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

[Spivey378]

There are other/better sources for info than TPG. That site also has a tendency to inflate price per point. While it's great to aim for .02pp it's often not realistic.

Also a better idea to decide where you want to go and then figure out what points you need to do it. If you are always flying domestic and have dl status then virgin miles aren't going to be helpful.

You're 5/24 until Dec when that 1st card will drop. Business cards that aren't chase may be your best bet, but again it comes down to where you want to go. I think anyone starting churning, if that's your goal to help with travel, I don't think it's a good idea to not have an idea of what you are trying to accomplish or you'll just end up with points all over that you discover you can't use because they don't fly/don't have a hotel where you want to go.

Also helpful to know, are you looking to cover 4 people? Going off how many APs you bought.

Is there a P2 or more?

Both of those are also helpful, especially if you have a willing P2. Knowing what their card stats will help too.

Thanks for this great info. I thought .02pp was high but was hoping it could be attainable.

My wife was the same cards as I do.

We do want to go to Europe next summer. At least Germany and maybe UK or France. I would use the points for airfare or hotels.

My points would be covering 4 people.

 

[platamama]

I’m new to this thread so I will share my info per the second post:


11/10 - AMEX Delta Platinum
03/19 - CHASE Sapphire Preferred

12/21 - CHASE Disney Visa
06/22 - AMEX Hilton Honors
03/23 - AMEX Bonvoy Brilliant
04/23 - CHASE Freedom Unlimited
04/23 - CITI Costco Anywhere


2) Secondly we'll want to know a little bit about you. Specifically - what you spend, and what you want to earn!

• What amount of spend would you put on a card monthly (i.e. groceries, gas, insurance, cable, cell phone, other expenses)? $6,000-$9,000
• Do you currently payoff your CCs in full every month or do you carry any balances/pay any interest? Yes, except for 0% Chase Ultimate Freedom used for new annual passes with 0%
• What airport(s) do you typically fly out of? Cincinnati, Fort Myers, Orlando, LaGuardia
• Do you have a preference of Frequent Flyer program? Delta
• Does SOUTHWEST Airline service your airport? Yes
• Do you have a Hotel Rewards program preference? Bonvoy, Hilton
• Do you currently have travel points or miles in any program? (if so, which programs and how much) 100k Delta, 27k Chase Freedom, 175k Chase Ultimate Rewards
• What at your specific goals for churning credit cards? (i.e. Disney World Trip, Cruise, European Trip, Cash Back to pay-off a mortgage or student loans, etc. - you can have multiple goals too!) - pay for any travel, maximize value of points/miles
• When do you plan to take these trips? (Keep in mind that it can be difficult to earn points/miles to cover imminent travel...it's best to plan far in advance, especially with regards to international travel) - whenever
• Who does your travel party consist of? (Spouse, Kids (& ages), other relatives/friends) wife and two teens

I use the Delta Platinum to get to at least Silver Medallion by spending 25k. I recently got the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant cart to get Platinum Elite status for breakfasts, upgrades, free night, restaurant credit, and late checkout.

I use the Citi Costco for 2% cash back at Costco and 4% for gas and charging.

My primary points earning and redemption mechanism is Chase Ultimate Rewards.

I recently got the Chase Freedom Unlimited card to pay for 4 Sorcerer passes with 0% interest for 15 months. I’m proud of myself for saving $760 for the passes with the $200 credit, 1.5c/dollar and 1% back by buying gift cards at Target. This is assuming I can get 2c/point in Ultimate Rewards.

Since I’m new to the game I recently learned that I can earn 1.5 points/dollar using the Ultimate Freedom card, and then transfer those points to my Sapphire Ultimate Rewards. So I plan to use the Ultimate Freedom card for the everyday spending category.

My biggest question is how to maximize my Ultimate Rewards points. TPG talks about finding random flights on airlines such as Virgin. I’ve searched for such flights and it seems like a lot of work/luck. I also read that transferring to Hyatt is a good way to get value. My goal is to get at least 2c/point. I don’t need the “best” deal but want to get good value without a ton of work. What do you do?

Thanks, and I am looking forward to reading this thread and joining the conversation!

Welcome to the thread! Thanks for following the directions on the second post because it really helps us help you.

