I love credit cards so much!

[Albort]

I had precheck before my husband. He didn't get it when we traveled on the same reservation.

heh, conflicting DP. @belle1986 YMMV i guess... it worked for me and my parents, didnt work for Jen and Ashwin. here some more datapoints if you like to read --> http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trus...g-non-ge-nexus-companions-family-members.html

I did a stupid thing and deserve to be put on blast for this, but in spite of being advised against it I DID apply for a CSR card (I own a Chase Sapphire Preferred). I was hoping they would overlook that I own a CSP because I do have a 793 credit score. I got a page immediately saying it will be up for review. Will my credit score get dinged? I think I know the answer. I guess I wanted it so bad I just became stupid for 2 minutes.

Edit: I have been preapproved for an AMEX platinum but at $595 a year and 60k sign up bonus I don't think it will be worth it for me.

Im pretty sure you wont get your CSR card but heres some things you can try to do to salvage in your situation.
1) apply for another card. In general, the hard pulls can be combined. If your denied the CSR, u apply for... say Marriott or a freedom card, the hard pull should combine into one.
2) Work with chase for the option. Im pretty sure even if you did get the CSR, you wouldnt get the bonus points... but if you were denied, call and see if you can make things happen. for example, downgrade your CSP. Ask CS if you downgrade your CSP to a Freedom card, would they approve your CSR. YMMV.

@Lain mentioned that amex has a lifetime signup bonus rule, but thats might not always be the case. If your targeted, read the fine print, sometimes they come without it. YMMV. I think the lifetime rule is actually 7-8 years right? i remember reading something about it.

Edit:
Can Hilton Honors cc points be transferred to mileage programs? I've never had a hotel credit card before, but it's no annual fee and 50k bonus points after spending 1k then an additional 25,000 Bonus Points after you make an additional $1,000 in purchases with your new Card within your first 6 months. Could this get me at least one free first class ticket, I"m wondering? 75k points + the 10k I already have that I could transfer.

Calypso726: Thank you for that wealth of information! I have a dream trip in mind: Hawaii with stop overs in LAX both ways. It would be 8k to fly Delta first class (the most reasonably priced airline for that class). I know I can't save enough miles by purchase time (this spring) but I am trying to save for one single ticket, then pay for the rest which would lower it to 6k for airline fare.

Hilton Honors points can transfer to a few airlines, but the value to transfers are terrible. for example, Jetblue, Alaska, United, Delta, Air Canada are all 10:1(ie 10,000 Hilton points to 1000 jetblue points). Hawaiian air is 10,000 HH points to 1500 hawaiian miles. so 75k points will only net u 7,500 miles. I would suggest you redeem HH for Hilton hotels. If you give me your airport in and out, i can see whats the best solution for a F/J class ticket.

As for your 8k to fly delta first class, im not sure where your getting that from. I generated it on delta.com and they were all in the 50k area. I know the best deal to Hawaii is to book through Korean Air @ 35k pts rt. It should be an award flight with Delta(i think). The booking may be a little complicated as you would need to call korean air to book it. There are rumors currently going around that Southwest will soon be flying to Hawaii. This might be a lot better for those with UR points.

 

[mhartman09]

Yes, book each room with only you on one and your dh on the other. It costs more points to add the children when booking on UR.

Call Disney wholesale to get the conf# that will work in MDE and to add your children to the room. When I did that, I did ask the CM to add a connecting rooms request and I also gave room location request. We received both of our requests of connecting rooms and the building I asked for.

It will show up in MDE as a regular booking but the conf# will look different.

We're planning to do this for our quick December trip. The price goes up by about 2000 UR in the portal when I add my son, so I'm going to book with just 2 guests, then call Disney wholesale to get my MDE number and have them add my son to the reservation. Definitely want to conserve as many points as possible.

 

[Tikitoi]

No the IHG points will show up on your IHG account. Only UR points will be on your Chase accounts. Co-branded card points show up on that barnd's reward program.

Don't know for certain about the latter but it would seem reasonable to me to wait. Hope that helps.

I know I'm late with this...but that would be the same for Southwest as well...?

Thanks

 

[Tikitoi]

Send your screen shots via DM to the Marriott Rewards twitter account and request they issue your 1,000 points.

Thanks for that. So I did do it and now it's being reviewed...#fingerscrossed

 

[Albort]

Speaking of twitter, im still getting the 50 points despite rumor that they shut that down. Anyone also still getting it? I am tweeting manually though.

