I love credit cards so much!

[magickingdomprincess]

So I set up my first 2 Plastiq payments, fingers crossed they go ok! Westar (electric bill) was already in system and will be paid electronically in 3 days. The other Kansas Gas, was set up but had a different address so I had to change that and they will be paid via check on the 13th. I did use a dischurners link

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Does anyone know much about BOA biz cards? Are they difficult to be approved for with a "business"? I noticed I have an offer for $200 bonus with $500 spend in 2 months and no AF. Seems like a good return and easy to meet while not adding to 5/24 count. Am I missing something?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Does anyone know much about BOA biz cards? Are they difficult to be approved for with a "business"? I noticed I have an offer for $200 bonus with $500 spend in 2 months and no AF. Seems like a good return and easy to meet while not adding to 5/24 count. Am I missing something?

I recently tried for one and they sent me a letter requesting my Articles on Organization and other proof of having a business. I ignored the letter and it appears I was denied. I know some people have Biz cards with them but I'm not sure how they got approved, haha.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

I recently tried for one and they sent me a letter requesting my Articles on Organization and other proof of having a business. I ignored the letter and it appears I was denied. I know some people have Biz cards with them but I'm not sure how they got approved, haha.

I figured there had to be a catch! I'll post the results if I decide to try.

 

[pillow]

I of course love them for Delta...but this is a pretty thorough article-https://upgradedpoints.com/redeem-amex-membership-rewards-points-for-max-value/

Thanks for posting this. I haven't ventured to Amex MR cards since I felt that UR was enough for me to learn and understand. Perhaps once I'm done with Chase (whenever that will be - lol), I'll look into this. Although we have so many Amex cards - think I might be hitting the limit. I have kept both the SPG Amex personal and business cards for both hubby and myself only because the Amex offers have paid for the fee (plus both kids are auth users so we can double Amex offers that way). However, if the Amex offers don't improve, I might consider closing something - guess I'll just play it by ear. Crossing fingers for some good offers!

 

[amalone1013]

Thanks @Albort. Now that DHs work trip is back on, I'm rearranging travel plans. In two weeks from yesterday we'd be flying in. DH brought up doing DLR again even though we'll be there a few weeks later... 2 day PHs straight from Disney comes to $520 If only the trip was slightly later and we could just add days to our current tickets... But that got me thinking...

Right now for the wedding trip in April, we're staying on the Queen Mary the first night, but we get in late and have to be in the Temecula area by 3:45pm for the wedding rehearsal. Instead, we could do the Queen Mary on this work trip weekend, and fly into San Diego before the wedding and bum around SD before heading to Temecula. This would give us more time for the Queen Mary, and just some quick research switching this around would cost us $30 more on our rental car in April and $50 more for QM since we'd be staying on a weekend night now. So the Sheraton seems fine for a night, with the lounge, and earn some SPG points. And maybe we could just get our rental in the morning to avoid the parking fee...

Bummer with this is work doesn't really cover much except his flight, since they wouldn't fly him out until Sunday normally. I thought of this scenario when I got the CP in my name... I wanted to do his name but he was anti-business card at the time, so I did it. And we're in transition at work right now, and that weekend is supposed to be one we work, so I'm not 100% I can go, and pretty sure I can't get more than Sat-Mon at the very most off. if I can't go, he gets to do Magic Mountain solo.

They really are much harder to understand than URs...I know a bunch of people on Reddit who have jumped on the 100k Plat offer because they heard it was good and then they're like...OK WHAT NOW??? haha.

I feel like this is almost me, but I haven't applied... but I got awfully excited when DH got a 100k Platinum mailer last week, even though I have zero understanding of MRs.

 

[ski_mom]

That does make it easier and also your in for less taxes. Personally, I think if a BA flight is connecting through London the taxes and fees are only worth it for a first class flight. With regards to same vs separate reservations, it is easier if everyone is on one reservation when changes need to be made or if there is a flight delay. For short layer overs, I advise checking where your originating flight is arriving from and the history on delays. For example, we used our Sky Pesos to book a 6 am flight out of Miami that connects in Atlanta with a 49 minute connection. We were ok with that because it appears that the 6 am flight is not coming in from somewhere else that day. It looks like it arrives the night before so I don't have to worry about it being delayed from another airport and causing me to miss my connection. A delay would be due to a mechanical issue but not weather related. Flight Aware and Flight Stats are 2 websites to use. If you don't already have it, look into getting Global Entry. Most of the premium cards offer a reimbursement for GE.

