I love credit cards so much!

[wendow]

I need to do some reading on MR points. We live near Denver. SW is almost always the best deal/times for us, so it's been really nice to have the points and CP with them the last year or so, that's why I'd like to get it for DH for future domestic travel. Beyond them for flight points I'm haha! I think Denver's a United hub... I'll have to look into it because I've never paid it any mind. I am liking the idea of business cards especially for myself so I could get maybe CIP around the end of the year.

Denver is a United hub but there are several other options for getting to Europe from here too. I think BA, AA, Delta, Virgin all fly direct to various cities. How that works with MR, I'm too! We stay domestic so far so we always fly SW or if we are in the mood for some torture, Frontier.

 

[kayteekt]

Has anyone looked at point cost at the Dolphin since the cat change? I made a booking before the change under my mom's spg account (we didn't have enough time to transfer points). It's always been 10k points/night. Well, I put in those dates to see what the point cost would be now, and what do you know...it's showing 9,600/nt...for Dolphin (and Swan) moved dates around a couple of times and I'm still coming up with that amount. Am I crazy or has the cost gone down?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Do you have either of them right now? I have both Freedom cards, and I rarely use the CFU.

The only charges I put on that card are a handful of purchases that come up that don't fall in any other category, and I only put them on the CFU if I am not trying to meet a MSR. If you are not usually working on a MSR, you may have a lot more for the CFU card than I might. I'm not sure what your 'churning style' is so it's kind of hard to advise.

I'd choose CF as well. We don't have a CFU yet b/c I don't have anything I am ready to downgrade, but the CF is awesome! I always max the category. Worst case, use it to buy GC from whatever the quarterly cat is...ie- go to publix and buy amazon cards....or whatever. Between this and the CIP/gyft combo, I find I do really well and would rarely use the CFU.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I feel like it is going to take me FOREVER to get thru this SPG biz spend b/c I keep finding myself wanting to use a diff card for better return. Do you guys just hit up the card with MSR or do you only use it when you can't get a better deal? For ex, I run thru the starbucks line and I pull out the CSR for 3x even though to hit the SPG MSR quickly I should be using that. I am having a mental block about taking lesser points on the SPG. I could get DH an employee card to use for his business bills but again, I want the 3x for those hotels.

 

[linzjane88]

Well, I’ve seen this thread for awhile but I’ve been too lazy and/or impatient. Hubby says we’ve been spending too much on travel last couple of years though, so I’m going to fix that w/o sacrificing!

Mine tells me that too. Rude! . The funny thing is he doesn't do any bills or anything. He is basing it strictly off of how much we travel vs friends/family/coworkers. Yes, we travel more. But we also live in the same house we bought when I was in college and my car is 12 years old. Meanwhile everyone else has new cars and a new house and the toys to go with. We prefer travel. I see no issues!

 

[calypso726]

I'm also childfree. I drive a pure electric, DH drives a Volt so we hardly buy any gas. I am more curious how you never buy groceries, ever. How do you get milk and cereal in your home? I don't buy many groceries either comparatively but we still definitely eat food. Sorry to threadjack, but your comment fascinated me. [I used my Amex PRG for gas/grocery spend].

Ok, I just realized how unclear I was. DH and I keep our finances separate. It works best for us that way. I don't go to the grocery store, but he does. He does the cooking so he knows what we need. On the rare occasion I have attempted to cook it results in an story I'll tell at social gatherings to amuse others at my expense. So, if I don't know what to do with it, then I don't need to go find out where it is located and buy it. As long as there is coffee (Death Wish coffee is my new favorite) in the house, I can survive. Hope that clears things up a bit.

 

[wendow]

I'd choose CF as well. We don't have a CFU yet b/c I don't have anything I am ready to downgrade, but the CF is awesome! I always max the category. Worst case, use it to buy GC from whatever the quarterly cat is...ie- go to publix and buy amazon cards....or whatever. Between this and the CIP/gyft combo, I find I do really well and would rarely use the CFU.

