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

[CaliforniaGirl09]

DP on Hilton Aspire:

Between DH and I we have 4 Aspire cards. AF hit on card number 1 hit and I called in to see what retention offers might be available. Wasn't really planning to cancel the card as we always get outsized value with it. The $50 airline credit for this quarter credited. It took longer than normal but I did not need to call or chat. The offer was spend $1K and get 10K HH points. This is nothing to get excited about but I took the offer since I wasn't going to cancel and I have some Hilton spend coming up.

Next month we are staying 3 nights at the new Conrad Orlando. We booked with FN certs. Right now the room we booked with the FN certs is over $700 per night. So I definitely feel like we got the value for the FN certs on this upcoming stay. The property is listed as a qualifying property for Hilton Resorts. Therefore, we will also be able to use the cards to charge dining or spa services to the room and get the $200 resort credit on my card and another $200 on DH's card.

The spend earns 14x on the Aspire which is nice. In April I will use up another $50 airline credit so that will add towards my retention offer spend too. If I hit it that's fine, if I don't that's fine. I have other more important fish to fry for this year's points balance earnings. Looking at you BonBlah But even with the AF increase this year I think I will still be able to easily continue to have these 4 Aspire sock drawer cards keeper cards.

Thank you so much for posting this! DH and I each have the aspire, and I have to admit I was disappointed by the changes. I have used each of our $50 airfare for this quarter, but it's clunky as I don't want to do the entire ticket on it as I don't value Hilton points as highly as I do my Amex Plat 5x. Finding $49 tickets or using it as a balance for another ticket took some time. That's the problem with these changes for me ... more time trying to use them AND track them. Same goes for the resort credit. We used to use this for fees for our Kulana club membership at the Grand Wailea, but now we are lumped onto my mom's so don't have that fee (yay!). Thank you for reminding me the charges must be at a RESORT. I would have blown that in a couple weeks by using it at a regular hotel so you saved me. I think I was able to use if for our green fees at the Boulders last time, but maybe not the Biltmore... again will have to think a little bit more but should be able to use them just not as quickly as I intended. I get value out of both cards, too, but I'm not happy with the changes mostly due to above. I'm planning to see how easy to use and re-evaluate next year, but I suspect as long as DD is in Pheonix we will always have a good way to use the FNCs. I'm still mad at myself for screwing up on DHs. Oh well, we'll use it but not in the most cost effective manner. I should have done a retention call. Totally spaced. I've never done one for that card. I do love my Diamond status though for free booze in the lounge for happy hour when I stay at the Hilton Paddington

And so glad you posted about Marriott. I just realized that I am Titanium elite now due to our timeshare (I think that's why). That was a big surprise yesterday when I happened to check my account! We don't typically have a lot of non-timeshare hotel stays (a night here and there or to visit DD), and I've been concentrating on Hilton mostly for that, but now that i have Titanium I'm thinking to spread out a little. We're actually staying at the Westin in Anaheim for Memorial day because I ran out of VGC points, LOL, so DD and I will check out the lounge access. We did two separate rooms using our Amex Plat. Fine Resorts Credits so DH and DS are sol They don't drink though so it's better that way.

So this is a long way of asking ... what Bonvoy Credit card are you working on? I was thinking the business might make sense. I have no clue how easy their FNCs are to use and/or whether they can be used for some great properties like the Hilton ones can. I'm super excited about this new status. It also gave me auto Silver United Status and I also discovered when I went to do the Hertz one that I'm already the highest there (President's Circle). Have no idea why, but I'll take it!

And in other good news ... I FINALLY got the last of my double tier points added to my BA account which makes me gold through 2/28/26! I did a tier point run in mid-January from SFO to EDI and back to OGG. Long but worth it now. Not sure I'd do it again ... we'll see in 2026!

