I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 (see first page for add'l details)

[lsutigers03]

I don't believe Chase will deny you for a card if you're ineligible for a bonus. I don't even think they tell you like AMEX does if you're not eligible.
You would have to cancel the flights booked with cash and then re-book with points and a CP.

Would canceling the flights immediately make them available to rebook or is there a delay for Southwest's system to update?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Would canceling the flights immediately make them available to rebook or is there a delay for Southwest's system to update?

If the flight is sold out, I wouldn’t take a chance cancelling and trying to rebook.

 

[EACarlson]

Would canceling the flights immediately make them available to rebook or is there a delay for Southwest's system to update?

If the flight is sold out, I wouldn’t take a chance cancelling and trying to rebook.

Agreed, if the flight is sold out I wouldn't risk it. I believe I recall reading that some have had success in calling in and making that change. The CSR may be able to process it all at once rather than having to do two separate transactions. I have no personal experience with it as I've never held a CP.

 

[StacyStrong]

How deep into the game do you want to go? And what kind of rewards are you looking for? Just about every AMEX that has an annual fee has no FTF. Personal preference would be the AMEX Gold, but AMEX is less accepted in Europe so I'd also look at the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve.
What Credit Karma tells you doesn't matter. You can get your actual score from AMEX. Under Account Services, Payment and Credit Options, View FICO Score.

Yes, if you downgrade before a full year, AMEX could claw back the bonus and theoretically even shut you down completely. If you downgrade at exactly a year, you will get a pro-rated refund of the difference between the two annual fees. I would wait until the next AF hits, then ask for a retention offer before downgrading.

My FICO is 759.

I don’t particularly want to get too far into the game. I just figured it would be beneficial to have a new card with no foreign transaction fees and earn a reward while I was at it. Also boost my open credit limit.

I don’t need to stick with Amex. I was eyeing the Chase Sapphire Preferred because it looks like it has a decent bonus, but I don’t know too much about it or how much I’d need to spend to make the yearly fee “worth” it. I use my credit card for everything, but my monthly expenses aren’t particularly high.

ETA - just cash back or points that can convert to cash back easily is all I’m truly looking for.

 

[happ]

My FICO is 759.

I don’t particularly want to get too far into the game. I just figured it would be beneficial to have a new card with no foreign transaction fees and earn a reward while I was at it. Also boost my open credit limit.

I don’t need to stick with Amex. I was eyeing the Chase Sapphire Preferred because it looks like it has a decent bonus, but I don’t know too much about it or how much I’d need to spend to make the yearly fee “worth” it. I use my credit card for everything, but my monthly expenses aren’t particularly high.

ETA - just cash back or points that can convert to cash back easily is all I’m truly looking for.

There's a rumor that the bonus for the Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) is going up soon, so you may want to wait a little bit. It's a great card for at least the first year, and possibly longer depending on your travel needs.

 

[becauseimnew]

I have a few questions about Chase bonuses and Southwest. DW and I received Southwest bonuses around July 2021. I've heard that if you aren't eligible for a bonus Chase will deny you for a card. This would lead me to think if you're approved you're eligible for a bonus. Is this true? Also, can I book flights as cash and then change to points and companion pass at a later time?

Yes, Chase will deny you if you aren’t eligible for the bonus. You can apply on the first of the month, so you are eligible on 7/1/23 if you received the bonus 7/21.
As others have said you would need to cancel and rebook with points, which might not be a good idea because the price would probably increase and then you would still have the travel credit to use, unless you book a fully refundable fare.

 

[lsutigers03]

Yes, Chase will deny you if you aren’t eligible for the bonus. You can apply on the first of the month, so you are eligible on 7/1/23 if you received the bonus 7/21.
As others have said you would need to cancel and rebook with points, which might not be a good idea because the price would probably increase and then you would still have the travel credit to use, unless you book a fully refundable fare.

Thanks. I'm going to SM Chase and confirm the bonus date.

 

[EACarlson]

My FICO is 759.

I don’t particularly want to get too far into the game. I just figured it would be beneficial to have a new card with no foreign transaction fees and earn a reward while I was at it. Also boost my open credit limit.

I don’t need to stick with Amex. I was eyeing the Chase Sapphire Preferred because it looks like it has a decent bonus, but I don’t know too much about it or how much I’d need to spend to make the yearly fee “worth” it. I use my credit card for everything, but my monthly expenses aren’t particularly high.

ETA - just cash back or points that can convert to cash back easily is all I’m truly looking for.

If you're looking for something easy. And you have $500 you can let sit in an account. The PenFed Power Cash Rewards might be worth looking at. It's 1.5% cash back with no FTF no matter what. If you have a checking account with PenFed and have either a $500 average daily balance or $500 in monthly direct deposits it bumps up to 2%.
I use my Chase Sapphire Preferred for most of my travel because of the travel protections and primary car rental insurance in the US. It also has a $50 credit for a hotel stay booked through the Chase travel portal and lets me transfer points to Southwest, United and Hyatt. I've gotten some great redemptions on Hyatts while travelling.

 

[wanderlust7]

My FICO is 759.

I don’t particularly want to get too far into the game. I just figured it would be beneficial to have a new card with no foreign transaction fees and earn a reward while I was at it. Also boost my open credit limit.

