PSA for Chase credit card churners and travel hackers

[Albort]

Question: which card(s) would you all recommend for sign-up bonuses/rewards that are not travel-based? With kids in high school and college, travel has become more difficult (time-wise and money-wise). We have had several Chase cards: Sapphire, Southwest, and United, that I recall -- however, we cancelled them in the past few years because we were not using them and so the annual fees were not worthwhile. Once the kids are on their own, DH and I plan to travel and so will keep those in mind for then, but for now, are there any cards I should sign up for?

I am not a big card-churner, but we've done pretty well with the Chase Southwest Visa cards; I can't remember the last time we actually paid for airfare (2 of us fly twice a year, all 3 fly once a year- not a huge amount of flying, but not having to pay is nice)! DH and I currently have a Disney VISA and a SW VISA, but I am about to close the SW card. What card would you recommend for airline miles- preferably from a good sign-on bonus? I also do surveys, etc., for points for Hilton and Marriott, although we don't earn much from them (maybe a couple of free hotel nights per year, per chain). Is there one credit card where I can earn points that would be good for either hotel or airline miles? I hate to give up the Disney VISA but it's not a good return, and we aren't as interested in going to Disney again, so it's time to find a new card!

actually, most card will allow cash returns either to your bank account or statement credit. most of these arent really worth it because redemption is at $.01 per point. When you redeem towards travel, it can vary, it could range from $.01 to $.10 per point, depends on how u value it. i value some at 4-5 cents because im using them to upgrade from Economy to first. Im not sure of your time frame to travel but i would use the Chase Freedom card. collect points there. when ur about 2 yrs away from making that big trip, apply for the CSP. Then u can use your Freedom points and combine that with your CSP points and redeem. Chase Freedom/CSP combo is the only combo i know where 1 card doesnt have an AF. If your willing to pay for an AF, i would start with what airline you would want to fly with. If your undecided on what airline, the best thing is to see if your nearest/frequent airport is a major hub. Sign up with that airline would be the best choice. I personally fly EVA to taiwan during the winter, although my CSP/Freedom can get me United which is a *A partner of EVA, it very limited, so i ended up changing my card to the citi premier that earns direct points into EVA.

CSP has suggested is a pretty powerful card. the only good benefit that it has is transferring to partners and a great car rental insurance. I do think the Ink is a better deal though but YMMV on the application.

 

[Judique]

Can you please explain what MS - manufactured spending - is?

 

[calypso726]

Can you please explain what MS - manufactured spending - is?

Manufactured spending is using your rewards earning credit card to spend money in order to earn rewards or complete the spending requirement for a new sign up bonus without really spending all the money.
One example which I use is purchasing pin enabled Visa gift cards that say debit on the front with the credit card that I am trying to earn points or make a spending bonus requirement on the credit card. Then I will load my Bluebird checking account at Walmart with the "debit cards" I purchased making sure to stay within the daily and monthly load desposit. Then, I will either bill pay my credit card with my BB account which I don't do but could or transfer the funds to my regular checking account and bill pay from there (this is what we usually do) or make out a BB check to pay the bill. If you google manufactured spend and blue bird you will find many how to's from the bloggers. I hope this helps.

 

[Iowajes]

Chase has an AARP card that has $200 back when you spend $500 in 3 months. I don't manufacture my spending, so sometimes I can't reach the $3000 ones, but that's so low it is easily done.

You don't have to be AARP eligible. I'm 34 and got approved.

 

[Albort]

One example which I use is purchasing pin enabled Visa gift cards that say debit on the front with the credit card that I am trying to earn points or make a spending bonus requirement on the credit card. Then I will load my Bluebird checking account at Walmart with the "debit cards" I purchased making sure to stay within the daily and monthly load desposit. Then, I will either bill pay my credit card with my BB account which I don't do but could or transfer the funds to my regular checking account and bill pay from there (this is what we usually do) or make out a BB check to pay the bill. If you google manufactured spend and blue bird you will find many how to's from the bloggers. I hope this helps.

Bluebird got shut down though. Lots of reported shut down. Only way i know how to MS is still buying Visa gift cards, then buying MO from somewhere, then redeposit those money orders into account. Just remember though, you may still end up with a ton of fees, but depends on how you value those points is where it could be worth it or not. YMMV. There have been a few ppl that report being detained by the police because it looks very similar to money fraud/laundering lol...

 

[calypso726]

Bluebird got shut down though. Lots of reported shut down. Only way i know how to MS is still buying Visa gift cards, then buying MO from somewhere, then redeposit those money orders into account. Just remember though, you may still end up with a ton of fees, but depends on how you value those points is where it could be worth it or not. YMMV. There have been a few ppl that report being detained by the police because it looks very similar to money fraud/laundering lol...

Many got shut down. DH's BB did, but mine didn't so we are still doing it at $5K per month until we hit $30K for the British Airways companion pass. We have back up plans in place in case mine gets shut down. We opened up BB accounts in family member's names. Of course, we asked their permission first and got the ok. We are not using theirs yet though. I have yet to go the MO route since I'm too lazy to find a bank I'm wiling to burn a bridge with.

