I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 (see first page for add'l details)

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Have you activated the instacart membership? If so you will get $15 a quarter back. That will take you from $95 - $50 Hotel - $30 (2 Quarters of IC as membership is only 6 months for free) that takes you down to $15 plus Chase Offers as @Judique mentioned.

@disneylover81 You can actually earn $15 per quarter through July 2024, so that's $60 per year, once you've activated the free 6 month membership. There are some stores, like Aldi, where you can do pickup on orders over $35 for $1.99, once your free membership has expired.

I have earned the full $60 since activating last year.

 

[sinnika]

Are you talking cash? Citi keeps sending offers for American Airlines miles to me

I’m hoping for a cash offer. We already have a biz checking account with Chase so I think that’s out. I did get something from Bank of America but would like to know if there are others out there.

 

[disneylover81]

Anyone can have both SW Business cards and 1 personal card. You could refer your DH for the SW Biz Premier (SUB 60K) this year and then when the time comes he could get the other SW Biz + Personal card.

This is how DH and I plan to maintain our 2 CP for a 3rd year. In fact DH received the SW Biz Premier SUB 12/21 & 4/23 (less than 24 months).

Oh I didn’t realize you code have both Biz cards. I thought it was just one of each allowed. Thanks

 

[disneylover81]

Have you used any of the offers? Over the 2 and 1/2 years I've received $140.36 in offer money back on my CSP. In addition I've also earned UR's with this card, although I haven't got that number. It's my 'transfer' card for my ultimate rewards, so I'm keeping it and watching all the offers to offset the fee. After my 4 years, I'll product change it and apply for either the CSR or another CSP. Since I also received the 80K signup bonus, I figure I'm close to breaking even or even better just with the offers, hotel credit and earned UR's, above and beyond the SUB, which was the gravy.

I’ve only used the $50 hotel benefit for the card itself. I do add the offers all the time for things like paramount+, peacock, Kroger, American eagle, etc. I’ve done the Carnival offer for $35 back on $100. So yes, when you put it that way, I guess it has paid for itself.

 

[disneylover81]

Have you activated the instacart membership? If so you will get $15 a quarter back. That will take you from $95 - $50 Hotel - $30 (2 Quarters of IC as membership is only 6 months for free) that takes you down to $15 plus Chase Offers as @Judique mentioned.

I have not. Honestly, I live in a small town and I really am not sure if instacart is even an option in my area. I’ll definitely look into it.

 

[disneylover81]

If you can't find a way to utilize that $45, maybe you could consider it your travel delay/interruption insurance for the year. That assumes you book flights using the CSP for some portion of the ticket. My CSP coverage reimbursed me $350+ in costs I incurred during the Southwest Christmas meltdown. I will definitely be keeping mine when it comes up for renewal for this benefit alone.

You are right! I actually learned my lesson last week when I got stranded in ATL overnight due to a flight delay with SWA. Having the SWA card, I just automatically charged my fees to it, but I wish I had thought that through and used my CSP. It would have been nice to have for all the extra expenses I ended up with. I won’t make that mistake again.

 

[disneylover81]

Options for getting those points:
1. Southwest also has a shopping portal, so you can use that to earn points on online purchases. You're not gonna get 30k, but it can make up some of the difference.
2. CP strategy (note, this assumes you got the SW biz card points in 2023)*: Would you benefit from having 2 companion passes and would you be okay if you didn't have CP until the very end of the year (through 2024). If you support DH for a SW card in October, you should receive the support points this year. If DH waits to complete his spend until his points post in 2024, he can work in 2024 to get companion pass and have it for 2024/25.
3. Might be worth trying for the SW personal or the other biz card. I assume some of that card that was at the limit six months ago has been paid down some. I'd make sure your Chase cards are squeaky clean and all paid up. You might want to also consider recon if you are denied. Perhaps offering to shift some credit around or explaining why you're carrying a balance on that card could help?

*When did you apply for the SW biz card and when did the points post? I'm starting to wonder if part of your denial was those two SW cards close together in combination with the higher utilization on the one card.

