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

[gottalovepluto]

I used my Amex gold Biz at staples yesterday (11/24) for the $20 credit - total spent was $55. Realized today that the $295 AF posted on 11/22. Due date is 12/17. I plan on cancelling the card. I haven’t received the office store credit before. Am I reading that it takes about a week to come off? So I should wait for the $20 to come off, pay the $35 remaining balance and then cancel the card before 12/17 and the AF gets taken off too. Do I have this right?

And on 12/1 hit the store credit again, recall it is a monthly credit. After the 12/1 credit hits cancel it but no matter what cancel prior to 30 days from 11/22. Don't get too caught up on the due date, if you need to go past it to get your dec credit just pay the AF and when Amex refunds it transfer the credit balance to another card or have Amex ACH or send a check to you.

 

[becauseimnew]

Hey y'all, if you could buy a business class fare on Qatar, one way for $1316 from your home airport to the Maldives/Middle East/Africa, including seat selection and lounge access, would you jump on that? Plus I'd earn 6500 Amex points for the purchase.
Or Japan Airlines biz class one way from Tokyo to home airport for $1172?

These are just a few examples if I bought American Airlines points during their promotion through 11/27 for 1.88cpp. I'm seriously considering it because they are so value and so hard to come by. There hasn't been a lower price offered since 2021. Thoughts?

Yes! That’s so cheap.

 

[becauseimnew]

We took advantage of Southwest new free standby, having 2 companion passes makes it more difficult for the agents but it worked out. We were on a SJC-LAS-home with at 1:30 departure and 10:30pm arrival, but managed to get cleared for a SJC-DEN-home 12:30 departure with 7:30 arrival. We arrived at the airport at 11:00 and got cleared at the gates at 11:30.
We were last to board the San Jose flight C-13+ boarding positions, so we sat at the very back of the plane but I upgraded us to A at Denver since I was C-46 and that would probably mean middle seats for the 4 of us.

 

[wanderlust7]

Hey y'all, if you could buy a business class fare on Qatar, one way for $1316 from your home airport to the Maldives/Middle East/Africa, including seat selection and lounge access, would you jump on that? Plus I'd earn 6500 Amex points for the purchase.
Or Japan Airlines biz class one way from Tokyo to home airport for $1172?

These are just a few examples if I bought American Airlines points during their promotion through 11/27 for 1.88cpp. I'm seriously considering it because they are so value and so hard to come by. There hasn't been a lower price offered since 2021. Thoughts?

Do you already know what availability looks like through AA for the times you’d want to go and the number of tickets you need?

For JAL, AA calendar opens much later than BA or Cathay. I’d consider buying the miles if I already had the flights I wanted on hold.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

We took advantage of Southwest new free standby, having 2 companion passes makes it more difficult for the agents but it worked out. We were on a SJC-LAS-home with at 1:30 departure and 10:30pm arrival, but managed to get cleared for a SJC-DEN-home 12:30 departure with 7:30 arrival. We arrived at the airport at 11:00 and got cleared at the gates at 11:30.
We were last to board the San Jose flight C-13+ boarding positions, so we sat at the very back of the plane but I upgraded us to A at Denver since I was C-46 and that would probably mean middle seats for the 4 of us.

Ok, tell me all about this, please!!

We have flights coming up where, if traffic is excellent, we'll end up at the airport in time for the earlier flight.

Can you do this at the counter before you check bags so that you know your stuff is going on the right plane? Or, do you have to do all carry-on to make this work?

I'm also curious how it would work with boarding positions and A list status. Hubby has promotional A list right now. Assuming we'd be assigned C group with standby but then, don't they make an announcement after A boards to have any A listers who didn't get an A position to board? Am I misremembering that?

 

[KPK02090]

We did Mexico in Feb and June (I took my kids in August). He's probably done Vegas as much as me (Jan, April, July we went together). He's a pilot and a Vegas trip usually happened every other month or so. His new plane doesn't go west of St. Louis, LOL.

He wanted to do Vegas for the Sphere and the Magic show (that I just saw). The Magic show doesn't have the seats I want. And the only Sphere tickets available are $100 more than I just paid. So I think he's okay doing which ever I want now. But now I have to see where we could stay in Mexico. I'm just sad all the places we'd like to go aren't direct until after Dec 16th. I guess we could change where we go in Feb to there and do our "Feb Mexico" trip now, LOL.

And on 12/1 hit the store credit again, recall it is a monthly credit. After the 12/1 credit hits cancel it but no matter what cancel prior to 30 days from 11/22. Don't get too caught up on the due date, if you need to go past it to get your dec credit just pay the AF and when Amex refunds it transfer the credit balance to another card or have Amex ACH or send a check to you.

Thanks for the advice! I hadn’t thought about getting the December credit too - but will definitely hit staples Dec 1. Unfortunately there are no longer ANY office depots in MA.

