I love credit cards so much!

[Albort]

Does anyone know about the Amex Biz 'rules' for meeting MSR (no MS) as far as gift cards go? I'm trying to get a clear picture before I mess this up, and according to @Albort screenshots, my acct page doesn't show me enough detail for what 'level' of purchase so I can see what they're looking at....wondering if it's safe to mix a costco cash card purchase in with some spend at a grocery ,mix regular purchases with gc there? if I stay away from the visa gc,and just go for branded gc at grocery,will I be ok?

are you figuring out how to view the details that show what amex can see?
Stores that dont give L3 data is usually okay but in small increments. a costco cash card wouldnt work because i dont think you can use an amex card to buy a costco cash card.
a branded gc should be okay, just dont go out and buy $1000 worth of them, do like $200-$500 at a time with something else. technique, actual store gift cards isnt considered cash equivlant.

ETA: I'd like to know this too, because I will sure use those new rebate offers on the hilton biz to buy gift cards for MSR if I can!

avoid staples during MSR time. Lowes should be okay. i dont think Lowes gives L3 data.

 

[DisneyMandC]

I feel the exact same way. We also have Japan booked for 2020!

Yes!! We want to go see the Olympics, which I know is insane because it will be insanely crowded, but I've always wanted to go to the Olympics and to Japan. I'm thinking what we might do is go for the second week of the Olympics and then stay the week after it's over as well to tour around Japan more. I would expect more people would want to be there for opening ceremonies and whatnot, so maybe it'll calm down a little bit the second week. Already starting to accumulate hotel points and try to figure out flight points! If I can get flights and hotels paid for in points then I think it could be a really great trip!

 

[OhanaCuz]

Ah! I only happened to see the tag on your post. I haven’t been trying to catch up. Still in Tokyo and have now completed the Disney Parks Grand Slam. All 12 parks and 11 of them we went to this year! The right side of my face still doesn’t work but I’m having a blast. The Tokyo parks have ruined me for Disney parks. Best. Disney. Parks. Ever.

Yesss. Tokyo DisneySea is still my favorite park of all time.

 

[miztressuz]

are you figuring out how to view the details that show what amex can see?
Stores that dont give L3 data is usually okay but in small increments. a costco cash card wouldnt work because i dont think you can use an amex card to buy a costco cash card.
a branded gc should be okay, just dont go out and buy $1000 worth of them, do like $200-$500 at a time with something else. technique, actual store gift cards isnt considered cash equivlant.


avoid staples during MSR time. Lowes should be okay. i dont think Lowes gives L3 data.

I just checked my Lowe's purchase on my SPG Biz and it did not have any data listed, so should be good. I bought a 3rd party gift card only to use my Lowe's offer (didn't even occur to me - AmEx & GC - but is what it is) and the right column is completely blank, no data.

 

[Albort]

I just checked my Lowe's purchase on my SPG Biz and it did not have any data listed, so should be good. I bought a 3rd party gift card only to use my Lowe's offer (didn't even occur to me - AmEx & GC - but is what it is) and the right column is completely blank, no data.

nice! did ur local Lowes have amazon GCs?

 

[miztressuz]

nice! did ur local Lowes have amazon GCs?

Yep! That's what I bought

 

[Lain]

We are going to Disneyland in October. I just hit my MSR on my SPG personal and received the 30k points. I was thinking of booking the Four Points by Sheraton with them, but then everyone started talking about the Hyatt locations near Disneyland. So now I'm thinking of using the 50k UR I will get from my CIC to book Hyatt. Is this a better plan? Should I book the Sheraton now just in case? I can get the points back if I change my mind right?

I'm very interested to see some responses because I am trying to make the same decision!

I'll post a more detailed reply when I get the chance tomorrow, but I'll say the Hyatt House on Harbor and Katella is more conveniently located (Starbucks and Walgreens on the ground floor, GardenWalk almost across the street, lots of restaurant options nearby) and a more pleasant walk (along treelined streets on Harbor) to Disneyland Resort's eastern gateway than the Four Points by Sheraton (which is located across the I-5 freeway overpass).

I forgot to mention that Hyatt House is a new construction hotel that opened in summer 2016. Four Points by Sheraton was the Hotel Menage that had some renovations done in late 2016 to early 2017 when it rebranded to a Sheraton.

 

[peel]

how do you find an upgrade offer?Edit..I just found this on both our cards...... is there a date when this offer ends that anyone can find? I can't see anything, but I'd like to stretch it as far as possible before I do this since I'm still doing MSR on the biz.... and this would be a PC right? so nothing should change in 5/24 to change this over,right? And.... what do you think? currently hold the no fee hhonors cards....so it's a no brainer to keep them, what can I PC to after a year to avoid 2nd AF?

DH got an email a few months ago with an expiration date of 5/31. I waited until 5/30 to activate because we’re still working on his SPG Biz MSR. No effect to 5/24, no hard pull, downgrade after a year. I seem to remember DPs of people doing this and getting a second offer to upgrade again a year later. Wouldn’t that be nice?!

 

[SBWB48]

nice! did ur local Lowes have amazon GCs?

Plenty of Amazon GCs at two different Lowe's here in MD (between Baltimore and DC). Think I saw them at Staples here too.

 

[afan]

Ohhhh, wonder if mine actually accepts it. Can I assume so if it is listed in the chase pay app?

