I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[SouthFayetteFan]

Question on the SW CP, I assume it can be used if you book separate one way flights, on each leg?

Thanks!!

Yes - that will work with no issues.

 

[Judique]

unless it's Disney I just book for two adults on portals.... no one else really cares since occupancy is always 4-5 per room depending on beds.... I consider it a failing of the info on the portal that there's always been a problem with the numbers like this( like back when you'd book thru a portal for a WDW room for 2 adults then have to call in to add the kids etc) otherwise I just don't stress about it. Disney is the only place IMHO that needs a specific headcount with names and birthdates attached....

Since I'm not likely to do a dining plan I even book my Disney DVC as 1 person. Then when I know what I'm doing and what I need I go back and adjust it.

I book '2' for all outside reservations, mostly because in the event I'm alone I don't want anyone noting that a woman is in a hotel room alone.

 

[chattadisser]

Just did a survey on credit cards through the SW program and thought I would share some observations. It started off asking you which cards you currently held, interestingly enough they only had AmEx and Chase cards to pick from. The survey would show you six cards, the provider, the benefits and then you were supposed to choose the 3 out of the six that you would consider applying for. Then from the 3 you selected you chose one, if any, that you would apply for. Then you had to show how you would re-arrange your monthly spend to incorporate this card that you selected. This went on for six screens so there were a lot of scenarios in the mix.

AmEx, Chase and Citi were the providers on the cards offered. All the cards seemed to be fair in the points categories that you would get with the card. The option that seemed to change from card to card was the benefits offered. Here's the primary benefits that seemed to show up consistently from card to card:

$120 yearly Lyft credit - a few cards offered an Uber credit but it was always $60 or less
Some cards offered 4th night free on a three night hotel stay
Complementary membership in Lululemon, REI and Restoration Hardware customer programs
$120 yearly credit for Home Chef, Blue Apron, Hello Fresh
$100 yearly credit for airline fees and charges - a few cards offered a general travel credit

At the end you had to pick which benefits you would pick over others offered. It was clear that they were trying to determine how much the benefits offered impacts the AF that you will pay. The AF's in the survey ranged from $95-$550. It did seem that AmEx was driving this survey as there were way more AmEx options than any others.

The survey was WAAAY longer than it should have been and probably wasn't worth the 75 RR points I'm supposed to get but it was at least interesting. It will be interesting to see what AmEx's next offering will be.

 

[lynzi2004]

My SW points finally posted sometime between when I checked at 7am and now. Now off to book flights for a Utah National Parks trip and Disney!

 

[hsmamato2]

I had booked our hotel for our Disneyland trip through the UR portal a couple of months ago. We're staying at the Courtyard Marriott across the street from the park. At the time I booked a one bedroom suite because it was the only room that had no cancellation fees. I just checked the portal and now there is a refundable 2 queen plus bunkbed room that would save me 30,000 UR points. Do I keep the room we have or save points and give up the extra room and 350 sq. feet? We'll be there for 5 nights. Thanks for any thoughts on this!

30k is a lot of points I'd go for it

 

[MrPTato]

Woohoo...long morning on taxes.

Federal - Done
Rhode Island - Done
Massachusetts - Not all tax forms available until 2/7/19.

They are probably busy watching the Patriots parade through Boston today.

 

[kmc8826]

What about the middle initial method?

His first CIP (and the one he still has) was our first business card and for a business not a "business." It has his name and then the name of the company. We don't have an EIN since it is still so small while he is working full time, but it has a couple licenses etc so it is legitimate. Do you think I could just keep that CIP and then apply for another one with just his name (and middle initial)?

I lowered my wife’s CIP CL down to $2k before eventually closing it after a year. I’ve seen numerous DPs of CLs cut down to $1k and even a few as low as $500.

You recommend waiting the entire year though right? I am just anxious to close mine if I am not using it since it has a separate log in then my personal and is a bit of a pain. Or, is it better to just leave it open and apply for the CIC and CIU now after lowering my credit limits? I will be under 5/24 next month (assuming they don't count my home equity loan). Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thank you! I just have one larger charge (maybe around $4,000) that I will want to put on it in early April. I could trim to $5,000 now, then after that charge, $2,500 should be good.

I know I have to wait after lowering the CL to apply for a new card because it takes time for the lower CL to register with Chase. Maybe $5,000 on the CIP would be low enough to go for the second business card considering I would be trimming more than that from the CIPs current CL? If not, I will just wait until end of May/beginning of June to apply or the CIC.

Just remember it is your overall credit with Chase and if they end up calling you they can't transfer credit over from the personal cards to the business but they do take the amount of credit extended into account.

 

[Psychodisney]

Popping in again. DH was approved for CIP #2 under his FEIN. I didn't get an auto approval, but when we called back into the status line (4 or 5 days later), it said he was approved. Never had anyone call, no request for a letter proving his FEIN. Applied 1/23, just got the card in yesterday 2/4...so that took a while, but I didn't push it.

