I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[jaysraptor]

Wow, finally caught up with back reading after being away for quite a few weeks. So much has changed in the last 2 months. I got lucky and got approved for a CIP in late March using P2's link before Chase started tightening the application requirements for a sol prop. P2 would have been eligible for a Chase Biz card now, but that doesn't seem feasible right now.

Been feeling a little down lately as we(P1, P2, DS, & DD) were supposed to be boarding a plane to visit my sister in Germany for 2+weeks starting tomorrow. Fortunately, we had booked a refundable rental house(VRBO) in Garmisch, and apartment in Paris(Chase UR's). Airfare was booked via UR's transferred to United for Saver fare tickets. Originally United wanted $125 per ticket to refund back our 240,000 points. Thankfully the flights changed quite a bit and since they could not get us to Germany within 6 hours of our original arrival time, they waived the $125 fee and redeposited the points. Only lost a few $$'s on our home and apartment rentals due to currency conversion changes from February. Really wish we could transfer the United points back into UR's.

Just finished MSR on the CIP and not sure of our next steps. Looking into the Wells Fargo Business Platinum as an option to help top off our WF points stash for Disney World vacation in 2021. P2's CIP will be coming up for its annual fee next month. Read quite a few pages back all of the advise to keep the Chase Biz cards open, and will product change it when the time comes.

Hope things start to get back to normal soon, so everyone can get back to traveling. Thanks to all who provide great info on this forum.

JJ

 

[wanderlust7]

Hi, I'm Becca! I'm trying to plan out my travel for the next 3 years (it was going to be 4, but DH wants to get to the Star Wars hotel sooner than that...he usually pushes back on Disney trips, so I can deal with that)

At the moment, we are planning a Royal Caribbean cruise to Alaska (out of Vancouver) in June 2021 (my Dad is paying for our cruise fare but we have to pay for airfare and excursions...kids aren't invited) and I want to get our kids to Disney again before A) the baby turns 3 in March 2023 and B) my oldest turns 13 in July 2023 (3 kids doing Jedi Training is my goal...really before he turns 12 would be better, because it will be more difficult to pull him out of school once he's in middle school, but of my children he can probably most handle missing school). We're still deciding if we're willing to share our Star Wars hotel experience with our children. That decision probably won't be made until after they release more details.
A few other tidbits (probably all irrelevant to the topic at hand, but they impact our planning...)
- DH can only travel to Disney November-ish thru March. He can't hack the heat.
- We qualify for military discounts, so we can only buy 6 Disney park tickets/year. He's medically retired though, so we don't qualify to waive annual fees.
- DH only gets 2ish weeks of vacation a year...it might be 3 now...he just started a new job...so even beforeCOVID we weren't going to be traveling much this year with him having to build up PTO again and the new baby.
Anyway....my tentative thinking for trips is:
June 2021 - Alaska Cruise - 2 adults and probably the baby (1 yo) because DH doesn't think we'll want to leave him. My parents and siblings are also going, so we may want to share points/hotels/transportation etc. But, I'm planning most of the trip, so I can pretty much suggest whatever I want. My Dad does do a lot of business travel with predominately Delta and Hilton. BUT, when I checked in with him to the Swan in 2018 I found out he had 300,000 Marriott/SPG points. No idea what his balances are currently, but I'll make him check before we book anything else regarding the cruise. He was at the Swan for a business conference, so his company footed the bill and he never thought to check his points balance so we didn't have to split the stay.
February 2022 - Family Disney trip 2 adults, 4 kids 11, 8, 5, 2 (my kids usually have a longer break around President's Day)
January 2023 - SW Hotel + another 3-5 nights on the Disney property elsewhere
We usually only spend about $10000 on vacations in a 3-year period, and all of the above could easily cost $20,000, so anything we can do to offset the cost with CC rewards will help.
If we opt to bring the kids to the SW hotel, then we would probably do something other than Disney for an adult only trip in 2023 or beyond.

Credit Card Approvals in the past 24 months:
11/19 CapitalOne Walmart
02/19 BOFA Cash Rewards MC
10/18 Chase Disney (basic no AF one)
08/18 Chase Freedom - UR 56,000 points (but its the wrong card for the extra 25% value)
07/18 Chase Marriott Bonvoy - 25,000 points currently
05/18 AMEX SPG Rewards (now Bonvoy...but not Brilliant or anything else I see on the page...the $95 AF just hit on Friday and I'm considering calling to cancel the card to see if i can get the fee waived, but I'm not sure if I should drop a card I might not be able to replace, even with the annual fee...May be better to drop the Chase Marriott card before THAT AF posts? No travel planned for the next several months, so I don't have need for TWO complimentary nights this year which is the only reason I've justified the AFs. I could likely swing something once COVID chills out a bit, so if I really should keep both I won't be too sad about the AF)
Beyond 24 months.... I have a CapitalOne Quicksilver and USAA AMEX. The AMEX is the only card in my husband's name, because credit card churning worries him. I've even stopped making him an authorized user on my cards, because having too many cards freaks him out. He IS an authorized user on my Chase Marriott card and uses it almost as much as his USAA AMEX. He has ZERO patience for the "best" card for certain purchases, and can pretty much only handle 2 cards at a time.

