I love credit cards so much!

[Judique]

So jealous of all of you acquiring so many points!! I am currently in burn mode until March 2019 when I will be 3/24. Until then, I will live vicariously through ya'll.
Don't cry for me too much though, as we have multiple trips planned and paid for with points. Rehoboth Beach DE this weekend (Hyatt free nights), Washington DC for my birthday (Fairmont card free nights and status), WDW in August (MNSSHP), WDW in November (Food and Wine), NYC in April ( seeing Hamilton, using Wyndham free night to stay with a trip the next day to Las Vegas to see Bryce and Zion NP).

At that time, I plan to get back in the game to build my stash back up!

This is the way to do it! Earn and burn! There are no guarantees with points and credit cards so always best to be ahead of the game. 'Devaluation' can be a dirty word. (of course I understand trying to reach a goal as well.)

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

For SW gurus, can I book cash and later change to points? DH can’t get SW card until end of year to post in 1/2019 and we have a WDW trip planned for March Spring Break. I won’t have points to book until January but thinking that’s too late

Unfortunately no. You’ll end up with a travel credit when you cancel the cash reservation which will make no sense in your situation. Given your timeline, it’s likely those fares will be way higher in Jan. If I were in your shoes, I’d look to use URs or find a way to buy some discounted Southwest GCs and pay that way.

 

[jimitrout]

a couple pages back Calypso talked about ABD thread, what is the ABD thread? I can usually google and figure out the acronyms but that has me stumped.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

a couple pages back Calypso talked about ABD thread, what is the ABD thread? I can usually google and figure out the acronyms but that has me stumped.

I’m pretty sure it’s Adventures by Disney

 

[amalone1013]

You know what would be awesome on the 4th of July...if TPG posted an article about how CIP earns 3x URs thru Plastiq...NOT!!! https://thepointsguy.com/news/3x-on-plastiq-ink-business-preferred/

Wow...I know I'm not a Plastiq user myself but for those that use it heavily, I hope this doesn't cause a change due to widespread abuse.

It’s been more like a year... and not much longer now that MMS/Business Insider and TPG are telling everybody about it.

This was my first thought... gee, hope Business Insider picks up on this again!

 

[Ngwira]

This is the way to do it! Earn and burn! There are no guarantees with points and credit cards so always best to be ahead of the game. 'Devaluation' can be a dirty word. (of course I understand trying to reach a goal as well.)

I agree. I don’t MS and don’t use Plastiq so didn’t have as many points as some but I’m happy with what I’ve been able to accumulate and use. I forgot to add that I’ll be using my ihg sign up bonus and last unrestricted free night at the Palazzo in Vegas!

 

[Lain]

So following up on my earlier post,

Plastiq's Visa Merchant Category Code ("MCC") is coded as BUSINESS/ PROFESSIONAL SERVICES - 7399

by comparison,

The UPS Store near me is also coded as BUSINESS/ PROFESSIONAL SERVICES - 7399 (as are other UPS Stores around the city).

I know that UPS Store earns 3x UR for shipping on the CIP.

The Amex Hilton Biz earns 6x HH points on U.S. purchases for shipping.

Assuming the same MCC between Visa and Amex,

Does Plastiq earn 6x HH on the Hilton Biz?

[NEVERMIND - It does not. I remembered I made a small Plastiq payment using the Hilton Biz last month. I just checked the transaction on Amex's beta site, and it's showing only the base 3x HH for all "other purchases." Plastiq codes as "Business Services - Banking Services" on Amex.]

I'm a few days away from paying my next bill to provide a DP, so anyone else with bills to pay sooner through Plastiq and a Hilton Biz willing to try would be much appreciated!

Of course, if Visa pressures Plastiq to change their MCC, that may also change how it codes on Amex. And, as a practical matter, Plastiq on Amex is more restrictive than on a Visa (no mortgages, car loans/leases, or student loans).

 

[amalone1013]

Plastiq question: If I schedule a recurring payment for my car to go through December, but end up paying my car off before then, can I cancel the recurring payment?

 

[Lain]

Plastiq question: If I schedule a recurring payment for my car to go through December, but end up paying my car off before then, can I cancel the recurring payment?

You can cancel the entire recurring payment or a single payment in the recurring schedule anytime before it's processed.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Nights and Flights aren't going away in August, but it's a radical change to the structure. So depending on which airline you want to transfer to, nearly all packages seem to be a better value before the change. Here's the page for the new structure and points: https://lacek.hs.llnwd.net/e1/marriott/redemption/HAR18036_TravelPackages_Chart2.pdf

Thanks so much for the link! Yeah, definitely for SW the nights and flights is better. Now to try to figure out what to do. I'm not crazy about paying to buy SPG points and trying to meet the $3k MSR for my new Marriott biz in the next two weeks, but it seems so worth it!

So, now for a new question! I can pretty easily do $1k or so in organic spend, but I probably need a strategy for MS to get the remaining $2k. I've read the Reddit post but I'm still pretty confused. Is the best strategy to start out to buy a Visa gift card then trying to use that to buy a money order from Walmart or my local grocery store (Dillons = Kroger)? Are there certain giftcards I should look out for?

