I love credit cards so much!

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thank you, I also spend closer to 6k so the AF card would definitely be better for me. Any thoughts on the new Uber card? No fee and 4% on groceries. I don't think I want to use one of my spots for this but was thinking of having DH apply. Just mulling over ideas.

If you are spending $6k on groceries organically each year I'd first off consider getting both cards and earning roughly $540 on your next $2,000 in grocery purchases. Secondly, I'd consider continuing to chase signup bonuses with new cards. With large organic spend you could earn enormous amounts of points (or cashback).

AMEX also has an everyday and everyday preferred card which earn MRs and have grocery category bonuses. Both cards have large signup bonuses available. This could be cashed out via the AMEX Schwab Plat method or redeemed for other things (gift cards or travel).

Wells Fargo has a card that if I remember correctly earns 5% back on groceries for the first 6 months and has a nice signup bonus ($150 maybe?)

 

[vanjust14]

Amex Blue Cash is a no annual fee card that offers 3% back on groceries (you can redeem as cash back in increments of $25). That 3% is on up to $6,000 in annual grocery purchases. The public signup bonus is $150 back for spending $1,000 in 90 days HOWEVER you can get a better offer of $200 back for spending $1,000 through a referral link.

Amex also has a Blue Cash Preferred card that offers 6% back on groceries but it has a $95 annual fee. Depending on your spending, it could make sense to pay the fee but if at times you would divert your grocery spend to meeting a min. spend on another card you could fall short of the break-even threshold (which I calculate to be $3,167). This card has a public signup bonus of $250 back for spending $1,000 in 90 days and also has a higher referral offer available of $250 for spending $1,000.

You can downgrade the preferred card to the Blue Cash Everyday card to avoid paying the fee on the second go-around OR you could do what I did and get both and earn both signup bonuses. I've kept the Everyday card open but closed the Preferred.

Thanks! I didn't see your reply before I responded. Thanks for the info on the higher referral offer, I'll def go that route. Two votes for Amex Blue Cash so putting it at the top of my list

 

[wendow]

Thank you, I also spend closer to 6k so the AF card would definitely be better for me. Any thoughts on the new Uber card? No fee and 4% on groceries. I don't think I want to use one of my spots for this but was thinking of having DH apply. Just mulling over ideas.

I haven't looked at this card real seriously yet. I am at 6/24 and waiting to open anymore personal cards until I get more of the Chase ones I want. Since I can max out the 6k spend on the Blue Cash Preferred, I think earning 6% makes the most sense for me. However, I have considered opening the Amex Blue cash that earns 3% to use once I hit the 6%. The Uber might be the better card though for that.

 

[vanjust14]

If you are spending $6k on groceries organically each year I'd first off consider getting both cards and earning roughly $540 on your next $2,000 in grocery purchases. Secondly, I'd consider continuing to chase signup bonuses with new cards. With large organic spend you could earn enormous amounts of points (or cashback).

AMEX also has an everyday and everyday preferred card which earn MRs and have grocery category bonuses. Both cards have large signup bonuses available. This could be cashed out via the AMEX Schwab Plat method or redeemed for other things (gift cards or travel).

Wells Fargo has a card that if I remember correctly earns 5% back on groceries for the first 6 months and has a nice signup bonus ($150 maybe?)

Great info. I haven't read up on your Schwab Plat post yet but intend to. Do you recommend I max out my chase bonus signups first before moving to AMEX?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thanks! I didn't see your reply before I responded. Thanks for the info on the higher referral offer, I'll def go that route. Two votes for Amex Blue Cash so putting it at the top of my list

You're welcome - did you see my other remark as well about considering multiple sign-ups based on that level of ongoing organic spend. I think you could realistically earn in excess of $1,000 annually on your grocery purchases by moving from card to card.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Great info. I haven't read up on your Schwab Plat post yet but intend to. Do you recommend I max out my chase bonus signups first before moving to AMEX?

If you're still under 5/24...I probably would hold off on anything AMEX. Category bonuses are nice, but you can't beat a signup bonus that can give you a 10%-40% return on your purchases when meeting the min. spend. What is your 5/24 status?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Has anyone done the HSBC checking account for the $350 bonus? If so, how long did you need to keep the account open to avoid fees? Considering doing it for both dh & I. Here is the link for anyone interested:

https://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/home/pe...AC-15&cid=WES0026878&WT.mc_id=HBUS_WES0026878

My wife and I both did this bonus. It was 6 months to avoid the early closure fee. Unlike many of the folks I see on DoC and other places, We had no issues opening the account or getting the bonus (We did have a 1099 issue, and while very annoying it isn't worth getting into and likely wouldn't affect you).

