I love credit cards so much!

[platamama]

I know concentrating on Chase cards early in the game is important but so is getting the SPG for me as it will convert MR to AS directly. ( I dont have any MR cards yet, but know that is coming!) I am awaiting my CIP card arrival this week so I can get that 5k spend knocked out. Once I am done with that, other cards down the list are CSR/CSP double dip, (waiting for dh surgery or 4th quarter for the spend $) and one or both of the Freedoms. Should I get the SPG sooner rather than later and waste one of my 5/24 slots? Is waiting to do the double dip at 4/24 a bad idea? (Still a big newbie, but a little smarter than last week! )

10.17 Disney Visa 1/24
01.18 CIP 1/24
04.18 SPG 2/24
06.18 F or FU 3/24
10.18 CSP/CSR 5/24

I know I need to start getting AMEX Business cards in here too, but it's the spend that is dragging me down. If I don't get MR to convert I don't need the SPG! ARG!!

I'm confused - are you mixing up Starwood points with AMEX Membership Rewards points? Starwood points DO transfer directly 1:1 to AS miles (plus 5K bonus if you transfer 20K, effectively 1:1.25). AX MRs DO NOT transfer to AS. But MRs do transfer to British Avios which can be used for AS award flights if they are showing up as SAAver awards on American, and BA has a distance-based award chart which could be nice for your west coast travel. MRs transfer 3:1 to SPG, so you would lose a lot by going that route for AS miles.

Have you looked at Marriott Flight & Hotel packages? For 270,000 Marriott Rewards points you could get 120K AS miles + 1 week in a Cat 1-5 Marriott hotel. If you have AMEX MRs to transfer to SPG then transfer to Marriott, it works out to a 1:1 transfer. 1 SPG pt = 3 Marriott points. 1 UR = 1 Marriott point. It wouldn't be too difficult to get 270,000 Marriott points.

 

[Albort]

Why can my brain never think of these things!? I have so much to learn!



Didn’t someone post earlier that chase told them the opposite....csp non targeted and not avail on csr?

I think @Lain also mentioned using it on gyft.com check out via apple pay also works too. that might be the quicker route.

Cross posting this because there’s some overlapping interest here.

So I was at Best Buy this morning buying a Disney gift card with Best Buy gift cards and savings codes, and my cashier told me that FYI starting in February 2018, Best Buy will not allow Best Buy gift cards to be used to purchase third-party gift cards. I asked if it was just this store or a nationwide policy, and she believed it was all Best Buys citing a high incidence of fraudulent transactions with gift cards.

Take it for what it’s worth, but my cashier advised if I had any more Best Buy gift cards that I wanted to spend on other gift cards, use them ASAP.

I hate using gift cards at Best Buys. Every time i buy one to use in stores, they always take down my gift card number and walk to the back office to the managers office to check to see if it had a balance or not... :\

 

[Mopedmom1]

I'm confused - are you mixing up Starwood points with AMEX Membership Rewards points? Starwood points DO transfer directly 1:1 to AS miles (plus 5K bonus if you transfer 20K, effectively 1:1.25). AX MRs DO NOT transfer to AS. But MRs do transfer to British Avios which can be used for AS award flights if they are showing up as SAAver awards on American, and BA has a distance-based award chart which could be nice for your west coast travel. MRs transfer 3:1 to SPG, so you would lose a lot by going that route for AS miles.

Have you looked at Marriott Flight & Hotel packages? For 270,000 Marriott Rewards points you could get 120K AS miles + 1 week in a Cat 1-5 Marriott hotel. If you have AMEX MRs to transfer to SPG then transfer to Marriott, it works out to a 1:1 transfer. 1 SPG pt = 3 Marriott points. 1 UR = 1 Marriott point. It wouldn't be too difficult to get 270,000 Marriott points.

40k AMEX will convert to 13320 AS mileage through SPG. I honestly haven't figured out how to use BA to book air through AS. My "blondeness" is why I am looking at MRs. I don't want to stay at Marriotts only on property at DW, and not the Swalphin either.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

The problem I have is the 5k/3 mo scenario. We live pretty modestly and this is a stretch for the budget. I can pull it off once and then again later with the 8ķ double dip, but 3k/3 mo is a much more manageable number for us. That $700/mo extra is just not there right now. With a pending open-heart surgery for dh and the requisite time off from work, we are really sinching in the belt.

