I love credit cards so much!

[afan]

Just got approved for the alaska card, though I still don't like bofa. They want your profession and don't have the obvious admin assistant as an option, not even office worker and no other. So I picked asst manager/manager which isn't close but is better than fitness or florist which I think was an option. So weird. Gave me a 10k limit which should help with my other limits when I apply for CSR in Dec/Jan since I know that's one of the things they look at. Plus it'll help the credit score to have more available, though it's already over 750.

 

[GPC0321]

I'm an idiot.

In July, I decided I wasn't going to use my CSP enough to justify the annual fee, so I closed it. I could have waited. The fee wouldn't have kicked in until December, but noooooo. I went ahead and had them close it.

With the acquisition of my new Hyatt card, and changing around my Southwest flights for the December trip, resulting in 15,600 points being refunded to my Rapid Rewards account...I'm kind of getting the swing of this travel points thing (after always thinking of myself as a strict cash back kinda girl).

Suddenly the value of Chase's UR points and especially the CSP to transfer those points to travel partners has dawned on me, and I understand what all the fuss is about.

So I SMed Chase, hoping they might be kind enough to re-open the recently closed CSP account.

No such luck. *sigh* They said I could reapply for one. Which I can't, because I have opened way more than 5 cards in just the past year.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

But the silver lining is that I've vowed to open no more credit cards until July 2019, when I'll be back to 0/24. And hopefully there will be some sweet sign-up bonuses going for CSP (or whatever miraculous card Chase may have come up with by then), and I'll probably pick up a new Southwest card too (closed that one several months ago).

In the meantime, I'll meet the Hyatt card's min spend and keep it active, and use the Freedom Unlimited and Freedom for everything else to start banking as many UR points as I can so that when I DO get the CSP (again), I'll have points to play with.

Live and learn. Live. And. Learn.

 

[ski_mom]

Yes it sounds like you are 3/24. You can check your free credit report to be sure (and get the exact date of Lowes card). In 2018, your Costco card will drop off, then in 2019 the Carlson card will drop off.
I would probably start with Hyatt, it's at 40k point bonus right now. I think it's been 45k but not more. OTOH Marriott was 100k points in the recent past and its 80k now, so I'd hold out for higher if possible

I've been doing this for awhile, but I"m really not sure where everyone checks for their free credit report. So far, (knock on wood), we've had good results on applications and I think I've kept good track of everything, but I'd really like to see the official report.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I've been doing this for awhile, but I"m really not sure where everyone checks for their free credit report. So far, (knock on wood), we've had good results on applications and I think I've kept good track of everything, but I'd really like to see the official report.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

You get one free from each of the 3 credit bureaus. So you can do a different one every 4 months

 

[Lain]

Suddenly the value of Chase's UR points and especially the CSP to transfer those points to travel partners has dawned on me, and I understand what all the fuss is about.

So I SMed Chase, hoping they might be kind enough to re-open the recently closed CSP account.

No such luck. *sigh* They said I could reapply for one. Which I can't, because I have opened way more than 5 cards in just the past year.

...

[H]opefully there will be some sweet sign-up bonuses going for CSP (or whatever miraculous card Chase may have come up with by then), and I'll probably pick up a new Southwest card too (closed that one several months ago).

In the meantime, I'll ... use the Freedom Unlimited and Freedom for everything else to start banking as many UR points as I can so that when I DO get the CSP (again), I'll have points to play with.

Live and learn. Live. And. Learn.

You can ask Chase to product change one of your Freedom cards to a CSP or CSR. You'll have to pay the annual fee, of course, and you won't get a signup bonus from a product change; but it sounds like you want this card for the redemption value anyway.

And since you won't be getting a signup bonus from product changing to a Sapphire card, the product change shouldn't affect the clock on Chase's new rule about only one Sapphire card signup bonus every 24 months. When you're ready to apply for a new CSP or CSR for the signup bonus (24 months after you received your last CSP bonus and under 5/24), you can downgrade your product-changed Sapphire card back to a Freedom card before then (because Chase's other new rule limiting you to only one Sapphire card at a time will auto deny you if you already have an active CSP or CSR).

