I love credit cards so much!

[WVMomof3]

For PNC bank bonus DD, I want to push say $1000 from my Chase Total Checking. I can push that back to Chase and then push it back to PNC for another DD right?

As a DP my DD got her bonus without any additional funding, just the CC funding. She did transfer $2000 like I told her, but she pulled instead of pushed, not like I told her, so I am sure it did not count. But @alryan had mentioned that just the CC funding would work so we waited it out.

 

[StephPlum]

They would work at any Marriott brand. It won't work at the "new" SPG brands yet (and vice versa). So even if you buy it at a Fairfield you could use it at a Courtyard.

Tagging @StephPlum.

Thanks all (and those I missed quoting) for answering my question. Maybe when I am off over Christmas break, I'll see if I want to venture to a Fairfield Inn for the deal.

 

[elgerber]

Wicked is one of my favorites, I've seen it 5 times, and it's never gotten old!

 

[Judique]

We got a food processor attachment for the kitchenaid mixer and DH has now decided he doesn't eat pre-shredded cheese

OMG - a cheese princess!

Great topic!

I want to better utilize the 4x grocery category (i.e. giftcards) on my Amex Rose Gold. I would also like to shift a focus to cash back. I haven't decided what that means exactly. Maybe the Schwab route, not sure.

Good reminder! I need to pick up Bass Pro for my son in law (or anything with a fish on it) and I'd sort of forgotten about 4x at grocery store since getting Rose Gold - I mostly shop Costco, Aldi, Trader Joe's and only occasionally do Giant and Safeway.

 

[Lain]

Well...I don't know what to do now. I tried applying for the AMEX Schwab again today for my wife. The popup message is still there...My wife has signed up for ONE card from AMEX in the past 12 months. In 2017 she got 3 cards from them also.

In an effort to remove the poup I've done the following over the past couple of months:

• 3 Transactions and $350+ on BBP
• 3 Transactions and $150+ on Hilton
• 3 Transactions and $20 on Delta Biz
• Numerous Transactions and $2,300+ on BCP (this is about $300 above the $2k required for my upgrade offer)

At this point, I've now wasted over $800 that could have been directed at some other MSR had I gotten a different card. We put transactions and spend on every card she has and it didn't seem to make a difference. There also was this unfortunate development that even if I don't see the popup one time...that they may still deny us the bonus.

Perhaps this is a sign...I should just forget the 60k MRs...get a Schwab Plat, triple dip the airline credits and cash out all my MRs. Of course that would play really well with AMEX I'm sure (getting a card and spending $600 in reimbursables ONLY on it then closing it after 13 months, lol).

Part of my dilemma is that we have ~200k MRs. So we could get $2,000 in gift cards or $2,500 in cash. I'm going to pay a $550 annual fee to get $500 more...Of course the airline credit offset that. If I wait much longer then the triple dip goes out the window which just makes the whole thing $200 worse. This just makes SO MUCH MORE sense if I was also getting $750 from the signup bonus...but I may never get that and am I just holding on to hope for something that will never happen...

I am quite torn...would be happy to hear the thoughts of my trusted CC friends on this one...

You're right...WOW I am completely discounting the 5/24 slot I would use. That adds another wrinkle.

All in, the math says the following:

• Pay $550 Annual fee
• Get $600 in SW Gift Cards (spread over 13 months)
• Get $2,500 in Cash
• I could attempt to figure out that whole UBER Eats thing and get food too...but I wouldn't attribute actual $$ to this benefit

Not doing it leaves me with $2,000 in gift cards. So I do actually come out ahead by $550+ by getting the Schwab Plat (without the bonus). AND I don't have to spend anything towards an MSR to do so. It really has been a tough decision for me...

Woah woah...it's only 507,593 SW RR points We do have one trip a year on SW where my father wants me to purchase the tickets and he reimburses us. It's a family tradition trip. So I could use the GCs for that as I refuse to cash out points and then take his money.

You make good points - and the whole points/cash/gift cards thing feels like you can talk yourself in circles. Right now I'm leaning towards no, but I have probably a few more days to make a firm decision before the triple dip goes out the window.

