I love credit cards so much!

[Limes96]

Wow, that WF deal is awesome. Congrats to everybody able to take part in that!

 

[afan]

When you all talk about pooling UR's are you talking about within the household? Trying to make sure I understand since it's different from MR's. With MR's you can put them all in one spot for an individual card holder only, like I currently do with my URs all going to CSR. But Chase still allows two people in a household to combine points on one card, and this is the pooling you are concerned will go away right? But that they would still most likely let you continue to combine them onto one individual's card, like CSR because that would be in line with what Amex does?

Hopefully someone understand what I'm asking, it's kind of confusing for me to explain.

 

[Calfan]

When you all talk about pooling UR's are you talking about within the household? Trying to make sure I understand since it's different from MR's. With MR's you can put them all in one spot for an individual card holder only, like I currently do with my URs all going to CSR. But Chase still allows two people in a household to combine points on one card, and this is the pooling you are concerned will go away right? But that they would still most likely let you continue to combine them onto one individual's card, like CSR because that would be in line with what Amex does?

Hopefully someone understand what I'm asking, it's kind of confusing for me to explain.

I think it's both that have been the subject of speculation: that Chase might pull the plug on the household pooling (e.g., transferring UR from DH's CIP/CIC to my CSR) AND/OR pull the plug on pooling among one individual's cards (e.g., combining points from my CF and CFU with my CSR points). Either would be a serious issue for us.

 

[WVMomof3]

When you all talk about pooling UR's are you talking about within the household? Trying to make sure I understand since it's different from MR's. With MR's you can put them all in one spot for an individual card holder only, like I currently do with my URs all going to CSR. But Chase still allows two people in a household to combine points on one card, and this is the pooling you are concerned will go away right? But that they would still most likely let you continue to combine them onto one individual's card, like CSR because that would be in line with what Amex does?

Hopefully someone understand what I'm asking, it's kind of confusing for me to explain.

I thought people were concerned with both of these happening. As in, the CF and CFU cards would remain cash back points only and not able to be redeemed on a CSP/CSR. And also not being able to combine across household.

 

[afan]

I think it's both that have been the subject of speculation: that Chase might pull the plug on the household pooling (e.g., transferring UR from DH's CIP/CIC to my CSR) AND/OR pull the plug on pooling among one individual's cards (e.g., combining points from my CF and CFU with my CSR points). Either would be a serious issue for us.

I thought people were concerned with both of these happening. As in, the CF and CFU cards would remain cash back points only and not able to be redeemed on a CSP/CSR. And also not being able to combine across household.

Thank you both! With Amex you can combine them for one individual though right? Because if they do I can't see Chase, if they still want to compete, stopping that part but potentially stop the household pooling, which is what I thought people were concerned about.

I'm just trying to understand it all so that when I get back to the point where I'm ready to make a plan I've stayed on top of all the info as best I can to make good decisions

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I think it's both that have been the subject of speculation: that Chase might pull the plug on the household pooling (e.g., transferring UR from DH's CIP/CIC to my CSR) AND/OR pull the plug on pooling among one individual's cards (e.g., combining points from my CF and CFU with my CSR points). Either would be a serious issue for us.

I thought people were concerned with both of these happening. As in, the CF and CFU cards would remain cash back points only and not able to be redeemed on a CSP/CSR. And also not being able to combine across household.

Yes - I agree with both of you that BOTH of these changes are the concerns. I think both have a high degree of sensitivity/concern among most of us. For those in Single Player mode the household thing means nothing (for now).

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thank you both! With Amex you can combine them for one individual though right? Because if they do I can't see Chase, if they still want to compete, stopping that part but potentially stop the household pooling, which is what I thought people were concerned about.

I'm just trying to understand it all so that when I get back to the point where I'm ready to make a plan I've stayed on top of all the info as best I can to make good decisions

The AMEX system pools those MRs automatically which leads me to believe they aren't even setup to do it by card.