URs are a great ecosystem for earning points and you have a good start, but unfortunately you're sitting at 5/24 until sometime in Dec 2023 whenever your opening date anniversary of your Chase Disney hits. That means you're not eligible for any more Chase cards until then. Any new personal consumer cards you open before then will just add to your 5/24 count with Chase and keep pushing that goalpost out further, so if I were you I'd start looking into opening business credit cards since they don't show up on a personal credit report (except for certain ones like Capital One and Discover business cards). Do you have a side gig? Sell things at garage sales or stuff like that? Those can count as sole proprietor businesses and you just use your SSN in the application. Depends on your comfort level with that of course. The Chase Ink Business Cash card is a powerhouse that earns 5xURs at office supply stores including all those gift cards sold there. Yesterday I bought (3) $200 vgc at OD/OM with the current promo and paid $587.85 and earned 2939 URs. If you did that on a CIC during the SUB phase, that would earn a lot of URs. [Note: you're locked out of all Chase cards until Dec. I'm just giving advice for your future cc apps.]

I use URs to transfer to Hyatt mostly. Yes, you can get 2cpp that way; I've gotten somewhere between 1.6cpp and 14cpp but that's highly dependent on the individual property and your Hyatt elite status. Are there Hyatts in places you want to travel to? That's Hyatt's weakest point, that their footprint is smaller than Marriott's and Hilton's. But their Globalist status is the best of the three in terms of elite status benefits.

If Delta's your preferred airline, then the Amex Membership Rewards (MR) ecosystem might be of interest to you since those points can be transferred to Delta's SkyMiles program at a 1:1 ratio. I know there's a 150K/$15K MR Business Platinum offer available through support links on our private reddit DISchurners page. Although that card has a $695 AF, it includes $400 Dell credits, $200 airline credits, and $120 wireless phone credits so judicious use of those credits can help offset the hefty fee. There's also a 150K + $200/$6K MR offer on the personal Plat out there, but remember that will add to your 5/24 count.

Playing this game can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. I think the absolute simplest is probably the Bank of America Premium Rewards card that can get you 2.625% on all your spend if you have a 3 month average of $100K+ sitting with BoA or Merrill Lynch. There are some BoA haters but I've always done well with it. I definitely have fallen on the complicated side of things so even though I have that card, I rarely use it.

Keep asking questions, there's gobs of knowledge on this thread!

 

[Zhoen]

I think I'm following what you're saying, but just want to make sure you know the CSP $50 hotel credit only works for bookings through Chase. I may be misunderstanding your last sentence.

Ah, good to know, thanks!!!

 

[Zhoen]

Yesterday I bought (3) $200 vgc at OD/OM with the current promo and paid $587.85 and earned 2939 URs.

I can't find this deal, would you mind telling me about it?

 

[sinnika]

Our Germany trip is coming together! We’ve got 6 nights planned in Munich, 4 nights near the Neuschwanstein castle, 3 nights in Nurnberg, and another 2 nights in Munich before heading back home. We have almost all of our places booked to stay. Two of them will be airbnbs and then we plan to do a Hilton in Munich. We booked the Hilton the day before we land in Munich so we have somewhere to go since we land in the morning. I’m getting excited to eat some pretzels

This is something we plan to do with ds and I’m super excited about it: https://www.kolbensattel.de/en/alpine-coaster

Bavaria is such a beautiful area of Germany. We visited over the New year’s holiday in 2021 and again in May 2022. We stayed both times in Garmisch at a military hotel called Edelweiss. So many things to see in the area: Partnach gorge, the Ettal Monastery, Zugspitze, and the town of Oberammergau is so beautiful and friendly. If you have the opportunity, go visit Salzburg, Austria. The old town is amazing!

 

[Haley R]

Bavaria is such a beautiful area of Germany. We visited over the New year’s holiday in 2021 and again in May 2022. We stayed both times in Garmisch at a military hotel called Edelweiss. So many things to see in the area: Partnach gorge, the Ettal Monastery, Zugspitze, and the town of Oberammergau is so beautiful and friendly. If you have the opportunity, go visit Salzburg, Austria. The old town is amazing!

We have Salzburg as a possible day trip from Munich. We’re waiting to see how ds adjusts to the time change to see how much we want to drive after we get there. We’re gonna visit Oberammergau to do the alpine coaster!

