I love credit cards so much!

[Ava]

Are you kidding me? There's a new Blue Cash Preferred offer that waives the $95 annual fee. DH just got this card last week, but I've read that Amex NEVER matches later offers. Grrrrr.
It probably doesn't apply to the increased $250 incognito bonus I found for him, so I suppose it evens out. Some of you might benefit though!

No AF first year? I can find that with $150 statement credit but not $250.

How do you find different offers for AmEx? I currently have a Blue Cash Everyday and have an offer on my account for $150 back after $1000 spend to upgrade my card to the Preferred, but still with the AF. When I signed out & cleared cookies, etc I got an offer for $200 back after $1000 spend, but also still with the AF. Either $150 w/ no AF or $250 w/ AF would be better than either of the offers I am getting.

 

[peel]

How do you find different offers for AmEx? I currently have a Blue Cash Everyday and have an offer on my account for $150 back after $1000 spend to upgrade my card to the Preferred, but still with the AF. When I signed out & cleared cookies, etc I got an offer for $200 back after $1000 spend, but also still with the AF. Either $150 w/ no AF or $250 w/ AF would be better than either of the offers I am getting.

$150 with waived AF is the current public offer. I got $250 with AF when I went incognito and searched, so Amex wasn't seeing any any of my personal details in the browser history or cookies. There's an Incognito Window option in Google Chrome, and there's a Private Window option in Safari. It doesn't work for everyone, and you might get different results at different times or on different days.

 

[Angrose]

Mine went trhough fine with the Freedom and the CFU cards. However, when I went to use Chase Pay with the CSR it was declined. I also had to call and escalate to a supervisor.

This is good to know. Thank you!

 

[peel]

How do you find different offers for AmEx? I currently have a Blue Cash Everyday and have an offer on my account for $150 back after $1000 spend to upgrade my card to the Preferred, but still with the AF. When I signed out & cleared cookies, etc I got an offer for $200 back after $1000 spend, but also still with the AF. Either $150 w/ no AF or $250 w/ AF would be better than either of the offers I am getting.

$150 with waived AF is the current public offer. I got $250 with AF when I went incognito and searched, so Amex wasn't seeing any any of my personal details in the browser history or cookies. There's an Incognito Window option in Google Chrome, and there's a Private Window option in Safari. It doesn't work for everyone, and you might get different results at different times or on different days.

Quoting myself because I just saw on Reddit that $200 with waived AF is available now through incognito searches. So I got a crappy deal a few days ago when I was so proud of my skills.

 

[pinkxray]

I just got approved for CSR. I am 2/24.
I have a freedom unlimited already and the CSR. I don't think I'll go for the ink and can't get the CSP because I had it within the last 2 years.

I just got an email from USAA that they will have a card that offers 2.5 all the time(but you have to have $1000 directly deposited into your Usaa checking each month) Is anyone who banks with USAA going for this? I know it will take up a /24 slot but the bulk of my spending is not usually a category. Childcare is a big cost and I'm thinking 2.5% on daycare sounds pretty good.

 

[lark]

Just used Chase Pay for all 3 cards, CFU, Freedom and CSR on the Walmart dot com deal. I bought Walmart GCs.

I went through the British Airways portal which was offering 4 Avios miles per dollar on Walmart. Then I went back a second time through the BA portal to get to Sam's, also at 4 Avios per dollar to purchase discounted Disney gift cards with the Walmart gift cards. 7500 UR points, 6,000 BA miles and almost 5% off Disney gift cards is a pretty good stacking deal for me. YAY!

If you don't have an immediate use for the Avios, and you have an iberia account to which you can transfer BA avios back and forth, give some thought to moving your british airways avios over to iberia until you need them, and then transfer them back. I've found that BA randomly and frustratingly claws back portal miles earned with no seeming rhyme or reason. It just happened to me again -- 900 miles from a 10x promo for HP. Dealing with them is like banging your head against the wall. So, for me, I'm going to keep a zero balance in BA.com until I need the avios, to avoid any clawbacks.