The fact that Chase attributes earnings to a specific card and forces you to actively pool them shows that they could change this. I don't think they see this factor as competing with AMEX. They could just say CF and CFU are cash back cards (and CIC/CIU) and that CIP, CSP, CSR are the travel cards. The one thing that would get REALLY messy is if they didn't allow you to combine CIP, CSP, CSR points.

Now...the 1 Sapphire rule means you shouldn't be able to have a CSR & CSP so in that scenario you'd still have people that could have CIP AND CSP or CSR. It would still be frustrating to have 200k URs (half on CIP and half on CIP) and be told I couldn't use all of them on one trip. OR to be told that my CSR points are worth one thing and CIP points are worth another. IF Chase implements this change, I hope they are thinking about all possible scenarios because it could be a CRAP fest if they don't properly plan and implement.

EDIT: If you find some of this comment confusing, that's somewhat intentional. If Chase ends "pooling" in some fashion there are a TON of questions that need to be answered because booking trips could get CRAZY difficult. It's also part of the reason I have a small skepticism they will do it (due to just how complex it would be and/or how much backlash they would feel).

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Only after refamiliarizing myself with SFF's Guide did I remember that @amalone1013 is immortalized forever... and unshun > shun (JK! )

That should really be a poster for the board. As long as you can successfully churn, there's really not a wrong way to go about it. (just don't be that Citi guy and you'll probably be ok )

LOLOLOL I forgot I put that in there. Poor @amalone1013 - we do love you, we really do!!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I spent a long time this afternoon catching up on this thread and I am still blown away by the kindness of lead posters on this forum. It's a little uncommon when discussing this particular topic and I just wanna say again... I think it's nice. I hear the cautious tone an awful lot more lately than I did three years ago. I think we should really be paying attention to that. Somebody posted a few pages back about a guy whose Citicards were shut down recently, without explanation. It prompted me to do a little research and I ran across this article which I am sharing because it really gave me pause. In my quest to slow down, I've moved most of my spending to the Alliant Visa for its 3% cashback in the first year and 2.5 ongoing, while I determine the direction I want to go next. That leaves my entire Amex portfolio with zero balances and I just finished minimum spend on the Aspire, pretty much right up to what was required for the bonus and no more, paid off immediately. I'm beginning to re-think the wisdom of that. It's really making me take a step back and question... ok, which of these banks do I actually value the relationship with long term. Which one provides the most bang for the buck ongoing... not just in terms of a large sign up bonus? I think it's time to figure that out, because if I damage my relationship with that bank, and they dump me... I may not ever have a chance to re-connect. Know what I mean? Anyway... those are my thoughts for today. And as for you @SouthFayetteFan - you are a good egg with a very big heart.;-) and it comes through here. Just sayin.

Here's the article for those of you interested: https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/when-can-credit-card-issuer-close-account-1267.php . It's a little bit chilling for me to consider the implications of that, should Amex ever decide they don't like me anymore.

Like your post.....I value my relationship with Chase...prior to May..Just had SW and Disney cards....now that I’ve added a CIP and CSR to the mix...I’ve switch around spending a bit most of it going on whatever card I’m meeting a MSR on..But I’ve kept my SW card linked to my RR account so all SW activity goes on that....And I’ve made sure something goes on each card monthly.
I also have 2 BOA no fee cards that I’ve had for close to 40 years...keeping them for my credit history and I put something small on them a few times a year...if BOA were to close them I wouldn’t be upset....

 

[Lain]

In my quest to slow down, I've moved most of my spending to the Alliant Visa for its 3% cashback in the first year and 2.5 ongoing, while I determine the direction I want to go next. That leaves my entire Amex portfolio with zero balances and I just finished minimum spend on the Aspire, pretty much right up to what was required for the bonus and no more, paid off immediately. I'm beginning to re-think the wisdom of that. It's really making me take a step back and question... ok, which of these banks do I actually value the relationship with long term. Which one provides the most bang for the buck ongoing... not just in terms of a large sign up bonus? I think it's time to figure that out, because if I damage my relationship with that bank, and they dump me... I may not ever have a chance to re-connect. Know what I mean? Anyway... those are my thoughts for today.

