I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[hsmamato2]

I got it on my BCP. I was planning on using my Bonvoy Biz to pay for resort fees/food for my upcoming Dolphin points stay. Maybe I should use the BCP. That just seems wrong since it's my groceries card.

I got 2 bonvoy offers on our BCE card..... one was for the plan it thingy.... I don't know that I'll use either one, it's for room charges only,right?h and I got offer to upgrade the BCE back to BCP 2k/$250...wwyd?

 

[miztressuz]

I believe members of the military and their spouses have the annual fees waived for any Amex card.

If they're on active duty status both Amex and chase have fee waivers that include AFs.

@wed100105 if he's in or could become active duty that's something to look into. Each issuer has it's own rules about cards obtained pre and post orders, and if spouses are included, but it's a nice benefit to be offered.

 

[Judique]

Thanks; it helps to have a more general idea of how many cards in a year.

I won't use Plastiq without major incentives to do so. This year will be a really odd year in that I was awarded 22,000 in extra customer service credits in addition to an extra 10,500 in referral credits. I don't anticipate having that anytime again, so I do want to maximize my credits with Plastiq.

Just another perspective here for you:
In 2017 I was approved for 3 personal cards
in 2018 I was approved for 6 cards, 4 of personal and 2 business.

I would have been under 5/24 by the end of 2019,
except, I applied and got another personal this past weekend.

Now, I won't be under 5/24 until 6/2020, because of where my apps were placed in the year: I had a 6 month gap between my last card in 2017 and my first card in 2018.

So, if I want to go for Chase, I'll have to refrain from applying for personal cards and focus on business cards.

Looks like the rest of 2019 is going to be a challenge for me if I want to continue to chase 5/24. Since my focus on UR's is not Disney rooms or flights, it may not be worth it for me - I know - strange talk on this board! But, I have DVC and lots of Marriott cards and points. I'll have to see how it goes.

The point is that it's an individual decision, not one size fits all. And, when someone starts to hype something FOMO gets going and we (me included) all want the same thing, whether we can use it or not. The fact remains that UR's are valuable even as simply cash, or 1:1 transfers, which I notice a lot of people on here eventually end up doing to make their plans work.

 

[happ]

I got 2 bonvoy offers on our BCE card..... one was for the plan it thingy.... I don't know that I'll use either one, it's for room charges only,right?h and I got offer to upgrade the BCE back to BCP 2k/$250...wwyd?

I've seen some dp's of marriot gc's working, but I think they're supposed to be excluded. I'm currently on an upgrade offer for the BCP. I switched because of the groceries 6%, but will probably downgrade again to avoid the fee. If you're not working on another msr right now, I'm not sure that you have anything to lose by going back to BCP.

 

[DisneyMandC]

My PNC bonus posted today! This one was much faster than DH's. Going to drop it down to whatever that lower level account is and move my money back to Ally.

 

[Judique]

Me too. Added it to DH and my BCP. Totally bonvoyed! We are staying at a residence inn on points so I doubt we will meet the spend anyways

Well, make up the difference by buying a gift card at the desk (and charging it to your room) for next time, so that you will get the $40 credit.

****Edit: I haven't tried this but your statement gave me the idea.

 

[amalone1013]

I just added another 7,000 points to our Hilton Tokyo Bay stay. I love that I can just chat with them online and they do it in about 30 seconds. It's really nice to be able to add points to easily. I will say.....the chat helper told me I have a lovely name.....which I found a little off-putting, but you know whatever.

I'm trying to remember... you just booked points+cash with what you had at the time and then have been chatting occasionally and applying more points, right?

Ughhhhh. I already added the offer to my Everyday. I wanted it on my Brilliant I just upgraded to so I could stack it with the $300 credit. #bonvoyed

I have an upgrade question. You get the whole $300 credit even if you're upgrading midyear, right? and a prorated AF? Right now my next AF isn't due until August.