 

[schmass]

I can't even read the TPG post regarding Plastiq! Right now we are earning around 25,000 URs per month via Plastiq and I'm hoping that can continue for a while!

 

[jhoannam]

You know what would be awesome on the 4th of July...if TPG posted an article about how CIP earns 3x URs thru Plastiq...NOT!!! https://thepointsguy.com/news/3x-on-plastiq-ink-business-preferred/

Wow...I know I'm not a Plastiq user myself but for those that use it heavily, I hope this doesn't cause a change due to widespread abuse.

I wonder how much he’s getting paid to partner with Plastiq? Also, if Chase ends the 3X Plastiq is going to lose a lot of revenue.

 

[kmc8826]

@Bruin_mouse put your DVC energy into this thread and let all these smart people help you figure out the credit card game.

 

[jhoannam]

Ok so next question lol. DH is 4/24 until 10/18 then drops to 3/24. He got CIP 5/2/18. Want to apply to SW biz 11/18. Too risky to do CIC in July or August?

There aren’t DP of people having 3 Chase Biz cards but I don’t know about applying for 3 in a 6 month period.

 

[jhoannam]

Just got off the phone with Marriott and picked up 2 more cat 1-5 travel packages. I feel like Count Von Count from Sesame Street looking at the confirmation emails. Now I have 4! 4 travel packages AH, AH , AH ...

View attachment 334753

Have to tried to get the 5 night?

 

[jujubiee4]

Just took advantage of the $100 off $500 Amazon deal with $400 Amazon digital gift card and $100 Whole Foods digital. Wish I could somehow get Disney gift cards out of this deal but still a great savings on Whole Foods and we shop frequently on Amazon.

Edited to add: Both the Amazon and Whole Foods digital gift cards were received soon after order.

I also just received the Fidelity bonus this morning. No emails received but the money is there (4x $50 deposits).

I have checked and checked and no one in family was targeted. Disappointing as i shop ALOT at Amazon but I'm happy
for you and anyone else here who got offer. Every dollar helps.

 

[jhoannam]

Thanks so much for the link! Yeah, definitely for SW the nights and flights is better. Now to try to figure out what to do. I'm not crazy about paying to buy SPG points and trying to meet the $3k MSR for my new Marriott biz in the next two weeks, but it seems so worth it!

So, now for a new question! I can pretty easily do $1k or so in organic spend, but I probably need a strategy for MS to get the remaining $2k. I've read the Reddit post but I'm still pretty confused. Is the best strategy to start out to buy a Visa gift card then trying to use that to buy a money order from Walmart or my local grocery store (Dillons = Kroger)? Are there certain giftcards I should look out for?

Have you thought about bank funding?
Also, you could just use those Visa gift cards to pay for your regular expenses later.

 

[mom2elal]

By the way this is a heads up reminder to check the old Amex interface also for offers. My brother
just texted me the Amazon offer showed up on the old interface for him. I checked for mine and
still nada but i did see a few different things (none im interested in)


https://online.americanexpress.com/myca/logon/us/action?request_type=LogonHandler&Face=en_US&DestPage=https://online.americanexpress.com/myca/acctmgmt/us/myaccountsummary.do?request_type=authreg_acctAccountSummary&Face=en_US&pageView=janus&omnlogin=us_homepage_myca

Thank you so much! We had the Sam's Club offer on 2/4 cards through that link!

 

[bernina]

Just took advantage of the $100 off $500 Amazon deal with $400 Amazon digital gift card and $100 Whole Foods digital. Wish I could somehow get Disney gift cards out of this deal but still a great savings on Whole Foods and we shop frequently on Amazon.

Edited to add: Both the Amazon and Whole Foods digital gift cards were received soon after order.

I also just received the Fidelity bonus this morning. No emails received but the money is there (4x $50 deposits).

Is there any option to turn the $400 of Amazon GC I now have to Disney GC? The Amazon cards will definitely get used but my immediate need is to stock up on Disney for Sept trip. Thanks!!

 

[ski_mom]

Not that I'm aware of. If you're concerned about holding a seat you can look at the refundable fares and see if you can float that cash until Jan and then play the cancel/rebook game. But not aware of any way to just convert a cash to points reservation.

What kind of fare do you have to book with United for it to be fully refundable? My DD is studying abroad in Australia and she has to have a return ticket before she goes. She's wanting to stay for a bit after her semester is over, but is hoping to meet some other girls to travel with, so her return date isn't firm yet at this point.

I'm planning on buying her return ticket with 40,000 United points, but thought about purchasing a fully refundable fare for now and then cancelling and rebooking with points when she knows her date. I've tried to find out exactly what fares are fully refundable, but when I try searching, all I can find is the deal about flights being refundable for 24 hours after you book. I need it to be a longer time.

Thanks for any help if you're aware of which fares qualify for this.