I love credit cards so much!

[Ngwira]

I loooove the NYC St. Regis! Well I pretty much love any St. Regis. I'm worried Marriott is going to muck them up.

You'll have a great time.

Thank you. I'm sooo excited!!!!!

 

[Alexle2007]

I read that all CSR's are being expedited. Did you sign up for ups my choice? You should do so and they will notify you of any packages headed to your address. I reckon it will come today or tomorrow since you got the welcome email. I received the welcome email on Monday and card arrived yesterday ( Tuesday).

Awesome! UPS shows that it out for delivery!!!! Hopefully I don't need to sign for it since we will be out of the house this afternoon.

 

[Ngwira]

Awesome! UPS shows that it out for delivery!!!! Hopefully I don't need to sign for it since we will be out of the house this afternoon.

You need to select the option in your ups mychoice account that tells the UPS guy to "leave at front door".

 

[amalone1013]

Thanks @calypso726 for your bountiful knowledge!

I'm going to apply when I get home tonight.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

You will likely get approved then if your debt to income ratio is within range assuming you apply before the pay offs are reported. Please allow me to caution you and anyone else following along on the top 3 rules in this game which I am only mentioning because of the details in your post. This is also for anyone considering playing this game and wanting to do it successfully.

1) One must have a good credit score. High 600's may get approvals but the mid 700's will be required for most cards.
2) Do not carry balances ever. Any interest paid has negated the value of the points/miles you may earn.
3) Do not spend more than you were going to if you did not have the card.

I have had numerous friends want to play the game and then wind up with cc debt and paying crazy interest rate fees despite my warnings. I've had friends exclaim over the high interest rate of the card they were going to apply for. To which I respond, don't apply. If you are even looking at the interest rate of the card you aren't ready to play this game. The interest rate could be 100% and it wouldn't phase me. I won't be paying it. All balances are paid in full every month. I don't know what your situation is and I am not asking or judging. I am only relaying what every travel hacker will tell you and what you will find in the beginner section of every blog about playing this game. So, now that the cautionary disclaimers are out of the way. Congratulations on getting rid of your cc debt and Happy travel hacking!

1- My Score is the high 700's my husband is mid 700's.
2- That was the plan when we got the SPG Amex. And we rocked it for many many many years. I still manage to pay off my biz acct monthly. So yes, we are treading lightly, LOL
3- We eat out A LOT! That isn't going to change, LOL. So we have ample chances to spend w/o going outside our norm!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

So I might pull the trigger on this CSR app sooner then later, LOL.

Question - If I already have travel planned to NJ for Thanksgiving, and have a room booked for 4 nights with SPG points, I could change that out, use the CSR, and get $300 credit towards that stay? Thereby saving my SPG points, correct?

I'm also getting ready to book 2 trips for school, one being Vegas, the other being Texas. If I decided to not use the travel bonus on the CSR for the SPG hotel, either airfare would trigger that credit, correct? I don't have to hit the $4000 first?

 

[ZellyB]

You need to select the option in your ups mychoice account that tells the UPS guy to "leave at front door".

They left mine at the front door even though I didn't set that up in my ups mychoice account, but couldn't hurt to do it to be sure.

 

[Eighty8Keys]

They left mine at the front door even though I didn't set that up in my ups mychoice account, but couldn't hurt to do it to be sure.

That's what happened with mine too. I didn't ask to have it expedited so I was surprised to see that it shipped the day after I was approved. Was worried I'd be at work when delivery was attempted and I'd miss it. UPS delivered at 5:30pm, stuck it between the screen and front doors and didn't ring the doorbell. I only knew to check because I received a text that it was delivered.

 

[calypso726]

So I might pull the trigger on this CSR app sooner then later, LOL.

Question - If I already have travel planned to NJ for Thanksgiving, and have a room booked for 4 nights with SPG points, I could change that out, use the CSR, and get $300 credit towards that stay? Thereby saving my SPG points, correct?

I'm also getting ready to book 2 trips for school, one being Vegas, the other being Texas. If I decided to not use the travel bonus on the CSR for the SPG hotel, either airfare would trigger that credit, correct? I don't have to hit the $4000 first?

That is correct. I have not hit anywhere near the $4,000 yet and my $300 and DH's $300 payments to Adventures by Disney on our CSR cards were already credited. They were one of our very first few transactions with the cards.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

okay another question oh gurus...

I have the SPG biz, my husband and I have the SPG amex too. We've had these cards forever!

If I'm reading into this correct, you can cancel a card, and then sign up and get the "new card" offers again on many cards. Is this true of the amex SPG?

If I'm an AU on the joint regular SPG card, could I get one in my name and get the new card benefits?

And how do I know who is the primary on the account?

If I cancel our SPG amex when we pay it off, do I have to wait to get the new one?

Yes, I know there are several completely different things going on here. Just trying to figure out if we can score a nice chunk of new SPG points anyway

 

[Albort]

okay another question oh gurus...

I have the SPG biz, my husband and I have the SPG amex too. We've had these cards forever!

If I'm reading into this correct, you can cancel a card, and then sign up and get the "new card" offers again on many cards. Is this true of the amex SPG?

If I'm an AU on the joint regular SPG card, could I get one in my name and get the new card benefits?

And how do I know who is the primary on the account?

If I cancel our SPG amex when we pay it off, do I have to wait to get the new one?

Yes, I know there are several completely different things going on here. Just trying to figure out if we can score a nice chunk of new SPG points anyway

spg is currently an unpredictable one. There is a rumor that chase will have a spg card out next year in feb due to the recent merge of spg bought out by marriott. Id probably hold on to it for now.
also now that i think about it now, i recall amex is 1 life time bonus...