CLOSED cards include CapOne Venture (CLSD and merged with QS 08/2016) Chase Preferred (CLSD 09/18)

With Star Wars on the table, I can probably convince DH to open more cards in his name. But, it would be better to do a vast majority on my side to avoid overwhelming him.

- Spending is at least $1500/month. Usually, it's more than that, but it depends on the month.
- We PIF every month and our only debt is the mortgage.
- We generally fly out of MCI (Kansas City) but have done ICT (Wichita) before, since that's near my inlaws. That may be more practical for our Alaska trip since my in-laws will be watching our kids.
- Southwest flies to both. (also Alaska, American, United, Delta)
- I was prioritizing United (no points right now) while DH's company was HQed in DC, but now his company is HQed near Dallas. He only does maybe one business trip per year, but I usually go with him, and like to get on the same flight.
- We also like to do at least a night or two away from the kids every year, especially if we can't do a bigger trip.

Does anyone want to help me muck out this mess?

Welcome! Some thoughts on the Bonvoy cards. The Amex Bonvoy, if doesn't hurt to call up retention (800-452-3945) to see what they're offering, then decide if you want to keep it. Personally, I would be tempted to keep it and hope for an upgrade offer to the Brilliant. If I got an upgrade offer, I would apply for the card first for the sign-up bonus, then quickly take the upgrade offer before it goes away. High AF though, so it would have to make sense to you to pay 2 AFs, plus take up a 5/24 slot. Also, there are some complicated eligibility rules when you have had both Amex and Chase Bonvoy cards.

From what I've read, it should be possible to get the Chase free night after the AF posts in time to cancel for a full refund. Not possible for Amex as they take their sweet time.

 

[Haley R]

We jumped on the refi train this past Friday. We are going with better.com. We got a 3.125% rate for a 30yr (paying $663 in points). We get a free appraisal and $2500 statement credit by using the Amex offer. I've loved their transparency and the people I've talked to so far.

Thank you for mentioning this! Dh is in the process of getting that same rate. US Bank is wanting to match that rate and Dh wants to go with them instead because he said better.com won't let you do equity loans. It sounds like my name will get to be on it, too. This is gonna save us $80k in the long run!

 

[danceintherain]

So the good news is you've had/have some of the best/most versatile earning cards, which are the Chase UR earning cards. And you have a small stash of those points, which is great! The bad news is Chase has a 5/24 rule, meaning you can't get one of their credit cards if you've opened up 5 credit cards or more in the last 24 months. You are currently sitting at 5/24 based on your stats. However, it looks like you'll have 3 cards dropping off your 5/24 status by the end of this year based on the cards you opened up in 2018. That would open some availability for you to get more Chase cards, which could include UR-earning cards or airline miles-earning cards (Chase offers SW and United cards).

Do you recall when you got the bonus on your Chase Sapphire Preferred card that you closed? You can only earn one of those bonuses every 48 months.

I think my sign up bonus posted January 2018, but it may have been February. I got the card in October 2017. Probably. My credit card tracking app only shows closed dates.

I can definitely wait until those 3 cards drop off. The 48 months thing is a bummer though. If that was a thing when I opened the card, I either didn't pay attention or didn't think it was a big deal. I might need to convince my husband for one of the Sapphire cards, even if that's the only one he goes for...

I can't help much because I really only learned about Chase Biz cards, and that looks to be over (at least for a while).
But I am curious to hear Alaskan Cruise responses, so thank you for asking! We are planning June 2021 on Princess (locked into Princes because several in our group have vouchers from a cancelled cruise). And if we get 4 more rooms booked we will get a group discount.

We're doing Royal Caribbean, because my Dad is paying for like 10 people (4-5 staterooms) and RCCL is one of the least expensive options. Norwegian was the only one with comparable pricing, but I like the RCCL ships better and their childcare options are better (if I can't convince DH to leave the baby with his parents).

@danceintherain
great advice here and i was thinking of the same. get yourself below 5/24 for more chase card. this would probably be a good long term goal for a travel date probably for 2021 or 2022. It will be tough though now that business cards are out of reach and you already have the Sapphire product within the last 4 years. SW CP sounds good but it seems like your family only travel once a year.
If ur looking for a trip within a year, id probably suggest the citi premier card and booking your hotels via portal that way(i believe they have Disney hotels on there) or AA card is another suggestion.