 

[calypso726]

Thank you so much for posting this! DH and I each have the aspire, and I have to admit I was disappointed by the changes. I have used each of our $50 airfare for this quarter, but it's clunky as I don't want to do the entire ticket on it as I don't value Hilton points as highly as I do my Amex Plat 5x. Finding $49 tickets or using it as a balance for another ticket took some time. That's the problem with these changes for me ... more time trying to use them AND track them. Same goes for the resort credit. We used to use this for fees for our Kulana club membership at the Grand Wailea, but now we are lumped onto my mom's so don't have that fee (yay!). Thank you for reminding me the charges must be at a RESORT. I would have blown that in a couple weeks by using it at a regular hotel so you saved me. I think I was able to use if for our green fees at the Boulders last time, but maybe not the Biltmore... again will have to think a little bit more but should be able to use them just not as quickly as I intended. I get value out of both cards, too, but I'm not happy with the changes mostly due to above. I'm planning to see how easy to use and re-evaluate next year, but I suspect as long as DD is in Pheonix we will always have a good way to use the FNCs. I'm still mad at myself for screwing up on DHs. Oh well, we'll use it but not in the most cost effective manner. I should have done a retention call. Totally spaced. I've never done one for that card. I do love my Diamond status though for free booze in the lounge for happy hour when I stay at the Hilton Paddington

And so glad you posted about Marriott. I just realized that I am Titanium elite now due to our timeshare (I think that's why). That was a big surprise yesterday when I happened to check my account! We don't typically have a lot of non-timeshare hotel stays (a night here and there or to visit DD), and I've been concentrating on Hilton mostly for that, but now that i have Titanium I'm thinking to spread out a little. We're actually staying at the Westin in Anaheim for Memorial day because I ran out of VGC points, LOL, so DD and I will check out the lounge access. We did two separate rooms using our Amex Plat. Fine Resorts Credits so DH and DS are sol They don't drink though so it's better that way.

So this is a long way of asking ... what Bonvoy Credit card are you working on? I was thinking the business might make sense. I have no clue how easy their FNCs are to use and/or whether they can be used for some great properties like the Hilton ones can. I'm super excited about this new status. It also gave me auto Silver United Status and I also discovered when I went to do the Hertz one that I'm already the highest there (President's Circle). Have no idea why, but I'll take it!

And in other good news ... I FINALLY got the last of my double tier points added to my BA account which makes me gold through 2/28/26! I did a tier point run in mid-January from SFO to EDI and back to OGG. Long but worth it now. Not sure I'd do it again ... we'll see in 2026!

You're welcome. We have been using United Travel Bank for the airline credits. This way, only the airline credit gets the spend and they are good for 5 years. We let them pile up over time and wound up using them for both of us to fly in first class to Kauai. We've used them for a few flights to NYC as well. I used to do the $250 every January. Now it's $50 on each card in January, April, July and October. I do the same with the $200 Amex Plat airline credits. Both my credits and DH's credits go into my UTB account and that way we can book flights out of just one account and its less of a hassle to keep track.

I'm a few years and stays away from Lifetime Platinum Elite and so is DH. Not that we were trying LOL Hmmm I will have to consider FHR and the Westin there the next time we cant snag a room at VGC at the 7 month window. Thanks for the idea! I managed it for this fall.

We keep the Ritz Carlton card for the 85K FN cert and airline credits.

I picked up the Bonvoy business card at an elevated points bonus offer late last year. I refuse to look at the ones that offer FN certs over points, not that I would be eligible. I've had all of the BonBlah cards except the Bevy which I am not eligible to get a new offer on since I have a Ritz Carlton card. I had downgraded my Brilliant card to the regular Bonvoy card and then got an upgrade to the Bevy card offer a few months later, go figure. In any case, none of the FN certs will reliably cover what I am looking to do even with a top off down the line so I can only utilize new cards with a points bonus offer for my current scheme.

Marriott allows a points transfer to someone of up to 100K each calendar year. A recipient can receive up to 500K in transfers each calendar year. Late last year I transferred 100k to DH's account since he had a higher balance than I did. I will have another 100K to transfer this year with the upgrade to Bevy offer I received. We are shut out of Marriott cards due to Lifetime Language. Therefore, I wound up getting family members in on the plot and they agreed to play P3 and P4. That will be another 200K to transfer over once those MSRs are met on their Bevy cards.

