I love credit cards so much!

[calypso726]

Got it! Thanks!!!!!! I am so excited to learn all of this!

Your welcome. Some of the blogs that helped me learn travel hacking are, Million Mile Secrets, The Points Guy, Frequent Miler, View from the Wing and One Mile at a Time. There are many more but those are my go to blogs for most info. Hope this helps.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

Amex Blue Preferred is considered a cash back card. The Amex cards that earn membership reward points that you can transfer to airline partners are the Everyday and Everyday Preferred, Premier rewards gold and Platinum. The Starwood Preferred Guest Amex earns SPG points that can be transferred to over 30 airlines.

I really wish Starwood wasn't the flexible hotel points. I can never seem to give up my St. Regis stays for airline miles!

 

[CaterFamily]

So last month around the 31st my wife applied for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. After a few days she calls into the customer service line and gets the dreaded - NOT APPROVED. 5-7 business days later we get a mailer describing the reasons why.

During that same 5-7 business days we scrutinized her credit report and noticed an error. Called the offending company (Im looking at you Ashley Furniture...) and had them fix their mistake. It was a very substantial mistake - they marked that we were 30 days late with a payment when we have never been late - ever! They said that they were fixing it and to wait 30 days for the fix.

We look today and BLAMO! the error is fixed. Some where in the depths of my old "used-to-work-as-a-teller-in-a-bank" days thought we might be able to have Chase pull a soft inquiry and see that the error that lead to her denial be reconsidered.

Well a few hours ago we looked online to see if there was a way to get Chase to reconsider based on the error that was on our credit report.

She dials their credit analysts department (phone number to be provided if I get approval to do so) and talks to the analyst for about 1 hour in total.

She sees that the error is gone..talks a lot about our current credit situation and income. The analyst literally goes over her entire TranUnion report. Lots of being on hold. An obtuse about of sweating between the two of us...APPROVED! Woot Woot!

Now keep in mind - this is something that either of us have NEVER attempted ever. We try to let sleeping dogs lay.

It never hurts to ask them to reconsider!

 

[JillianMarie]

Thanks for the advice, especially the info about the Blue Bird checking account. I think if we are going to just focus on the CSP, it probably wouldn't be worth it to figure out "manufactured spending." However, now that I have started thinking about trying to get serious about travel points, I am thinking we might be applying for more cards in the not too distant future. In which case, it might make sense to try to figure the system out.

Which brings me to my next question: I am pretty sure that this CSP card is the fourth new card within the past 24 months. I am assuming the next card (if there is one) should be a Chase card -- is there one that we really should try to get? (Already have the Freedom, which is a very old account, and the Ink Plus, which is one of the new ones).

Personally, if you're going to struggle with the $4000 spend for the CSP I would REALLY consider if jumping into another $4000 Chase minimum spend is the best next step. I've been doing this a long time (and have gotten pretty good at it) and I don't monkey around too much with manufactured spending and would really have a hard time hitting an $8000 spend in 6 months PLUS the $450 annual fee for something like the Chase Reserve. I'm all for getting serious about points, but it's extremely easy to lose sight of the bigger financial picture.

I would meet the minimum spend on the CSP and see how it feels. Was it easy? Did you feel like you were spending more than you should be just to get bonus points? Did you realize there were big expenses that you could take care of that helped? Then dust off your Freedom, learn how to utilize your Ink and see how that goes. Then, if you feel you need to, add something else to the mix. My biggest piece of advice for this hobby is to let your spending dictate your cards, don't let your cards dictate your spending. People can get into A LOT of trouble waking up and realizing they need to spend 15 grand in 5 weeks.

That being said - I just finished the spend on the AmEx Delta Plat and I'm itching to get my hands on the CSR. I'm over 5/24 but a lot of people on r/churning who went pending with the leaked application went approved today. The vast majority of them were over 5/24. The Amex Plat looks like they put out a 75K public offer as well. It would be nice for the hotel status and lounge access, but I can't justify both annual fees and now that Flying Blue is a UR transfer partner, I'm back to Chase as my one true transferrable point love.

 

[CaterFamily]

Personally, if you're going to struggle with the $4000 spend for the CSP I would REALLY consider if jumping into another $4000 Chase minimum spend is the best next step. I've been doing this a long time (and have gotten pretty good at it) and I don't monkey around too much with manufactured spending and would really have a hard time hitting an $8000 spend in 6 months PLUS the $450 annual fee for something like the Chase Reserve. I'm all for getting serious about points, but it's extremely easy to lose sight of the bigger financial picture.

