I love credit cards so much!

[calypso726]

Thanks! I do have enough points for the package but I think I am going to hold off on getting it since I am not sure I want to be locked into Alaska since we would never use them otherwise. But it's good to have a plan for how to go about purchasing when the time comes.

Just in case you didn't know the points cost of the packages will go up in August. Right now, the packages for 120,000 Alaska miles and a 7 night certificate for category 1-5 hotel are 270,000. In August that won't be available and the closest thing would be a package with 100,000 Alaska miles and a 7 night cat 1-4 hotel for 330,000. That's 60,000 more points for 20,000 less miles and depending on the hotel possibly worse too as some are going up and some down in category.

I've never flown Alaska or used their miles. However, since they have so many great transfer partners across airline alliances, I figured they'd be a safe bet. I can earn AA miles between churning cards and shopping portals, plus they do go on sale from time to time so I can always resort to that if need be. UR points are easy to accumulate. However, nothing expect spend on the Alaska card would get me miles that are potentially as valuable in terms of variety as what I had with SPG. So, we've bought 4 packages and are likely going for a 5th as soon as the last SPG account transfers over.

Can someone please give me the lowdown on Alaska’s CC? We don’t fly a ton, usually a few times a year. Is it worth getting? Looks like there’s a fee. How does the companion fare work? Is it one free ticket per year?

Most airline cards have a fee, as do moth travel rewards cards that offer a great deal of value. If you are on the west coast then the Alaska card can bring a great deal of value. The companion pass is once per year for the cost of taxes and fees which is about $119.

How long does it take to transfer SPG points btwn spouses?

3 business days, but feels like ...

I called and booked the Cat 6 plus 100k RR points. I was on the phone for a total of 30 minutes, most of which were on holding waiting for a representative to help me. When I finally spoke with someone, I'm pretty sure this was the first package he has booked. He had no clue what he was doing, and at first he told me it was going to be 510k Marriott points! I can see the 7-night certificate in my Marriott account, but don't see the RR points in my SW account yet.

Airline points take a while longer to post and it depends on the airline. I don't know about SW but the rep told me Alaska takes 5 business days.

 

[Albort]

Thanks! I do have enough points for the package but I think I am going to hold off on getting it since I am not sure I want to be locked into Alaska since we would never use them otherwise. But it's good to have a plan for how to go about purchasing when the time comes.

im in the same boat as you are. I dont have any vacation plans, sending my precious SPG points to Alaska i deemed it risky since Alaska points start to tick. I will settle for the 60k-->25k alaska points in the future when i deem it necessary. im hoping the N&F become so unpopular to the point they fix it to make it more attractive.

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

Churnable means you can get the sign up bonus more than once. Chase cards you have to wait 2 years from the last time you got the bonus, this Alaska card it's much shorter. Amex has several cards that have a once in a lifetime bonus, which may not actually be lifetime but depends.

5/24 is the number of cards you've opened in the last 24 months. Chase has certain cards they won't approve you for if you're opened more than 5 cards in the last 2 years. You'll see a lot of questions about what people are at etc.

By getting the sign up bonus more than once, do you mean closing the card and reapplying?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Pumped after my Walgreens visit this evening! Yesterday the one closest to my house said debit or cash only...Boooo! One on my way to basketball tonight gladly ran $505.95 on my Freedom though!!

What did you buy?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

By getting the sign up bonus more than once, do you mean closing the card and reapplying?

yes

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Airline points take a while longer to post and it depends on the airline. I don't know about SW but the rep told me Alaska takes 5 business days.

I did Alaska miles for my package a few weeks ago and the rep was right on the estimate--it took 5 business days. Painful!

I'm also in the midst of waiting for my DD and DH's starpoints to transfer to me for our second and last package. I'm so bummed I waited so long to take advantage of the packages. They are such a fantastic deal!

I'd heard that Alaska miles were some of the most valuable, and so far I heartily agree. They have great transfer partners (including JAL which i hope to use for Japan next summer), and I just scored a EDI to SFO 1st class flight on BA for 70,000 miles (I want to say 30,000 less than the avios price) and $566 for a british Isles trip I have next May. I've been dying to try out First on BA and can't wait for my new jammies

In the next year, I have a bunch of upper class flights booked so I'll have some good comparisons to go off of. DD and I are flying LATAM business in a few weeks for our hike to Machu Picchu, and she and I are doing Delta One in September when she goes back to school in England. I'm flying back American Business and first. For the outward part of the British Isles trip above, I was finally able to use my very old skypesos for a VA upper class flight. It was a great use of miles. I want to say 75,000 skypesos and $5.60 (no ridiculous VA taxes!). I also have a RT business on UA to LHR in November so lots to go around. I'm beginning to feel like the pointguy

All these except LATAM have been booked on miles thanks to you

 

[DisneyMandC]

@DisneyMandC

My understanding is that it depends on whether you are trying to build a credit history or trying to keep your credit score high. If you wait until the charges post and a statement showing the charges is generated, that can (temporarily) lower your credit score by increasing your utilization. But if you constantly pay the charges off before they post, then the credit card companies are not seeing that you have a history of on-time payments because there's never a payment due.

