I love credit cards so much!

[georgina]

My 21yo daughter is ready for a card. She's a recent college grad (2 weeks). We're trying to get a credit score for her. Credit karma doesn't like her, in the past they couldn't verify her. Creditscorecard can't seem to pull up anything on her. I'm waiting to hear back to see if her Navy Federal account shows a score. She is an AU on my oldest Navy Federal card, I should have done that sooner than I did, I only did that in the past year.

I don't know if I should just have her give Chase a try or just start with NFCU. I'm pretty sure she'd have no issue getting approved with NFCU. I don't know if Chase will approve her and with little to no history, and which Chase should she start with? Travel goals for her are a trip to Japan with her girlfriend to visit the girlfriend's brother sometime in the next 2 years I think, and Tokyo Disneyland. Other than that, they have no big travel plans. Someday they want to road trip, they do little stuff around here. She just wants to start building her credit mostly. When I mentioned maybe being able use some points for Japan she became interested. Hitting minimum spends will be hard for her.

Then the next part of my question is income. Can she use her roommate/girlfriend's income? They split the bills, each paying half.

I'll take a stab at this, as I also have a new grad (May 2017). I also have 2 older children who had no trouble getting cards when they graduated, but I think some banks are tightening up. Youngest DD, who was a computer science major and was an AU on my card for 5 years, was turned down for a Chase SW card last year when she was interning for Google and making a good salary. This year after she graduated and is making 6 figures, she was turned down for a Citi double cash, because of limited credit history, although her credit score is very good. I'm sure her private landlord does not report any rent payments to credit bureaus. She was able to get a Capital One Quicksilver with 1.5% cash back. I think Chase Freedom is easier to get than some other Chase cards. She went with the Quicksilver because you could check ahead of time if you would be approved without a hard pull on your credit. I was really surprised Citi turned her down.

I don't think she could use a roommates income on her application.

 

[snugglebug]

I'll take a stab at this, as I also have a new grad (May 2017). I also have 2 older children who had no trouble getting cards when they graduated, but I think some banks are tightening up. Youngest DD, who was a computer science major and was an AU on my card for 5 years, was turned down for a Chase SW card last year when she was interning for Google and making a good salary. This year after she graduated and is making 6 figures, she was turned down for a Citi double cash, because of limited credit history, although her credit score is very good. I'm sure her private landlord does not report any rent payments to credit bureaus. She was able to get a Capital One Quicksilver with 1.5% cash back. I think Chase Freedom is easier to get than some other Chase cards. She went with the Quicksilver because you could check ahead of time if you would be approved without a hard pull on your credit. I was really surprised Citi turned her down.

I don't think she could use a roommates income on her application.

Thanks! She has no pre-approvals from Chase and I can't find her credit score anywhere. She's had a bank account with NFCU for a very long time so I think she has a good chance for an approval with themdue to prior relationship so I'm still leaning that way. I'll keep Quicksilver in mind. I've never had anything other than NFCU, USAA and now Chase.

 

[Lain]

PSA: It is January 1st! If you have cards that offer airline credits like Citi Prestige $250, Amex Platinum Personal $200, Amex Platinum Business $200, Amex Platinum Schwab $200, Bank of America Premium Travel $100 your calendar has reset. Remember with the Amex cards you have to pick your preferred airline first. If it is the same as the previous year you don't need to change it. Some airline gift cards work to trigger the credit but not all. Some must be purchased in less than $200 increments to trigger the credit with Amex. American Airlines GCs do work and with Amex at $100 increments. So I just purchased $950 in AA gift cards that I don't have to pay for.

Just to add -- always check FlyerTalk and /r/churning for recent DPs about what denominations of gift cards for what airlines still work to trigger the Amex airline fee credit. Gift cards are technically excluded from the fee credit, but there are DPs of gift card purchases in $50 or $100 denominations for certain airlines crediting. Things may have changed from last year.