I would meet the minimum spend on the CSP and see how it feels. Was it easy? Did you feel like you were spending more than you should be just to get bonus points? Did you realize there were big expenses that you could take care of that helped? Then dust off your Freedom, learn how to utilize your Ink and see how that goes. Then, if you feel you need to, add something else to the mix. My biggest piece of advice for this hobby is to let your spending dictate your cards, don't let your cards dictate your spending. People can get into A LOT of trouble waking up and realizing they need to spend 15 grand in 5 weeks.

That being said - I just finished the spend on the AmEx Delta Plat and I'm itching to get my hands on the CSR. I'm over 5/24 but a lot of people on r/churning who went pending with the leaked application went approved today. The vast majority of them were over 5/24. The Amex Plat looks like they put out a 75K public offer as well. It would be nice for the hotel status and lounge access, but I can't justify both annual fees and now that Flying Blue is a UR transfer partner, I'm back to Chase as my one true transferrable point love.

I'm thinking about the Amex Delta Platinum - I think it's $5k in 3 months (we spend that in 1 naturally) for 35k skymiles plus 10k MQM. Have you seen this card and have any thoughts?

 

[JillianMarie]

I'm thinking about the Amex Delta Platinum - I think it's $5k in 3 months (we spend that in 1 naturally) for 35k skymiles plus 10k MQM. Have you seen this card and have any thoughts?

I think the card is worth having. The plat has an annual fee that isn't waived, but the first year comes with a statement credit and everyone flying gets a free checked bag. That alone can pay for the card. Additionally, once you hit your anniversary year it earns you a yearly companion pass which is a nice perk. That being said - what you quoted is a TERRIBLE offer. Ours was $2k spend in 3 months and 60k miles. I can't find what the current offer is, but definitely don't take the deal if it's what you mentioned above. Wait for something better. If you fly Delta, I think it's worth having either this or the Delta Gold card in your portfolio but hold out for more of a bonus. American Express went bananas after they lost Costco and I suspect that if the Chase Reserve is everything it's rumored to be, you'll see much better offers in the next month.

 

[calypso726]

I'm thinking about the Amex Delta Platinum - I think it's $5k in 3 months (we spend that in 1 naturally) for 35k skymiles plus 10k MQM. Have you seen this card and have any thoughts?

If your stuck in a Delta hub then a Delta card may come in handy. Their miles are some of the least valued for a major airline among the points and miles community and usually referred to as Sky Pesos. It is hard to find awards at a lower miles rate, you can't book first on partner awards with their miles. I agree with JillianMarie that the offer is not a good one at all. I have a targeted offer sitting in my inbox right now for 60K miles on $1000 spend in 3 months plus a $50 statement credit. I plan to jump on it after seeing what happens with the new Chase Reserve card. I'd suggest going to the settings on your Delta frequent flier account and opting to receive emails. You may get a targeted offer that is much better than the public offer.

 

[CaterFamily]

I think the card is worth having. The plat has an annual fee that isn't waived, but the first year comes with a statement credit and everyone flying gets a free checked bag. That alone can pay for the card. Additionally, once you hit your anniversary year it earns you a yearly companion pass which is a nice perk. That being said - what you quoted is a TERRIBLE offer. Ours was $2k spend in 3 months and 60k miles. I can't find what the current offer is, but definitely don't take the deal if it's what you mentioned above. Wait for something better. If you fly Delta, I think it's worth having either this or the Delta Gold card in your portfolio but hold out for more of a bonus. American Express went bananas after they lost Costco and I suspect that if the Chase Reserve is everything it's rumored to be, you'll see much better offers in the next month.

If your stuck in a Delta hub then a Delta card may come in handy. Their miles are some of the least valued for a major airline among the points and miles community and usually referred to as Sky Pesos. It is hard to find awards at a lower miles rate, you can't book first on partner awards with their miles. I agree with JillianMarie that the offer is not a good one at all. I have a targeted offer sitting in my inbox right now for 60K miles on $1000 spend in 3 months plus a $50 statement credit. I plan to jump on it after seeing what happens with the new Chase Reserve card. I'd suggest going to the settings on your Delta frequent flier account and opting to receive emails. You may get a targeted offer that is much better than the public offer.

We will hold out!!

Target date is more like October to try. Hopefully something better is out then.

