I love credit cards so much!

[miztressuz]

http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/2018/04/02/bummer-ihg-free-night-capped-for-everyone-includes-49-card/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Frequent Miler (Instant)

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

From /r/churning, looks like Chase is capping the IHG free reward night to hotels with redemption values of 40,000 or fewer points: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/c...ee_night_devaluation/?st=JFIIC5KO&sh=1640990b

Argh While all of our redemptions so far have been less than 50k (so the 40k cap shouldn't change for us too much) this still stings. It was the emergency redemption option if we had to go somewhere and couldn't/wouldn't pay crazy points for it. I'll now be trying to find the highest priced room I can for this year's cert... just cause I can... take that?

 

[Lain]

Im confused. Why not just place 2 orders for around $75?

This would be for items over $75.

Previously, you could buy a $75 eBags GC on each Amex with the offer, taking advantage of $15 off each one, then ask customer service via chat or email to combine as many GCs as you have, since eBags only allows one GC per order. eBags won’t combine GCs anymore.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Me either. We have two nights at Hyatt Regency booked for a stay in a couple of weeks but I already transferred UR's over to Hyatt. Not sure I want to cancel those, pay OOP just to use the Amex offer and then try to find a way to use the Hyatt points.

Maybe use for just a single night and points for the other? Depends on the cost of the hotel per night I guess.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Guys... I have a problem... I've booked six different hotel stays today for different horse shows and vacations over the summer Hotels.com and Marriott probably thinks my account has been hacked. I booked hotels for April for SC, and for May, June, and July in PA for horse shows. I then booked a Marriott for 10,000 points just outside Dulles in case DH and I do go to Disneyland and need to stay overnight in DC the night before. Then I booked the Anaheim Discovery Inn outside Disneyland on hotels.com (anyone ever stay here? Looks like it had good ratings and we're only in the room to shower and sleep). And now I'm trying to figure out anyway to offset a United flight from IAD to LAX and an Alaska flight from LAX to IAD...

OH, and I also transferred my reservation at a Marriott for a work trip in two weeks from DH's Marriott account to mine...

I need an intervention!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Looking for some objective advice for my 25-year-old son. He will be starting law school in the fall and I'm thinking now (while he has an income) would be a good time for him to apply for a credit card or two. He has 2 in his name (Discover and Capital One) and is 0/24. I'm thinking he should stay away from AmEx (unless it's a disappearing card) because he's not really in a position to take advantage of a lot of travel-related benefits now, and since he can only get those benefits once, it doesn't make sense to get them now. Plus his present income (about $30,000) is probably not enough to qualify for the "premium" cards. I'm sort of at a loss to know where he should start.

It could sense for him to start a relationship with Chase. He obviously has a limited credit history so might want to get a Chase Freedom or Freedom Unlimited (or both) and focus on getting some cash back. With the CF and CFU, he could also earn URs and hold them in the event he looks to get a CSP or CSR in the future that would allow for a better redemption rate (and only cash-out if a need for the cash arises). With no real income in the fall, It's not like he's going to jump into this game in the next 18 months so 5/24 slots aren't really of concern and as you said...it's not like he'll be able to take advantage of premium travel benefits. Then if/when he's ready to get some more cards down the line he'll be seen as a loyal Chase customer. Along those same lines (cashback), a Citi Double Cash could make sense too I guess.

 

[Judique]

I just highlighted the chuck e cheese one- you got a HYATT offer?! Jealous! Every other offer I had on all cards was 100% useless

I got a 15% Starbucks offer again, and I rarely go to Starbucks. The rest are pretty useless for me. But it's still early in the year so there's still hope. I've already made my annual fee back this year.

 

[wendow]

Looking for some objective advice for my 25-year-old son. He will be starting law school in the fall and I'm thinking now (while he has an income) would be a good time for him to apply for a credit card or two. He has 2 in his name (Discover and Capital One) and is 0/24. I'm thinking he should stay away from AmEx (unless it's a disappearing card) because he's not really in a position to take advantage of a lot of travel-related benefits now, and since he can only get those benefits once, it doesn't make sense to get them now. Plus his present income (about $30,000) is probably not enough to qualify for the "premium" cards. I'm sort of at a loss to know where he should start.

