Ways to maximize savings when purchasing direct DVC contract.. (credit card rewards etc)

[PolyRob]

Hrmm I see, what do you guys think of doing a CIP because I do value it transferring to SW since they seem to have the flights we need and also transferring to Hyatt since we do like staying there, we're actually staying in a Hyatt during the first part of our Tokyo trip.

In addition to the CIP maybe do an Amex business for the 2% cashback and 12 months 0%? I'd lose out on the lounges I guess but getting better points and cashback takes priority

Lots of my contracts have been paid with CIPs! Like you mentioned, you can still transfer to airline partners including SW with it and when it turns one year old you can always product change to an Ink Cash or Ink Unlimited to avoid a second year with a $95 annual fee. You can also combine the points within your household and transfer from you to your spouse or vice versa.

If you really wanted lounge access you could throw a Venture X in there. 31k would be 4 or 5 cards? 1 Venture X (4k) and 2 CIPs (16k) would still leave 11k left for 0% on a BBP OR you could get more sign up bonuses

 

[atthebeachclub]

I'll add you mention you're moving to the west coast and although I personally never use it being an east coaster with Delta and JBLUE as my go tos, I think maybe look into Alaska miles? They have some great offers coming out and some available currently.

I love Alaska. I wish they flew to more locations from where I live.

 

[atthebeachclub]

My purchase was in the 50k range and I got 8 new cards between myself and my husband. Earned way over 1million points. So more than one card can really get you huge savings

Were these all transferable points? I always worry about getting cards I’m forced to keep open and keep paying fees just for the points I already accumulated.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Were these all transferable points? I always worry about getting cards I’m forced to keep open and keep paying fees just for the points I already accumulated.

2 of the 8 cards were Delta. All the rest were transferable (Chase and Amex). I used all the Delta specific points we earned already. I like that I can transfer the Amex MR to Delta but paying the small fee still hurts.

 

[PolyRob]

As of right now nothing transfers to AA but there are rumors that the new Citi card will.

It's official now! Strata Premier, Strata Elite, and Prestige

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/citi...points-to-american-airlines-11-transfer-rate/

 

[intamin]

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/rumor-chase-to-increase-chase-sapphire-preferred-annual-fee-to-150/

Seems like annual fees will be going up soon.. please don't touch the cards I want . Any recommendations on when I should be getting these cards if I don't plan to purchase until February or so?

 

[VGCgroupie]

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/rumor-chase-to-increase-chase-sapphire-preferred-annual-fee-to-150/

Seems like annual fees will be going up soon.. please don't touch the cards I want . Any recommendations on when I should be getting these cards if I don't plan to purchase until February or so?

Ugh not cool on the preferred. I really didn’t even want to pay the $95. I have only used the hotel credit once and likely won’t ever use it again. On my CIP’s I also have $95 fee but the upside to that card is it doesn’t report to personal credit.

I think I need to see how all the new cards shake out before I’d say what’s the best card. Amex is also going through some changes that will be official soon. I am really hoping something good happens with Alaska/Hawaiian in late August.

 

[Brian Noble]

I think the writing is on the wall, and expecting any card to get better is unlikely. I figure I will be lucky if any of them just don't get worse.

I'm definitely culling the herd before my fee hits on my CSR, but I am not sure what I am switching to yet. Candidates are: Amex Gold, Chase Freedom Unlimited, or Chase Sapphire Preferred. If I go the Amex route, I am going to need at least one other that is non-Amex with no forex fees. I suppose I could also just straight-up cancel it, but that still leaves me with the forex problem.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Ugh not cool on the preferred. I really didn’t even want to pay the $95. I have only used the hotel credit once and likely won’t ever use it again. On my CIP’s I also have $95 fee but the upside to that card is it doesn’t report to personal credit.

I think I need to see how all the new cards shake out before I’d say what’s the best card. Amex is also going through some changes that will be official soon. I am really hoping something good happens with Alaska/Hawaiian in late August.

Same. The $150. might push me out. I've been using the Door Dash benefit, but I don't think I've ever used the hotel credit. It only gives 2% for travel, which is kind of standard on some of my free cards.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Same. The $150. might push me out. I've been using the Door Dash benefit, but I don't think I've ever used the hotel credit. It only gives 2% for travel, which is kind of standard on some of my free cards.

Yeah 2% on travel does nothing for me. The DoorDash benefit is nice but a big hassle to use. Hopefully with the fee increase they add at least something else to justify it. Otherwise I will downgrade to yet another freedom

 

[airjay75]

I'll put in another plug for the WF Autograph card. 3% on gas/transit/parking/tolls, streaming services (broadly defined), cell phone plans, restaurants, and travel (also very broadly defined), no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees. About the only major spend category it doesn't cover is groceries. And 0% financing for 12 months on new cards.

It isn't actually what I use for most of my spend because I'm pretty all in on American Airlines. But, if I ever decide to give up that ecosystem, it (along likely with a CapOne Savor for 3% on groceries and Citi DC or WF Active Cash for 2% on non-bonus categories) would probably become my go to.

