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

[MouseOfCards]

Transferring points for airline partner awards, if all 3 are options, how to decide between Amex, Chase, and Cap1?

 

[pittsburghmom]

Looking to apply for a CIC as a sole proprietor . What amount do you put down for "annual business revenue" and "estimated monthly spend" to be approved? Also, do you recommend getting an employee card for the spouse? Thanks!

 

[WDWRook]

Are there any airline rewards programs that are worth chasing?

We are in Cleveland, which isn't a hub for anyone. Used to be a United hub but they dropped that years ago. United is still there but it's a mixed bag of airlines (Delta, American, SW, Spirit, etc) and none are best rates or extensive nonstop flights.

Debating if I just keep churning Chase (though they seem to no longer auto approve me, likely due to too many cards / credit), keep churning Bonvoy, or go all in on an airline. I 135,000 Delta points, but that doesn't get me much and Delta is always more expensive to fly from Cleveland. I don't think I'm interested in building up Amex points.

Debating getting the Delta Reserve (and commit to fly Delta and get Delta status), the Marriott Brilliant (we are close to Plat status and can likely get to Plat every year, but might push to get Titanium), or more Chase CIC / etc, or start with United or American.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Looking to apply for a CIC as a sole proprietor . What amount do you put down for "annual business revenue" and "estimated monthly spend" to be approved? Also, do you recommend getting an employee card for the spouse? Thanks!

You put down what your revenue and expenses actually are or what you anticipate them being this year.
As far as an employee card, I….have been approved with and without an employee card

 

[Arcades]

Looking to apply for a CIC as a sole proprietor . What amount do you put down for "annual business revenue" and "estimated monthly spend" to be approved? Also, do you recommend getting an employee card for the spouse? Thanks!

I have always used 10% of my actual income and, while I've never been asked about it, I would say its my "anticipated income" for a new business. Monthly spend would just be 1/12 of that figure give or take.

Employee card is up to you, since it's a business it won't show up as an AU on any of her personal credit reports.

 

[IFlossU]

Do I have to pay that $250 and now the $550 for the platnium?

Just a reminder that the Platinum AF is now $695.

 

[IFlossU]

Chase denied my request to match a 20k support link to 40k. But they did it politely.

 

[AndreaDM]

Are there any airline rewards programs that are worth chasing?

We are in Cleveland, which isn't a hub for anyone. Used to be a United hub but they dropped that years ago. United is still there but it's a mixed bag of airlines (Delta, American, SW, Spirit, etc) and none are best rates or extensive nonstop flights.

Debating if I just keep churning Chase (though they seem to no longer auto approve me, likely due to too many cards / credit), keep churning Bonvoy, or go all in on an airline. I 135,000 Delta points, but that doesn't get me much and Delta is always more expensive to fly from Cleveland. I don't think I'm interested in building up Amex points.

Debating getting the Delta Reserve (and commit to fly Delta and get Delta status), the Marriott Brilliant (we are close to Plat status and can likely get to Plat every year, but might push to get Titanium), or more Chase CIC / etc, or start with United or American.

We are about an hour from CLE, closer to CAK but often fly out of CLE. Alaska Airlines now flies direct to Seattle if you have any plans to go to Alaska/Hawaii/Seattle/West Coast? We are taking an Alaskan cruise in May so got the card, it comes with a $99 companion fare and depending on the day of the week fares are very reasonable. We'll keep it a year and see. The only negative is it's with BOA and in both our opinions they suck.

I also have the United card because they fly out of both CLE & CAK.

 

[disneybirds]

It would be $400 on the 1099.

The 40k is worth $400…Chase will send a 1099 if you earn $600 or more in support points across all their cards

Thanks for the responses. We usually only sign up for a 1 or 2 cards a year, so it seems the 40K in support points won't generate a 1099 if we keep to just one a year. Will definitely have to weigh all my options if we are only doing one a year. I might think about doing the 40K in support with the 100K from the CIP instead of the CIU/CIC.

 

[WDWRook]

We are about an hour from CLE, closer to CAK but often fly out of CLE. Alaska Airlines now flies direct to Seattle if you have any plans to go to Alaska/Hawaii/Seattle/West Coast? We are taking an Alaskan cruise in May so got the card, it comes with a $99 companion fare and depending on the day of the week fares are very reasonable. We'll keep it a year and see. The only negative is it's with BOA and in both our opinions they suck.

I also have the United card because they fly out of both CLE & CAK.

I'll check out Alaska. We used to live in Detroit and Delta was typically the best airline. It's only 2 hrs away as is Pitts and Columbus, but I'd rather not drive the 2 hrs if possible.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Transferring points for airline partner awards, if all 3 are options, how to decide between Amex, Chase, and Cap1?

I seem to have fallen into some patterns of transfer partners with those three, so it's sort of a process of elimination when transferring. For example, Chase can be transferred to Hyatt, so I prefer to hold onto those for that. Amex has many good international airline partners and a good 2:1 partnership with Hilton, so I like using my MRs for those partners. I haven't used my Cap1 points a lot, but my thought is that I might choose to use them first so that I can hang on to my MR and UR, which I find a bit more versatile.