 

[Suzabella]

Haley, I've been checking out Band of Brothers tours and they end in Munich. I also wanted to go to Salzburg. Last time I looked there were something like 10 trains per day and the lowest travel time was about 1 1/2 hours. Just FYI....

 

[amcc]

Our Germany trip is coming together! We’ve got 6 nights planned in Munich, 4 nights near the Neuschwanstein castle, 3 nights in Nurnberg, and another 2 nights in Munich before heading back home. We have almost all of our places booked to stay. Two of them will be airbnbs and then we plan to do a Hilton in Munich. We booked the Hilton the day before we land in Munich so we have somewhere to go since we land in the morning. I’m getting excited to eat some pretzels

This is something we plan to do with ds and I’m super excited about it: https://www.kolbensattel.de/en/alpine-coaster

You are in for a treat. Are you doing a total of 8 nights in Munich plus 4 near Neuschwanstein? Are you planning on having a car? That area is really a fairy tale land with castles and palaces and gorgeous mountains. My kids and husband went paragliding while I drank a beer at the bottom of the mountain. We rode chair lifts and gondolas (like the skyliner) which were a novelty for us flat earth Floridians who've never skied. We did a similar alpine coaster. Visited a concentration camp. My youngest was 7 so older than yours but except for paragliding, everything was suitable for him. All the castles have stunning grounds to run around in not to mention that beer gardens are mostly family oriented. Now you've got me wanting to plan another trip over there!!

 

[Haley R]

You are in for a treat. Are you doing a total of 8 nights in Munich plus 4 near Neuschwanstein? Are you planning on having a car? That area is really a fairy tale land with castles and palaces and gorgeous mountains. My kids and husband went paragliding while I drank a beer at the bottom of the mountain. We rode chair lifts and gondolas (like the skyliner) which were a novelty for us flat earth Floridians who've never skied. We did a similar alpine coaster. Visited a concentration camp. My youngest was 7 so older than yours but except for paragliding, everything was suitable for him. All the castles have stunning grounds to run around in not to mention that beer gardens are mostly family oriented. Now you've got me wanting to plan another trip over there!!

We’ll have 8 total in Munich (6 when we get there and 2 before leaving), 4 near Neuschwanstein, and another 3 in Nurnberg. We have a car rented for the entire trip. We will probably drive to most of the things we want to do.

 

[Spivey378]

Welcome to the thread! Thanks for following the directions on the second post because it really helps us help you.

URs are a great ecosystem for earning points and you have a good start, but unfortunately you're sitting at 5/24 until sometime in Dec 2023 whenever your opening date anniversary of your Chase Disney hits. That means you're not eligible for any more Chase cards until then. Any new personal consumer cards you open before then will just add to your 5/24 count with Chase and keep pushing that goalpost out further, so if I were you I'd start looking into opening business credit cards since they don't show up on a personal credit report (except for certain ones like Capital One and Discover business cards). Do you have a side gig? Sell things at garage sales or stuff like that? Those can count as sole proprietor businesses and you just use your SSN in the application. Depends on your comfort level with that of course. The Chase Ink Business Cash card is a powerhouse that earns 5xURs at office supply stores including all those gift cards sold there. Yesterday I bought (3) $200 vgc at OD/OM with the current promo and paid $587.85 and earned 2939 URs. If you did that on a CIC during the SUB phase, that would earn a lot of URs. [Note: you're locked out of all Chase cards until Dec. I'm just giving advice for your future cc apps.]

I use URs to transfer to Hyatt mostly. Yes, you can get 2cpp that way; I've gotten somewhere between 1.6cpp and 14cpp but that's highly dependent on the individual property and your Hyatt elite status. Are there Hyatts in places you want to travel to? That's Hyatt's weakest point, that their footprint is smaller than Marriott's and Hilton's. But their Globalist status is the best of the three in terms of elite status benefits.

If Delta's your preferred airline, then the Amex Membership Rewards (MR) ecosystem might be of interest to you since those points can be transferred to Delta's SkyMiles program at a 1:1 ratio. I know there's a 150K/$15K MR Business Platinum offer available through support links on our private reddit DISchurners page. Although that card has a $695 AF, it includes $400 Dell credits, $200 airline credits, and $120 wireless phone credits so judicious use of those credits can help offset the hefty fee. There's also a 150K + $200/$6K MR offer on the personal Plat out there, but remember that will add to your 5/24 count.

