I love credit cards so much!

[Oscar Madison]

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.

Okay, I'll wait the 6 months. I only had the lower of the two bonuses, so I don't think I can downgrade to anything. Thank you!

 

[kmc8826]

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.

@schmass that is what I am thinking too. They are not recognizing your card as eligible for anything tied to the bonus offer. You might want to try Twitter. It is worth a shot...what ended up working for me last year (but that was before the pop ups started).

@Lain or @SouthFayetteFan have you or anyone else seen any DP’s of people not getting the referral bonus when the person they referred does not get the sign up bonus? I.e. you refer them, they get approved but no bonus ever ends up posting. I know I used DH’s card to refer my Delta Biz last January and he never did get the referral points. It was almost like it was a second class card or something.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

How soon do you need to meet the MSR before the statement closes for Chase CIP? I seem to remember around 1 week prior to stmt closing, but thought I might be wrong and it was 2 weeks. Trying to decide how hard I want to try to get my CIP bonus at stmt closing this month or next. Thanks!

 

[TarraLee]

Have been lurking and reading.... going to jump in for 2019! DH travels domestically 2-3x/mo for work, we have a legit business we can use for spend, etc. Currently, we just have chase southwest and chase Disney. I’m thinking there are better options for us after reading this thread for a few weeks. Anyone want to give a newbie some guidance on where to go first?

Thanks for all the info you guys share in this thread, I’ve learned tons just reading it!

 

[wanderlust7]

Okay, I'll wait the 6 months. I only had the lower of the two bonuses, so I don't think I can downgrade to anything. Thank you!

I haven't downgraded yet, but this is my understanding:
Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend: $200 bonus
Virtual Wallet with Performance Select: $300 bonus

There is also just a plain old Virtual Wallet that you can downgrade to that requires $500 in the account to keep it fee free.
Once you're in your Virtual Wallet account, there's a Preferences tab (toppish right hand side), the option to downgrade will be there. It needs to be at least 45 days after account opening.

 

[Lain]

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?

Nothing to worry about.

Iirc, that offer is for a $50 statement credit on a single $250+ transaction at Lowe’s.

When you got charged $250, you triggered the offer and got the email. But if you return/refund it, the $50 statement credit won’t actually post or it may get clawed back eventually if it did post (or Amex may just add a +$50 adjustment charge to your statement).

Basically the offer remains on your card and the $50 statement credit won’t be yours until you fulfill the terms of the offer. The offer remains on your card even if it looks like you’ve redeemed it. Just go back to Lowe’s when you have time, best if you do so at least a few days before the offer expires, and spend the $250 in one transaction.

 

[DisneyMandC]

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.

Ha, it may not be so much of a journey as it is a slow crawl! I only did four this year, but hopefully I can find more next year.

 

[Lain]

How soon do you need to meet the MSR before the statement closes for Chase CIP? I seem to remember around 1 week prior to stmt closing, but thought I might be wrong and it was 2 weeks. Trying to decide how hard I want to try to get my CIP bonus at stmt closing this month or next. Thanks!

A week before statement close is usually enough time.

 

[Lain]

@Lain or @SouthFayetteFan have you or anyone else seen any DP’s of people not getting the referral bonus when the person they referred does not get the sign up bonus? I.e. you refer them, they get approved but no bonus ever ends up posting. I know I used DH’s card to refer my Delta Biz last January and he never did get the referral points. It was almost like it was a second class card or something.

I have not...

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Well I hopped on Amex chat....I should be able to still get the $50 back. I'm going to try a different lowes on my way home. Can I pay with multiple GCs at target? I think I'm going to just get $50 ones since the $100 were declining.

Now here's the real question....what CC should the BF get next? He is at 3/24. He has the Citi Double (I think that's what it is). The Amex Everyday, and the Barclay Aviator. Not gonna try the business route with him right now. We don't have any plans really right now, and meeting a BIG spend for him will be hard. He is flabbergasted at how I can meet my spends, LOL. He was looking at the discover card last night that gives 1.5x in travel. I wish I was him with 3/24 because then I could get the Ink.

 

[Alexle2007]

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?

Amazon, also, has the Apple Watch for $229.

 

[Haley R]

Amazon, also, has the Apple Watch for $229.

Should've got it from Target on black friday for $199 lol

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

@schmass that is what I am thinking too. They are not recognizing your card as eligible for anything tied to the bonus offer. You might want to try Twitter. It is worth a shot...what ended up working for me last year (but that was before the pop ups started).

@Lain or @SouthFayetteFan have you or anyone else seen any DP’s of people not getting the referral bonus when the person they referred does not get the sign up bonus? I.e. you refer them, they get approved but no bonus ever ends up posting. I know I used DH’s card to refer my Delta Biz last January and he never did get the referral points. It was almost like it was a second class card or something.