Couple of things now, my Mariott card just came up for renewal it's the basic one ($85 fee). I literally just met the MSR and then put it up. We both have personal and biz Amex SPG's (bonvoy now or whatever). I was debating the value of the free night since it's only 25k (and we'll have 4 other 35k credits). This morning I got an upgrade offer to the Premier Plus, $3k spend for $200. Not that enticing, but it's something and then you get a 35k night. I've gotten lost in all of the rules with the SPG/Mariott merger. Assuming I would not be eligible to just get the card outright and earn the sign on bonus. Is that correct. Thoughts on this upgrade?

We're looking into DH and I getting TSA Precheck for a family flight in May. Also, we'd like to be able to use the PP lounge at MCO. I have the Reserve, so I have access to a TSA Precheck reimbursement and then I think just 2 additional guest at PP lounges (but we're a family of 4). So, thinking DH needs a card with these same perks. We don't both need Reserves at one time, any other options that would get both these perks?

TIA

My first thought was upgrading his SPG personal to Lux. That would give him TSA and priority pass among other things. If he doesn't have a Sapphire product, I'd actually get him a CSR. He can always downgrade in after a year to a CF. The UR points, TSA and priority pass might make that worth it!

 

[pillow]

So I looked at my CIP statements to try to determine where they came up with $500. I had one referral post in 11/18 and one post in 1/19. I would think that is $200 for 2018, $200 for 2019. Who do we call at Chase for clarification? The number on the back of the card?

I've spoken with 4 different people this morning to try and figure this out. Call the 866 number on your 1099 form. I ended up speaking with a supervisor there (Rowland) who is referring the issue to the 1099 research team.

So strange - he was able to tell me the account referenced was my old Marriott personal card. I closed that card on 1/29/18, so any bonuses would have been from January of last year. That account doesn't show up on the Chase site for me anymore, so I can't go back and check. I looked at the Marriott site to see if I received a referral bonus, but I can't find one. This is a mess.

 

[gottalovepluto]

My first thought was upgrading his SPG personal to Lux. That would give him TSA and priority pass among other things. If he doesn't have a Sapphire product, I'd actually get him a CSR. He can always downgrade in after a year to a CF. The UR points, TSA and priority pass might make that worth it!

@kayteekt agree with above. If you want another issuer Altitude Reserve at US Bank has TSA/GE reimbursement and PP but you need to be a US Bank customer. Are you into MR? Amex Plat fits this bill as well although you want to be careful you're getting a good sign up offer and they usually have a huge MSR. Do check each card's specific PP benefits as the rules vary issuerer to issuerer.

 

[amalone1013]

@Lain Plastiq is trying to make me log in to Capital One Masterpass now to add my cards. Had this issue?

ETA: Crisis averted. It switched over or something but down at the bottom was an option to Change wallet, and I went back to nomal Masterpass. Phew!

Next issue - all of my MCGCs from Staples are activated. Only one would work to let me register it. I did call in and register a second, and it worked with masterpass almost immediately. Was wondering if you'd had trouble registering them before, or if by chance they would all start working to register them if I give them a couple hours...

 

[kayteekt]

My first thought was upgrading his SPG personal to Lux. That would give him TSA and priority pass among other things. If he doesn't have a Sapphire product, I'd actually get him a CSR. He can always downgrade in after a year to a CF. The UR points, TSA and priority pass might make that worth it!

@kayteekt agree with above. If you want another issuer Altitude Reserve at US Bank has TSA/GE reimbursement and PP but you need to be a US Bank customer. Are you into MR? Amex Plat fits this bill as well although you want to be careful you're getting a good sign up offer and they usually have a huge MSR. Do check each card's specific PP benefits as the rules vary issuerer to issuerer.

Thank you both, I will look into those.

 

[afan]

Still nothing coming from amex or chase. Though I'm just hoping we get yesterday's mail with today's since there was tax stuff there. I get how they couldn't get some plaxes with thr roads yesterday but they should deliver what they can and they could have done ours. I don't have much hope for today though since garbage service was cancelled again along with schools. 21 out but main roads are ok with lots of things opening at the normal times so I'll go to the gym and library.

Interesting about the BofA shutdowns. I'm going to cancel my biz card anyway and haven't had it for a year. Should I wait to cancel it? There's two big reasons for cancelling it, I hate the online interface so much and now that I can't as easily churn the peraonal alaska there's no point to have it as backup for free bags between cards. I won't put any more spend on it before the af comes up. The personal is one of the cards I'd MS on if I felt comfortable with it.

 

[amalone1013]

Still no AMEX 1099s here.

 

[wendow]

Thank you both, I will look into those.