 

[Judique]

I've been doing this for awhile, but I"m really not sure where everyone checks for their free credit report. So far, (knock on wood), we've had good results on applications and I think I've kept good track of everything, but I'd really like to see the official report.

My AMEX SPG has a line you click for free Fico score. So do several of my other cards. I've not really worried about the credit report since the Fico's are all good, but maybe I should print one out also. I did it several years ago and found my name linked to a couple of things that were definitely not mine but that didn't seem to be causing any real damage.

 

[Alexle2007]

With the 60k SW bonuses being available and DH's CP expiring at the end of the year, it's now my turn to apply for SW CCs. I am trying to understand the timing based on Reddit advice. I'll want a statement date of the beginning of the month so that way, my points will post as close to 1/1 in order to the CP for the max period? So I would request a payment date of the 26th of the month, make my final MS in early Dec and then bam in Jan, I would have CP? https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/6h8dub/chase_sw_companion_pass_megathread/

 

[brownhaired_girl]

I could've sworn I saw someone on reddit post a page from the Southwest magazine with the offer expiring 10/4, but other people have posted screenshots of an email from SW with the expiration date as 10/1. To be safe, I'd apply on 10/1/17.

Here are some helpful links to conversations about expiration dates and timing to maximize the offers for CP in 2018-19:
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/6h8dub/chase_sw_companion_pass_megathread/
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/6xdtqc/daily_discussion_thread_september_01_2017/dmf9nz1/
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/6xdl1y/daily_question_thread_september_01_2017/dmfaw1a/
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/6xl968/daily_discussion_thread_september_02_2017/dmh32sj/

Lain posted this on another thread here in the budget board

 

[Alexle2007]

Ok, applied for SW Premier and Plus. Applied for Plus first and went through with no problem. Applied for Premier and received the 30 day message. I was at 3/24 before these apps. Do I wait it out or call recon about the Premier?

 

[Lain]

Ok, applied for SW Premier and Plus. Applied for Plus first and went through with no problem. Applied for Premier and received the 30 day message. I was at 3/24 before these apps. Do I wait it out or call recon about the Premier?

Ok, applied for SW Premier and Plus. Applied for Plus first and went through with no problem. Applied for Premier and received the 30 day message. I was at 3/24 before these apps. Do I wait it out or call recon about the Premier?

If you wanted the SW CP for 2018-19, why did you apply right now? You have to make the minimum spend in 3 months of your approval date, although some reports say that's more like 115 days from the date of approval. If you add 115 days from today, that's 12/28/17! So there's no way you can make the last of your spend in next year, 2018. I believe my advice was to wait for 10/1/17, aka the last possible day before the offer expires so it gives you the longest time out to meet your spend and hopefully that puts you in 2018.

Also -- double dipping is something you would typically do at 4/24 to get hopefully 2 approvals out of that last slot before Chase is any wiser. By applying for 2 cards at 3/24, it doesn't matter that you applied on the same day, they'll eventually both count towards your -/24.

 

[hsmamato2]

2.5 hour delay at mco so I realized I should use my priority pass card (first time). Club MCO is packed but has nice food and drink options. Loving my CSR (for now

nice to know!

 

[pinkxray]

Can someone remind me what the two week message is from Chase when applying?
I thought 30 was maybe? 7-10 was denied but don't recall two weeks?

 

[hsmamato2]

Can someone smarter than I am help me out here? I'm trying to calculate something on the UR portal,But not for me,so I'm geusstimating. Example- I see a room I want- 8 nights- total cost is 100,631 UR points. How much does that translate to in cash amount? for some reason I'm lost again. (CSP redemption) The person I'm checking for has some points, but will need to pay oop for some of this,so I'm trying to get a handle on what they'll pay extra. thanks for any help!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Can someone smarter than I am help me out here? I'm trying to calculate something on the UR portal,But not for me,so I'm geusstimating. Example- I see a room I want- 8 nights- total cost is 100,631 UR points. How much does that translate to in cash amount? for some reason I'm lost again. (CSP redemption) The person I'm checking for has some points, but will need to pay oop for some of this,so I'm trying to get a handle on what they'll pay extra. thanks for any help!

