I love credit cards so much!

[LynnTH]

I am trying to figure out mine and DH's next plan of attack. In the past I have always put each other down as AU to help meet minimum spend. I now see how that could affect getting Chase Cards. We like to use one main card for the both of us and I have cards for both of my kids also for emergencies. Currently that card is the Chase CSP - plan on keeping that one as only $95 and can add all the AU for nothing. We mainly travel domestic and normally fly Southwest. We do like cruises also. Following is what we both have from the past 24 months with their open dates:

Me:
Chase SP - 2/16 (Main card using)
Chase SR - 11/16 (will close this when renewal comes)
AU on these card:
Chase SW - 6/15 (so will be off the Chase 5/24 in June, will also be closing this card so can apply again)
Chase SR - 8/16 (will be closing this card)
AMEX- SPG - 3/16 (card is closed)

DH:
Chase SW - 6/15 (will be closing this card so can apply again)
Chase SR - 8/16 (Will be closing this card)
AMEX SPG - 3/16 (Card Closed)
AU on these cards:
Chase SP 2/16 (main card using).

So as of right now I am at 5/24 and will be 4/24 in June. Will it do me any good to take myself off as AU on DH's Chase SR? (Too late for AMEX card to do this as we already closed it). Would like to try for the SW Companion Pass by opening up 2 accounts towards the end of the year but not sure if taking me off as AU will help before closing that card?

DH is at 4/24 and in June will be 3/24. Thought maybe getting him the CSP for the 50,000 UR points. Trying to utilize the Chase cards before others if possible.

Other cards I am looking at are:
Barclay Cards for Both - Bonus would equal $500 in travel to be used on anything (hotel or cruise)
Capitol One Rewards for Both -Bonus would equal $400 statement credit for Travel - also 2x points on everything.
AMEX APG for Me - I know this would have to be done soon and not sure if that would be possible if I want to try for the SW cards. We used DH's points for stay at Dolphin - that was nice.

Hope I didn't confuse you all too much. I know I get overwhelmed just looking at everything. Trying to figure out the best scenarios for both of us. Also, DS will be going to college this fall and I know they take Credit Cards (just not sure at this point if there is a fee ) if no fee that would be a great way to meet minimum spending on some cards.

Both of our Credit Scores are between 820-830. If you got this far - any help would be appreciated... Thanks.

 

[Albort]

Me:
Chase SP - 2/16 (Main card using)
Chase SR - 11/16 (will close this when renewal comes)
AU on these card:
Chase SW - 6/15 (so will be off the Chase 5/24 in June, will also be closing this card so can apply again)
Chase SR - 8/16 (will be closing this card)
AMEX- SPG - 3/16 (card is closed)

DH:
Chase SW - 6/15 (will be closing this card so can apply again)
Chase SR - 8/16 (Will be closing this card)
AMEX SPG - 3/16 (Card Closed)
AU on these cards:
Chase SP 2/16 (main card using).

So as of right now I am at 5/24 and will be 4/24 in June. Will it do me any good to take myself off as AU on DH's Chase SR? (Too late for AMEX card to do this as we already closed it). Would like to try for the SW Companion Pass by opening up 2 accounts towards the end of the year but not sure if taking me off as AU will help before closing that card?

DH is at 4/24 and in June will be 3/24. Thought maybe getting him the CSP for the 50,000 UR points. Trying to utilize the Chase cards before others if possible.

Why using CSP over CSR? are u making minimums still?
I would suggest downgrading your CSs to Freedom. More power to earn UR points.(CFU and CF) CFU earns u 1.5x so your college charges can go on this card. or a 2% cash back like double cash would be nice.
I would remove yourself from all AU just in case... although i have heard of reports of calling in and fixing it.(i think)
since your at 4/24, id apply for 2 cards at once. push u up to 6/24. this should work.

whats your choice of airline? perhaps you can get the amex blue cash card(6% grocery stores) and maybe see if they have gift cards for your choice of cruise. i know gyft.com has a few cruise ship gift cards there. im not sure if you can use them but gyft.com codes 5x for me.

