I love credit cards so much!

[mmmears]

Anyone else who uses CCards for hotels care to chime in?

I'm trying to understand if it's better to just collect MRs and URs or if we should also get a hotel CC (Hyatt/SPG/Hilton) for hotel nights. Is there an advantage to going for one of those co-branded cards I keep reading about? Or should we just collect as many URs and MRs as possible?

 

[hsmamato2]

Ok here's another dumb SPG Lux upgrade question..... if I upgrade with 1/15k offer,is that 15k Marriott,or 15k SPG? Is it only 5k marriott????

 

[Calfan]

I need to spend about $200 before Monday to meet my $1500 5x limit on my freedom card. I think I have seen people here talk about going to Walgreens to buy Amazon cards and then using them on Amazon to buy Stop and Shop cards. Can I do this?

That's exactly what I do for Albertsons/Safeway gift cards. This quarter, I bought Amazon gift cards at Walgreens, loaded them to my Amazon account and then bought Albertsons gift cards on Amazon using my Amazon gift card balance. I maxed out the CF at Walgreens a while ago, but will continue to buy Amazon gift cards at office supply stores with the CIC to continue to turn my grocery spend into 5x spend.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Ok here's another dumb SPG Lux upgrade question..... if I upgrade with 1/15k offer,is that 15k Marriott,or 15k SPG? Is it only 5k marriott????

It’s all the same now. No more SPG points, they’ve all been converted to Marriott points. So 15k Marriott points. Although I’d be hesitant to upgrade for that offer, since you could apply and get 100k points

 

[schmass]

Anyone else who uses CCards for hotels care to chime in?

I'm trying to understand if it's better to just collect MRs and URs or if we should also get a hotel CC (Hyatt/SPG/Hilton) for hotel nights. Is there an advantage to going for one of those co-branded cards I keep reading about? Or should we just collect as many URs and MRs as possible?

I'm no expert here, but things the hotel CCs may come with include: status, free anniversary night, extra pts per dollar when you spend at their brand.

 

[Lain]

Anyone else who uses CCards for hotels care to chime in?

I'm trying to understand if it's better to just collect MRs and URs or if we should also get a hotel CC (Hyatt/SPG/Hilton) for hotel nights. Is there an advantage to going for one of those co-branded cards I keep reading about? Or should we just collect as many URs and MRs as possible?

If you’re under 5/24, focus on Chase’s UR cards (either the CSP or CSR now that the double dip is dead; all the Ink cards: CIP, CIC, and CIU; and maybe even the Freedom cards). Avoid Chase’s Marriott offerings because that’ll generally make you ineligible for Amex’s SPG cards. And any other Chase card that’s subject to the 5/24 rule (SW, United).

Some of Chase’s co-branded hotel cards like the Hyatt and IHG cards are not (yet) subject to the 5/24 rule, so you can still get them past 5/24. It’s not usually advised to get the Hyatt or IHG while under 5/24, because they will count towards 5/24 and are still available after 5/24. A high level Chase exec has said that eventually all Chase cards will be under the 5/24 rule (or worse yet, maybe even 48 months if the Sapphires are any indication).

Once you’re at or over 5/24, work on Amex’s MRs, SPG, Hilton cards, and you don’t have to worry about these personal cards counting against 5/24.

 

[afan]

Anyone else who uses CCards for hotels care to chime in?

I'm trying to understand if it's better to just collect MRs and URs or if we should also get a hotel CC (Hyatt/SPG/Hilton) for hotel nights. Is there an advantage to going for one of those co-branded cards I keep reading about? Or should we just collect as many URs and MRs as possible?

They do come with status etc like mentioned above. If you do a points booking you generally don't owe anything more, at least with Hyatt there's no taxes or resort fees so it's entirely free.

While I do agree with @Lain to go for the UR cards that are subject to 5/24, sometimes your travel plans make a hotel card more important than those cards. Look at what @Haley R is doing with her trip to Japan. We all know this isn't a one size fits all game, heck I'm 4/24 and 2 of those aren't UR cards with one AS and another Hyatt, because for me that's what worked better than collecting UR. Also they had MSR that I could me as a single person.

