PSA for Chase credit card churners and travel hackers

[CalDisneyMomof2]

The 50K Chase UR points you earned by opening up the card and getting the bonus can be transferred in to your Marriott loyalty program, added to your existing 57K Marriott points and they can be used to book a stay at Marriott. Your 57K Marriott points cannot be transferred out of Marriott into Chase UR points and added to your existing 50K UR points. I hope this helps. Other options to consider would be applying for, meeting the bonus spend on Barclay Arrival Plus, Capital One Venture and Well Fargo Propel card. Each one will get you over $400 in reward points that can be redeemed for travel. DH and I each applied for all 3 of these before last year's DCL 11 day Norway, Iceland, Scotland cruise so we would be able to pay for excursions at the ports. We had well over $2400 in reward points from those credit card sign up bonuses which we redeemed for paid excursions, spa sessions, tastings and souvenirs on board that coded as travel purchases.

Thank you for the info We actually already have the Barclaycard and with the changes to the card I'd rather not open another. I think it might be more beneficial to waste an inquiry on another card. I like that with the Marriott Rewards I can get a 5th night free which is probably how many nights we'll be staying at Atlantis, so having all of my points with Marriott might be best. I'm thinking I will try for the Marriott first and after I hit my bonus spending, get the Sapphire. I won't get the 20% discount but 50,000 points will still be nice. I've not heard of the Wells Fargo Propel - I'll have to look it up.

 

[tvguy]

Wow. All Greek to me, and sounds like a lot of work. I can't imagine 5 credit card apps in just 24 months.
I've had 7 in the last 480 months (40 adult years of my life)

 

[calypso726]

Thank you for the info We actually already have the Barclaycard and with the changes to the card I'd rather not open another. I think it might be more beneficial to waste an inquiry on another card. I like that with the Marriott Rewards I can get a 5th night free which is probably how many nights we'll be staying at Atlantis, so having all of my points with Marriott might be best. I'm thinking I will try for the Marriott first and after I hit my bonus spending, get the Sapphire. I won't get the 20% discount but 50,000 points will still be nice. I've not heard of the Wells Fargo Propel - I'll have to look it up.

You're welcome. Yeah, I downgraded the Barclay Arrival Plus to the no fee version when the annual fee came up so I can still have a true chip and pin. I would have actually kept it if not for the changes. If you are under 5 apps in 24 months even with the Marriott card then you should be good to go to get the Sapphire. I've kept my Marriott card since the free annual night is worth more than the annual fee.

Wow. All Greek to me, and sounds like a lot of work. I can't imagine 5 credit card apps in just 24 months.
I've had 7 in the last 480 months (40 adult years of my life)

LOL Well the way I see it, working to pay for my vacations is a lot of work This little hobby takes very little effort and allows us to be able to mitigate the actual work required to fund our vacation budget and allows us to upgrade our travel in a manner we wouldn't be able to if paying cash. I'd need another job to be able to pay cash for first class tickets to Europe every year. The only time I really work at it is when I am trying to figure out how to get to where I want to go. For example, we are going to Hawaii next March. I did't want to blow a huge chunk of our American Airline miles to get there since I want to use them to fly to China the year after that. Besides, I'd need to book the award flight as soon as the seats are available in April. However, we are considering adding on a post trip with Adventures by Disney for the Backstage Magic trip but the dates won't be released until May and I don't want to book flights in April and deal with change fees or no award availability once May rolls around and I know the dates for the new ABD itineraries. Enter the Citi Thank You Prestige and Premier cards. Between the 4 cards that DH and I have we will get well over $3200 in Thank You points to be redeemed for payment on American Airline flights through the Thank You portal, plus $500 in airline statement credits. My Hawaii flights will be paid for, I can change dates without worrying about availability of award seats and my miles balance remains untouched. I think I put about an hour into figuring that out. It was about 58º here in Florida that day, which is too cold to go outside so I stayed inside on the computer and read some blogs

Granted ,there are those that take this hobby to a whole other level and really put time and effort into to to maximize their return like the ones that are doing $40,000 a month in manufactured spending We stick to the sign up bonuses, maximizing bonus spending categories, using the dining rewards network programs and shopping portals for online shopping as well as some creative shopping like buying gift cards for Disney, Macy's Wholefoods etc. at office supply stores with cards that have a 5 point per $ bonus category on office supply stores and a little bit of ms here and there. It's not for everybody but it works well for us.

 

[Albort]

It does but is also affects non churners as well. Even before I got into this hobby I could have easily applied for 5 cards in 24 months for one reason or another. Yeah, it is addicting! I went back and forth on what card to get next for a couple of months. I was toying with getting the Chase British Airways card a second time or pulling the trigger on the Citi Prestige.

recently applied for a Citi Primier when they dropped the sign up bonus from 50k--> 40k. Im hoping i will get the 50k. Next card i plan to get is Ink card, downgrade when i get the 50k, then apply for the Citi prestige and churn that one. Citi Prestige is a pretty awesome card, but heck, $450 annual fee is insane...

