I love credit cards so much!

[SouthFayetteFan]

DH got an offer to upgrade his no-AF Hilton Honors to an Ascend with a $95 AF, earning 75K points after $2K in spending. He has until 5/30 to take the offer, so I can knock out the IHG MSR first and then start working on this one. This is a no brainer, right? No adding to 5/24, no hard pull, and we can downgrade back to the free version to after a year to avoid a second AF.

Sorry I missed this one So here's my thought... Do you ever think you'll want your husband to apply for the Ascend? If he takes this upgrade offer he can't later apply for that card. Many people will only do an AMEX upgrade offer if they previously had the card. Now your point about 5/24 is a very valid one and if you don't see him ever wanting to get this card in the future I'd go for it. Your logic is sound all around IMO.

 

[platamama]

I deliberated A LOT on this one but ultimately cancelled my SPG personal card. I couldn't justify the annual fee and they didn't offer anything in the way of retention. The only reason there would have been to keep it was "support" clicks on that card. But the incognito offer is better than the "support" offer and I can't in good conscience recommend anybody to go for a lower offer. (Watch, now that I cancelled they'll release a 35k personal offer LOL - you're welcome )

So cancelling seemed to be the right move...Plus it frees up a CC slot with AMEX for me which isn't a bad thing. I just feel sad when I cut up one of my little friends and throw them away, lol! (That sounds way darker than I intended it to...)

I'm at the same point - I just got my statement with my AF that posted on 3/27, and I got the SPG Biz in Jan. I don't know why I would keep both...I don't stay at SPG properties enough to earn status so those automatic nights toward status don't do anything for me. Plus DH for some unknown reason has SPG Gold (and has SPG Biz now), so we would just book under his account for to get Gold status benefits. I have to see if there are any card "protections," e.g. extended warranties or anything like that, on the personal card that the biz version doesn't have. Plan of action at this point is to use the AMEX offers worth anything to me at this point (Apple Pay AMEX Offer on my card, the Starbucks 15% on DH's AU card), pay it all off and then see if they'll offer me any kind of retention bonus before cancelling.

I have a discussion with a pro churner about the SPG personal card. Mine is up this month or next month, had thoughts about cancelling... but now im convinced on keeping it for at least another year...

Do you mind explaining what convinced you? And do you have a SPG Biz too?

 

[gottalovepluto]

yeah, my parent's friend has a timesharing of 2 weeks there. she doesnt like going much anymore, she didnt go the last 3 years. now shes offering it to us.
I just checked KE for flights, but they are all 15+ travel times with stops from LAX --> SFO --> SEA --> LIH. (maybe i can lounge hop!?!?! lol)

that or ill just send my parents since i guess its a 1 bed only. haha. bring a sleeping bag?

LIH?! LOVE Kauai! Been to the Marriott Vacation Club property there in an oceanfront a couple times, omg beautiful. There's a great tour we've done twice over the last few years where you basically float down a ditch- no, trust me, it's fun! (Do make sure a car rental is in your budget fyi.)

 

[peel]

Sorry I missed this one So here's my thought... Do you ever think you'll want your husband to apply for the Ascend? If he takes this upgrade offer he can't later apply for that card. Many people will only do an AMEX upgrade offer if they previously had the card. Now your point about 5/24 is a very valid one and if you don't see him ever wanting to get this card in the future I'd go for it. Your logic is sound all around IMO.

We probably wouldn't ever go for a new Ascend. He does stay at Hiltons for work a lot, but he has to use his company card. He already has Gold status because of his number of stays. It would be waaaay down on the list of cards. I'm looking at it like he's getting a signup bonus without any of the negatives. I think I remember reading a long time ago that people have gotten this offer on more than one occasion, where they upgraded for the promo points, downgraded after a year, and were offered another upgrade later. I might be making that up...it seems too much to ask for from Amex.
Thanks!

 

[ctinct]

Well double argh. After getting rejected for an increase from the 60000 to 80000 points on the IHG card, I sent another secure message to Chase this morning saying my friend was able to get the increased points offer, and I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t match for me. Got a bunch of gobbledygook back, with the upshot being.....still denied.

 

[Albort]

Do you mind explaining what convinced you? And do you have a SPG Biz too?

get the easy one first... yes, i do have an SPG Biz.

We know for a fact that Amex will offer the premium version of the Stariott. Therefore, there is a fair chance that Amex will convert the SPG personal to it. The guess is also that they probably wouldnt be charging people the $450 fee, but would most likely offer the benefits of it until the AF approaches again. This alone, makes me want to keep the SPG Personal in case of the higher offer.
Another thing i was also considering is that since SPG is getting closer and closer together, there is also a potential chance of SPG card to getting an anniversary night.

edit: also it makes me wonder if they are hiding the SPG personal card down so there would be less people to give the extra benefit to.

and of course, We can learn a bit from the Citi --> Amex transition of Hilton... which brings up what @peel asked earlier, there will probably be a reboot on the signups, no HP

DH got an offer to upgrade his no-AF Hilton Honors to an Ascend with a $95 AF, earning 75K points after $2K in spending. He has until 5/30 to take the offer, so I can knock out the IHG MSR first and then start working on this one. This is a no brainer, right? No adding to 5/24, no hard pull, and we can downgrade back to the free version to after a year to avoid a second AF.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I don't know but, I got the same email for my Southwest card.

uuuuttttt....ooohhhhhh

 

[peel]

get the easy one first... yes, i do have an SPG Biz.

