I love credit cards so much!

[Lain]

I got the warning yes when applying for the Ameriprise plat.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

If you sign up for the new Gold card in December, you can potentially triple dip the $100 airline credit on one $250 AF, if you plan to cancel the card after one year. If you decide that the new Gold card is a keeper, then it doesn't really matter. Just be sure to decide and get your application in well before 1/9/19 if you want the Rose Gold card.

I was considering the triple dipping possibility I think new Gold will be a keeper for either dh or I, not sure how things will shake out though. We might be flying to visit my elderly aunties in Sacramento in either late January or February. If we do, I will apply for the SW biz as far before as possible and then go for a higher in-flight SW personal offer to get the CP.

 

[Lain]

Wait, you could triple dip the airline credit for the gold card AND the platinum????
*puts on thinking cap*

That's how the airline fee credit works on the Amex Platinum, Gold, and Hilton Aspire, which all have this benefit. It's a calendar year benefit, so it resets 1/1 every year. If you apply in late-November through December, you'll be able to dip this benefit once in, say, 2018; then again as soon as the new year starts in 2019; and a third time as soon as 2020 rolls around and before your AF is due between early January and early February.

For example, I applied for the PRG years ago in early December. The AF is billed on the last day of the December statement every year, on 12/21. Payment is due on 1/15. Amex allows you 30 days from the closing date of the statement on which the AF posts to close a card to get a full refund. So I'd have until 1/20 to cancel my PRG to get an AF refund. That gives me over 2 weeks in January to triple dip the airline credit before closing the card.

The value of a triple dip assumes you'll close the card rather than pay a second year AF, because if you decide the new Amex Gold is a keeper, it doesn't really matter. Also, because the old PRG waived the first year AF, you could've gotten $300 in airline credits for free. The new Amex Gold does not waive its $250 AF, so you're getting $300 in airline credits and $140 in [$10 monthly] dining credits for $250. [ETA] The new Amex Gold also comes with an up to $100 statement credit from 20% back on dining purchases in your first 3 months of card membership, so that helps a bit to offset the first year $250 AF.

 

[WVMomof3]

Have you generated a new link from the "Refer a Friend" link in the footer of the AmEx site? That's how I did it from my SPG Biz this afternoon. I took that link and put it in an incognito window and got a completely different looking first application page that had the "Looking for a personal card?" link towards the top.

I get a completely different short link from the link in the footer vs the refer now/refer.reward.repeat links, which I think is the key.

You are right, getting it from the bottom link did the trick. I didn't have to go incognito, just opened a new window and used the link. I can now see the "Looking for personal card" link. Weird.

 

[FloridaNative8]

@SouthFayetteFan or @Lain - would you mind checking DisChurners to make sure I posted my referral correctly for AMEX? It's my first one, and I don't want to get kicked out just yet

 

[Lain]

@SouthFayetteFan or @Lain - would you mind checking DisChurners to make sure I posted my referral correctly for AMEX? It's my first one, and I don't want to get kicked out just yet

Looks alright to me.

 

[Lain]

Oh sweet! I got an email from Amex that my PRG has been updated on Apple Pay. The card graphic in my wallet is now Rose Gold!

 

[FloridaNative8]

Looks alright to me.

Thank you!

 

[FloridaNative8]

Oh sweet! I got an email from Amex that my PRG has been updated on Apple Pay. The card graphic in my wallet is now Rose Gold!

When I went to generate my referral link, the image on my account had changed as well!They're fast!

 

[Ava]

I'm a little behind so don't know if this has been discussed already, but I was playing around on the UR Portal from my CSP and it looks like the change has been made to Expedia.

Ooo, that’s exciting! Does anyone know if CSR has changed over to Expedia as well? (I’d check myself but I’m already in bed, lol.) I really don’t want to have to call and book international flights for 4 people over the phone to avoid basic economy.

I’m also still waiting on my P2s CIP application to be processed. Applied on 9/29 & still sitting at the 30-day message. The AF on mine posted on 10/1 and I want to cancel the card before I have to pay it. Do I have 30 days from the day the AF posted? Or 30 days from when the statement containing the AF closes?

 

[trstno1]

Sorry, deleting post.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Ooo, that’s exciting! Does anyone know if CSR has changed over to Expedia as well? (I’d check myself but I’m already in bed, lol.) I really don’t want to have to call and book international flights for 4 people over the phone to avoid basic economy....

Idk how my name got in there but I definitely didn't say that, looks like @alryan did https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-2716#post-59817889

 

[georgina]

Wow that was fast - I opened a Key Bank checking account after getting an offer in the mail, deposited $500 and less than 2 weeks later the $400 bonus is in there also. Now I just have to keep it open 6 months and remember to avoid the monthly fee each statement period.

I couldn't resist opening a Capital One Venture today for DH since we are getting close to finishing off the spending on his CSR/CSP. He had an offer in the mail and I completely forgot to check if I could refer him from mine. That's 4 cards for him in the last 4 months so I think we're done for a while.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

This will surprise no one but I vote option #3, unless y'all are the travelers who only do carry on bags (?). If carryons aren't a big deal then I guess option #2.

