I love credit cards so much!

[Aanna]

BTW, I can find a Delta flight to Orland for 4 round trip. $1,800 cash. On UR same flight is $1,000 (or 68,000 points). That isn't even going through the Korean Air process, which for economy was 100,000 points.

Wait, is the UR site really giving discounts? Every time *I've looked all the prices were higher than going directly through the airline/hotel.

 

[Albort]

Wait, is the UR site really giving discounts? Every time *I've looked all the prices were higher than going directly through the airline/hotel.

if u look on the bottom where it tells you how many points is required, you will usually see the 20% discount within those points vs the $$ price.
so flight from LA --> Orlando
$434.20 or 34,736 UR pts.
UR pts to cash is $347.36.

edit: add example

 

[Aanna]

if u look on the bottom where it tells you how many points is required, you will usually see the 20% discount within those points vs the $$ price.

Oh, yes, I'm seeing the points discount. What I'm surprised about is that people seem to be finding the base *cash* price is lower than they are seeing elsewhere, like this:

BTW, I can find a Delta flight to Orland for 4 round trip. $1,800 cash. On UR same flight is $1,000 (or 68,000 points). That isn't even going through the Korean Air process, which for economy was 100,000 points.

EDIT: Nevermind, I think I read the bottom quote backwards. I thought that WDWRook was seeing an $800 discount on the UR site, but maybe they were seeing that fare as $1,000 per person rather than $1,800 for 4 people? Dunno.

 

[WDWRook]

I was looking at if I book via UR site portal on Delta or a delta direct via delta.com. I see several say the cash cost to book flight gets is hard higher than direct on the airlines site. Just so happens in this example to be less. I hope i s less in Oct 2017.

 

[WDWRook]

What recurring household bills are people paying via credit cards, and do any cards give bonus points for such bills? Looks like gas/electric and cable/internet/cell accept credit with no fee. Mortgage auto lease student loans all seem to not accept credit unless you use a third party service payer.

 

[calypso726]

What recurring household bills are people paying via credit cards, and do any cards give bonus points for such bills? Looks like gas/electric and cable/internet/cell accept credit with no fee. Mortgage auto lease student loans all seem to not accept credit unless you use a third party service payer.

The Ink+ is 5x for cable, internet, phone and office supply stores. Office supply stores sell gift cards to other merchants and can increase the field of 5x for purchases. When an office supply store has a deal like buy a $300 Visa GC and get a $20 Visa GC back, the $20 Visa GC opens the playing field of 5X points even more. If the Visa GC is a pin enabled one and woks like a debit card, you can purchase money orders with them from various places for a small fee, deposit it the money order to your checking account and pay back your credit card. That would be a foray into manufactured spending which is not to be done without spending a good amount of time learning the ins and outs so you don't get burned.

 

[WDWRook]

Ink is a business card right? I don't have my own business. I am a shareholder at a firm but I can't setup new cards in the firm name.

I do have an LLC but it has zero activity or assets.

 

[calypso726]

Ink is a business card right? I don't have my own business. I am a shareholder at a firm but I can't setup new cards in the firm name.

I do have an LLC but it has zero activity or assets.

You can own a business as a sole proprietor and use your ss#. You may own a business and not know it. I did. Do you hold garage sales, ever sell stuff on EBay or Amazon?

In my case, I groom a few dogs that are my "grand puppies" from back when I used to show Golden Retrievers at dog shows competing for their championship titles. I also dog sit them too when their owners go on vacation. I am also a distributor for Young Living oils but that is just so I can get the wholesale price for myself. I am a part time travel agent but I am also my only client and want to keep it that way but Chase doesn't need to know that. These activities all qualify me to be a business. My business name is just my first and last name.

 

[CoP Luv]

>>> I have had a Freedom card for a number of years as my primary card. If I were to transfer UR points from the Freedom to CSR, then they would be worth 1.5x more?

