I love credit cards so much!

[DisneyMandC]

My Marriott MORE points always post immediately.

Oh darn... Guess I'm going to have to get in touch with Chase now. Wonder how I'm going to prove that...

 

[wendow]

DH's Freedom came in this week and we've activated the 1st quarter bonus categories. Since he PCd his CSR to this Freedom, his old CSR card should still work, right? I want to put it in my wallet so that I can help max out the categories each quarter. Actually, he wants me to take the Freedom and he wants to keep the CSR if it will still work....LOL. IIRC I read here that it would still work, but wanted to confirm.

Our old cards worked when we PC'ed cards.

 

[Albort]

Oh darn... Guess I'm going to have to get in touch with Chase now. Wonder how I'm going to prove that...

hmm, Chase doesn't do Marriott more stuff. there is a Marriott more team, but they took over 2 weeks to respond to my email. suggest @Marriott Twitter team.

mine also posted immediately. even though I canceled the order, I still got both set of points lol

 

[CoP Luv]

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=]View attachment 306362[/GALLERY]

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

Based on your flight details, it looks like you would be switching from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1, but just check your flights and gates as you get closer to flying. United flights to London always go out of Terminal 1, so as long as you don't exit the secured area, it shouldn't be that difficult. Keep in mind that Terminal 1 is HUGE, as it is actually the size of two terminals that make up Terminal 1.

I am pretty sure the London flight leaves from Concourse C in Terminal 1 so you would have to go underground and and back up (probably about 5-7 minute walk underground). O'Hare has a ton of signs, so it would be pretty hard to get lost.

45 minutes, even coming from Terminal 2, is not that long, so just be mindful of timing to get from one area to the next. If you walked quickly, I would think you could get from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1, Concourse C in about 15 minutes as long as you didn't stop.

Have a great trip!!!!

 

[Lain]

@ski_mom, I’m sorry to read about your mom’s cancer, though I’m glad she’s responding well to treatment.

I know this is coming a little late, but this thread moved so fast this week, I was skimming most of the posts and only responding to ones I could help with. I can’t help your mom, but I’m glad it seems she’s surrounded by such supportive friends and family. Still trying to catch up on any posts I missed!

 

[Lain]

@christineinvegas, just to add to my earlier post in response to your need for more HawaiianMiles, I forgot to mention that Hawaiian Airlines has a shopping portal where you can earn miles on your online shopping: https://www.hawaiianairlines.com/merchant-partners/online-shopping.

This may or may not offer the best return from your shopping with partner merchants compared to other shopping portals, but may suit your needs most right now. You can compare the cash back, points and miles you could earn from an online merchant on different portals at any given time on cashbackmonitor.com. Note that the earning rates fluctuate periodically due to various promotions.

 

[DisneyMandC]

hmm, Chase doesn't do Marriott more stuff. there is a Marriott more team, but they took over 2 weeks to respond to my email. suggest @Marriott Twitter team.

mine also posted immediately. even though I canceled the order, I still got both set of points lol

Ok, I have no idea why I typed Chase... LOL. Definitely meant Marriott! Too tired for the internet I guess!

 

[kmc8826]

So I was just researching Amex and application rules. Found this post. Especially the second part talking about sign up bonuses. Do you all think this is right?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.re...ation-rules-will-you-get-a-sign-up-bonus/amp/
Specifically where he says for example in the Delta family can’t get bonus on more than one card. And where states only one Amex bonus every 90 days. That is the first I have ever heard those two points but possible I have missed it. Thanks.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

So I was just researching Amex and application rules. Found this post. Especially the second part talking about sign up bonuses. Do you all think this is right?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.re...ation-rules-will-you-get-a-sign-up-bonus/amp/
Specifically where he says for example in the Delta family can’t get bonus on more than one card. And where states only one Amex bonus every 90 days. That is the first I have ever heard those two points but possible I have missed it. Thanks.

Literally everything in that post seems wrong. I would never trust anything posted by that person again LOL. I'm literally cracking up at the inaccuracies.

 

[kmc8826]

Literally everything in that post seems wrong. I would never trust anything posted by that person again LOL. I'm literally cracking up at the inaccuracies.