I haven’t said anything about it publicly but I it seems that my last 3 AMEX referrals never posted. 3 separate cards, 1 in real life, 1 r/churning, 1 DISchurners. I Have not reached the max on these cards so I have no idea what happened...maybe the AMEX RAT thinks I’ve had my share of bonuses this year. I have re-done my links now from my wife’s cards but haven’t tested the theory yet.

 

[FloridaNative8]

Sad morning I woke up to a text that my 99-year old grandma passed away yesterday. My mom was on her way to see her but didn’t make it in time. I feel so badly for my mom.

I'm sorry for your loss

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Have been lurking and reading.... going to jump in for 2019! DH travels domestically 2-3x/mo for work, we have a legit business we can use for spend, etc. Currently, we just have chase southwest and chase Disney. I’m thinking there are better options for us after reading this thread for a few weeks. Anyone want to give a newbie some guidance on where to go first?

Thanks for all the info you guys share in this thread, I’ve learned tons just reading it!

Hi and Welcome...your right there are better options...the two cards you have are exactly what I used for years before finding this thread. If you havent opened 5 credit cards in the last 24 months...its best to start with Chase cards due to their 5/24 rule.
And starting with their business cards is even better...the CIP offers 80,000UR points after spending $5,000 In The first 3 months.... two other business cards are the CIC and CIU......
They also offer many personal cards..CSR, CSP..both of which have a 50,000UR bonus after spending$4,000 in the first 3 months.. with Chase it’s also best to go slow applying for a new card every 2-3 months.
I’m sure there are things I miss and others will help as well

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Sad morning I woke up to a text that my 99-year old grandma passed away yesterday. My mom was on her way to see her but didn’t make it in time. I feel so badly for my mom.

Oh no I’m so sorry for your loss

 

[FloridaNative8]

Thanks Calypso! I always envision that if me and you were different people on Reddit we’d have to be mortal enemies and argue over different approaches. Don’t pay AFs...no AFs can provide wonderful benefits...Stay under 5/24...there’s so many other cards out there though...Fly SW domestically with a CP...Find a plane princess and see the world...and so on.

Instead we’re on here where we can provide people with alternate viewpoints to help them make the best decision for their situation. I think that might be what our thread is best at doing...helping people make the right decision for them! At times it seems that on r/churning, if you aren’t doing it “my” way then you’re doing it the “wrong” way and that’s just not true

As a baby churner, it's been super helpful and enlightening to see how many ways this game is played. And really refreshing how helpful EVERYONE is - because we all know it can get nasty (quickly!) on other threads

So I'll chime in my thanks to everyone here - I read every comment, and while I don't have much expertise to add (yet!), I truly appreciate the insight and opinions that you all share!

 

[wendow]

Have been lurking and reading.... going to jump in for 2019! DH travels domestically 2-3x/mo for work, we have a legit business we can use for spend, etc. Currently, we just have chase southwest and chase Disney. I’m thinking there are better options for us after reading this thread for a few weeks. Anyone want to give a newbie some guidance on where to go first?

Thanks for all the info you guys share in this thread, I’ve learned tons just reading it!

Most of us began with SW and Disney Have you opened any other cards at all in the last 24 mos? With other banks (like Amex), store cards, etc? When did you open the SW and Disney?

My first suggestion would the the CIP, especially since you have a legit business. Most of us just have "businesses". You can get 80k UR and then refer your dh for another CIP (you earn 20k for the referral plus he earns his own 80k). This would be a good place to begin. It would not add to either of your */24 and net you a nice sum of UR's to begin working with.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Have been lurking and reading.... going to jump in for 2019! DH travels domestically 2-3x/mo for work, we have a legit business we can use for spend, etc. Currently, we just have chase southwest and chase Disney. I’m thinking there are better options for us after reading this thread for a few weeks. Anyone want to give a newbie some guidance on where to go first?

Thanks for all the info you guys share in this thread, I’ve learned tons just reading it!

Hello and welcome to the group. You will find this to be an amazing group. The more information you can share the better they will be able to help you make good choices.

 

[TarraLee]

Most of us began with SW and Disney Have you opened any other cards at all in the last 24 mos? With other banks (like Amex), store cards, etc? When did you open the SW and Disney?

My first suggestion would the the CIP, especially since you have a legit business. Most of us just have "businesses". You can get 80k UR and then refer your dh for another CIP (you earn 20k for the referral plus he earns his own 80k). This would be a good place to begin. It would not add to either of your */24 and net you a nice sum of UR's to begin working with.

No other cards in last 24 months that I know of. Southwest and Disney both 3+ years old. I did apply for the Capital One Spark Cash this week, and got the 7-10 days reviewing your account message. CIP is Chase Ink Preferred? I looked in my Chase account and it says "no offers" for me, I think I may have opted out of prescreened offers and need to undo that. Thanks for the help!