Also, I watch for transfer bonuses, where Amex might add say, a 30% bonus for transferring to a specific partner.

If this is a question, it means you've done a great job diversifying!

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Looks like Japan flights through ANA/Virgin (first class) are now more miles. Saw it posted on DoC. Not sure if that'll affect anyone here...

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Priceline car rental experts:
Autoslash found Hertz as the best price when tracking a rental. Switched to booking through Priceline and entered my Hertz reward account info when completing the booking on Priceline. I can pull up the booking in Hertz and it's associated with my account.

Question: My Hertz acct is linked to my AMEX PLAT. I'd prefer to use my CSR.
1. Do I just go to the counter when I arrive and make sure they use the CSR? Or can I change the cc on file with Hertz?
2. Since I didn't book directly through Hertz, would skip the counter have been an option anyways?
3. If I get President's Circle via AMEX PLAT, must I use that card or can I use any cc?

Sorry in advance, I'm super naive about car rental rewards programs.

 

[GZanta77]

Anybody been to Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana in Dominican Republic? Trying to decide whether to burn a bunch of URs and make a booking before the huge increase in award rates later this month.

We are not really beach vacation people, but I have had this resort on my radar for a while and wondering if a week there is too much or maybe 4/5 days would be sufficient. Any thoughts?

 

[newski_mom]

I was signed up for the Hyatt stay 3 nights get a certificate for category 1-4 hotel. We stayed at the Hyatt Place in Boca Raton for 3 nights using DH's free night from having the Hyatt card and 15,000 points per night for the other two nights and earned the free night certificate.

Hotels were crazy high while we were there - if we would have paid for our room for those 3 nights it would have been over $1600, so I was happy getting them for our certificate/points combo plus now we have another free night certificate.

Anyway, just wanted to report that staying on free nights qualifies for that promotion too if anyone was on the fence about booking something.

 

[linzjane88]

OK I was leaning Cancun Zilara but then Secrets Maroma Beach caught my eye. Anybody been there? It looks kinda amazing....
https://www.hyatt.com/shop/semrc?location=Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun&checkinDate=2023-09-04&checkoutDate=2023-09-08&rooms=1&adults=1&kids=0&rate=Standard&rateFilter=woh

WHY HAVE I NEVER PAID ATTENTION TO HYATT UNTIL NOW?!?

I was initially a SPG sorta girl and kept sticking with Marriott thinking it would pay off but it felt like every time I found something I was impressed with they had downgraded it in some ways by the next visit. (looking at you, Disneyland Westin).

Second point: Make sure to investigate promo codes from employers, particularly for rental cars. I work at a big hospital system that gives us access to a discount company (ours is called LifeBalance) as a perk. I found a National car rental code in there that took the outrageous rates from $1200 down to $620 (I was also holding a reservation at $850 for a van van thru Alamo as a backup). This, combined with the Executive Elite offered through my platinum card, got me to the Executive Aisle at MCO where I had my choice of really nice vans and SUV's. I got a 2 week minivan rental, returning to TPA, out the door for about $620 despite never having rented through them before. Picking up the rental car was super easy and we zero hassles. That experience in itself proved the worth of my Platinum card.

 

[chattadisser]

OK I was leaning Cancun Zilara but then Secrets Maroma Beach caught my eye. Anybody been there? It looks kinda amazing....
https://www.hyatt.com/shop/semrc?location=Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun&checkinDate=2023-09-04&checkoutDate=2023-09-08&rooms=1&adults=1&kids=0&rate=Standard&rateFilter=woh

WHY HAVE I NEVER PAID ATTENTION TO HYATT UNTIL NOW?!?

I was initially a SPG sorta girl and kept sticking with Marriott thinking it would pay off but it felt like every time I found something I was impressed with they had downgraded it in some ways by the next visit. (looking at you, Disneyland Westin).

Second point: Make sure to investigate promo codes from employers, particularly for rental cars. I work at a big hospital system that gives us access to a discount company (ours is called LifeBalance) as a perk. I found a National car rental code in there that took the outrageous rates from $1200 down to $620 (I was also holding a reservation at $850 for a van van thru Alamo as a backup). This, combined with the Executive Elite offered through my platinum card, got me to the Executive Aisle at MCO where I had my choice of really nice vans and SUV's. I got a 2 week minivan rental, returning to TPA, out the door for about $620 despite never having rented through them before. Picking up the rental car was super easy and we zero hassles. That experience in itself proved the worth of my Platinum card.

Curious as to what you feel was downgraded at the Disneyland Westin? I stayed there last October with youngest DD and liked it. But, it was our first stay and I didn't really have anything, other than other Westins, to compare it to.

To your second point - I recommend this as well. We have access through our employer to car rentals and some other more local discount codes, and the car rental through work is always cheaper. We combine it with the Executive Elite benefit too and it makes the whole process so much easier.