That's definitely something to consider. These flights will be at the end of the day which probably makes it more likely for delays.

That is a bummer, you will likely fly into the UA terminal and have to run to the International terminal which doable but you have to go through security again which unless you have GE or TSA will likely be a bugger. When we went to London they boarded us on-time but made us wait on the tarmac for an 1.25 hours until the folks from the connecting flight could board. On my DD's flight to HI they had already closed the walkway door but the flight attendant was really aggressive called and banged on the door and got them on but it super stressful (the 1st leg was UA also and came in late). If it were me I would look at scheduling to an earlier flight into ORD even if I had to stay overnight. I am hesitant to speak up as I am far from a world traveler, I just know I would not take that chance.

That's my biggest fear. Have to board a plane with everyone angry with you for making them wait!

Are you flying United or Lufthansa to Europe? If so, they depart from Terminal 1 (the United Terminal) and not the International Terminal (Terminal 5). Sometimes, shorter, regional United flights (I think you are coming from STL???) arrive in Terminal 2. If that is the case, going from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 in O'Hare is easy and you don't have to go back through security, as long as you don't exit the secured area.

Well, I'll try to insert a picture of the flight schedule. The first flight is from STL to ORD and say Operated by Skywest DBA United Express. The flight from ORD to London looks like it's just a United flight. If we didn't have to go through security that would definitely be helpful. I just don't know what to do!!
[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]

You guys are so knowledgeable! I hope to someday be able to answer these questions for someone!!

 

[Albort]

That is great news about your mom. Wishing her a continued recovery, healing and lots of pixie dust!

That does make it easier and also your in for less taxes. Personally, I think if a BA flight is connecting through London the taxes and fees are only worth it for a first class flight. With regards to same vs separate reservations, it is easier if everyone is on one reservation when changes need to be made or if there is a flight delay. For short layer overs, I advise checking where your originating flight is arriving from and the history on delays. For example, we used our Sky Pesos to book a 6 am flight out of Miami that connects in Atlanta with a 49 minute connection. We were ok with that because it appears that the 6 am flight is not coming in from somewhere else that day. It looks like it arrives the night before so I don't have to worry about it being delayed from another airport and causing me to miss my connection. A delay would be due to a mechanical issue but not weather related. Flight Aware and Flight Stats are 2 websites to use. If you don't already have it, look into getting Global Entry. Most of the premium cards offer a reimbursement for GE.

was reading of ways to avoid London's high taxes and fees, seems kinda interesting thing to try.
https://thepointsguy.com/2018/03/how-to-avoid-british-taxes-and-fees-on-award-trips/

 

[amalone1013]

Anyone have any recommendations for a hotel near LAX, just for sleeping and getting out of there early?

 

[calypso726]

How do you think you got the offer? Did you add your AMEX to payment method, or something else?


Ah was just going to say I missed that in my welcome packet but I didn't get the Biz, shoot. Can I PC in a year and transfer the MR's to the Biz?
Also one other thing I am confused/concerned about with MR's not transferring immediately, what if you transfer but the flight you wanted disappears before the transfer? Are you now stuck with MR's at a airline that you may not be able to or want to use. I could see trying to book a N/S that books before your points transfer and now I am stuck with a connecting with a 10 hour layover. Has that happened to you?

I initially got the offer before ever adding Amex MR to my Amazon account.

MR is different than UR. You don't need to transfer to another card account. They are pooled together. I would not advise doing a PC to the Platinum Business card when you can just apply for it and they often have a bonus that is 50,000 - 100,000.

Some MR transfer partners are instant. Some are not and that is a risk. It hasn't happened to me, thank goodness but generally I will have already transferred my points well before booking flights so they are in place. I plan most of our trips 2 years out and already know which airline(s) will be my best bet since I will do a mock booking when I begin. So let's say I want to travel to Tokyo in January/February of 2020. I would start looking to see which routes will be best around now since we are close to 330 days out. Then whichever airlines looked promising, I will research first class availability and how best to secure it. Then I will be checking award availability for Jan/Feb 2019 on all the airlines that looked promising. I will notate how many points a saver award and standard award would take. I read the blogs to determine my best course of action. The best thing about the bloggers is that no matter what adventure I decide to take, one of them already did it and blogged about it. So I can usually just follow their footsteps. Once I have a general idea of which airline I'm going to be flying, then I work on getting the points in place. At this point I have a year to get them in place and secure a back up plan in case plan A doesn't work out as I expected.

