I love credit cards so much!

[GlamMistress]

If you pick a couple currencies and focus hard on them you'd be amazed at how many points you can earn, lol. For me it's Southwest (539k+) and Marriott (1.3million).

This is the key I think. I'm working on culling my programs/cards/points now. I think it's better for focus on two or three programs solely. That was a noob mistake I made years ago: collecting points in too many programs, but not in big enough buckets for ease of use.

These days I'm all MR/Delta and Hilton.

 

[Albort]

This is the key I think. I'm working on culling my programs/cards/points now. I think it's better for focus on two or three programs solely. That was a noob mistake I made years ago: collecting points in too many programs, but not in big enough buckets for ease of use.

These days I'm all MR/Delta and Hilton.

interesting combination. currently 52% UR, 25% SPG and 12% TYP. rest are randomized.

 

[WardFam]

I just booked a Disney Cruise. We are going to arrive the day before and stay at one of the hotels for one night the night before the cruise down near the port. Any thoughts on a rewards program to look into to book a stay? They seem to have most hotel brands available. We don't have any hotel reward cards currently, just Chase URs. Trip is in January so I have a bit of time.

EDIT: we booked the cruise via Chase URs. Airfare will be to use the last bit of Spirit points. First night hotel via whatever point system works out best (Radisson / Merriot / etc); and two nights at the end of the trip via DVC points. Hoping to get out of this with as little cash as possible - almost just for the challenge of it.

Are you flying into MCO? What time do you arrive? If it's later in the evening it's fun to stay at the Hyatt in the airport.

 

[Psychodisney]

I just booked a Disney Cruise. We are going to arrive the day before and stay at one of the hotels for one night the night before the cruise down near the port. Any thoughts on a rewards program to look into to book a stay? They seem to have most hotel brands available. We don't have any hotel reward cards currently, just Chase URs. Trip is in January so I have a bit of time.

EDIT: we booked the cruise via Chase URs. Airfare will be to use the last bit of Spirit points. First night hotel via whatever point system works out best (Radisson / Merriot / etc); and two nights at the end of the trip via DVC points. Hoping to get out of this with as little cash as possible - almost just for the challenge of it.

We've stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn, Cape Canaveral/Cocoa Beach. You could use Marriott, SPG or UR points to book. Not sure what your party size is, but we liked that there are 2BR rooms to accommodate of family of 5. Nice breakfast included too.

 

[Lain]

interesting combination. currently 52% UR, 25% SPG and 12% TYP. rest are randomized.

Of course all points aren't created equal, but point for point my distribution looks like:

38% UR, 11% MR, 9% SPG, 29% UA, 13% HA.

I'm a little shocked at the points I've accumulated.

 

[GlamMistress]

interesting combination. currently 52% UR, 25% SPG and 12% TYP. rest are randomized.

I also use my Arrival+ as a daily driver a lot too for my cash fares on Frontier and other things (cruises; Disney) where it doesn't make sense to use points. I'm basically a Delta captive at this point airline wise. It's a good thing I'm a big Amex fan I guess.

 

[kmc8826]

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chas...ght-certificate-grandfathered-for-first-year/

Maybe will help some of you feel a little better.

 

[Lain]

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chas...ght-certificate-grandfathered-for-first-year/

Maybe will help some of you feel a little better.

That's some good news! I can only imagine the backlash Chase got over the announcement.

ETA. There's good discussion about this on /r/churning. Obviously, this change is still not good news for IHG cardholders who signed up prior to 1/1/18 expecting an unrestricted free night certificate but won't get one. Agree with the posters who say Chase really should do what Amex did when they devalued the Biz Plat's airline redemption from 50% to a 35% rebate, and honor the unrestricted free night until a cardholder's next anniversary date. Tweet your outrage!

 

[kmc8826]

If anyone has Delta miles this month's flash sale is to Mexico. Around 12,000 miles round trip which is a good deal especially if you were thinking of going anyway.

http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/2018/04/03/delta-award-flash-sale-mexico-from-12k-skymiles-rt/

 

[KSR0330]

It’s actually the other way around! You get 50k UR from the CIC signup bonus, which can be cashed out for $500 or combined to your CSP for transfer to airline and hotel partners or 25% extra value towards redemption through the UR portal.

This is all I could find for a sign up bonus. Any idea on how I could find the 50,000 UR bonus?

https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/olainkcash/th

 

[Albort]

I also use my Arrival+ as a daily driver a lot too for my cash fares on Frontier and other things (cruises; Disney) where it doesn't make sense to use points. I'm basically a Delta captive at this point airline wise. It's a good thing I'm a big Amex fan I guess.

considering the new Barclay card? sounds perfect for you... :]

 

[Albort]

This is all I could find for a sign up bonus. Any idea on how I could find the 50,000 UR bonus?

https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/olainkcash/th

that is the 50k offer.

edit:

 

[GlamMistress]

considering the new Barclay card? sounds perfect for you... :]

Yeah, if I can get it. The rumor is no upgrades or new approvals for current holders. We have to "wait" or something crazy like that.

 

[Lain]

This is all I could find for a sign up bonus. Any idea on how I could find the 50,000 UR bonus?

https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/olainkcash/th

That's it! If you look at the *Offer Details, you'll see:

Earn $500 Bonus Cash Back
You will receive 50,000 [Ultimate Rewards] bonus points with this bonus offer, which can be redeemed for $500 cash back. To qualify and receive your bonus, you must make Purchases totaling $3,000 or more during the first 3 months from account opening. (“Purchases” do not include balance transfers, cash advances, travelers checks, foreign currency, money orders, wire transfers or similar cash-like transactions, lottery tickets, casino gaming chips, race track wagers or similar betting transactions, any checks that access your account, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, and fees of any kind, including an annual fee, if applicable.) After qualifying, please allow 6 to 8 weeks for bonus points to post to your account. To be eligible for this bonus offer, account must be open and not in default at the time of fulfillment.