Tough call, really difficult to pick a card right now esp with limited choices. let us know if u have more specific questions.

I typically end up traveling 2-3 times a year, but most of those trips are fairly last minute. I've done pretty well at managing cash back rewards and Marriott points, but outside of those I've been a mess. I've been sitting on the Chase Sapphire Preferred points for 2 years without doing anything with them, even though we have traveled.

@danceintherain if you want to wait to get under 5/24 to pick up more cards (which may be a smart option for you depending on your Sapphire bonus timing and business card availability in the future), right now would be a good time to take advantage of the 5% cash back grocery category on the Chase Freedom. It's even coding 5% at Wal-Mart right now, which may mean you get a better return with that card than you do on your CO Wal-mart card (not familiar with that card so not sure what kind of earning capacity it has).

ETA: It is not coding 5% at Wal-mart, apparently that's only the Sapphire cards! But either way, 5% back at grocery is still a great deal to pick up your usual groceries plus any gift cards you might want for the future!

We're getting 5% cash back at Walmart with the CapOne Walmart card right now with grocery pickup or WalmartPay.
Beyond that is where DH's apathy towards CCs comes into play. He's pretty much the only one who transacts at grocery stores that aren't Walmart, especially right now. He doesn't have a Freedom. I don't think rotating categories would go over very well with him.
His USAA AMEX does get 2% cash back at grocery stores and 5% cash back at gas stations.

Welcome! Some thoughts on the Bonvoy cards. The Amex Bonvoy, if doesn't hurt to call up retention (800-452-3945) to see what they're offering, then decide if you want to keep it. Personally, I would be tempted to keep it and hope for an upgrade offer to the Brilliant. If I got an upgrade offer, I would apply for the card first for the sign-up bonus, then quickly take the upgrade offer before it goes away. High AF though, so it would have to make sense to you to pay 2 AFs, plus take up a 5/24 slot. Also, there are some complicated eligibility rules when you have had both Amex and Chase Bonvoy cards.

From what I've read, it should be possible to get the Chase free night after the AF posts in time to cancel for a full refund. Not possible for Amex as they take their sweet time.

With the eligibility rules, does it make sense to only have one or the other? I got them in the thick of the SPG/Marriott merger and it worked to my advantage then, but maybe it doesn't any more?

 

[WVMomof3]

Thanks for sharing... we will be doing Angels Landing, the chain section is closed, so we don't have to decide if we want to go all the way too the top, it just looks scary.

Thanks for sharing this, we weren't going to spend the money but I think we will.

We are flying, it's a direct Delta flight. They have really reduced the capacity, only half the seats can be occupied and as of now I think there are only 4 other seats sold on the flight.


You have convinced me. We really want to enjoy our time there. We are staying at Zion Lodge and plan to rope drop every morning.


OMG That waterfall I gorgeous!

And yes, we are going to all the parks, we had not planned on going to Grand Staircase Escalante, but now we might have to make a stop. Do you recall how much it added to your travel between parks? We are too going from CR to Bryce so I'm guessing we'll take the same route as you? Do you recall the trail name or waterfall?


So beautiful. We are so excited.

We are so excited, I know people think we are crazy for flying but we need to get out and see the world. I'm going crazy.

That has been my favorite trip. We did 13 days and it wasn't enough at each park. What is your itinerary?

ETA - i saw you posted your map later, we added Grand Canyon on our trip and flew in and out of Vegas. So 10 days for you is doable.

 

[MKTokyo]

Something I wanted to point out that is a little bright spot for those of us cancelling our long-awaited flights...

Many people who are cancelling flights right now are not receiving refunds unless their specific flights are cancelled by the airline. Those who cancel on their own, because they do not wish to travel or for any other personal reason, are receiving vouchers or travel bank funds. However, since we booked with points, we can simply recoup them without having to worry about expiration dates or limitations. When we cancelled our award flights with Delta, we got the points redeposited & the taxes/fees refunded to the original CC automatically.

If you have to cancel, at least it’s a better way to cancel.

 

[snugglebug]

I'm still planning Disney for July. Looks like we're back to softball tournaments in 3 weeks so we've decided if Disney is open, we'll go. I'm hoping Southwest will extend their distancing on the plane (currently ensuring middle row can stay empty until end of June). I've decided we need to book ADRs for lunch to get a break from the heat. I don't know if we'll be 4 or 5 though. I can get Beaches N Cream for 4 and for 2 at slightly different times, but not for 5/6. Should I book them both or just leave my party of 4. ODS says he highly doubts he'll be going with us.

Then I need to decide whether to book a hotel via Hilton points or UR for a tournament. I'm leaning toward burning Hilton points so I don't fall into anything like last year where Marriott didn't want to give me the room I booked because I used "expedia (UR)", checked in around 9pm, and they were full.