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

You're welcome. Yeah, I downgraded the Barclay Arrival Plus to the no fee version when the annual fee came up so I can still have a true chip and pin. I would have actually kept it if not for the changes. If you are under 5 apps in 24 months even with the Marriott card then you should be good to go to get the Sapphire. I've kept my Marriott card since the free annual night is worth more than the annual fee.

I got approved for the Marriott - I notice they are very generous with their credit limits after reading reviews and getting my CI. I will apply for the Sapphire when I get near the threshold for the bonus on the Marriott. Unfortunately, our biggest bills(mortgage, car payments) can not be paid with credit cards and I'm not big on MS. I will now be able to fully pay for our rooms at Atlantis with all the points I'll be earning!

 

[tvguy]

LOL Well the way I see it, working to pay for my vacations is a lot of work This little hobby takes very little effort and allows us to be able to mitigate the actual work required to fund our vacation budget and allows us to upgrade our travel in a manner we wouldn't be able to if paying cash. I'd need another job to be able to pay cash for first class tickets to Europe every year. The only time I really work at it is when I am trying to figure out how to get to where I want to go. For example, we are going to Hawaii next March. I did't want to blow a huge chunk of our American Airline miles to get there since I want to use them to fly to China the year after that. Besides, I'd need to book the award flight as soon as the seats are available in April. However, we are considering adding on a post trip with Adventures by Disney for the Backstage Magic trip but the dates won't be released until May and I don't want to book flights in April and deal with change fees or no award availability once May rolls around and I know the dates for the new ABD itineraries. Enter the Citi Thank You Prestige and Premier cards. Between the 4 cards that DH and I have we will get well over $3200 in Thank You points to be redeemed for payment on American Airline flights through the Thank You portal, plus $500 in airline statement credits. My Hawaii flights will be paid for, I can change dates without worrying about availability of award seats and my miles balance remains untouched. I think I put about an hour into figuring that out. It was about 58º here in Florida that day, which is too cold to go outside so I stayed inside on the computer and read some blogs

Granted ,there are those that take this hobby to a whole other level and really put time and effort into to to maximize their return like the ones that are doing $40,000 a month in manufactured spending We stick to the sign up bonuses, maximizing bonus spending categories, using the dining rewards network programs and shopping portals for online shopping as well as some creative shopping like buying gift cards for Disney, Macy's Wholefoods etc. at office supply stores with cards that have a 5 point per $ bonus category on office supply stores and a little bit of ms here and there. It's not for everybody but it works well for us.

I guess it really is just sort of an offshoot of couponing.

I had an Economics Professor in College who found some deal for 50 cents back on a can of cat food, that was selling for 40 cents at his local store. I don't know how many hundreds of cans he bought....he had them special order a bunch for him. But he used the profits to go buy a cat to eat the cat food, and figured his profits would pay all the costs of the cat over it's life time.

 

[georgina]

I believe their bonus is every 24 months. I know the British Airways card is like that from Chase. We had it a couple of years ago for the 100k bonus, then cancelled and reapplied when another 100k bonus offer came up. Personally I'd be wary of cancelling older credit cards as that will impact your credit score negatively in the long run. Hope that helps.

Thanks. Not too worried about the credit score at this stage of life, but I should probably do it this year before DH retires and we have an income cut. We have several cards which are much older.

 

[calypso726]

recently applied for a Citi Primier when they dropped the sign up bonus from 50k--> 40k. Im hoping i will get the 50k. Next card i plan to get is Ink card, downgrade when i get the 50k, then apply for the Citi prestige and churn that one. Citi Prestige is a pretty awesome card, but heck, $450 annual fee is insane...

I just picked up the Premier a few days ago. I found a landing page through Flyertalk that had the 50K bonus but the spend is $3500 in 3 months. I know the fee on the Prestige is pretty crazy but you do get the $250 airline credit so that brings it down to about $200 out of pocket. I bought $250 in American Airline gift cards with mine. Plus if you have a Citi Gold checking, which I opened up at the same time for 50K AA miles the fee drops on the Prestige to $350. It's a wash because I'll have to keep the checking account open until my miles post which will be about 2 months after the 2 month no fee grace period for the checking account at $30 a month. So I figured if I had to suck up the $450 fee for the points I'd get the most bang for that same $450 and pick up some more AA miles while I was at it.

I love my Ink card and it's one I use all the time to get my 5x UR points at office supply stores. I'd say the majority of our Disney cruises, annual passes, DVC annual dues, Adventures by Disney trips have all earned 5 UR points per dollar since we buy Disney gift cards at office supply stores with the Ink card. Then we transfer those to our DVA account for the additional 2% Disney dollars back for what we spend out of there.

I got approved for the Marriott - I notice they are very generous with their credit limits after reading reviews and getting my CI. I will apply for the Sapphire when I get near the threshold for the bonus on the Marriott. Unfortunately, our biggest bills(mortgage, car payments) can not be paid with credit cards and I'm not big on MS. I will now be able to fully pay for our rooms at Atlantis with all the points I'll be earning!