IF and this is a big IF...you have 120,000 Marriott points that translates into 50,000 Delta Skymiles (5,000 mile bonus on now 60,000 points [old spg 20,000] x 2) but probably not the best use of Marriott points (except to me ) and there is a time delay (usually a couple of days but officially they have ?2 weeks) to transfer. So Delta's pricing can change in a minute, much less the time to take to transfer Marriott, assuming you don't mind squandering Marriott. Whew, hope that made sense!

MR to DL is almost instant and the excise fee will be $8.40 so that plus $5.60 would pay for one basic economy fare (assuming it's 14,000 skymiles or less) then paying for the other 5 with UR (or transfer a bucketload of marriott points) which is also an option.

Remember, you must have picked Delta as your airline to use the platinum benefit...if you did then if you need to pay for extra bags (for the 2 folks NOT in Basic Economy) this would be a good use of the credit; the $5.60 for taxes for the award fare also counts.

So with good time (although that can always change with Delta!) and onboard check in and because I'm a delta fan girl I vote for option #3. As always, can't help with SW, Frontier, etc questions but happy to help with Delta

It just so happens I have 120,558 Marriott points. I don't believe I have any other use for them, other than upgrading my 7 night cert and the reports on that aren't promising as of late. Very YMMV. I've been watching this particular flight for 2 months and it has remained steady, so hopefully I could still get it after the points transfer.

I haven't picked any airline for the plat credit yet. So I am good there.

I'm confused on the bags. (this is why I love SW) I thought we all get a carry on and none of us get a checked bag....by all of us I mean whomever is basic Econ and whomever is main cabin.
Just trying to understand the part you mentioned about paying for the bags for 2 folks not in basic. So I think the kids would be fine with carry ons. We'd probably check 2 large suitcases too.

I think I lean towards booking the 1 ticket thru the amex portal (is that worse than transferring the points to delta?). Then the other 5 through the UR portal to the tune of about 40k. I will just leave my marriott stash alone til I figure out something to do with them.

I'm with you on the good time and onboard airline check in...delta seems like a good choice here. Thanks for your help!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

It's not that any travel agency can't be named, it's that they need to be spelled out so they can be *'d if not allowed, like those with the magical deals. I don't think talking about Conexions (I always get the name wrong) that is used for UR or TYP points and talking about an agent you've used there is a problem. These are bookings with points that no other agency, regular or magical, would get.

exactly. Thats what I was trying to say too.

 

[calypso726]

off topic, but I don't want to ask in DVC group and I know many of you are members (@calypso726)

I have a February use year. If I book a 2019 trip using some 2018 banked points and some 2019 points, what happens to the points if I need to cancel. Do all points get returned to 2019?

I know your question was answered, and the information is correct. I didn't want you to think I ignored it. Just catching up on the thread now.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

AMEX SUPPORT LINK "GO BANANAS" UPDATE...
*I like @striker1064's comment of this being "bananas" so I'm going with it

I don't have conclusive evidence for what I'm about to say yet...but I'm going to post the warning anyways because it could end up being VERY frustrating for people if true...

It was reported by a reddit user that the links for "other cards" that you don't actually have may be temporary and could expire after a few days or a week. That might explain why people's Hilton links for other cards keep dying. This could happen to all of these "other links". So if you were going to go out and create 29 links for every AMEX card that exists...you may have to Re-Generate those links every few days or once a week or something like that (I don't know the exact time frame yet).

When it dies it will probably show this message:

SORRY, it looks like something went wrong.
This could be:
A missing character
Incorrect character case
To correct please check the American Express Referral Link before trying again.​

We're not going to prevent you from posting all of these links on DISchurners...but if this turns out to be true, you will have to maintain them, regularly...potentially weekly or even more often. Keep in mind, that people here (especially newbies) are going out of their way to support another DISer. We don't want to torture them trying to find a link...clicking and clicking only to error out. Eventually they will give up and just use the public link and nobody will get that "support". With that in mind, if somebody consistently has numerous AMEX links dead that are in this format the moderators may have to take action which could include (a) removing that user's comment and asking them to re-post OR (b) if a repeated offender - preventing that user from posting future support links (I know this sounds harsh and I hope we don't have to take this action). If you aren't willing to monitor and Re-Generate those links if necessary...don't post them please.

Side note: This doesn't affect the "self refer" strategy as you can personally generate that link at any time for yourself.

Thanks all for making this a great community to Earn, Churn & Burn!! As I learn more about this, I will share it.

 

[Haley R]

Saw the new venom movie tonight and it was AWESOME!

 

[mmmears]

We caved. DH was auto approved for the gold card tonight. The 4x on dining and groceries really made it interesting to us.

Now I have to figure out if we can slip in some sort of Chase business card before AMEX records it and he is at 5/24.

He asked if we can stop getting cards now. Apparently Apply Pay only lets him have 3 in his "wallet" at one time.

 

[MrPTato]

I die a little every time I am in the grocery store and someone spends $200 in groceries and pays with a ...gulp... debit card. I was taking my Gold card for a spin on the 4x grocery MRs. It just hurts seeing that.