 

[vanjust14]

If you're still under 5/24...I probably would hold off on anything AMEX. Category bonuses are nice, but you can't beat a signup bonus that can give you a 10%-40% return on your purchases when meeting the min. spend. What is your 5/24 status?

only 2/24!

 

[wendow]

Do you recommend I max out my chase bonus signups first before moving to AMEX?

I actually used one of my 5/24 spots for the Amex card but I was barely getting into this 'hobby' at the time. I got a $250 signup bonus for the Amex blue cash preferred plus I earned all $360 cash back (the most you can earn from the 6%) in the first year plus there were some nice Amex offers that year that saved me a couple hundred so in my case, it was worth using a 5/24 spot. Grocery is our biggest spend after our mortgage so earning 6% back on that is awesome.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

only 2/24!

Young Puppy, lol! I would forget about grocery category bonuses and get yourself a bunch more Chase cards!

 

[mpadilla89]

I currently have the Disney Premier card for which there is a fee of $49 i think I have had it for 3 months and already accumulated $80 Disney reward dollars plus earned the $200 GC. I will also be booking three reservations for next year (one for me and one for my mom and aunt) that should earn me about $150 reward dollars not counting whatever else i use it on the rest of the year. I also have the regular card but do not use since i get better rewards with the premier. When and should i cancel the premier because of the fee? What can earn us better rewards?

We usually travel Alaska, American, Jet blue. I do not like sw at all. I have the Alaska airlines Signature with also has a annual fee but i have 40k points and a free companion ticket which will use when we got to mexico in spring.

Is the chase freedom a better card than both of these? how can i avoid a fee but gain rewards for airlines i use or cash back.

Also hotels we stay at are usually Sheraton, Hilton and Marriot

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Young Puppy, lol! I would forget about grocery category bonuses and get yourself a bunch more Chase cards!

Also just a general reminder for folks here, even if you don't have a use for the points, sometimes it's worth looking into other redemption options.

A Good example is Southwest: If somebody was to take advantage of the 60,000 point offer on the PLUS card but had no intent on flying Southwest, you would still earn 62,000 RR points which could be redeemed for $600 in Target or Walmart gift cards with 2,000 points left over, you'd get 3,000 points on your anniversary bringing you up to 5,000 and you could get another $50 Target or Walmart gift card so total earnings $650 on $2,000 spend. Subtract the $69 annual fee and you still netted at 29% return on those $2,000 in purchases. Of course that could've been worth $1,048 in flights, but if you have no use for them, 29% is still darn good! This same example could probably work with United, Marriott, etc., I'm just not as intimately aware of their redemption options.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I currently have the Disney Premier card for which there is a fee of $49 i think I have had it for 3 months and already accumulated $80 Disney reward dollars plus earned the $200 GC. I will also be booking three reservations for next year (one for me and one for my mom and aunt) that should earn me about $150 reward dollars not counting whatever else i use it on the rest of the year. I also have the regular card but do not use since i get better rewards with the premier. When and should i cancel the premier because of the fee? What can earn us better rewards?

We usually travel Alaska, American, Jet blue. I do not like sw at all. I have the Alaska airlines Signature with also has a annual fee but i have 40k points and a free companion ticket which will use when we got to mexico in spring.

Is the chase freedom a better card than both of these? how can i avoid a fee but gain rewards for airlines i use or cash back.

Also hotels we stay at are usually Sheraton, Hilton and Marriot

So the general theme you'll see here is people are chasing signup bonuses to earn well beyond the 1-3% you commonly get. Those 3 reservations you're booking sound like they total about $7,500 ($150 rewards @ 2%). Well, instead of putting those trips on the Disney card, you could get a Chase Sapphire Preferred and a Southwest Card and earn URs worth $675 in travel (or $540 in cash) and $1,000 worth of flights on Southwest (I know you said you don't like them but it's an easy example). Oh...and the combined min. spends there are only $6,000 so you'd still be able to open a 3rd card for the last $1,500 and maybe earn another $300+ dollars in cash or rewards.

EDIT: You could also see my post just above this where I discuss how Southwest points can be turned into useful gift cards at a decent rate too!

If you're looking to just open one card and put everything on it, that's a very personal question that requires an understanding of all your spending across all categories. It would be easy to say Freedom Unlimited or Citi Double Cash would be best, but honestly it's more like that a combination of 2-3 cards could get you the best return (again if you're not looking to jump into the game that we are playing). Good Luck! I'm sure some others will share some advice here too.