My wife is 2/24 but with my new slow-churner plan I think her and I are just going to remain under 5/24 forever now. This is a much lower stress plan for us so I'm not necessarily opposed to using a 5/24 slot for it.


Definitely no rumor of 1.25 going away. I appreciate your insight a lot

I have no other AMEX cards I'm interested in, lol. If we had gotten approved, this might have been our last AMEX card for a long time (dare I say...ever?...or at least until they change their approach)


Yeah - this recent idea of running a bunch of transactions on each card was born from conversations here. I'm not going to sacrifice thousands of dollars of spend for a subpar return in an effort to get 1 card bonus. Part of the problem is 2 of the 4 cards she has are in programs we don't even care about (Hilton and Delta). Delta will be gone soon so no worries there. I can justify spend on the BCP card and almost justify on the BBP so maybe we keep putting regular stuff on there and see if it improves in the future.

I cancelled my SPG Biz today...no free night ever posted. AF was due on Tuesday. Not unexpected but still bummed.

Still no final decision on my Schwab Plat...I'm leaning towards no right now. @Lain - care to weigh in on my whole dilemma? I got a ton of respect for your opinions on this stuff since you provide such thoughtful responses!

@SouthFayetteFan -- I wish I had more for you, but like @striker1064 said Amex's new pop up is a mystery. There are DPs of spending $5 on a slice and the pop up goes away, and then there are DPs like yours where you spend hundreds or thousands across Amex cards and still get the pop up. Then there are DPs where folks get the pop up when trying to apply for one card, but no pop up when trying to apply for a different card. Then there are the DPs of Amex denying a bonus even when you didn't get the pop up. It really makes me wonder how sophisticated Amex's metrics are and whether they track all their customers with some kind of internal rating or score, e.g., a la Black Mirror or The Good Place. Assuming that, and the fact that you two burned through Amex's cards ~two years ago, your wife may be in a much deeper hole than most, and who knows how much more spend she'll have to throw at Amex to bring her score back to par. Like you said, you've already "wasted" $800 in spend that could have gone towards MSR on another card.

I have have no idea whether to fish or cut bait. Do you just get the Schwab Plat now and cash out even without the bonus, or hold on to the MR (hope things improve in 2019?) and try again for the Schwab Plat come triple dip season next year? I don't know if time (relationship history?) will change anything for the better if you're going to cancel the Delta and pull back spend on the remaining Amexes (but it sounds like you'll at least put grocery spend on the BCP and miscellaneous spend on the BBP). If you get the pop up next year, what do you do then? What's the time value on those 200k MR? And of course, as you pointed out, cash value at a 1.25x redemption vs. gift card value on which you have to take a discount if you tried to liquidate. I guess it sounds like I'm leaning towards a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush with the Schwab Plat cash out now, but I'm assuming your wife's situation with Amex doesn't get better next year and you're just ready to move on from Amex. Because, like you said, it probably won't help your wife's relationship with Amex any to sign up for one of Amex's premium cards only to put reimbursable expenses on it and cash out MR, then cancel.

I think @jhoannam makes a good point that the slot the Schwab Plat will take up is a valid cost to consider. I think at 2/24 in slow churning mode, it might not be a major factor, but you know the roadmap you want P2 to take better than us.

 

[Lain]

Devalue? Do you mean the high end Cat 8 or have you read something else?

Hey....when does the $300 Lux credit turn over? Was just thinking if it's January I could do it on one of my $40 offers.

Devalue in the sense only that it'll cost more Marriott points for Cat 8 properties that are currently on Cat 7 pricing, and for the same hotels across the board during peak pricing.

The Lux's $300 credit is a calendar year credit, so sometime on or after 8/23/19.

 

[Natgridenergy]

In regards to the Santander checking bonus, has anyone pushed money from a Wells Fargo brokerage account? Does that count as a DD?