I was planning to purchase $100 Hawaiian Airlines gift certificates using my Amex PRG and Platinum, which worked for the past two years, but FlyerTalk DPs seem to suggest Amex killed this sometime mid-2017. I'm debating switching my airline choice to American or Southwest for the credit, then reselling the gift cards for some money back. (For the Amex airline fee credit, you'll need to select your airline you plan to use the credit for the calendar year.)

 

[AmyAnne]

I had planned to use Delta Sky Pesos from 4 credit card sign up bonuses between DH and I to book the flights. I severely underestimated how useless they would be for my trip. We had about 360K Delta Sky Pesos and then Delta was requiring 700K Sky Pesos I honestly am in awe of the Delta hostages that can make this program work for them. Fortunately, we had plenty of Chase UR points and were able to pay through the CSR UR portal for the flights.

This is so true about Delta skymiles. I used my skymiles on a ticket for one of my kids over Thanksgiving, even though it was not the absolute best value (could have used MR points on an AA flight and gotten 50% back, which would have been a slightly better deal) but it was close enough and had the added benefit of allowing me to use the skymiles for something. I have the Delta Gold from AmEx and will be cancelling when the AF is due in March. We used to fly Delta all the time when we lived in a Delta hub city, but other than the Thanksgiving flight, it has been years since Delta has had flights/times/decent prices to anywhere anyone in my family wanted to fly.

 

[ctinct]

Just thought I’d share my latest foray into this realm. I’m going very slowly, as I don’t really have any definite plans for Travel. I’m the type of person who goes somewhere just because the flights happen to be cheap. I was lucky that I decided to give this a go just before the Chase Reserve went from 100,000 to 50,000points; I also got the preferred just before Chase decided to limit you to one Sapphire. Lucky timing.

Anyhow, just a few weeks ago I decided to go for a Marriott. Oh, no! My first 30 notice! I was kind of surprised because my credit score is over 800, but by the next morning I was approved. They just moved some credit around. Whew.

The next hurdle was thinking about how to make the minimum spend. I’m not a big spender, and most of my Christmas shopping was done already. I really should have applied a month earlier to get my Christmas spend on there. I had a few ideas, but the week before Christmas, two thirds of the spend was done in one day when my oil tank leaked and had to be replaced. Ugh. Merry Christmas to me. My only consolation was that since I had to spend the money anyhow, at least it went toward my minimum spend.

I think my next step will be to cancel my Southwest card. I don’t really have a need for the companion pass, particularly since you can only change your companion once, right? However, I’d like to be ready in case they increase the bonus again. I’m not sure how long I’ll wait, though, as those would be my last two Chase spots if they become available again. I’m not sure what I’ll do otherwise. I’ll have to keep reading here and thinking on it.

 

[AmyAnne]

Thanks! She has no pre-approvals from Chase and I can't find her credit score anywhere. She's had a bank account with NFCU for a very long time so I think she has a good chance for an approval with themdue to prior relationship so I'm still leaning that way. I'll keep Quicksilver in mind. I've never had anything other than NFCU, USAA and now Chase.

I wouldn't worry too much about finding her credit score. The credit score is influenced by being an AU on a parent's account, but the credit card companies see right through that and understand that an AU is not responsible for actually paying for the charges. If she doesn't have any credit cards (and therefore no actual credit history), her best bet is probably going to be the credit union.

ETA: There was a report here a few weeks ago about someone in about your daughter's situation having a "pre-approval" for a CSP through Chase credit journey, but the application was denied anyway. Those pre-approvals are apparently not really guaranteed.

 

[Albort]

Tulsa, OK

since you mention you like the heat but not the beach, i was originally gonna suggest the gulf coast island. From OK, it should be a pretty quick hop there, but ive never been there so i cant really help you with activities. haha. There are some great tools to use, awardhacker.com will find you flights, awardmapper.com will help you find the hotels. Google Flights and give u an overview on whats cheap and expensive anywhere in the world, perhaps u can pay for airfare and use your points for hotels(like an all inclusive hotel).