Playing this game can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. I think the absolute simplest is probably the Bank of America Premium Rewards card that can get you 2.625% on all your spend if you have a 3 month average of $100K+ sitting with BoA or Merrill Lynch. There are some BoA haters but I've always done well with it. I definitely have fallen on the complicated side of things so even though I have that card, I rarely use it.

Keep asking questions, there's a gob of knowledge on this thread!

Thanks!

I’m glad to hear that you have had success in transferring to Hyatt. I could probably stay at Hyatts when I go to New York or other big cities, and use my Marriott and Hilton points for other trips. It seems like you can consistent get good value transferring to Hyatt.

I’m not all that interested in getting another Chase card, or even another credit card right now. Although I had considered getting the Amex Platinum. The fee is big and I’m not all that interested in lounge access. What points system do you think is better, UR or MR?

I do get a K-1 so I likely qualify for a business card.

 

[Spivey378]

We’ll have 8 total in Munich (6 when we get there and 2 before leaving), 4 near Neuschwanstein, and another 3 in Nurnberg. We have a car rented for the entire trip. We will probably drive to most of the things we want to do.

You will have an amazing trip!

 

[djmeredith]

Thanks for this great info. I thought .02pp was high but was hoping it could be attainable.

My wife was the same cards as I do.

We do want to go to Europe next summer. At least Germany and maybe UK or France. I would use the points for airfare or hotels.

My points would be covering 4 people.

Thanks!

I’m glad to hear that you have had success in transferring to Hyatt. I could probably stay at Hyatts when I go to New York or other big cities, and use my Marriott and Hilton points for other trips. It seems like you can consistent get good value transferring to Hyatt.

I’m not all that interested in getting another Chase card, or even another credit card right now. Although I had considered getting the Amex Platinum. The fee is big and I’m not all that interested in lounge access. What points system do you think is better, UR or MR?

I do get a K-1 so I likely qualify for a business card.

Welcome! One important thing that I don't think has been mentioned to you yet is that you and your spouse should not add each other as authorized users on each other's cards. It will count against your 5/24 but you get no SUB. SUBs are the best way to amass points quickly. Some here get a new card as soon as they meet MSR on a card. Others do SUBs occasionally and focus on amassing the most pts with the cards they have.

Your travel goals are the same as mine when I started this hobby. I went to Europe last August mainly on points and I am going again next month. If you are 5/24 for Chase right now, the AmEx MR cards are a very good option for you. I have done a TON of research over the past 1.5 yrs on pts cost to Europe on the various airline transfer partners. Y

Virgin often has some very good pts rates to London, but their fees are usually steep (at least for biz class). United also has some good deals, I am flying them to Europe this time. have found that Flying Blue (Air France and KLM) have the most consistent deals. Both UR and MR transfer to Flying Blue, which also makes it a good option.
Most of us book our airfare one-way because it is usually a better deal for pts that way. It also gives you the flexibility to use multiple transfer partners when needed. Figure out which transfer partners would work best for your goals and then start monitoring all those airlines. Over a couple of months, you will get a good sense of the range of pts required for your travel.

 

[EACarlson]

Thanks!

I’m glad to hear that you have had success in transferring to Hyatt. I could probably stay at Hyatts when I go to New York or other big cities, and use my Marriott and Hilton points for other trips. It seems like you can consistent get good value transferring to Hyatt.

I’m not all that interested in getting another Chase card, or even another credit card right now. Although I had considered getting the Amex Platinum. The fee is big and I’m not all that interested in lounge access. What points system do you think is better, UR or MR?

Personally I think MR is an easier ecosystem to earn points in. I generate a lot of points with my Gold card on organic spend getting 4x on groceries and dining. I love the Hyatt transferability as I can usually get 2.4 cpp there. But I generally fly Delta if I have a choice so MR are worth more to me than UR for flights. With you being 5/24 for quite a while, if you're looking for big SUBs it's going to have to be MR. Then maybe you can get in on the Chase Business churn to get lots of UR.

 

[platamama]

I can't find this deal, would you mind telling me about it?