That's my understanding at least.

Oh - one final thought, If you are paying the charges early in order to "cycle" your credit limit (meaning charge more in a payment period than your credit limit), some CC companies might not approve.

I had heard that before too, but someone else told me it was a myth. I always have some amount due when the statement closes, so it's not like I'm paying it to 0 every time I put money on it. For example, if I have $1200 charged on July 1, put $500 towards it on July 2, and my statement closes July 3, I'll still have the balance of $700 due and will pay that off timely.

It's funny the stuff you learn doing this! I had never heard of cycling or thought banks might think it's something bad to do. I've always paid my credit card bills like this just because it's the way I prefer to do it. I figure they should just be happy to get my money

Either way works, however when I contacted the credit bureau directly, DHs AU was removed in 24 hours. Not sure how long it takes for Chase to remove them. However if you want them removed from all bureaus, contacting Chase (or whichever cc company) might be the way to go.

Not sure how long it takes Chase either. I asked about a month ago, but haven't checked until now just because I had no reason to since we're not applying for any cards for him any time soon. DH is now officially 1/24!

 

[speedyfishy]

Time for a new bank bonus.....PNC or Chase? Which is easier? I'm not sure chase will even work since we don't have branches, but I would try.

Are you working on a non Amex MSR? I’d wait to do PNC until you can do 2k funding with the checking account too. They are both fairly easy bonuses and both banks have been offering them for awhile so I doubt either will disappear anytime soon.

 

[DisneyMandC]

@calypso726 is back to her old avatar... all is right in the world again.

 

[JKalai]

Pumped after my Walgreens visit this evening! Yesterday the one closest to my house said debit or cash only...Boooo!

I hate it when that happens! We have so many stations here in Vegas that either do that or additional fees, so I've been only sticking to either Sam's Club or Costco for gas.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

A few more SPG points questions please.

If I sign my DH up for an SPG account today, he has to wait 14 days to be able to purchase SPG points, correct? But, he wouldn't be able to transfer his points to my account because his account would be less than 30 days old, which wouldn't that we were at the same address for the required 30 days, is that right?

Also, if I purchase SPG points using my Amex SPG biz, do I receive 2x points on the purchase?

Thanks for the help! Really wish I'd researched SPG points more earlier on!

 

[mmmears]

In the next year, I have a bunch of upper class flights booked so I'll have some good comparisons to go off of. DD and I are flying LATAM business in a few weeks for our hike to Machu Picchu, and she and I are doing Delta One in September when she goes back to school in England. I'm flying back American Business and first. For the outward part of the British Isles trip above, I was finally able to use my very old skypesos for a VA upper class flight. It was a great use of miles. I want to say 75,000 skypesos and $5.60 (no ridiculous VA taxes!). I also have a RT business on UA to LHR in November so lots to go around. I'm beginning to feel like the pointguy

All these except LATAM have been booked on miles thanks to you

I'm am really impressed by all the first and business class travel on points. We've done a bit, but nothing like what you are doing. I'm hoping to learn a lot here...

 

[calypso726]

I did Alaska miles for my package a few weeks ago and the rep was right on the estimate--it took 5 business days. Painful!

I'm also in the midst of waiting for my DD and DH's starpoints to transfer to me for our second and last package. I'm so bummed I waited so long to take advantage of the packages. They are such a fantastic deal!

I'd heard that Alaska miles were some of the most valuable, and so far I heartily agree. They have great transfer partners (including JAL which i hope to use for Japan next summer), and I just scored a EDI to SFO 1st class flight on BA for 70,000 miles (I want to say 30,000 less than the avios price) and $566 for a british Isles trip I have next May. I've been dying to try out First on BA and can't wait for my new jammies

In the next year, I have a bunch of upper class flights booked so I'll have some good comparisons to go off of. DD and I are flying LATAM business in a few weeks for our hike to Machu Picchu, and she and I are doing Delta One in September when she goes back to school in England. I'm flying back American Business and first. For the outward part of the British Isles trip above, I was finally able to use my very old skypesos for a VA upper class flight. It was a great use of miles. I want to say 75,000 skypesos and $5.60 (no ridiculous VA taxes!). I also have a RT business on UA to LHR in November so lots to go around. I'm beginning to feel like the pointguy

All these except LATAM have been booked on miles thanks to you

@CaliforniaGirl09 that is Awesome!!!! So glad to to see you putting those miles to use! JAL was really nice coming back from Tokyo. I'd fly them again in heartbeat. The lounge in Tokyo was outstanding! We've never flown VA but would like to at some point.

I am in the process of checking availability and playing with dates for a trip to Scotland next year too. We are taking my mom and doing a guided trip with our favorite non ABD guide, Hugh, from Inverness Day Tours. We did an Outlander Tour with him a few years ago and last year went to Skye and a few other areas with him. This time we are going to fly into Edinburgh and head to Iverness, Kirkwall, Lairg, Stornoway (can't wait to go back here!), Portree, Tobermory, Lochgilphead and Glasgow.

