I love credit cards so much!

[Angrose]

Hello! I currently have a Disney Visa Premier Card, does anyone know if I can downgrade that to the regular Disney Reward card without penalty? We just aren't getting as much value out of it as we can get on our other cards so I don't want to pay the $49 yearly fee. Thanks!

Yes, you can do that! I did it a few months ago. Simply login to your account to send a secure message and they will take care of it.

 

[bare_foot_mama]

Points are great! I admire the people on this thread who pay their cards off monthly. I used to do that until we ran up our cards while my youngest was in the NICU and PICU. It was way too easy to put that quick meal on the card, buy clothes instead of doing laundry.... I know I know. I was stressed and not thinking long term during that time. Once we pay them off I'm not too sure I'll use them regularly. I sure learned from my mistake, but I never saw the benefit in using the points like mentioned above.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Points are great! I admire the people on this thread who pay their cards off monthly. I used to do that until we ran up our cards while my youngest was in the NICU and PICU. It was way too easy to put that quick meal on the card, buy clothes instead of doing laundry.... I know I know. I was stressed and not thinking long term during that time. Once we pay them off I'm not too sure I'll use them regularly. I sure learned from my mistake, but I never saw the benefit in using the points like mentioned above.

Yes, once you carry a balance, points are not worth it. I would use credit cards in an emergency situation like you had. Then I'd stop charging on the rest until I could pay it off. Once you pay everything off, the points can be useful as long as you aren't tempted to overspend.

 

[Aanna]

If anyone is looking for a way to turn around their finances and look at budgeting in a different way, I cannot recommend the YNAB budgeting software enough. OMGosh I will sound like a commercial, but it completely turned my finances around, and quickly turned my dread of dealing with bills into peace. We've been using it for less than 4 years now, and we went from I-don't-want-to-think-about-it-thousands in debt to an 815 credit score and enough saved up to pay for our WBTA a year in advance. So, yeah, I'm a bit enthusiastic about it. Money and Quicken never helped me at all.

Of course, I'm assuming that most people here are not going to need that info, but it helped me so much I figured I'd just put it out there.

 

[wendow]

Curious about your thoughts and wondering what we should do...My dh applied for CSR last Nov. He was denied. I think it was for the 5/24 rule though Chase would not confirm that (said they have no such rule ). I thought he was at 3/24 but didn't realize that AU accounts would count and he was added as an AU on two of my cards in last 24 mos pushing him to 5/24. He called recon twice and they would not budge. One of those cards should have dropped off in Dec.

We went into a Chase branch today (to get 100k offer) and he reapplied for the card. He was not immediately approved. Banker said he would receive a call in a few days and most likely they just want to move credit around from other cards. He has an 800+ credit score and is now at 4/24. I was so disappointed that he wasn't immediately approved.

Anyone have any thoughts? Should he call or wait for them to call him? Thanks!

 

[calypso726]

Points are great! I admire the people on this thread who pay their cards off monthly. I used to do that until we ran up our cards while my youngest was in the NICU and PICU. It was way too easy to put that quick meal on the card, buy clothes instead of doing laundry.... I know I know. I was stressed and not thinking long term during that time. Once we pay them off I'm not too sure I'll use them regularly. I sure learned from my mistake, but I never saw the benefit in using the points like mentioned above.

Just because one has made mistakes in the past with credit cards and debt doesn't necessarily mean they should give up entirely. I made mistakes many years ago, got into debt, carried balances and had a credit score that was embarrassing. I closed almost all of accounts and paid everything off. I was doing cash only until all debt was paid. Then, with determination never to get myself into that situation again I started all over with a secured credit card and built my credit back up from there. Now, my score is over 800 across all 3 bureaus. I probably have about 30 credit cards and never pay interest on anything. I am able to play this points and miles game rather well for our purposes despite barely knowing what I'm doing. It can be done but it does take discipline and patience.

 

[hsmamato2]

I have this on 3 cards...

nothing on any of mine....

 

[hsmamato2]

Curious about your thoughts and wondering what we should do...My dh applied for CSR last Nov. He was denied. I think it was for the 5/24 rule though Chase would not confirm that (said they have no such rule ). I thought he was at 3/24 but didn't realize that AU accounts would count and he was added as an AU on two of my cards in last 24 mos pushing him to 5/24. He called recon twice and they would not budge. One of those cards should have dropped off in Dec.

We went into a Chase branch today (to get 100k offer) and he reapplied for the card. He was not immediately approved. Banker said he would receive a call in a few days and most likely they just want to move credit around from other cards. He has an 800+ credit score and is now at 4/24. I was so disappointed that he wasn't immediately approved.

Anyone have any thoughts? Should he call or wait for them to call him? Thanks!

I think the prevailing advice is to try calling the automated number to check the status of the app- if it says '7-10 days' or 'two weeks' should give you an idea of the yes or no.... sorry I can't remember just now which is which though- maybe someone here can help out with that.... I know one means a good thing, the other, maybe call the actual line to talk.....