We know for a fact that Amex will offer the premium version of the Stariott. Therefore, there is a fair chance that Amex will convert the SPG personal to it. The guess is also that they probably wouldnt be charging people the $450 fee, but would most likely offer the benefits of it until the AF approaches again. This alone, makes me want to keep the SPG Personal in case of the higher offer.
Another thing i was also considering is that since SPG is getting closer and closer together, there is also a potential chance of SPG card to getting an anniversary night.

edit: also it makes me wonder if they are hiding the SPG personal card down so there would be less people to give the extra benefit to.

and of course, We can learn a bit from the Citi --> Amex transition of Hilton... which brings up what @peel asked earlier, there will probably be a reboot on the signups, no HP

Any speculation on when these new cards might roll out?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

DH has 8 more stays to renew Hilton Diamond for next year, so in a couple weeks I am going to have him switch over to marriott/SPG properties so we can build our stash of points there and work on status. So it is time to decide which marriott/starwood card is best for him. It sounds like you guys think SPG is better, right? And the status is reciprocal, right? So if he does a SPG card he gets credit towards status and can do the rest through stays, and then voila have Marriott status too? I saw that Marriott gives you silver with their card, so it could work in reverse. Seems like earning 4x on the SPG is better than earning 5x on the Marriott. SPG Biz is better than personal because of the Sheraton lounge access? Where am I going wrong?

ETA: but Marriott gives the anniversary night...hmmnn

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Well double argh. After getting rejected for an increase from the 60000 to 80000 points on the IHG card, I sent another secure message to Chase this morning saying my friend was able to get the increased points offer, and I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t match for me. Got a bunch of gobbledygook back, with the upshot being.....still denied.

Can I ask what exactly you put in the original message? Seems odd to be denied since they seem to be honoring it for everyone else.

 

[Texans_loyal]

Hey y'all, need some advice please!
I would like a CC for free hotels. I got the southwest card last year (60K bonus + 50k referral bonus) and now I'm hooked. I was thinking about getting a chase sapphire card but wanted to see what y'all thought before pulling the trigger. I don't have an Amex yet but not sure if that would be the right card for me.

 

[Lain]

Well double argh. After getting rejected for an increase from the 60000 to 80000 points on the IHG card, I sent another secure message to Chase this morning saying my friend was able to get the increased points offer, and I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t match for me. Got a bunch of gobbledygook back, with the upshot being.....still denied.

Wow, that's terrible. Maybe give it some time and try again later with a fresh SM and a screenshot? And ask others here how they worded their successful requests. You typically have 90 days from applying to get matched.

 

[Albort]

Any speculation on when these new cards might roll out?

the guess is aug of this year. Source

LIH?! LOVE Kauai! Been to the Marriott Vacation Club property there in an oceanfront a couple times, omg beautiful. There's a great tour we've done twice over the last few years where you basically float down a ditch- no, trust me, it's fun! (Do make sure a car rental is in your budget fyi.)

oops, i got the wrong island lol. Its actually Maui. Hotels are covered, im trying to get flights covered with KE. Nothing but Food is left to cover. no problems on the car rental!

@Lain i must pick your brain, but whats the RT rate for Hawaiian air.

 

[Albort]

Hey y'all, need some advice please!
I would like a CC for free hotels. I got the southwest card last year (60K bonus + 50k referral bonus) and now I'm hooked. I was thinking about getting a chase sapphire card but wanted to see what y'all thought before pulling the trigger. I don't have an Amex yet but not sure if that would be the right card for me.

chase sapphire will open u up to 4 different brands of hotel, although sometimes it not worth transferring to them. (Marriott/SPG, IHG, Hyatt, Ritz). if u have the capacity to make $8k in spendings, its highly recommended to hit both sapphire cards on the same day.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Wow, that's terrible. Maybe give it some time and try again later with a fresh SM and a screenshot? And ask others here how they worded their successful requests. You typically have 90 days from applying to get matched.

This is what I sent via DH's account:

There is currently an offer for 80,000 IHG rewards points when spending $2000 within 3 months of getting the card. Can you match this promotion?Thank you.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

get the easy one first... yes, i do have an SPG Biz.