So we have some newbie type questions appearing recently and a lot of the answers center around one theme which is a great "generic" tip: HAVE A PLAN!

Said otherwise...do everything in the churning game with intent...if you look at some of the answers posted by me, @Lain @calypso726, @Albort, etc...you'll see this theme of having a plan.

hah, im probably the worse example to use. I take advantage of every situation as much as i can to earn. I have absolutely no plans on any trips anywhere. the only thing i can show off is earning over 700k points in 2.5 years on 3 programs... single player mode, low income... :\ you'll going on trips makes me jealous as i dont have much time to go. (still in school).

 

[wendow]

I think my next step will be to cancel my Southwest card. I don’t really have a need for the companion pass, particularly since you can only change your companion once, right? However, I’d like to be ready in case they increase the bonus again. I’m not sure how long I’ll wait, though, as those would be my last two Chase spots if they become available again. I’m not sure what I’ll do otherwise. I’ll have to keep reading here and thinking on it.

You can change your companion up to three times per year

 

[Ngwira]

Just thought I’d share my latest foray into this realm. I’m going very slowly, as I don’t really have any definite plans for Travel. I’m the type of person who goes somewhere just because the flights happen to be cheap. I was lucky that I decided to give this a go just before the Chase Reserve went from 100,000 to 50,000points; I also got the preferred just before Chase decided to limit you to one Sapphire. Lucky timing.

Anyhow, just a few weeks ago I decided to go for a Marriott. Oh, no! My first 30 notice! I was kind of surprised because my credit score is over 800, but by the next morning I was approved. They just moved some credit around. Whew.

The next hurdle was thinking about how to make the minimum spend. I’m not a big spender, and most of my Christmas shopping was done already. I really should have applied a month earlier to get my Christmas spend on there. I had a few ideas, but the week before Christmas, two thirds of the spend was done in one day when my oil tank leaked and had to be replaced. Ugh. Merry Christmas to me. My only consolation was that since I had to spend the money anyhow, at least it went toward my minimum spend.

I think my next step will be to cancel my Southwest card. I don’t really have a need for the companion pass, particularly since you can only change your companion once, right? However, I’d like to be ready in case they increase the bonus again. I’m not sure how long I’ll wait, though, as those would be my last two Chase spots if they become available again. I’m not sure what I’ll do otherwise. I’ll have to keep reading here and thinking on it.

You can change your companion up to three times a year.

 

[Lain]

I think my next step will be to cancel my Southwest card. I don’t really have a need for the companion pass, particularly since you can only change your companion once, right? However, I’d like to be ready in case they increase the bonus again. I’m not sure how long I’ll wait, though, as those would be my last two Chase spots if they become available again. I’m not sure what I’ll do otherwise. I’ll have to keep reading here and thinking on it.

If you're at 3/24, you may actually have more than two last spots. You could apply for one of their business cards (the Chase Ink Cash [30k UR signup bonus] or Chase Ink Preferred [80k UR bonus]), for which you have to be under 5/24 but don't count against a slot. You could also add another 5/24 card with your 4th slot, and then "double dip" (2 Southwest cards for CP?) with your 5th slot (thus, getting 2 cards with your last slot).

 

[jujubiee4]

Well now that it is the New Year I took down all my Christmas decorations and will start
to declutter the house. Got me thinking about "decluttering" credit cards.

Will anyone post what their plans for 2018 closing or even opening cards?

Mine..after some consideration i will close my Citi thank you premier this month before
annual fee hits. It was my favorite card for a while because of the benefits it gave
and extra bonuses. For the past 6 months i was offered nada.

Amex Prg....will close that at end of the year. Tired of changing airline credits. Plus i picked
up airline cards that don't charge baggage fees. I do love the spending offers though. However
195 fee...ouch. Will mull this over.

I picked up Hawaiian airlines which i will close right after our Hawaii trip. Discover It...may close
after 1st year. Chase Hyatt....will keep. Jetblue...def keep esp with the 60 k bonus. Alaskan...
def keep. Amex blue cash preferred..on the fence about after 1st year ends.

