I love credit cards so much!

[pinkxray]

If it's refundable the points will go back into your account instantly. And it should tell you during booking when you can cancel until and still get a refund.

Thanks! That's what I was hoping to hear.

 

[Albort]

The reason I share all of this is that I know many here are new to the hobby, some may be lurking and not posting and it can seem pretty overwhelming. I thought by sharing how we juggle building up between reward programs and why, it might help others formulate strategies that best meet their goals. I've said it before and I'll say it again, compared to the travel bloggers out there I barely know what the heck I'm doing and I'm totally ok with that. None the less, I am always happy to answer questions either publicly and via PM which I get fairly often

you need to publicly post a blog.

Last week I called Chase about having my CIP sent express. Well it came on Monday and yesterday I received another one. Same card number, should I just stash the extra one in the drawer or do I need to call and let them know I was sent 2?

You can keep both if you want, if not destroy one. I had something like that happen to my CSR, i called to have it expedited but 4 days later, it still wasnt here. I called again to ask, they told me it should be on its way. The replacement actually got to me next day, the actual card with the full case and stuff came a few days after that. I called them asking whats up, they said they did in fact send me a replacement card. Since its a metal card, they sent an envelop to have it destroyed by chase. I ended up keeping the card as a backup in my sock draw now.

You mean don't purchase Visa gift cards to purchase money orders, correct? It's ok to purchase gift cards?

Both in high volume is not a good idea. Amex has a special way of knowing by having the retailer send extra data on your purchases. We know this by Level3 data. I think Chase currently has something like this lately. would highly recommend you mix it with organic spending and not somethings outrageous like $2000 in Barnes and Nobles or something. You should be fine in buying gift cards.

 

[gottalovepluto]

You mean don't purchase Visa gift cards to purchase money orders, correct? It's ok to purchase gift cards?

Kinda confused- MOs are a second step a CC company would only see the first transaction, the purchase of the Visa gift card. Maybe that's not what you meant? Either way I wouldnt. Yes you can purchase gift cards but I would be very careful doing that with those cards too. We purchase some gift cards on our Amex cards but not tons and not to meet a minimum spend. Here's my source on the US Bank Altitude warning: http://www.doctorofcredit.com/psa-dont-buy-gift-cards-us-bank-altitude-card/

As for Amex they are suggested to also have a rewards abuse type team in place, less strict than US Bank but the consequences are so bad if you get caught it's not worth the risk to me.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I have a friend who literally got into a fight with several members of a Chinese family in front of the Terracotta Warriors. They were all even detained for a while! Be forewarned, tourists will push each other out of the way to get good photos.

OMG that's ridiculous- the site is huge! Lots of vantage points for photos! (Tourists can get pushy- at the Great Wall in college I was plowed down by a group of 5ft Korean tourists that seemed to be an average age of 90. I was in shock they were so pushy, and then some pain when I realized my ankle was sprained on my first day in China. Lesson learned for this 6ft person: short old people can and will plow you down no issues!)

@CyndiLouWho definitely go see the Terracotta Warrior site in Xian. It was amazing to see in person, I will never forget it.

 

[nuhertz]

Does anyone know how the DVC rental sites code when you use your card? Specifically the Chase Sapphire Reserve. I want to know if it codes as 3x travel.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I have been planning to get the IHG card from Chase and now seems like a good time. The bonus is up to 80k, though there are some targeted offers for 100k points. I just applied but got the 30 day message, probably for the same reason as my Freedom Unlimited card. So I need to call Chase to have them move credit from another card to this new application. If I called today, would they be able to do that or do I need to wait longer?

 

[Lehuaann]

Both in high volume is not a good idea. Amex has a special way of knowing by having the retailer send extra data on your purchases. We know this by Level3 data. I think Chase currently has something like this lately. would highly recommend you mix it with organic spending and not somethings outrageous like $2000 in Barnes and Nobles or something. You should be fine in buying gift cards.

Kinda confused- MOs are a second step a CC company would only see the first transaction, the purchase of the Visa gift card. Maybe that's not what you meant? Either way I wouldnt. Yes you can purchase gift cards but I would be very careful doing that with those cards too. We purchase some gift cards on our Amex cards but not tons and not to meet a minimum spend. Here's my source on the US Bank Altitude warning: http://www.doctorofcredit.com/psa-dont-buy-gift-cards-us-bank-altitude-card/

As for Amex they are suggested to also have a rewards abuse type team in place, less strict than US Bank but the consequences are so bad if you get caught it's not worth the risk to me.

Yikes, ok, so it looks like the problem is with Visa gift cards.

I've been purchasing Disney GCs at Kroger with my Discover for several years for Fuel Points and never encountered an issue. It's a legit purchase, so hopefully not a problem for minimum spend.

