@tink1970, I'm flattered but I'm no expert, though I do try to share what I learn from the miles and points blogs, reddit, and personal experience. I'm happy to give
@mhartman09 my two cents.
The CSP was also going to be my next card. 50k UR for signing up would've been so nice! I would've then added my LO as an AU for 5k UR bonus and referred my DW for a 10k UR bonus; DW would've gotten another 50k UR for signing up and added our LO as an AU for another 5k UR. All those UR, foreclosed by Chase's new rules! [I still kick myself for not jumping on this plan sooner, but I don't have any big travel goals in the short term, and I've kind of been in points maximizing mode with the cards I already have in my wallet.] When the new Sapphire rules came down, it reminded me that the rules of this game can change anytime and come suddenly without notice.
So I jumped on getting DW to apply for her own CIP, and she was approved after her application was pending review for a few days! 80k UR signup bonus for DW, and 20k UR referral bonus for me!
@mhartman09, have you thought about having DH apply for his own CIP using your referral link? That's 100k in total bonuses right there for $5,000 spend in 3 months. Since you and your husband both have the CSR and got that card's bonuses this year, you can't go for the CSP and the CIP really is the last big signup bonus that'll give you UR points. My wife applied as a sole proprietor using some sales she made on eBay last year, about ~$1,500; we have good household income, a long relationship with Chase (accounts and other credit cards), and her credit score is ~800. Remember that Chase business cards are also subject to the 0/30 rule: no other applications in the last 30 days.
To
@tink1970's suggestion about getting the Freedom -- we love our Freedom for the 5% UR, but I'd hate to waste a 5/24 slot on it! The Freedom has a $150 signup bonus, which is 15k UR? I'd like to think there are other 5/24 cards that have signup bonuses worth more than that. The minimum spend requirement is also only $500 in 3 months. Your $1,800 bill would take care of that in one charge, and you'd be wasting $1,300 worth of spend on 1x UR. I recall you mentioning you're a Sam's Club member when there was the Chase Pay 10% promo, so the Freedom's Q4 5% bonus at Walmart would be nice if you're planning to buy $1,500 worth of Walmart GCs to spend at and stack with Sam's Club's discount on Disney GCs, but that adds up to only about a 10% savings, which to me is kind of the bare minimum discount at which I'd buy Disney GCs. With the holidays coming up, I think there will be plenty of opportunities to buy Disney GCs at a 10% savings or more. Since you and your husband both have CSRs, you may be thinking of downgrading one of them after the first year, and the Freedom would be a perfect card to product change to, but I wouldn't use a 5/24 slot to get a Freedom.
Take a look at the cards subject to 5/24:
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-524-rule-explained-detail-need-know/
- Chase Freedom
- Chase Freedom Unlimited
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase Ink Cash
- Chase Ink Preferred
- Chase Southwest Plus personal card
- Chase Southwest Premier personal card
- Chase Southwest Premier business card
- Chase Marriott Premier personal card
- Chase United MileagePlus Club Card
- Chase United MileagePlus Club Business Card
- Chase United MileagePlus Explorer personal card
- Chase United MileagePlus Explorer business card
It seems to me that you and/or your husband don't have the Marriott personal card and the United MileagePlus Explorer cards.
The Marriott personal card is subject to 5/24; the Marriott business card is not. The Marriott personal card currently has a 80k Marriott Rewards points signup offer after spending $3,000 in 3 months, but a few months ago it was at a high of 100k points. Still 80k Marriott points = 26,6k SPG points, which is about what Amex is currently offering on their SPG card (25k Starpoints). Since the Marriott card is subject to 5/24, it makes sense to get the Marriott card while you're still under 5/24 then eventually get the Amex SPG (and hope the signup bonus goes back up to 30k or 35k Starpoints). Full disclosure, we don't usually stay at Marriott or SPG hotels when we travel so I haven't had a reason to pick up these cards, but I do plan to round out my 5/24 with a Marriott eventually and then start accumulating SPG points, which are valuable and flexible. However, word of caution, since Marriott and Starwood are merging, there's a lot up in the air about their respective awards programs and a lot of people fear SPG points may eventually become devalued. Last I read about it, TPTB don't know what to do about the two programs and things should remain business as usually probably through at least 2018.
The United MPE currently has a public offer of 40k MileagePlus miles, but people are being targeted with 60k offers + statement credit offers. Pretty much all summer, the MPE had a 50k public offer and a 70k targeted offer, so I wouldn't want to apply if I could only get 40k miles. I used to fly on United a lot, and I love that you can transfer MP miles to a large number of airlines in the Star Alliance, if you plan on traveling internationally; but I've found that it can be frustrating to get a good redemption value flying United (particularly between Hawaii and the mainland USA, which you mentioned wanting to do). United has made a number of changes to their MileagePlus program in recent years, and I haven't kept up with all the details. There's also the fact that I think you said you're in Louisiana? That's not a United hub (closest would be IAH in Houston), so I don't know how easy or difficult it would be for you to fly on United. All that, and United hasn't exactly been the picture of flying the friendly skies recently.
Lastly, if you and your husband are both at 4/24 right now, whoever applies, I would definitely suggest trying to double dip that last spot. Apply for two 5/24 cards at about the same time -- the card you want more first; use two different browsers, incognito mode on the same browser, or back-to-back and clear cookies, and hope you get approved for both before either shows up on your credit report.
P.S.S. If there's an Amex card you really really want instead, you could go for an Amex while under 5/24 and still get a Chase 5/24 card in the next month or two because Amex cards take about 2 months/billing cycles before they appear on your credit report. Similarly, if there's a business card you're interested in, you can go for it because those typically don't appear on your personal credit report and won't count against 5/24.