A few months back, I posted a breakdown of which cards I use for pretty much every cent of our expenses. I’d say, 90% of our spend went on Chase cards. In the past month plus, almost all our spend has shifted to Amex.

This is because of multiple factors:

• MMS's publicity-seeking stupidity caused Chase to kill 3x UR on Plastiq through CIP, on which I put a lot of spend for bills in categories that otherwise didn't earn a bonus or accept credit cards.
• My CIC has become my new UR-earning machine with 5x UR on Gyft and all the VGC and MCGC deals at OD/OM/Staples that I don't dare put on my Amexes for which I'm still working on MSRs.
• There were some great Amex Offers in the last two months to Best Buy, Staples, Bed, Bath & Beyond, many of which I spent on Disney and other third-party gift cards.
• I still have the 10% credit at Lowe's Amex Offer for more third-party gift cards.
• I still have ~$700 left to max out our Chase Freedom Q3 categories, and will probably end up buying prepaid or gift cards to do it.
  
• I'm floating a bit too much money in gift cards and VGCs, and have been spending these down.
• We've been working on a $5k MSR on my wife’s Amex Hilton Biz (just finished last week), $10k MSR on the Biz Plat, and $5k MSR on the SPG Lux.
  
• Because it appears that a common factor among those who receive the Amex welcome bonus denial popup is the lack of spend on their Amex cards after meeting MSR and receiving the bonus, I've been trying to shift spend that I might've put on a Chase card over to Amex. The Amex Offers and MSRs help.
• Let's take a look at some bonus categories on Amex's cards: The SPG Biz earns a nice 4x Marriott for dining and gas, and I have the 10% credit at Exxon Amex Offer. The SPG Lux earns a decent 3x Marriott at restaurants. The Hilton Biz earns a pretty nice 6x HH for dining and gas.

To your point about valuing relationships with the credit card issuers, my short term and long term plans involve Amex, and I do not want to have those plans disrupted by a bonus denial popup (even though it appears to be dynamic that can go away, and not a permanent ban). My plans with Chase are limited to dropping back under 5/24 early next year, grabbing the CIU, getting another personal card, and saying our goodbyes. I'll have a pentafecta of Chase UR-earning cards that'll be able to generate URs at a bonus for almost any kind of spend: CSR (3x travel and dining), CIP (3x telecom and shipping), CIC (5x gift cards and telecom), CIU (1.5x everywhere), and CF (5x rotating categories). Chase doesn't care if I buy prepaid cards or gift cards; doesn't care if I don't regularly use their cards; and I've played by their rules and gotten most of the cards I want to get. If Amex wants me to be a good customer and use their cards in order to get bonuses on more cards, I'll happily do so if that means I can grab one or two more business cards at the end of the this year and/or early next year while I'm sitting out on Chase; go through their portfolio of MR-earning cards and Hilton cards; and whatever else comes up.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Does anybody know of anywhere that sells Walmart gift cards? I gotta be honest, I'm not sure they even participate in anything like that (but I could be wrong). I'd assume that neither Walmart nor other retailers are interested in partnering with each other.

I was surprised to find Target GCs at Lowe’s. That’s why I was wondering. I was thinking of using my Amex Lowes 10% off for some Target GCs just for Target Shopping/Christmas shopping.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I was surprised to find Target GCs at Lowe’s. That’s why I was wondering. I was thinking of using my Amex Lowes 10% off for some Target GCs just for Target Shopping/Christmas shopping.

Yeah - I think Target plays nice with the other retailers though. Walmart seems like a strange bird in this one, lol. They probably want too big of a cut and can't work details out, LOL!

 

[kmc8826]

I was surprised to find Target GCs at Lowe’s. That’s why I was wondering. I was thinking of using my Amex Lowes 10% off for some Target GCs just for Target Shopping/Christmas shopping.

Just a heads up but the Target gift cards have become a bit of a pain to use since they changed their computer system. Not just running the card through but having to enter a number. And then one day I had one and their system wouldn’t take it because “we are too busy today and the system is overloaded.” It has been enough of a pain for me that I have just stuck to Amazon and Disney.