 

[becauseimnew]

OK I was leaning Cancun Zilara but then Secrets Maroma Beach caught my eye. Anybody been there? It looks kinda amazing....
https://www.hyatt.com/shop/semrc?location=Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun&checkinDate=2023-09-04&checkoutDate=2023-09-08&rooms=1&adults=1&kids=0&rate=Standard&rateFilter=woh

WHY HAVE I NEVER PAID ATTENTION TO HYATT UNTIL NOW?!?

I was initially a SPG sorta girl and kept sticking with Marriott thinking it would pay off but it felt like every time I found something I was impressed with they had downgraded it in some ways by the next visit. (looking at you, Disneyland Westin).

Second point: Make sure to investigate promo codes from employers, particularly for rental cars. I work at a big hospital system that gives us access to a discount company (ours is called LifeBalance) as a perk. I found a National car rental code in there that took the outrageous rates from $1200 down to $620 (I was also holding a reservation at $850 for a van van thru Alamo as a backup). This, combined with the Executive Elite offered through my platinum card, got me to the Executive Aisle at MCO where I had my choice of really nice vans and SUV's. I got a 2 week minivan rental, returning to TPA, out the door for about $620 despite never having rented through them before. Picking up the rental car was super easy and we zero hassles. That experience in itself proved the worth of my Platinum card.

Make sure you book before the category changes on 3/28.

 

[wanderlust7]

OK I was leaning Cancun Zilara but then Secrets Maroma Beach caught my eye. Anybody been there? It looks kinda amazing....
https://www.hyatt.com/shop/semrc?location=Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun&checkinDate=2023-09-04&checkoutDate=2023-09-08&rooms=1&adults=1&kids=0&rate=Standard&rateFilter=woh

WHY HAVE I NEVER PAID ATTENTION TO HYATT UNTIL NOW?!?

I was initially a SPG sorta girl and kept sticking with Marriott thinking it would pay off but it felt like every time I found something I was impressed with they had downgraded it in some ways by the next visit. (looking at you, Disneyland Westin).

Second point: Make sure to investigate promo codes from employers, particularly for rental cars. I work at a big hospital system that gives us access to a discount company (ours is called LifeBalance) as a perk. I found a National car rental code in there that took the outrageous rates from $1200 down to $620 (I was also holding a reservation at $850 for a van van thru Alamo as a backup). This, combined with the Executive Elite offered through my platinum card, got me to the Executive Aisle at MCO where I had my choice of really nice vans and SUV's. I got a 2 week minivan rental, returning to TPA, out the door for about $620 despite never having rented through them before. Picking up the rental car was super easy and we zero hassles. That experience in itself proved the worth of my Platinum card.

Never been but wanted to mention that Secrets Impression Moxche gets mentioned a lot on r/hyatt (particularly Impressions, not the regular Moxche). It's going up 3 categories! But availability may be hard to find.

 

[linzjane88]

Never been but wanted to mention that Secrets Impression Moxche gets mentioned a lot on r/hyatt (particularly Impressions, not the regular Moxche). It's going up 3 categories! But availability may be hard to find.

I spent some time last night throwing in fake dates for availability and couldn't find any so I gave up. I was sorta trying to see how far I could stretch a redemption.

Curious as to what you feel was downgraded at the Disneyland Westin? I stayed there last October with youngest DD and liked it. But, it was our first stay and I didn't really have anything, other than other Westins, to compare it to.

To your second point - I recommend this as well. We have access through our employer to car rentals and some other more local discount codes, and the car rental through work is always cheaper. We combine it with the Executive Elite benefit too and it makes the whole process so much easier.

So we have stayed 2 different times and always through the "Fine Hotels and Resorts" program which gets you extra perks. First time was about 3 years ago maybe? Anyway on that stay we were given access to the lounge on the top floor instead of free breakfast at the buffet which is what they did on our last visit (and I assume still do). I much preferred the lounge access because of the option to have the midday snacks, coffe, and whatnot. Honestly if I would have known it changed I would have packed a cooler bag with snacks in my luggage so we didn't have to blow so much money on food. Also our first trip they would randomly put a tray of San Pellagrinos and macaroons in the room which my girls found highly amusing. They didn't do that on our last visit. Both times we were 'upgraded' to park view but in both stays it was only on like the 4th floor so it was pretty much 'meh' to look at the back side of Incredicoaster. Another thing we disliked was the very limited pool seating (but tons of wasted pay-to-sit cabana space that went unused). I think if the lounge access were still an option I would continue booking there but the free breakfast buffet didn't cut it. It's a very nice hotel but is a solid 15 minute walk, on the pricier side, and when you feel like you lost perks it just doesn't seem like quite the deal.

This last visit we just stayed at the Park Vue. I figured if I wasn't going to be 'wow!'ed by the hotel I may as well be close!

Wanted to add: Housekeeping on the last visit was waaaay worse. Eventhough our room was clean there were pizza boxes and room service plates outside the doors in our hallway that never got picked up our entire 4 day 3 night stay despite there being a housekeeper in the hall almost every time we came and went. I mean obviously I don't know their workflow and day to day responsibilities but at some point when you have employees walking past dishes multiple times a day for days on end it's strange!