I love credit cards so much!

[Lain]

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH! I read that DoC post, made a comment here...signed in to Chase to check something...then was on reddit, back here and by the time I went back to the Chase site I complete forgot what I was looking for. I was sooooo angry too - like how could I forget that in the matter of 30 seconds.

Unfortunately no target for me but at least I'm not frustrated with my memory anymore LOL!!

You know what helps with memory? Sleep!

 

[Lain]

I’m really considering having my wife sign up for her own PRG while the incognito offer is still “for sure” 50k MR.

She’s 2/24 with cards dropping in January and February 2019. She can spare the slot and still go after the CIC later this year if that offer is still 50k UR. I’ve also been making faster progress than expected on the SPG Lux, so we can add another $2k MSR without busting the budget. I’ve been trying to pull the 100k Platinum for my wife, and it’s not happening, so worst case is the PRG lessens the chance she’ll get targeted for an offer that’s not showing up anyway, and she settles for 75k MR on the Plat eventually.

I wonder, if we sign her up on 10/3, will she get the plastic card or shiny metal card? I could probably convince my wife to carry one more card in her wallet if it’s rose gold.

 

[Albort]

@Albort so if Samsung pay works for chase pay, theoretically shouldn't it trigger the 5x URs at Best Buy?

sigh, my test transaction didnt code chase pay. :\
i have one more test to confirm.

100% sure though, chase pay via samsung pay @ best buy does code chase pay.

 

[have2getaway]

Which card are we talking?

Chase Ink Cash business

I believe you got the Chase Ink Cash card if I remember correctly. If things proceed as normal, you will see your bonus points pending (on the UR site) within about a week after meeting the MSR. Then your points will post when your next statement closes after you see the points go pending. However Chase has had some delays at times in the past with points posting so always be prepare that it could take 6-8 weeks.

Thank you! For some reason, I thought the entire time that the bonus wasn’t paid out until 30 days after 3 months, so this is better than what I was expecting, and has convinced me to have DH to do one sooner.

 

[have2getaway]

I have never had an American Express for fear that not enough places would accept it. Is that no longer the case? Are more companies accepting AMEX?

 

[miztressuz]

I have never had an American Express for fear that not enough places would accept it. Is that no longer the case? Are more companies accepting AMEX?

Depends on where you live it seems or what you buy. Small profit margin sectors may take it but tack on a fee or ask for a minimum purchase. Otherwise I myself have only found one place in my life that doesn't take it at all. As with any network I wouldn't solely carry an AmEx, but I haven't had issues in the US. Oddly enough for a card that pitched itself as a travel card, I had harder time getting it accepted outside the US ( in my admittedly small experience)

 

[calypso726]

Jack Ryan — I mean, he’s kind of America’s James Bond right? (Ok, Ethan Hunt too.) But smarter. Jack Ryan is back with an ever more impressive resume. Not only is he a former Marine Corp lieutenant, but a former Wall Street banker, Economics Ph.D, CIA analyst, he even codes! I loved how his love interest pegged him as a Type C or D kind of guy. I love how every iteration of Jack Ryan on screen is adapted to be relevant to the international challenges of the time. I appreciated the longer form storytelling over 8 episodes, than the usual 2 hour movie, because it allows time for several complex plot lines to unfold, even though some kind of hit dead ends, and for the hero to match wits with an intelligent villain, and develop a romantic relationship on the side too.

Without getting too political, I thought the series did a fair job of exploring the causes of Islamic radicalization, particularly in Europe, and portraying the upheavals and the migrant crisis in the Middle East, and building a very complex villain in Suleiman.

WHY???? I already have TOO many shows on the to be watched list! Still not done with season 2 of Stranger Things which I need to complete soon since I'm taking the oldest niece to HHN in 10 days. I have yet to start Breaking Bad which I've been threatening to do for years now it seems. I was happily ignoring this show until you made it sound really interesting. *insert sarcasm font* Thanks a lot @Lain

I laughed inside when you said "he even codes". Dh would most likely hate the show then. He's actually a software engineer so codes for a living and he hates watching shows where they have someone "coding". He can't help himself and has to point out EVERY. SINGLE. THING they do wrong lol. I may have to watch the show by myself so I don't have to listen to him complain the whole time.