As long as it's in the app you're fine. Mine aren't in the app. Five guys is a franchise but some are company owned or at least were several years ago when I chatted with a manager. That might be why some are there and others aren't.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

DH got an email a few months ago with an expiration date of 5/31. I waited until 5/30 to activate because we’re still working on his SPG Biz MSR. No effect to 5/24, no hard pull, downgrade after a year. I seem to remember DPs of people doing this and getting a second offer to upgrade again a year later. Wouldn’t that be nice?!

I may or may not have gotten that email and deleted it. The offer is currently on my account when I log in. I have MSR to do on another Amex card so will put off upgrading for a few weeks and hope it’s still there. If it wasn’t Amex, I’d be fine but the bigger expenses I have coming up don’t take Amex

 

[sdmom]

Alaska Airlines.
I'm sure this has been answered and I tried to search so I apologize for asking about ground already covered.
Does anyone know how soon would I be able to use the companion fare offer after acceptance? I would have no problem charging $1k after I have a number, but I'm guessing I have to wait a certain # billing periods to be able to book the CF.
thank you!

 

[hsmamato2]

I may or may not have gotten that email and deleted it. The offer is currently on my account when I log in. I have MSR to do on another Amex card so will put off upgrading for a few weeks and hope it’s still there. If it wasn’t Amex, I’d be fine but the bigger expenses I have coming up don’t take Amex

same

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Lucky.... I've done this trip before and LOVED it

Passed through Winslow AZ yesterday and had song lyrics running through my head...
Well, I'm a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona

Never knew where Winslow was.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Yep! That's what I bought

Nice. I need to stock up on amazon for sure.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

As long as it's in the app you're fine. Mine aren't in the app. Five guys is a franchise but some are company owned or at least were several years ago when I chatted with a manager. That might be why some are there and others aren't.

whooo hooo! Dinner is served.

 

[mefordis]

If you transfer the SPG points to Delta in increments of 20k you get a 5000 mile skymile boost.

This is why I love you guys so much! Does it have to be 20k or 20k+ . Just curious!

 

[Lain]

Wow, this has been a true learning experience with points and miles. I need 35k miles on Delta to buy a ticket. I have 33k spg points, so I'm short 2k to transfer 1:1 to Delta for the ticket. To make up the difference I transferred UR's to Marriott 1:1 and then I will transfer them to SPG 3:1 to get the points needed to transfer them to Delta 1:1.

Then, I'll need to take more Marriott miles (from husband's 100k bonus) and transfer them to SPG again to buy another Delta ticket for me. This time just one way since I already bought my First Class ticket on UA with miles. My goal is to spend almost nothing for these flights!

Is this the way you experts would do it? I need to buy these tickets soon since we are going to WDW in mid Nov for the Food and Wine Festival!

Thanks for any input!

That's one way to do it. I don't know the cost of your Delta fares, but transferring from SPG>Delta and UR>Marriott>SPG>Delta seems like it might be an inefficient use of points. I hope you transferred in 20,000 SPG increments because for every 20,000 SPG points you transfer to any partner airline in a single transaction, you’ll receive a 5,000 extra miles bonus. But if the goal is free and you're happy with your redemption, then don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

The thing I've been trying to get you to think about is to have an idea of your trips one to two years in advance, find out what miles and points you'll need to make those vacation plans free or as nearly free as possible, be strategic about credit card signups, and have enough time to get those miles and points in place in order to book award availability before those sell out or go up. At the very least, take stock of what airlines you think you'll fly and hotel chains you think you'll stay at so you can jump on their co-branded credit cards when a bonus increases for a limited time.

If we had known you needed Delta SkyMiles for a trip in November, we probably would have steered you to sign up for an Amex Delta business card when the bonus offers on the Delta Platinum Biz were at their highest as recently as April 2018. As you know, Amex business cards don't show up on your personal credit reports and don't count against Chase's 5/24 rule. The current YMMV offers are not historic highs, and bonuses on Amex cards tend to be once per product per lifetime, so if you go for a lower than best offer now you likely won't be eligible for another offer on the same card if it goes up later (and don't count on Amex "matching" a higher offer):

(YMMV) American Express Delta Gold 60,000 Miles + $50 Statement Credit, No Lifetime Language (Personal & Business)
(YMMV) American Express Delta Platinum 45,000 Miles + $100 Statement Credit & 15,000 MQM, No Lifetime Language (Personal & Business)
American Express Delta Platinum – 70,000 Miles + $100 Statement Credit + 10,000 MQM (Personal & Business) (Expired 4/11/18)
American Express Delta Gold 60,000 Mile Offer + $50 Statement Credit (Personal & Business Offers) (Expired 4/11/18)
American Express Delta Platinum – 70,000 Miles + $100 Statement Credit + 10,000 MQM (Personal & Business) (Expired 1/31/18)

And if you need help figuring any of this out, just post here and tell us your plans and ask for advice how to get there.

 

[mefordis]

I thought SPG transfers is 20K SPG to 25K airlines miles.
Have you checked the UR travel portal to see how many URs you need if you buy them through the portal?

Thanks! I just now learned about the 5k bonus for transferring 20k at a time. That will be GREAT! 10k for free!

I did not check the UR portal. I should have. I had 29k points. I was so confused trying to figure this all out last night!

 

[Haley R]

Okay I have a question for everybody. We are going to Japan next May and I have started to look at hotels/apartments to stay in. Will we be able to use our Chase points on AirBnB? Can we only book with points through the Chase website?