My main goal is to collect UR for WDW booked through Chase and MR to help pad the Alaska Airlines miles. We would like to do 3 trips on an AP sometime after SW land opens and don't have a lot of travel planned before that. Probably a trip to AK to see the parents and maybe a quick trip to DL next spring.

Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it!

So if you're looking to collect the maximum # of URs, Getting CIP, CIC, CF, CFU, CSP and CSR should be your goal. There are some posts a few pages back on this strategy but it ends up being a TON of URs worth about $4,000 in travel.

I'd also see the suggestion by @platamama about a secondary focus on Marriott Rewards and Starwood to hit their "Nights and Flights" packages. You can obviously earn those points through Marriott Personal, Marriott Biz, SPG Personal, SPG Biz and indirectly through AMEX MR (Membership Rewards) cards and all the rumors indicate additional new Marriott/SPG cards may be coming soon too. The backdoor way to transfer Marriott points to Alaska points through Nights and Flights can be pretty lucrative! Basically 1 Marriott Point = 0.44 Alaska Miles at the right increments (AND you get 7 nights with Marriott to boot, but you can even waste them and still come out ahead). That info can be found here: http://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morepack.mi

EDIT: to do the math on what makes the nights and flights great: 90k SPG = 112.5k Alaska if you hit the numbers right and get that 5k kicker (I know that's rough match but stick with me). 90k SPG = 270k Marriott = 120k Alaska (and you'd get 7 nights if you can find a use for them).

 

[CoP Luv]

Hi Everyone - I have been lurking here awhile and post very rarely, but try to keep up with reading (this thread moves FAST!). Anyway, we have a few big bills coming up, two trips, and I am looking for a card to put the minimum spend on. I am not looking to go all out and amass a large number of cards. We may or may not be getting a new car in a few years and there is always the possibility of moving. Slow and steady for me.

I think I am at 3/24. DH (not really interested in this game, but I could MAYBE convince him to get one card) is at 0/24.

We have:
CSR - 1/17
Disney Visa - Summer 2017
Kohl's - 1/16 (I think) - I just got an anniversary coupon and I am pretty sure this isn't the first one.
CF (2) - had forever
United (basic) - had forever
BoA Cash Back - had for a few years, but longer than 24 months

Travel Plans:
Summer 2018: Lake Como, Amsterdam, and Norway Cruise
Airfare paid with miles and 2017 Travel Credit - $0
Lake Como Accommodations - Deposit paid with CSR and 2017 credit, remainder due in Spring ~$600
Amsterdam Hotel - Looking at one night to be paid with UR (that is all we have right now)
Cruise - Paid, will receive 25K United Miles after sailing

Winter (Early) 2019: Caribbean Cruise with possibly pre-cruise in WDW.
Hoping to use above miles/UR for (4) airfare, Maybe SPG for Swalphin??? Or UR/discounted Disney GCs for WDW stay.

Other than that, we are not huge travelers at this time.

I am looking to get one card in the next month or so, so I can put this March bill on it. I am not ready to jump into the Biz cards yet since I don't do ANY selling currently. If that becomes something in the future, I might consider it.

I was thinking of referring DH for the CSR. That way we could get 50k UR and 10K for the referral. $4k spend is probably doable for us with one of our bills coming in March. My next AF for CSR will hit sometime next Jan/Feb and I was planning on PC to CFU. This way we can both get GE, another $300 credit to offset the Lake Como cost, and the 2019 credit to offset maybe some airfare/hotels for the 2019 cruise depending on if we wait to book that late (probably not).

Then I was thinking that I should refer him to the CSP so we wouldn't have to pay the large fee. I still have the CSR to transfer, so this would purely be for UR points. Dumb idea?

Lastly, I had been reading up on the SPG Amex (personal). I was thinking this could be good if we end up going to Disney pre-cruise and stay at Swalphin. But this Pre-cruise stay is no where near confirmed (need a lot more convincing of DH).