 

[havaneselover]

Just woken up by my ring. I check the footage and someone in a hoodie runs up to the front door and looks like they touch the camera and run off. Is this something bored teenagers do? I’m about to throw up.

 

[Haley R]

Just woken up by my ring. I check the footage and someone in a hoodie runs up to the front door and looks like they touch the camera and run off. Is this something bored teenagers do? I’m about to throw up.

What the heck. That’s frightening. Hopefully it’s just someone messing around. I’m in a group on Facebook for our neighborhood and someone was driving around looking into people’s open garage doors. He stopped in front of the house across the street from us 3 times and the guy that lives there was on the roof the whole time. He got in his car and followed the guy after the third time and saw him stop in front of multiple houses that had garage doors open. I would guess the majority of people here have cameras on their houses

 

[havaneselover]

What the heck. That’s frightening. Hopefully it’s just someone messing around. I’m in a group on Facebook for our neighborhood and someone was driving around looking into people’s open garage doors. He stopped in front of the house across the street from us 3 times and the guy that lives there was on the roof the whole time. He got in his car and followed the guy after the third time and saw him stop in front of multiple houses that had garage doors open. I would guess the majority of people here have cameras on their houses

That’s crazy but I guess just reminds you to keep the cars locked and the garage doors closed.

I’m hoping I can get back to sleep. I’m super agitated at the moment my son is with me and playing Xbox and I’m not sure if that makes me feel more or less vulnerable). My ex is 60 seconds away and knows what’s going on.

 

[Albort]

Just woken up by my ring. I check the footage and someone in a hoodie runs up to the front door and looks like they touch the camera and run off. Is this something bored teenagers do? I’m about to throw up.

on the bright side, they didnt lick the camera...

 

[wendow]

Thank you for mentioning this! Dh is in the process of getting that same rate. US Bank is wanting to match that rate and Dh wants to go with them instead because he said better.com won't let you do equity loans. It sounds like my name will get to be on it, too. This is gonna save us $80k in the long run!

Is an 'equity loan' when you take money out? We aren't doing a cash out. Better.com had the best rate we could find and were willing to match anything we found lower. Combined with the Amex offer, it seems like a good deal. We will save between $200-250 a month. Can't complain!

 

[magickingdomprincess]

That’s crazy but I guess just reminds you to keep the cars locked and the garage doors closed.

I’m hoping I can get back to sleep. I’m super agitated at the moment my son is with me and playing Xbox and I’m not sure if that makes me feel more or less vulnerable). My ex is 60 seconds away and knows what’s going on.

We had some teenagers doing dong ditch us a while back, we have cameras and could see them after the fact. They had hoodies on and came from a trail behind our house. Totally freaked me out, got my adrenaline going and made it hard to relax after. Sorry this happened to you, hopefully you can get back to sleep soon!

 

[afan]

Renting on amazon works. It showed up sat pending with a different amazon description then what it has now.

 

[Haley R]

Is an 'equity loan' when you take money out? We aren't doing a cash out. Better.com had the best rate we could find and were willing to match anything we found lower. Combined with the Amex offer, it seems like a good deal. We will save between $200-250 a month. Can't complain!

According to google, a home equity loan is a type of loan in which the borrower uses the equity of his or her home as collateral. I had to google it because I didn’t know. Can you tell I don’t help with this kind of stuff at home lol?

 

[havaneselover]

My UR points for the Royal Caribbean cruise I cancelled were back in my account today. It took about 40 days.

 

[Alexle2007]

Is an 'equity loan' when you take money out? We aren't doing a cash out. Better.com had the best rate we could find and were willing to match anything we found lower. Combined with the Amex offer, it seems like a good deal. We will save between $200-250 a month. Can't complain!

An equity loan is basically a second mortgage so you have two “mortgage” payments. So if Haley needs an addition in 8 years when she has expanded her family and needs 3 more bedrooms, she can borrow $100k of the house’s worth through an equity loan for that expansion.

 

[Alexle2007]

My UR points for the Royal Caribbean cruise I cancelled were back in my account today. It took about 40 days.

Good to know. So far we have decided to take the voucher but it’s nice to know we still have a few months to really decide.

 

[Alexle2007]

Just woken up by my ring. I check the footage and someone in a hoodie runs up to the front door and looks like they touch the camera and run off. Is this something bored teenagers do? I’m about to throw up.

That is just crazy! This is when I am glad we don’t live in a neighborhood and live on a private drive with only 2 neighbors.

 

[wendow]

An equity loan is basically a second mortgage so you have two “mortgage” payments. So if Haley needs an addition in 8 years when she has expanded her family and needs 3 more bedrooms, she can borrow $100k of the house’s worth through an equity loan for that expansion.

Would that be the same as a HELOC? I’m familiar with that and we have one open. Just never heard the term ‘equity loan’ but that sounds like a HELOC.