 

[striker1064]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

I chatted with AMEX this morning. I have an offer to upgrade to the HHonors Aspire ($450 AF card) and earn an additional 150,000 HHonors points and gain diamond status. Through chat, I found out that this is upgrading my card, not opening a new card. My annual fee will be prorated, but I would have full benefits. Is there a reason not to do this? I asked about downgrading again if I didn't find that I was using the benefits, and was told I could downgrade in 1 day if I'd like. The prorated amount of the AF would be $262. I would have $250 in airline credits (not sure how we would maximize this benefit since DH often has free bags with his military status), and $250 in Hilton resort charges. We have several Hilton visits planned for this year; the added benefits of diamond and extra points would be nice. I would also automatically earn a free night stay on my card anniversary instead of spending $15,000 to get that perk.

This wouldn't change my Chase 5/24 status or be opening a new line of credit, right? I just have to weigh the pros/cons of spending an additional $262 in annual fees?

It won't change your 5/24 status. It's a great card, but the downside is Amex bonus offers are once per lifetime. Most people would accept this offer only after signing up for the regular Aspire (which WOULD affect your 5/24 status, as it's a new line of credit). The ideal situation is to get the Aspire by itself, then immediately accept this upgrade so you get twice the goodness.

 

[wed100105]

Correct, there is no hard pull and won't ding your 5/24 slot because it is like you never changed cards.
Don't piss off Amex by upgrading and downgrading in one day, no matter what the chat agent says.

The downside is the $450 AF but this is @calypso726 favorite card.

Also, you will "never" be eligible for this bonus again, just FYI if you take the upgrade.

Thank you, I wouldn't actually downgrade the next day (or year or two probably). I just was relaying what the rep shared with me. I believe this is one of the better bonuses that they offer with the upgrade. I will search past history to see if I should wait. We have a trip coming up in May booked at a Hilton Curio, so I would like to upgrade before then if it's a good bonus point deal.

I believe members of the military and their spouses have the annual fees waived for any Amex card.

If they're on active duty status both Amex and chase have fee waivers that include AFs.

@wed100105 if he's in or could become active duty that's something to look into. Each issuer has it's own rules about cards obtained pre and post orders, and if spouses are included, but it's a nice benefit to be offered.

DH is a dual-status technician. We're currently waiting to hear back from AMEX to see if he will qualify.

Just another perspective here for you:
In 2017 I was approved for 3 personal cards
in 2018 I was approved for 6 cards, 4 of personal and 2 business.

I would have been under 5/24 by the end of 2019,
except, I applied and got another personal this past weekend.

Now, I won't be under 5/24 until 6/2020, because of where my apps were placed in the year: I had a 6 month gap between my last card in 2017 and my first card in 2018.

So, if I want to go for Chase, I'll have to refrain from applying for personal cards and focus on business cards.

Looks like the rest of 2019 is going to be a challenge for me if I want to continue to chase 5/24. Since my focus on UR's is not Disney rooms or flights, it may not be worth it for me - I know - strange talk on this board! But, I have DVC and lots of Marriott cards and points. I'll have to see how it goes.

The point is that it's an individual decision, not one size fits all. And, when someone starts to hype something FOMO gets going and we (me included) all want the same thing, whether we can use it or not. The fact remains that UR's are valuable even as simply cash, or 1:1 transfers, which I notice a lot of people on here eventually end up doing to make their plans work.

We own with Wyndham and a travel trailer. Our big trip next summer is going to be out east with the trailer and a couple of nights at the Hilton Niagra Falls. I believe DH is sold on another Disneyland trip using Frontier free flights (or a really good cash deal) and using our Hilton points to stay 5 nights. We typically stay at DVC in Disneyworld with a RCI exchange. At this point, I'm just hording points for future trips, too. I have the spend right now, so I want to maximize that money wisely. What cards are your personal favorites?

