I love credit cards so much!

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Another question, if I have the CSR and need to find some travel expense, couldn't I buy Disney theme park tickets or annual passes, and activate them later? For example, we are planning an Oct 2017 trip to WDW. Get CSR this year, buy Tickets this year (for next Oct) to apply the $300 travel credit; after Jan 1 buy airfare to use next years $300?


I bought a ticket from Parksavers last week with my CSR, and it did code as travel and the $300 travel credit was immediately applied to it. On my husband's CSR account, I made a deposit to our Disney Vacation Account, and that also coded as travel and was credited.
 
I bought a ticket from Parksavers last week with my CSR, and it did code as travel and the $300 travel credit was immediately applied to it. On my husband's CSR account, I made a deposit to our Disney Vacation Account, and that also coded as travel and was credited.

Thanks, this is really good to know about the DVA. We have two room-only reservations at POFQ booked for January and have been paying off the balance with our DVA funded with discounted Disney gift cards. I was planning to apply a $300 payment using my CSR to use up the travel credit, but funneling it through the DVA instead bumps us up to the next $1,000 spend level for an additional $20 bonus gift card.
 
Okay, thinking to apply for this Chase Sapphire Reserve card. I just pull my report and assuming the 5/24 rule only applies to credit cards, I am at 3/24 (one of which I closed due to suckiness). All MU, no AU's on my account. My main credit union has a free FICO score report anytime, and that is at 748. Now, I have a lot of available credit (though not much used) on my cards, including two currently with Chase (Disney and Amazon). The Disney Chase must of increased by limit recently. I assume I should have a good shot at getting the Reserved??
 
Okay, thinking to apply for this Chase Sapphire Reserve card. I just pull my report and assuming the 5/24 rule only applies to credit cards, I am at 3/24 (one of which I closed due to suckiness). All MU, no AU's on my account. My main credit union has a free FICO score report anytime, and that is at 748. Now, I have a lot of available credit (though not much used) on my cards, including two currently with Chase (Disney and Amazon). The Disney Chase must of increased by limit recently. I assume I should have a good shot at getting the Reserved??

I would think so. Good luck!
 

Thanks to everyone who has posted their stories and advice on this thread. I have a question for the experts.

I currently have the Chase Sapphire card and I love it.

Since I rarely fly, it seems that it would NOT be in my best interest to get the other Chase (gosh now I can't remember the name... not the Ink (I don't have a business) but the third one mentioned in the Trifecta).

Does it seem to you all that I should just stick with my Sapphire? I just use the UR to get Target Gift Cards and then I buy Disney GC with those.

Thank you.
 
Thanks to everyone who has posted their stories and advice on this thread. I have a question for the experts.

I currently have the Chase Sapphire card and I love it.

Since I rarely fly, it seems that it would NOT be in my best interest to get the other Chase (gosh now I can't remember the name... not the Ink (I don't have a business) but the third one mentioned in the Trifecta).

Does it seem to you all that I should just stick with my Sapphire? I just use the UR to get Target Gift Cards and then I buy Disney GC with those.

Thank you.

Would this be the old Sapphire no fee card that is no longer available? If you want to earn more UR points for gift card redemptions, you might consider the Freedom which has 5x UR points in rotating category bonuses each quarter. The other card would be the Freedom Unlimited which earns 1.5 UR points on all spend. So you'd put all your dining spend on the Sapphire, category bonus spend on the Freedom and everything else on the Freedom Unlimited. Hope that helps.
 
Is the DVA a good idea? It seems the only benefit is the $20 per $1000 spent. It's something, but not very much.
 
Is the DVA a good idea? It seems the only benefit is the $20 per $1000 spent. It's something, but not very much.

Many people had issues with it and swore it off. Myself and others may have had minor issues and deal with it because every issue (small or big) is resolved at SOME point. If you're one to take chances, join in on the fun!

Edit to add that sometimes mishaps happen in your favor! I was sent a $220 Disney Gift Card from DVA right after my most recent Disney Vacation (a cruise). I had already received all of my bonuses so this one was an extra bonus :teeth: I'm a Disneyland AP holder so it will come in handy!
 
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Is the DVA a good idea? It seems the only benefit is the $20 per $1000 spent. It's something, but not very much.

Yes, if you spend a lot of money on Disney vacations and experiences like we do. It's basically 2% back on money I am spending anyhow on a product and that I will continue to spend on for said product. NO way am I walking away from that. That $20 for every $1,000 is $500 for every $25,000. So $20 may not be very much, but over time that $20 turns into $500. We have used DVA to pay for our annual passes, Disney Vacation Club maintenance fees, Disney cruises, Adventures by Disney trips, special events at the park like Club Villain, backstage tours like Sense of Africa etc. We have had no problems using the DVA.