 

[AmyAnne]

I have been planning to get the IHG card from Chase and now seems like a good time. The bonus is up to 80k, though there are some targeted offers for 100k points. I just applied but got the 30 day message, probably for the same reason as my Freedom Unlimited card. So I need to call Chase to have them move credit from another card to this new application. If I called today, would they be able to do that or do I need to wait longer?

I have called right away for what turned out to be the same thing (needing to reallocate credit limits). It was kind of a long call (20 mins probably) because the agent had to check with some supervisor several times but it did get worked out.

 

[ZellyB]

Just tried to pay a mortgage payment via Plastiq on a new Delta skymiles Amex card and Plastiq said the card issuer denied it. I had used Plastiq last month on a different Amex to meet minimum spend and it went through fine. So, maybe Amex is also going to start blocking mortgage payments. Not sure if anyone else has run into this. Certainly complicates my plan to get minimum spend. I can do it in other ways, but mortgage payments was the easiest.

 

[mhartman09]

Woo hoo! Just called automated line (again) to check status on my CIP application. It's been approved! I'm thrilled. Now to start working on that minimum spend.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I have called right away for what turned out to be the same thing (needing to reallocate credit limits). It was kind of a long call (20 mins probably) because the agent had to check with some supervisor several times but it did get worked out.

Thanks. I just called and got some of the limit reallocated from the Marriott card to the IHG card. Call took about 10 minutes and went very easily. Once my card arrives, I am going to send a SM with a picture of the 100k points offer and see if they will match it.

ETA: Especially excited about this card because the free anniversary night alone is worth having it, since the annual fee is just $49. And it will keep my IHG points from expiring. I don't stay at IHG hotels a ton, but we prefer Holiday Inn Express when we need to spend a night on the road because of the nice accommodations, breakfast and laundry facilities.

 

[calypso726]

I have been planning to get the IHG card from Chase and now seems like a good time. The bonus is up to 80k, though there are some targeted offers for 100k points. I just applied but got the 30 day message, probably for the same reason as my Freedom Unlimited card. So I need to call Chase to have them move credit from another card to this new application. If I called today, would they be able to do that or do I need to wait longer?

Yes. I always call a few minutes after hitting submit.

 

[peel]

Woo hoo! Just called automated line (again) to check status on my CIP application. It's been approved! I'm thrilled. Now to start working on that minimum spend.

Great! No stress-inducing phone calls!!!!

 

[Lain]

Woo hoo! Just called automated line (again) to check status on my CIP application. It's been approved! I'm thrilled. Now to start working on that minimum spend.

80k+ UR points, here you come!

 

[mhartman09]

Great! No stress-inducing phone calls!!!!

80k+ UR points, here you come!

Yes!! I'm super excited for this 80K+, but even more excited I was approved for a business card with no hassle. LMAO

 

[jhoannam]

DH's SW card renews in October, we won't need it, can he PC to a non-fee card or should we just close it?

 

[peel]

DH's SW card renews in October, we won't need it, can he PC to a non-fee card or should we just close it?

There isn't a no fee card you can product change a SW card to.

 

[amalone1013]

Does anyone know how the DVC rental sites code when you use your card? Specifically the Chase Sapphire Reserve. I want to know if it codes as 3x travel.

My downpayment with DVC-rental.com with the CSR coded as travel.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

So with the IHG card, I am now at 5/24 until October. The only card that I might consider then is the Sapphire Preferred for the 50k points to downgrade later to a Freedom. And then I would like to try for a companion pass in 2019 (so we can get WDW annual passes and go 2-3 times in 2019-2020 while baby is still under 3). That means I would have to hold off on any applications until late 2018, when CSR drops off. I am thinking that instead of me getting the Sapphire Preferred, DH should get it for the bonus to help us with airfare to Venice next year. He could later downgrade it to a Freedom Unlimited. That way, I would be at 3/24 starting in October 2018 and could easily qualify for two SW cards.

 

[SBWB48]

So with the IHG card, I am now at 5/24 until October. The only card that I might consider then is the Sapphire Preferred for the 50k points to downgrade later to a Freedom. And then I would like to try for a companion pass in 2019 (so we can get WDW annual passes and go 2-3 times in 2019-2020 while baby is still under 3). That means I would have to hold off on any applications until late 2018, when CSR drops off. I am thinking that instead of me getting the Sapphire Preferred, DH should get it for the bonus to help us with airfare to Venice next year. He could later downgrade it to a Freedom Unlimited. That way, I would be at 3/24 starting in October 2018 and could easily qualify for two SW cards.

'Two-player' mode definitely makes this 'game' a lot more rewarding (no pun intended lol) and much easier to scale Folks over on reddit typically like to have one person stay under 5/24 and another just go over to not miss out on attractive opportunities, especially for those who may not want to venture into business cards.