It won't change your 5/24 status. It's a great card, but the downside is Amex bonus offers are once per lifetime. Most people would accept this offer only after signing up for the regular Aspire (which WOULD affect your 5/24 status, as it's a new line of credit). The ideal situation is to get the Aspire by itself, then immediately accept this upgrade so you get twice the goodness.

Thanks for the reply! I've had the ASCEND (editted because I had the wrong card name written down!!!) for a year and a half now, and I really like it.

 

[pillow]

Well, make up the difference by buying a gift card at the desk (and charging it to your room) for next time, so that you will get the $40 credit.

****Edit: I haven't tried this but your statement gave me the idea.

I did it last Sept. Easy peasy. I'm hoping this new Amex offer works like the last one and we can simply buy a gc at the front desk.

 

[Judique]

I did it last Sept. Easy peasy. I'm hoping this new Amex offer works like the last one and we can simply buy a gc at the front desk.

I remember you posting that now! I'm trying to get away for the weekend and of course rates are higher on the weekend. But this extra $40 is going to take the cost difference down. I was going Wednesday to Friday, but the contractor called and is having materials delivered today and will do the job on Thursday and Friday of this week. Way ahead of the 'in 2-3 weeks' I had expected. I dare not even book until I see that they've completed the job.

 

[hsmamato2]

I've seen some dp's of marriot gc's working, but I think they're supposed to be excluded. I'm currently on an upgrade offer for the BCP. I switched because of the groceries 6%, but will probably downgrade again to avoid the fee. If you're not working on another msr right now, I'm not sure that you have anything to lose by going back to BCP.

ok thanks...currently using up my stash of Aldi gc that I got with the last few MSR's..maybe we'll upgrade back after those are gone.

 

[amalone1013]

I did it last Sept. Easy peasy. I'm hoping this new Amex offer works like the last one and we can simply buy a gc at the front desk.

Can all hotels take the Marriott gift cards now? Or are SPG hotels still not able to?

 

[pillow]

Can all hotels take the Marriott gift cards now? Or are SPG hotels still not able to?

Good question. Not sure. Anyone know????

 

[amalone1013]

How I feel already today:

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

DH just tried out the Sky Club at CVG. He wasn’t too impressed. Wasn’t interested in yogurt, bananas and/or whisky for breakfast.

Quite the combination

 

[vanjust14]

I'm trying to remember... you just booked points+cash with what you had at the time and then have been chatting occasionally and applying more points, right?

I have an upgrade question. You get the whole $300 credit even if you're upgrading midyear, right? and a prorated AF? Right now my next AF isn't due until August.

From what I understand, yes! I haven't used my credit yet, or been charged the prorated AF, but I just paid my AF in January.

 

[striker1064]

Thanks for the reply! I've had the Aspire for a year and a half now, and I really like it.

So this upgrade would be your second Aspire? You are living the dream!

 

[Lain]

Did everyone see Apple Pay update?

ending support for sending money using credit cards
Starting on March 25, 2019, we will no longer support using credit cards to fund person to person payments. This will ensure Apple Pay Cash customers never have to worry about cash advance fees that may be charged by issuing banks.

Yeah, but no big loss. It wasn’t really practical to send money using credit cards over Apple Pay. Apple Pay charged 3% for P2P transfers using credit card, and I think the only time a card negated the fee to make the transfer profitable was the quarter when Apple Pay/mobile wallets was a CF 5x category. Otherwise there’s Venmo, and until recently the CIP earned 3x on Venmo to make transfers slightly profitable. For MSR purposes (but not Amex), Venmo still works for the same fee that Apple Pay charged, and I think most people would mind less if their Venmo account ever got shut down vs. their Apple account.

 

[elgerber]

So this upgrade would be your second Aspire? You are living the dream!

AMEX can be weird sometimes. I am on my 3rd Delta Platinum upgrade. Started wayyyyyyyyy back when with the Gold, upgraded to Platinum for a nice mileage offer, downgraded to the Gold again, got another Platinum offer, downgraded to the Blue and just recently got another 35k to upgrade to Platinum yet again.