 

[Happy_2_B]

Curious, what are the Universal perks? We are currently annual pass holders and are heading back in Dec to see the Wizarding World lit up for the holiday.

https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/corporate-partners/overview/index.html

This is a few of them. There are also package savings, etc. AmEx is the official card of UO so there is quite a bit of co-branding. I think you will find the Xmas stuff at HP areas to be underwhelming- but YMMV.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Sharing a quick tip that most veterans take for granted but a newbie may not realize:

When in 2 player mode (typically spouses hitting the CC game together) you can refer each other.
- Referrals for many Chase cards can be generated here: https://www.chase.com/referafriend/catch-all
- AMEX referrals can be generated here: https://www262.americanexpress.com/business-card-application/raf/200002-MIXED

This can be an awesome way to up your return on a sign-up. Once you have the card and have hit the min. spend, consider referring your significant other. For Example on the Disney Card - instead of a $200 gift for $500 spend you now get $200 + $50 referral = 50% return. Just make sure you don't signup for a lower referral bonus than the public offer. This same theory can work on many cards of the most highly recommended cards.

Also those are the links you want to use to share on Reddit: DISchurners. Thanks!

 

[Albort]

My twitter account is private but I have connected with Marriott and received the following bonus points. I never received a confirmation for yesterdays 1000 bonus, anyone know if a private account still received the bonus?

i believe one of the requirements is that your account needs to be public. If your points dont show up, chances are, that was the problem.

What's do ya'll think..... between spouse and I we have 3 regular freedoms...the Chase site is really promoting the FU tho....should we have one of these in our wallet...if so,why? And I have the CSP and CSR,DH has the CSR. I was considering pc'ing Dh's to the FU (can that be done? since it falls at the right time for me to use one more TC benefit before doing so..... and the one sapphire rule....I was planning to keep my CSR (at least one more year) and PC my CSP to (maybe?) the FU..... but now I'm concerned that if I do this, neither one of us will qualify for a CSP in the future,which we may want again instead of the CSR...is this a valid concern? From what I understand of the rule, if DH got the CSR bonus last December 2016, this means he won't qualify got another csp until at least Jan 2019, do I have that right? I need to keep at least one travel points qualifying card in the mix so we can use all those lovely points....

I use the CFU whenever a place doesnt accept Amex and nothing else fits in that category.

 

[mpadilla89]

So the general theme you'll see here is people are chasing signup bonuses to earn well beyond the 1-3% you commonly get. Those 3 reservations you're booking sound like they total about $7,500 ($150 rewards @ 2%). Well, instead of putting those trips on the Disney card, you could get a Chase Sapphire Preferred and a Southwest Card and earn URs worth $675 in travel (or $540 in cash) and $1,000 worth of flights on Southwest (I know you said you don't like them but it's an easy example). Oh...and the combined min. spends there are only $6,000 so you'd still be able to open a 3rd card for the last $1,500 and maybe earn another $300+ dollars in cash or rewards.

EDIT: You could also see my post just above this where I discuss how Southwest points can be turned into useful gift cards at a decent rate too!

If you're looking to just open one card and put everything on it, that's a very personal question that requires an understanding of all your spending across all categories. It would be easy to say Freedom Unlimited or Citi Double Cash would be best, but honestly it's more like that a combination of 2-3 cards could get you the best return (again if you're not looking to jump into the game that we are playing). Good Luck! I'm sure some others will share some advice here too.

Doesn't the Chase sapphire also have a fee? which i guess could also pay for itself with the earned rewards. Can UR rewards be used for hotels and or other airlines? Is there a thread on here about UR.

Referring to your previous post what are RR and how can i transfer them to gift cards? I definitely prefer cash back or rewards i will use instead of GC.

I have only opened the Chase premier and Alaska in the last 6 moths. Had not opened anything before that in a few years. I would love to maximize our earnings but would prefer ways of earning cash back or transferable to one of the hotel or airline categories or GC like Disney or hotels.

We spend easily $400 on groceries monthly
$150 on gas
$300 eating restaurants

We travel at least once a year
$500 on airfare (if flying domestically)($1500-$3k internationally)
$ 500 -$1,000 on hotels ( Sheraton, Marriott, Hilton)

We have a trip in the spring coming up that i should have booked but have been to busy to do so. I will be buying 5 tickets at around $400 each and hotel is about $1000.

