I love credit cards so much!

[Albort]

The rumor is that the signup bonus on the SPG cards will decrease. (I say rumor but I guess this is pretty much accepted as fact at this point - the only question is WHEN will the offer decrease). The 25k biz offer is a good deal...but when comparing it to a CIP or the current 50k CIC offer it'd be a toss-up in a vacuum. Of course the CIP and CIC offers should be there later and the SPG offer will not. Whether it's a good or bad idea really depends on your goals and what you plan to do with the points. The unknown here is what categories all the hotels will fit into as well - that could really affect the redemption value of these SPG/Marriott points. It's a tough call but you probably can't go wrong either way.

very very very very very very very very soon.
Canadian SPG cards are listing statement credit already.

 

[wendow]

My head is spinning. I’m about to apply for a new card. I was trying to decide on either a second CIP or the CIC. But now I keep reading about everyone getting SPG cards before the new deal in August. I can’t figure out if I should jump on board or nah. If I do go for SPG, I think it should be the biz as I am just getting started with Chase. Are they still handing out the old cards till August? And will they be converted or grandfathered? Is this a good or bad idea?

If you know you have a use for the SPG points, I'd go for spg biz and not let any grass grow up under your feet doing so. I went ahead and applied for the personal last night because I just didn't want to miss the chance to get the card. We aren't sure quite how it's all going to shake out when the categories and redemptions are announced, but it's a chance I was willing to take.

My main love though is UR! If you don't have a definite use for the spg, and would rather go with the safe bet, CIC or CIP are both excellent choices. I'd be inclined in your shoes to apply for the CIC first only cause there was a memo floating around that someone took a pic of that showed the increased bonus only good through May 20 (I think??). I sure hope not but I could see that one dropping back down before too long. The CIP bonus is the same as it's always been and I'm not too worried it's going away or decreasing anytime soon.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I debated whether to warn my wife of the Southwest news and tell her to avoid it. She typically would avoid anything like that on her own so I elected to not bring it up. Unfortunately, she caught wind of the incident and read an article. She is in a very dark place right now with this whole situation - she has never enjoyed flying and at best has tolerated it while sitting silently petrified in her seat during flights.

I’m trying my best to remain positive and encourage her - largely to no avail. Our next flight isn’t for about 3 months so I hope she will be able to overcome this setback and enjoy our next trip. Her fear is always a topic leading up to any trip and I’m sure it will be a bigger issue this time. In light of the very real situation at play here this may seem like a slightly insensitive request but if any of you are willing please say a prayer for my wife and her airplane anxiety as well as for my patience with her in this situation.

Will do. I’m not close to your wife’s level of fear but I can understand it a bit. As much as I love to travel and hack my way around I have always dealt with flight anxiety. Just after I felt I was getting it under control after a couple decades of flying I had some health issues a few years ago and found myself back at square one. I HATE how totally unlogical my fear is and how much it screws with my head when I travel. My anxiety doesn’t set in until about 24 hours before I fly luckily, if I had to fight that battle longer I don’t know that I’d ever book a flight anywhere. My heart goes out to you guys and I hope she’s able to work through it and that you find the extra patience you’re going to need to help her.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Even applying incognito?

OH- No! I applied on the normal offer. (Couldn’t get the incognito offer to save my life)

 

[wendow]

I debated whether to warn my wife of the Southwest news and tell her to avoid it. She typically would avoid anything like that on her own so I elected to not bring it up. Unfortunately, she caught wind of the incident and read an article. She is in a very dark place right now with this whole situation - she has never enjoyed flying and at best has tolerated it while sitting silently petrified in her seat during flights.

I’m trying my best to remain positive and encourage her - largely to no avail. Our next flight isn’t for about 3 months so I hope she will be able to overcome this setback and enjoy our next trip. Her fear is always a topic leading up to any trip and I’m sure it will be a bigger issue this time. In light of the very real situation at play here this may seem like a slightly insensitive request but if any of you are willing please say a prayer for my wife and her airplane anxiety as well as for my patience with her in this situation.

Will say a prayer for your wife and for you to be patient with her My mom is flying home on SW tomorrow and she's a bit rattled also. I told her the most dangerous part of her journey would be driving across Denver to drop her at the airport and the two hour drive she has once she lands in Houston. Not sure that made her feel any better though

I am terrified of spiders. I become completely paralyzed when I see one in my house. My dh had to cancel a meeting and drive 45 mins home from work once when my dd's were little cause I saw one in the hall and I couldn't kill it or walk past it and the girls and I were trapped upstairs with no kitchen access. I walked into my master bed closet once, closed the door and flipped on the light. There was a spider just to the side of the door. I stood there, motionless, for two hours before I could finally get myself together and kill the spider. I know my fear is irrational but I can't help it! I'm sure your dw is the same. My dh has to have a lot of patience with me cause I am constantly asking him to caulk up any crack in baseboards, the brick outside, etc, or spray for spiders over and over.