Seeing @SouthFayetteFan's response reminded me that I started a response to you and got sidetracked and forgot Sorry bout that. I was going to suggest one of the Freedom cards as well. He could also double dip them and get both bonuses which would be a pretty sweet deal.

 

[peel]

Can't freakin' believe it about the IHG. I should have listened to my gut.

 

[JKalai]

Kind of a serious question...

What do you tell people when they mention the negatives of having credit cards?

I have co-workers here at my job that are somewhat light churners and always ask me for some advice on what card to go for next. I'll give them some suggestions, but occasionally I'll have another co-worker chime in with "credit cards are bad" and "I can't believe you guys pay those crazy interest rates." I'll mention that you don't pay interest on credit cards if you pay your balance in full every month but I don't think they quite get it.

It's also the same with my family (not married). I never ever share any financial info with them about how much I make and they see me traveling all the time. They don't quite get the idea/process of churning and always give me a mini lecture about compound interest and how it's bad for you.

Anybody else been in this situation?

 

[wendow]

SO, many of you know how much I love the Amex BCP. I think 6% back on groceries for a family of our size who eats at home 99% of the time is just a great savings. I have maxed out the allowed 6k both years I have had the card. However, I now am at a place where I have not been without a MSR since last Oct. And these have been big MSR's to where I have to use groceries as part of the spend, which means, I've put very little on the BCP. I think I am just over $100 for 2018 and that has only been cause my teen picks things up for me here and there and she uses that card.

I'm questioning the point of the AF version. So, my question is, do I call and drop it down now to the 3% no AF version and if so, will I receive any prorated AF back? OR should I wait until June when my AF hits again, call and say I want to cancel and see if they offer a retention bonus?

 

[wendow]

Can't freakin' believe it about the IHG. I should have listened to my gut.

I'm sorry It makes me angry and sad for y'all. At least there is one year you can get the unrestricted certificate. I'd get all I could from it. I'm also hoping maybe there will be some good backlash at Chase over this and they will do something different. Not sure how likely that is though.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Anyone ever had hotels.com try to take back one of your collected rewards nights from your account? I know most people here stick to specific brand chains, but I had collected two nights from a stay in March and noticed today that one of the nights was missing from my tracker. Hotels.com claims that I was refunded for that night (I was not) and therefore only completed a one night stay. They're apparently calling the hotel now to confirm that I stayed two nights. Not sure if this is hotels.com's faults or the hotel's fault (it was a crappy hotel).

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Can't freakin' believe it about the IHG. I should have listened to my gut.

I am not upset that I got DH the IHG card. We probably wouldn't stay at many hotels above 40k points, since my goal is to use these nights for when we need overnight stays for driving trips (visiting family, mostly). We love Holiday Inn Express for these types of nights because of the free breakfast. So $49 per night is still a great savings on a $150 room.

 

[GZanta77]

Kind of a serious question...

What do you tell people when they mention the negatives of having credit cards?

I have co-workers here at my job that are somewhat light churners and always ask me for some advice on what card to go for next. I'll give them some suggestions, but occasionally I'll have another co-worker chime in with "credit cards are bad" and "I can't believe you guys pay those crazy interest rates." I'll mention that you don't pay interest on credit cards if you pay your balance in full every month but I don't think they quite get it.

It's also the same with my family (not married). I never ever share any financial info with them about how much I make and they see me traveling all the time. They don't quite get the idea/process of churning and always give me a mini lecture about compound interest and how it's bad for you.

Anybody else been in this situation?

Ha! My mother loves to chime in periodically with some comment about the ridiculous amount of money I must spend on vacations and how silly it is to get into debt. I have tried pointing out that 90% of my US domestic flights have been "free" and much of my international travel has "free" hotels etc - but she won't believe that there isn't a catch somewhere.

It is certainly more than my life is worth to try to get her into the churning game.

