I love credit cards so much!

[AmyAnne]

Been following the discussion from that thread. I know you're really frustrated with Amex right now, but I think Pizzy (despite the fact he can be kind of a jerk) has a point - take everything while you can, and don't let this keep you from Amex as a whole. I recall you mentioned before there's really nothing left you want from Amex, but still. If there's a card you want and the popup doesn't appear, go for it.

This thinking is pushing me closer to applying for the Aspire. I have 10 AmEx cards, four that I have gotten this year. I am about to cancel two cards in January. It's really just matter of time before I end up on the "naughty" list (although I do put spend on most of the cards, and a pretty significant amount on a few; and I've had my AmEx Delta since 2006).

I'm wondering, for those of you who have been following the reddit posts about when AmEx will deny a bonus even though there was no pop-up -- does this seem to happen more with MR cards? I recall reading something somewhere that AmEx might be pickier about the MR cards because it is their currency, whereas Hilton points are Hilton's problem.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

@havaneselover @LilSweetPeaPhoto So sorry for your losses. Even at 94 and 99, it is still hard to see them go. As someone said, so many memories with them!

Thank you! I had 42 years with a grandparent...not many can say that!

 

[afan]

Sorry to hear this. My 94 year old granny was put into Hospice just before thanksgiving. We went and saw her on Weds, her sister was there, my dad, etc. My cousins saw her Tuesday night. I've never been able to say "goodbye" before. It was the hardest thing ever. She had dementia but I feel like she knew who I was those last few hours we visited. She died that night in her sleep. I fully believe she held on to say good-bye. And I thought I was "at peace" having kinda lost her a few years ago to dementia, but it was harder than I thought in the end.

Not to bring the thread down more, but I think we don't fully morn when someone gets dementia or alzheimers because physically they are still there. I did some when my dad got diagnosed 7 years ago and I knew it was the last time I'd see him whole. We lived in different states but also never had the close relationship. He passed 4 years ago last month and that's when I morned the full loss, two weeks after losing my stepdad to cancer. Only thing that actually helped was being able to redirect it into irritation towards family members that decided to judge and ignore me amongst other stuff.

Anyway, I feel for anyone going through loss, new or old this time of year. It sucks some of the fun out of it and it almost becomes work to keep the fun in everything. This year has been better than the previous three though so at least there's that.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

This makes me sad because my grandma is going to be 93 or 94 this year (I can't remember which). Her birthday is on Christmas and she's the coolest grandma ever. She's so healthy and she volunteers at the theater and the hospital gift shop. She also still goes to the Y and exercises. My grandma inspires me to be healthier because I think that's why she's lived so long by being active and keeping herself busy.

Mine was kicking *** and taking names, but a few years ago the dementia hit pretty fast. She never wanted to live like her last 2 years were. She still knew her sister, and my dad most of the time. She was aware when her daughter (my aunt) died, kinda. But for the most part she was out of it. Her mom lived to 97 (actually died on 9/11...in Michigan, but the same day). Enjoy her!

 

[Haley R]

Mine was kicking *** and taking names, but a few years ago the dementia hit pretty fast. She never wanted to live like her last 2 years were. She still knew her sister, and my dad most of the time. She was aware when her daughter (my aunt) died, kinda. But for the most part she was out of it. Her mom lived to 97 (actually died on 9/11...in Michigan, but the same day). Enjoy her!

My other grandma died while I was in high school. She has MS for most of my life and was in a wheelchair. Before she died she had trouble knowing who my aunts were and my mom. They all look similar so it makes some sense. My grandpa on that side is still alive and he's younger than my other grandma. My grandpa on my other side died before I was born.

I LOVE my grandma, though! I try to always do brunch with her on Sunday when I come to my hometown. She goes to this fancy Italian place every week after church and it's so fun to eat and talk with her.

 

[Lain]

I feel like I should rush through Amex too while they still like me. I was looking at the Google Docs survey results on Reddit and it seems like most people who haven’t gotten the bonus don’t MS so I could just keep MSing and hopefully they love me forever.

See? That’s more insanity! Try to MS your MSR, and the RATs will deny your bonus if they catch you. Don’t MS (or legitimately put lots of spend) on your Amex cards as long as they’re open, and the RATs label you a gamer only interested in the welcome bonus and will deny your bonus on new cards, with or without a warning. MS or otherwise spend “too much” on your Amex cards, and you’ll trigger a FR.

 

[Judique]

Thanks! No, I also have the Biz Plat and the Biz Green.

Oh, yep, my restaurant has TST before the name. Hopefully we end up getting the extra points. I've been there twice in the past week!

On a similar note, I also haven't seen the 20% back for restaurants - does that happen all at once?

My 20% has been posting about 3 or 4 days later. As individual amounts and I've gotten it everywhere except the Ikea food court.

The points on my $200 courtyard gift card purchase did not show up. Did get the $40 offer on it however.

 

[schmass]

My 20% has been posting about 3 or 4 days later. As individual amounts and I've gotten it everywhere except the Ikea food court.

The points on my $200 courtyard gift card purchase did not show up. Did get the $40 offer on it however.

