Now that I have more than a moment to reply, let me say how impressed I am that you’ve clearly come into this having done your homework. Yes, you missed some great signup offers, but bonuses come and go, rules change and loopholes are found, and new cards are introduced.
First off, you have the Freedom. This quarter offers 5x UR points on up to $1,500 spent on your Freedom at gas stations, on internet, cable and phone services, and whenever you pay using Freedom on mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Android Pay, Chase Pay, or Samsung Pay. These categories should make it very easy to spend $1,500 in 3 months to earn you 7,500 UR points. Be sure to activate the offer on your Freedom if you haven’t already.
You’ve got a really good strategy starting out with the CIP. The CIP offers the highest UR bonus for the foreseeable future: 80k UR after spending $5k/3 months. If you’re interested, and comfortable doing so, you may want to inquire with a Chase Business Relationship Manager to see if you could get a higher signup bonus (100k UR) by applying in-branch. As
@wendow noted, as a Chase business card, the CIP will not count against the 5/24 rule so you’ll still be at 0/24 and have five or more slots available for more cards.
As I wrote a few pages back, the CIP is my favorite and highest earning card because it currently earns 3x UR for a lot of our household’s largest monthly expenses that we couldn’t otherwise charge to a credit card by paying with the CIP through Plastiq. Plastiq carries a 2.5% fee, but the 3x UR earnings negate that and actually makes this a small moneymaker. I also like to use the CIP on various gift card apps and platforms because I can earn 3x UR whenever there’s a good promo that can be turned into Disney Gift Cards.
Double-dipping the CSR and CSP as your next cards is also a good idea since this is the only current way to get around the new “one Sapphire rule” for two Sapphire cards and their combined 100k UR bonuses. Each card carries a $4k spend in 3 months requirement, so double dipping will mean you need to spend $8k in the first 3 months of getting the two cards. This will leave you at 2/24. But you may want to wait 30 days after your CIP application because Chase does have a loose 2/30 rule on personal cards, or no more than 2 credit card applications with Chase in the past 30 days to be approved. You’ll want both the CSR and CSP to be approved on the same day for this to work. You should apply on a weekday during regular business hours. Apply for the card you want more first (likely the CSR because it makes UR points worth 50% more vs. CSP’s 25% more), and get that first card approved — call reconsideration if necessary. Once your first card is approved, apply for the second card using incognito mode or a different browser (so Chase’s system doesn’t mistake a second app as a duplicate of the first), and get that second card approved.
Please consider joining our DISchurning subreddit for more information, discussion and tips, and using a referral from the subreddit to spread some goodwill back to this community. Also, as
@SouthFayetteFan suggested, if you have a spouse who hasn’t opened many credit cards in the last 2 years, you may want to get him in the game too. You could refer him for the CIP, CSR, and CSP and more than double your UR points haul. In addition to the 80k, 50k, 50k UR signup bonuses for your husband, respectively, a CIP referral would earn you 20k UR, and the CSR and CSP each earn 10k UR per referral. Although you may be tempted to add a spouse as an authorized user to help meet spend or because the card is offering a bonus to add AUs, don’t do it! Just have your spouse sign up for his own card and double up on the bonuses and benefits! If you and your spouse each get the CIP, CSR and CSP, that’s 400k UR from signup bonuses and referrals.
Between slots 3-4 is really up to you. At this point, you may want to mix it up by applying for some of Amex’s Membership Rewards earning business cards or Amex’s SPG business card, which won’t report to your personal credit report and will keep you at 2/24 in Chase’s eyes; and would “slow your roll” with how hard you’re hitting Chase’s cards. I also like the idea of staggering the use of your */24 slots so you don’t put yourself out of the Chase game too fast for 24 months, rather have some slot open or opening up frequently for any interesting card or bonus that may come along.
This year is looking like a big year for hotel cards, and likely new bonuses:
- Amex will become the exclusive issuer of Hilton credit cards, with a new portfolio of cards coming out this month:
http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/hilton-amex-cards/
- Marriott plans to introduce new cards with Chase and Amex in 2018, with Chase issuing mass consumer and premium consumer level cards and Amex issuing super-premium consumer and business cards. SPG cards are expected to be phased out or converted to the new products.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/marriottspg-signs-new-credit-card-deal-chase-american-express-know/
I think the thought among a lot of churners is to get the Marriott and SPG cards while you can because those cards are disappearing and the new cards will offer new bonuses. With Amex, cards typically come with a once per lifetime per product limitation for bonuses, so it’s kind of an open question what happens when the SPG products are phased out or converted and if cardmembers will be eligible for the new card bonuses.
This Frequent Miler post gives an idea by looking at what’s going on with conversion of the Amex portfolio:
http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/2017/11/07/hilton-citi-amex-conversion/
For your Hawaii trip, you’ll find a lot of hotels available on the UR travel portal, and remember if you transfer all your points to a CSR and book through that card’s portal, each point is worth 1.5 cents. Alternatively, every major hotel chain, e.g., Hilton, Marriott/SPG, Hyatt, IHG, has properties in Hawaii. I’ll let others chime in on hotel credit cards.
As for United, I can’t recommend their MileagePlus Explorer card right now. The public offer is currently only 40k MileagePlus miles after spending $2k/3 months. For most of last summer, this card had a targeted 70k miles signup bonus. If you really need the MileagePlus miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to United MileagePlus. You can also move Amex’s Membership Rewards points to Star Alliance Partners like Air Canada, ANA, and Singapore Airlines and book United through these partners.
With your last open */24 slot, maybe later this year or early next year, you could (1) apply for the Southwest business card (currently offering 60k Rapid Rewards points), for which you have to be under 5/24 to be approved but won’t count against 5/24, and a personal SW card (if at 50k RR or higher) to put you at 5/24; or (2) double dip two personal SW cards at the same time (if their offers are both at 60k RR), brining you to 6/24, and get you to 110k+ RR points for the SW CP.
Good luck!
I just found the proper thread for that info...I had forgotten how..... brusque things are over there....makes me appreciate this group over here where things are just a lot more pleasant.... (altho there is lots of info there, but you really have to tread carefully or you'll get blasted) it seems like that $100 credit is YMMV at the moment,and doesn't work for all travel purchases....I hate messing around and it seems that a lot of SWA taxes/ebci purchases aren't crediting properly
There was a 'learn more' button and ShopRite says that CF, CFU, Sapphire, and CSR all earn the 10x using Chase Pay up to $400. As if you wouldn't have, CF cards have to have the 5x categories active to make the 10x.