No they would be worth 1.5

>>> Would they only be worth the 1.5x if you were to use them booking travel through the Chase Portal? Yes. Is that the best use of UR points now? Not in my opinion but I value airline miles more than using my points as a cash.

>>> I have roughly 12,500 points in UR with my Freedom which would transfer at 1.5x to 18,750 on CSR???? No. It would transfer to 12,500 UR points that can now be used to book travel or directly transfer to an airline.

Thanks so much for your answers to my (many) questions!

A few more:

What do you recommend for a no fee card?

I am a little confused on the answer to the quoted questions. How exactly does transferring of UR points work? They would only be worth 1.5 points when used to book travel and getting a 20% discount on top of that? For example, 10,000 UR points from my Freedom would be worth 15,000 UR when using to purchase travel. A plane ticket costing $187 on the Chase Portal would cost the same 10,000 UR points from my Freedom? ($187 @20% discount?) Or do I have that completely wrong?

 

[amalone1013]

Perhaps you awesome people can help me out here... I have two questions.

First off, I'd like to get the SW Companion Pass ASAP next year, to hopefully use for a quick trip in early February. We're getting married, so the sign up spend would mostly go to wedding things. I've got some Choice points, and would buy a few more to finish out that 110k point requirement.

Now I'm wondering about the 5/24. Here are my recent cards:
1/2015: Target store card, Barclay card; 6/2016: AMEX SPG; 9/2016: Disney Visa

Originally, I was going to apply for one card late Oct/early Nov, and the other in December to space out the applications a bit. Do I do that, or does the 5/24 mess it up? Or should I apply for both at once? Or apply for one in Jan after the Jan 2015 cards move out of the 24 month period? I'd like to get the Companion Pass ASAP for 2017, because not only would it cover our flights to WDW for our wedding/honeymoon, but it'd also allow us to budget in a quick trip to see our places in person (we've never been to WDW) and early Feb is the time that works best for us.

My other question: DF has a fare credit good until April with SW. Originally, I thought he could get the Companion Pass, and book his first flight with that credit + $15 difference in fares... BUT I didn't realize all the cards he had opened in the last two years - store cards, discover, travel reward cards (thanks to me), BoA with no rewards, and a bank credit card (the teller told him that having a cc through the bank and not just store/reg ones would help when he tried to buy a house ). He's probably at 8 cards or so. Now that I'm getting the Companion Pass, should we just cut our losses with the credit since he'll be the companion flying free? He's unlikely to go anywhere alone and use it, but we could look into that... but if we're traveling together, it's about $4 cheaper to pay the fees than the fare difference for the flights we were looking at.

PS. I'm part way into this thread and plan on reading it all, so if this stuff is here somewhere I apologize!

 

[Albort]

Ink is a business card right? I don't have my own business. I am a shareholder at a firm but I can't setup new cards in the firm name.

I do have an LLC but it has zero activity or assets.

You could apply under your own SS#. I did it that way, although my business is not "official" with an EIN, but i am a property manager of a few properties. If you apply and get denied, your best bet is to wait until you officially get the rejection letter. Once you get that, call recon. DO NOT call recon before that.

Thanks so much for your answers to my (many) questions!

A few more:

What do you recommend for a no fee card?

I am a little confused on the answer to the quoted questions. How exactly does transferring of UR points work? They would only be worth 1.5 points when used to book travel and getting a 20% discount on top of that? For example, 10,000 UR points from my Freedom would be worth 15,000 UR when using to purchase travel. A plane ticket costing $187 on the Chase Portal would cost the same 10,000 UR points from my Freedom? ($187 @20% discount?) Or do I have that completely wrong?

The "recommended credit card" honestly stems from what you use your card the most. If you just want the standard 2x cash back, the citi double cash is a great card. Theres also a fidelity card that also gives you 2x. Then there comes other combos, such as the Chase Freedom Unlimited. If u collect UR points, the 1.5 isnt too bad. Gas? well, if you got costco membership, the citi costco card is a really good card to carry around(although this card i think requires a costco membership?). Groceries? i think the amex blue card gives u 3%(6% for fee).