JW Masai Mara, I gotchu in my sights.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

You're welcome. We have been using United Travel Bank for the airline credits. This way, only the airline credit gets the spend and they are good for 5 years. We let them pile up over time and wound up using them for both of us to fly in first class to Kauai. We've used them for a few flights to NYC as well. I used to do the $250 every January. Now it's $50 on each card in January, April, July and October. I do the same with the $200 Amex Plat airline credits. Both my credits and DH's credits go into my UTB account and that way we can book flights out of just one account and its less of a hassle to keep track.

I'm a few years and stays away from Lifetime Platinum Elite and so is DH. Not that we were trying LOL Hmmm I will have to consider FHR and the Westin there the next time we cant snag a room at VGC at the 7 month window. Thanks for the idea! I managed it for this fall.

We keep the Ritz Carlton card for the 85K FN cert and airline credits.

I picked up the Bonvoy business card at an elevated points bonus offer late last year. I refuse to look at the ones that offer FN certs over points, not that I would be eligible. I've had all of the BonBlah cards except the Bevy which I am not eligible to get a new offer on since I have a Ritz Carlton card. I had downgraded my Brilliant card to the regular Bonvoy card and then got an upgrade to the Bevy card offer a few months later, go figure. In any case, none of the FN certs will reliably cover what I am looking to do even with a top off down the line so I can only utilize new cards with a points bonus offer for my current scheme.

Marriott allows a points transfer to someone of up to 100K each calendar year. A recipient can receive up to 500K in transfers each calendar year. Late last year I transferred 100k to DH's account since he had a higher balance than I did. I will have another 100K to transfer this year with the upgrade to Bevy offer I received. We are shut out of Marriott cards due to Lifetime Language. Therefore, I wound up getting family members in on the plot and they agreed to play P3 and P4. That will be another 200K to transfer over once those MSRs are met on their Bevy cards.

JW Masai Mara, I gotchu in my sights.

This is awesome. I didn't even think about the Ritz Carlton card, although I see it's not open to new apps so would have to be a product change. Something to think about. I'll have to keep my eye out for a better business offer or look at one of the other cards. Good to know about the current free night ones offered on the business card not being worth it for your plans (I travel the same way as you do, LOL). So fun on the JW Maasai Mara. Can't wait to read about that one. And nice score on the 7 month VGC! I just had a WL clear at the DL villas for a last minute trip next month. Looking forward to checking it out!

On another subject ... anyone had to do a Southwest Business card recon lately? I had DH apply and he got the dreaded 7-10 days. Hoping it's something easy--he has plenty of Schedule C income--but not sure what to expect and want to prepare him.

 

[calypso726]

This is awesome. I didn't even think about the Ritz Carlton card, although I see it's not open to new apps so would have to be a product change. Something to think about. I'll have to keep my eye out for a better business offer or look at one of the other cards. Good to know about the current free night ones offered on the business card not being worth it for your plans (I travel the same way as you do, LOL). So fun on the JW Maasai Mara. Can't wait to read about that one. And nice score on the 7 month VGC! I just had a WL clear at the DL villas for a last minute trip next month. Looking forward to checking it out!

On another subject ... anyone had to do a Southwest Business card recon lately? I had DH apply and he got the dreaded 7-10 days. Hoping it's something easy--he has plenty of Schedule C income--but not sure what to expect and want to prepare him.

Thanks and well done on that WL coming through at DL Villas!

I believe if you have a Chase Bountiful or Boundless card, you can upgrade to the Ritz. It doesn't work from a Chase Bold card if memory serves. The Chase Bountiful is at 85k bonus points for $4k spend. So this would beef up some points and then in a year ask for the upgrade to the RC card.