I don’t need to stick with Amex. I was eyeing the Chase Sapphire Preferred because it looks like it has a decent bonus, but I don’t know too much about it or how much I’d need to spend to make the yearly fee “worth” it. I use my credit card for everything, but my monthly expenses aren’t particularly high.

ETA - just cash back or points that can convert to cash back easily is all I’m truly looking for.

For the Chase Sapphire Preferred, there is currently an in-branch offer of 80k for $4000 spend plus additional 10k if you spend $6000 total. Maybe this offer will be available online eventually.

After a year, you can downgrade to one of the Freedoms. They have no annual fee (but would have the foreign transaction fee). You can cash out URs easily at 1 cent per point.

 

[StacyStrong]

I would like a non-Amex card for the times when Amex isn’t accepted but overall would prefer to do the Amex Gold.

Does it make sense to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred, meet the annual bonus, and then upgrade my Amex to the Amex Gold as my everyday card? I could then downgrade the Chase after a year. Is it a bad idea to do two new cards so close to each other? The rewards just work better with the Amex because of the categories. But I do think it’s a good idea overall to have a non-Amex card in general in my wallet.

 

[wanderlust7]

I have a question on downgrading the Amex Platinum to Gold. I had the gold for a few years and last August I upgraded to Plat for a 100K offer. At that time the AF was prorated and now last week the fee for the next year has hit. Am I correct that I cannot downgrade to Gold for at least a year? If I do so in August will the Plat fee then be adjusted? Also, probably no offers at this point to keep the Plat? Sorry for all the questions, but the plan was always to just keep the Plat for a year. Thanks!

You can ask for a retention offer now. You'd have to keep it a year after you accept it.

 

[wanderlust7]

I would like a non-Amex card for the times when Amex isn’t accepted but overall would prefer to do the Amex Gold.

Does it make sense to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred, meet the annual bonus, and then upgrade my Amex to the Amex Gold as my everyday card? I could then downgrade the Chase after a year. Is it a bad idea to do two new cards so close to each other? The rewards just work better with the Amex because of the categories. But I do think it’s a good idea overall to have a non-Amex card in general in my wallet.

You can't upgrade your Everyday Cash to a Gold. The track is Green -> Gold -> Platinum. You can certainly apply for a Gold. But the downgrade option is the Green, which has an annual fee.

If you want to apply for both the CSP and Gold, it's not an issue as long as you can meet the spend. Since you're an existing Amex customer, it's likely they won't even hard pull you.

 

[StacyStrong]

You can't upgrade your Everyday Cash to a Gold. The track is Green -> Gold -> Platinum. You can certainly apply for a Gold. But the downgrade option is the Green, which has an annual fee.

If you want to apply for both the CSP and Gold, it's not an issue as long as you can meet the spend. Since you're an existing Amex customer, it's likely they won't even hard pull you.

I won’t want to downgrade the Amex, just the CSP.

But idk if “upgrade” is the right term for the gold, but when I’m logged in it says “request an upgrade”

 

[StacyStrong]

I won’t want to downgrade the Amex, just the CSP.

But idk if “upgrade” is the right term for the gold, but when I’m logged in it says “request an upgrade”

Oh! It’s because I have an old as **** Zync card on my account that would be upgraded

 

[wanderlust7]

Oh! It’s because I have an old as **** Zync card on my account that would be upgraded

Well, that explains it! I was very perplexed how you can go from an Everyday Cash which is a credit card, to a Gold which is a charge card.

 

[StacyStrong]

Well, that explains it! I was very perplexed how you can go from an Everyday Cash which is a credit card, to a Gold which is a charge card.

So the gold wouldn’t impact my utilization limit? Don’t love that. Hmmmm

 

[wanderlust7]

So the gold wouldn’t impact my utilization limit? Don’t love that. Hmmmm

That is true. The CSP (and any Chase personal card) tends to give a decent credit line.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Don't forget it's almost a new quarter, so time to check your Chase bonuses.

My SW and Hubby's Disney both got 5% up to $1,500 spend on gas, grocery, and restaurants 4/1-6/30/23.

 

[EACarlson]

I would like a non-Amex card for the times when Amex isn’t accepted but overall would prefer to do the Amex Gold.

Does it make sense to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred, meet the annual bonus, and then upgrade my Amex to the Amex Gold as my everyday card? I could then downgrade the Chase after a year. Is it a bad idea to do two new cards so close to each other? The rewards just work better with the Amex because of the categories. But I do think it’s a good idea overall to have a non-Amex card in general in my wallet.

I have both the Amex Gold and CSP, the Gold gets all of my food spend, groceries and restaurants. The CSP gets most of my travel spend. It's a really good combination. With those two I haven't paid cash for flight in five years.

So the gold wouldn’t impact my utilization limit? Don’t love that. Hmmmm

Only on older credit reporting models do charge cards figure into utilization, those are generally only used for mortgages. In that case they use your highest reported balance as the limit. If you use the charge cards for most everyday spend it works out because their balance isn't figured into the utilization ratio for FICO 8,9 and 10 scores.

 

[reliev]

I registered for the Bilt/Hyatt Globalist promotion, don’t know if I’ll go for Globalist but it only take 20 nights for those that have reservations 4/17-7/16. You don’t need a Bilt card just a Bilt account. Promotion registration ends tonight.

man, i missed it!
how are the Marriott people taking the 150k cap? wowzers
question is everyone's forum pages in bold? I don't think I've ever seen dashboards like this.