I love credit cards so much!

[Ngwira]

I think I'm going for this card over the weekend in the hopes that I'll get a match too.

Is the 20k extra points worth $1,000 in spend?

 

[Alice Sr.]

I missed that one of the SW cards was a business card. In that case, you are at 3/24 and that means that you could probably get all 3 cards. You will just have to space them out correctly. I would get the IHG card now and maybe the CIP too, since then you will be at 4/24. And then once you have hit the MS for those cards and passed the 2/30 rule, you could apply for the CSP, which would put you at 5/24.

I applied this AM for the CIP and got the 30 Day message, called 3117 when I got home from work and I was approved, card on the way. I went to the IHG site just to see if I was still targeted for the 100k offer, I wasn't going to apply today but my finger accidentally hit the Apply Now button. So now I have to spend $7K in the next 3 months. I will be buying a new car sometime in the not too distant future so hopefully I can use them for the down payment. I'm happy with these two cards, I think it was the right thing for me at this point in time. I found a post on Reddit that said at 4/24 you should apply for two personal cards on the same day that way you can get to 6/24. I might do that for the CPS and CF in Oct/Nov so I will have Christmas and vacation spend going toward something. Although will I qualify for the 5% if I don't have the CF before the new 1/4 starts?

 

[Alice Sr.]

Is the 20k extra points worth $1,000 in spend?

For me it is as I do not need to MS to get it, it's money I will/would be spending anyway.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

For me it is as I do not need to MS to get it, it's money I will/would be spending anyway.

Same with me. Hitting the 2k spend won't be hard over 3 months, so I would rather take the extra 20k points, since I doubt I will be earning lots of IHG points later on.

 

[Ngwira]

Ok, I have a ton of bonus spend coming up (travel and dining) so CSR and Freedom all the way. Don't spend much on non bonus categories so I'm worried about meeting minimum spend.

 

[calypso726]

Recieved a club Carlson mailer, 50,000 points after first purchase, extra 35,000 points after $2,500 spend. Annual fee waived first year. Good? I'd likely just make the first purchase to get the 50,000 points.

Club Carlson is one of our keeper cards. We have the Premier one which has the $75 AF. I love that we get 40,000 points every anniversary year. It was even better back in the day when the second night was free. We have received a ton a value from this card for International stays by using the points at Radisson Blu.

 

[Lain]

Ok, I have a ton of bonus spend coming up (travel and dining) so CSR and Freedom all the way. Don't spend much on non bonus categories so I'm worried about meeting minimum spend.

Signup bonus > bonus spend.

 

[WDWRook]

Does the IHG card and point system have a requirement to spend on a regular basis or you lose points?

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Does the IHG card and point system have a requirement to spend on a regular basis or you lose points?

You need to earn or redeem points every 12 months to prevent them from expiring. So basically, make one small purchase with the credit card every 12 months and you are fine. Which you should do anyways to make sure the card doesn't get cancelled for inactivity.

 

[lark]

Club Carlson is one of our keeper cards. We have the Premier one which has the $75 AF. I love that we get 40,000 points every anniversary year. It was even better back in the day when the second night was free. We have received a ton a value from this card for International stays by using the points at Radisson Blu.

Do you put spend on the card? What kind? I keep it too because the 40k points are worth the annual fee. But I find the status virtually useless and other than Club Carlson stays there always seems like a better card to use.

 

[calypso726]

Do you put spend on the card? What kind? I keep it too because the 40k points are worth the annual fee. But I find the status virtually useless and other than Club Carlson stays there always seems like a better card to use.

No, I don't. I utilize the same principle with this card and the IHG card that @Jen and Ashwin mentioned above. I buy something once a year with it to keep it active. DH does the same thing with his. Generally, it will be paying for a night at the Country Inn and Suites in Port Canaveral before a Disney cruise which just makes it easier to remember. We are about 3 hours from the port but prefer to drive up the night before.

The status was a great perk a few years ago. If you were gold and staying on points your second night was free. That was awesome!

I will say that the early check in and check out, plus the welcome gift has come in pretty handy for stays in Europe. We've always been upgraded to a nicer room or suite. We have yet to pay money for a Radisson Blu in Europe, our stays have always been on points.

 

[calypso726]

PSA: I don't recall if it was mentioned here or not but the United shopping portal has 20 miles per dollar for Ebags, 20% off, 20% back in Ebag rewards and free shipping over $35 through July 16th. My beloved Mickey Mouse carry on bag that I have had since 2004 is being put down. It was my first spinner bag. I think arthritis set in on its telescoping handle which stopped working. I'm slightly heartbroken. I loved that bag. The rest of the set died a few years ago but my carry on kept on kicking. The above mentioned offer provides a small bit of comfort when I purchased a new carry on. Sigh ... RIP my dear Mickey spinner bag.