The 85k FN cert comes in with a lower AF on the RC than the Brilliant. The RC also has a $300 annual airline credit which I use on UTB also in $100 increments. But it works on seat upgrades too. The downside is you have to call in and have the credit applied manually. But have not had any issues doing that. The Priority Pass card with the RC allows unlimited guests into PP lounges.

I do find that annual 85K FN cert useful and we scored two nights using FN certs at Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens this summer which is currently booking for 1280 Euros per night.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Duh me - I didn’t even think about the Chase travel portal and using URs. Thanks!

It's not ideal as 3rd party bookings can be problematic. I'd check to see if transferring points is an option and how rates compare. In the end I have done it a few times and have a Swan res at WDW booked through Chase portal coming up for Spring break.

 

[mom2febgirls]

I also have a Hawaii question. We are spending 2 nts in Waikiki on the way to Japan. We will only be doing Pearl Harbor and maybe Diamond Head (also meeting up with a friend who lives there for dinner). I was there over 20 yrs ago and we rented a car, but that was before the ride share services. Would you rent a car for 2 nts or just use ride share?

We've done both. Last year we used Uber to get to Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head. This year we rented a car because we were going to the North Shore.

I would use Uber since parking is expensive ($55/nt at Royal Hawaiian)

 

[Judique]

It's not ideal as 3rd party bookings can be problematic. I'd check to see if transferring points is an option and how rates compare. In the end I have done it a few times and have a Swan res at WDW booked through Chase portal coming up for Spring break.

I just did one night at the Swan through the Chase portal. Started out doing more but was able to increase my DVC nights at BCV.

I got a decent room with a balcony and a view of the pool on the West side, but, my room had not been renovated. It was still in very good condition.

Family got really bad rooms and complained. They were moved to what they actually booked.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Thanks and well done on that WL coming through at DL Villas!

I believe if you have a Chase Bountiful or Boundless card, you can upgrade to the Ritz. It doesn't work from a Chase Bold card if memory serves. The Chase Bountiful is at 85k bonus points for $4k spend. So this would beef up some points and then in a year ask for the upgrade to the RC card.

The 85k FN cert comes in with a lower AF on the RC than the Brilliant. The RC also has a $300 annual airline credit which I use on UTB also in $100 increments. But it works on seat upgrades too. The downside is you have to call in and have the credit applied manually. But have not had any issues doing that. The Priority Pass card with the RC allows unlimited guests into PP lounges.

I do find that annual 85K FN cert useful and we scored two nights using FN certs at Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens this summer which is currently booking for 1280 Euros per night.

Awesome. I'll check those out--thank you! I read about the call in thing with the airline credit for the Ritz card--weird, but it sounds like it works well enough. And WOW that's a great redemption for a FN cert. I bow down as always

 

[AmyAnne]

I have an offer on my no-fee AmEx Hilton card to upgrade to the Surpass card for 50,000 Hilton Honors points for $3,000 spent during the first 6 months. The AF is $150. Am I correct in thinking that this would be spending $150 for the HH points, or is there another benefit to the Surpass card that I am not seeing?

 

[wanderlust7]

I have an offer on my no-fee AmEx Hilton card to upgrade to the Surpass card for 50,000 Hilton Honors points for $3,000 spent during the first 6 months. The AF is $150. Am I correct in thinking that this would be spending $150 for the HH points, or is there another benefit to the Surpass card that I am not seeing?

The Surpass now has a $50 Hilton credit every quarter. This is any Hilton purchase and not limited to resorts like the Aspire. So far, even Hilton GC bought online works.

Have you had the Surpass before? Taking the upgrade will count as having had the card for future SUBs.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

anyone familiar with Miami, we had to pivot on our 40th anniversary trip and book a cruise to the Caribbean, flying in the day before , any hotel recommendations for 1 night

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I just did one night at the Swan through the Chase portal. Started out doing more but was able to increase my DVC nights at BCV.

I got a decent room with a balcony and a view of the pool on the West side, but, my room had not been renovated. It was still in very good condition.

Family got really bad rooms and complained. They were moved to what they actually booked.