I have been using the shopping portal, but like you said it’s not 30k worth. I actually don’t shop a whole lot online.
I could support DH in October like you suggested and it would be fine. It’s only me and DH now. Our kids are both grown and moved out. I was just really bummed at the denial. I’ve never been denied a card in my life before so it was a shock. As of now we only have 1 more trip planned this year and we’ve already paid for the flights. So it’ll be okay if we wait til next year.
I got the biz card in October and waited to let the points post in January as suggested in here. Then I applied for the personal one in January. I called recon and she told me the only reason for denial was that one card at the limit. I have been paying on it monthly since it’s basically a car note to me. I explained to recon why that one card was at the limit. I don’t carry a balance on any other card, which was why I didn’t understand the issue. And it was a Citi card. I have several Chase cards already and maybe i have too much limit with them. I’d gladly give some of it up to get the SWA card. Honestly, I don’t need a $14k limit on my Amazon visa. I only use it on Amazon purchases anyways.

When I got the SWA Biz card, it had a $5k limit. Within 2 months they raised it to $8k. I know Biz cards don’t count on personal credit, but they sure bumped me up fast on that card.

 

[disneylover81]

@disneylover81 You can actually earn $15 per quarter through July 2024, so that's $60 per year, once you've activated the free 6 month membership. There are some stores, like Aldi, where you can do pickup on orders over $35 for $1.99, once your free membership has expired.

I have earned the full $60 since activating last year.

View attachment 763333

I’m going to look into this and see if I can utilize this. We don’t have an Aldi nearby. We only have Kroger, Walmart and piggly wiggly. I just always assumed instacart wasn’t an option in my area since I live in a small town.

 

[lynzi2004]

Amex might claw this back, but like @becauseimnew explained, Chase won't. But it's always good form to make up the spend (IMO, I think it's fair). If she's already spent $1,000 over the MSR, I consider that counting.

Thanks! Yes, she’s putting the tickets right back on the southwest card!

 

[magickingdomprincess]

No but they will refund to you, then you can use the $ to pay the biz card. I think they will refund the credit to your bank account you use to pay the card.
ETA Looks like Chase will send a check. I know Amex will refund to bank. View attachment 763324

My DH recently had a credit on his CSR and they were able to credit it back to his bank account directly after he requested it and verified the account with them.

I’m hoping for a cash offer. We already have a biz checking account with Chase so I think that’s out. I did get something from Bank of America but would like to know if there are others out there.

I always check the Doctor of Credit website in the best bank accounts section. They list what they consider are the best offers, what the rqmts are, how to avoid fees, and data points of when people get their bonuses, etc. It's a great resource. Currently I'm working on a US Bank biz account bonus, which I think is still available where you open a new biz checking account with $3k, do online banking, and get a $500 bonus. I also watch out for local bonuses, checking online ads that pop up, and I often get mailers also. Hope that helps!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I’m going to look into this and see if I can utilize this. We don’t have an Aldi nearby. We only have Kroger, Walmart and piggly wiggly. I just always assumed instacart wasn’t an option in my area since I live in a small town.

FYI - pricing on Instacart card wildly store to store. Sometimes, between the higher cost of items and the service fees, you eat up most of your savings. Especially true if you do a delivery and tip a driver, too.

Aldi is a great way to use the credit because you don't end up paying more for the groceries using the pick up option. The other stores in my area either don't allow pickup or charge more, so they wipe out my savings. I'm unfamiliar with Kroger or Piggly Wiggly, but just someone to look at when you consider.

 

[iujen94]

FYI - pricing on Instacart card wildly store to store. Sometimes, between the higher cost of items and the service fees, you eat up most of your savings. Especially true if you do a delivery and tip a driver, too.

Aldi is a great way to use the credit because you don't end up paying more for the groceries using the pick up option. The other stores in my area either don't allow pickup or charge more, so they wipe out my savings. I'm unfamiliar with Kroger or Piggly Wiggly, but just someone to look at when you consider.

If you’ve got Food Lion near you, our Food Lion allows pickup through Instacart AND charges the same prices in-store, so that one is a win win! FYI, when you click on a store, it tells you if the prices are inflated or not.

 

[have2getaway]

No but they will refund to you, then you can use the $ to pay the biz card. I think they will refund the credit to your bank account you use to pay the card.
ETA Looks like Chase will send a check. I know Amex will refund to bank. View attachment 763324

Thanks so much!!

