I love credit cards so much!

[GlamMistress]

All this talk about Plastiq finally got me thinking about pre-paying our HOA dues (~1.2K) for the year using this method...our HOA charges a convenience fee for online payments and a separate fee on top of that if you use a credit card. Just occurred to me since this is literally our only snail mail check payment and we typically pay quarterly so almost forgot about 1K in spend!

You just reminded me that I have this option too. Never thought about my HOA and plastiq. Then again, I try not to think about my HOA payment period, lol.

 

[kayteekt]

Did anyone here open a wells fargo bus checking in 2017 for the bonus? I opened 12/30 with $500. I've already been credited the 300. If anyone else has done, how long did you wait to close out the account? Just didn't want there to be any penalties or for them to take the bonus back.

On another note I saw on dr of credit and asksebby there was a $200 bonus for a personal account through the end of March, but when I go to Wells Fargo's site I don't see it?? Strange...perhaps it's gone already.

 

[WVMomof3]

Thanks for that. I have looked at the Blue Cash Preferred before, but since we do not spend that much on groceries (probably only $1,500 annually), after doing the math, we are still almost $1k under to break even from our current bonus card.

Discover could be good too. I always forget about Discover

Am I the only one who wants to know how you only spend $1500 annually for groceries? I guess it depends on how many you are buying for, but we are at $9000 annually for a family of 5.

 

[jhoannam]

Am I the only one who wants to know how you only spend $1500 annually for groceries? I guess it depends on how many you are buying for, but we are at $9000 annually for a family of 5.

We spend about $9k and there are only 4 of us.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Yes @DisneyMandC I did use the stable income for my CIP. But I can honestly say the whole thing has not been much of a money maker. My daughter did the horse show circuit for quite a few years, we paid for braiding more than a time or two at the bigger shows. I did it myself for some of the smaller ones. I miss those days just a little bit. My daughter thought she wanted to train horses. We built a nice stable, and she, or maybe more her husband, decided to go into dairying with her father. I was going to close up the stable at one time. It was just to stressful to come home after a 12 hr shift and go out to do chores. I went out to talk to the boarders and couldn’t do it. They were like family and I wanted that around for my granddaughter as she grew. Boarders are now responsible for chores and I just work and travel.

View attachment 298065

View attachment 298064

Beautiful barn! Yes, I know the feeling. We have four horses at home and keep my show horse at a trainer out of state. It's a lot of work, but very fulfilling!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Before I pull the trigger on applying for the Marriott biz today, can someone please talk to me about having a separate Chase account for business cards? I feel like I've seen people saying how you don't want to have your business cards on the same account as your personal cards because it changes the formatting or something? I would like to go ahead and set up a separate account for the Marriott and eventual CIP (fingers crossed)- is there a certain way I go about doing this?

Also, our Marriott account is in my husband's name, but I want to apply for the card in my name. Any foreseeable problems linking these accounts so the 75k go in under his number?

TIA! Just want to make sure I have all my wandering ducks in a row before I do this!

 

[afan]

Am I the only one who wants to know how you only spend $1500 annually for groceries? I guess it depends on how many you are buying for, but we are at $9000 annually for a family of 5.

For me it would come down to where I shop. I do a lot of grocery shopping at Target because the prices are better than the rewards for shopping somewhere that codes for groceries. My mom does a lot of her grocery shopping at Walmart. I do buy gift cards but I earn most of them through swagbucks or otherwise, so I'm not buying enough of them throughout the year to max that category either. It's part of why I went for the CFU over the CF. I already don't maximize the categories on my discover and so many cross over it was worth more to me to be able to get the 1.5 on each dollar at places like the chiropractor, the vet, etc.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Beautiful barn! Yes, I know the feeling. We have four horses at home and keep my show horse at a trainer out of state. It's a lot of work, but very fulfilling!

My hay supplier set up a paypal account for me to pay him. He then added the paypal fees. Having a pretty good idea what the out of state trainer fees are, you might be able to set up something with him if you haven’t already.

 

[DisneyMandC]

My hay supplier set up a paypal account for me to pay him. He then added the paypal fees. Having a pretty good idea what the out of state trainer fees are, you might be able to set up something with him if you haven’t already.

I've thought about that or doing a Plastiq check for him (have never used Plastiq yet). My only thing is I really try to pay him in cash because I know that cash talks more than anything! We are long-term customers and he gives us significant discounts compared to other clients, so I always try to help him out by paying a lot in cash. So far I haven't had any issues meeting MSR with normal bills, so I'd rather take the loss of a some credit card points over losing the benefit of cash savings!

 

[hsmamato2]

Thanks for that. I have looked at the Blue Cash Preferred before, but since we do not spend that much on groceries (probably only $1,500 annually), after doing the math, we are still almost $1k under to break even from our current bonus card.

Discover could be good too. I always forget about Discover.