We've mostly do MS to meet sign up bonuses on the credit cards in conjunction with real spend. It's getting harder to do MS with avenues getting closed left and right. We've still got Blue Bird in play for now and I was lucky to not get shut down with the countless others that did recently. Love being able to pay with points!

 

[calypso726]

I guess it really is just sort of an offshoot of couponing.

I had an Economics Professor in College who found some deal for 50 cents back on a can of cat food, that was selling for 40 cents at his local store. I don't know how many hundreds of cans he bought....he had them special order a bunch for him. But he used the profits to go buy a cat to eat the cat food, and figured his profits would pay all the costs of the cat over it's life time.

Yeah kind of like that except I don't need find garage space for 100 rolls of toilet paper, 74 boxes of cereal etc

Enjoyed the cat story. That was pretty cool

 

[WeLoveStitch42]

Ok, stupid question: can I get an Ink card if I'm not a business?
I like the rewards and the idea of 5 points per dollar for buying disney gift cards at office supply stores.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

Ok, stupid question: can I get an Ink card if I'm not a business?
I like the rewards and the idea of 5 points per dollar for buying disney gift cards at office supply stores.

Not a stupid question in the least. The technical answer is that you should have a business based on what info you'll have to submit on the app. However, there are MANY who are applying with their SSN as a sole-proprietor and getting the card that don't have an actual business; they refer to their business as a "business" and list annual revenue as low as $1. Are sure you don't have a business anyway, you might be surprised? It doesn't have to be large by any means. I've seen businesses used for apps that sell a few items on eBay, write an article, mow the neighbors lawn, pet sit, etc.....you see where this is going. Remember, small start-up businesses don't often have a strong revenue history, but they will rely on your other income in judging if you're a risk or not.

 

[calypso726]

Ok, stupid question: can I get an Ink card if I'm not a business?
I like the rewards and the idea of 5 points per dollar for buying disney gift cards at office supply stores.

No stupid questions, I wondered about the same things. I just didn't realize I already had "businesses." I groom and dog sit on the side and I am a distributor for Young Living essential oils in addition to my real job. I just never considered either of those businesses.

You may qualify for a business card if you hold yard sales, sell things on EBay, Amazon or Craigslist, groom dogs on the side and/or pet sit, babysit, tutor, blog etc. Just be honest on the application of what you make or intend to make. Maybe you are just starting a business and will be doing one of these things or becoming a home based travel agent, distributor for an essential oils or other MLM or any number of things.

Here is the link from Million Mile Secrets on how to qualify for a small business.
http://millionmilesecrets.com/2015/...iness-credit-card-and-why-you-should-get-one/

Here is the link on how to fill out a Chase business application
http://millionmilesecrets.com/2012/12/12/chase-business-credit-card-application/

Hope this helps!

 

[WeLoveStitch42]

Thank you both for your helpful responses. I am going to apply for one and see what happens.
Hoping to earn points and miles to use for future travel.

 

[calypso726]

Thank you both for your helpful responses. I am going to apply for one and see what happens.
Hoping to earn points and miles to use for future travel.

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.

 

[AmyAnne]

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?

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

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 like the Chase Freedom and Discover IT. They're both very similar offering quarterly bonus 5% categories. I give an extra point to the Freedom since Visa is accepted virtually everywhere. But then again, I give an extra point to Discover for offering discounted gift cards to redeem your cash back with. So, I keep them both in my wallet

 

[calypso726]

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?

Chase Freedom, which is a no fee card has a $150 bonus right now for spending $500 in 3 months. On the upside, once the kids are on their own and you get another Sapphire card you can transfer your Freedom Ultimate Reward points into your Sapphire account and use all of those UR points as airline or hotel points.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Chase Freedom, which is a no fee card has a $150 bonus right now for spending $500 in 3 months. On the upside, once the kids are on their own and you get another Sapphire card you can transfer your Freedom Ultimate Reward points into your Sapphire account and use all of those UR points as airline or hotel points.

Speaking of sign up bonuses - Discover is offering double cash back for the first year(After the year is over). Depending on how much you spend it could be a lot. For us it'd be an extra $200 easily. It is also a no fee card. And again, the gift card deals are great.

 

[leebee]

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!

 

[calypso726]

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!

I'd go for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. You will get 50,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points after spending $4,000 in 3 months that can be transferred 1:1 to Southwest, United, British Airways, Korean, Singapore, Virgin Atlantic Marriott, IHG, Hyatt and Ritz Carlton. The fee is $95, no foreign transaction fees, comes with primary auto rental insurance too. If you have had 5 credit cards opened up from any bank or store card or added as an authorized user within the last 24 months it is not likely you will get approved. Reports are that the same rule will begin for the Chase SW and other airline and hotel co-branded cards come April. I like keeping my Chase trifecta in play at all times (Sapphire, Ink, Freedom) for earning points and miles and have never churned those cards.

If your Disney Visa is a no fee card I'd keep it if you've had it a long time. I've had my no fee Disney card for years and it stays in a drawer. I won't close it because that would affect my average age of accounts on my credit score. I pull it out once a year and make a small purchase with it to keep it "active."