I would say if you are under 5/24 and don't have anything falling off soon I wouldn't go for a hotel card just because you might use it someday, it needs to have a use. Or go for a biz card. I wish Hyatt had a biz...

 

[miztressuz]

Anyone else who uses CCards for hotels care to chime in?

I'm trying to understand if it's better to just collect MRs and URs or if we should also get a hotel CC (Hyatt/SPG/Hilton) for hotel nights. Is there an advantage to going for one of those co-branded cards I keep reading about? Or should we just collect as many URs and MRs as possible?

If you're sorta loyal to a brand, or at the very least tend to end up in one most times, a hotel card can make sense for extra status and perks and lots of bonus points. If not, or you like independent locations, or just whatever the best deal is, UR is probably better. You can redeem for at least 1cpp guaranteed, which is not always the case with MR when it comes to hotels. Plus the UR is pretty flexible so if you decide not to stay at a hotel it can offset other costs of a trip, which is harder to do with hotel points.

There's always exceptions, but unless you've got a specific destination/use in mind for the hotel points it probably makes sense to keep on the UR path first.

 

[mmmears]

If you’re under 5/24, focus on Chase’s UR cards (either the CSP or CSR now that the double dip is dead; all the Ink cards: CIP, CIC, and CIU; and maybe even the Freedom cards). Avoid Chase’s Marriott offerings because that’ll generally make you ineligible for Amex’s SPG cards. And any other Chase card that’s subject to the 5/24 rule (SW, United).

Some of Chase’s co-branded hotel cards like the Hyatt and IHG cards are not (yet) subject to the 5/24 rule, so you can still get them past 5/24. It’s not usually advised to get the Hyatt or IHG while under 5/24, because they will count towards 5/24 and are still available after 5/24. A high level Chase exec has said that eventually all Chase cards will be under the 5/24 rule (or worse yet, maybe even 48 months if the Sapphires are any indication).

Once you’re at or over 5/24, work on Amex’s MRs, SPG, Hilton cards, and you don’t have to worry about these personal cards counting against 5/24.

Thank you. This info is what I'm looking for. We have one more slot until 5/24 (and are seriously tempted by the AMEX gold and hotel cards such as Hyatt, SPG or Hilton). So the SPG and Hyatt cards aren't under 5/24? I did not realize that. Sounds like we should maybe go for a high UR card first. We are still waiting on 1/2 of the DD points to post (still pending... ) before adding another Chase. If they claw them back then there is no point.

They do come with status etc like mentioned above. If you do a points booking you generally don't owe anything more, at least with Hyatt there's no taxes or resort fees so it's entirely free.

While I do agree with @Lain to go for the UR cards that are subject to 5/24, sometimes your travel plans make a hotel card more important than those cards. Look at what @Haley R is doing with her trip to Japan. We all know this isn't a one size fits all game, heck I'm 4/24 and 2 of those aren't UR cards with one AS and another Hyatt, because for me that's what worked better than collecting UR. Also they had MSR that I could me as a single person.

I would say if you are under 5/24 and don't have anything falling off soon I wouldn't go for a hotel card just because you might use it someday, it needs to have a use. Or go for a biz card. I wish Hyatt had a biz...

Thank you for this. This is partly why I find it so confusing. We all have different needs. While I don't have a big trip planned, we do small trips often and hotels are by far the largest expense for us. So that's why I'm looking at them and wondering. I'll have to do more reading, obviously. I feel like it's all I do now and I'm still struggling.

 

[mmmears]

If you're sorta loyal to a brand, or at the very least tend to end up in one most times, a hotel card can make sense for extra status and perks and lots of bonus points. If not, or you like independent locations, or just whatever the best deal is, UR is probably better. You can redeem for at least 1cpp guaranteed, which is not always the case with MR when it comes to hotels. Plus the UR is pretty flexible so if you decide not to stay at a hotel it can offset other costs of a trip, which is harder to do with hotel points.

There's always exceptions, but unless you've got a specific destination/use in mind for the hotel points it probably makes sense to keep on the UR path first.

Thanks. This is kind of what I've been trying to figure out... but nothing big planned yet. DH wants to wait a year or two before we go overseas again. I'm pushing for a quick DCL/DL trip next fall, and it's looking more and more like that will happen. Annoyed that now that we have URs I can't use them for that.

