are looking for a charge from eBags to trigger the credit. Sometimes you do have to go through a special Amex site to get the deal, other times it works on any charge even though it gives you link to follow.
So you can do most AmEx offers through shopping portals, as you are shopping directly with the merchant. I've done a few through Swagbucks with no problems.

 

[Judique]

Chatter on r/churning days that’s possible. Think the Hilton cards. Apply for the welcome bonus, then upgrade for the points. If you take the upgrade offer first, you’re ineligible to sign up for the card as a new card and get the welcome bonus.

Haven't taken the upgrade yet. I got the Lux yesterday and just finished my Biz spend, so now I'm looking at the Lux $5K spend for the bonus. But if the upgrade is still around, I can see me doing it in a month or two. I'm a little offended by the low 15K offer though but I'm really after the $150 (50K) nights. I like to do the beach in Maryland in July and August and some of those rooms are easily $500 a night and I do my share of free ones through IHG but I also pay real money - buying points, etc, plus simply paying outright. I'm going to do mostly Home Depot gift cards to meet my spend - probably 3K of them and the rest will be organic. I will be expecting no upgrade bonus if I wait to do it, so I want to knock out the 100K first before I even think of it.

 

[kmc8826]

Yes, at the new inflated Marriott rate...60,000 equals a bonus of 15,000 miles which then translates (for most) back to 25,000 miles since most airline transfers are 3:1 (including delta). I was tempted to do this after the merger then realized I wasn't going to take a chance with the Marriott IT still being pretty new/erratic/total train wreck (bitter much? I still can't see my 6 Marriott reservations AND it won't let me merge. Ugh).

Summary-yes at the 3x rate.



I was going to say: flying, shopping portals, credit card spend/sign up bonuses BUT then answered @kmc8826 and remembered you can transfer from hotels (usually not a great proposition) and earn with car rentals. Sadly, the Starwood/Delta agreement ended July 15 and that was a nice extra bump.

So while you can transfer the new Starriott points to Delta it is at the 3 to 1 ratio without the 5k for every 20k bump right?

Oh and @trenty one other way is through Lyft if you merge accounts. Not a big point generator at all.

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

So I've been trying to decide how to redeem my Marriott Cat 1-5 (now 1-4) N+F certificate, and i found the Springhill Suites Anaheim Maingate that I think I want to use in Oct. It has good reviews, is a pretty new property, is listed as .6 miles from DL, has free breakfast, and can fit 6 in the room. Has anyone stayed here and can offer any advice if this is a good place to stay?

I went ahead and booked it today, well sort of. First I called the number listed on the Marriott website that it says to call to attach to N/F cert. Well, that number is actually SPG and although she tried, the rep wasn't able to book it, and said she'd transfer me to a Marriott rep who could. Well, she hung up on me instead. Ok, no problem, I call Marriott. 35 minutes later am talking to a rep, who is in the process of booking for me, and all of a sudden am disconnected. Ok, fine, hang up and call back. 25 minutes later talk to a different rep, who books the resort for me, bu says he can't actually attach the cert for approx. a month, but at least the hotel is reserved and won't be booked up. Great! Well, not really because I looked online tonight and he actually reserved 9/13-9/20 instead of 10/13-10/20!

Assuming I can get this straightened out tomorrow and get the right dates booked, it will be a pretty sweet last minute trip. We''ll be gone a week and kids will only miss 3 days of school (kids are kind and 2nd grade so I think it's ok), SW had flights from Wichita to SNA for approx 17k RT with convenient flight times, which meant only 34k because of my CP, and DM can use her SW points and CP (which expires end of this year) for free flights too! DH will be staying home for this one as he can't miss work, and really doesn't mind not going either. Now to research DL as I've only been there one about 8 years ago. Any tips or good research spots are appreciated!

We went in February. Stayed at a Hyatt Place and it was nice! SpringHill Suites tend to be nice so you’ll be fine. You are closer than we were and found the walk easy. We were close to a Disney parking lot so took the bus a lot.
I liked the ease and non planning involving DL. Of course my kids (8,11) preferred DW but still loved it. Def get Maxpass. It was so easy and we seriously hardly waited for any rides. Just takes a little research!

 

[DisneyMandC]

If you stay at a hotel with a convention rate, do you still get points and perks of status, etc?

Yes as to points, but only on the rate you book. Can't speak to status because I was silver when I stayed at a Marriott back in April on a conference rate, so I wasn't expecting to get anything for that anyways. But I did earn points equivalent to the conference rate I paid.

 

[DisneyMandC]

In my experience, my points/nights from conference stays don't show up in my account automatically (even if I entered my rewards number when I registered). I usually have to fill out the "missing stay" paperwork, but everything eventually gets credited.

Posted before I saw this. Yes, I forgot that I also had to fill out missing stay paperwork. I was credited very quickly after filling out the paperwork though, with no additional questions asked. Just hold on to a copy of your receipt.

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

oh no! I tried playing with it some more too and it told me the same thing...not eligible.

Try logging into amex site not the app. I couldn’t get any offer from the doc link but it was on my amex site. I screenshot it just in case. Looks like the $300 credit won’t post until after AF posts which will be on anniversary date (prorated until then) Of course we have a Feb trip planned so I can’t take advantage of that. The extra 100k and upgraded free night though..... hmmm. Also the potential inability to downgrade is holding me back but I guess I could just cancel....

 

[tink1970]

So while you can transfer the new Starriott points to Delta it is at the 3 to 1 ratio without the 5k for every 20k bump right?

If you transfer 60,000 (old spg 20,000) points you'll get a 15,000 point additional (which translates to 5,000 miles). If you transfer 45,000 points then you'd only receive 15,000 miles. The numbers are all just multiplied and divided by 3 so 60,000 is the new magic number for the additional points (15,000/3= 5,000). Sorry if that's confusing...haven't had my caffeine load this am yet.

***note most airlines are 3 Marriott:1 airline mile but United is 3 Marriott:1.1 airline mile

 

[Lain]

I just self-referred myself for the SPG Lux, and was approved.

Amex gave the option to get the card number now, but I declined since I've still got a slog on the Hilton Biz and Biz Platinum. Amex says the card will arrive in 3-5 business days, but some folks on r/churning report Amex is saying the SPG Lux is being expedited to everyone.

No ineligibility pop-up warning, even though I've opened 5 Amex cards (MB Plat, SPG Personal, Hilton Biz, Biz Plat, Biz Green) since April and now a 6th Amex card this year with the SPG Lux.

The site isn't letting me add the card to one of my existing accounts, though, and I don't really want to create another login (even if Amex can merge accounts later) now that the Amex Offers multi-login, multi-tab trick is dead.

This should take me out of the game for a few months. Player 2's getting called up next.

What else...?

I need more coffee.