 

[peel]

If you don't have an immediate use for the Avios, and you have an iberia account to which you can transfer BA avios back and forth, give some thought to moving your british airways avios over to iberia until you need them, and then transfer them back. I've found that BA randomly and frustratingly claws back portal miles earned with no seeming rhyme or reason. It just happened to me again -- 900 miles from a 10x promo for HP. Dealing with them is like banging your head against the wall. So, for me, I'm going to keep a zero balance in BA.com until I need the avios, to avoid any clawbacks.

Excellent suggestion! I'm currently trying to get them to award DH 2000 missing Avios from a Hilton promotion. If I can actually make it happen I'm going to use this trick to make sure they don't disappear. Are transfers instant both ways?

 

[lark]

Excellent suggestion! I'm currently trying to get them to award DH 2000 missing Avios from a Hilton promotion. If I can actually make it happen I'm going to use this trick to make sure they don't disappear. Are transfers instant both ways?

Yes, though the trick is that you need to have an active IB account that has been established for at least 90 days. You also need to "activate" the account by buying miles or transferring or something into it. And, it can be a bit fidgity if there is not a names match. Here's a flyertalk thread: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ibe...a-plus-account-order-transfer-ba-avios-6.html

It's a bit of a hassle, but it's a good idea to set up even apart from shielding BA shopping portal avios. Iberia is actually has some sweet spots for using avios that BA doesn't have, and charges less for carrier charges on certain routes, so it's good to have both anyway. Also, occasionally, you'll see a promo for iberia avios only (or vice versa) and once the accounts are linked that's as good as a promo for BA avios. (For example, there was a way through groupon not too long ago to buy IB avios for about .5 cents a piece, which, if your accounts are linked, can be transferred into BA avios.)

 

[hsmamato2]

so will it work to go through the chase portal for an extra 2x points,in addition to the 10x for the chase pay offer?

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I just got approved for CSR. I am 2/24.
I have a freedom unlimited already and the CSR. I don't think I'll go for the ink and can't get the CSP because I had it within the last 2 years.

I just got an email from USAA that they will have a card that offers 2.5 all the time(but you have to have $1000 directly deposited into your Usaa checking each month) Is anyone who banks with USAA going for this? I know it will take up a /24 slot but the bulk of my spending is not usually a category. Childcare is a big cost and I'm thinking 2.5% on daycare sounds pretty good.

I haven't seen this offer but it sounds pretty great. DH and I direct deposit our paychecks into USAA, so this would be an easy card for us. But I don't want to use a 5/24 slot right now and the CFU gives me 2.25% in combo with my CSR, which I think I value more atm.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

How do you find different offers for AmEx? I currently have a Blue Cash Everyday and have an offer on my account for $150 back after $1000 spend to upgrade my card to the Preferred, but still with the AF. When I signed out & cleared cookies, etc I got an offer for $200 back after $1000 spend, but also still with the AF. Either $150 w/ no AF or $250 w/ AF would be better than either of the offers I am getting.

I mostly use an iPad for surfing, searching, ... well everything. So I use Chrome or Firefox and both have "private tab" or "incognito tab" to allow you to search without cookies etc.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Quoting myself because I just saw on Reddit that $200 with waived AF is available now through incognito searches. So I got a crappy deal a few days ago when I was so proud of my skills.

I can't find that offer searching incognito or otherwise.

 

[lark]

so will it work to go through the chase portal for an extra 2x points,in addition to the 10x for the chase pay offer?

I bought some gift cards yesterday using the chase portal, but they haven't yet shown up as tracked on the UR web site. I'll come back and update if they do.

 

[Rabb it]

Wow, what a huge amount!

 

[hsmamato2]

Just used incognito to snag a BCP for DH at $200 cb and no AF!.... I like it, but cb is always a last choice for me anyway. SHould I go for a 2nd card for the family? or will this hurt our odds of another choice down the road a bit?( we're both maxed with Chase for now anyway) but I am considering what else to try- was thinking barclays for the travel credit.other than that...IDK.(currently almost done with organic spend on IHG)

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Just used incognito to snag a BCP for DH at $200 cb and no AF!.... I like it, but cb is always a last choice for me anyway. SHould I go for a 2nd card for the family? or will this hurt our odds of another choice down the road a bit?( we're both maxed with Chase for now anyway) but I am considering what else to try- was thinking barclays for the travel credit.other than that...IDK.(currently almost done with organic spend on IHG)

What airline do you fly? Maybe airline card like Barclays Aviator AA. I think that's my next one.