 

[Albort]

@mpadilla89 your choice of hotel and airline doesnt match Chase too much. The only card you would be close to using on Chase is the Marriott Cards.
Sheraton = Amex
Hilton = Amex/Citi
AA = Citi
Alaska = BOA
JetBlue = Barclay

UR can transfer to Hyatt, IHG, Ritz. airlines are UA, BA, VS, KE, SQ

if your spending $400 a month on groceries, the Amex Blue Cash Card would be the way to go.
i know Citi thank you card line can transfer to Hilton, Jetblue and AA. they earn 2x on dining. 3x on gas. *i think this might be the ideal card for you (my opinion)*w
another card you can consider getting is the SPG cards. they suck at point earning though but it opens you up to a whole lot of transfer partners. SPG Biz card currently has a $10k spendings for 35k points. The personal also has something similar too.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Doesn't the Chase sapphire also have a fee? which i guess could also pay for itself with the earned rewards. Can UR rewards be used for hotels and or other airlines? Is there a thread on here about UR.

Referring to your previous post what are RR and how can i transfer them to gift cards? I definitely prefer cash back or rewards i will use instead of GC.

I have only opened the Chase premier and Alaska in the last 6 moths. Had not opened anything before that in a few years. I would love to maximize our earnings but would prefer ways of earning cash back or transferable to one of the hotel or airline categories or GC like Disney or hotels.

We spend easily $400 on groceries monthly
$150 on gas
$300 eating restaurants

We travel at least once a year
$500 on airfare (if flying domestically)($1500-$3k internationally)
$ 500 -$1,000 on hotels ( Sheraton, Marriott, Hilton)

We have a trip in the spring coming up that i should have booked but have been to busy to do so. I will be buying 5 tickets at around $400 each and hotel is about $1000.

- The Sapphire Preferred fee is waived the first year, so you could reap the benefits for 12 months, then downgrade to a freedom or freedom unlimited to avoid the fee. We don't really have a "thread" on URs, this thread discusses all things credit cards. There's some blogs that will give you a good rundown on them out there.

- RR are Rapid Rewards Points (Southwest Points). You can see the GC redemption options here: https://www.1.awardhq.com/24468SWA0SWARR Redeeming for flights gives you about 60% more in value...but if you don't want to fly, GCs can be a good option.

- I only mentioned Southwest as an example, you could pick any number of cards from Chase or AMEX that could earn you hundreds of dollars in points, gift cards, or cashback.

- Given your spend levels I'd recommend doing some more research. The best decisions will be made if you read up yourself and then ask some educated questions about cards you think would work for you. You could decide to become "one of us" and go from sign-up bonus to sign-up bonus reaping huge rewards (typically 15-40% return)... Or you may say we're crazy (which we are) and decide to get a few key cards...one that has a nice grocery return, one for gas, etc. and maybe get your overall return on purchases closer to 4%.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Has anyone done the HSBC checking account for the $350 bonus? If so, how long did you need to keep the account open to avoid fees? Considering doing it for both dh & I. Here is the link for anyone interested:

https://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/home/pe...AC-15&cid=WES0026878&WT.mc_id=HBUS_WES0026878

HSBC was horrible. Ugh! Took over a month to open the account, I didn't but other people had to send personal info to super suspicious sounding emails in India (but they were legit). "approximately 8 weeks" for the bonus actually meant 9-10 weeks when it finally arrived -after contacting them via SM when they said "the offer said approximately 8 weeks, not 8 weeks". Yep, $350 was great- but I would never do them again even for $350. (And they screwed up the 1099s of people who got the bonuses in Dec by telling them they would be issued 1099s for the next year so people had to re-file their taxes in April or May or whatever it was when HSBC discovered that wasn't ok under IRS regulations). They offered to pay fees people incurred... I'm sure that was smooth as silk (thankfully I wasn't caught up in that mess either!).

My quick scan of your bonus had no minimum time the account must remain open, except you have to be open and in good standing to get your bonus in "approx 8 weeks" (ie whenever they feel like it! grr....) AFTER you've completed the reqs. So, 3 months for reqs + 2 months for bonus + wiggle room because crap bank = 6 months imho for your calculations. To avoid the $25 monthly fee have to have 10K in there or get 5K recurring direct deposit at least once a month so add that into your calcs if you don't plan on leaving 10K there for 6 months/ having the DD. To calc your bonus: Bonus - potential fees - interest in your normal savings account (ie 10K at Ally at 1.20% would have earned $60 over 6 months if you go the 10K to avoid the monthly fee route) = Your actual bonus. Then decide if it's worth it to you Good luck if you go for it!