Oh good! Thanks! That is what I thought. I have never heard of him. My first Amex was 2009 the Delta Gold personal which I maybe year or two year later upgraded to Platinum. I was just wondering if since it was so long ago that I could get the bonus again on it. I know the lifetime language with Amex but have also saw reports that sometimes it is about 7 years. Trying to research that and found that article. Glad it made you LOL!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Oh good! Thanks! That is what I thought. I have never heard of him. My first Amex was 2009 the Delta Gold personal which I maybe year or two year later upgraded to Platinum. I was just wondering if since it was so long ago that I could get the bonus again on it. I know the lifetime language with Amex but have also saw reports that sometimes it is about 7 years. Trying to research that and found that article. Glad it made you LOL!

To specifically address some of the comments:
- there is no limit on total number of cards
- there is a 4-5 card limit on CREDIT cards
- the whole "family" thing is crap
- I've earned bonuses on multiple cards that I signed up for on the same day

 

[gottalovepluto]

So I was just researching Amex and application rules. Found this post. Especially the second part talking about sign up bonuses. Do you all think this is right?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.re...ation-rules-will-you-get-a-sign-up-bonus/amp/
Specifically where he says for example in the Delta family can’t get bonus on more than one card. And where states only one Amex bonus every 90 days. That is the first I have ever heard those two points but possible I have missed it. Thanks.

I am SO glad you asked us about this. They are HORRIBLY WRONG. SO much bad info in that article. We've got your back here that blogger on the other hand not at all. For instance tons and tons and tons of people get the delta gold bonus and the delta platinum bonus. Now we all know a blog not to follow and indeed to watch out for because that was... bad.

 

[Alice Sr.]

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!

So what I took out of your response is it is better to be 2 years ahead for all the reasons above. Thank you for sharing your MR process. I feel much more comfortable about using them now!

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.

I am so glad I was not able to PC my CIP to CIC through the SM and hadn't gotten around to calling in yet. I would cry like a baby if I lost the potential to take advantage of the Plastiq 3x trick.

Yes! I wish I could go on in length but I’m out and about right now.

Here are two helpful articles from FrequentMiler:

Buy SPG points for 35% off. Cheap way to buy Marriott points or airline miles

and

How to buy more than 30K SPG points

Basically, points . com has Starpoints on sale for 35% off (2.275 cents per point) right now through 3/16/18. You can buy up to 30,000 Starpoints per person in a calendar year, but you can also purchase a gift of additional Starpoints to SPG members who have had their accounts set up for more than 14 days. If DH, has a SPG account already set up, you could also buy and gift points to him, then transfer the points within your household. (If not, it may be too late to set up an account for DH for this promotion.) Points are deposited to your SPG account within minutes after purchase. If you pay with an Amex SPG card, you’ll earn 2x Starpoints on the purchase (and it’ll count towards your MSR). If you use TopCashBack shopping portal, I believe points . com earns 1.5% cash back. Obviously, check the links for more information.

Hope this helps!

ETA: Adding to @Albort’s point, buying a maximum 30,000 Starpoints = $682.50, at 2x on the SPG Biz is 1,365 Starpoints earned on the purchase, resulting in 31,365 more Starpoints to your SPG account.

Thanks, I will make this my 1st purchase if I get the card before 3/16

 

[Alice Sr.]

Applied and approved for SPG Biz, used DISchurner link and IM'd that wonderful individual . Thanks everyone who shared their enthusiasm for the card to keep me focused (yay I didn't repeat the IHG mistake).

 

[kayteekt]

Oh, I did. $3k went to the orthodontist (since they don’t take Amex).

I'll jump in here. I finished MS on Mariott just a day or 2 before statement cut. I got points for my statement spending but no bonus points yet. Hoping they'll post next statement.

 

[GlamMistress]

Deep churning. Since I'm 90000/24, I've been researching less talked-about cards. Last night I was reading about the Lufthansa Miles and More card. I was surprised to find it comes with a free companion cert (economy) immediately after activation. Was curious if anyone here has ever had this card (Barclays issues) and if the cert is hard to use?

 

[afan]

Totally not related but almost. There's only 2 reasons to be up this early on a Sunday (I'm in PST) to leave on a vacation or to run in a race. Hot Chocolate 15k this morning to get a time to enter for the Wine & Dine half which I hope to register for using my new Amex if it comes in time. I brought it all back I need a nap...