Thoughts? And THANKS for all of your time that you generously put into this thread.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Hi Everyone - I have been lurking here awhile and post very rarely, but try to keep up with reading (this thread moves FAST!). Anyway, we have a few big bills coming up, two trips, and I am looking for a card to put the minimum spend on. I am not looking to go all out and amass a large number of cards. We may or may not be getting a new car in a few years and there is always the possibility of moving. Slow and steady for me.

I think I am at 3/24. DH (not really interested in this game, but I could MAYBE convince him to get one card) is at 0/24.

We have:
CSR - 1/17
Disney Visa - Summer 2017
Kohl's - 1/16 (I think) - I just got an anniversary coupon and I am pretty sure this isn't the first one.
CF (2) - had forever
United (basic) - had forever
BoA Cash Back - had for a few years, but longer than 24 months

Travel Plans:
Summer 2018: Lake Como, Amsterdam, and Norway Cruise
Airfare paid with miles and 2017 Travel Credit - $0
Lake Como Accommodations - Deposit paid with CSR and 2017 credit, remainder due in Spring ~$600
Amsterdam Hotel - Looking at one night to be paid with UR (that is all we have right now)
Cruise - Paid, will receive 25K United Miles after sailing

Winter (Early) 2019: Caribbean Cruise with possibly pre-cruise in WDW.
Hoping to use above miles/UR for (4) airfare, Maybe SPG for Swalphin??? Or UR/discounted Disney GCs for WDW stay.

Other than that, we are not huge travelers at this time.

I am looking to get one card in the next month or so, so I can put this March bill on it. I am not ready to jump into the Biz cards yet since I don't do ANY selling currently. If that becomes something in the future, I might consider it.

I was thinking of referring DH for the CSR. That way we could get 50k UR and 10K for the referral. $4k spend is probably doable for us with one of our bills coming in March. My next AF for CSR will hit sometime next Jan/Feb and I was planning on PC to CFU. This way we can both get GE, another $300 credit to offset the Lake Como cost, and the 2019 credit to offset maybe some airfare/hotels for the 2019 cruise depending on if we wait to book that late (probably not).

Then I was thinking that I should refer him to the CSP so we wouldn't have to pay the large fee. I still have the CSR to transfer, so this would purely be for UR points. Dumb idea?

Lastly, I had been reading up on the SPG Amex (personal). I was thinking this could be good if we end up going to Disney pre-cruise and stay at Swalphin. But this Pre-cruise stay is no where near confirmed (need a lot more convincing of DH).

Thoughts? And THANKS for all of your time that you generously put into this thread.

Referring your husband to CSR is a great idea! You'd get a minimum of 64k URs out of it PLUS $300 Travel Credit (x2 including next year) PLUS Global Entry.

Regarding the CSP, Chase now has a rule that says you can't get a CSP IF you got a CSR in the past 24 months (and vice versa). SO the only way for him to get both is to get them at the same time (the CSR/CSP double dip you hear a lot of us talking about). So in your situation (assuming you are ONLY getting 1) you'd need to figure out which one is of more value to you...that can be a hard comparison BUT the math likely favors the CSR. I did a post the other day here https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-652#post-58698294 kind of comparing the two...

If your dates are right your Kohl's card is coming off now so you're really at 2/24. You have a lot of options then!

 

[calypso726]

40k AMEX will convert to 13320 AS mileage through SPG. I honestly haven't figured out how to use BA to book air through AS. My "blondeness" is why I am looking at MRs. I don't want to stay at Marriotts only on property at DW, and not the Swalphin either.

40k MR is worth $400. As much as I value SPG points, I would not advise transferring MR to SPG to AS. I would sooner pay for part or all of the AS flight with MR points and earn the butt in seat AS miles for the flight.

Using BA Avios transferred from MR or UR to fly partner airlines like AS is not difficult. You have plenty of us here that can walk you through it. Also, there are countless blog articles that can walk you through it too.

 

[Mopedmom1]

@platamama @SouthFayetteFan @calypso726 Thanks for the advice. My head is spinning ...will need to digest this for a few days and reformulate my plan. (I apologize for my emoji love today.)