 

[JillianMarie]

If your stuck in a Delta hub then a Delta card may come in handy. Their miles are some of the least valued for a major airline among the points and miles community and usually referred to as Sky Pesos. It is hard to find awards at a lower miles rate, you can't book first on partner awards with their miles. I agree with JillianMarie that the offer is not a good one at all. I have a targeted offer sitting in my inbox right now for 60K miles on $1000 spend in 3 months plus a $50 statement credit. I plan to jump on it after seeing what happens with the new Chase Reserve card. I'd suggest going to the settings on your Delta frequent flier account and opting to receive emails. You may get a targeted offer that is much better than the public offer.

A dummy booking on the Delta website can also trigger an elevated offer. Just go through and pretend to book a flight. When you get to the last page where you input your payment info - there is sometimes a decent American Express sign up offer. Once you click the link to apply, you can just ignore the ticket.

Yeah, Delta is definitely one of those love it or hate it airlines. If you're in a hub, they're great. If you're not, it can be tough to find good redemptions.

 

[CaterFamily]

A dummy booking on the Delta website can also trigger an elevated offer. Just go through and pretend to book a flight. When you get to the last page where you input your payment info - there is sometimes a decent American Express sign up offer. Once you click the link to apply, you can just ignore the ticket.

Yeah, Delta is definitely one of those love it or hate it airlines. If you're in a hub, they're great. If you're not, it can be tough to find good redemptions.

We're in eastern Washington. It's either Delta or Alaska. Our hands are often forced.

Just tried the dummy booking - only offers the Gold Delta Amex - 30k bonus, 0 MQM, $1k/3months, $100 statement credit/Delta purchase (one time).

Now the deal is different from yesterday on the Platinum SkyMiles: 35K bonus miles, 5k MQM, $1k/3months. Still not what I am looking for.

https://www262.americanexpress.com/dapply/web/getthecard/us/api/dal/personal-card/multi-lp/dal-Page7

Thats where I am looking.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Does anyone know how long it takes for the 50,000 in bonus points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred to post after you've charged the $4,000?

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Does anyone know how long it takes for the 50,000 in bonus points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred to post after you've charged the $4,000?

I believe at the close of your statement. I believe you can alter your statement closing date by changing your due date online.
ETA: Just read that for the bonus points, you may have to meet the minimum $4000 7 days before the end of your billing cycle for it to post at the end of that statement.

 

[CaterFamily]

I believe at the close of your statement. I believe you can alter your statement closing date by changing your due date online.
ETA: Just read that for the bonus points, you may have to meet the minimum $4000 7 days before the end of your billing cycle for it to post at the end of that statement.

I have also read horror stories of it taking 6-8 weeks to curtail point hackers. YMMV

 

[JillianMarie]

Does anyone know how long it takes for the 50,000 in bonus points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred to post after you've charged the $4,000?

I have collected quite a few Chase bonuses in my day and it has always posted the day after the statement closes the month you hit your minimum spend. If it takes you 3 days or 89 days, they'll post when that statement closes. I think they say officially it can take 6-8 weeks, but I have never had it take longer nor have I heard of points being embargoed. At least with Chase. American Express bonus posts as soon as the minimum is hit. I don't know about other banks.

 

[Albort]

Even if you get your 50k from CSP, i wasnt allowed to transfer them to any partners for 2 months... :\

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Even if you get your 50k from CSP, i wasnt allowed to transfer them to any partners for 2 months... :\

Why? Is this their policy? I was counting on transferring mine right away.

 

[Albort]

Why? Is this their policy? I was counting on transferring mine right away.

i think so... i recall wanting to do the same... transfer asap... but i couldnt add my FF# into UR and it said it needed to wait another month. this was back in October last year though...

 

[JillianMarie]

Even if you get your 50k from CSP, i wasnt allowed to transfer them to any partners for 2 months... :\

When was this? What reason did they give you? I...have never encountered this or heard of it before. I have always transferred bonus points days after earning then. I can't find anything in the terms and conditions about a waiting period. If this is a new development that doesn't bode well for the competitiveness of the card.

Edited to add: The Ultimate Rewards terms and conditions state that transfers will likely happen within a business day unless our account is behind on payments - then points are unable to transfer until the account is up to date. Nothing about a waiting period. I think someone at chase was having computer issues and gave you the run around...

 

[gottalovepluto]

Why? Is this their policy? I was counting on transferring mine right away.

ACK! Me too!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Even if you get your 50k from CSP, i wasnt allowed to transfer them to any partners for 2 months... :\

I so hope this isn't standard operating procedure!