*knock on wood*

 

[mefordis]

Albort - Thanks for the tips! I meant 8k to pay cash for 4 Delta First tickets. No way will I be able to accumulate enough miles for 4 tickets, so I'm looking at the price as well.

I feel like I"m all over the place with this because I am really just learning. I really screwed up this past year by cashing in all of my points for cash! Ugh! I also didn't stick with one card like I should have, however, I didn't know what airline I'd be flying (still don't!). I also did a really stupid thing and cancelled my Chase United card after that incident (with them beating up the customer) and that card had been opened I think 15 years! Ugh. I should just give up this game and get cheap economy tickets on expedia, huh?

I did a search and I really like the flights out of EWR by United but those flights are the most expensive cash wise. I may have to delay my dream Hawaii trip until summer 2019.

 

[jhoannam]

So, since I applied last night to the CSR card, I should not apply for the INK today (with my SSN), correct? Thanks!

Correct, you have to be 0/30 to apply for business cards.

 

[DisneyMandC]

We're planning to do this for our quick December trip. The price goes up by about 2000 UR in the portal when I add my son, so I'm going to book with just 2 guests, then call Disney wholesale to get my MDE number and have them add my son to the reservation. Definitely want to conserve as many points as possible.

Question about doing this- do you then just pay for your son's tickets/dining/whatever else through Disney? I just got my first Chase card but will definitely plan on using it for Disney in the future. I will likely have a similar trip to what a previous poster said where I will book two rooms and do one under my husband's name and one under mine. Then i guess I just call Disney and add the additional guests and pay for them- is that correct?

 

[Albort]

Albort - Thanks for the tips! I meant 8k to pay cash for 4 Delta First tickets. No way will I be able to accumulate enough miles for 4 tickets, so I'm looking at the price as well.

I feel like I"m all over the place with this because I am really just learning. I really screwed up this past year by cashing in all of my points for cash! Ugh! I also didn't stick with one card like I should have, however, I didn't know what airline I'd be flying (still don't!). I also did a really stupid thing and cancelled my Chase United card after that incident (with them beating up the customer) and that card had been opened I think 15 years! Ugh. I should just give up this game and get cheap economy tickets on expedia, huh?

I did a search and I really like the flights out of EWR by United but those flights are the most expensive cash wise. I may have to delay my dream Hawaii trip until summer 2019.

ahh, sorry. 8k cash makes a ton more sense now lol.

Mistakes are made, but hey, start over. This game is all about learning the curve. if your under 5/24, you have a ton of opportunity. Get the right cards, and your on your way to a ton of free trips! dont lose hope! U got this! u got us to help you too!

you should see if there are any skyteam partners that fly to Hawaii and book via Korean Air.

 

[Lain]

Just wanted to say I got really lucky I think on this with timing. I'd gotten a targeted offer for the 100K for the Amex Platinum. I was working on the minimum spend and hadn't yet gotten the 100K when I got another targeted offer for a 70K bonus for an Amex Platinum Delta card. I didn't know about the once per lifetime offer, so I applied for it as well. I got my 100K for the personal platinum and then had met my spend on the Delta one and have been waiting to see if they'd actually give it to me. Checked it today and it's there! Woohoo!!

The personal Platinum and Delta Platinum are different products, so you can get the signup bonuses on both cards. There are other flavors of Amex Platinums too, Business, Mercedes-Benz, Charles Schwab.

@Lain mentioned that amex has a lifetime signup bonus rule, but thats might not always be the case. If your targeted, read the fine print, sometimes they come without it. YMMV. I think the lifetime rule is actually 7-8 years right? i remember reading something about it.

True. I think @calypso726 recently got a personal Platinum offer without the lifetime language so she re-upped on that card for the bonus. I've also seen the data points that Amex cards drop off your report after 7 or 8 years, allowing you to apply for a new card for the bonus again. But I wouldn't count on either when evaluating an Amex signup bonus.

So, since I applied last night to the CSR card, I should not apply for the INK today (with my SSN), correct? Thanks!

Don't. Wait 30 days. 31 would be better.

So, I'm thinking about this as well. We own a rental house and I'm assuming that qualifies as a business. I have the CSR and my DH is an AU (stupid I know - I should have had him apply for his own - live and learn). So, I could refer him for the CIP and we'd score the 100K right? I'm not sure I can talk him into it because this newly acquired hobby of mine has him really nervous. But, I may be able to convince him to do it. I don't know a lot about the perks of the CIP, but willing to investigate.

You have to have the card that you refer someone to, so in your case, you could refer your DH for a CSR. But you can't refer him to a CIP unless you already have that card.

