I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

[WaltsMartini]

Just found out yesterday that someone applied for unemployment using DH’s SS#. I’ll gladly accept any advice on things we need to do. We have put a freeze on his credit at all three bureaus, reported it to our state, and been in touch with his employer. In process is SS and I’ll have to look into IRS today. Nothing else seems out of place so far. Any recommendations re identity theft insurance? Currently don’t have it, but I guess maybe it’s a good idea.

eta we also added a fraud alert to the credit bureaus

So sorry this happened to you!

I worked for my state’s DOL and unfortunately this is not uncommon. We were told that the personal data people are using to apply for fraudulent benefits was data stolen in previous breaches. So, as another person commented, your info is unfortunately out there.

You did the right thing by contacting your state. This way they can stop the fraudster from receiving benefits and you have record of you contacting them should they come back to you years down the road asking about improper unemployment payments.

Another general word of caution for all - most of the fraudsters are applying for PUA, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. This is a temporary program available to folks who are un or underemployed due to the pandemic but are not typically eligible for unemployment - like independent contractors and small business owners. PUA was set up quickly, each state has its own system, and it is easy to scam. If someone applies for PUA benefits under your name, your employer will likely not be contacted. So, if you see bank accounts you don’t recognize on your credit report (potentially used to cash a PUA check in your name) or you get a check in the mail for benefits, alert your state’s DOL at once.

And may all the fraudsters be sent to an afterlife that is just one long unshaded queue

 

[Hoosier John]

I got the same thing on my Flagship. Sign in, go to your credit card and hit rewards, then, I think it was offers. The email tells you what to do.

Thank you! I found it (and updated the instructions above, because I think there are a couple other Navy Fed fans here)

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Is that for 3 tickets round trip or 1?

Is that one way or RT? Is that for one or more people? Is it in J or F class? I’d be good with the $328 in taxes even for only one person. But 192k AA miles is a little steep for one person even in F. No way I’d do it in J. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t do it in F but I’d be comparing my different options.

It's per person, round trip. The flights for nonstop are over 300k AA miles and $1000 fees much of the time. It is J class, there are no flights with first class non stop ORD-LHR on AA, or at least not that I can find. The cheapest flights are 9:05 am departure/10:40 pm arrival ORD to LHR, with pm return flights.

Just found out yesterday that someone applied for unemployment using DH’s SS#. I’ll gladly accept any advice on things we need to do. We have put a freeze on his credit at all three bureaus, reported it to our state, and been in touch with his employer. In process is SS and I’ll have to look into IRS today. Nothing else seems out of place so far. Any recommendations re identity theft insurance? Currently don’t have it, but I guess maybe it’s a good idea.

eta we also added a fraud alert to the credit bureaus

Happened to my mom. It's so rampant in IL, you can't even reach anyone. When she called and left a message (only option) it was over 2 weeks before they responded, they told her if she gets the debit card, not to use it. She received the debit card the day after she received the letter saying she had applied. Fortunately she hadn't used it. We got her credit reports from all 3 bureaus then froze her credit. Nothing has come up.

 

[happ]

As a related data point - I just applied for the Barclays JetBlue Biz - I closed my previous card in May 2020. I was denied, and reason given was that I had held that card previously.

I didn't recon as I had mixed feelings about dealing with the dreaded Barclays Biz website again - and it seems they can be hit or miss when it comes to applying this previous card rule. TBF, I put minimal spend on my barclays cards so they have probably had enough of me. The reality is I can earn more JetBlue pts per $ on my Chase and Amex cards than on the JetBlue card, so its is a dud for ongoing spend.

Something similar happened with me last year and the JetBlue Biz, and similar timing. So after my denial I waited like six months and tried again. Then I was denied for duplicate apps. I just let it go. I've had 4 past cards with Barclay and had to go through recon every time, and send them docs each time. That bank is frustrating.