Thanks. The only dining credit I've received so far is the monthly $10 one for using Grubhub. I wonder if I should reach out about the 20%?

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

Thanks. The only dining credit I've received so far is the monthly $10 one for using Grubhub. I wonder if I should reach out about the 20%?

Yeah my 20% have posted. Maybe something wonky with your account is just going on?

 

[Judique]

Thanks. The only dining credit I've received so far is the monthly $10 one for using Grubhub. I wonder if I should reach out about the 20%?

I'm not sure. I sent daughter to Cheesecake Factory on Sunday evening with an order for dinner and $50 worth of gift cards. That one hasn't posted yet for the monthly $10 or the 20% - just looked, and its not pending - the $130 she spent has posted already.

Have you met your spend yet? Or seen your bonus? No bonus for me so far and I thought I had earned it. But, with over $200 in offers and rebates, I wasn't over $2K. I thought they awarded the bonus on gross. I was $2 short at statement closing on the 14th. So, will keep watching and waiting.

I'm sort of in the mindset to give it time - lots of time. I can just see someone making notes every time an issue comes up.

 

[schmass]

I'm not sure. I sent daughter to Cheesecake Factory on Sunday evening with an order for dinner and $50 worth of gift cards. That one hasn't posted yet for the monthly $10 or the 20% - just looked, and its not pending - the $130 she spent has posted already.

Have you met your spend yet? Or seen your bonus? No bonus for me so far and I thought I had earned it. But, with over $200 in offers and rebates, I wasn't over $2K. I thought they awarded the bonus on gross. I was $2 short at statement closing on the 14th. So, will keep watching and waiting.

I'm sort of in the mindset to give it time - lots of time. I can just see someone making notes every time an issue comes up.

Nope, no bonus yet for me either, although I have met the spend.

 

[Natgridenergy]

I made fake email addresses too. But if you have a gmail you can do + and whatever numbers and it will be a new email for AA but go to ur gmail.



All personal cards will count against 5/24

that + trick was something ive never known. could be very useful!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Ok, 2019 Goals!!! Guys, this is such a sad boring list compared to everyone else's haha...

1. Continue hoarding URs. I'm basically Gollum from the Lord of the Rings with my URs at this point. I'm getting close to meeting MSR on my CIU. We will apply for DH's CSP next. I would say that most of next year will be spending on Chase cards to maximize UR earning for our 2019 Disney trip. Yes, I will be cashing those suckers out. No other choice I did not put any other cash aside for this trip because I was planning on getting a CSR and redeeming at 1.5. I have slowly accumulating discounted gift cards, but I don't just have the $8000 cash hanging around for this trip, so cash out it is.
2. Actually save cash. Yes, I know, that dirty word. DH and I will need to purchase Olympic tickets this year for our Tokyo 2020 trip. We will also need to start saving for food/souvenirs/etc. So I will be saving cash for that and hopefully finding some more bank bonuses I can do.
3. Accumulate more AA miles. I have enough for one first class ticket on JAL currently. I haven't gotten DH his first Citi AA Biz yet, and will probably do that in February or so and try to knock out the MSR quickly. He will have close to enough miles by then for his ticket. We will need to book those next August/September.
4. Accumulate more Hilton/Marriott points. Once I finish up spending with Chase hard during the first part of the year, I want to bulk up my hotel points. Again, this will be for Tokyo 2020. In an ideal world, I'll have all hotels and flights booked with points and miles and will just need to cash flow the rest of the trip.

Travel Plans:
1. Work trip in April at a Marriott (more Marriott points for me, and I get to charge it and get reimbursed!)
2. We are considering a very small getaway to Baltimore for our anniversary in April with our Marriott free night certificate. We had talked about Arizona before, but we want to do some work on our house and then save our cash.
3. Work trip in August at a Marriott at the beach. This is a four day beach trip and we always use this as a little "vacation" for us since I'm only in conferences for part of each day.
4. September- Disney World for a week! The family will be finding out that we've booked the trip on Christmas!
5. Our horse shows also take us out of state once a month or so. While we don't consider these "vacations," we do have to get hotels, etc. We'll continue using options like hotels.com to accumulate free nights, etc.

 

[speedyfishy]

Actually save cash. Yes, I know, that dirty word. DH and I will need to purchase Olympic tickets this year for our Tokyo 2020 trip. We will also need to start saving for food/souvenirs/etc. So I will be saving cash for that and hopefully finding some more bank bonuses I can do.

I’d love to follow your bank bonus journey. I was doing a lot in the beginning of the year but I started slacking towards the end. I’d love to get back on track. I’m going to finish up organizing and closing accounts this year and start back up in January.

 

[havaneselover]

Thank you! I had 42 years with a grandparent...not many can say that!

I'm so sorry for your loss.

And me too--42 years.

 

[kmc8826]

Anybody here watching this thread on r/churning: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/a73lf4/amex_bonus_denial_without_popup_datapoints/

There's also been a lot of discussion on this topic in various Daily Discussion threads too...