 

[Lain]

If you’re under 5/24, focus on Chase’s UR cards (either the CSP or CSR now that the double dip is dead; all the Ink cards: CIP, CIC, and CIU; and maybe even the Freedom cards). Avoid Chase’s Marriott offerings because that’ll generally make you ineligible for Amex’s SPG cards. And any other Chase card that’s subject to the 5/24 rule (SW, United).

Some of Chase’s co-branded hotel cards like the Hyatt and IHG cards are not (yet) subject to the 5/24 rule, so you can still get them past 5/24. It’s not usually advised to get the Hyatt or IHG while under 5/24, because they will count towards 5/24 and are still available after 5/24. A high level Chase exec has said that eventually all Chase cards will be under the 5/24 rule (or worse yet, maybe even 48 months if the Sapphires are any indication).

Once you’re at or over 5/24, work on Amex’s MRs, SPG, Hilton cards, and you don’t have to worry about these personal cards counting against 5/24.

@mmmears - I agree with @afan that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. So I’ll try to be a little more specific to your situation.

Your husband is currently 4/24, right? That gives him one slot left with Chase. He could use that last slot to get another 5/24 Rule personal card, or he could try to stretch out that slot by getting only business cards from Chase, Amex, and other issuers that don’t report business cards to his personal credit report. How comfortable is he applying for business cards? He could remain at 4/24 in business card limbo for months or years with the number of offerings out there, and in that time some of his older 4/24 cards could drop off and open up more slots for him to get Chase cards. But that’s a decision you guys need to make — what Chase cards do you want, and how long do you want to stay with Chase? If he got all 3 Ink cards, that’s 180k UR. Get a SW Biz and personal card, potentially a CP. Because once DH is at 5/24, that closes off a lot of Chase cards, but there’s also so many cards out there from Amex, Citi, Barclays, that it’s best probably not to look back at Chase. And if DH does go past 5/24 and doesn’t look back, maybe you guys could have him go for the hotel cards that give status and earn hotel points. If you’re traveling together, only one of you needs status anyway.

I think you’re like 1/24 when that Platinum shows up on your credit reports? That gives you a lot of leeway to pick up Chase cards while, possibly, your husband has moved on to other Amex MR cards or hotel cards and whatever else. And since DH might be the one getting all these cards first, he could eventually refer you (for bonus points) to the hotel cards he already has a year or so down the line, when maybe you’ve worked your way through Chase, and it’s time for DH to pay an AF on those cards or cancel.

I’d also add that taking turns like this (rather than you two going for the same hotel cards at the same time) might make sense depending on the hotel’s loyalty program rules about transferring points to other members. For example, the new Marriott program lets members transfer a maximum of only 100k points/year, which is basically one signup bonus (SPG Biz is offering 100k, SPG Lux is offering 100k-125k, SPG Personal is offering 75k). So say DH is past 5/24, and jumps on these SPG offers, and refers you to all 3 cards — it’s of limited use if you can only transfer 100k of those points to DH to combine for a bigger redemption.

 

[miztressuz]

Whew, just made it. Did RMN for first time at Walgreens today. They have the Shampoo hubby likes now and while cheap that formulation is not everywhere anymore. Since Walgreens is only 1 of 2 stores carrying it now, made sense to go the for CF bonus and I figured I'd stock up while on sale during the RMN promo. They only had 4 so I bought a GC as a filler to make the 25, in a bit of turnabout. Turns out they stacked promos and the shampoo was cheaper than I expected - 25.50 before tax! Looks like RMN rounds up as it's showing as 26 in the app. So bonus for me, with the stack it made it the same price I used to get at Target and I have $10 pending. It's like getting the GC for 5 bucks

 

[amalone1013]

Did we call DH Lounge Lord on here? He went to Reno yesterday morning for work and comes back tonight. I just got a text asking if there's a lounge there

 

[afan]

I’d also add that taking turns like this (rather than you two going for the same hotel cards at the same time) might make sense depending on the hotel’s loyalty program rules about transferring points to other members.