Just an aside and a thought coming from all these changes it might be a good time to discuss restarting this thread with a different less searchable name. Start it with some of the excellent posts that @SouthFayetteFan, @Lain, @calypso726, and others have done on how they churn and focus on.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I have CSR/CSP links with 24 month language...
Both the webpage and the offer terms popup show "24 months".

Full Disclosure, these are not my links, they are from a reddit user. I will not be sharing them publicly here.

If you have a legitimate reason to pursue ONE of these cards you can send me a PM and I will work with you. They are email links starting with: http://emailoffers.chase.com and then link to secure applynow.chase.com websites. I may ask some follow up questions before I share the links as I don't want to let these get blasted anywhere and get shutdown.

@Lain has taken a look as well and we think they are worth sharing. The only people interested in these links should be people that are:
1) < 5/24
2) Received a CSP OR CSR bonus in the past 24-47 months.
3) Currently do not have a CSR OR CSP (or are planning to PC their CSR/CSP VERY soon to pursue this).

Please keep in mind that Chase has changed the public and most referral offers to 48 months, so there may be a chance that Chase could try to enforce the 48 month terms on this offer even though it clearly says 24 months (both on the webpage and in the offer terms popup). I'd advise anybody that wants to pursue this to take screenshots, etc. Might be worth a risk for people...PM me if interested.

 

[kmc8826]

Sorry double post. On phone and apparently WiFi was glitchy.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Just a heads up but the Target gift cards have become a bit of a pain to use since they changed their computer system. Not just running the card through but having to enter a number. And then one day I had one and their system wouldn’t take it because “we are too busy today and the system is overloaded.” It has been enough of a pain for me that I have just stuck to Amazon and Disney.

Just an aside and a thought coming from all these changes it might be a good time to discuss restarting this thread with a different less searchable name. Start it with some of the excellent posts that @SouthFayetteFan, @Lain, @calypso726, and others have done on how they churn and focus on.

I've actually considered whether we should ever start a new thread - this one has soooo many pages. And like you said we could be a little more conspicuous with the name maybe (although we do want newbies here to find us so that presents a challenge...)

 

[CyndiLouWho]

shut down, I have no idea.

Just had a thought. Makes me wonder if all this shutdowns is the reason why they are holding all MSR bonuses until future notice

I was just about to post this as my conspiracy theory. Much easier to cancel accounts than claw back URs already rewarded/transferred/combined/spent.

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

Just a heads up but the Target gift cards have become a bit of a pain to use since they changed their computer system. Not just running the card through but having to enter a number. And then one day I had one and their system wouldn’t take it because “we are too busy today and the system is overloaded.” It has been enough of a pain for me that I have just stuck to Amazon and Disney.

Just an aside and a thought coming from all these changes it might be a good time to discuss restarting this thread with a different less searchable name. Start it with some of the excellent posts that @SouthFayetteFan, @Lain, @calypso726, and others have done on how they churn and focus on.

Do you use the Target app? They have a wallet section where you can load gift cards and put in your red card. At checkout you click which gift cards you want to use and scan a barcode for your target card. It also applies all cartwheel offers and I’ve used up to 5 or 6 gcs a transaction. Easy peasy!
ETA: so sorry for all this Chase drama. I hope that’s it for shutdowns and people’s URs start posting!!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Only after refamiliarizing myself with SFF's Guide did I remember that @amalone1013 is immortalized forever... and unshun > shun (JK! )

That should really be a poster for the board. As long as you can successfully churn, there's really not a wrong way to go about it. (just don't be that Citi guy and you'll probably be ok )

Or that Tesla guy

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I've actually considered whether we should ever start a new thread - this one has soooo many pages. And like you said we could be a little more conspicuous with the name maybe (although we do want newbies here to find us so that presents a challenge...)

We don’t need newbies here. We need to hide, never share our secrets, mercilessly ridicule people...oh wait that’s Reddit.