I totally get that! I think I yelled at the tv during S1 of Stranger things when they were doing CPR. I was like, "That wasn't the procedure for CPR in the 80's!!!"

I have never had an American Express for fear that not enough places would accept it. Is that no longer the case? Are more companies accepting AMEX?

I think it is to be honest. I had used the SPG for non bonus everyday spending for years and very rarely have I had to pull out a different card. I've easily met MSR on a number of Amex cards over the last few years through organic spending and very rarely run into merchants that didn't take Amex in the US.

 

[calypso726]

Depends on where you live it seems or what you buy. Small profit margin sectors may take it but tack on a fee or ask for a minimum purchase. Otherwise I myself have only found one place in my life that doesn't take it at all. As with any network I wouldn't solely carry an AmEx, but I haven't had issues in the US. Oddly enough for a card that pitched itself as a travel card, I had harder time getting it accepted outside the US ( in my admittedly small experience)

That has been my experience as well. Outside of the US I have had issues with merchants not accepting Amex. I always have the CSR with me so it wasn’t a big deal but will bring an Amex if I am trying to complete MSR and it has no FTF.

Which reminds me, I brought the Amex BBP with me to China and Japan. For some reason I hadn’t realized that it was going to incur FTFs. When I got home and saw all the fees I groaned for not checking first. I called Amex and plead my case. They saw I had a bunch of no FTF cards and that I’d never done something like that before and they credited back all the fees. I thought that was pretty cool of them to do.

 

[trenty]

So I have a bit of a dilemma.

We only have a few more days left in September and Q3. We have about $600 left to max out on our Chase Freedom. I’m seriously considering letting it go and not maxing out the 5x UR.

If I were to max out the CF, it’d be with GCs from Walgreens. But we’re already floating a lot of cash in GCs and we’ve actually been trying to spend that down.

I’m also working on MSRs for the SPG Lux and Biz Plat, so I’ve preferred to use those cards to buy MCGCs at grocery stores instead to take advantage of the last days of the Plastiq Masterpass promo.

Plus, I have the CIC, which earns me 5x UR on GCs at office supply stores and Gyft year round, whenever I need it, and not limited to this quarter. Third-party GC prices and selection are pretty much the same. And although fees may be higher and denominations lower on prepaid cards at office supply stores than at Walgreens, OD/OM/Staples are frequently running deals on VGCs and MCGCs. Even if I really jump on these deals, I doubt I’ll ever hit the $25k max limit on the CIC’s 5x UR category.

With next quarter’s CF bonus category including Chase Pay, I still have the opportunity to earn 5x UR on GCs from Best Buy and online at Walmart.

And with the PRG set to earn 4x MR at supermarkets beginning 10/4, there’s another opportunity to buy GCs with a significant bonus.

Thoughts?

I never fret over NOT maxing out. I spend as I normally would and if I max out, great. If not, I don't feel like I am leaving anything on the table. Of course, whenever I needed a drug store item or gift card (for a gift; and a few Disney cards in July and early August when I had free money from SB, etc.) I did go to Walgreens.

I was able to max out on CF this quarter. I will not max out on my Discover IT.

 

[striker1064]

Got DH's Chase checking account all set up and transferred $25 in from Fidelity. Guess I need to send $1200 from our Ally account to each of them too so I can avoid the fees. Does anyone know the process for eventually canceling Chase bank accounts? Any DPs on it causing problems with Chase?

You have to keep it open for 180 days or they take back the bonus. And either leave $1500 in the account or do a $500 DD monthly to waive fees. I haven't heard of causing any problems by closing. This bonus can (or at least until very recently could be) churned like clockwork every 12 months, so almost everyone was closing it as soon as possible to be ready the next time around and there were never any issues.