I just product changed the sapphire to freedom unlimited and now having a bit of buyers remorse.
I forgot about the trip insurance and car rental insurance benefits. Hope i did the right thing.

I think this year I just want to concentrate on Chase freedom ...freedom unlimited and transfer points
to reserve.

What are you planning to cut out or add in 2018?

 

[havaneselover]

Well now that it is the New Year I took down all my Christmas decorations and will start
to declutter the house. Got me thinking about "decluttering" credit cards.

Will anyone post what their plans for 2018 closing or even opening cards?

Mine..after some consideration i will close my Citi thank you premier this month before
annual fee hits. It was my favorite card for a while because of the benefits it gave
and extra bonuses. For the past 6 months i was offered nada.

Amex Prg....will close that at end of the year. Tired of changing airline credits. Plus i picked
up airline cards that don't charge baggage fees. I do love the spending offers though. However
195 fee...ouch. Will mull this over.

I picked up Hawaiian airlines which i will close right after our Hawaii trip. Discover It...may close
after 1st year. Chase Hyatt....will keep. Jetblue...def keep esp with the 60 k bonus. Alaskan...
def keep. Amex blue cash preferred..on the fence about after 1st year ends.

I just product changed the sapphire to freedom unlimited and now having a bit of buyers remorse.
I forgot about the trip insurance and car rental insurance benefits. Hope i did the right thing.

I think this year I just want to concentrate on Chase freedom ...freedom unlimited and transfer points
to reserve.

What are you planning to cut out or add in 2018?

I think I’ll cancel my amex spg personal in March at my anniversary. Will product change my csp to cfu in August. That leaves me with 4 cards with an annual fee—csr, amex bcp, cip, and Marriott. CIP will only be kept for one year. The others are long term keepers (for now).

I’m not sure what if anything I’ll add. I’m at 4/24 + CIP. Will be at 3/24 in June. Would love to get sw cp for visiting my parents but not sure—timing would have to be perfect. I play in single player mode.

This year we’re headed to AK for a cruise. After that I’m thinking a trip to Chicago (hoping Hamilton will still be playing in 2019) and a trip to London (maybe spring break 2021 before dd graduates high school). So I’m just accumulating ur points for those trips.

 

[tink1970]

Will anyone post what their plans for 2018 closing or even opening cards?

I'm planning on product changing DH's Chase Sapphire Reserve to a freedom when his AF rolls around.

For me, I'll cancel my Citi Thank You Prestige when the AF hits. I honestly shake my head when I consider why I even got it ( I still don't know ).

I'll cancel Disney Premier (or product change) when its AF posts, as well as my R-C card. Considering canceling my Marriott IF I get a different one from Amex (we'll see).

Very likely will cancel Amex Skymiles Reserve-its perks are just too similar to Amex Platinum (with exception of MQM earn with spend) to justify the AF; also want to open up a spot in my Amex stable (Marriott/SPG?).

 

[Ngwira]

Well now that it is the New Year I took down all my Christmas decorations and will start
to declutter the house. Got me thinking about "decluttering" credit cards.

Will anyone post what their plans for 2018 closing or even opening cards?

Mine..after some consideration i will close my Citi thank you premier this month before
annual fee hits. It was my favorite card for a while because of the benefits it gave
and extra bonuses. For the past 6 months i was offered nada.

Amex Prg....will close that at end of the year. Tired of changing airline credits. Plus i picked
up airline cards that don't charge baggage fees. I do love the spending offers though. However
195 fee...ouch. Will mull this over.

I picked up Hawaiian airlines which i will close right after our Hawaii trip. Discover It...may close
after 1st year. Chase Hyatt....will keep. Jetblue...def keep esp with the 60 k bonus. Alaskan...
def keep. Amex blue cash preferred..on the fence about after 1st year ends.