 

[DIS_MERI]

Hello! I'm here looking for "what card next?" advice

Recent cards:
CFU 6/20, Navy Federal Platinum MC 6/20

I also have SW Premier (1/16), Disney Visa (9/13) and Amex BCP (5/15). I hardly use the BCP (mostly used for 6x grocery to get 4x fuel points for Disney gc but not much since Rona showed up), but I would like to get the SUB for the Everyday and I don't think I can downgrade and get that, correct? I need to figure out what to do there before the fee hits next month. I also don't use the Disney Visa much (got the 5x offer so I'm running $1500 through, otherwise I give it to my ex when the dogs need something lol), but at least it doesn't have a fee. CFU has been my power card lately. I wouldn't mind a different SW card but the bonus sucks right now.

We mostly fly out of IND, usually SW. We are doing Uni APs starting in October, so I anticipate trips in the spring and fall next year for that, and then looking to Europe for 2023. Probably a trip to England and a trip to Greece, and then likely Germany in 2024. Covering airfare and/or hotels for those would be awesome.

Organic spend is 2-3K per month outside of travel without having to decide if I want to pay fees/go big on MS.

I was thinking of CSP since it has the great bonus right now, then a different SW card if they do a decent bonus again. I was also thinking of asking Amex about a retention offer on BCP, then I can hold off on the BCE until next year when I'm back under 4/24. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Hoosier John]

Hello! I'm here looking for "what card next?" advice

Recent cards:
CFU 6/20, Navy Federal Platinum MC 6/20

I also have SW Premier (1/16), Disney Visa (9/13) and Amex BCP (5/15). I hardly use the BCP (mostly used for 6x grocery to get 4x fuel points for Disney gc but not much since Rona showed up), but I would like to get the SUB for the Everyday and I don't think I can downgrade and get that, correct? I need to figure out what to do there before the fee hits next month. I also don't use the Disney Visa much (got the 5x offer so I'm running $1500 through, otherwise I give it to my ex when the dogs need something lol), but at least it doesn't have a fee. CFU has been my power card lately. I wouldn't mind a different SW card but the bonus sucks right now.

We mostly fly out of IND, usually SW. We are doing Uni APs starting in October, so I anticipate trips in the spring and fall next year for that, and then looking to Europe for 2023. Probably a trip to England and a trip to Greece, and then likely Germany in 2024. Covering airfare and/or hotels for those would be awesome.

Organic spend is 2-3K per month outside of travel without having to decide if I want to pay fees/go big on MS.

I was thinking of CSP since it has the great bonus right now, then a different SW card if they do a decent bonus again. I was also thinking of asking Amex about a retention offer on BCP, then I can hold off on the BCE until next year when I'm back under 4/24. Thanks in advance for the help!

As a fellow Hoosier,

We've got some SW experts here to help you with them.
You could attack SW card(s) up to 4/24, then do a MDD trying for the CSP & CSR (lot of success lately with MDDs).
Also, business cards from Chase (and Amex) do NOT count against your x/24, so that is a way to slow the count. And your 'business' doesn't have to be a large, licensed venture. I do it with a rental property, and others use online sales, or really any way you could earn a dollar.

Welcome and Happy Churning!

 

[becauseimnew]

I was thinking of CSP since it has the great bonus right now, then a different SW card if they do a decent bonus again. I was also thinking of asking Amex about a retention offer on BCP, then I can hold off on the BCE until next year when I'm back under 4/24. Thanks in advance for the help!

Right now the CSP is a no brainer, with the elevated SUB (80K URs + $50 grocery store credit) you can’t miss it if you are under 4/24.
If you decide to do a MDD with the CSR, that would put you at 4/24. If the SW Companion Pass is in your plans, you could MDD 2 of those cards at the end of the year, meet the MSR after 1/1/22 to earn the CP for 2022/2023.
You’ll be at 6/24 (doing the MDD will bypass the 5/24 rule for the day), then you’ll just have to wait until 6/2022 to be back at 4/24.