 

[gottalovepluto]

Devalue in the sense only that it'll cost more Marriott points for Cat 8 properties that are currently on Cat 7 pricing, and for the same hotels across the board during peak pricing.

I’d written this off as a lost cause too but now that we have a couple more months my wheels are spinning...

 

[Lain]

I’d written this off as a lost cause too but now that we have a couple more months my wheels are spinning...

EXACTLY!

 

[gottalovepluto]

In regards to the Santander checking bonus, has anyone pushed money from a Wells Fargo brokerage account? Does that count as a DD?

Best bet is to check DoC for recent DPs. If nothing there check Reddit on the bank bonus thread for this week.

 

[alryan]

As a DP my DD got her bonus without any additional funding, just the CC funding. She did transfer $2000 like I told her, but she pulled instead of pushed, not like I told her, so I am sure it did not count. But @alryan had mentioned that just the CC funding would work so we waited it out.

Yes, I got the bonus for myself and P2 with just the credit card funding. One finished the debits on 10/2, received the bonus 10/26, the other finished debits 11/17 and received the bonus 11/30. Glad to see it worked for your DD as well!

 

[Judique]

My statement closed for my Rose Gold card and the $250 was added yesterday.

I decided to add up how many MR's I earned on my spend. The total was 2900 on about $2100 worth of spend.

But, unlike all the other items, there were no MR listed for my $200 Courtyard gift card purchase that got me $40 cash back. Anyone have any idea why not? Everything else seems so straight forward.

 

[Judique]

Devalue in the sense only that it'll cost more Marriott points for Cat 8 properties that are currently on Cat 7 pricing, and for the same hotels across the board during peak pricing.

The Lux's $300 credit is a calendar year credit, so sometime on or after 8/23/19.

Thanks! I'm hoping to capitalize on off peak pricing on the lower end properties.

In my mind I cross reference with what an SPG redemption used to be and just can't give them all those points! I'm becoming much more of a point hoarder with Marriott than I ever was with SPG, which is not good. I need to sit down and have a talk with myself. Earn and burn used to be my motto.

 

[amalone1013]

Perusing hotels back home for the first weekend in January. That's when family Christmas is. Not sure I'll be able to go yet.

But the Fairfield by the airport that we did one night at in November... is actually less than my not-too-sketchy Quality Inn by the prison. Don't tell DH!

 

[Andysol]

While I’m here, I’ll throw this out as I’m hitting Shanghai and Paris in a RTW Trip soon: Has anyone considered an ANA RTW trip to hit all the Disney Parks in the world? That would be a pretty aspirational redemption.

Start in LA for Disneyland, head to Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Paris and end in Orlando? Without putting it in gcmap, I’d guess that would only be 115-125k for business (75-85 for economy).

 

[tink1970]

2019 Goals...

Mine are super boring since I'm still LOL/24

1) Continue to streamline my cards, evaluating for usefulness and AF.
2) As above, eliminate unnecessary AFs
3) Possibly getting a new Amex (either BBP or Aspire) after I cancel EDP, assuming I don't earn the dreaded pop up!
4) PCing Biz Plat and BGR (that will save me around $500).
5) Possibly convincing DH to get a new card, especially if DD attends a college that accepts cc for tuition. I'm not going to hold my breath on that, though

If she does, and we're looking at $50-$60k on tuition I'll definitely solicit y'alls' advice on which one. I have a couple in mind but am always willing to learn/change my mind.

 

[tink1970]

Perusing hotels back home for the first weekend in January. That's when family Christmas is. Not sure I'll be able to go yet.

But the Fairfield by the airport that we did one night at in November... is actually less than my not-too-sketchy Quality Inn by the prison. Don't tell DH!

Is this in Lincon or Omaha? We stayed near a prison in Nebraska but think it was in Omaha. DD left her precious stuffie there and they were so sweet mailing it home. I love Nebraska hospitality!

While I’m here, I’ll throw this out as I’m hitting Shanghai and Paris in a RTW Trip soon: Has anyone considered an ANA RTW trip to hit all the Disney Parks in the world? That would be a pretty aspirational redemption.