How do you spend 1500 annually ongroceries? (I know, you don't have to answer that here, totally O/T) but WOW! groceries are my biggest expense! I'm also considering a discover card the IT has 10% back on the first year(?)

 

[Lain]

My hay supplier set up a paypal account for me to pay him. He then added the paypal fees. Having a pretty good idea what the out of state trainer fees are, you might be able to set up something with him if you haven’t already.

I've thought about that or doing a Plastiq check for him (have never used Plastiq yet). My only thing is I really try to pay him in cash because I know that cash talks more than anything! We are long-term customers and he gives us significant discounts compared to other clients, so I always try to help him out by paying a lot in cash. So far I haven't had any issues meeting MSR with normal bills, so I'd rather take the loss of a some credit card points over losing the benefit of cash savings!

You should ask your supplier to set up Venmo. Venmo charges just about the same fees as PayPal (3%), but you'd earn 3x UR when paying with the CIP. You're earning just 1x UR with PayPal. And PayPal owns Venmo.

ETA: Plastiq, of course, charges 2.5% fees and also earns 3x UR, but the check is snail mailed and will take 7-10 business days to get to your supplier(s). Venmo and PayPal are instant.

 

[pillow]

Am I the only one who wants to know how you only spend $1500 annually for groceries? I guess it depends on how many you are buying for, but we are at $9000 annually for a family of 5.

I'll chime in here . . . ALDI ALDI ALDI! It is shocking how cheap they are. Granted, they don't carry everything, so it means going to another grocery store. I've been on a mission this month to see how cheaply we can eat (but still healthy). I'm in the process of comparing prices between Walmart, Sam's, Costco, Kroger, and Aldi. So far, I've spent $265 this month for the 3 of us (food only - nothing else). I was pretty well stocked from December, but STILL. My daughter is a vegetarian, so I don't buy a ton of meat, which I think helps. Plus, I haven't bought many pre-packaged things - have been making muffins for snacks from scratch instead of buying granola bars. I'll be curious to see how February goes since I'll have to replenish some pricier items. Also, I've also but the kibosh on eating out/ordering out this month. I'm kinda enjoying the challenge!

Great ideas here - http://www.frugalwoods.com/2017/01/18/our-complete-guide-to-frugal-healthy-eating/

I'm curious to know what groceries people are buying at Target that are cheap. I've found them to be pricey but I maybe thats just for certain items.

 

[Lain]

Before I pull the trigger on applying for the Marriott biz today, can someone please talk to me about having a separate Chase account for business cards? I feel like I've seen people saying how you don't want to have your business cards on the same account as your personal cards because it changes the formatting or something? I would like to go ahead and set up a separate account for the Marriott and eventual CIP (fingers crossed)- is there a certain way I go about doing this?

Also, our Marriott account is in my husband's name, but I want to apply for the card in my name. Any foreseeable problems linking these accounts so the 75k go in under his number?

TIA! Just want to make sure I have all my wandering ducks in a row before I do this!

1. You'll want to set up a separate log in for your business card(s). Chase business cards use an older website format, which is not very user friendly. If you combine your business cards with your personal accounts and cards, your personal site will default to the older format of the business site. You may also experience problems trying to use Chase Pay on your personal cards. Chase has supposedly been rolling out the newer format to business accounts, but my business cards account still has the old interface.

2. When you receive your business card(s) in the mail, it'll give you instructions on setting up a new account.

3. You cannot apply for the Marriott card in your name and provide DH's Marriott Rewards number for the points to go to. Your Marriott card application has to have a Marriott Rewards account number that matches your name, or if you don't have one a Marriott account will be created for you.

4. If you want to transfer your Marriott points to DH's Marriott Rewards account, Marriott allows you to transfer to anyone up to 50,000 points per year with a $10 fee per transfer. (Don't do this. Read on.) Gold and Platinum members transfer free. HOWEVER, since Marriott and SPG merged, you can now transfer your Marriott points to SPG at a rate of 3:1, then SPG allows you to transfer any amount of points in increments of 1,000 to a member of the same household/mailing address. Once those converted points are in DH's SPG account, he can then transfer the SPG points to his Marriott account whenever you want at a 1:3 rate.

Good luck!

 

[hsmamato2]

Am I the only one who wants to know how you only spend $1500 annually for groceries? I guess it depends on how many you are buying for, but we are at $9000 annually for a family of 5.

we are 4 (plus guests) and spend 650 per month min. on groceries.... maybe we eat a lot lol (I am kind of a health food nut so maybe that's it)I'm concerned about hitting that 6k ceiling too fast between actual food and gc purchases this year....