P.S. Don't feel bad about not using a support link -- there aren't any for the CIC.

 

[Albort]

P.S. Don't feel bad about not using a support link -- there aren't any for the CIC.

heh, i recently added a sticky to our pages with top bonuses. hopefully ppl will see that.
I may need help with Amex if anyone knows if any public bonuses his higher than support links. I got Chase down.

 

[calypso726]

It's been a wonderful weekend.

First, I got approved for the IHG which I am now not happy about, burning my 3/24 slot. I know it's not too big of a deal to most, but I am playing this very conservatively with apps.

Second, only hours after the IHG approval, we got a HUGE surprise bill for something that needs to be paid by the end of the month. I don't do surprise bills. They make me ill. This one has kept me up at night even though we have the money to pay it, and thank goodness for an emergency fund, but now I have to pay back our emergency fund. To me, that's debt, even if it is to ourselves and I don't like debt. At all.

Anyway, this bill is to the tune of $10k. I can pay for it with a cc but at a 1.87% fee.

1/17 - CSR
Summer/17 - Disney Visa
3/18 (last week) - IHG

Credit: Mid 8's

Travel Plans: Europe this summer, but that is paid for. Fall: Weekend trip to Disney but no parks, just on-site hotel and flight. Next Winter: Cruise but that is paid for, but will need flights and possibly pre-cruise stay (and if I can convince DH to do a two week vacation, a 5 bight trip before in Disney but this probably not going to happen)

We generally lean towards United because we are in a hub city and have a decent amount of miles. Most of the time have cheap(er) flights to Florida which is where we will need to fly in the next year.

What is my best option for a MSR for $10k that I can wipe out in one swipe?

I was having a complete love affair this weekend with my IHG card and looking forward to many happy memories. Now I feel jaded, spurned and am left to drown my tears in a gallon of ice cream and pack of Oreos.

I’m going to suggest the Amex Platinum business card if you find a really high offer of at least 100k or more. You will get the bonus, plus a bonus kicker for an eligible $5,000 transaction. The points work like UR in the sense you can transfer to airlines or redeem for travel in their travel portal. You get 35% of your points (1.54 value) back for airline redemption in your selected airline. This would be the airline you choose before purchasing gift cards in specific amounts to trigger the travel credit. It also won’t affect your 5/24.

Im not familiar with this card, i think the only person is is @calypso726 but its 3k for 50k, 10k for another 50k. 100k after 10k. This the only card(besides amex biz card but not at its highest) that has a high MSR. Could work well flying to europe. If not, CIP has a $5k MSR which is not bad. what about your SO? it would be a good chance to double dip the CSR/CSP combo, that would go up to $8k there.

Sounds like the BA card. It’s not subject to 5/24 but will eat up a spot.

Which card are you speaking of?

We both have a CSR so the double dip is out, but that would have been awesome.

The bill takes Amex and is due on the 22nd so unfortunately, I will be less than 30 days. Ugh...as if the IHG downgrade was bad enough. I already hate the card and I haven't even gotten it yet!

I know nothing about Amex. I am pretty sure that I have received mailers in recent months for a more "prestigious" Amex that I just toss. We don't do a ton of traveling these days with young kids, so I don't know if I want to have too many currencies to think about. Before we got this bill, I was focused on UR. We have two CSR but one will be downgraded at the end of the year, so I don't know if I will need the Amex Platinum since we don't fly SW or Delta. AA is a maybe if they have a the best rate. We both have GE and Priority Pass until 2023.

I have a "business". Selling a few things here and there online, but I also design wedding/party invitations for friends/family. I made some small sales in the last few years, but depending on who it is, I do it at cost. What exactly would I need to know?

I don’t recall if it works the same way with the Amex Plat business too. However, when I applied for my Amex Aspire online, I got immediate approval and the option to receive my Amex card number, exp date and temporary 4 digit security code so I could use it right away. I literally applied, was approved, wrote down the pertinent card numbers, went online to the DVC member site and paid $4,000 in dues and made the spend in less than 5 minutes.

I see @Albort was referring to the British Airways card. The best use of Avios is for short haul domestic flights on a partner like AA. Most of the flights to Europe will route you through London and the taxes and fees are astronomical! Not at all worth it if you are flying in economy or premium economy. Most would argue it isn’t worth it for business or first either. I look at it like purchasing first class for slightly less than economy price plus a bunch of miles.

 

[Lain]

You get 50% of your points (1.54 value) back for airline redemption in your selected airline.

Amex reduced this benefit to 35% back, right?

 

[GlamMistress]

Amex reduced this benefit to 35% back, right?

Yes.

 

[WDWRook]

We've stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn, Cape Canaveral/Cocoa Beach. You could use Marriott, SPG or UR points to book. Not sure what your party size is, but we liked that there are 2BR rooms to accommodate of family of 5. Nice breakfast included too.

We fly into MCO by 11 am - 12pm ish. Two adults two kids. One night. Plan to visit the space center the day we arrive, then get on the ship early. Goal is to find a credit card sign up bonus that will cover the hotel but be usable thereafter.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Did the IHG cardholders among us see this:
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chas...ght-certificate-grandfathered-for-first-year/

It's a good first step but I think they'll get pressure to roll this back further. If you are upset I would take to twitter and call them out