Holy guacamole! You sure do have a lot of trips going on. Nice! I keep thinking I will run into him or one of the other bloggers at a random lounge someday LOL

edited to add - The JAL jammies are way nicer than BA jammies!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Amazon finally worked for me tonight! Amazon gift cards are dead on the deal but 3rd party gc are still working.

 

[calypso726]

@calypso726 is back to her old avatar... all is right in the world again.

 

[mmmears]

I know this is small potatoes for the rest of you, but my $50 gift card from Amazon arrived today, and so did the 2K MR points. I'm really pleased. This is the first time I've done something like this just for the points and it wasn't hard at all. Thanks for the heads up on this deal!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

What did you buy?

I hate it when that happens! We have so many stations here in Vegas that either do that or additional fees, so I've been only sticking to either Sam's Club or Costco for gas.

Sorry - should've been more specific. I am buying MCGCs or VGCs to hit the Freedom 5%. I'll then use the gift card for regular expenses. Trying to bridge that gap until we do our double dip in a month but keep earning that 7.5% back (5% + the CSR kicker )

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

@CaliforniaGirl09 that is Awesome!!!! So glad to to see you putting those miles to use! JAL was really nice coming back from Tokyo. I'd fly them again in heartbeat. The lounge in Tokyo was outstanding! We've never flown VA but would like to at some point.

I am in the process of checking availability and playing with dates for a trip to Scotland next year too. We are taking my mom and doing a guided trip with our favorite non ABD guide, Hugh, from Inverness Day Tours. We did an Outlander Tour with him a few years ago and last year went to Skye and a few other areas with him. This time we are going to fly into Edinburgh and head to Iverness, Kirkwall, Lairg, Stornoway (can't wait to go back here!), Portree, Tobermory, Lochgilphead and Glasgow.

Holy guacamole! You sure do have a lot of trips going on. Nice! I keep thinking I will run into him or one of the other bloggers at a random lounge someday LOL

edited to add - The JAL jammies are way nicer than BA jammies!

Great to hear about JAL. That's probably our first choice, but we also have ANA and Singapore Airlines (out of LAX) on the list if we can't get 4 on one flight. I think we'll end up splitting up in 2s or doing me and DD first and the guys business. Lots of options we are playing with. My booking is next month so cross fingers for me.

I really like VA. Its upper class is solid and the vibe is very hip. They have my favorite jammies so far, although I only have United so far as my others. i swear, I'm all about the jammies. I heard the Asian carriers have the best so I hope to add to my stash soon with those.

I love that you've gone back to Scotland so many times since our ABD. I don't want to count how many times I've been in the past fifteen years Your trip with your mom sound fabulous. I'm *finally* getting to the Faroes on this next trip, which I'm sure you'll appreciate. That was the biggest disappointment of the Norway/Iceland DCL cruise we were on with you guys. I was also supposed to go to Saint Micheal Skellig, but apparently thanks to Star Wars they've stopped allowing vessels to go there. This trip is pretty amazing--I'll definitely be adding to my British Isles visited list

Too funny--I'm always thinking I'll run into them in a lounge, too. BTW, the new Polaris lounge in SFO is incredible! They have a restaurant you order from, noodle bar., etc. So cool. We were in there a few weeks ago, and it just opened. I want to say it cost 33 million dollars. If you fly through SFO you'll want to make a stop

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I'm am really impressed by all the first and business class travel on points. We've done a bit, but nothing like what you are doing. I'm hoping to learn a lot here...

We were sold after all four of us flew Polaris business to Hong Kong last year and 1st class Polaris from Shanghai back on miles last summer (for our ABD China trip). It was such an incredible experience we pretty much have turned all our energy into accumulating miles for upper class travel. I have three "plane princesses" (to use the term for @calypso726's DH) now We travel a ton though, so the miles go quickly. Thanks to all the advice I've received here though we are accumulating much more quickly in the past few months. Plastiq, 2 SPGs, 2 CIPs, and 2 Flight and Travel awards have helped

 

[mmmears]

We were sold after all four of us flew Polaris business to Hong Kong last year and 1st class Polaris from Shanghai back on miles last summer (for our ABD China trip). It was such an incredible experience we pretty much have turned all our energy into accumulating miles for upper class travel. I have three "plane princesses" (to use the term for @calypso726's DH) now We travel a ton though, so the miles go quickly. Thanks to all the advice I've received here though we are accumulating much more quickly in the past few months. Plastiq, 2 SPGs, 2 CIPs, and 2 Flight and Travel awards have helped

We flew first on AA (but it was a newer plane so very nice) to Europe a few years ago. This trip we only had enough MR points to book business. I guess we have 3 "plane princesses here" or really 2 since my DD tells us she's fine going coach (but so far we've been able to get 3 seats together). At this point, my DH and I are not willing to fly coach overseas, even though it means that we don't go often. It's just so uncomfortable for us. Guess we're getting older...