Now, there are a myriad of stories here on the DIS where people have not had the same good luck we have had with the DVA. So, YMMV. We will continue to use the DVA since it does provide us a significant savings on our vacation expenses with the Mouse.
 
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Just seeing if the new CSR is for me and need some advice:

1. I have never had a card with an annual fee on it, so choosing one so large is a hard pill to swallow.
2. We travel MAYBE once a year to Florida (not Disney) and stay in a family condo, so the only "travel" expenses would be a rental car and airfare.
3. Is the CSR the best for travel perks only?

I have had a Freedom card for a number of years as my primary card. If I were to transfer UR points from the Freedom to CSR, then they would be worth 1.5x more? Would they only be worth the 1.5x if you were to use them booking travel through the Chase Portal? Is that the best use of UR points now?

I was reading The Points Guy and a lot of their articles are outdated and don't include the CSR in their "best use of points" analysis, so I wanted to make sure I had the most up-to-date info, and am doing the math correctly.

I checked airfare to FL for a possible trip and the Chase Portal had it for $230. Kayak had it for $207. United Mileage points had it for 12,500 points (saver).

I have roughly 12,500 points in UR with my Freedom which would transfer at 1.5x to 18,750 on CSR????

I can purchase one ticket with a 1:1 transfer to United Mileage through CSR, correct?
Or I can purchase one ticket for $184 through the Chase Portal with the 20% CSR discount as long as I use my card (and get travel credit), correct?
Or Can I purchase the ticket through Chase Portal using points? Would it be 23,000 points (original price) or 18,400 points (20% off price) to which I would have enough of?
Or I can purchase it through whichever website had it for $207 (this would get travel credit).

Am I thinking too much of this? I just don't need another card if it is going to end up costing so much with the Annual Fee. Thanks!!!
 
Answering question by question in bold:

Quoting Cop Luv >>> Just seeing if the new CSR is for me and need some advice:

1. I have never had a card with an annual fee on it, so choosing one so large is a hard pill to swallow.

Keeping it after a year may not be the right thing. If you get it and are able to use the travel statement credit before this year is out and before your annual fee is due next year that alone will have given you $600 if value which more than covers the annual fee. Add in the 100,000 UR points and there is another $1500+ in value. I will pay $450 to anyone who will give me back $2100 in return :D

>>> 2. We travel MAYBE once a year to Florida (not Disney) and stay in a family condo, so the only "travel" expenses would be a rental car and airfare.
3. Is the CSR the best for travel perks only?

In my opinion yes, but I imagine there are others who might disagree. Now I am speaking long term value not the awesomeness of the bonus for the card right now and the first year. There are plenty of great no fee cash back cards and strategies to use them for those who don't travel much.

>>> I have had a Freedom card for a number of years as my primary card. If I were to transfer UR points from the Freedom to CSR, then they would be worth 1.5x more?

No they would be worth 1.5

>>> Would they only be worth the 1.5x if you were to use them booking travel through the Chase Portal? Yes. Is that the best use of UR points now? Not in my opinion but I value airline miles more than using my points as a cash.


>>> I was reading The Points Guy and a lot of their articles are outdated and don't include the CSR in their "best use of points" analysis, so I wanted to make sure I had the most up-to-date info, and am doing the math correctly. The card was just released on August 21st.

>>> I checked airfare to FL for a possible trip and the Chase Portal had it for $230. Kayak had it for $207. United Mileage points had it for 12,500 points (saver). Make sure to check if that was just one way or round trip. United will show miles required each way.

>>> I have roughly 12,500 points in UR with my Freedom which would transfer at 1.5x to 18,750 on CSR???? No. It would transfer to 12,500 UR points that can now be used to book travel or directly transfer to an airline.

>>> I can purchase one ticket with a 1:1 transfer to United Mileage through CSR, correct? You can transfer UR points directly to United from a CSR, CSP or Ink+ at a rate of 1:1 and turn them into frequent flier miles. Then you can redeem an award ticket on United.

>>> Or I can purchase one ticket for $184 through the Chase Portal with the 20% CSR discount as long as I use my card (and get travel credit), correct? Yes, you would get the travel credit, for paying with the card. The 20% discount when redeeming points for travel.
Or Can I purchase the ticket through Chase Portal using points? Yes. Would it be 23,000 points (original price) or 18,400 points (20% off price) to which I would have enough of? If you get the CSR and make the required bonus spend you will have over 100,000 UR points. 100,000 UR points on the CSR is worth $1500 in the UR portal.
>>>Or I can purchase it through whichever website had it for $207 (this would get travel credit). Yes.

Am I thinking too much of this? I just don't need another card if it is going to end up costing so much with the Annual Fee. Thanks!!!
If you can make the bonus spend and utilize the $300 credit both this year and next year then definitely get the card. When the annual fee comes due next year you can downgrade the card to a CSP or Freedom Unlimited. The break even point for keeping this card over the CSR is if you spend $3200 a year in dining and travel. I hope this helps.
 