 

[Mopedmom1]

I debated whether to warn my wife of the Southwest news and tell her to avoid it. She typically would avoid anything like that on her own so I elected to not bring it up. Unfortunately, she caught wind of the incident and read an article. She is in a very dark place right now with this whole situation - she has never enjoyed flying and at best has tolerated it while sitting silently petrified in her seat during flights.

I’m trying my best to remain positive and encourage her - largely to no avail. Our next flight isn’t for about 3 months so I hope she will be able to overcome this setback and enjoy our next trip. Her fear is always a topic leading up to any trip and I’m sure it will be a bigger issue this time. In light of the very real situation at play here this may seem like a slightly insensitive request but if any of you are willing please say a prayer for my wife and her airplane anxiety as well as for my patience with her in this situation.

Prayers being said for both you and your wife.

My irrational fears are bats and climbing down ladders. I am not afraid of heights, and climbing up a ladder is no problem, I just can't come down. I once sat in our attic for several hours waiting for dh to get home so I could bring down the Christmas decorations. I think there were more than a few tears shed that afternoon!

 

[Judique]

Total dumb question but I saw on DoC that they were supposed to be there on the Hyatt and I can’t see them on my Chase page. Where are they located?

It's not dumb at all. When the Marriott offers came out, I couldn't see them.

I received an email asking me to link my card and create a new login and then I could see the offers.

 

[Judique]

From TPG's interview with Marriott’s SVP of Loyalty:

TPG: Probably the number-one negative thing that I’ve heard from legacy SPG cardmembers is that with the new conversions, you’re paying more for a card that offers less base earn on everyday spending. Currently, you earn 1 point per dollar, which would be 3 in the new program, and now with the non-premium SPG Amex cards it will be 2 points, which is a 33% decrease in everyday spend. How do you explain that to cardmembers? And David, by the way, launched the SPG co-brands years ago.

DF: Most cardmembers spend under $35,000 [on the card], so if you spend under that amount, the card just got richer. On your everyday spend, it’s true, it’s going to 2 points per dollar, but you also get a free night certificate up to 35,000 points, which is why it gets richer for anyone who spends under $35,000. For those who spend more, we have the new luxury card, which has a free night certificate up to 50,000 points, a $300 statement credit when you stay in our hotels, $100 for Global Entry. And all of our cards now have 15 night credits toward status, which we never had before.

That's some spin. Marriott reduces base earn by effectively 1 point per dollar on the SPG cards, but claims it's a good deal because cardholders get a free night certificate for a stay worth up to 35k points even though most people spend less than $35k/yr. on their SPG card. We went over this with the IHG cards: a certificate for a free stay capped at 35k points is not the same as 35k points.

The ONLY way I can accept the devaluation is because of the free night, so he is correct about some of us. Organic spend on my SPG is how I collected most of my points in the past. But Amex had already messed enough with the SPG benefits and the card in the last 10 years to already make me reduce my spend on it, so it has a minor effect on my overall picture because I have acquired many other cards. I'm also not so worried about the miles conversion which effectively was cut 30%.

I used to be all SPG for destinations or city trips and IHG for road trips. Now I'm into other hotels as well.

And just an observation about Amex - it used to have some cachet - now even Costco kicked them to the curb. Whoever is making decisions for the Amex brand may need to be reevaluated. I think Marriott did a pretty decent job on the hotel side, but the Amex side is lacking - and I think Marriott shoved the free night through as that's sort of a trademark for all their credit card offerings, as Amex has always been skimpy with free night offerings. Amex has usually touted the top of the line privileges which many of us couldn't aspire to (at least without churning) so they actually had a limited number of individuals who profited from the benefits, and those that did profit most probably didn't care that much.

Chase benefits will probably stay static as they are/were in line with other Chase products and acceptable by Marriott standards, I would imagine.

 

[Judique]

i know at the end, the 3x is a bit high, 2x does seem fair. honestly, if the points are still not bad, i may continue to swipe it as my non cat. I am still sad my SPG biz losing its lounge access though. I got 2 cards being discontinued and hoping they offer a nice bonus to upgrade. SPG Personal --> the new SPG luxury card(hopefully 50k+ free AF for the rest of the year) and Marriott too.



did u tell her this is the first fatality in the aviation since 2009 in the US? The likelihood of this happening again is slim to none. Your chances of driving in a car and dying is still a lot greater than flying.

Ahh, I want to keep my card as is, and then churn the new card!

As far as flying, I don't fly but will if I have to. Have to is relative to a few situations that may come up. Then I have to go get some medication. It hasn't come up often, except when my mother passed and I had to fly. I got through it somehow.

With me, it's a control issue. (And I know all this is anxiety based, and after therapy I understand the origin.) None of that makes any difference. I continue to avoid flying.