 

[Tikitoi]

So I applied for the CIC on the 24th got the 30 day message Got approved on the 28th But this waiting game for the card is rough

 

[peel]

I am not upset that I got DH the IHG card. We probably wouldn't stay at many hotels above 40k points, since my goal is to use these nights for when we need overnight stays for driving trips (visiting family, mostly). We love Holiday Inn Express for these types of nights because of the free breakfast. So $49 per night is still a great savings on a $150 room.

I understand that point of view, but I was looking at it as an opportunity to stay at a higher end property I wouldn't pay cash for. Oh well. I'm going to satisfy the $2K for the higher bonus and then cancel after I get my certificate next year. I'm just bummed that the gamble didn't pay off.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Kind of a serious question...

What do you tell people when they mention the negatives of having credit cards?

I have co-workers here at my job that are somewhat light churners and always ask me for some advice on what card to go for next. I'll give them some suggestions, but occasionally I'll have another co-worker chime in with "credit cards are bad" and "I can't believe you guys pay those crazy interest rates." I'll mention that you don't pay interest on credit cards if you pay your balance in full every month but I don't think they quite get it.

It's also the same with my family (not married). I never ever share any financial info with them about how much I make and they see me traveling all the time. They don't quite get the idea/process of churning and always give me a mini lecture about compound interest and how it's bad for you.

Anybody else been in this situation?

I just figure that those kinds of people wouldn't benefit from this "hobby" because they aren't the type of people that pay balances in full or they wouldn't be able to control their spending. I would just let it go.

 

[Judique]

Kind of a serious question...

What do you tell people when they mention the negatives of having credit cards?

I have co-workers here at my job that are somewhat light churners and always ask me for some advice on what card to go for next. I'll give them some suggestions, but occasionally I'll have another co-worker chime in with "credit cards are bad" and "I can't believe you guys pay those crazy interest rates." I'll mention that you don't pay interest on credit cards if you pay your balance in full every month but I don't think they quite get it.

It's also the same with my family (not married). I never ever share any financial info with them about how much I make and they see me traveling all the time. They don't quite get the idea/process of churning and always give me a mini lecture about compound interest and how it's bad for you.

Anybody else been in this situation?

Just yesterday with family. Older daughter and myself will definitely churn credit cards. Son doesn't get it. Youngest daughter is caught in the middle. All of us have great credit, no balances. He was advising youngest daughter (his sister) not to get caught up in churning.

This may be the absolute best way for him to think and process, with a healthy fear of credit cards. Churning is not suitable for everyone and if this negative feeling keeps him out of credit card debt at the cost of a few hundred in freebies, that is important in the long run.

 

[wendow]

So I applied for the CIC on the 24th got the 30 day message Got approved on the 28th But this waiting game for the card is rough

Congrats!!!!!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Kind of a serious question...

What do you tell people when they mention the negatives of having credit cards?

I have co-workers here at my job that are somewhat light churners and always ask me for some advice on what card to go for next. I'll give them some suggestions, but occasionally I'll have another co-worker chime in with "credit cards are bad" and "I can't believe you guys pay those crazy interest rates." I'll mention that you don't pay interest on credit cards if you pay your balance in full every month but I don't think they quite get it.

It's also the same with my family (not married). I never ever share any financial info with them about how much I make and they see me traveling all the time. They don't quite get the idea/process of churning and always give me a mini lecture about compound interest and how it's bad for you.

Anybody else been in this situation?

I do exactly what you did and say I don’t pay any interest & always pay on time. Beyond that I say NOTHING! NOTHING! Those people are not cut out for credit cards, so they should stay far away from this hobby.

As for family- I help them a bit with churning Chase but not intensely and it’s more guidance. I wouldn’t push it with your fam, if they’re curious or concerned and say something you can give the mini I travel on points and always pay my credit cards in full answer, or if they don’t say anything to you just don’t say anything to them. Keep it simple

Will some people silently/not so silently judge you for being what they see as so irresponsible? Yep. Can you change their minds? No. Their mind is made up- I do remember one story of a person who got their co-worker to “see the light”, co-worker then blamed said person when they went into debt You can push all of it out of your mind on the beach, mountain, theme park, national park, desert, plane, train or boat trip that you’ll enjoy solely because so many other people out there can’t wrap their heads around this and/or be fiscally responsible.