Mostly out of curiosity, trying to figure out what's the difference between a "Gold" card and the PRG is. I suspect this revamp of the PRG is why they randomly decided (at least seemingly at the time) to change the name of the "Gold Card from American Express" to "Classic Gold Card" since going forward the new metal card is back to "Gold Card". But what was the difference between the Classic Gold Card and the current PRG?

I apparently held on to my Gold card longer than I thought as I still have the folder in a drawer... when I opened the card it was merely a "RG" (Rewards Gold Card) and hadn't yet stepped up to be Premier It got 2x points at supermarkets, drugstores, gas, USPS, and wireless phone bills. So I could rack up enough points to come ahead of the AF but, being broke for most of that time, just barely and we didn't really travel either But I have no idea what made a RG/PRG different from a plain or "Classic" Gold card. Is there an archive of all cards somewhere?

ETA: Not that I want a charge card again yet, but wonder if having the RG card before prevents a sign up bonus for any of the current/new gold cards.

I suspect the Classic Gold Card is what used to be called the Amex Gold and still exists in one form as the Ameriprise Gold: https://www262.americanexpress.com/...-rewards-gold-card/apf-006/carddetails#/cshop

This Gold card used to exist with no co-branding as just the Amex Gold. It was a junk card that was only worth getting for the sign-up bonus and cancelling after year one. The Classic Gold has been discontinued for some time. With this re-branding of the PRG, I'm wondering if they'll finally pull the plug on the Ameriprise version - but who knows.

I wonder, if we sign her up on 10/3, will she get the plastic card or shiny metal card? I could probably convince my wife to carry one more card in her wallet if it’s rose gold.

I would guess it all depends - if it's been officially revealed on Amex, you'd likely get the new version. If it hasn't, you won't. But I bet you could request a metal version once it's launched.

 

[Lain]

I would guess it all depends - if it's been officially revealed on Amex, you'd likely get the new version. If it hasn't, you won't. But I bet you could request a metal version once it's launched.

I guess my point was if P2 applies late in the day on 10/3, and the new cards are supposed to start rolling out on 10/4, whether she’ll just catch the new wave of metal cards (but then how will the system decide plain gold or rose gold?). Probably overthinking it and cutting it too close if I want P2 to apply because of the 50k offer, anyway.

I don’t doubt existing cardmembers can request the new metal cards by calling into Amex. When the Plat changed over to metal cards, I was on the phone with Amex a little past midnight asking for metal cards for my wife and me. P2 just doesn’t like calling. LOL. So I’m trying to spare her the phone call. In any case, my wife is an AU on my PRG (from when I first opened the card), so I can request a rose gold metal card for her AU account in the meantime while I figure out the card on her own account.

(I know how you feel about metal cards, but I think Amex’s Platinum cards and the upcoming Gold cards look slick.)

 

[DisneyMandC]

WHY???? I already have TOO many shows on the to be watched list! Still not done with season 2 of Stranger Things which I need to complete soon since I'm taking the oldest niece to HHN in 10 days. I have yet to start Breaking Bad which I've been threatening to do for years now it seems. I was happily ignoring this show until you made it sound really interesting. *insert sarcasm font* Thanks a lot @Lain

Ignore Breaking Bad, watch Ozark! I never liked Breaking Bad, but DH and I just finished season 2 of Ozark and love that show!

 

[ericf70]

I would actually say now that I may back off the 3-4 month "rule". I know I was a BIG advocate for it and a lot of people latched on to it when I was sharing a shutdown report every few days here, LOL.

Chase appears to have backed off of their position of shutting people down. I'd wait 90 days if you can BUT if you have a large expense coming up and need a new MSR the occasional 60 day wait is probably fine now.

I actually do have a few large expenses coming up that I would love to use for the initial spending. Was actually thinking about an Amex card and the CSR right after as I read Amex doesn't report right away.

 

[striker1064]

(I know how you feel about metal cards, but I think Amex’s Platinum cards and the upcoming Gold cards look slick.)

