I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[alryan]

Ok so here's what I'm working with. I should add that I have a very reluctant/skeptical P2:

• Typical organic, non-mortgage spend is about 1500-2000/mo but has been waaaay more lately due to our massive home renovation. Doing a lot of Home Depot and Lowes purchases and it kills me that we have zero amex offers for Lowes since those seem to pop up all the time.
• Still have a few large expenses we're planning on in the next few months, including landscaping, furniture, décor, etc.
• Not planning another WDW trip next year, but could be persuaded if we can work out the funds (DH just streamed the Boo to You parade last night for the kids and said "why do I want to go back already?")
  
• We ARE planning a long overdue honeymoon/anniversary trip next year (maybe Scotland? Hawaii? still working out details) and hoping to use our URs but would also like to take more local weekend trips (Asheville, Charleston, etc.)
• Closest airports are GSP, CLT, and ATL.
• Annnnd I can't remember what else I'm supposed to put here so that's all!

Looks like Chase is out, and with the GrAAvy train derailing and the denial already probably doesn't make sense to pursue that. What about the AmEx call in for the Platinum? I don't have it, but there is a write up on Dischurners. It's a hefty AF and high $10,000 MSR, but if you could make that work with your home renovations I think it could be a possibility. Of course, that does require you to keep the AmEx rat happy by continuing to put some spend on the card when you are done as well.

 

[afan]

Just enjoyed a homemade PB&J on wheat bread with the crusts for part of my lunch Not that I like the crusts but if I'm going to get dinged for the calories I'm eating them, just make sure there's more peanut butter near the edges.

 

[1st*toright]

Y'all might appreciate this. I was on a first date Monday and we were joking about going to Vegas. He's like ohhh, I've got points I'll book the airfare, if you book the hotel. I whipped open my wallet to show him my credit cards and started to spout off my points totals. (He has 60k points w/ Capital One). He starts to tell me how some of the guys (he's a firefighter) pay for everything (he was shocked even their mortgages) w/ cards. I started talking a bit about MSing because I was doing it that afternoon while we were texting.

The next day he texts me and was like can you explain the gift card thing again? The guys here want to know, LOL. So I guess he at least reported my credit card game back to the other guys, LOL. Can't be too bad....we have date #3 tonight.

Nothing like impressing a guy with your churning game. But hey, if he's game to be your P2, there might be something there! Date #3 is good!

 

[KEGintheSEA]

Hey there, I'm kind of a noob to all this churning stuff. I have tried my hand at it for a year but I don't think I'm maximizing my potential gains and would really appreciate some advice/tips/tricks. 2824 pages of a thread are a bit intimidating, but I do plan on reading through the last 25 pages or so as advised in the first few stickied posts, but to start, here's a bit about me:

Example:
01/22 - Inspirus CU Visa Signature (2% Cash Back on everything)
03/22 - GAP Visa (rarely use for additional discounts on clothes)
03/22 - US Bank AMEX FlexPerks Gold (already used up sign-up bonus of 20k points on multi-city trip to East Coast [I'm super excited because I leave for this trip tomorrow, 9/20/19!], plan on cancelling before $95 AF to be charged in March 2020)
??/?? - Victoria's Secret Pink Angel card (also rarely use for additional discounts on clothing, card doesn't have exp date listed)

• Monthly spending by category: groceries ~$200, cable: $95, cell phone ~ $30, dining out ~ $300, tickets (live music, movies, sporting events, etc.) ~ $250, misc. ~ $100-$400 (depends on whether I'm buying gifts for someone or if there's a new Magic set release or not). These amounts could double if I can convince my boyfriend to assist but he currently has CC debt he's trying to take care of.
• I almost always pay off my card in full each month. Minus rent and savings, net income is ~2k monthly
• Airport is SEA (could easily get to PAE, but flights are usually cheaper out of SEA - Portland is another possibility but would require us to rent a car or take a train to get down there, since we don't own a vehicle [yet... I plan to buy one in 2022])
• I prefer flying Delta or Alaska, but have been hesitant to sign up for a frequent flyer card. I also don't mind Southwest, which services SEA.
• No hotel rewards preference, but as far as hotels go, I prefer Holiday Inn, Best Western, and Marriott, and Hilton (I have had too many bad experiences at Wyndham hotels to support them anymore)
• Since I used my sign-on bonus for the FlexPerks, I only have 102 points in the US Bank flexperks rewards (already churned the original FlexPerks Travel card they offer)
• Ideally, I would like to use CC churning to pay for flights and/or vacations. If I could use them for cashback to pay off student loans, that would be awesome but I currently have a pretty good pay-off plan. The next big vacation I would love to use churning on is a family WDW trip (plus 3 night Disney Cruise for my parents), 5 adults (SEA to MCO), 8 or 9 days, 3 people getting 7 day tix, parents with 4 day tix. Currently budgeting ~$10000 for the trip (including cruise) and have nearly half of that amount saved up already.
• Regular travel party is just me and my boyfriend but for the family trip, it would be us plus my sister, mother, and father.