The UR transfer from card to card is always one to one. The question is how its redeemed. Im not sure how these points are viewed but how i look at them, if you book your airfare via chase portal, you use 20% less points than you would if you spend cash. To figure how the per point value, divide dollar cost / points. so the points worth can vary. This will tell you if the redemption is good. usually anything over $.01 is good. Freedom card does not give u the 20% though, only CSR/CSP do. i hope that makes sense.

 

[afan]

I'm saving up to take my mom to Norway in 2018, she turns 70 that year and wants to research the family history more. My plan is to get plane tickets my Xmas. Ext year for a late June\early July trip. I want to see the midnight sun ☺ Anyway when I look at airfare I find good rates on Icelandic and Norwegian. We'll fly from Seattle so would need to fly to another city for Norwegian.

I'm planning to get a choice hotel cc next year because it has the beat redemption rates for Norway and they are all over.

My question is, what would be my best bet in the mean time. Probably cash back right?

 

[Albort]

My question is, what would be my best bet in the mean time. Probably cash back right?

cash back isnt usually that great. why not save it for other hotel/airfare redemption?

 

[afan]

cash back isnt usually that great. why not save it for other hotel/airfare redemption?

Because I'm not planning any trips in the next 2 years that I would need it for so I'm trying to figure out a way to help with airfare but I don't think there is one for the airlines I'm looking at most likely flying.

Sas is the other potential airline. I haven't looked to see if they partner with anyone that would be helpful.

 

[calypso726]

Because I'm not planning any trips in the next 2 years that I would need it for so I'm trying to figure out a way to help with airfare but I don't think there is one for the airlines I'm looking at most likely flying.

Sas is the other potential airline. I haven't looked to see if they partner with anyone that would be helpful.

Generally, I plan trips two years out. That gives me one year to get the miles I would need for the airfare, as well as a plan B for airfare if my first plan doesn't work out. Then, I book my airfare 331+ days before my trip. SAS is a Star Alliance partner airline so they partner with United.

 

[Albort]

Because I'm not planning any trips in the next 2 years that I would need it for so I'm trying to figure out a way to help with airfare but I don't think there is one for the airlines I'm looking at most likely flying.

Sas is the other potential airline. I haven't looked to see if they partner with anyone that would be helpful.

This is what i would do. SAS is part of Star Alliance, which has United Airlines. United Airlines has a crap load of ways to earn miles. I would start now with Chase Freedom/Chase Freedom Unlimited. start collecting UR pts now. Do mileageplus dining which will also earn you miles. When it comes to around 2017, i would apply for a travel card. CSR or CSP. Both of them has the power to transfer to United Airlines. You can pool your CF and CFU into your CSP/CSR and transfer them all to United(more like transfer however much you need). I just checked United Airlines portal and SAS does show up in award travel.
you can also consider opening up United Mileageplus cards as well to give u more miles.

 

[calypso726]

Thanks so much for your answers to my (many) questions!

A few more:

What do you recommend for a no fee card?

I am a little confused on the answer to the quoted questions. How exactly does transferring of UR points work? They would only be worth 1.5 points when used to book travel and getting a 20% discount on top of that? For example, 10,000 UR points from my Freedom would be worth 15,000 UR when using to purchase travel. A plane ticket costing $187 on the Chase Portal would cost the same 10,000 UR points from my Freedom? ($187 @20% discount?) Or do I have that completely wrong?

@Albort did a very succinct job of answering this. I'll chime in with some more no fee cards. The Discover It is pretty popular and there is a PenFed card that gives 5X on gas. A really good no fee card for travel redemption and airline transfer is the Everyday Amex. If you make 30 transaction in your billing cycle you earn an additional 20% on your rewards.

Perhaps you awesome people can help me out here... I have two questions.

First off, I'd like to get the SW Companion Pass ASAP next year, to hopefully use for a quick trip in early February. We're getting married, so the sign up spend would mostly go to wedding things. I've got some Choice points, and would buy a few more to finish out that 110k point requirement.