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Woke up to a nice little Sunday morning suprise. $20 Best Buy certificate....earned from ordering DH a new laptop for work (will be a reimbursed expense.) Immediately used the $20 to buy a $25 Disney gift card online. So thanks to DH's company I got a $25 Disney card for $20 and approx $1000 UR points for the computer purchase. No shop through chase or ebates since it is an apple product. Boo.

ETA: I will have a DCL deposit due later this week when summer 2019 opens. What is the best/fastest way to get some Disney gift cards? Target will save 5% but I won't earn cc points. I could grab them from Sams but I have maxed freedom this quarter so getting a Walmart gc using chase pay won't work. I am going to hop over to the gift card thread, but let me know if there is something cc specific I should do.

 

[calypso726]

So I was just researching Amex and application rules. Found this post. Especially the second part talking about sign up bonuses. Do you all think this is right?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.re...ation-rules-will-you-get-a-sign-up-bonus/amp/
Specifically where he says for example in the Delta family can’t get bonus on more than one card. And where states only one Amex bonus every 90 days. That is the first I have ever heard those two points but possible I have missed it. Thanks.

I'll just share my own DPs. I applied for two Delta cards the same day and got the wait and see message. I called recon and they said something about the number of Amex cards I had currently. I cancelled one of my current Amex cards that was already on the chopping block. I was approved for both Delta cards and received the bonus for both Delta cards after completing MSR. DH did the exact same thing a few days after I did and had the exact same results.

So what I took out of your response is it is better to be 2 years ahead for all the reasons above. Thank you for sharing your MR process. I feel much more comfortable about using them now!

Yes, absolutely! I value MR but not the same way I value SPG or UR. That said, they are still a very important part of my miles/points portfolio. For me I value variable points and miles in this order - SPG, UR, MR and then TYP (which I tend to neglect). I spend most of my time earning and juggling the first 3. I value miles over cash back mostly due to the type of travel we are geared towards. Since SPG transfers to over 30 airlines and kicks in 5K miles for every 20K transfer I do, it is my most valuable card. Nearly all of my non category spend is going on the SPG card. UR is next because I am able to earn UR faster thanks to the bonus categories like 5x on the Ink+ at Office Supply stores and 5x Freedom categories. Also, if I decide to "pay with points" in the travel portal they are valued at 1.5 and I will need less points up front to pay for travel with UR than I will with MR. DH still has the Amex Plat biz card which gets you 1.54 when redeemed for travel. However, that 1.54 is after you get your 35% of points back. So I need 100% of points at .01 in place to pay for travel then I have to wait a month or 2 to get 35% of them back and reach the 1.54 value.

Here's the other thing which I have done as well. If you find yourself needing to cancel an MR card that you weren't planning to keep and the AF is due but still have MR points you don't want to lose open up an Amex Everyday no fee card and keep it. Those points from the Everyday card still transfer to airlines and will keep your MR points "alive" when you need to cancel MR cards with a high AF like all the bloody Platinum cards.

For some, the Everyday Preferred card with the $95 AF makes more sense. The no fee card earns 2x at grocery stores up to $6k in spend and a 20% bonus for all MR earned on the card if you make 20 purchases in a billing cycle. The Everyday Preferred card earns 3x on grocery stores up to $6K in spend and 2x at gas stations with a 50% bonus on all MR earned for 30 purchases in a billing cycle. DH and I ran the numbers and for us the no fee card works best for me and my spend and the AF card works best for him. I have it just to keep MR points alive but don't bother with trying to hit the 20% bonus unless there are some great Amex offers on the cards and it's worth the effort on a given month. For DH, who does all the grocery shopping it makes sense. He is able to do the 30 transactions a month and hit the 50% by dividing up grocery purchases into 2 or 3 transactions on each trip, purchasing .50 cent Amazon gift cards and has a vending machine at work that takes credit cards.

 

[calypso726]

ETA: I will have a DCL deposit due later this week when summer 2019 opens. What is the best/fastest way to get some Disney gift cards? Target will save 5% but I won't earn cc points. I could grab them from Sams but I have maxed freedom this quarter so getting a Walmart gc using chase pay won't work. I am going to hop over to the gift card thread, but let me know if there is something cc specific I should do.

Do you happen to have the old Chase Ink Plus or a Chase Ink Cash? If so, they earn 5x at Office Supply stores. Staples and Office Depot/Max usually sell Disney gift cards.