 

[CoP Luv]

I haven't seen this posted but I got this email from Chase:

Earn a total of 10% Cash Back on up to $2,500 in combined hotel and car rental purchases made through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
• Offer valid on purchases made March 1 – March 31, 2017, at 11:59 p.m.Eastern time.
• Applies to hotels and car rentals booked through ChaseUltimateRewards. com.
• Choose from over 180,000 hotels worldwide, with prices comparable to popular travel booking sites.
• Shop our competitive rates from all your favorite car rental companies.

 

[Psychodisney]

I haven't seen this posted but I got this email from Chase:

Earn a total of 10% Cash Back on up to $2,500 in combined hotel and car rental purchases made through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
• Offer valid on purchases made March 1 – March 31, 2017, at 11:59 p.m.Eastern time.
• Applies to hotels and car rentals booked through ChaseUltimateRewards. com.
• Choose from over 180,000 hotels worldwide, with prices comparable to popular travel booking sites.
• Shop our competitive rates from all your favorite car rental companies.

I saw this too. I think you need to use your Freedom card.

 

[wendow]

I think the prevailing advice is to try calling the automated number to check the status of the app- if it says '7-10 days' or 'two weeks' should give you an idea of the yes or no.... sorry I can't remember just now which is which though- maybe someone here can help out with that.... I know one means a good thing, the other, maybe call the actual line to talk.....

The banker did not tell us what the actual message was. She just said someone would call in next few days and that it was most likely to move around credit.

 

[Ngwira]

Finished the minimum spend on my fairmont card. Waiting for my two free nights to post. We are using them at the fairmont chateau lake Louise and also spending 3 nights at the fairmont Palliser in Calgary next year for spring break. I have no minimum spend to meet so just putting everything on my csr or my target card for 5 percent off.

 

[Lain]

I have no minimum spend to meet so just putting everything on my csr or my target card for 5 percent off.

I get so miffed thinking that my REDcard doesn't give me any benefit more than 5% off, that I've been using my CSR to buy Target gift cards from Raise et al. when I need them and when the discount is 5%+, then just load them to spend on the Target app.

 

[Ngwira]

Barclaycard sent me a mailer for the Arrival plus. Need to apply by April. Hello, next card. I want to "erase" $500 on our 2018 Disney cruise.

 

[Eighty8Keys]

Barclaycard sent me a mailer for the Arrival plus. Need to apply by April. Hello, next card. I want to "erase" $500 on our 2018 Disney cruise.

I received that one too and applied on Friday. I paid a $15 Fast Fee to expedite the card which arrives tomorrow. Most of my recurring bills come due next week and I need them charged to the card to help meet the spend. After I get my bonus, we'll work on getting it for DS. We want to stay at the Poly for the first time next January so this will go toward that stay.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Barclaycard sent me a mailer for the Arrival plus. Need to apply by April. Hello, next card. I want to "erase" $500 on our 2018 Disney cruise.

I looked the the Barclaycard. Do I understand correctly that it's used primarily as a statement credit for travel charges?

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I want to get rid of a few cards. Is there any real advantage to downgrading a card vs canceling outright. Frankly, I'm tired of tracking this many cards, especially as I'm adding more cards.
I have a Citi Sears card, no fee, and want to cancel that one. We've had it a long time and use mostly for appliance purchases but we remodeled last year, not looking for appliances anytime soon. We also have the Chase Sapphire & Reserve. Thinking of cancelling CSR before renewal or should I downgrade?

 

[MrPTato]

I looked the the Barclaycard. Do I understand correctly that it's used primarily as a statement credit for travel charges?

Yes! Only for Charges over $100 though .

 

[Aanna]

I want to get rid of a few cards. Is there any real advantage to downgrading a card vs canceling outright. Frankly, I'm tired of tracking this many cards, especially as I'm adding more cards.
I have a Citi Sears card, no fee, and want to cancel that one. We've had it a long time and use mostly for appliance purchases but we remodeled last year, not looking for appliances anytime soon. We also have the Chase Sapphire & Reserve. Thinking of cancelling CSR before renewal or should I downgrade?

Chase cards are hard to get because of the 5/24 rule, so I would be cautious about getting rid of them entirely. I am planning to downgrade two of our expensive cards to Chase Freedom cards when the time comes.

 

[Albort]

I want to get rid of a few cards. Is there any real advantage to downgrading a card vs canceling outright. Frankly, I'm tired of tracking this many cards, especially as I'm adding more cards.
I have a Citi Sears card, no fee, and want to cancel that one. We've had it a long time and use mostly for appliance purchases but we remodeled last year, not looking for appliances anytime soon. We also have the Chase Sapphire & Reserve. Thinking of cancelling CSR before renewal or should I downgrade?

its really up to you.
Cancelling - if the card has a big bonus, cancel the card. You can sign up for the card again after x years to receive the bonus. ie, citi bank TY cards has a rule where if you hold a TYP card, u cannot sign up for another TYP card and get the bonus. best to chance. There is also rumors that you may not get approved a 2nd time around. ive heard the Sapphire cards are like that but its YMMV.
downgrading - downgrading is best if there is nothing connected. you should downgrade your CSR if you dont think u can make it work for u. Remember, your credit utilization will be affected. you should always keep it below 30%. you may need to do 1 transaction a year to keep the account open.

Also keep in mind on what else effects your card. One of them is AAOA(Average Age of Account). If you cancel your oldest card, it could potentially drop your credit score.