There was a sign up in the store when I bought them. Both FrequentMiler and DoC have posts about it. The promo is $15 off $300 vgc expiring tomorrow. These past two times I bought $600 worth and got $30 off (but have to pay the $5.95 purchase fee on each $200 vgc, so net $12.15 profit plus URs) and that might be a YMMV thing. These deals are a pretty regular occurrence.

 

[Haley R]

You are in for a treat. Are you doing a total of 8 nights in Munich plus 4 near Neuschwanstein? Are you planning on having a car? That area is really a fairy tale land with castles and palaces and gorgeous mountains. My kids and husband went paragliding while I drank a beer at the bottom of the mountain. We rode chair lifts and gondolas (like the skyliner) which were a novelty for us flat earth Floridians who've never skied. We did a similar alpine coaster. Visited a concentration camp. My youngest was 7 so older than yours but except for paragliding, everything was suitable for him. All the castles have stunning grounds to run around in not to mention that beer gardens are mostly family oriented. Now you've got me wanting to plan another trip over there!!

What time of year were you there? We’re doing August so it should be decently warm. I’m not sure what to expect as far as rain goes

 

[mmmears]

Thanks!

I’m glad to hear that you have had success in transferring to Hyatt. I could probably stay at Hyatts when I go to New York or other big cities, and use my Marriott and Hilton points for other trips. It seems like you can consistent get good value transferring to Hyatt.

I’m not all that interested in getting another Chase card, or even another credit card right now. Although I had considered getting the Amex Platinum. The fee is big and I’m not all that interested in lounge access. What points system do you think is better, UR or MR?

I do get a K-1 so I likely qualify for a business card.

I collect both URs and MRs. I find they are both valuable. We mostly use MRs for international flights in J, and lately have been using URs for Hyatt stays. We have the Plat, but had it before we started playing this game. The Gold is great for the 4x on dining and groceries. Consider having a Player 2 because you can get more points/cards that way.

You can use either for flights abroad or domestic. Between the 2 ecosystems there are lots of airlines you can book. We've mostly used MRs (and sometimes URs) to book on BA, Air France/KLM, and Virgin Atlantic over the last 5 years.

Hope this helps.

 

[sinnika]

What time of year were you there? We’re doing August so it should be decently warm. I’m not sure what to expect as far as rain goes

I know this question wasn’t directed at me, but I’ve spent 4 months total in Germany over the last 18 months at different times of the year. While I can’t speak for summer months personally, my DD who is stationed here in the Air Force says the summers can be extremely warm and rainy. She is stationed at Ramstein which is in SW Germany. Make sure to request lodging that includes AC. Most older German homes do not have it. Also make sure to request it for your rental car, plus an automatic unless you prefer manual. Having a rental car will give you the opportunity to visit so many different places, especially those hidden gems outside of the big cities.

 

[havaneselover]

Trying to help my mom book a week in Petoskey, MI in the second half of August or the first half of September (they'll want to get out of Naples by then) and there is basically nothing avaialble. It's crazy. The Inn at Bay Harbor which is a Marriott property has spotty availability and a standard room is $1200 / night. I told her they should just go on a river cruise instead.

 

[Spivey378]

Thanks to all of those who have responded to my posts. I really appreciate the insight.

That's good point about not adding my wife as an authorized user to gain more SUB points. I don't plan to aggressively go after SUB with different cards but will keep this in mind going forward.

My current plan is to wait until early next year for my 5/24 to open up and then have my wife apply for the CSR card and then downgrade my CSP card to Freedom Flex. I will then apply for the AMEX Platinum Business card for the SUB and to use on everyday spending. This way, my wife can earn in the UR ecosystem and I can earn in the MR ecosystem and we can reap the benefits of both!

I like the idea of using UR points for Hyatt stays. That seems to provide consistent value. I can then use my MR for flights to Europe and/or transferring them to SkyMiles since I like flying Delta.

I'll still keep the Bonvoy Brilliant and AMEX Platinum for earning status and their associated perks.

What do you think? Thanks again!

 

[becauseimnew]

Universal Studios Japan tickets and Express pass booked. I was able to do it on the App using my Amex Plat. It was so easy. I bought the 7 Pass Flying Dinosaur & Jurassic Park ride. Next big purchase is Disney tickets.