This is good but also keep in mind if the card has a free anniversary night and you plan on keeping the card. You'll want to make sure if you both get the card that your expiration dates work together so you can pair the free nights for a weekend away or something. You wouldn't want one that expires in April and one that expires in October when you want to use them in the summer. They would eventually sync up though, just not in the first year.

 

[afan]

Did we call DH Lounge Lord on here? He went to Reno yesterday morning for work and comes back tonight. I just got a text asking if there's a lounge there

He needs to download the PP app so he can look it up

 

[GlamMistress]

I took the afternoon off. I'm so burned out on work. Plus I keep getting a warning from HR EVERY WEEK that I need to take time.

I want to go do my third round of RMN but I might just take a walk and nap instead and do the gift cards tomorrow with DH.

I have about $700 left to pay on my Disney cruise. It has to be paid off November 1. I go to Food and Wine in 2 weeks so I've held some gift cards back for that... trying to determine if I should just put them all on the cruise or use at the parks. Six of one, half a dozen of the other I suppose. First world problems for sure.

 

[Lain]

Thank you. This info is what I'm looking for. We have one more slot until 5/24 (and are seriously tempted by the AMEX gold and hotel cards such as Hyatt, SPG or Hilton). So the SPG and Hyatt cards aren't under 5/24? I did not realize that. Sounds like we should maybe go for a high UR card first. We are still waiting on 1/2 of the DD points to post (still pending... ) before adding another Chase. If they claw them back then there is no point.

DH has 1 slot until 5/24. But like I mentioned, he could really stretch out the life of that last slot by going for business cards until there’s a personal card (and bonus) from Chase or another issuer that really catches your attention and fits your needs.

You have a lot of slots left. Have you given thought to applying for more cards in your name? Even if you aren’t comfortable applying for biz cards until you have a business figured out, that’s a lot of cards that you could get with Chase, including DH referring you to the CSR (10k UR for him, 50k UR for you that you’d combine together).

Hyatt (and IHG) is a Chase card that’s currently not subject to the 5/24 rule (so you can get it after DH or you are 5/24 — just space out your app to reduce risk of shutdown), but if you get the Hyatt (or (IHG) while under 5/24, it will add to the 5/24 count.

Amex owns the SPG and Hilton portfolios, and they don’t have a 5/24 rule. So you can definitely get these after DH or you are past 5/24. (Same with the Amex MR cards like the PRG/Gold card.) However, there are restrictions on getting the Amex SPG cards if you have or have gotten Chase’s Marriott cards — so it’s best to avoid the Marriott cards for now. Amex also constantly bumps up (then drops back down) welcome bonus offers, so it’s best to time your application to when Amex is offering the best offers on their cards (since Amex bonuses are generally once per lifetime, per person, per card product).

It’s a lot to take in. You need to know the issuer’s rules for timing and counting cards in order to get approved, rules affecting particular cards that may make you eligible or ineligible, and what the best offers are on the signup bonuses so you don’t shortchange yourself and then have to plead with the issuer to match or give you pity points. (ETA also, what cards are about to be discontinued so your chance at getting them is time limited, and what new cards might be coming out.)

So it helps to lay out your cards, dates they were open, what points or miles you want to earn to fit your travel goals or needs, and get advice from everyone about suggestions about new cards so that we can catch any rules or offers you might have missed.

 

[Lain]

Did we call DH Lounge Lord on here? He went to Reno yesterday morning for work and comes back tonight. I just got a text asking if there's a lounge there

Of course, he’s a card carrying member of the Priority Pass Lounge Club. He’s a cardholder just looking for a lounge.

 

[Lain]

Ok here's another dumb SPG Lux upgrade question..... if I upgrade with 1/15k offer,is that 15k Marriott,or 15k SPG? Is it only 5k marriott????

SPG points (aka Starpoints) no longer exist. Strike it from your mind. Everything is now in Marriott points. 15k Marriott points is equal to 5k old Starpoints.

 

[Albort]

Did we call DH Lounge Lord on here? He went to Reno yesterday morning for work and comes back tonight. I just got a text asking if there's a lounge there

no PP lounge, there is an escape lounge aka Amex plat.
time for a new card app?