Exactly. My CFU typically has a monthly balance of like $40'ish. My CF about $700. That is with putting just about everything I can on the card I'm meeting MSR on, trying to use the CF categories and only using the CFU where Amex isn't taken and there is no category card that is better. It just really is a sad little card that rarely gets used.

 

[Calfan]

I feel like it is going to take me FOREVER to get thru this SPG biz spend b/c I keep finding myself wanting to use a diff card for better return. Do you guys just hit up the card with MSR or do you only use it when you can't get a better deal? For ex, I run thru the starbucks line and I pull out the CSR for 3x even though to hit the SPG MSR quickly I should be using that. I am having a mental block about taking lesser points on the SPG. I could get DH an employee card to use for his business bills but again, I want the 3x for those hotels.

You aren't alone. I just received my SPG Biz yesterday, and my goal is to meet as much of the MSR as possible without *poaching* other, bonused spend. So, very similar example to yours, I stopped at a local coffee place on my way to work this morning to get a coffee and an energy bar, and I paid with the CSR so I didn't sacrifice my 3x UR in favor of the MSR on the SPG Biz. Given how high that MSR is, however, I'm resigned to eventually having to sacrifice some other bonus spend. We have a balance payment coming up in the next couple of months for an Adventures by Disney trip we are doing in August. I'm going to wait as long as possible and put as much non-otherwise-bonused spend on the SPG Amex as I can, but then I will likely finish off the MSR on the SPG by paying as much of the balance on our ABD as I need to with the SPG to meet MSR and putting the rest on the CSR to get the 3x UR.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Has anyone looked at point cost at the Dolphin since the cat change? I made a booking before the change under my mom's spg account (we didn't have enough time to transfer points). It's always been 10k points/night. Well, I put in those dates to see what the point cost would be now, and what do you know...it's showing 9,600/nt...for Dolphin (and Swan) moved dates around a couple of times and I'm still coming up with that amount. Am I crazy or has the cost gone down?

Are you looking at a 5 night stay by chance? A 5 night stay would be 4x12,000=48,000 points (divided by 5 = 9,600 pts per night). Remember you get the 5th night free

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I feel like it is going to take me FOREVER to get thru this SPG biz spend b/c I keep finding myself wanting to use a diff card for better return. Do you guys just hit up the card with MSR or do you only use it when you can't get a better deal? For ex, I run thru the starbucks line and I pull out the CSR for 3x even though to hit the SPG MSR quickly I should be using that. I am having a mental block about taking lesser points on the SPG. I could get DH an employee card to use for his business bills but again, I want the 3x for those hotels.

I've said this before but I'm all MSR all the time A bonus is the best return in my book so all my spend goes to Min Spends.

 

[kayteekt]

Are you looking at a 5 night stay by chance? A 5 night stay would be 4x12,000=48,000 points (divided by 5 = 9,600 pts per night). Remember you get the 5th night free

That's it, I knew it was too good to be true.

 

[GlamMistress]

Ok, I just realized how unclear I was. DH and I keep our finances separate. It works best for us that way. I don't go to the grocery store, but he does. He does the cooking so he knows what we need. On the rare occasion I have attempted to cook it results in an story I'll tell at social gatherings to amuse others at my expense. So, if I don't know what to do with it, then I don't need to go find out where it is located and buy it. As long as there is coffee (Death Wish coffee is my new favorite) in the house, I can survive. Hope that clears things up a bit.

Lol yep. I was hoping you had figured out how to survive without groceries! I love that your DH is the cook. Neither one of does. We just fend for ourselves most nights. I eat a lot of bagged salad!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I've said this before but I'm all MSR all the time A bonus is the best return in my book so all my spend goes to Min Spends.

That actually makes alot of sense. Good perspective!

 

[amalone1013]

Denver is a United hub but there are several other options for getting to Europe from here too. I think BA, AA, Delta, Virgin all fly direct to various cities. How that works with MR, I'm too! We stay domestic so far so we always fly SW or if we are in the mood for some torture, Frontier.