 

[calypso726]

It's per person, round trip. The flights for nonstop are over 300k AA miles and $1000 fees much of the time. It is J class, there are no flights with first class non stop ORD-LHR on AA, or at least not that I can find. The cheapest flights are 9:05 am departure/10:40 pm arrival ORD to LHR, with pm return flights.

Holy guacamole! Ouch! Well a lie flat seat is still a lie flat seat.

 

[Kawnipi]

Quick question. If you book a Disney package(hotel plus tickets), does that code as 3x travl for CSR? I know that tickets directly from Disney don't do 3x but wasn't sure how it would code in a package.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Holy guacamole! Ouch! Well a lie flat seat is still a lie flat seat.

I guess I'm being picky preferring non stop, evening, lie flat seats.
There is a BA flight for 115k miles and $1771 in fees.

 

[mmmears]

I guess I'm being picky preferring non stop, evening, lie flat seats.
There is a BA flight for 115k miles and $1771 in fees.

I don't think you're being picky for wanting a non-stop flight or for lie flat seats. I give on the time usually, because the other 2 are just more important to me. AA flights just cost more miles in my experience - I have a bunch but it's never enough so we always end up using URs or MRs and booking with another airline. The fees through Paris are a lot lower, and there were direct flights from here, so we started flying through there instead of LHR. The fact that BA charges $150 to choose your seat in J was just the last straw. I think it's not the same in First.

 

[mmmears]

Umm, it's like you intimately know us! My son spent a lot of time in middle school with aquaponics and he's now an engineering student. Hydroponics is right up our alley! Thanks for the recommendation- I will check it out. Iceland really loves their soup, hey?

Oh wow! I almost didn't respond since it had been a couple of days since you asked, but now I'm really glad I did. Here's the link: https://www.fridheimar.is/en/restaurant
You need reservations (or so I was told) but since we were on a private Golden Circle Tour that day I just asked our guide to plan for it and he took care of that. The soup is vegan, and then you can add in as much cream as you want to, plus they have little basil plants on the tables so you can add in your fresh basil, too. Iceland is cold even in the summer, so dining in a hothouse and eating soup and fresh bread was a lovely break in our tour day. And the hydroponics are so cool!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I don't think you're being picky for wanting a non-stop flight or for lie flat seats. I give on the time usually, because the other 2 are just more important to me. AA flights just cost more miles in my experience - I have a bunch but it's never enough so we always end up using URs or MRs and booking with another airline. The fees through Paris are a lot lower, and there were direct flights from here, so we started flying through there instead of LHR. The fact that BA charges $150 to choose your seat in J was just the last straw. I think it's not the same in First.

I'll be honest, it's kind of a bucket list trip for DS and we've never been to Europe or flown biz class so I'm willing to use a few more miles. Plus when we fly domestic it's mostly SW, so I've been accumulating AA miles for a bigger trip. Originally was going to be China but that's not happening any time soon.

 

[jorbrenner]

I really wish everyone could take the time to realize the benefits that credit card points provide. As long as you are responsible and know how to manage things you can travel the world almost entirely free

 

[magickingdomprincess]

My Mom asked me for ideas for a new credit card and I want to make sure to give her the best options I can so I'd love to get some feedback! She and my stepdad own a ranch and they have a $13k fertilizer bill they're going to need to pay and she asked what the best cashback card would be to put it on. I was thinking the best option would be a CIP, the msr is $15k but they could easily find a way to spend the other $2k. The sub would be 100k UR's ($1k) + 15,000 UR's ($150) from the spend - $95 AF for a net of $1,050 if cashed out straight to cash. The only problem they might run into is if they get a low credit limit and can't put the whole $13k bill on the card, and of course assuming one of them is under 5/24. Anything I'm missing if I recommend the CIP to them? Is there a better card I could recommend? I think the Amex plat route would be too complicated as they're looking for cash back. Oh and also, does the CIP have support links I could support them with if they went that route? I don't have a CIP currently, but do have a CIU and my DS has a CIU. Thanks for any advice!