 

[smallsy]

Looks like Chase is out, and with the GrAAvy train derailing and the denial already probably doesn't make sense to pursue that. What about the AmEx call in for the Platinum? I don't have it, but there is a write up on Dischurners. It's a hefty AF and high $10,000 MSR, but if you could make that work with your home renovations I think it could be a possibility. Of course, that does require you to keep the AmEx rat happy by continuing to put some spend on the card when you are done as well.

Yeah that’s why I’ve been eyeing Amex... plat might be a stretch for us (though we managed to pull off 10K over the last 3 months but that included new furnace and tankless water heater $$$). Is the gold worth it? What about Bonvoy or one of the delta cards? Also is there a method to the regular spend to avoid angering the RAT? Like is one tank of gas a month good enough?

 

[Albort]

Yeah that’s why I’ve been eyeing Amex... plat might be a stretch for us (though we managed to pull off 10K over the last 3 months but that included new furnace and tankless water heater $$$). Is the gold worth it? What about Bonvoy or one of the delta cards? Also is there a method to the regular spend to avoid angering the RAT? Like is one tank of gas a month good enough?

Gold is totally worth it if u spend tons at grocery stores and dining.
u typically want to keep your spending levels levelled... so if u were spending $2k a month, keep spending $2k a month would make RAT happy. if u go 2k for the first 3 months, then drop the spendings to 0, RAT is not happy.

 

[orangecuse]

Thanks for posting that! Looks AMAZING and dd and I are both looking forward to 7 nights (6 on points and 1 with the free weekend certificate) in April! I may upgrade to the reef villa for a few nights because dd wants the glass floor (I don't really care either way).

...I don’t think my mother would mind if you adopted me

 

[castormom4]

Yes, the timing of everything else is good. My only concern would be if you are waiting to purchase all the tickets until you have these SW points in February. Ideally you would want to book your flights for everyone next week when they release flights for March. Then if you get the CP in February you add the companion. The good thing about adding the companion is that you can add when any seat is available, but you still do risk the flight being full. If your dates are set in stone for a cruise, prices will very likely be 2x as much booking in February than next week. As much as I love URs I just recently had to transfer some to SW as well. And I'll have to do more next week to book spring break. Obviously this will leave you with SW points after you get the SUBs, but then at least you will be ahead and you can use those points for the remainder of your CP.

Yeah I'm following you. It's not ideal BUT I also haven't even talked my hubby into this cruise yet. We've got like 6 other vacations planned before Nov 2020, like booked and mostly paid for, so he's saying no Spring Break (its like $6800+ out of pocket just for the actual cruise). Soooo......there's that little issue hahaha.

 

[Killer Fish]

I have been way too busy at work the last 3 weeks (Budget Season) THAT I MISSED RULES CHANGED AND REMOVED WHAT I SAID.

 

[orangecuse]

@KEGintheSEA are those all 2019 cards? It says 01/22 so not sure what that means!

@LilSweetPeaPhoto hope you asked the big stuff like is he under 5/24 and does he get the amex popup! Gotta make sure hes worthy haha

 

[tink1970]

So persistence pays off.. I went to another OD (the sketchy one) and there was no limit to amount but we had to do 2 transactions for $1k each because $1500 required a whole lot of paperwork the cashier and I didn't want to fill out. I didn't want to clog up the line anymore than I had so I'll go back later over the weekend to finish my outstanding $800. Apparently my instinct was correct and the first guy was just a jerk at the mall OD. Good to know. And sketchy nice workers OD is right next door to Lowe's so I'll knock out one of my Amex offers too. Whew...those 65K URs are back in view...

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

.

 

[smallsy]

I'd agree with either an Amex Hilton, Bonvoy, maybe a Delta, or you could look to MRs and the Gold Card. You could also look to BBP or that new Blue Cash card. Lots of Amex options. Pick one that you think you can put regular spend on after the MSR!

These sorts of DPs should be shared on Reddit now in the Citi thread. We're trying to keep discussion of said train off the DIS now If you'd perhaps edit your comment that would be awesome too.

My Bad. To be fair, I did ask if I should post here or in reddit and was told here was ok

 

[DisneyMandC]

My Bad. To be fair, I did ask if I should post here or in reddit and was told here was ok

I think @SouthFayetteFan was referring to KillerFish's post, not yours

 

[CyndiLouWho]

They've never blinked at the small swiss army. It's about 3 inches-ish. I guess I don't think much about it bc I've been carrying one since my late teens when I was backpacking around Europe and the Middle East. Honestly the scissors, nail file and tweezers get used more than the knife. I'm not expecting a brawl in the parks or anything! I do put it in checked luggage when we fly.