 

[laceltris3]

PSA: I don't recall if it was mentioned here or not but the United shopping portal has 20 miles per dollar for Ebags, 20% off, 20% back in Ebag rewards and free shipping over $35 through July 16th. My beloved Mickey Mouse carry on bag that I have had since 2004 is being put down. It was my first spinner bag. I think arthritis set in on its telescoping handle which stopped working. I'm slightly heartbroken. I loved that bag. The rest of the set died a few years ago but my carry on kept on kicking. The above mentioned offer provides a small bit of comfort when I purchased a new carry on. Sigh ... RIP my dear Mickey spinner bag.

I also had an Amex Offer for $15 off $75 at ebags, which made this deal even better!

 

[Lain]

PSA: I don't recall if it was mentioned here or not but the United shopping portal has 20 miles per dollar for Ebags, 20% off, 20% back in Ebag rewards and free shipping over $35 through July 16th. My beloved Mickey Mouse carry on bag that I have had since 2004 is being put down. It was my first spinner bag. I think arthritis set in on its telescoping handle which stopped working. I'm slightly heartbroken. I loved that bag. The rest of the set died a few years ago but my carry on kept on kicking. The above mentioned offer provides a small bit of comfort when I purchased a new carry on. Sigh ... RIP my dear Mickey spinner bag.

I'd add that Amex has an offer for a $15 statement credit when you spend $75 or more at eBags, so check your cards! You can purchase an eBags eGift card from here: https://www.ebags.com/gift-cards, which will trigger the credit. eBags limits you to using one gift card code per order, however you can open up a chat window and a customer service representative can combine multiple gift cards for you on the spot. I had the eBags offer on three of my Amex cards, purchased 3x$75 eBags gift cards, got them within 10 minutes of placing their respective orders, and a customer service rep was able to help me combine the three codes into one $225 card in minutes. I also saw that the $15 credits all posted to my statements in about a day.

I ordered a tote bag that my wife has been eyeing for a while, while I waited for a good sale. Keep in mind the 20% off sale has a lot of brand exclusions, and eBags recently started collecting sales tax for a lot of states. But this is about as good as it gets!

As an alternative to the United shopping portal offering 20 miles/$ (up from the usual 3 or 4 miles/$) at eBags, Ebates is offering 12% cash back, Mr. Rebates is offering 15% cash back, and Shop Through Chase is offering 10 UR points/$ (which may be standard?). (Check cashbackmonitor .com for more.) I admit I agonized over cash back, United miles, or UR points! I'm already sitting on a trove of United miles that I've been adding to with MPX, but with no where to go. I like to think cash is king, but I decided to go with UR points because I'm really trying to build up those points and I figure 10 UR is about as good as 15 cents/$ with the CSR.

One more thing -- some Amex cards include Shoprunner as a benefit, which gives you free 2-day shopping and returns at hundreds of retailers including eBags, so check into that too!

 

[hsmamato2]

Yeah when I look in November or December I see a lot. Starting January...nothing

Yeah-I don't think it's a past JAnuary thing either, I saw some in later months in spring too,but not as much as 2017,so maybe they'll get more, who knows? I know the points prices seem to change for hotels pretty frequently....

 

[hsmamato2]

advice.... based on my previous posts... we are pretty maxed with all things Chase.... what do you think, a FU or Amex everyday for groceries? (that's where most of my money is spent anyway) and if the Amex, the free or 6x card- which has more value overall? I am unfamiliar with using amex points....

 

[platamama]

Do you put spend on the card? What kind? I keep it too because the 40k points are worth the annual fee. But I find the status virtually useless and other than Club Carlson stays there always seems like a better card to use.

I have this card too for the same reason, and only make maybe one purchase a year to keep it active. It really used to be a great deal, like Calypso said, and I figure that I got 14 nights in Europe out of it a couple of years ago (DH had one too, but I canceled his last year). Gold Status gets me free upgrades to nicer rooms (keeping in mind most of their properties are not very fancy so it's all relative) or rooms that came with a free breakfast so I'm satisfied with whatever the status gets me. Nowadays I find it comes in handy at airport hotels for overnight layovers, so I'm keeping it.

 

[platamama]

advice.... based on my previous posts... we are pretty maxed with all things Chase.... what do you think, a FU or Amex everyday for groceries? (that's where most of my money is spent anyway) and if the Amex, the free or 6x card- which has more value overall? I am unfamiliar with using amex points....

I have the AMEX BCP card for 6% cash back at groceries ($6000 spending cap), 3% at dept. stores and gas, 1% everywhere else. Love AMEX offers which help to offset (or even erase) the annual fee. I would have a hard time reaching the 30 transactions/month for the bonus on the AMEX Everyday cards. So my vote is for the BCP.

 

[peel]

For me it is as I do not need to MS to get it, it's money I will/would be spending anyway.

Same here. It's an extra $1000 that I was going to spend anyway.

 

[wendow]

advice.... based on my previous posts... we are pretty maxed with all things Chase.... what do you think, a FU or Amex everyday for groceries? (that's where most of my money is spent anyway) and if the Amex, the free or 6x card- which has more value overall? I am unfamiliar with using amex points....

I spend a lot on groceries and I have the Amex bcp. That one has a $95 af and you earn 6% back on grocery store purchases. It is a cash back only card so you do not earn Amex MR points.