Hi all! I have been reading and absorbing as much info as I can on this forum for a few weeks and have learned a lot! This has been so helpful! Also realized a couple of mistakes I made just before I found you all - live and learn! My head is spinning with all of this and I'm still unsure of how to move forward from what I've done so far. So, a little about me:
I've been fairly successful in the past using Amex BCP, maxing out the $6k/year grocery 6% cash back and getting a $450-$600 cash reward each year through Citi Costco & Exec membership rebate. This year I decided to try Chase United Mileage Explorer, got the $250 SUB and miles for one free ticket for our February Disney trip; didn't occur to me to have DW apply separately so missed that boat. She has been removed as AU on mine and I plan to have her apply for a card of her own later. We each also just got the Chase Disney Preferred with the $200 SUB (minus $49 AF), but don't have much use for those other than possibly financing the balance of our trip at 0% for 6 mo.
I have delved into the cash back rebate sites and Raise.com. Managed to score a $500 DGC for $470 during last weekend's sale with my extra $10 off.
At this point, I'm not sure how much more I can do to save $$ on our Feb trip; the Costco and Amex cash back will pay for some of it (we'll bank the Costco $$ and use the Amex on the trip for dining & earn the 3% then apply the past few month's accumulated rewards as a statement credit when we return). I'm thinking we'll use the available $150 credit on each Chase Disney for DGC for souvenirs, etc. Then I have to weigh financing the balance vs purchasing the DGC from BJs at the 6% BF deal and pulling the $$ from savings.... so much to think about :-O
We are not huge travelers, but would like to do some more, but also need to be more cautious with the budget now. In 2020, my first priority will be saving $$, then maybe banking some cash/points/miles for a 2021 trip (Disney Alaskan Cruise??).
Here's our stats:
Me:
02/19 Catherine's - Comenity Bank
08/19 Chase United MPE
10/19 Chase Disney Premier
P2:
08/19 AU on Chase United - removed 11/19
10/19 Chase Disney Premier
-MONTHLY SPEND:
Gas $60
Groc $900
Cell $80
Internet/landline $100
Dining/Ent $300
Pet food/supplies $250
Other $2300
-CC's are paid off every month
-DEN airport
-No preference, but have started with United
-SW does service DEN, but not our fav
-No Hotel rewards pref
-No travel points
-M + DW
Thanks for any input!!
From my calculations if you've relayed all credit cards obtained over the past 24 months, it appears you are 4/24 and your P2 is 2/24 which puts you in a great position since Chase has this rule and they have some of the most lucrative cards.
If you don't have a side hustle such as tutoring, selling on ebay, yard work, baking, etc and are not interested in business cards then I'll make the following suggestions, with 2 options either points/miles or cash back.
Points/miles (but can also receive cash back)
P2 applies for a Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) for a 60,000 Ultimate Rewards sign up bonus (SUB) after $4,000 spend in 3 months. Then P2 would send a support link to P1 for the same card as P2 is finishing up the Minimal Spend Requirement. If P1 is approved then P2 will earn 15,000 URs AND if y'all live in the same house, you can pool your Ultimate Rewards. This represents a potential of 143,000 (bonus+bonus+"support"+spend) Ultimate Rewards which could be used in the travel portal for a redemption rate of 1.25 cent/point OR straight cash back/statement credit of $1430.00 ***Please note, the CSP has an annual fee of $95 which IS NOT WAIVED.***
Pros-this is a good chunk of money as cash or miles that can be used in the travel portal (some of our members have used URs through the travel portal to book expeditions in Alaska) or transferred to a United Miles Plus account.
Cons-the $95 AF (per card) and knowing how URs will work best for you
Now, if you don't want to mess with points/miles and just want straight cash back, the above strategy could still be good, since you can receive either a statement credit OR cash back to your bank account. But, if you don't want to deal with all of that OR don't want a card with an annual fee then Chase has 2 no Annual Fee, cash back cards-Chase Freedom (CF) and Chase Freedom Unlimited (CFU).
The CF has rotating categories, per quarter, where you can earn 5% cash back up to $75/quarter. The current quarter categories are Chase Pay, Paypal and department stores, and prior quarters have included gas stations, drug stores and tolls (Q1), grocery and home improvement stores (Q2) and gas and streaming services (Q3). Maxing out equals $75 which is pretty good.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited (CFU) has a flat redemption of 1.5% on everything.
Both of these cards are offering $150 bonus on $500 spend in the first month as well as a "support" bonus so P1 could get the Freedom Unlimited and "support" P2 for this and receive a $100 bonus, or vice versa. The Chase Freedom referral bonus is currently $50.
Other non chase cards for cash back are the Citi Double Cash Back card which awards 1% on every purchase and another 1% when the statement is paid. No muss, no fuss BUT Citi has horrible IT and that can cause a headache. Also, I don't believe it has a sign up bonus so taking up a x/24 spot for a card that doesn't have a sign up bonus isn't the first thing I'd recommend.
Finally, the Discover It has rotating 5% cash back categories as well-current Q4 category is: Target,
amazon.com, and walmart.com. In 2020, Q1 includes grocery stores, walgreens and CVS, Q2 is gas station, uber/lyft and wholesale clubs, Q3 is restaurants and paypal, Q4 is amazon.com, target.com and walmart.com. The Discover it card is awesome because they will match your first year's cash back at the end of the year, effectively resulting in a 10% cash back on the quarterly categories (up to $75/quarter).
There is also a "support" link so P2 could "support" P1 and earn more cash back. I feel like the Discover It doesn't receive a lot of love here but it's a great card, especially in the first year, for cash back, especially if you can max out the categories.
A personal note-I maxed out my Discover categories from Feb 2018-Feb 2019 and the money I earned (about $700 from 5% cash back plus other 1% purchases) I used to convert to foreign currency for my DD's high school graduation trip to Europe.
PROs- cash back, no AF for any of these cards
CONS-Discover and CF are rotating 5% categories and some quarters you might not be able to max out the categories, or forget to register your card, or it's just too much of a hassle.
I hope this has given you some options to consider. Please feel free to PM me if you have any other questions and if you want to join our dischurners reddit thread (where you can ask more questions and utilize a "support link" to help out a fellow dis-er please let
@SouthFayetteFan know!