For the CSP redemption, take the total in points and multiply by 1.25 and then divide by 100. This will give you the cash equivalent.

100,631 x 1.25 = 125,788.75
125,788.75 / 100 = $1257.89

For CSR, you just multiply by 1.5 instead of 1.25.

 

[amalone1013]

PSA: for those in the Denver area who have to suffer the lack of Priority Pass lounges out of DEN, I saw a post on Reddit that PP now offers access to Timberline Steaks & Grill in Concourse C at DEN (apparently the Southwest terminal?).

https://www.prioritypass.com/en/loungesearch?entity=a4cde901-3640-4994-9634-1bd87954011c
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/6xskh5/daily_discussion_thread_september_03_2017/dmi8i5e/

This is interesting, since we typically fly SW and that's our home airport.

 

[fofinia]

Does anyone use the Upromise cashback shopping portal? I have avoided it because we don't have any 529 accounts, but lately it seems to be consistently offering the highest cash back for the places I've been shopping online. I read the FAQ on the Upromise site and it doesn't say anything about a requirement that the cashback be used for education expenses but maybe I missed that part. Anyone with experience?

I'm not sure on the current Upromise ability to cash out. But a few years back when Savingstar and Upromise separated. I cashed out my Upromise account and just requested a check. I'm not sure how often you can do that or anything. But in the past I did. HTH

 

[platamama]

Does anyone use the Upromise cashback shopping portal? I have avoided it because we don't have any 529 accounts, but lately it seems to be consistently offering the highest cash back for the places I've been shopping online. I read the FAQ on the Upromise site and it doesn't say anything about a requirement that the cashback be used for education expenses but maybe I missed that part. Anyone with experience?

The Upromise website has a link on the lefthand side for opening up a savings account thru them offered by Sallie Mae Bank. You could do that instead of a 529. Then it doesn't have to be used for education expenses at all.

I've used the Upromise portal for many years, and although I've since branched out to other portals, if it fits my needs the best I will shop through its portal especially since I have the Upromise MC (which I thought I'd read was going to be discontinued, but looks like it's still on their website) that gives me an extra 5%CB.

 

[hsmamato2]

For the CSP redemption, take the total in points and multiply by 1.25 and then divide by 100. This will give you the cash equivalent.

100,631 x 1.25 = 125,788.75
125,788.75 / 100 = $1257.89

For CSR, you just multiply by 1.5 instead of 1.25.

Thank you so much! (so to explain it to her, this means she's getting another .25 savings over average cost of room,right?) Or am I looking at this wrong? wouldn't it be .25 more? I was thinking 100,631 = $1006.31.....

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

I am trying to understand the timing based on Reddit advice. I'll want a statement date of the beginning of the month so that way, my points will post as close to 1/1 in order to the CP for the max period?

While that's perfectly logical, that's really only important if you have a planned flight in the first or second week of January. If not, it's more important not to cut things too close and just try to ensure you have the CP in time for your first flight of next year. I'll be applying for two SW cards this Fall as well, but will be keeping on eye on the 60K promo with hopes of getting as far past 10/1/17 as possible before applying. If the promo looks like it's going to end in early October, then I'll just have to apply around October 1 and SM Chase to determine my exact date to complete the spend, ensuring it hits before my January closing date.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Thank you so much! (so to explain it to her, this means she's getting another .25 savings over average cost of room,right?) Or am I looking at this wrong? wouldn't it be .25 more? I was thinking 100,631 = $1006.31.....

When you redeem with CSP, your points are worth 25% more. If you redeemed points through the Chase Travel portal without using the CSP (for example, using the Chase Freedom Unlimited), then that same room should cost you 125,789 points, which is the cash equivalent of $1257.89. But with the CSP, you are only using 100,631 points, which is the cash equivalent of $1006.31. This is basically a savings of $251.58 because of the CSP.

As far as comparing it to the room rate, I would say you need to find that same room direct through the hotel and compare to understand if this is really a good deal or not. For example, if the room costs the same or more than the $1257.89 if you paid in cash, then I would say it is a probably good deal to pay in UR points.