 

[hsmamato2]

We took advantage of Southwest new free standby, having 2 companion passes makes it more difficult for the agents but it worked out. We were on a SJC-LAS-home with at 1:30 departure and 10:30pm arrival, but managed to get cleared for a SJC-DEN-home 12:30 departure with 7:30 arrival. We arrived at the airport at 11:00 and got cleared at the gates at 11:30.
We were last to board the San Jose flight C-13+ boarding positions, so we sat at the very back of the plane but I upgraded us to A at Denver since I was C-46 and that would probably mean middle seats for the 4 of us.

what is free standby?

 

[nlenguyen]

what is free standby?

If you purchased a later flight time at a cheaper price but you would like to leave earlier, you can get to the airport and wait in a standby line for earlier flights leaving to your same destination. If there is room left on the airplane then they will switch your ticket to that flight. It may not always work, but it is worth a try

 

[mfly]

We’re flying Frontier for the first time in a couple weeks. We’ve flown Spirit plenty of times and know the drill. Is there anything I need to anticipate?

Also - for check-in/seat assignment, I know that with Spirit they assign seats worst to best as people check in, with your chance of getting a “good” seat best when checking in at the last minute.

Is that the case with Frontier as well?

 

[becauseimnew]

Ok, tell me all about this, please!!

We have flights coming up where, if traffic is excellent, we'll end up at the airport in time for the earlier flight.

Can you do this at the counter before you check bags so that you know your stuff is going on the right plane? Or, do you have to do all carry-on to make this work?

I'm also curious how it would work with boarding positions and A list status. Hubby has promotional A list right now. Assuming we'd be assigned C group with standby but then, don't they make an announcement after A boards to have any A listers who didn't get an A position to board? Am I misremembering that?

We traveled with carry ons only. We got added to the standby list at the check-in counter 1.5 hours before departure but you don’t actually get cleared until an hour before departure. At the hour mark we went to the counter at the boarding gate to get cleared, but for some reason when we got cleared it didn’t clear us for the second flight (which it should have) the agent at the counter had to call to get things sorted out.
I think A list get to board after A, but before family boarding.

what is free standby?

Yes.
I will say that our original flight was delayed and that would not have made it free, but because we were added before it was delayed it was free.

 

[EACarlson]

I seem to recall a recent announcement that A list would board after family but before B. No guarantee how that will work in practice.

 

[BullMoose]

Hello,
I could benefit from some beginner advice. We have a trip upcoming at the end of January, payment is due at the end of December. I'd like to maximize any benefit from this payment as well as our ongoing / annual transactions. I'm a beginner, so please bear with me!

Credit approved in the last 24 months:
None for both spouse and I. We have a new auto loan, but no new credit cards.

Cards we have today:

• Delta Amex Gold
• Costco Citi Visa (99% of our spending on this card today)
• Capital One Quicksilver

We've had all three for many years.

About us:

• We typically have $3-5k/month on our credit card spending
• We always pay off the full balance each month
• We target flying on Delta Airlines and have frequent flyer accounts there
• Southwest flies to our home airport, but we do not typically use it
• No preference on hotel rewards
• No specific goals on credit card rewards: we typically target cash-back through our Costco card. We are somewhat infrequent travelers, but currently take one trip per year that has a flight. Last few years were at Disney World. Also looking to a Disney Cruise in 2025 that would necessitate an airline flight
• Travel group: two adults, three children under the age of 11
• We bank at Chase, if that is relevant.

So, please, what would you recommend as a good all-around card to maximize rewards, especially an upcoming $9-10k charge at the end of December? Any other recommendations that we should consider?

Thank you for your help!

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

In reviewing Amex dps on r/churning, I am not seeing favorable dps re: the biz plat. The most common dp I have seen is $20k/20kMR/6 mos, which is absolutely crazy.

I think we are seeing a shift with some loosening up on lifetime language and some great bonuses, but some tightening with higher AFs, family language and stingy retention.

All this to say, never get to comfortable with a strategy. I'll be cancelling that biz plat upon renewal, which is something I would have been leary to do a year or two ago, for fear of pop up jail. Any card issuer is going to make changes to improve their revenue and it's my responsibility to take any emotion out of it and ensure that it's profitable for me as well.

 

[djmeredith]

Hello,
I could benefit from some beginner advice. We have a trip upcoming at the end of January, payment is due at the end of December. I'd like to maximize any benefit from this payment as well as our ongoing / annual transactions. I'm a beginner, so please bear with me!

Credit approved in the last 24 months:
None for both spouse and I. We have a new auto loan, but no new credit cards.

Cards we have today:

• Delta Amex Gold
• Costco Citi Visa (99% of our spending on this card today)
• Capital One Quicksilver

We've had all three for many years.

About us:

• We typically have $3-5k/month on our credit card spending
• We always pay off the full balance each month
• We target flying on Delta Airlines and have frequent flyer accounts there
• Southwest flies to our home airport, but we do not typically use it
• No preference on hotel rewards
• No specific goals on credit card rewards: we typically target cash-back through our Costco card. We are somewhat infrequent travelers, but currently take one trip per year that has a flight. Last few years were at Disney World. Also looking to a Disney Cruise in 2025 that would necessitate an airline flight
• Travel group: two adults, three children under the age of 11
• We bank at Chase, if that is relevant.