I just product changed the sapphire to freedom unlimited and now having a bit of buyers remorse.
I forgot about the trip insurance and car rental insurance benefits. Hope i did the right thing.

I think this year I just want to concentrate on Chase freedom ...freedom unlimited and transfer points
to reserve.

What are you planning to cut out or add in 2018?

I only plan to downgrade one card in 2018-my Barclaycard Arrival plus. I will keep my JetBlue plus, CSR, Freedom and Freedom unlimited, Amex B.B. plus and blue cash, discover it, ihg and Hyatt. I also have a capital one Quicksilver which I never use. I canceled my Amex Platinum and Prg last year.

I primarily use my Chase cards.

 

[AmyAnne]

Amex Prg....will close that at end of the year. Tired of changing airline credits. Plus i picked
up airline cards that don't charge baggage fees. I do love the spending offers though. However
195 fee...ouch. Will mull this over.

I thought about canceling this one too, but it comes with $100 airline fee credit, correct? That makes the AF effectively about $95, and I am sure I've gotten $95 of value from the offers.

 

[Albort]

What are you planning to cut out or add in 2018?

gonna drop SPG personal, SPG Biz is enough for me to keep around.
Keeping CSR. I figured my Ink+ makes enough so the AF for all makes sense.
Planning on applying for Marriott. my TYP card drops off the 5/24 making me at 3/24.
Planning on leaving a slot to see what chase comes up with the SPG/Marriott card.
TYP, thinking about asking for another promo. Not sure what to do with it at this point. this was the one point system i was looking forward to use a lot but due to my grandma's death, my trips to asia is no longer needed. i have around 100k left in this system.
Hyatt card might be in mind in the future as well.

 

[Livelovedance]

Happy New Year everyone!

I have a question about the best options for me. In the past I asked about the Southwest credit card, but it was recommended to get the CSP, which I did. I’m excited to say that with the signup bonus I officially have enough points to make a Disney Resort reservation for a future trip we have planned, which is a nice savings! Thank you for the great advice!

I’m wondering about the Southwest credit card again. I currently have the CSP, CF, AmEx blue cash, and a UPromise card that I only really use if I don’t want to increase the balance on another card. We fly exclusively with Southwest. I’d love to earn the companion pass to eliminate some costs for future flights. The Chase UR site doesn’t offer Southwest, so I can’t pay for our flights with that, which is okay because I can use it for our hotel stays. However, if I apply for and use the Southwest card for flights, I’ll be eliminating a use for the CSP that earns the extra points for travel.

Would it be worth it to apply for the Southwest card, or should I just stick with the CSP to use the earned points for hotels?

 

[Albort]

Would it be worth it to apply for the Southwest card, or should I just stick with the CSP to use the earned points for hotels?

difference in opinion im sure but in my opinion, you should only apply for the Southwest card for the companion pass. Other than that, the CSP would probably be a better choice.
The idea is to apply for 2 Southwest cards, which will help you earn the companion pass quicker. currently, the Southwest business card is at 60k. DoC just posted that referral will generate a 50k. so once you complete the minimums, you will get the companion pass.

if biz cards arent a thing for you, both SW cards at 50k, you need to earn 10k more for the companion pass.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Happy New Year everyone!

I have a question about the best options for me. In the past I asked about the Southwest credit card, but it was recommended to get the CSP, which I did. I’m excited to say that with the signup bonus I officially have enough points to make a Disney Resort reservation for a future trip we have planned, which is a nice savings! Thank you for the great advice!

I’m wondering about the Southwest credit card again. I currently have the CSP, CF, AmEx blue cash, and a UPromise card that I only really use if I don’t want to increase the balance on another card. We fly exclusively with Southwest. I’d love to earn the companion pass to eliminate some costs for future flights. The Chase UR site doesn’t offer Southwest, so I can’t pay for our flights with that, which is okay because I can use it for our hotel stays. However, if I apply for and use the Southwest card for flights, I’ll be eliminating a use for the CSP that earns the extra points for travel.