I'm older so I've been around a while. I took my first flight at age 13. I flew a Piper Cherokee at age 17. And I stopped flying in my early forties when anxiety associated with other events left me terrified to do things that were ordinary to me such as flying. There is no reasonableness with this fear. All justifications fall on deaf ears.

 

[schmass]

Heads up everyone: next Wednesday, April 25th is Administrative Professional's Day. If you have someone who helps you in the workplace recognize them. If you have a staff where you can get others on your team to give you cash while you generously volunteer to go get Amazon gift cards at Office Depot with your new CIC that you are working on meeting the minimum spend on even better...

We are also going out to lunch next week. I think I will have to take one for the team and volunteer to put the lunch on my card and have people pay me.

Yes! I offered to order the flowers for our office admins and ended up putting $400 towards my SPG Biz minimum spend.

 

[schmass]

Question - I just tried to find my referral link so I could refer my DH to the SPG Biz. I tried the "refer a friend" but it says my card isn't eligible for this. Is there somewhere else I should be looking?

 

[babyready]

Just got the spg 30,000 to pop up. I think I want to pull the trigger. Anyone want to remind me how great these points are and what you use them for? I know everyone here loves them so much, would love to hear how you get max value. Especially on hotel stays. Having the hardest time pulling the trigger but I know I need to just make a decision!!

 

[havaneselover]

Just got the spg 30,000 to pop up. I think I want to pull the trigger. Anyone want to remind me how great these points are and what you use them for? I know everyone here loves them so much, would love to hear how you get max value. Especially on hotel stays. Having the hardest time pulling the trigger but I know I need to just make a decision!!

My 35,000 spg points from my spg personal bonus are going toward two nights in Vancouver pre cruise this summer. Honestly without the free nights and free plane tickets (csp) going to Alaska wouldn’t have been feasible. The 35,000 I will earn for my spg biz will go toward ten nights in Europe next summer. Again, probably not on my radar without free hotels and hopefully free plane tickets (CIP).

 

[speedyfishy]

Just got the spg 30,000 to pop up. I think I want to pull the trigger. Anyone want to remind me how great these points are and what you use them for? I know everyone here loves them so much, would love to hear how you get max value. Especially on hotel stays. Having the hardest time pulling the trigger but I know I need to just make a decision!!

SO and I each got the Marriott personal and SPG Biz. We are using the points for five nights at the Royal towers in Atlantis, five nights at the Rome Boscolo, six nights at an offsite Disneyland hotel and we will still have some points left over for a long weekend getaway somewhere.

 

[Disneyonmymind]

SO and I each got the Marriott personal and SPG Biz. We are using the points for five nights at the Royal towers in Atlantis, five nights at the Rome Boscolo, six nights at an offsite Disneyland hotel and we will still have some points left over for a long weekend getaway somewhere.

WOW. How many points were needed for all of those stays?

 

[babyready]

SO and I each got the Marriott personal and SPG Biz. We are using the points for five nights at the Royal towers in Atlantis, five nights at the Rome Boscolo, six nights at an offsite Disneyland hotel and we will still have some points left over for a long weekend getaway somewhere.

That is awesome!

Which DL area hotel? DD has a competition in the LA area next year and I have been dreaming of taking the whole family and making a vacation out of it. So, I am especially excited about redemption opportunities there.

 

[babyready]

Well, I did it. Instant approval for spg personal! YAY! Thanks for the enabling!

My first AMEX, so that is exciting!

 

[speedyfishy]

WOW. How many points were needed for all of those stays?

We had 240k Marriott points. We got the Marriott cards when it was at a 120k bonus for 12k spend. We had 84,500 SPG points from two SPG Biz cards the referral and spend points.

Atlantis was 140k Marriott points, Boscolo 180k Marriott points, Disneyland we haven’t decided the hotel yet but looks like 50k SPG or 140k Marriott but pay out of pocket one night. We have 35,000 ish Marriott points left but also have a decent amount of points from tweeting so we are hoping to get three nights somewhere.

That is awesome!

Which DL area hotel? DD has a competition in the LA area next year and I have been dreaming of taking the whole family and making a vacation out of it. So, I am especially excited about redemption opportunities there.

We are between either the Fairfield Marriott on Harbor or the Sheraton Park Anaheim. I have both booked right now. I just need to make up my mind lol

 

[disneymagicgirl]

OH- No! I applied on the normal offer. (Couldn’t get the incognito offer to save my life)

I wonder if that is why mine hasn't shown up. Doesn't explain why I still can't manually add it though. I even got the email my card had shipped. Who knows.
DH's biz isn't added to his account either. He didn't apply incognito, as I referred him. I don't his card number yet to try and add it manually.
Guess I will just wait for them to arrive.

 

[pillow]

She's going for another Delta Amex and they told her she could only have 5 Amex credit cards.

Do they count business cards towards the 5 max or just personal?