I got a balcony 2 queens, I’m hoping they’ll honor it but it’s always a risk with 3rd party booking. I’ve personally not had an issue but Reddit is full of stories of people who had problems.

 

[Alexle2007]

anyone familiar with Miami, we had to pivot on our 40th anniversary trip and book a cruise to the Caribbean, flying in the day before , any hotel recommendations for 1 night

We cruise quite frequently out of Miami. We like the Hyatt Centric and Hyatt Regency in Brickell/downtown. It‘s an easy Uber ride to the port in the morning. Be prepared for how busy that port can be for drop-offs. We had delayed boarding in December and it took over an hour for what should have been 15-20 min max. All of the ships got in late so it was chaos.

We are sailing out of Miami again in less than 3 weeks. DH saw the Icon when he was the Independence a couple of weeks ago.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Alexle2007]

Life has been quite busy with having a senior and determining a college selection. (I think we are down to 2 but waiting to hear from 1.) We are headed on a Greek Isles/Adriatic cruise from Ravenna in June and Alaska cruise from Vancouver in July to celebrate.

Would Welcome any excursion recommendations for Santorini, Athens, Zadar and Kotor for cruise stops and then 3 nights in Bologna before we fly home. And then Sitka, Juneau, Icy Strait Point and Tracy Arm Fjords in Alaska.

Only 44 more lunches to pack.

 

[spacerangerqueen]

We are back from our Disney Cruise out of New Orleans. Our folio won't download from DCL so I can't factor in the costs of the excursions and other experiences on the cruise, but here's how we paid for the rest of the travel expenses:

Bought a $500 Disney gift card at Publix and paid myself back using 40,000 UR
Put the rest of the cruise cost on my Capital One Venture and used the travel eraser to cover it in full (this used my SUB, the support points I transferred from DH's card, and the points earned from charging the cruise itself, pretty much came out to the exact amount of points)

Flights were on SW using points. Unfortunately didn't earn the CP yet, so had to pay for all of us. Used various CC credits to cover EBCI for all of us for both flights.

I used a Hyatt FNC to stay at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans the night before the cruise.
I transferred URs to book the Eliza Jane through Hyatt for the night we returned from the cruise.

I acquired $143.15 in Uber gift cards from cashing out my Ibotta, swagbucks, and speedway accounts and using DH's Biz Gold office supply monthly credit. Ubering around from Mardi Gras parades was pricy, so even with using up my CSR travel credit, we paid $58.12 OOP for 6 Uber rides during the trip.

Throw in the flight taxes, travel insurance, airport parking, and wi-fi on the plane, and we are at $391.72 OOP for the entire trip. Cash value of $5,325.05.
Total points used: 126,866 Capital One, 57,486 SW, and 63,000 URs

It was great to be back on the Disney Magic for the first time since 2019 and to be on a cruise that was relatively back to "normal" after the Pandemic. We had some terrible weather, and the last 2 shows were canceled for unclear reasons, but we still had a blast! Also really enjoyed taking in a few Mardi Gras parades and experiencing New Orleans before we headed home.

Time to refresh the points supply and plan the next adventure!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

We cruise quite frequently out of Miami. We like the Hyatt Centric and Hyatt Regency in Brickell/downtown. It‘s an easy Uber ride to the port in the morning. Be prepared for how busy that port can be for drop-offs. We had delayed boarding in December and it took over an hour for what should have been 15-20 min max. All of the ships got in late so it was chaos.

We are sailing out of Miami again in less than 3 weeks. DH saw the Icon when he was the Independence a couple of weeks ago.

Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks…I’ll look into those hopefully the friends we are going with are willing to branch out from Marriotts….they were looking at Miami Marriott at Biscayne Bay

 

[AmyAnne]

The Surpass now has a $50 Hilton credit every quarter. This is any Hilton purchase and not limited to resorts like the Aspire. So far, even Hilton GC bought online works.

Have you had the Surpass before? Taking the upgrade will count as having had the card for future SUBs.

Thanks! Good reminder about getting the full SUB before taking an upgrade offer. But I have had all of the Hilton cards.

