I love credit cards so much!

[Lain]

Question about viewing increased award availability with having a United card---does this include business or is it just for economy XN space?

Yes, business too.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I file my dd's super basic taxes free through Turbo Tax online every year, with the RR offer, 1000 points, and expiration extended, and I don't have to spend any $$$

Great idea....since I do a lot of my families taxes...I have to buy a program

 

[tink1970]

Trying to figure deep breaths it will help meet the MSR.

That could make quite a dent in a Plat MSR...just sayin'...

ps I haven't bought tickets in years (6?7?) and when I did they were the armed forces salute. Wow...Europe seems almost reasonable

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Why use the CIP directly at Staples? The CIP doesn’t earn a category bonus at office supply stores; that would be the CIC. The CIP does earn 3x UR on Gyft through PayPal checkout, and Gyft sells Walmart GCs that can be used to buy Disney GCs at Walmart or Sam’s Club.

(Of course, this assumes Gyft continues to code 3x UR through PayPal checkout, and Walmart/Sam’s Club continues to accept GC>GC.)

Ugh...mistyped should be CIC..went back and edited...good catch

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Thanks. Good to know. A referral would just be a bonus so if there isn't one in-flight it doesn't really change my plan.

ETA: I need to brush up on the differences between CIC and CIU.

ETA: Just looked. At first glance CIC seems way more useful in amassing UR's. Not sure why I would want CIU after all. Am I missing something?

I don’t have a CIU... but think people use it for purchases that don’t qualify for 5x, 3x, 2x URs since it earns 1.5URs on all charges...plus you get the 50,000UR sign up bonus

 

[DrFacilier]

I don’t have a CIU... but think people use it for purchases that don’t qualify for 5x, 3x, 2x URs since it earns 1.5URs on all charges...plus you get the 50,000UR sign up bonus

I see. Looks like a good one to get down the line... oh yeah, the bonus is good too lol.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Last night I bought 16 $100 and 1 $50 Disney GC for $1517.83 on bjs.com using my CF. It is still pending but it seems like it should max out my 5x for the quarter. Fingers crossed! I did all $1500 so I could focus the rest of my spend on new MSRs over the next few months.

We decided to go with the CSR for P2 which showed up yesterday. I made a huge rookie mistake and felt really bad that I forgot to use a referral link from dischurners. You guys have been super helpful getting me started and I will definitely use more links in the future... but then I found out through catching up with this thread that they aren't working right now anyway so hopefully it wasn't an option when I applied. After further reading I realized that I should have done the CSP instead so P2 could refer me but it's too late for that. Not feeling too bad about it since we will be able to use the travel credit toward flights and 1.5x on our hotels in Spain. We also usually eat out/ take out at least twice a week so the 3x will be great for that.

As for P1, I applied for SW Biz on the 10/10 and I'm still getting the 2 week message so I'm hoping it turns into an approval any day now.

Assuming I get approved we will hope for an in-flight SW Plus with a 50k bonus (with referral from P2) when we fly down to WDW on 12/23. Should be able to hit that $1000 MSR easily upon our return home and hopefully get the CP in time to get a refund for one of the tickets on our 3/16 trip. At that point we should be at 2 CP's for the rest of 2019!

If all goes according to plan, what should P2 do in January? She is at 3/24 (not to mention a couple of AU's that I need to get rid of). She has SW Premier, SW Plus, CIP and now CSR. Should she do CIC or CIU or some other biz card?

You wouldn’t have been able to use a support link for CSR so don’t sweat that. Since you want to use the 1.50x pretty soon, the CSR was probably the right move for you too.

I think CIC or CIU is a great next move in January too

 

[Fischstick]

You've already gotten some great advice. At 0/24, you have lots of options to play with!

If you haven't already, I'd really encourage you to consider joining the DISchurners subreddit, where we try to keep our best tips from this thread and everyone can post their links for others to use when applying for new cards. We always recommend to our friends here to pursue the best offer for them when signing up for a new card, and we'll give no-BS advice if that offer is somewhere else than on DISchurners, but if a link from a fellow member is the same or better than any other offer out there we do hope that you consider using their link to show support back to this community. And you're welcome to post your own links too.

Now, what to do about your first few cards...

If you're ready to dive in right now, I think your first card should either be the CSP or CIP. @miztressuz laid out the debate well. (And @SouthFayetteFan made a compelling case why the CSP>CSR.) Whichever card you decide to go with first, you could consider slotting the other card in at #3 in 2-3 months.* The sooner you sign up for the CSP, the sooner your first year will be over and you can PC the CSP to a CSR or a CF/CFU. And the sooner you get both the CIP and CSP, the sooner you'll have the ability to refer DW to these cards for a referral bonus to you and another set of signup bonuses for her, which you'll then combine the points together.

(*Note I mean #3 in order of application, not slots in your */24 count, because you can apply and be approved for business cards but they generally won't add to your */24 count, and Amex cards don't tend to show up on your credit reports and thus count against */24 until about two months after you've been approved.)