Ugh, Frontier. I keep telling myself I've sworn off them but then they pop up with a really cheap flight... with CP though they haven't come up as worth it in the last year though.

Ok, I just realized how unclear I was. DH and I keep our finances separate. It works best for us that way. I don't go to the grocery store, but he does. He does the cooking so he knows what we need. On the rare occasion I have attempted to cook it results in an story I'll tell at social gatherings to amuse others at my expense. So, if I don't know what to do with it, then I don't need to go find out where it is located and buy it. As long as there is coffee (Death Wish coffee is my new favorite) in the house, I can survive. Hope that clears things up a bit.

I mean, I think this counts as a social gathering if you have any stories to share

 

[pillow]

Speaking of plastiq, did you gals who were having trouble get anywhere with yours...I think @disneymagicgirl and @pillow is who I am thinking of...?

Yes! Paid car loan (credit union), Mr. Cooper mortgage and Ditech mortgage. I haven't tried Chase or Wells yet - figured that might take more work. I'm gonna play around with those later this week I think.

 

[wendow]

I feel like it is going to take me FOREVER to get thru this SPG biz spend b/c I keep finding myself wanting to use a diff card for better return. Do you guys just hit up the card with MSR or do you only use it when you can't get a better deal? For ex, I run thru the starbucks line and I pull out the CSR for 3x even though to hit the SPG MSR quickly I should be using that. I am having a mental block about taking lesser points on the SPG. I could get DH an employee card to use for his business bills but again, I want the 3x for those hotels.

I got the amex BGR followed 3 weeks later by the spg personal so I had 8k of spend to meet in less than 4 mos. Still working on the spg but almost done. I had to put just about everything I could find on those cards and I gave up my BCP for groceries, the freedom, my citi for 4% back on gas, CSR for food, etc. It just killed me to do that but it was the only way I could meet the spend. I think that is one reason I am so hesitant to go for the SPB biz. I'm wanting to use my other cards for a bit! But @SouthFayetteFan is right. The bonus is far more valuable than the 3% you get back on dining out. It's just hard to adjust your thinking to that.

 

[Calfan]

But @SouthFayetteFan is right. The bonus is far more valuable than the 3% you get back on dining out. It's just hard to adjust your thinking to that.

Acknowledged, but my theory is that if I can get the sign-up bonus AND my 3% back on dining, for example, then I'm even farther ahead

 

[Calfan]

Grrrr...Just finished checking off receipts for my latest CSR bill and see that my DH charged things that I specifically told him should be back on the FU (after meeting minimum spend on his CSP) on the CSR. So irritating!! I *hate* leaving any points on the table. Overall, he does a pretty good job using the correct cards, but I just don't understand why it is so difficult to follow instructions. He even had a text giving those specific instructions that he could have referred back to. End of rant....

 

[pillow]

I feel like it is going to take me FOREVER to get thru this SPG biz spend b/c I keep finding myself wanting to use a diff card for better return. Do you guys just hit up the card with MSR or do you only use it when you can't get a better deal? For ex, I run thru the starbucks line and I pull out the CSR for 3x even though to hit the SPG MSR quickly I should be using that. I am having a mental block about taking lesser points on the SPG. I could get DH an employee card to use for his business bills but again, I want the 3x for those hotels.

Yeah - this is me. I won't give up the 3x+. But I have the option of buying Gift of College cards to meet min spend if I have to. So I do feel like I have the luxury of being a bit selective.

 

[pillow]

Do you have either of them right now? I have both Freedom cards, and I rarely use the CFU.

The only charges I put on that card are a handful of purchases that come up that don't fall in any other category, and I only put them on the CFU if I am not trying to meet a MSR. If you are not usually working on a MSR, you may have a lot more for the CFU card than I might. I'm not sure what your 'churning style' is so it's kind of hard to advise.

I think its nice to have a general spend card, but it dawned on me that there are so many 5x grocery categories (Discover, CF) + my 6% on the Blue Cash Preferred, that I will likely have a stash of Visa gift cards that I can use for everyday spend, making the everyday spend card less important. I vote for the CF card too!