I love credit cards so much!

[3 DD love princesses]

Any of you guys done the Disney GC at Best Buy? someone in another group claims BB doesnt sell Disney cards no more.
Can any confirm or deny?

just got one yesterday

 

[mamathompson]

Taking our last vacation without points. The family and I drove 12 hours through the night to head to our home state for Thanksgiving. Now that we have learned about traveling with points it's killing me paying full price. But at least we are knocking out our most recent MSR's!

 

[spacerangerqueen]

Was just approved for the 100k Personal Plat!

 

[Haley R]

What card did you see the Petsmart on? We usually do the same on Black Friday and I'd love another 30% back. I checked a couple of my cards but they all seemed to have the same offers.

We have it on Dh's Chase Sapphire Reserve account. A little upset that they upped the price in litter again this year to $9.99 but oh well.

 

[Haley R]

Dh and I aren't sure what to do next in terms of which card(s) to get. Here is our current situation:

DH-CSR, CIP, Hilton Honors CC
Me-CIP, Hilton Business

We will need 85k points/night for our Hilton room in Japan. We might have around half of what's needed by the time our bonuses post for our current Hilton cards. We will also need plane tickets to and from LAX and will either purchase through the Chase portal or transfer points to Southwest. We have 30k points currently on our Chase account. The Chase cards seem to be easier to meet MSR because a lot of places don't take Amex.

So these are our options:
Dh-new Hilton card ($3,000 MSR) or Southwest CC
Me-new Hilton card ($1,000 MSR), Southwest CC or CSR ($4,000 MSR)

What do you guys think?

 

[miztressuz]

Was just approved for the 100k Personal Plat!

Congratulations! The latest holy grail of the churning world right now, a 100k platinum with triple dip possibilities ​

 

[Oscar Madison]

Just FYI, the latest Best Buy Amex offer is for a purchase of $300 AT ONE TIME, not a total of $300 over multiple purchases as it has been in the past.

Maybe this has been pointed out and I missed it, I certainly missed it somehow when I added the offer. At least I had only done 2x$100 on one card and 1x$100 on another before realizing! Grrrrrr...

ETA SO sorry, I was wrong. I misread it, silly me.

Is yours different than this?
Get a one-time $30 statement credit by using your enrolled Card to spend a minimum of $300+ in one or more transactions in-store at Best Buy or online at bestbuy.com by 12/31/2018. See terms for exclusions.

 

[StephPlum]

Had a moment this weekend that was like a nightmare but I was awake. DH's CIC bonus posted and I promptly moved his points to my CSR or at least I thought I did. I kept checking and while the points were immediately taken from his account, they didn't show up in mine. For some reason either my internet was wonky or the site was wonky and the rewards site didn't load on my personal account. I gave up on it, reassured that I could see in DH's account the transaction code. Figured it might be a technical issue and I'd wait for a business day to see if it fixed itself. It dawned on me today, while at Costco, during a return, that the card I moved DH's points to was my CIP, not my CSR. It hit me when I was finding the right CC for the return since Costco can't refund on your card unless you swipte it. Looking for the right 4 digits for the transaction, I was like DUH. The card saved on DH transfers is not this one!! Got home and promptly moved all the points to the CSR. Very satisfying seeing 311K points. Glad I didn't send a stern SM before figuring that one out!

First world problems of having too many CC; can't keep it straight when transferring points!

 

[StephPlum]

I know I probably asked this before but getting ready for the SW biz card either in Dec or early next year.

Reminder on my stats in case the spreadsheet isn't available.
CIP 2/18
SPG Biz 3/18
IHG 3/18
CIC 5/18
Hilton Biz 5/18
Citi AA Biz 7/18
Barclay's Aviator Biz 8/18
CSR 9/18

I still want SW Biz and SW personal for a CP in 2019/2020. Those are must haves. After that will have 2 spots for Chase Personal but nothing is calling to me. I don't think I want the SPG Lux. I am a little anti high AF but need to review the benefits before making a call. I think since I have the SPG biz, I can't have Marriott biz but I think I am free to go for Marriott personal. Let me know if I messed that up. If I don't go for SPG Lux, will try for Marriott card.

On airlines, we fly mainly SW but are open to anything. Seems like we can get some good Delta/United/AA flights here depending on the destination. Maybe a United card? But I am not sure I have a use right now or in the future. We are mainly domestic flyers so no need for international partners.

Here is my real question - Credit Limits. Is it better to reduce or have some room to move CL around if needed? I don't want to reduce if having some that I could move would be better. Don't think I am in any danger. Total of business + personal with Chase is 28% of income. I was thinking of lowering the CIP since I may close it anyway next year before the next AF.

On the personal side, planning to lower my CF and CSR. They are a combined 51K. I just do not need the much credit, it sort of freaks me out that I have that much!. Will probably go to 10 on CF and 20 on CSR.

 

[miztressuz]

ok so working to catch up again since DD was sick. on page 3015 so eventually I'll catch up.