I have tremendous respect for @platamama, but I disagree with her on two points:

(1) I don't think the Amex Platinum should go first; you should wait until 11/19, or as close to the actual expiration date of your 100k MR offer as you're comfortable with, which would put this card in #2 position. (Even if in the unlikely event you're not approved right away, as long as you apply by the expiration date of the offer, the 100k MR offer will attach to your application.) You mentioned you'd like to triple dip the Platinum's airline credit. I took a look at some of my Amex personal cards opened this year, and the first statement closed about 25-26 days after approval. That means if you apply and are approved on 11/19/18, your first statement might close around 12/14/18, which means your first year AF will post on 12/13/18 or 12/14/18. Fast forward one year, when your second year AF posts again on 12/13/19 or 12/14/19. Amex gives you 30 days from the close of the statement on which the AF posts to cancel the Platinum for a full refund. That means you have until maybe 1/12/20 or 1/13/20 to cancel the Platinum for a refund. Meanwhile, you should have dipped the airline credit in November or December 2018, 1/2019, and in the first few days of 1/2020 before canceling. The longer you can wait to apply for the Platinum, the more cushion you give yourself on the third dip.

(2) The suggestion that Chase applications should be spread out at 3-4 month intervals. I think the demise of risky activity like the double dip and negative publicity around the shutdowns has seen the risk of shutdowns wane a little. Especially if you are still under 5/24, you're not seen as particularly high risk. I see a lot more applications at the 2-3 month interval go through with no problems. But ultimately, it comes down to whatever your budget is that you can throw money you'd be spending anyway towards new cards. If you have the spending power, I don't think getting a new card every 2-3 months is too much. Interspersing Amex biz card applications in between Chase cards will help stretch those intervals.

Like @platamama suggested, you could get the CIP first, then focus your next Chase cards on getting the CIC and CIU (which have big 50k UR signup bonuses, but no ability to refer), with Amex business cards interspersed in between. Then waiting until next year to get the CSP. There's merit in this approach, because the CIP and CSP overlap in at least one respect -- they both give a 25% bonus when redeeming UR points from that card for travel through Chase. So if you take this approach, you'd have all your points on the CIP for the first year for the bonus it offers when redeeming, then if you decide to cancel the CIP when its second year AF posts, you can move all your points over to the CSP and keep the same redemption rate.

But as @miztressuz mentioned, the sooner you get the CSP, the sooner you can PC it to a CSR (or CF/CFU) when its first year is up. And, like I mentioned above, the CSP still has the ability to refer (which the CIC and CIU don't have), which you could use to pocket another 10k UR when referring your DW.

There was a suggestion to apply for the Amex Platinum and CIP or CSP/CSR on the same day. I don't think this is very helpful because while you're under 5/24, applying for the Platinum and the CSP/CSR or CIP has nothing to do with each other. Amex and Chase would each do their own hard pull of your credit report, so you're not combining hard pulls by applying for an Amex card and a Chase card on the same day. If you're ready to start putting spend on a new credit card, get a Chase card now, then wait until mid-November to apply for the Platinum because of the timing required for the triple dip.

Got it! All food for thought.....but most importantly, I'd be happy to support a link for the initial Chase app. Can't PM yet, because I'm SO new but I did see the invite for DISchurn. I'd like to come to the party! But honestly that forum is SCARY. I just need an account over there, right?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thanks. Good to know. A referral would just be a bonus so if there isn't one in-flight it doesn't really change my plan.

ETA: I need to brush up on the differences between CIC and CIU.

ETA: Just looked. At first glance CIC seems way more useful in amassing UR's. Not sure why I would want CIU after all. Am I missing something?

It’s all about that bonus my friend. 50k URs for both CIC and CIU

 

[miztressuz]

Got it! All food for thought.....but most importantly, I'd be happy to support a link for the initial Chase app. Can't PM yet, because I'm SO new but I did see the invite for DISchurn. I'd like to come to the party! But honestly that forum is SCARY. I just need an account over there, right?

Need a Reddit account yes, but our forum (subreddit) is private and only for us. You don't have to venture into the scary if you don't want to

 

[platamama]

Got it! All food for thought.....but most importantly, I'd be happy to support a link for the initial Chase app. Can't PM yet, because I'm SO new but I did see the invite for DISchurn. I'd like to come to the party! But honestly that forum is SCARY. I just need an account over there, right?

You just need an account at reddit, you don't need to visit r/churning unless you really want to. There are some intrepid souls here that keep us apprised of pertinent info from r/churning on this thread. The Dischurners reddit thread is private, and none of the scary stuff you might see on reddit is there.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Got it! All food for thought.....but most importantly, I'd be happy to support a link for the initial Chase app. Can't PM yet, because I'm SO new but I did see the invite for DISchurn. I'd like to come to the party! But honestly that forum is SCARY. I just need an account over there, right?