 

[ski_mom]

We mainly travel domestic and normally fly Southwest. We do like cruises also. Following is what we both have from the past 24 months with their open dates:

I don't have much to help with on your strategies, but I wanted to comment because you travel a lot like we do. I just wanted to mention that you can book cruises through the Chase UR portal for 1.5x per point on your CSR. We booked a cruise that way for this past January. You have to call in to do it, but they seemed very knowledgeable and had the same prices that I could find anywhere else.

We are cruising again this summer with the kids and we did not use our UR points for it for two reasons. 1. DD20 is doing a study abroad program called Semester at Sea and I'm trying to save points for her travel through that. I'm not sure what all I'll need, but I'm thinking the points will be more valuable for that. and 2. We needed to reach a minimum spend on a couple of cards and it was easy to do by putting the cruise on the cards. (We actually bought Carnival gift cards at 10% off, but that's how we easily reached the spend.)

 

[gottalovepluto]

...DD20 is doing a study abroad program called Semester at Sea and I'm trying to save points for her travel through that...

I'm terribly jealous of your DD! A family member of mine did that many years ago and when I looked into in college my University refused to work with the program. I still had a great study abroad but Sem at Sea looked amazing!

 

[elgerber]

Does anyone pay their taxes to meet a minimum spend? Dh just got approved for the Ink preferred ( he hasn't even gotten the card yet). We have $5000 in state and federal taxes to pay and wondering if there is opportunity here. I know there's some fee associated with doing so......around 2% ???? Any advice? TIA

Guilty, yes I did, both this year and last year. I know it's not the best, but I had my reasons

 

[gottalovepluto]

For anyone with the Amex Plat- I've seen reports that UberEats triggers the monthly credit!

 

[ski_mom]

I'm terribly jealous of your DD! A family member of mine did that many years ago and when I looked into in college my University refused to work with the program. I still had a great study abroad but Sem at Sea looked amazing!

She's very excited (and we're all excited for her as well)! It is costly, but she received full tuition scholarships for the school she's attending and they can be put toward her Semester at Sea tuition, so that helps a lot. I will say though, the options of programs to do while on shore are all very costly as well. I told her she's going to have to save every dime she makes this summer - but I know she's willing to. She realizes how fortunate she is to be able to do this!

One good thing for our credit card churning hobby, is that everything that we owe to the university for this program can be put on a credit card without any additional fees! So, at least we'll gain a little bit that way.

 

[LynnTH]

Why using CSP over CSR? are u making minimums still?
I would suggest downgrading your CSs to Freedom. More power to earn UR points.(CFU and CF) CFU earns u 1.5x so your college charges can go on this card. or a 2% cash back like double cash would be nice.
I would remove yourself from all AU just in case... although i have heard of reports of calling in and fixing it.(i think)
since your at 4/24, id apply for 2 cards at once. push u up to 6/24. this should work.

whats your choice of airline? perhaps you can get the amex blue cash card(6% grocery stores) and maybe see if they have gift cards for your choice of cruise. i know gyft.com has a few cruise ship gift cards there. im not sure if you can use them but gyft.com codes 5x for me.

I am using the CSP because I generally don't like to use multiple cards at a time. If I am not going after a minimum spend then I stick with 1 card - and this card Me, DH, DS and DD all have and charge to. So, easier to keep track of just the 1 card.

I am not really familiar with the Chase Freedom - what benefits does that have? I know I will keep the CSP as it does still have the extended warranty benefit and still has 2x points on dining and travel. I know the CSR is better but doesn't pay for us to have the big yearly fee and each AU is extra.

 

[LynnTH]

I don't have much to help with on your strategies, but I wanted to comment because you travel a lot like we do. I just wanted to mention that you can book cruises through the Chase UR portal for 1.5x per point on your CSR. We booked a cruise that way for this past January. You have to call in to do it, but they seemed very knowledgeable and had the same prices that I could find anywhere else.