 

[hsmamato2]

I'll chime in here . . . ALDI ALDI ALDI! It is shocking how cheap they are. Granted, they don't carry everything, so it means going to another grocery store. I've been on a mission this month to see how cheaply we can eat (but still healthy). I'm in the process of comparing prices between Walmart, Sam's, Costco, Kroger, and Aldi. So far, I've spent $265 this month for the 3 of us (food only - nothing else). I was pretty well stocked from December, but STILL. My daughter is a vegetarian, so I don't buy a ton of meat, which I think helps. Plus, I haven't bought many pre-packaged things - have been making muffins for snacks from scratch instead of buying granola bars. I'll be curious to see how February goes since I'll have to replenish some pricier items. Also, I've also but the kibosh on eating out/ordering out this month. I'm kinda enjoying the challenge!

Great ideas here - http://www.frugalwoods.com/2017/01/18/our-complete-guide-to-frugal-healthy-eating/

I'm curious to know what groceries people are buying at Target that are cheap. I've found them to be pricey but I maybe thats just for certain items.

Nope..... I mainly shop Aldi! (I love their organics and gfree products) I also subscribe to that newsletter.... Aldi is the BEST but that's still my budget and it gets spent every month! possibly the area we live in is more $$$ for groceries than yours but I could spend 1500 a month if I wasn't very careful at the store on food.....

 

[pillow]

Nope..... I mainly shop Aldi! (I love their organics and gfree products) I also subscribe to that newsletter.... Aldi is the BEST but that's still my budget and it gets spent every month! possibly the area we live in is more $$$ for groceries than yours but I could spend 1500 a month if I wasn't very careful at the store on food.....

Probably cause I'm buying basics there - not specialty stuff (and only certain things organic - not all). And I try to shop the sale flyer. 100% whole wheat bread is 75 cents/loaf, which I find astounding. Their price on olive oil is the cheapest I've found. I could go on and on, but this is so off topic! Lol. Happy shopping!

 

[hsmamato2]

Probably cause I'm buying basics there - not specialty stuff (and only certain things organic - not all). And I try to shop the sale flyer. 100% whole wheat bread is 75 cents/loaf, which I find astounding. Their price on olive oil is the cheapest I've found. I could go on and on, but this is so off topic! Lol. Happy shopping!

I know O/T but in my area even at Aldi a loaf of the 'good' bread is about 1.50-3.00 depending on the type I buy.(the sprouted grain one is pricier) they can't be beat for OG grass fed burger tho- less than $5 a pound! I think it's area dependent.

 

[SBWB48]

Did anyone here open a wells fargo bus checking in 2017 for the bonus? I opened 12/30 with $500. I've already been credited the 300. If anyone else has done, how long did you wait to close out the account? Just didn't want there to be any penalties or for them to take the bonus back.

On another note I saw on dr of credit and asksebby there was a $200 bonus for a personal account through the end of March, but when I go to Wells Fargo's site I don't see it?? Strange...perhaps it's gone already.

I opened one back in December as well, as did DH. I'm likely going to close it after one or two cycles after the initial 2-month fee free period to make it not look as obvious. Others on DOC and reddit have said they closed it shortly after the bonus, but I prefer just to stick it out two more months. Simply going to buy a few bananas or Amazon reloads to keep it fee free for 2 more months. Some in the DOC comments section also said you could downgrade to the simple checking to keep it fee free with the $500 min balance. I might do that as well.

 

[DisneyMandC]

1. You'll want to set up a separate log in for your business card(s). Chase business cards use an older website format, which is not very user friendly. If you combine your business cards with your personal accounts and cards, your personal site will default to the older format of the business site. You may also experience problems trying to use Chase Pay on your personal cards. Chase has supposedly been rolling out the newer format to business accounts, but my business cards account still has the old interface.

2. When you receive your business card(s) in the mail, it'll give you instructions on setting up a new account.

3. You cannot apply for the Marriott card in your name and provide DH's Marriott Rewards number for the points to go to. Your Marriott card application has to have a Marriott Rewards account number that matches your name, or if you don't have one a Marriott account will be created for you.

4. If you want to transfer your Marriott points to DH's Marriott Rewards account, Marriott allows you to transfer to anyone up to 50,000 points per year with a $10 fee per transfer. (Don't do this. Read on.) Gold and Platinum members transfer free. HOWEVER, since Marriott and SPG merged, you can now transfer your Marriott points to SPG at a rate of 3:1, then SPG allows you to transfer any amount of points in increments of 1,000 to a member of the same household/mailing address. Once those converted points are in DH's SPG account, he can then transfer the SPG points to his Marriott account whenever you want at a 1:3 rate.

Good luck!

Thank you so much! I guess realistically it doesn't matter that the points won't go into DH's Marriott account. He's already Gold (I just checked) and, as you explained, we could always transfer them with SPG.

Going to apply today- fingers crossed!

 

[SBWB48]

Thank you so much! I guess realistically it doesn't matter that the points won't go into DH's Marriott account. He's already Gold (I just checked) and, as you explained, we could always transfer them with SPG.

Going to apply today- fingers crossed!

GL! I'll be joining the party tonight as well. This feels like the wave we had previously with the Amex SPG Biz