I’m just surprised they let it through. I can’t get a Sharpie through Disney security. Lol

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I think @SouthFayetteFan was referring to KillerFish's post, not yours

Kinda was referencing both, HAHA!! I can understand how there is confusion in asking for advice at this point. Basically, if you've been using any of the advanced strategies, it's going to be hard to type out your cards here without putting things out there that we'd rather keep off the grid.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I had a french drain and a sump pump when my basement flooded last year. The volume of water in that storm was just so immense that it filled the entire drain, overwhelmed the pump, and well...there ya go. (That particular storm flooded places that I'd never seen flooded all around Pittsburgh though - restaurants under 6 feet of water and crazy stuff like that). For us though, this was the 2nd time in as many years as we dealt with water in a finished basement. My first move after the 2nd time was to install a larger volume sump pump which also has a battery backup secondary pump that will kick on in the event of a power outage OR will kick on if the primary pump becomes overwhelmed.

Since that time, last fall I re-routed my downspout on the back corner of my house all the way across the back (in a "french drain" of sorts) which then married up to my other two downspouts on the far side of my house AND the sump pump (all encased in a loose rock "french drain" of sorts) and took all of that water all the way down to 6 feet from the road spitting out into a rock pit.

Now just 2 weeks ago, I put in a 600 sq ft asphalt basketball court behind my house which slopes slightly away from the house into a drain the entire length of the court which then diverts the water around the other side of my house (again in a loose french drain structure) and then into a pipe all the way to the end of the driveway spitting out about 6 feet from the road.

Needless to say...I've gotten serious about moving ALL of the water that lands behind my house AROUND the house and FAR away into the front yard! LOL! So now it will never rain hard again, lol!

I feel your pain. Our last house flooded twice in 3 years after neighbors were allowed to build bigger garages and house, increasing runoff to our house. We had the lowest property on the block. After the first time, we rerouted downspouts and put a sump in a pit out in the year to collect water off the patio and prevent it running toward the house. In 2013, Chicago saw huge floods again (highways closed, river flooding, etc) and that time our ejector pump failed (after 3 sump pumps were overwhelmed) and we had 4 feet of water in the basement, damaging the brand new HE furnace, hot water heater and washer/dryer. The water outside was deep enough to rise above the doorknob on the back door and bend the steel door. I had serious anxiety every thunderstorm after that until we moved. It was awful. I hope all your work prevents further problems.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I feel your pain. Our last house flooded twice in 3 years after neighbors were allowed to build bigger garages and house, increasing runoff to our house. We had the lowest property on the block. After the first time, we rerouted downspouts and put a sump in a pit out in the year to collect water off the patio and prevent it running toward the house. In 2013, Chicago saw huge floods again (highways closed, river flooding, etc) and that time our ejector pump failed (after 3 sump pumps were overwhelmed) and we had 4 feet of water in the basement, damaging the brand new HE furnace, hot water heater and washer/dryer. The water outside was deep enough to rise above the doorknob on the back door and bend the steel door. I had serious anxiety every thunderstorm after that until we moved. It was awful. I hope all your work prevents further problems.

Wow - I can't imagine that kind of water in my house! So sorry you had to deal with that!! We are somewhat fortunate in that while our backyard slopes down to the house somewhat, our driveway and front yard slopes significantly away from the house. I can't get "feet" of water in our house because it just runs out the garage. When it happened last year I just opened the garage door and used a push broom to nudge the water out of the house, lol. The most we got was an inch or 2 - but in a finished basement that's still a nuissance there for sure and a solid 2 days of cleanup!

 

[gottalovepluto]

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[Limes96]

Been looking up Airbnb’s in London this week. It’s hard to decide! Bought a gift card today at Kroger though, so I’m ready when I figure out what to get. I put our deposit down for DLP on DH’s Venture but it didn’t post as travel, so can’t get the erase feature to work on it. I guess it’s similar to buying at package at WDW maybe? It’s ok, I figured there was a good chance it wouldn’t work. I looked for DP’s but had trouble finding any. So I made my own DP. Doesn’t work! So I’m not sure how to handle the rest of the charge when it’s due next spring. Would it count as a bonus category for an Amex plat or CSR do you think? So I could at least get something back for the out of pocket spend? There may be more DP’s out there on this, but I haven’t searched yet.

And speaking of the plat, I’m having trouble deciding what to do with it. Anniversary is in October. Not sure whether to close it after separately applying for a BBP to hold the MRs or keep it with thoughts of keeping the RAT happy, getting some support points from it, and using the benefits somehow or another on our Europe trip next May/June. So, I’ve been reading with interest the previous replies to people asking about keeping or closing their Amex cards. Thanks everybody, I’m still not sure but it helps reading the replies.

Sorry I got so long winded without even mentioning pop tarts. Pretty boring reading I’m sure. Lol