I gave up on Chase and AmEx. I did them both and earned a lot of sign-up bonuses and used all the "coupons," but just got tired of it at the end of the day. It's enough to think about which card to use on which type of spend let along planning to use all their coupons. They'd have to come up with something really enticing to ever get me back and that doesn't seem to be the way they're going.

 

[PolyRob]

Any recommendations on when I should be getting these cards if I don't plan to purchase until February or so?

Most cards that earn points within their bank's ecosystem require you to meet the minimum spend requirement within three months or less. Co-branded airline or hotel partner cards can extend that window up to six months.

0% APR financing offers go based on the approval date, not the charge date (6 months, 12 months, 21 months, etc).

It all really depends. If you don't plan on purchasing until Feb the earliest and want mostly Ultimate Rewards, Member Rewards, CO Miles, etc I think you're looking at 2026 for approvals so a lot of the dust will have settled with all these changes. With 60 days to pay you can stagger some of the applications to make sure you're covered. If you see a really great offer at the end of 2025 maybe apply and use that for the initial deposit?

 

[PolyRob]

Not to add more confusion, but Citi has also launched two new cards (Strata Elite and Strata no annual fee).

Neither would have a "timeshare" spend multiplier, but I figured I would bring them both up since you mentioned potential AA transfers. The Elite's bonus is very weak considering the annual fee right now and the Strata (no AF) is a very small bonus.

I personally like the older Strata Premier best and the bonus has gone up to 75k in the past.

 

[Brian Noble]

travel (also very broadly defined)

Notably, this includes timeshares per the fine print.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Not to add more confusion, but Citi has also launched two new cards (Strata Elite and Strata no annual fee).

Neither would have a "timeshare" spend multiplier, but I figured I would bring them both up since you mentioned potential AA transfers. The Elite's bonus is very weak considering the annual fee right now and the Strata (no AF) is a very small bonus.

I personally like the older Strata Premier best and the bonus has gone up to 75k in the past.

Yeah if you fly AA it could be a great one. Me, I have AA miles just sitting there because they have terrible options where I live

 

[eticketplease]

The DoorDash benefit is nice but a big hassle to use.

Yup I have to keep track of 5 of the credits and is certainly a hassle.

 

[PolyRob]

I'll put in another plug for the WF Autograph card. 3% on gas/transit/parking/tolls, streaming services (broadly defined), cell phone plans, restaurants, and travel (also very broadly defined), no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees. About the only major spend category it doesn't cover is groceries. And 0% financing for 12 months on new cards.

It isn't actually what I use for most of my spend because I'm pretty all in on American Airlines. But, if I ever decide to give up that ecosystem, it (along likely with a CapOne Savor for 3% on groceries and Citi DC or WF Active Cash for 2% on non-bonus categories) would probably become my go to.

I gave up on Chase and AmEx. I did them both and earned a lot of sign-up bonuses and used all the "coupons," but just got tired of it at the end of the day. It's enough to think about which card to use on which type of spend let along planning to use all their coupons. They'd have to come up with something really enticing to ever get me back and that doesn't seem to be the way they're going.

The "coupon book" cards can be a pain.

Today is the first of the month and I have a ton of Amex credits to use after work

 

[airjay75]

Not to add more confusion, but Citi has also launched two new cards (Strata Elite and Strata no annual fee).

Neither would have a "timeshare" spend multiplier, but I figured I would bring them both up since you mentioned potential AA transfers. The Elite's bonus is very weak considering the annual fee right now and the Strata (no AF) is a very small bonus.

I personally like the older Strata Premier best and the bonus has gone up to 75k in the past.

I might go for the Strata Premier at some point (I think the Strata Elite looks awful - don't know what they were thinking with that one). The AA transfer is great (been waiting for that for forever with Citi) and the bonus categories on the Premier are pretty good. The downside if you are playing the status game is that they wouldn't count as AA Loyalty Points. That said, there isn't a lot of benefit to status with AA anymore beyond the Platinum level, so I may well consider using my AA cards until I reach Platinum, and then shifting spend over to a Strata Premier (if I decide to get it).

 

[eticketplease]

The "coupon book" cards can be a pain.

Today is the first of the month and I have a ton of Amex credits to use after work

Yes it is Coupon Card Friday!! lol

Since I don't use my delta card other than for the credits and don't utilize the Resy credit very often I try and stack my Lyft ones in the same statement i.e with a statement date of the 15th I'll buy $25 lyft cash on the 20th and the 1st and then only have to pay $30 for a month and then wait instead of just paying $15 every month.

 

[disneylandtour]

Ugh not cool on the preferred. I really didn’t even want to pay the $95. I have only used the hotel credit once and likely won’t ever use it again. On my CIP’s I also have $95 fee but the upside to that card is it doesn’t report to personal credit.

I think I need to see how all the new cards shake out before I’d say what’s the best card. Amex is also going through some changes that will be official soon. I am really hoping something good happens with Alaska/Hawaiian in late August.

Honestly, they could double their annual fees and I'd still come out way ahead. I have Delta, UA, and AA. A typical month, two+ round trip flights. Easily 25 round trips a years. I check luggage. So 50 one-way flights x $35/$40 = $1,750+. Versus the $285 ($95x3) to have those three cards which I have almost entirely for the luggage discount and early boarding.