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Ahh Yeah. Instant CSR approval. Way too high of a credit limit; might call and cut that down a bit. I did NOT get my wife an AU card, don't really want to pay the $75. Is it possible to let her just use my card (or get a second card for me?) or should I get her one? OR... once I get through the $4,000 spend get her her own card?
 
Ahh Yeah. Instant CSR approval. Way too high of a credit limit; might call and cut that down a bit. I did NOT get my wife an AU card, don't really want to pay the $75. Is it possible to let her just use my card (or get a second card for me?) or should I get her one? OR... once I get through the $4,000 spend get her her own card?

I've been using my husband's card for online stuff, but I know it will be a pain not to have one in my own name in the long run. Just waiting out my 30 days/2 Chase card time before I apply for mine :D Two More Days and counting the minutes LOL
 
The discussion about transferring UR between cards made me realize I don't really understand the process. I understand (I think) that I need a CSR/CSP/Ink to transfer (which is fine because I have those). All of those award UR in points per dollar (I think) but the Freedom awards UR as a percent of purchase. I'm wondering which I should try to maximize: the Freedom bonus categories (5%) or the Ink+ (x5)? Specifically I am thinking about gift cards, which I could either buy at Sams Club (with the Freedom) or Staples (with the Ink+).
 
The discussion about transferring UR between cards made me realize I don't really understand the process. I understand (I think) that I need a CSR/CSP/Ink to transfer (which is fine because I have those). All of those award UR in points per dollar (I think) but the Freedom awards UR as a percent of purchase. I'm wondering which I should try to maximize: the Freedom bonus categories (5%) or the Ink+ (x5)? Specifically I am thinking about gift cards, which I could either buy at Sams Club (with the Freedom) or Staples (with the Ink+).

My understanding is that it does not matter: the 5% and 5x are functionally identical. The only difference is the $1,500 quarterly max on the Freedom bonus categories vs the much higher limit on the Ink ($25,000 I believe).
 
>>> Or I can purchase one ticket for $184 through the Chase Portal with the 20% CSR discount as long as I use my card (and get travel credit), correct? Yes.
Did I miss a benefit for CSR "I can purchase one ticket for $184 through the Chase Portal with the 20% CSR discount"?
 
I've been using my husband's card for online stuff, but I know it will be a pain not to have one in my own name in the long run. Just waiting out my 30 days/2 Chase card time before I apply for mine :D Two More Days and counting the minutes LOL

What about groceries? That is the one area where my wife spends and I mostly don't. I do a ton of dining and gas. Online is easy for either of us to use the same card. I wonder if Kroger would even notice if she used my card. Also, I wonder if Chase will print me two copies of my card (so my wife can carry one). My secretary has copies of my bosses cards, so it seems some companies allow it.
 
BTW, I can find a Delta flight to Orland for 4 round trip. $1,800 cash. On UR same flight is $1,000 (or 68,000 points). That isn't even going through the Korean Air process, which for economy was 100,000 points.
 
Did I miss a benefit for CSR "I can purchase one ticket for $184 through the Chase Portal with the 20% CSR discount"?

I'm not seeing a percent off the price when you pay cash. I searched United and the UR site for the same flight and got the same $ price in both places. The only difference was in the UR point cost.
 
Ahh Yeah. Instant CSR approval. Way too high of a credit limit; might call and cut that down a bit. I did NOT get my wife an AU card, don't really want to pay the $75. Is it possible to let her just use my card (or get a second card for me?) or should I get her one? OR... once I get through the $4,000 spend get her her own card?

I'd go with get her own card after you get through the $4,00 spend or are close to completing it.

The discussion about transferring UR between cards made me realize I don't really understand the process. I understand (I think) that I need a CSR/CSP/Ink to transfer (which is fine because I have those). All of those award UR in points per dollar (I think) but the Freedom awards UR as a percent of purchase. I'm wondering which I should try to maximize: the Freedom bonus categories (5%) or the Ink+ (x5)? Specifically I am thinking about gift cards, which I could either buy at Sams Club (with the Freedom) or Staples (with the Ink+).

I max out the Freedom bonus categories with the Freedom and then hit Staples for the remainder with the Ink+. All my Freedom points I transfer to the CSP account and then transfer those to United or BA when needed. The Ink + points I just transfer to

Did I miss a benefit for CSR "I can purchase one ticket for $184 through the Chase Portal with the 20% CSR discount"?

Sorry, I was answering Yes about the travel credit. I will go back to edit that and make it clearer.

BTW, I can find a Delta flight to Orland for 4 round trip. $1,800 cash. On UR same flight is $1,000 (or 68,000 points). That isn't even going through the Korean Air process, which for economy was 100,000 points.

That is awesome and sounds a whole lot simpler. Congrats on finding what you needed!
 
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