Would it be worth it to apply for the Southwest card, or should I just stick with the CSP to use the earned points for hotels?

The Southwest card with a lucrative signup bonus will give you a MUCH better return than putting everyday spend on the CSP. However, beyond the signup bonus, it's hard to continue to recommend putting spend on a SW card. I don't believe the Southwest cards are currently at a 60,000 point signup bonus BUT when they are at 60k that's practically worth $1,000 in flights (on a $2,000 min spend!) That return pretty much can't be beat with any card if you have a use for the southwest points. If you got 2 cards each at 60k you get the CP (companion pass) for the rest of that year and ALL of the next year (i.e. if you earned it in 2018 you'd have a CP through Dec 31 of 2019).

Also just an FYI - UR points can be transferred to Southwest and then used to book flights which is actually better than if you could use them to book a cash flight. This is because with points on southwest, you can cancel or change your points flight at anytime with no penalty whatsoever. You could cancel day of and get your points back even. They also end up being worth about 1.61 cpp (vs 1.25 with CSP and 1.5 with CSR) making it one of the best redemptions of URs out there value-wise.

 

[Lain]

Well now that it is the New Year I took down all my Christmas decorations and will start
to declutter the house. Got me thinking about "decluttering" credit cards.

Will anyone post what their plans for 2018 closing or even opening cards?

Mine..after some consideration i will close my Citi thank you premier this month before
annual fee hits. It was my favorite card for a while because of the benefits it gave
and extra bonuses. For the past 6 months i was offered nada.

Amex Prg....will close that at end of the year. Tired of changing airline credits. Plus i picked
up airline cards that don't charge baggage fees. I do love the spending offers though. However
195 fee...ouch. Will mull this over.

I picked up Hawaiian airlines which i will close right after our Hawaii trip. Discover It...may close
after 1st year. Chase Hyatt....will keep. Jetblue...def keep esp with the 60 k bonus. Alaskan...
def keep. Amex blue cash preferred..on the fence about after 1st year ends.

I just product changed the sapphire to freedom unlimited and now having a bit of buyers remorse.
I forgot about the trip insurance and car rental insurance benefits. Hope i did the right thing.

I think this year I just want to concentrate on Chase freedom ...freedom unlimited and transfer points
to reserve.

What are you planning to cut out or add in 2018?

My Amex PRG anniversary rolled around mid-December and the AF posted. But I'm waiting to take advantage of the airline fee credit and a few other added Amex Offers before calling in to fish for a good retention offer or canceling. I love the card because I get my best Amex Offers and spending bonuses on it, and more than made up for the $195 AF with the airline fee credit and all the savings from Amex Offers. But I'm currently carrying too many cards with AFs so I'll need to cut back somewhere, or otherwise get a good offer to keep it.

The CSR and CIP are definite keepers. Between those two cards spending on dining, travel, egift cards, and Plastiq, I racked up nearly 200k UR last year. We'll PC my wife's CIP to CIC when her anniversary rolls around, but probably keep her separate CSR because she spends enough on dining at work and social functions that it makes sense. (If we canceled or PCed my wife's CSR, we'd get her an AU on my CSR anyway, which is a $75 AF and a 5/24 slot -- too much to save on the effective $150 AF.) I'll also keep my Amex Platinum because it's my highest earning MR card; close to 100k MR for spend last year. Here's hoping things keep coding the same in 2018! But if they don't, that'll really open up a lot of spend for new card signup bonuses.

I'll probably be finishing up my Amex SPG Biz $10k spend within the next two months, then I'm looking at the personal Marriott to buff up my Marriott/SPG bank, and hopefully before Chase/Amex come out with the new Marriott cards. I'm at 3/24, but one card should drop off around April 2018 and another in December 2018. I'm hesitant to go for the personal SPG because I want to save my slots to possibly go after SW CP, and who knows whatever new card Chase might roll out in 2018 (another Marriott?). I can also always go for a United MPE to buff up my United miles, although I never seem to get targeted for the high offers so that's probably not happening.