OK, got it. Thanks! The 80K is still enough of a temptation though to maybe make it worthwhile.

@Jen and Ashwin already posted a great answer, but just to add owning a rental home is definitely a business. You can categorize it as a real estate investment or real estate management and report the gross amount of rent as income. Refer your husband for the CSR, earn a 10k referral bonus, and he'll get the 50k signup bonus. His AU won't prevent him from getting his own CSR (but the AU does appear on his credit report as a card taking up a 5/24 slot, so if that puts him over, he may have to call recon). Then apply for a CIP for yourself, and eventually refer your husband for the CIP too!

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Ok can someone explain how to use plastiq to pay your mortgage and student loans. Would love to use CIP to get 3x on those two bills each month.

 

[wendow]

Question about doing this- do you then just pay for your son's tickets/dining/whatever else through Disney? I just got my first Chase card but will definitely plan on using it for Disney in the future. I will likely have a similar trip to what a previous poster said where I will book two rooms and do one under my husband's name and one under mine. Then i guess I just call Disney and add the additional guests and pay for them- is that correct?

You can book a package through UR but you'd need to call them for that. What was being referenced on the thread here is a RO reservation. The UR site charges for adding children to the reservation but Disney does not. So, if you book just a room or rooms through the UR, you do not want to add your children but add them when you call Disney for the conf #.

ETA: I am not sure how this would work with the 'half-board' option that is sometimes available on the value resorts.

 

[Lain]

Speaking of twitter, im still getting the 50 points despite rumor that they shut that down. Anyone also still getting it? I am tweeting manually though.

*knock on wood*

I've been tweeting manually with different replies and been getting the points. Got another 50 points this morning. It takes like a minute out of my day.

 

[ZellyB]

The personal Platinum and Delta Platinum are different products, so you can get the signup bonuses on both cards. There are other flavors of Amex Platinums too, Business, Mercedes-Benz, Charles Schwab.

OK, great. That makes sense then. I'm pretty happy with those two bonuses and since we fly Delta most commonly, it made sense to go for that one.

@Jen and Ashwin already posted a great answer, but just to add owning a rental home is definitely a business. You can categorize it as a real estate investment or real estate management and report the gross amount of rent as income. Refer your husband for the CSR, earn a 10k referral bonus, and he'll get the 50k signup bonus. His AU won't prevent him from getting his own CSR (but the AU does appear on his credit report as a card taking up a 5/24 slot, so if that puts him over, he may have to call recon). Then apply for a CIP for yourself, and eventually refer your husband for the CIP too!

He's good on 5/24, so that would be no problem. So, can I drop him off as AU on my CSR? I assume I can. Like the rest of the plan if I can keep him from freaking out about it.

 

[wendow]

Ok can someone explain how to use plastiq to pay your mortgage and student loans. Would love to use CIP to get 3x on those two bills each month.

I've not paid student loans with Plastique but paying my mortgage was very easy. You'll need to create an account if you don't already have one. Then begin the process to pay a bill. You will need the account number for your mortgage and address that payments are to be sent. You can schedule the payment to be sent whatever date you would like or you can set up recurring payments.

My experience with this has been...I sent a small payment well before my mortgage was due. It did code 3x. I paid my full mortgage but it only coded 1x. It sounds like maybe something changed and most people were getting 3x so I sent another small payment that coded 3x. Now I was going to pay this next month with the CIP but decided to use my Arrival+ because I need to meet the min spend on that card and there is a promo on paying with MC.

@Lain knows lots more about this method!

 

[hurt817]

Ok here's my two cents: I'd suggest having your DH go for the CIP if you are after UR points. This is not a card I'd keep. I'd suggest the Ink Cash but the bonus is better on the CIP. After a year, I'd PC this to an Ink Cash. No better opportunity for earning UR. I have the Ink+ and so does DH. These two are the work horses of UR earning for us.

My other suggestion would be Marriott for both of you. The points transfer to Starwood and that could be useful both for WDW @ Swolphin or a future Hawaii trip. The annual anniversary nigh certificate would also come in handy and give you four different Marriott properties that are cat 5 or lower near WDW which amounts to a free weekend. We have DVC and I still manage to blow through all of our DVC points and use our annual nights at a Marriott in WDW every year with no problem. Lastly, have you done a mock airline plan and booking of your Hawaii trip? This would help you figure out which airline miles and how many you might need for the Hawaii trip. If it turns out United is your best bet, go for the Chase United card.