DH is 8 nights away from gold with marriott. is there a card he could get that would give him some nights to make him closer? thanks

I'm not completely sure but I don't believe so. None of the SPG cards are giving nights until 2019. Not sure about the Marriott cards since after the merger Marriott changed to giving your elite nights at the beginning of the year rather than at your anniversary. As a consequence of that I'm not sure they are giving the 15 nights at open, since it states "your credit card account must be open and not in default as of December 31 of the prior year". Before the merger you got them at opening and then each year on your anniversary, but after it they don't really state if you'll get them for this year or not. If it's your only card, maybe. If you already have a Marriott card they may invoke the "A maximum of 15 Elite Night credits will be awarded per Marriott Loyalty Program member even if the Marriott Loyalty Program member has more than one Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, or Ritz-Carlton Rewards credit card account..." clause

I have to say this is a neat catch-all for all the Chase Stariott cards, has FAQ and the upgrade links for the cards: https://creditcards.chase.com/marriott/productquestions?CELL=6322
Two interesting OT things I found there is 1. Chase refers to a PC as a "product trade" and 2. You can PC your Marriott card to a RC card still. However, they of course don't mention what I was looking for - will I get the nights when I open the card?

 

[StephPlum]

@Haley R

I usually set an alert on the hopper app, airhint site, and do daily searches through kayak or google flights.

I agree with the Hopper app. I like it a lot. Used it to stalk my flights to Spokane this year. I have also used bing to predict what flights will do.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I’d skip the data plan unless your DH is a runner and wants to run without carrying his phone that’s the only time I see that feature as useful. I’d go for the 4 tho faster, better screen, speakers, and it’s slightly bigger.

Thx. He doesn't often run outside b/c it makes his knees hurt, but he does go to the gym every morning.

 

[Albort]

Yes, should work. I did a GC at Lowe's when I had that offer on my BoA card. There's no exclusions listed in the offer either. Just be sure to pay attention to the maximum cash back. My Lowe's is for $12 max, so only $120 per offer.

are they stackable? i see the lowes 10% on all my cards... seems like i have to add it to every card manually which leads me to believe its one per card?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

...Here is my real question - Credit Limits. Is it better to reduce or have some room to move CL around if needed? I don't want to reduce if having some that I could move would be better. Don't think I am in any danger. Total of business + personal with Chase is 28% of income. I was thinking of lowering the CIP since I may close it anyway next year before the next AF.

On the personal side, planning to lower my CF and CSR. They are a combined 51K. I just do not need the much credit, it sort of freaks me out that I have that much!. Will probably go to 10 on CF and 20 on CSR.

My approach on credit limits is to consolidate the majority of my limit to 1-2 cards and reduce the rest to a minimum amount (typically $500 - $2,500 depending on the card). This keeps my overall limits low, but also gives me the ability to transfer over if I needed to. My wife has 2 personal cards with $10k limits and then the rest are all low. We just got our 2nd Chase Biz card but once I hit the MSR I plan to reduce the limit on one by a lot (again to have space for another approval).

So interestingly enough...my answer is do both...reduce your CL and have some room to move around.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Do you guys think the Chase offers will work on giftcards in store? I’m particularly thinking Dicks and Lowe’s?

I vote for you to be the guinea pig and let us all know how it goes.

 

[Haley R]

@Haley R
I agree with the Hopper app. I like it a lot. Used it to stalk my flights to Spokane this year. I have also used bing to predict what flights will do.

Thanks, I'll have to try it out!

 

[amalone1013]

I see an AMEX offer for $10 back on $30 at Cheddar's through 12/31. Makes me happy

 

[LynnTH]

So, DH (AKA Me) applied for Citi AA Business on Friday. Got notice they could not approve him right away and would be sending a letter. Anyone else ever get that? I'm hoping it is verification. I did sign him up using his EIN # so hoping we just need to send a copy of that in.

Just finished spend on DH's CIP #2. Points already show pending. I am next to get a new card. I just dropped to 4/24 on 11/7. Was thinking of going for CIP#2 also (CIP#1 was gotten in August). Is this too soon or should I be OK. I have $3000 to put on it right away so the spend should be no problem. Was going to wait until 12/1 to make sure it shows I am at 4/24. (even though I am getting impatient as I don't have a new card to meet minimum spend on).

Also, On my SPG Card. I have 2 Lowes Offers. Get $50 back when you spend $250 in one transaction and 10% back (up to $100). Will these stack? Could I buy $250 in Gift Cards and only pay $175? That would be 30% savings.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I do, and I thought about that, but we're leading towards the tilt head kind.

oh I see. mine tilts but when I bought it, I thought the bowl lift one was superior. Maybe I am confused.

 

[Judique]

We have it on Dh's Chase Sapphire Reserve account. A little upset that they upped the price in litter again this year to $9.99 but oh well.

What kind of litter are you buying?

I usually use the Fresh Step from Costco but right now I'm trying to work my way through a couple of tubs that Chewy sent me of Tidy Cat - one that was dirt cheap and then the replacement after I complained. It was leaking all over my front porch due to bad packing. I love getting litter delivered versus hauling a 40 pound bag home from Costco.