We are cruising again this summer with the kids and we did not use our UR points for it for two reasons. 1. DD20 is doing a study abroad program called Semester at Sea and I'm trying to save points for her travel through that. I'm not sure what all I'll need, but I'm thinking the points will be more valuable for that. and 2. We needed to reach a minimum spend on a couple of cards and it was easy to do by putting the cruise on the cards. (We actually bought Carnival gift cards at 10% off, but that's how we easily reached the spend.)

I was wondering about cruises. The next cruise is already booked but will remember that for next time. They didn't show much on their website for cruises, so I didn't even look much.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I was wondering about cruises. The next cruise is already booked but will remember that for next time. They didn't show much on their website for cruises, so I didn't even look much.

If you call in, they can pretty much book any cruise for you. I just booked a Royal Caribbean cruise to Europe for 2018 using UR points.

ETA: I got the same pricing as RC website, including my Diamond member suite discount. And got the same on board credit incentive.

 

[LynnTH]

If you call in, they can pretty much book any cruise for you. I just booked a Royal Caribbean cruise to Europe for 2018 using UR points.

ETA: I got the same pricing as RC website, including my Diamond member suite discount. And got the same on board credit incentive.

So, had did that work with points. If you don't mind can you tell me the cost of the cruise and how many points you had to use?

 

[gottalovepluto]

If you call in, they can pretty much book any cruise for you. I just booked a Royal Caribbean cruise to Europe for 2018 using UR points.

ETA: I got the same pricing as RC website, including my Diamond member suite discount. And got the same on board credit incentive.

Wow!! I had no idea! I just assumed all they had was the UR website inventory! Sounds very much like they book it as a TA.

Does anyone know if Chase UR travel matches hotel discounts (like when hotels offer discounts to Seniors or AAA members)?

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

So, had did that work with points. If you don't mind can you tell me the cost of the cruise and how many points you had to use?

It cost $2k for 7-night cruise in a junior suite. The required deposit was $500, but I used all of my remaining UR points and put $800 on the cruise. The reason I did this was because the customer service rep told me that you can only apply UR points once, at the time of booking. I figure by the time the cruise rolls around I can either use Delta points or book with UR points for the airfare and get a 2 nights hotel in Venice with SPG points. So we will only have to cover $1200 for the rest of the cruise fare, plus shore excursions.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Wow!! I had no idea! I just assumed all they had was the UR website inventory! Sounds very much like they book it as a TA.

Does anyone know if Chase UR travel matches hotel discounts (like when hotels offer discounts to Seniors or AAA members)?

They are listed as the TA on the cruise booking that I just made. This means that you can't transfer the reservation to another agent, such as Costco for the extra Costco card bonus they usually offer. Something to keep in mind.

As to the hotel rooms, I would definitely call to see if they will match rates for AAA. I assume that they might and let you pay with UR. Probably will save some additional money.

 

[ski_mom]

It cost $2k for 7-night cruise in a junior suite. The required deposit was $500, but I used all of my remaining UR points and put $800 on the cruise. The reason I did this was because the customer service rep told me that you can only apply UR points once, at the time of booking. I figure by the time the cruise rolls around I can either use Delta points or book with UR points for the airfare and get a 2 nights hotel in Venice with SPG points. So we will only have to cover $1200 for the rest of the cruise fare, plus shore excursions.

We did something similar. We booked ours right after DH opened his CSR account (before he got his bonus points). The only points we had where what we transferred over from his CF card which we'd had for years. We had around 67,000 points and when we transferred them to the CSR, it paid for a little over $1,000 of the cruise fare.

I just wanted to add too that Royal had a promotion that each cabin received OBC and we received that when we booked through the portal just like we would have if we'd booked through Royal or another TA.

At one point, the prices dropped, so they upgraded our cabins for us with no trouble.

 

[Lain]

For anyone with the Amex Plat- I've seen reports that UberEats triggers the monthly credit!