 

[gottalovepluto]

@platamama @SouthFayetteFan @calypso726 Thanks for the advice. My head is spinning ...will need to digest this for a few days and reformulate my plan. (I apologize for my emoji love today.)

Never apologize for emoji love! (ESPECIALLY when I can actually understand the emojis and I get every single one of yours!)

 

[gottalovepluto]

Chase SM'd back on the CSR for my fam member and told her her account was eligible and to please allow 1-2 billing cycles for points to post and if they don't to reply back to that SM.

 

[Tikitoi]

So I had previously done a $100 trial run purchase at BB on my CF card and that had posted the correct 1000 points. Then I decided to do it on my CFU card for the full $300. And I just checked and the 3000 points did post as well. So now I will finish the last $200 on my CF card (after the account closing date since I have a balance) to get the rest of the 10x bonus points. Yay!

 

[calypso726]

Chase Pay 10x DP Updates:

Chase added the additional 1,000 UR points to my account that was missing to honor the original $400 spend offer at Best Buy for 10x.

My CFU $300 BB purchase posted today and I received 10x.

My CSR $300 BB purchase posted and I only got 1x. I sent a SM to Chase and included the direct link to the offer. I will post back when I get a response.

 

[Tikitoi]

Forgot to ask...If I buy BB gift cards I can later buy other GC's with it...?

 

[Calfan]

I made a trip to Best Buy today and bought two $300 Southwest gift cards and one $300 Disney gift card in three separate Chase Pay transactions using my CSR, CFU and Freedom. The clerk totally knew what he was doing in terms of putting the correct dollar amount on each of the gift cards and processing the separate Chase Pay transactions. I have screen shots of each email I received from Chase with the offers on the three cards. Hoping it all just posts correctly with the 10x, but I am armed in case I need to SM about one or all, lol.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Forgot to ask...If I buy BB gift cards I can later buy other GC's with it...?

@Lain heard today that might be coming to an end in Feb so if you have any might want to flip them fast. (Also, a couple stores won't allow gc to gc so it is suggested you try a small amount first.)

 

[Tikitoi]

@Lain heard today that might be coming to an end in Feb so if you have any might want to flip them fast. (Also, a couple stores won't allow gc to gc so it is suggested you try a small amount first.)

I had heard February 4th. Not sure if that's changed now but I'll bethere in the next couple days to finish my shopping. And I have a BB gc already ($25) so I'll try that first. Thanks

 

[wendow]

Did anyone else do the Plastiq MC promo where you earned 1% of the fee back as a rebate when you made three payments? I paid my mortgage using my MC for Oct, Nov and Dec. I received an email from Plastiq on Jan 9th saying they were mailing my rebate check. I've not received anything yet and just wondering if others had received a check yet? I can't remember if anyone else was doing the promo or not.

 

[platamama]

I don't want to stay at Marriotts only on property at DW, and not the Swalphin either.

The funny thing about the Marriott travel packages is that the hotel redemption is a separate transaction from the airline miles. The miles go to the airline program you want, Marriott doesn't care how you use those or when. If you use the miles to fly to FL, you can redeem the hotel stay in Alaska or anywhere else.

It's a nice way to get a lot of miles in a program that is otherwise difficult to accumulate miles in.

ETA: Some finer points about the travel package: If you decide you want to spend more Marriott points for a higher category hotel, you don't need to have all the Marriott points in hand first as long as you have the 270K for the package redemption. You can transfer over points into your Marriott account anytime at least 8 days prior to check-in. In truth, you don't even need 270K for a travel package if you don't mind getting fewer miles out of the deal. They start at 200K for 50K miles + 7 nt hotel. Also, for travel packages, there is no 50K annual limit on Marriott point transfers to spouses that normally is in place for household transfers.

 

[Albort]

Did anyone else do the Plastiq MC promo where you earned 1% of the fee back as a rebate when you made three payments? I paid my mortgage using my MC for Oct, Nov and Dec. I received an email from Plastiq on Jan 9th saying they were mailing my rebate check. I've not received anything yet and just wondering if others had received a check yet? I can't remember if anyone else was doing the promo or not.

i got my check on Friday...

 

[wendow]

i got my check on Friday...

Do you remember what date they emailed you to say they were mailing?