I was going to suggest the Amex plat as well. Check through cardmatch to see if you are targeted for the 100k offer. That really helps offset the AF...it also comes with a $200 airline credit each year (I know you guys drive a lot but maybe for another trip, that could help???) and it has a few other credits that are nice but not really something I'd use if it wasn't free so I don't factor those into offsetting the AF (uber, Saks). We did use the PP on this card combined with my dh's PP from his CSR to get us all into a lounge.

We also got my dh TSA precheck with his CSR and me (and both our teens) precheck with the Plat. You can add AU'ers to the plat as 'Gold' users for free and then they can get precheck for free as well. I added my mom and stepdad for that benefit for them.

 

[apollodi]

When adding up total credit extended to me by Chase across all their cards, should I include cards I am an AU on? I have a CSP and a CIC in my name, and I'm an AU on DH's CF. Do I include the CF credit limit in my total credit extended by Chase?

 

[Lain]

@Lain Plastiq is trying to make me log in to Capital One Masterpass now to add my cards. Had this issue?

Log into and use Plastiq in incognito. That should give you the vanilla Masterpass option.

If I’m not in incognito, Plastiq does something similar and only gives me the option to log into Masterpass using Citi Pay. Then I can’t access the MCGCs that are stored under my generic Masterpass account.

I’ve liquidated $1,400 of the MCGCs from Staples through Plastiq so far. It’s a pain activating each of them, registering them to your personal info, adding them to Masterpass, then adding them to Plastiq. But the card numbers are similar, so copy and paste helps, and you develop a rhythm. I had trouble activating one card, and I’m currently locked out for 24 hours.

Relatedly, I took @SBWB48 ‘s suggestion and tried to add a Vanilla-branded VGC (bought at Walgreens using CF 5x) to Masterpass, then add the VGC via Masterpass to pay a bill through Plastiq, but got declined. It may work for Metabank VGCs (often found at grocery stores), but apparently not for Vanillas.

 

[amalone1013]

Log into and use Plastiq in incognito. That should give you the vanilla Masterpass option.

If I’m not in incognito, Plastiq does something similar and only gives me the option to log into Masterpass using Citi Pay. Then I can’t access the MCGCs that are stored under my generic Masterpass account.

I’ve liquidated $1,400 of the MCGCs from Staples through Plastiq so far. It’s a pain activating each of them, registering them to your personal info, adding them to Masterpass, then adding them to Plastiq. But the card numbers are similar, so copy and paste helps, and you develop a rhythm. I had trouble activating one card, and I’m currently locked out for 24 hours.

Relatedly, I took @SBWB48 ‘s suggestion and tried to add a Vanilla-branded VGC (bought at Walgreens using CF 5x) to Masterpass, then add the VGC via Masterpass to pay a bill through Plastiq, but got declined. It may work for Metabank VGCs (often found at grocery stores), but apparently not for Vanillas.

Not sure if you saw my edit.. figured it out. Phew! Was having a mini panic attack that I saddled myself with $1k in GCs to pay my car and it wasn't going to work haha. Definitely a pain to activate/register/add, but the UR payoff is more than my regular hourly wage Also I will check tonight and see what kind of VGCs I have in that stash at home and give them a try if they are Metabank and report back.

ETA: Crisis averted. It switched over or something but down at the bottom was an option to Change wallet, and I went back to nomal Masterpass. Phew!

Next issue - all of my MCGCs from Staples are activated. Only one would work to let me register it. I did call in and register a second, and it worked with masterpass almost immediately. Was wondering if you'd had trouble registering them before, or if by chance they would all start working to register them if I give them a couple hours...

Think I'll have to call in and register the last 8?

 

[mmmears]

I've spoken with 4 different people this morning to try and figure this out. Call the 866 number on your 1099 form. I ended up speaking with a supervisor there (Rowland) who is referring the issue to the 1099 research team.

So strange - he was able to tell me the account referenced was my old Marriott personal card. I closed that card on 1/29/18, so any bonuses would have been from January of last year. That account doesn't show up on the Chase site for my anymore, so I can't go back and check. I looked at the Marriott site to see if I received a referral bonus, but I can't find one. This is a mess.

This is what I worry about becoming the true cost of the 1099s. Lots of hours wasted figuring it all out, making sure the credits match the statement, adding onto the tax forms... It does sound like a mess to me.

 

[Lain]

Next issue - all of my MCGCs from Staples are activated. Only one would work to let me register it. I did call in and register a second, and it worked with masterpass almost immediately. Was wondering if you'd had trouble registering them before, or if by chance they would all start working to register them if I give them a couple hours...

So the prepaidgiftbalance site is pretty sensitive to repeated registrations or attempts at registration. At some point (I was able to register 9 cards successfully the other day), it’ll start giving you an error in red text when you try to register a new card. Basically it’s blocking you because it thinks you may be a bot or something. I just switch my VPN when that happens. If you don’t have a VPN, then maybe you could reset your internet connection, or try again tomorrow. Or you can call in to the 888 number to have a live csr help you register the card.