Start in LA for Disneyland, head to Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Paris and end in Orlando? Without putting it in gcmap, I’d guess that would only be 115-125k for business (75-85 for economy).

That is an amazing itinerary! I keep looking for things to do for my 50th and that would be fun

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

2019 CC goals - play along if you like.

I am at 4/24; DH at 3/24

-United Mileage for me before 1/8
-once MSR met; CFU for DH
-PC DHs United Mileage and CSP on their anniversary dates

Beyond that, it depends which cards are offering the best bonuses, but I would like to start a stash of points for (in no particular order):
-IHG
-Jet Blue
-Delta
-American Airlines
and also focus on continuing to build up UR and MR and SW

Towards the end of 2019 I hope to get DH SW card(s) for the CP in 2020/21

We have no specific travel plans; hopefully Europe in 2020. Long term goal - have a diverse travel rewards portfolio in 2-3 years.

I am a slow churner so this may actually be a 2-3 year plan.

I am 3/24; dh is 2/24. Between us we have CSR, CF, SW Priority, CSP, Hyatt, a really old Discover, and a really old Citi w no benefits.

My first goal is to get the SW CP for 2019-2020. I will apply for the SW biz as soon as possible---I got the Priority in-flight Dec 1, so when would a good application date be?
After that, I need to increase the number of UR we have before I can book our flights to Australia in either October or November. The CIC is an overall good choice for our spending yet the CIP has that really nice bonus. Hopefully I can get both using my tutoring business/"business" (depends on the month lol)

Dh is a semi-willing, no-business-cards-please, P2. I don't want to stress him too much! I think one of the United cards would be a good bet so that we could see additional inventory for booking Australia. I will probably PC his CSP to a CF in the summer. After that, who knows? The only other Chase cards that could work would be SW personal, Marriott personal, and IHG. I don't know if it would be worth going for the Marriott and then having to wait on the corresponding Amex cards, or just forgetting the Chase and going for the Amex one(s).

I'm suffering all kinds of Amex FOMO. I think if the 100K Plat pops up for either of us I'd apply for it right away! The revamped Gold card (I can't remember the acronym) would be a very good choice for our spending, too.

 

[CoP Luv]

While I’m here, I’ll throw this out as I’m hitting Shanghai and Paris in a RTW Trip soon: Has anyone considered an ANA RTW trip to hit all the Disney Parks in the world? That would be a pretty aspirational redemption.

Start in LA for Disneyland, head to Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Paris and end in Orlando? Without putting it in gcmap, I’d guess that would only be 115-125k for business (75-85 for economy).

Not that I am in any place to even consider this, but doing this trip is my Ultimate Bucket List Item (with Aulani, ABD, and DCL in there too!).

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I am 3/24; dh is 2/24. Between us we have CSR, CF, SW Priority, CSP, Hyatt, a really old Discover, and a really old Citi w no benefits.

My first goal is to get the SW CP for 2019-2020. I will apply for the SW biz as soon as possible---I got the Priority in-flight Dec 1, so when would a good application date be?
After that, I need to increase the number of UR we have before I can book our flights to Australia in either October or November. The CIC is an overall good choice for our spending yet the CIP has that really nice bonus. Hopefully I can get both using my tutoring business/"business" (depends on the month lol)

Dh is a semi-willing, no-business-cards-please, P2. I don't want to stress him too much! I think one of the United cards would be a good bet so that we could see additional inventory for booking Australia. I will probably PC his CSP to a CF in the summer. After that, who knows? The only other Chase cards that could work would be SW personal, Marriott personal, and IHG. I don't know if it would be worth going for the Marriott and then having to wait on the corresponding Amex cards, or just forgetting the Chase and going for the Amex one(s).

I'm suffering all kinds of Amex FOMO. I think if the 100K Plat pops up for either of us I'd apply for it right away! The revamped Gold card (I can't remember the acronym) would be a very good choice for our spending, too.

The earliest you could apply for the SW business is 31 days after the Priority....if you don’t need the CP quickly for a flight maybe space it out even more.