wanderlust7
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2015
I come seeking your advice! And I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say I am in awe of your miles mastery!!
Recently issued card and the only card we are routinely using:
01/19 - AMEX Delta Skymiles
Other Cards open / willing to replace:
04/06 - AMEX BlueSky
05/17 - VISA Slate
Our credit scores are in the upper 7s / low 8s. We have had some credit issues early in our marriage so we kept the older AMEX card open for credit longevity. I don’t think this is necessary anymore. We have completed all our credit transactions for our primary residence and our DVC was paid in full (except for downpayment on CC - paid off), not financed.
Delta Skymiles: 87,838
- We are probably looking at putting $2K - $3K per month on routine purchases. We shop primarily at COSTCO for household goods and gas.
- We will occasionally carry a balance, but we have the means to pay off monthly.
- We are flying out of PHX. My business travel takes me to the upper mid-west quarterly, thus the DELTA card. DH used to do a LOT of business travel on Southwest, but no more. His travel is sporadic, and if regional would be on Southwest
- Do you have a preference of Frequent Flyer program? Yes, me: Delta Skymiles. Both of us: Southwest. DH has United also.
- Does SOUTHWEST service your airport? Yes.
- Do you have a Hotel Rewards program preference? No.
- Do you currently have any travel points in any program?
Southwest: Nominal. We used pts to fly to MCO in July 2019
I welcome your expertise!! THANK YOU!! (and I have no idea why I cannot unbold this post! forgive me!)
- We are closing on our DVC resale membership and looking to maximize our CC usage for flights:
- First trip: Aulani /HNL in Sept 2020. We will be traveling from PHX with a party of 8 (5 adults, 3 kids).
- The direct flight is on Hawaiaan air is prefferrable. However, we could fly Delta and Southwest is also an option. We will be paying for all 8 flights. A card that is non-airline specific would also work. I am not sure how to maximize this trip to build points for our future trips to WDW.
- Our next trip would be from PHX to MCO in March 2021. Our usual part of travel is 2 adults and 3 kids. We will most frequently be traveling from PHX to MCO. Southwest goes direct. I am hoping that with our 8 flights to Hawaii that we would have enough miles to off-set this trip.
- Our long term plan is WDW every 18 months - 2 years for a week long trip.
Hi and
Most of us here start with Chase cards...which would be perfect for your Costco shopping.
If you and your DH are willing to open business cards Chase has the Chase Ink Preferred CIP which offers a 80k UR bonus after a $5k spend in the first 3 months..if you open one...then send your DH a support link....between the 2 cards you would earn...190URs
If you would rather stay with personal cards...the Chase Sapphire Preferred CSP offers a 60k UR bonus after a $4k spend....if you both open a card with the spend and support link you would earn 143 URs
Since you fly SW it sounds like you would benefit from a SW Companion Pass...you get it by earning 110,000 RR points in a calendar year....which can be done by opening a SW personal and SW business card
I’m sure others will also help out with their thoughts as well
To add on to what @palhockeymomof2 posted, many things that you might not think of as a "business" can count. Selling on eBay, babysitting, tutoring, rentals, etc. You would apply as a sole proprietor and use your SSN as the tax ID/EIN. Your name as the business name (don't get cute and make up some name).
Both the Chase Ink Preferred (business card) and Chase Sapphire Preferred (personal card) come with 1.25 redemption on your points when used for travel through their portal (run by Expedia). So if you got those 190k URs, it would be worth $2375 for travel (flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals, even tickets/activities - but they've taken out everything Disney). Or flat out $1900 cash. Or you can transfer point for point to SW.
If you plan to do a lot of redemption through the portal, you may want to consider the Chase Sapphire Reserve (personal card). But the bonus is 50k UR and no support link. That comes with 1.5x travel redemptions. So those 190k URs would be worth $2850. The annual fee is $450, but comes with $300 travel credit that's easy to use. Also comes with TSA Precheck/Global Entry credit and Priority Pass (airport lounge access).
You can't get both the Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) and Reserve (CSR) within 48 months of each other unless you use a loophole - see the Dischurners site if interested. Other option would be to get the CSP first for higher bonus, then product change to CSR a year later.
Chase has a rule where they won't approve you for any of their cards (personal or business) if you have 5 or more new cards (from any issuer) within the last 24 months (the 5/24 rule). They only look at cards on your personal credit report. Most business cards don't report to your personal credit report. There are some banks that are exceptions, but Chase and American Express do not. This is why business cards are very attractive if you want to really get into the game.