 

[Aela]

Hi I’m new here and I’m thinking about getting an American Express Marriott business card. I haven’t Hi, I’m new here and I’m thinking about getting a American Express Marriott business card. I haven’t gotten any new cards in the past 48 months, and we put about $5-6000 a month on our credit cards. We pay it all off every month.

I currently have a Marriott Chase personal visa card, I have a Bank of America Visa, and I have a Disney premier visa.

My main reason for wanting to pick up the Marriott business card is because the 15 nights will stack with our regular card, which will help boost us up to our platinum level. Our travel this year is a little smaller than normal, and we are going to be short at the end of the year for our 50 travel nights.

I will also make use of the sign on bonus points from this on a trip in March, so that’ll be even better.

The best on scene for a sign-up bonus right now is 75,000 points, but I’m not sure if there’s something better out there I’m just missing.

Okay so, this is my old post. I was told I needed to wait until my 2 year bonus from my Marriott chase card cycled. It did now, so I think I am good to sign up for the business card now. Is there anything else I should know?

 

[platamama]

Okay so, this is my old post. I was told I needed to wait until my 2 year bonus from my Marriott chase card cycled. It did now, so I think I am good to sign up for the business card now. Is there anything else I should know?

I'm curious if your main intent is to reach Platinum status? With the Marriott Brilliant card, you get automatic Platinum status and an anniversary 85K FNC. It does have a hefty $650 AF (with $25 monthly dining credits, so net $350 fee assuming you spend more than $25/mo eating out) vs the Biz Bonvoy's $125 AF. To me I would look at that difference as paying $225 extra for a 85K FNC (vs. 35K FNC from the Biz Bonvoy) and automatic Platinum status. So depending on how you utilize those FNC and how much you value Platinum status, it might be worth thinking of getting the Brilliant card. It's become increasingly more difficult to get great value out of the 35K FNC, but I do get at least $95 or $125 out of it so for me I at the very least break even on the AF.

I have an Amex Bonvoy (originally SPG), Amex Biz Bonvoy (I opened it last year when there was a 125K SUB), and Chase Boundless and have Platinum status until Feb 2025. Because I'm considering going for lifetime Platinum I'm thinking of upgrading my Amex Bonvoy to the Brilliant next year after my Platinum status expires because I need one more year of Platinum. I still need many more nights for lifetime Platinum, so the 25 nt boost from the Brilliant card (in addition to the 15 from the Biz card, which gives 40 nights for holding those two cards) helps put that within grasp. Although I haven't decided if that's the way I want to go since Platinum status is not all that great...

The Biz Bonvoy has the lower AF and gives you 5 more elite nights -- 30 nights for holding both biz and personal card vs 25 nights for the Brilliant alone. So depending on your long term plans it may make more sense for you to stick with the Biz Bonvoy application.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

anyone familiar with Miami, we had to pivot on our 40th anniversary trip and book a cruise to the Caribbean, flying in the day before , any hotel recommendations for 1 night

We cruise quite frequently out of Miami. We like the Hyatt Centric and Hyatt Regency in Brickell/downtown. It‘s an easy Uber ride to the port in the morning. Be prepared for how busy that port can be for drop-offs. We had delayed boarding in December and it took over an hour for what should have been 15-20 min max. All of the ships got in late so it was chaos.

We are sailing out of Miami again in less than 3 weeks. DH saw the Icon when he was the Independence a couple of weeks ago.

Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks…I’ll look into those hopefully the friends we are going with are willing to branch out from Marriotts….they were looking at Miami Marriott at Biscayne Bay

We winter in a condo near the Marriott/DoubleTree/Hilton in the Edgewater/Downtown area.

Super convenient to the cruise port with great views of the port if you are lucky. All are close to the people mover (free) at the Arsht Station. While there are restaurants and stuff within walking distance, there isn't that big a selection without ubering (Wyndwood/Midtown).

The Brickell/Downtown area probably have more walkable stuff nearby.