I know who you mean. He was reportedly was doing well over $20K MS in a day and got detained and released. I have no problem with it. MS is legal and we are certainly not doing that kind of volume. There is an alternative to BB/Serve but still requires going to Walmart and I think the monthly limit is $3K instead of 5. That's my next play if BB gets hard coded against gift cards like Redbird did. I miss the days of Amazon payments, CVS Vanilla reloads and Redbird :-(

 

[disneymagicgirl]

How long after I close my SW Visa acct can I reapply to get the 50k pts again? Same day, next month?? I have had it prob 5 yrs and it is my main card. I'd love to get those bonus points!

 

[calypso726]

How long after I close my SW Visa acct can I reapply to get the 50k pts again? Same day, next month?? I have had it prob 5 yrs and it is my main card. I'd love to get those bonus points!

24 months after you got the last bonus.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

24 months after you got the last bonus.

No, I understand that part and am way past 24mths.

I mean if I call to cancel my current SW visa tomorrow, do I need to wait a certain amount of time before applying again or can I do it the same day?

 

[calypso726]

No, I understand that part and am way past 24mths.

I mean if I call to cancel my current SW visa tomorrow, do I need to wait a certain amount of time before applying again or can I do it the same day?

Oh, my bad. I see what you mean. The current school of thought is to wait at least 30 days after cancelling as that is the time period where you have the option to re-open your cancelled account. If you apply before the 30 days you risk a hard pull and just re-opening your old account with no bonus.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Oh, my bad. I see what you mean. The current school of thought is to wait at least 30 days after cancelling as that is the time period where you have the option to re-open your cancelled account. If you apply before the 30 days you risk a hard pull and just re-opening your old account with no bonus.

Ok, thx. That is what I was asking.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

I am following along here because I want to get a few cards for some future trips that I prefer not to have to pay cash for.

MY DH has a chase Bus INK- we have had for yrs with the business. Can either of us still get the BOLD or PLUS?

I am thinking of getting CSP and then one of the ink cards-do I need to wait a certain amount of time in between applying?

I have been doing some reading on some of the suggested blogs listed but it is so overwhelming! So much to learn.

 

[Albort]

No, I understand that part and am way past 24mths.

I mean if I call to cancel my current SW visa tomorrow, do I need to wait a certain amount of time before applying again or can I do it the same day?

Another suggestion would be the call retention like you would with your utility company to see if they can give you a retention. It may not be as great as the sign in bonus but it is still something. They might offer like 10k pts for 1k spending or something along the lines of that.

I am following along here because I want to get a few cards for some future trips that I prefer not to have to pay cash for.

MY DH has a chase Bus INK- we have had for yrs with the business. Can either of us still get the BOLD or PLUS?

I am thinking of getting CSP and then one of the ink cards-do I need to wait a certain amount of time in between applying?

I have been doing some reading on some of the suggested blogs listed but it is so overwhelming! So much to learn.

I believe the Bold is discontinued. You should be able to apply for the Plus, both of you. its YMMV on your app though. In terms of time, the 5/24 rule may apply, so apply for Chase cards first before you apply for other cards. If you have already 5 cards applied in the last 2 years, then u may need to hold off in applying. If you can hit the 5k limit on the ink card, i would advise you to do it now before April since the ink card isnt currently affected by the 5/24 rule until April. I think applyin for both cards at once saves u a hard pull too. dont quote me on that. but just remember, thats 9k spending in 3 month to get both bonus pts.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

I think applyin for both cards at once saves u a hard pull too. dont quote me on that. but just remember, thats 9k spending in 3 month to get both bonus pts.

It does. Chase doesn't want to pay for any more credit reports than they have to.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

Thanks for the info! I am sure we can easily cover the $ needed for the bonus due to the numbers for our business. We can do a lot more but it is a little more tracking and books and DH has been reluctant due to that. I even asked our acct and he said it was fine, no problem.

 

[calypso726]

The 5/24 rule goes into effect for the Ink in March. The airline and hotel co-branded cards are supposed to go under the 5/24 rule in April. Chase usually allows two new cards in one month. Three is possible but that would require calling the reconsideration line which everyone is avoiding like the plague right now with Chase. They will merge the apps to a single pull when received the same day, if it is two personal or two business apps, but not one business and one personal. That will result in 2 hard pulls.

 

[WeLoveStitch42]

You are very welcome Some of the blogs I have found to be helpful while learning how to travel on points and miles are Million Mile Secrets, The Points Guy, Frequent Miler, View from the Wing, Mommy Points and One Mile at a Time. I hope this helps.

Thanks. I checked out the links and have applied for the Chase Ink Plus. I hope I get approved.

 

[WeLoveStitch42]

More questions for you all:
If I don't get an instant approval, does that mean it is going to be denied?
If I apply for a personal card (Chase Saphire), can I put our household income in for the gross income? I'm a SAHM, so my personal income is minimal.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

No, instant approval doesn't mean/guarantee denial, but there will be more human scrutiny now. It's no problem to list household income for your gross income. There's a SAHM i know whose gross income is reported on her apps as 250k per year. She has no problem getting cards but her apps are very carefully planned out as opposed to other methods.

 

[Albort]

hmm... freedom card changing to 1.5x on all purchases maybe?