 

[calypso726]

okay another question oh gurus...

I have the SPG biz, my husband and I have the SPG amex too. We've had these cards forever!

If I'm reading into this correct, you can cancel a card, and then sign up and get the "new card" offers again on many cards. Is this true of the amex SPG?

If I'm an AU on the joint regular SPG card, could I get one in my name and get the new card benefits?

And how do I know who is the primary on the account?

If I cancel our SPG amex when we pay it off, do I have to wait to get the new one?

Yes, I know there are several completely different things going on here. Just trying to figure out if we can score a nice chunk of new SPG points anyway

No you cannot get the bonus again. Amex's rules for credit card bonuses are once per lifetime. This is why I wait for extremely generous offers from Amex because I know I won't get them again.

 

[CaterFamily]

No you cannot get the bonus again. Amex's rules for credit card bonuses are once per lifetime. This is why I wait for extremely generous offers from Amex because I know I won't get them again.

If I accept a targeted upgrade w/bonus - and I didn't make spend, would I be out of luck for future deals?

 

[amalone1013]

I was able to get my full csr account number and expiration date by following the instructions on flyer talk. I don't have my card yet but wanted to book a hotel to use the travel credit. I ended up using my Amex because the website also wanted a cvv number which I don't have since its engraved on the card. Once I get the card I will call the hotel and have them refund my Amex and use my csr to book the ressie.
I couldn't wait because a rate I saw on Friday is now gone(for mid November).I ended up changing my dates to winter break which actually works better. After the travel credit I will end up paying $29 for the Hotel Hershey during winter break, which is super slick....

Could you point me in the direction of these instructions?

 

[Ngwira]

Could you point me in the direction of these instructions?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chas...erve-100-000-points-4-000-spend-3-months.html

How to determine your account number, expiration date, and shipping date before receiving the card:
1. Send a secure message (SM) from the account. A common SM would be to ask about the sign-up bonus and last day to complete the spend requirement (which appears to be approximately 3.5 months from the date of approval).
2. Check the Sent Messages folder, and the full account number will be listed in the header of the message that you just sent. The number starts with 414720....
3. The expiration date is three years from the month of approval. So, if you were approved on August 31, 2016, your expiration date will be August 2019.
4. CVV2 number is not available, so if a merchant requires it for payment, you must wait for the physical card.
5. According to many reports, the card is not activated until it is shipped, which happens to be UPS Next Day Air Saver (if shipped on Friday, you will not receive the card until Monday or the next business day). To find out when it is shipped, go to My UPS and sign up for a free account. You'll be notified when a shipment is destined to your address.

 

[GPC0321]

Well, I got my Freedom Unlimited today. Not as exciting as the CSR, but I'm happy to have it.
I have a question though. Because the FU was the 4th card I've applied for and gotten in less than a month, and my original card (Freedom that I've had forever) already had a fairly high credit limit, the limits on each subsequent card have been lower and lower. That's fine, none of them need to be that high, but the ironic thing is that the FU is likely to be the card I actually use the most, and it has the lowest credit limit of any of my five cards.
Can I SM Chase and ask if they'll shift some of my Freedom's limit to my FU's? The Freedom's limit is over 5 times that of the FU's.
Thoughts?

 

[AmyAnne]

No you cannot get the bonus again. Amex's rules for credit card bonuses are once per lifetime. This is why I wait for extremely generous offers from Amex because I know I won't get them again.

Do all CC companies offer variable bonuses? I'm especially wondering about Chase and the United card -- I haven't seen anything better than 50,000 miles, but I have not been paying attention to these things for very long. Is there a website that keeps track of bonuses?

 

[calypso726]

If I accept a targeted upgrade w/bonus - and I didn't make spend, would I be out of luck for future deals?

I honestly don't know the answer to that. I imagine it would depend on the credit card issuer.

Well, I got my Freedom Unlimited today. Not as exciting as the CSR, but I'm happy to have it.
I have a question though. Because the FU was the 4th card I've applied for and gotten in less than a month, and my original card (Freedom that I've had forever) already had a fairly high credit limit, the limits on each subsequent card have been lower and lower. That's fine, none of them need to be that high, but the ironic thing is that the FU is likely to be the card I actually use the most, and it has the lowest credit limit of any of my five cards.
Can I SM Chase and ask if they'll shift some of my Freedom's limit to my FU's? The Freedom's limit is over 5 times that of the FU's.
Thoughts?

I don't see why they wouldn't be able to via SM. I've lowered credit lines that way hoping for an auto approval with Chase. You can definitely do it over the phone with an analyst but I think the SM route should work fine.

Do all CC companies offer variable bonuses? I'm especially wondering about Chase and the United card -- I haven't seen anything better than 50,000 miles, but I have not been paying attention to these things for very long. Is there a website that keeps track of bonuses?

Yes. When I got the United card it was for 50k and an additional 5k for adding an AU. There was a 65k United one back in 2013. Not exactly a website but Flyer Talk keeps a list. All of the bloggers I follow also keep everyone updated on new bonuses that come out.

 

[GPC0321]

I don't see why they wouldn't be able to via SM. I've lowered credit lines that way hoping for an auto approval with Chase. You can definitely do it over the phone with an analyst but I think the SM route should work fine.

Yep, they did for me. Easy-peasy. I've always gotten good results with SM from them. I hope they never prove me wrong, but I really love Chase.

 

[amalone1013]

Just got instant approval for the CSR! Thanks everyone!

And thanks @Ngwira for finding the card no info!