I like to have them on hand in case I find myself in a sticky situation walking home past midnight.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Thanks for this but where are you seeing a 50,000 sign up bonus? All I can find is a $500 bonus.

Sorry...on vacation and just saw this...The bonus will show as 50,000URs which is worth $500 if you cash out the points instead of using them for travel

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

I have kind of a general question: which form of credit card "currency" is best for which transfer-partner situation? I understand part is very subjective depending on your travel habits and needs, but is there a THIS is better for THAT kind of thing? For example, I know UR--->Hyatt beats UR--->Marriott is good because the Hyatt point requirements are low.

Chase UR?
Amex MR?
Citi TYP?

We only have UR now and are thinking about expanding to MR in light of the changes to PRG---4x grocery would be really valuable for us (plus omg Shake Shack ) I see the 50K offer incognito.

 

[tink1970]

I have never had an American Express for fear that not enough places would accept it. Is that no longer the case? Are more companies accepting AMEX?

I agree with @calypso726 - most places here take Amex. I use my Everyday Preferred at my Publix (grocery), my Biz Gold at gas (I know, I could use the EDP), the vet, the dog's day care, utility bill pay, online shopping and every restaurant we patronize. There are only 2 places that do not-DD's physician and my gym (boo). If you're interested in obtaining an Amex I think the number of merchants who accept it will surprise you once you start looking/asking.

I never fret over NOT maxing out. I spend as I normally would and if I max out, great.

That's a good attitude. I usually just shift spend from one card to another if it's a category I normally use, but I also don't get too upset about not maxing out the bonuses- except....

I was able to max out on CF this quarter. I will not max out on my Discover IT.

I did max out Discover but had ordered "replacement" cards so DD could use them for restaurants. By the time the replacement was ordered and activated I'm $45 from maxing it out and it's Sept 26th. Good idea, poor implementation. Hopefully Q1 next year we'll be able to be more on top of that.

 

[tink1970]

We only have UR now and are thinking about expanding to MR in light of the changes to PRG---4x grocery would be really valuable for us (plus omg Shake Shack ) I see the 50K offer incognito

You know I'm an MR cheerleader ) but I don't find any of them especially good for 1:! hotel transfers (or 1:2 Hilton in the case of MRs). I did use my URs for hotels via the travel portal because 1.5 was helpful at the time. The *exemption for me is when TYP (of which I have 346 and Citi can keep) and MRs have bonuses for airline redemptions and that can bump up your points/miles in those partner airlines.

That said, it never hurts to diversify your portfolio, and the incognito 50K is awesome...I'd definitely consider if it works within your credit card plan.

ps also...pink

 

[1st*toright]

Jack Ryan — I mean, he’s kind of America’s James Bond right? (Ok, Ethan Hunt too.) But smarter. Jack Ryan is back with an ever more impressive resume. Not only is he a former Marine Corp lieutenant, but a former Wall Street banker, Economics Ph.D, CIA analyst, he even codes! I loved how his love interest pegged him as a Type C or D kind of guy. I love how every iteration of Jack Ryan on screen is adapted to be relevant to the international challenges of the time. I appreciated the longer form storytelling over 8 episodes, than the usual 2 hour movie, because it allows time for several complex plot lines to unfold, even though some kind of hit dead ends, and for the hero to match wits with an intelligent villain, and develop a romantic relationship on the side too.

So, whats the violence/ickyness factor with Jack Ryan? I'm kind of a wimp about blood, so I like to have a heads up before trying a new series. Also, how appropriate would it be to watch with a teenaged girl? We're always looking for something to watch together, but its kinda tough to find stuff that works. We did Lost in Space, which worked well. K, now I really sound like a wimp! DH and I watched a bunch of the Americans this summer (while our teen was away), and I thought that was good (although the ickyness factor got to me a few times). That is not a show we are watching as a family anytime soon!

 

[schmass]

If I'm considering staying at a couple of Hyatts next year, would it make sense to apply for the Chase Hyatt card so I can save my URs for other redemptions? Does anyone have the card and have an opinion on it?