Anyone have ideas for paying for a cruise with points? Should I just try to accrue as many UR points as possible?

 

[Narnia_girl]

I just checked and I did in fact received the 2500 UR points (10x) for purchasing $250 in gift cards from Walmart.com using Chase pay. I never received an email notice about the offer, so I can confirm that it seems to work regardless of a targeted email. The 10x included the normal 1.5x points from the Chase Freedom Unlimited, plus an extra 8.5x bonus. So there is now an extra $37.50 sitting in my CSR account, all for just prepaying my Netflix and Hulu subscriptions.

Since eBates and Swagbucks don't offer cash back through their portal for Pottery Barn Kids, I used the Rapid Rewards portal when I recently purchased the crib. I got 406 RR points, plus I have qualified for a bonus 900 RR points. If I spend another $144 through the portal before August 18, then I could qualify for a total bonus of 2000 RR points. Not sure if I have anything to meet that spend before the deadline...

If you prepay Netflix do they still continue to take out the monthly fee through auto-withdrawal?

Last year there was an AmEx deal to sign up at Sams Club so it was free or discounted a lot. I was curious whether a membership there would make sense so I decided to try it. As it turns out, I will be renewing our membership because they carry the contacts my daughter wears at a price that's even better than Costco. If there are things that you buy at a warehouse type store, it might make sense to get a membership.

I joined Sam's Club last year when they were doing a promo for half off the membership for new members. I love that store. Whereas with Walmart I'm usually just ready to get done and get the heck out, going to Sam's is actually a treat. I don't go often, so maybe that's why. I love getting things like toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, body wash, trash bags, and other things that I can buy in bulk and keep in my storage room. I live alone, so the food items don't always work out for me, but the other stuff does. It's been almost a year since I joined, and on that first trip I got paper towels. I STILL have like five or six rolls of Bounty in the storage room.

They also have some decent deals on clothes at times. I got a fantastic pair of Nine West jeans a few weeks ago for $4.88.

And don't get me started on the chocolate-chocolate chip muffins. I think they're like 600 calories each. OMG. They're the devil!

I'm a big fan of Sam's Club also. Last year I signed up for the Plus Membership through a Groupon deal: $45 for PLUS and that included a $5 gift card. Yesterday I used my "PLUS Rewards" earnings which were $50; so my earnings ended up being more than the membership cost. I do spend a lot at Sam's so I don't really consider that "free" but it's nice to get back.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I just got approved for CSR. I am 2/24.
I have a freedom unlimited already and the CSR. I don't think I'll go for the ink and can't get the CSP because I had it within the last 2 years.

I just got an email from USAA that they will have a card that offers 2.5 all the time(but you have to have $1000 directly deposited into your Usaa checking each month) Is anyone who banks with USAA going for this? I know it will take up a /24 slot but the bulk of my spending is not usually a category. Childcare is a big cost and I'm thinking 2.5% on daycare sounds pretty good.

I sincerely regret not going for Ink. Told myself I didn't want to try because I would be a "business" and blew past 5/24 a month ago. Serious regret now. I should have tried anyway. People get approved for those left & right (but have to be patient after submitting an app).

 

[brownhaired_girl]

I have gotten the Chase Ink Business credit card. Will those UR transfer to the same account as my CSR account?

 

[Ava]

Any tips for filling out the CIP app with "online sales" as my "business?" Do I need to make up a legal name for the business, or should I just use my own name? I'm also not sure which category of business to choose - I assume the "Retail" category that includes non-store sales? I don't want to have them reject me because I didn't fill out the application correctly. I'm also not sure what to put for number of years in business; I've had my eBay account since 1999 - do I use that? Or is it suspicious that I've had the "business" for that long but will list a very low number for annual sales. (I was going to put $1000.)

I want those 80K UR points but the business card application makes me nervous, lol.