I don't know that I'd use up a Chase app for a Freedom card. Granted, it is a valuable card and will earn 30K UR points each year if you max out the bonus categories. It's a must have UR earning card, no doubt. That said, I think the value on the first year is potentially higher on a CIP or both getting the Marriott. If there was an in bank bonus for 30,000 that I think @Albort mentioned some time ago, then definitely yes! The $300 value would turn into $450 when transferred to a CSR account.

Oh boy, not an expert by any means I will say that many people have a business and aren't aware of that fact. I have four business cards. I didn't realize I had a business until I thought about applying for a business card. My favorite of the 4 is the Chase Ink Plus which is no longer available. The Chase Ink Cash is closest to it though.




The cards that have points that transfer directly to multiple airlines are Amex Starwood Preferred Guest (over 30 airlines) Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve Chase Ink Preferred, Amex Membership Reward earning cards like Platinum, Platinum Business, Everyday Preferred, Everyday, Premier Rewards Gold, Business Gold, Blue Business. Citi Thank you Premier and Prestige.

Before choosing one of the cards I'd suggest finding out which airline you are likely going to fly the most. If your airport is a hub for an airline then that will likely be the airline you fly the most depending on your travel habits. We have lots of people here that fly Southwest and get amazing value from the companion pass. I'm not one of them. I fly several time a year for vacations and getaways but never on Southwest. Many of my flights over the last 5 years were international. If I had started out going after the SW cards and companion pass based on recommendations my points and CP would have been wasted as well as my efforts.

I am not far from MIA which is a hub for American Airlines. When I started out I figured AA would likely be the airline I wind up flying the most or other One World alliance partners. So the variable cards I started with were a Chase Ultimate Rewards combo of CSP (this is before CSR existed), Freedom and Ink+ along with an Amex SPG card. SPG points transfer 1:1 with AA, plus give me a 5,000 bonus every time I transfer 20,000 SPG points to an airline. UR points transfer to British Airways 1:1 and they are a One World alliance partner with AA.

If you have a specific dream trip in mind then I'd suggest doing a mock booking of the flights to see which airline you will need to fly to your destination and how many points it will take, Then, you can see which of the variable cards will likely work best for you.



Yay! You have a business



DVC member here. Ok so in February a studio from Feb 1 - Feb 1 is 13 points per night during the week and 17 points on the weekend. From Feb 16 - 28 they go up to 14 and 19 points respectively. The amount seems to be a good deal when comparing what the rental places are charging. On the rare occasion I have points to rent to friends I still do it at $10 per point. Hope that helps.




Welcome to the insanity!

Which Marriott do you stay in @ WDW? I am out of points & having a time choosing a hotel (Disney Rooms are limited when I'm going).

 

[kayteekt]

I've not paid student loans with Plastique but paying my mortgage was very easy. You'll need to create an account if you don't already have one. Then begin the process to pay a bill. You will need the account number for your mortgage and address that payments are to be sent. You can schedule the payment to be sent whatever date you would like or you can set up recurring payments.

My experience with this has been...I sent a small payment well before my mortgage was due. It did code 3x. I paid my full mortgage but it only coded 1x. It sounds like maybe something changed and most people were getting 3x so I sent another small payment that coded 3x. Now I was going to pay this next month with the CIP but decided to use my Arrival+ because I need to meet the min spend on that card and there is a promo on paying with MC.

@Lain knows lots more about this method!

This is very interesting, I've been trying to figure out to run our mortgage thru a CC for a while now. So on the Business Ink, it should code at 3x?

 

[AmyAnne]

Ok can someone explain how to use plastiq to pay your mortgage and student loans. Would love to use CIP to get 3x on those two bills each month.

This is very interesting, I've been trying to figure out to run our mortgage thru a CC for a while now. So on the Business Ink, it should code at 3x?

Just a note for those who are new to this thread - not all payments code as 3x, at least not on the Ink+ (don't know about the CIP). I made a small test payment through Plastiq to my student loan company this summer and it only coded as a regular purchase, not 3x.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

I completed the spend on my CIP, the next day I received an email offer to invite friends for the card. I sent an invitation to my husband 8 days ago and haven't received a response. Any ideas why this would be?

 

[GPC0321]

Goodness! AmEx doesn't play around. I applied for the card Wednesday, opted out of expedited shipping because I'm in no real hurry. They sent me an email at some ungodly pre-dawn hour this morning saying they were expediting shipping anyway and the card should be here in 2-3 business days.

The UPS man just brought my card a few minutes ago.

To quote Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins, "Oh, how very prompt. What splendid service."

Now to get this Hyatt spend met so I can start on Hilton!

I don't know why more people don't do this. It's so much fun!