Now I'm wondering about the 5/24. Here are my recent cards:
1/2015: Target store card, Barclay card; 6/2016: AMEX SPG; 9/2016: Disney Visa

Originally, I was going to apply for one card late Oct/early Nov, and the other in December to space out the applications a bit. Do I do that, or does the 5/24 mess it up? Or should I apply for both at once? Or apply for one in Jan after the Jan 2015 cards move out of the 24 month period? I'd like to get the Companion Pass ASAP for 2017, because not only would it cover our flights to WDW for our wedding/honeymoon, but it'd also allow us to budget in a quick trip to see our places in person (we've never been to WDW) and early Feb is the time that works best for us.

My other question: DF has a fare credit good until April with SW. Originally, I thought he could get the Companion Pass, and book his first flight with that credit + $15 difference in fares... BUT I didn't realize all the cards he had opened in the last two years - store cards, discover, travel reward cards (thanks to me), BoA with no rewards, and a bank credit card (the teller told him that having a cc through the bank and not just store/reg ones would help when he tried to buy a house ). He's probably at 8 cards or so. Now that I'm getting the Companion Pass, should we just cut our losses with the credit since he'll be the companion flying free? He's unlikely to go anywhere alone and use it, but we could look into that... but if we're traveling together, it's about $4 cheaper to pay the fees than the fare difference for the flights we were looking at.

PS. I'm part way into this thread and plan on reading it all, so if this stuff is here somewhere I apologize!

So, you applied for zero new cards in 2014? Or if you did they were before September 2014. If that is the case then you are at 4/24 or 3/24 depending on who you talk to. The Target card shouldn't count as long as it is a true store card and not one of the Target Mastercard. If you can apply for the cards the same day at the same time you are better off. If they are Chase cards they will combine the hard pull into one instead of two. If they are from multiple banks they may not see the inquiry for the other card and it is one less pull affecting your score and new accounts at that moment in time. The serious travel hackers will apply for 3 - 8 cards all on the same day as close to the same time as possible, then lather rinse, repeat in 3 months.

I rarely fly Southwest and don't collect their points and miles so I am not at all knowledgeable on the topic of how their companion passes work or their fare credits. I know we have a lot of DISers who fly SW a lot and know all the ins and outs and could provide you with sound advise.

 

[WDWRook]

You could apply under your own SS#. I did it that way, although my business is not "official" with an EIN, but i am a property manager of a few properties. If you apply and get denied, your best bet is to wait until you officially get the rejection letter. Once you get that, call recon. DO NOT call recon before that.

I think I have an EIN for the LLC. Never used it (had grand plans, then went to work for someone else). If I register an Ink card under my SSN is will simply count as one of my personal cards, for the 5/24 rule and be reported on my credit history, correct?

EDIT: are you all suggesting the regular Ink, or the Ink Premier? Ink has no annual fee, Premier $95.

 

[Albort]

I think I have an EIN for the LLC. Never used it (had grand plans, then went to work for someone else). If I register an Ink card under my SSN is will simply count as one of my personal cards, for the 5/24 rule and be reported on my credit history, correct?

EDIT: are you all suggesting the regular Ink, or the Ink Premier? Ink has no annual fee, Premier $95.

i used SSN but it never gave me a hard pull. its YMMV for everyone, i do have a chase account for years with Chase Freedom and CSP.

Would suggest the Ink Premier as it gives u 60k(maybe 70k?). I think the regular Ink card will only net you 30k(atm). categories are almost the same, the 2x category changes.
Premier also gives u the option to transfer to partners, while the Ink Cash doesnt.
last difference is the up to 50k earning vs 25k earning.

 

[WDWRook]

Does Ink cash give you UR points, or just cash back? All I'm reading about it, and none specify this. Also, I guess I need to learn.....Do UR points ever expire?

Also, if you have a business card, is it difficult to transfer UR to your personal account?