If I know I'm going to be transferring MR points then I will sit tight and hope for a transfer bonus to come through. I got lucky a couple of years ago and a few weeks before we were going to pull the trigger on transferring a bunch of MR to BA a 50% transfer bonus was announced and we saved a ton of points!

I've switched plans before out of necessity and needing to implement or incorporate the back up plan. Both Hawaii and Iceland come to mind for that. Once, I just decided to switch flight plans simply to try something new and that was the Singapore Suites flights. I was never planning to fly them this year. We were planning for Cathay Pacific. Out of the blue I decided to see if we could book and fly Suites class. I had previously read that Singapore Kris Flyer will hold your flights until the points are in your account as a courtesy. When we decided to book the Singapore Suites flight we had to transfer points from SPG and MR. Before transferring, I called Kris Flyer and explained that I would be transferring points that could take a few days to a week and asked if they'd hold my flights. They said they would and asked that I call back once my points were in place to book. There are a handful of airlines that do that. With AA you can put award flights on a 5 day hold online which is nice!

 

[Judique]

You book a room at the Hyatt for May 13 and inform them you will be checking in late. Then you call Hyatt like a day before you arrive to make sure it's noted you are arrive after midnight so they don't give your room away (you should be fine I'm just an extra cautious traveler). Even if Disney let you check in your room would not be ready until 3pm potentially. What would you do from 2am to 3pm?...

I've gotten into rooms at Disney as early as 7am. I would never tell anyone to depend on this as I've also not gotten my room until after 5pm, when I've gotten there early. Disney allows you to do the checkin process starting at 7am, but this is just the process - getting the actual room is 'when the room is ready'.

All that said, WDW can be very good about giving you your room early if one is available and if you are not too picky about exact floor or location.

 

[calypso726]

I had to share this here. It is copied by a poster on one of the travel hacker bloggers' FB page. It made me LOL and I figured many of us here could relate:

"I need travel points/miles/value seriously dumbed down. Every time I think I understand a thread, someone throws in a comment like, "But if it coded as XYZ and you got 0.05 divided by 63967843 pesos minus the 0.99% transaction fee, you would be paying only 3 cents and get upgraded to Air Force One for round trip from DC to the Maldives with a free night at the Grand Hyatt and a narwhal sighting excursion in Antarctica."

 

[SmallMama]

Hey everyone!

I did a stupid thing and damage my car bumper. Well the thing will cost me $1,600 plus i have to pay about $2,000 for my Disney cruise. So i figure since I met all my CC bonus requirements i figure why not get a new card.
I currently have these cards:
Freedom
Freedom unlimited
Sapphire preferred (1/18)
Amex blue preferred (2/18)
Citi aadvantage (2/18)

I mainly fly american from chicago. I was planning an Hawaii trip for next year, but i am postponing this since the star wars resorts open next year and my son would love that more. So since many of you are really great at this game and I am just getting started any help is great appreciate.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Hey everyone!

I did a stupid thing and damage my car bumper. Well the thing will cost me $1,600 plus i have to pay about $2,000 for my Disney cruise. So i figure since I met all my CC bonus requirements i figure why not get a new card.
I currently have these cards:
Freedom
Freedom unlimited
Sapphire preferred (1/18)
Amex blue preferred (2/18)
Citi aadvantage (2/18)

I mainly fly american from chicago. I was planning an Hawaii trip for next year, but i am postponing this since the star wars resorts open next year and my son would love that more. So since many of you are really great at this game and I am just getting started any help is great appreciate.

What are your application dates on the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited?

 

[SmallMama]

What are your application dates on the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited?

Freedom is back when i started college so 7 years ago and the unlimited was 08/17.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Freedom is back when i started college so 7 years ago and the unlimited was 08/17.

So you're in a somewhat interesting position. Once your new accounts appear on your credit report - You will be at 4/24 (based on how Chase measures things). Your Unlimited wouldn't "come off" until Aug 2019 and I'm sure you plan to get more than 1 card in the next 18 or so months...