We know for a fact that Amex will offer the premium version of the Stariott. Therefore, there is a fair chance that Amex will convert the SPG personal to it. The guess is also that they probably wouldnt be charging people the $450 fee, but would most likely offer the benefits of it until the AF approaches again. This alone, makes me want to keep the SPG Personal in case of the higher offer.
Another thing i was also considering is that since SPG is getting closer and closer together, there is also a potential chance of SPG card to getting an anniversary night.

edit: also it makes me wonder if they are hiding the SPG personal card down so there would be less people to give the extra benefit to.

and of course, We can learn a bit from the Citi --> Amex transition of Hilton... which brings up what @peel asked earlier, there will probably be a reboot on the signups, no HP

I actually approach this same situation differently, I don't want to have an SPG personal card get automatically PCed into their new card. As I understand it that could then prevent me from earning the signup bonus on that card (which of course my preference is to get a signup bonus). Any thoughts on that or perhaps I'm overlooking something there...

 

[Lain]

Its actually Maui. Hotels are covered, im trying to get flights covered with KE. Nothing but Food is left to cover. no problems on the car rental!

@Lain i must pick your brain, but whats the RT rate for Hawaiian air.

LAX<>OGG? In July? Depending on your dates, I'm seeing a lot of award availability for 35,000 HawaiianMiles + $11.20 RT. That's a good rate. The next highest award levels are 42,500, 47,500, and 55,000 miles + $11.20 RT.

For example:

7/12/18
1:30pm LAX
to
4:15pm OGG
Non-Stop
Duration 5h 45m
HA 55


7/31/18
1:48pm OGG
to
11:50pm LAX
1 Stop KOA · 57m Layover
Duration 7h 2m
HA 340, HA 62

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Hey y'all, need some advice please!
I would like a CC for free hotels. I got the southwest card last year (60K bonus + 50k referral bonus) and now I'm hooked. I was thinking about getting a chase sapphire card but wanted to see what y'all thought before pulling the trigger. I don't have an Amex yet but not sure if that would be the right card for me.

Hey - you've come to the right place! Are you looking at the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve? OR were you looking at both and unsure?

Something to keep in mind is once you get one of the Sapphire cards - you cannot earn the bonus on the other for 24+ months. If you're interested in both of them you want to get them on the same day (we can coach you through how to approach that). That will require you to spend $8,000 in 3 months though. If that is overwhelming, you may want to choose the one that's better for you and just get that. Typically the math favors the Reserve card but it does have a $450 annual fee that can scare people off (even though your return will actually more than pay for the $450). Do you have any particular hotels in mind you're looking at?

 

[gottalovepluto]

Hey y'all, need some advice please!
I would like a CC for free hotels. I got the southwest card last year (60K bonus + 50k referral bonus) and now I'm hooked. I was thinking about getting a chase sapphire card but wanted to see what y'all thought before pulling the trigger. I don't have an Amex yet but not sure if that would be the right card for me.

Chase Ultimate Rewards is a great starting point. As far as award currencies go imho URs are the most user-friendly. Read up URs a bit, remember their minimum value is 1 cent per point (in cash- so if life goes south this is the minimum value you will get out of these points). When booking travel through the UR portal URs on your CSR(Chase Sapphire Reserve) redeem at 1.5 cpp; CSP(Preferred) or CIP(Ink Preferred) at 1.25 cpp. You can even transfer from one card to another! If you get the bonus on say the CSP you could transfer those points to the CSR to redeem them for 1.5x.

So, the current UR offers are:
CSR: spend $4K get 50,000 UR, $450 annual fee (includes 1 pre-check/global entry credit and $300 travel credit that will work on any travel purchase on the card)
CSP: spend $4k get 60,000 UR with $95 annual fee, or 50,000 UR af waived in year 1
CIP: spend $5k get 80,000 UR af waived year 1
CIC (Ink Cash): spend $3k get 50,000 UR no af

CIP and CIC are business cards. Don't have a business? Yes, yes you do. Ever sell anything on ebay? craigslist? have rental property? get paid for basically anything under the sun (or moon or stars for that matter)? Congrats! You have a business and you definitely need a credit card for said biz

Things we need to know to help you better:
What credit cards have you opened in the last 24 months? (VERY important q, don't guess- if you don't know check your credit report)
Are you after the Southwest Companion Pass?
Are you in "2 player mode"? (do you have an SO who you can also have open credit cards)
Are you looking for just one card to dip your feet in before deciding if you want more or are you looking for a strategy to maximize point earning over the next year or two by hitting multiple bonuses?
Are you interested in the business cards?

Things you need to remember:
Rule #1: ONLY do this if you can pay your cards off in full, every month
Rule #2: Do not spend more than you can pay back when it comes due (yes I know, basically re-iterating rule #1)
Rule #3: Do not spend more than you normally would, this means pre-paying expenses you would normally incur to meet a minimum spend requirement is fine but don't fall into the trap of "ohhh- I'm gonna buy this extra little thing, after all I have a spend to meet!" Sounds easy to stay disciplined- it's not. I still fight that temptation!

 

[gottalovepluto]

oops, i got the wrong island lol. Its actually Maui. Hotels are covered, im trying to get flights covered with KE. Nothing but Food is left to cover. no problems on the car rental!

haha! glad you got that straightened out now! Maui is nice too (And cheaper to fly into!)