Register for a Reddit account at Reddit.com (many people use a similar name to their DIS name). If you post your Reddit name right here on this thread I’ll get you added and share the link here too then for you.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Got it! All food for thought.....but most importantly, I'd be happy to support a link for the initial Chase app. Can't PM yet, because I'm SO new but I did see the invite for DISchurn. I'd like to come to the party! But honestly that forum is SCARY. I just need an account over there, right?

Yes you need an account there....I don’t post there at all just opened the account to use referral links... @SouthFayetteFan or @Lain ...can send you info

 

[Fischstick]

I am not quite done with the BGR and the personal Gold (is it PGR?) has not yet even came yet but plotting next MR move. I am having Platinum envy! Assuming you don’t know if you will keep/cancel a Plat it sounds like best time to get it is December 1. Is that right? So you can easily triple dip the credit?

Far from being a chosen one given a unicorn I will probably just have to settle for a self referral and the 60k offer or need to call and see if I can get an offer on the Biz. Just wondering when I should start my operation get an Amex Platinum campaign...

This made me laugh really hard.....I feel really special now! I never knew I was CHOSEN and have been given a PLATicorn! Now I'm REALLY counting down the days to apply!

 

[Fischstick]

Yes you need an account there....I don’t post there at all just opened the account to use referral links... @SouthFayetteFan or @Lain ...can send you info

Thank, you Ma'am!

 

[phewms]

Can I get some advice on here without going on reddit? I don't have an account set up yet.

I have to close my current SWA Rapid Premier (DH is an AU). I plan to do that soon and reapply in 60+ days.
Can we go ahead and apply for the SWA Business cards now, or should we wait a few weeks?

I have a Chase Sapphire Preferred that I opened around Feb 2018. DH is not an AU.
I have a Capital One Venture that was opened around Feb 2017. DH is an AU.
I have a Disney VISA (opened in 2012) but IIRC I read it doesn't qualify for the 5/24.

Am I on the right track here? Trying to get CP in Jan or Feb.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

@irt9206 - you can’t PM here yet so here is your “Official DISchurners Welcome”:

*************

Welcome to DISchurners!

You're approved and all set! Access the main page here.

As a reminder most of the discussion does happen here on the boards. On r/DISchurners you can post your own support links and/or use others' support links here:

• Chase
• American Express
• Other/Misc

And of course there's other info there too including some of our best tips from the thread that you might want to explore! Welcome, thanks for joining!

 

[elgerber]

Great idea....since I do a lot of my families taxes...I have to buy a program

I buy the program for myself, and my son, but I do hers for free there just to get the miles

 

[tink1970]

This made me laugh really hard.....I feel really special now! I never knew I was CHOSEN and have been given a PLATicorn! Now I'm REALLY counting down the days to apply!

Glad you appreciate the honor

I'm curious why you regret cancelling the Biz Plat? I have one that I've kept for the second year (I figured the mediocre retention offer plus the discount offers and airline credit essentially amounted to the annual fee) but I'm not sure what I'll do when the next AF IS due.

Of course, I do not presume to speak for @calypso726 so I'll just give you my rationale for keeping (right now) the Plat Biz.

1) I fly delta a lot so having entry into Skyclubs as well as Priority Pass and Centurion lounges is a good thing

2) $200 worth of DL gc that I resell so approx $160 in "business" revenue

3) most importantly for me is I'm eyeing a trip to Aust/NZ in 2020/2021. If I price flights on Delta for approx dates in 2019 (*knowing full well that a year is a long time in this game and prices will likely increase!), both Amex Travel and Delta have the flights I want priced the same- $5390/pp. However, using SkyPesos the price is 855,000 versus 538,953 MRs. Booking with Amex Travel with MRs is read as cash so I'll be credited miles (skypesos but still) and MQMs (towards status) but most importantly 35% of the MRs will be refunded--188,633 MRs returned to my account. What other program returns miles/points/rewards at that rate?

If you fly overseas and use MRs this is an awesome perk-one I'm hopefully going to be able to use before Amex decides they are being way too generous.

Plus, with the AF at $450 (v personal at $550), I figure the $200 airline credit plus multiple lounge entry to be "almost" worth the fee even without the 5x airlines credits, Global entry and 35% MR return with amex travel. Now, if those went away I'd have to consider things more stringently

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Can I get some advice on here without going on reddit? I don't have an account set up yet.

I have to close my current SWA Rapid Premier (DH is an AU). I plan to do that soon and reapply in 60+ days.
Can we go ahead and apply for the SWA Business cards now, or should we wait a few weeks?

I have a Chase Sapphire Preferred that I opened around Feb 2018. DH is not an AU.
I have a Capital One Venture that was opened around Feb 2017. DH is an AU.
I have a Disney VISA (opened in 2012) but IIRC I read it doesn't qualify for the 5/24.

Am I on the right track here? Trying to get CP in Jan or Feb.

Your on the right tract....just have to make sure you don’t hit the MSR on the business cards in 2018 and put whatever spend you want to go towards the 110,000 CP points on your cards in 2019 to get the CP for 2019 and 2020