Yes, this is how I plan to spend my $15/month Uber credit if only to justify the +$100 annual fee increase. I'm generally opposed to Uber out of principle, but practically speaking $15 might buy one, maaaybe two short rides here in the SF Bay Area. That's useless to our household as my wife receives pretax commuter benefits that she can use for uberPOOL, and we have a car for everything else. So delivery once a month it is!

ETA: I guess I'm going to try UberEATS tonight since I've only got til tomorrow to use March's credit!

 

[calypso726]

Has anyone been to Rome? Where should I stay with two free reward nights. I was looking into the Hyatt, Hilton, or Marriot cards.

@speedyfishy We haven't been to Rome yet but will be going there with Adventures by Disney this August. We are flying in a day early and the pre-night at the Melia through ABD was really expensive so we looked into other options for our pre-night in Rome. We considered IHG properties since we didn't want to be limited on the hotel category in Rome.

Sorry, but I am unclear if you already have enough points for 2 nights in Rome across all 3 cards or if you are looking to apply for a new card that would get you 2 nights in Rome. If it is the former, I would suggest scouring TripAdvisor for reviews on the ones you are considering. If it is the latter you should be aware that Marriott does not offer 2 nights for their card. The current sign up bonus is amazing at 100k and if the redemption you seek is less than 50k per night then that would do it. The card offers 1 free night at a category 1 - 5 Marriott on each anniversary that you have the card. Marriott does fall under Chase's 5/24 rule. If you are just getting started in this game then go for the Marriott. The Boscolo Exedra looks like an amazing 5 star hotel and the room night averages 45k per night.

The only Hyatt in Italy I am aware of is the Park Hyatt Milan. I don't think there are any in Rome. Hyatt fans, @Albort, please correct me if I'm wrong. The Hyatt offers 2 free nights and doesn't fall under 5/24 so you can get this card down the line.

The IHG card will give you an annual night per year with no cap on the hotel category. However the annual night certificate comes one year after having the card. You would need to use the points earned if staying before the one year anniversary. The IHG does not fall under the Chase 5/24. SO you can also get this one later.

The Hilton's Rome Cavlieri also looks nice but the points are over 75,000 per night. I wouldn't waste a card app on a Hilton card if I was under 5/24, especially with that outstanding Marriott card bonus.

Hope that helps.

 

[Albort]

I am using the CSP because I generally don't like to use multiple cards at a time. If I am not going after a minimum spend then I stick with 1 card - and this card Me, DH, DS and DD all have and charge to. So, easier to keep track of just the 1 card.

I am not really familiar with the Chase Freedom - what benefits does that have? I know I will keep the CSP as it does still have the extended warranty benefit and still has 2x points on dining and travel. I know the CSR is better but doesn't pay for us to have the big yearly fee and each AU is extra.

Chase Freedom is 5% rotating categories. Q1- gas | Q2 - grocery stores | Q3 - Restaurants | Q4 drug stores. you can earn a bunch with this. they can be transferred to the CSR for better redemption.
Chase Freedom Unlimited is 1.5x on everything.
You should probably keep the CSR and have your AU be Freedom Unlimited. its close to the 2x on the CSP.

@speedyfishy
The only Hyatt in Italy I am aware of is the Park Hyatt Milan. I don't think there are any in Rome. Hyatt fans, @Albort, please correct me if I'm wrong. The Hyatt offers 2 free nights and doesn't fall under 5/24 so you can get this card down the line.
Hope that helps.

yeah, looks like Hyatt only has 1 place in Italy... but heck, 30k points on a $520 room? totally worth it. can Marriott do better? huh huh?

 

[speedyfishy]

Thank you calypso726! I was looking into getting a new card. It sounds like the Marriott will be my best option. Thank you so much for your help and advice.

 

[CoP Luv]

Chase Freedom is 5% rotating categories. Q1- gas | Q2 - grocery stores | Q3 - Restaurants | Q4 drug stores.

Q2 - Grocery stores and drug stores this year.

https://creditcards.chase.com/freedom/calendar