What this all means is this is your last chance to get certain Chase Cards. Now since you got a CSP recently you can't get a CSR anyways (due to a rule regarding both cards) so that one is out. What this means is if you are interested in the following cards you would potentially want to make it your next card:

• Chase Ink Preferred (business card)
• Chase Ink Cash (business card)
• Chase Southwest (3 cards available - 2 personal and 1 business)
• Chase Marriott Personal
• Chase United

If you aren't aware of how the rule works - these cards above are not available to you if you have opened 5 or more credit cards in the past 24 months. The two ink cards earn Ultimate Rewards. The other cards earn points in their respective programs. Before we give you any other advice, 1) Are any of these cards of interest to you, 2) do you have some sort of "business" and are you comfortable applying for business cards and 3) do you have any questions about those cards I listed?

 

[SmallMama]

So you're in a somewhat interesting position. Once your new accounts appear on your credit report - You will be at 4/24 (based on how Chase measures things). Your Unlimited wouldn't "come off" until Aug 2019 and I'm sure you plan to get more than 1 card in the next 18 or so months...

What this all means is this is your last chance to get certain Chase Cards. Now since you got a CSP recently you can't get a CSR anyways (due to a rule regarding both cards) so that one is out. What this means is if you are interested in the following cards you would potentially want to make it your next card:

• Chase Ink Preferred (business card)
• Chase Ink Cash (business card)
• Chase Southwest (3 cards available - 2 personal and 1 business)
• Chase Marriott Personal
• Chase United

If you aren't aware of how the rule works - these cards above are not available to you if you have opened 5 or more credit cards in the past 24 months. The two ink cards earn Ultimate Rewards. The other cards earn points in their respective programs. Before we give you any other advice, 1) Are any of these cards of interest to you, 2) do you have some sort of "business" and are you comfortable applying for business cards and 3) do you have any questions about those cards I listed?

I forgot one card, but i am unsure if this is considered a CC. I got the care credit in 7/17 for my lasik. Will this count? If not then i have been eyeing the ink, but never really look at the business cards.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I forgot one card, but i am unsure if this is considered a CC. I got the care credit in 7/17 for my lasik. Will this count? If not then i have been eyeing the ink, but never really look at the business cards.

That one I'm not sure on - maybe somebody else can answer that...

If it doesn't count (or if you're able to work past it by discussing with recon) then now is the time to get the CIP (Chase Ink Preferred) if that's the card you're interested in. You also may be operating in a small window where your AMEX card has not yet reported to your personal credit report, they can be delayed by a month or two. If that's the case you'd be eligible now EVEN IF the Care Credit counts... If you want the CIP (or CIC) I would act pretty quickly - I there are folks on DISchurners that have links to that card for 80k bonus for $5k spend in 3 months.

 

[SmallMama]

That one I'm not sure on - maybe somebody else can answer that...

If it doesn't count (or if you're able to work past it by discussing with recon) then now is the time to get the CIP (Chase Ink Preferred) if that's the card you're interested in. You also may be operating in a small window where your AMEX card has not yet reported to your personal credit report, they can be delayed by a month or two. If that's the case you'd be eligible now EVEN IF the Care Credit counts... If you want the CIP (or CIC) I would act pretty quickly - I there are folks on DISchurners that have links to that card for 80k bonus for $5k spend in 3 months.

My amex is not yet reported on my credit report so I should be okay to get the ink. Is one ink better than the other?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

My amex is not yet reported on my credit report so I should be okay to get the ink. Is one ink better than the other?

Ink Preferred has a much higher signup bonus (but also a higher min spend). Here's a quick comparison:

INK PREFERRED

• 80,000 URs for $5k spend in 90 days
• $95 annual fee (NOT WAIVED)
• Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, and on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
  
• Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases

INK CASH

• 30,000 URs for $3k spend in 90 days
• NO annual fee
• Earn 5 points per $1 on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year at Office supply stores, Internet, Cable and Phone services
• Earn 2 points per $1 on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year at Gas Stations and Restaurants
• Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases

Due to the Signup bonus if the $5k isn't a problem, Ink Preferred is your better choice.

ALSO another point to consider is neither of these cards will report to your personal credit report (since they are Biz cards) SO while they are subject to the 5/24 application rule, they WILL NOT add to your 5/24 status.

EDIT: Also will add that CIP has "support links" on DISchurners. CIC does not offer "support links" but please don't let that factor affect your decision in any way. Do what's best for you I only point that out so you weren't searching for CIC links, haha.