So, please, what would you recommend as a good all-around card to maximize rewards, especially an upcoming $9-10k charge at the end of December? Any other recommendations that we should consider?

Thank you for your help!

Welcome! Most of us here get both personal and business cards. A business is anything you do that earns extra money above your regular employment such as selling on ebay/Facebook Marketplace, yard sales, etc. You apply as a sole proprietor using your ss# instead of an incorporated biz tax id. Most newbies are hesitant when getting their first biz card (including me 2 yrs ago), but once you do it you realize that it opens up a lot more opportunities for earning pts.

I mention biz cards first to you because the Chase Ink Preferred would be perfect for your upcoming spend. It is currently offering 100,000 UR for $8K spend, which is normally a $15K spend. If you are hesitant about the biz card, I would recommend the AmEx personal platinum. The AmEx sign up bonuses (SUB) often vary depending on whether you use a support link, incognito browser etc. I just pulled 100K for $8,000 spsend just through regular Google. That's not a bad offer, but some of us have received 125K or even 150K pts.

If neither of the above cards interests you, maybe try for the C1 Venture X for a 75K SUB. That one has been hard for some of us to get. No rhyme or reason why they are stingy with approvals for that one. You might be more likely to get an approval since you have the Quicksilver.

Another piece of advice for beginners: most of us here are willing to pay annual fees (like the big AmEx Plat fee) because we make sure to maximize the benefits on the card (and/or by factoring it into the overall cost of "playing" this game). I encourage you to join our Reddit group where you can find support links from members here. We try to help each other out when we can by using the support link of someone who has been helpful. However, you and your husband should support each other after you get a card.

Third big piece of advice: do not add each other as authorized users on each other's cards. That will take up one of your valuable 5/24 slots. Chase only allows an individual to have 5 personal cards in 24 months. That is not just Chase cards, but any personal credit cards.

 

[newski_mom]

I about messed up - I hope I'm not too late, but I was going to downgrade DH's CSR. His annual fee posted 11/1/23. Would it work to buy a WN flight to get the $300 credit back quickly and then downgrade? Is there anything else I need to do before having DH call?

Then I'm going to upgrade my CFU to a CSR so we'll still have one between us.

 

[hsmamato2]

We’re flying Frontier for the first time in a couple weeks. We’ve flown Spirit plenty of times and know the drill. Is there anything I need to anticipate?

Also - for check-in/seat assignment, I know that with Spirit they assign seats worst to best as people check in, with your chance of getting a “good” seat best when checking in at the last minute.

Is that the case with Frontier as well?

I'm interested too- got a Frontier flight coming up very soon- are they strict with their 'free personal item' size? I'm assuming they are....

 

[mfly]

Another question: need to book a flight on Delta. I have enough Delta points, travel companion doesn't - she's about 5k SkyMiles short.

Buying points doesn't make sense (at around ~$180 for 5k), transferring feels like a waste ($80 for 5k), or I could book the full flight for her, but then I'm burning my points (and it doesn't make sense to have her reimburse me cash).

Could I transfer my Amex MRs to her Delta account since she's an authorized user on my Amex? I'm guessing no, but hoping you all have a creative solution here.

 

[iujen94]

Another question: need to book a flight on Delta. I have enough Delta points, travel companion doesn't - she's about 5k SkyMiles short.

Buying points doesn't make sense (at around ~$180 for 5k), transferring feels like a waste ($80 for 5k), or I could book the full flight for her, but then I'm burning my points (and it doesn't make sense to have her reimburse me cash).

Could I transfer my Amex MRs to her Delta account since she's an authorized user on my Amex? I'm guessing no, but hoping you all have a creative solution here.

Yes! I’d she’s been an AU for a certain period of time (60 days I think?) you can transfer MRs to her Delta.

 

[iujen94]

I'm interested too- got a Frontier flight coming up very soon- are they strict with their 'free personal item' size? I'm assuming they are....

I haven’t experienced this personally, but I’ve heard MANY stories from folks I trust that they are SUPER strict. And if your personal item is too big at the gate, they charge you something like $90-100 to carry on or check it.

 

[platamama]

I'm also curious how it would work with boarding positions and A list status. Hubby has promotional A list right now. Assuming we'd be assigned C group with standby but then, don't they make an announcement after A boards to have any A listers who didn't get an A position to board? Am I misremembering that?

I seem to recall a recent announcement that A list would board after family but before B. No guarantee how that will work in practice.

I have A List (gifted by SW thru 12/15, all three of us got it), and was able to board before family boarding. After A60 goes through, the gate agent made an announcement for others who could board before A List, then it was A List, then family boarding, then B.

With A List, we've been getting A boarding spots even if we don't check in at the 24 hour mark. In my case, I added myself as DH's CP less than 24 hours before the flight, so I think that's why I ended up with C boarding even though he had A boarding. But with A List, I still got on the plane early-ish; it sure is a nice perk and I'll miss having it.