 

[eticketplease]

@disneylover81 You can actually earn $15 per quarter through July 2024, so that's $60 per year, once you've activated the free 6 month membership. There are some stores, like Aldi, where you can do pickup on orders over $35 for $1.99, once your free membership has expired.

I have earned the full $60 since activating last year.

View attachment 763333

Yes that is true you can earn $15 per quarter but I was focusing on not spending any extra as OP was trying to get the AF down so that is why I stated $30 for the 2 quarters that you would have Instacart+ for free.

Personally I just activated it since they state you have to for the credits but then used P2 IC+ from the CSR which is valid for a year instead of 6 months to use all of the credits of the CSP plus the $15 a month from the CSR.

 

[eticketplease]

I’m hoping for a cash offer. We already have a biz checking account with Chase so I think that’s out. I did get something from Bank of America but would like to know if there are others out there.

Yes the only Biz offer I have received was from Chase as well. Sometime regional banks have good offers though they require you to be in their market.

 

[eticketplease]

I’m going to look into this and see if I can utilize this. We don’t have an Aldi nearby. We only have Kroger, Walmart and piggly wiggly. I just always assumed instacart wasn’t an option in my area since I live in a small town.

Kroger is a partner as well. We usually just place a costco order as that is not hard to get to $35 for the free delivery

 

[eticketplease]

FYI - pricing on Instacart card wildly store to store. Sometimes, between the higher cost of items and the service fees, you eat up most of your savings. Especially true if you do a delivery and tip a driver, too.

Aldi is a great way to use the credit because you don't end up paying more for the groceries using the pick up option. The other stores in my area either don't allow pickup or charge more, so they wipe out my savings. I'm unfamiliar with Kroger or Piggly Wiggly, but just someone to look at when you consider.

This is very true. We used to do the Aldi pickup as they would also give a 5% credit but ultimately we switched to just getting a delivery from costco as the produce would spoil so fast from Aldi. We are seeing that it is about a $ a pound more on meat so it does cancel some of the $15 in savings but I still come out ahead even with tip not having to go through the store.

 

[miztressuz]

I have never tried for any bank bonuses but they have now piqued my interest. Are there any really good ones out there? I could do a business checking ( we have an actual business). Are there any banks I should avoid? Thanks for any input.

I second the suggestion for DoCs Best Bank Bonuses list
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-bank-account-bonuses/

They update it monthly and have a pretty good criterion for "best". I always start there and then check out the recent comments of the deal I'm interested in to see if it's something I'd want to avoid. Some of the good ones are region/state specific so what works for me may not be available for you.

Also, if something really piques your interest but you're not sure if you qualify, again, the posts or comments can let you know if there's a work around. Like I'm not in a state for US Bank bank accounts, but there's a work around that if you already have a relationship with the company you can get a bank account. So I followed the comments, opened a brokerage account that's available to everyone to establish my relationship and then got my bank account bonus. And then closed out the brokerage before they charged any fees. Some of the CU bonuses have similar work arounds by becoming a member of eligible group. Stuff like that.

If you're not sure if you should avoid a bank or an offer, could always get a second opinion here. There's usually someone that's had interactions with it and could offer an opinion. I'm not sure there's a bank that anyone should just blanket avoid. Even some notoriously 'bad' banks have success stories for some people.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I’m going to look into this and see if I can utilize this. We don’t have an Aldi nearby. We only have Kroger, Walmart and piggly wiggly. I just always assumed instacart wasn’t an option in my area since I live in a small town.

Also know that the free IC+ memberships stack. So if you have CSP and maybe a Freedom (CFFof CFU) you can add the memberships to the same account. Between DH and myself we have 4 cards. Our current free membership goes thru January 2025.

 

[iujen94]

Also know that the free IC+ memberships stack. So if you have CSP and maybe a Freedom (CFFof CFU) you can add the memberships to the same account. Between DH and myself we have 4 cards. Our current free membership goes thru January 2025.

Oh this is awesome to know! So if I just add those cards as payment methods, the various IC+ periods will stack? My IC+ expires in August, so this would be awesome!