 

[ten6mom]

Odd assortment of questions:

I got a mailer for an American Express savings account, at .4% interest (I think... I don't have it in front of me). I currently just have savings in a regular old savings in my regular old credit union. Anyone know if it would be a hassle to move that over?

I currently have a Capital One Quicksilver card that I never use. I got an "offer" to "upgrade" it to a Capital One Venture ($95 AF) or Venture One (no AF). Seems the Venture cards' "awards" are in miles but I don't know if those are tied to a specific airline (not really sure how that works). Does anyone know- if I take this "upgrade" offer, would I be eligible for the SUB advertised? (50K miles after spending $3K in 3 months)

I guess the last one isn't a question, but a frustration. I think I'm running into a credit limit issue! On the most recent CIC, on which I am currently trying to meet MSR, I got only a 3K spending limit. I was able to move $2K over for a total of $5K. Unfortunately the current balance is about $4800 and my payment won't post until May 3... I have a $500 payment on a VRBO due May 1. Very, very poor planning/timing on my part so now I am just irritated with myself.

 

[calypso726]

My Mom asked me for ideas for a new credit card and I want to make sure to give her the best options I can so I'd love to get some feedback! She and my stepdad own a ranch and they have a $13k fertilizer bill they're going to need to pay and she asked what the best cashback card would be to put it on. I was thinking the best option would be a CIP, the msr is $15k but they could easily find a way to spend the other $2k. The sub would be 100k UR's ($1k) + 15,000 UR's ($150) from the spend - $95 AF for a net of $1,050 if cashed out straight to cash. The only problem they might run into is if they get a low credit limit and can't put the whole $13k bill on the card, and of course assuming one of them is under 5/24. Anything I'm missing if I recommend the CIP to them? Is there a better card I could recommend? I think the Amex plat route would be too complicated as they're looking for cash back. Oh and also, does the CIP have support links I could support them with if they went that route? I don't have a CIP currently, but do have a CIU and my DS has a CIU. Thanks for any advice!

If they can pay the bill across multiple cards I would suggest an MDD on CSP/CSR which would be 140,000 URs + 8,000 URs from the spend. Then refer P2 and do the same thing which is another 163,000 URs with the referral. Cash out $300 from each CSR with PYB on groceries, dining or home improvement to bring the fee down to net $250 on each CSR. I t's $3,411 - $690 OOP in fees after the $600 spend PYB which at 1.5 is $900. So the profit would be $2721. More if you have the rest of the spend in groceries, home improvement and dining. It's $16K in spend but you'd get more than double what you do with one CIP.

 

[pinkxray]

If I pay myself back using my CSR and now have a negative balance do I get the cash for it? Can I get SM them to move it to my checking?

 

[disfanforlife]

It's per person, round trip. The flights for nonstop are over 300k AA miles and $1000 fees much of the time. It is J class, there are no flights with first class non stop ORD-LHR on AA, or at least not that I can find. The cheapest flights are 9:05 am departure/10:40 pm arrival ORD to LHR, with pm return flights.

Happened to my mom. It's so rampant in IL, you can't even reach anyone. When she called and left a message (only option) it was over 2 weeks before they responded, they told her if she gets the debit card, not to use it. She received the debit card the day after she received the letter saying she had applied. Fortunately she hadn't used it. We got her credit reports from all 3 bureaus then froze her credit. Nothing has come up.

Sorry that happened to your mom. Glad nothing else has come up. I guess it’s a bit different for my DH because the reason he found out was when he was trying to apply himself. We didn’t get any debit card for anyone else at our house. They did lock his account so no one else can try to apply, but it needs to be looked at by their fraud department at unemployment before he can get his benefits and that’s what we are waiting on.

 

[disprincessbear]

I was approved for a CSP about two weeks ago but still have not received it in the mail. Is this typical? I am wondering if I need to request another card.