AMEX is crazy anymore...
- They have a popup that should tell you if you're not eligible for the bonus
- Sometimes that popup doesn't show up but they still deny people for the bonus
- Sometimes the popup will show up, people will put spend on their cards, the popup will go away, and they are still denied for the bonus
- Sometimes the popup will show up, people will put spend on their cards, the popup will go away, and they receive the bonus
- People aren't sure but it seems this isn't related to self-referring
- People have attempted to appeal to CFPB and it doesn't appear to have a positive result
- Some folks have chatted with AMEX and found out the bonus wasn't tied to their account before hitting the spend
- Others have chatted and been told the bonus details ONLY to be denied later anyways after hitting the spend

The results are VERY inconclusive. The only result you can conclude is that there's a new sheriff in town and that's the AMEX RAT. They will decide whether you get your bonus or not and they may or may not not inform you ahead of time that you will not get the bonus.

I'm not posting this to scare away folks from applying with AMEX. For newer folks who haven't "abused" AMEX yet...you're probably fine. I honestly am not sure I'm ever going to get another AMEX card unless this pattern changes though. I would be SOOOO angry if I spent $3k or $5k on a crappy card (i.e. something with 1x MR pts) and then get denied the bonus. I'm very interested to hear others' thoughts on this situation (especially those that have been following it)

EDIT: here's some additional discussion from today's DD: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/a6yvzk/daily_discussion_thread_december_17_2018/ebzsx3w/

My husband is clearly on the naughty list for Amex. I consider it a minor miracle he got the bonus for the spend last year. Opened in September, met spend end of October, no bonus until numerous calls, messages, finally Twitter. Even when the points did post it didn’t look like the usual award points...it came through as something else (I can’t remember now what it was called). No other cards last year. At the last minute end of October he finally got the Lux upgrade offer on his personal and I jumped on it. The points did post. I have tried since and got a pop up and while I did some token spend it seems like such a wasted effort that I am about ready to just give up with him and Amex. It is pretty frustrating because all total there has been a ton of spend on those cards and because he was an AU he is showing as a member since 2009. On his own he has at least been a member since 2015. No cancelled cards. 2 personal (Delta Plat and SPG) and one business (Delta Plat).

I am putting a ton on all my Amex cards. Poor Chase. I think I will just keep going through as at this point I want the personal Plat and the BBP. If I could get the bonus on those I would probably call it too.

@schmass I am so sorry...that is not good. The $120 dining credits showed within a day or two for me. It does not look like they are going to follow through on any terms of the sign up offer. You might as well call and see what they say.

 

[Lain]

Thanks. The only dining credit I've received so far is the monthly $10 one for using Grubhub. I wonder if I should reach out about the 20%?

Nope, no bonus yet for me either, although I have met the spend.

I think the 20% statement credit at restaurants up to $100 back is part of the Gold's welcome bonus. If you think you're being denied the welcome bonus (your MR points not posting), that may explain why the statement credits also have not posted. I'd inquire about the statement credits, but I worry that it may lead to the bad news that your bonus is being denied. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[wendow]

I used to never get the flu shot because... I dunno honestly. It doesn't take long, it's free, it doesn't make me feel bad, I just never got it. However...

One year I had major surgery in late October, leaving me weakened for months afterword. I caught the swine flu (remember that?) in January while I was still barely getting around.

Boy, do I ever remember the swine flu.! Pretty much everyone I knew got that awful flu. I only had three kids at the time but one was a newborn. I was desperately trying to protect him from getting it. My dh and all kids got it but thankfully my newbie had some of mama’s immunity so he only got it very mildly! I made everyone stay in their own room and I ran to everyone with my mask on lol! I didn’t get sick.

FWIW, none of us have ever had a flu shot and the swine flu was the only time my kids ever had the flu. I’ve had it twice in my life. Growing up, I would see my mom get the flu shot and then get the flu so I’ve just never felt the need to get it.

 

[miztressuz]

For those with PNC Bank Bonus experience..
I've received the bonus and can't find anything in the fine print about keeping the account open for a certain amount of time.
Safe to close?

I think for PNC the 6 months wasn't necessarily in the bonus terms, but they have an early termination fee if you close within 6 months. I think some have tricked the fee by making the account 0 and then asking to close through SM. But no first hand experience. I just kept it open to play with.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Help help HELP!!!! I went to Lowes between schools today so I was short on time. I grabbed 2 $100 target cards, and 1 $50 card. I grabbed my SPG biz card (which has the offer) and headed to check out. Guy scans the 3 cards and totals at $250, I put in my amex and I'm charged. But then on his end the $100 cards showed declined. We tried every card they had. All were declined. SO he gave me the $50 one and told me to go to customer service to get the $200 refunded. Um, no! I was now late on time and so I had them return all $250.

Well my email shows "thanks for redeeming your amex awards at Lowes". I'm guessing I'm SCREWED now. Is there a way to retrigger the offer? I was doing it to get the apple watch for Xmas. I have already sold my daughters fitbit charge as she is going to buy my apple watch. UGH! I'm guessing once the return at lowes posts, the $50 won't post. Is this something I can message them on? Any idea why this wasn't working?