I love credit cards so much!

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I don't plan on doing the TSA pre-check or global entry because my husband can't do it so I figured there is no sense in me being able to go through if he has to wait in the regular line. The things you are mentioning are not really worth it to me at this time (lounge access, etc.) so I will definitely take that into consideration. Thanks for the tips on the credit score, I was worried about it taking a hit but what you say makes sense. I am nervous about applying for more business cards, as my ebay "business" is pretty minimal. Are the ink cards easy to get?

This is great, I like seeing the math done out. Makes the AF not seem as "scary". I could probably meet 8k in spend but it would have to be after I'm done meeting this 5k spend for CP. Yeah, my airport is tiny so no lounge for me. This doesn't seem to be something I would use but once I start traveling more I could see it being useful. I didn't know you could transfer UR to RR by phone, thanks.

Thanks for all the help!

Yeah, I can see why CSR isn't really in the running for you! FWIW then the only plus is 50,000 UR but with what's basically a $150 AF that turns your total profit on the CSR to $350 if you redeem for cash (500 bonus - 150 AF) or $450 if you redeem for travel at 1.5x (500*1.5 - 150). CSP will net you $625 without any monkeying around :)

As far as are the ink cards easy to get- sometimes. Some people get it with their ebay "business" and some people struggle with their real business. Many people get a 30 day message or a message asking them to call in but if they just wait it out for a couple weeks they get approved (or denied) without having to talk to anyone. If you get denied and don't want to deal with explaining your "business" to recon move on to the next CC. (Chase Biz recon is known for being very tough to deal with, but nothing says you have to recon if you get denied!)

I'd agree with @gottalovepluto that in your instance it's possible CSP alone is your best option. If the CSR/CSP double dip stops working and I had to pick one I might even go with CSP just because of how easy it is.

Regarding the TSA pre-check, something to think about there would be if you have it, you could take carry-on's through and let your husband just walk through the regular line with no luggage. ALSO, if you were to get an AMEX Plat or Citi Prestige down the line you could use that card's credit for your husband and then you'd both have pre-check. I still don't think it "adds value" to offset the annual fee in your instance but just an observation.
 
I'd agree with @gottalovepluto that in your instance it's possible CSP alone is your best option. If the CSR/CSP double dip stops working and I had to pick one I might even go with CSP just because of how easy it is.

Regarding the TSA pre-check, something to think about there would be if you have it, you could take carry-on's through and let your husband just walk through the regular line with no luggage. ALSO, if you were to get an AMEX Plat or Citi Prestige down the line you could use that card's credit for your husband and then you'd both have pre-check. I still don't think it "adds value" to offset the annual fee in your instance but just an observation.

Yeah, I can see why CSR isn't really in the running for you! FWIW then the only plus is 50,000 UR but with what's basically a $150 AF that turns your total profit on the CSR to $350 if you redeem for cash (500 bonus - 150 AF) or $450 if you redeem for travel at 1.5x (500*1.5 - 150). CSP will net you $625 without any monkeying around :)

As far as are the ink cards easy to get- sometimes. Some people get it with their ebay "business" and some people struggle with their real business. Many people get a 30 day message or a message asking them to call in but if they just wait it out for a couple weeks they get approved (or denied) without having to talk to anyone. If you get denied and don't want to deal with explaining your "business" to recon move on to the next CC. (Chase Biz recon is known for being very tough to deal with, but nothing says you have to recon if you get denied!)

Thanks, it does seem like in my case the CSP is the way to go for the net $625 and ease of it. I appreciate all of your points...very helpful. Never really considered the precheck before but you're right I could always take the carry-ons with me. It's so great to throw questions out here. I've learned so much in just one afternoon!
 
n00b MS questions —

Normally, I don’t care to mess with MS, but I need to make a sizeable payment in money order or cashier’s check, so no credit cards or Plastiq checks. I don’t want to leave over $1000 in spend on the table. Please help me with this!

I found a few Walgreens outside of the city that sell variable load Vanilla Visa gift cards up to $500 (with a $5.95 activation fee). Walgreens accepts Apple Pay, which I plan to use for the Sapphire mobile payment extra point bonus. (I don’t have another card that’ll give me a better bonus at drug stores.) My understanding is that I can typically liquidate these at the post office, correct? Is there any issue with Chase flagging my card for MS (I know this was an issue with US Bank).

I know Staples has a sale right now on 5back Visas, and Safeway and Whole Foods sells Metabank Visa gift cards where I can get a better grocery category bonus, but I believe these Metabank VGCs can only be liquidated at Walmart, and the closest one is about 30-40 miles away and I’m not sure that store is even MS friendly. So Metabank VCGs aren’t practical for me.
 
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A very handy chart and primer on all the basics (and current offers) of Chase Ultimate Rewards Credit Cards from Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/77narp/faq_different_ways_to_use_chase_ultimate_rewards/

That's a great chart - I do have one question though. If I'm reading it right, it is saying that the $300 credit on the CSR is an airline credit? Has that changed from the travel credit? I hope it hasn't changed. We don't typically spend $300 on airlines (not that we couldn't), I'm just hoping that it's still for travel in general.

Thanks!
 


I didn't know you could transfer UR to RR by phone, thanks.
Oops sorry, @Alexle2007 is right. You can transfer UR points to RR points online by yourself. If you're booking travel through the Chase portal, SW will not show up as a flight option but you can call Chase and book with UR points. That's what I was thinking of. I think you might earn RR points on your flight then because it's like paying with cash, but I'm not 100% on that.
 
That's a great chart - I do have one question though. If I'm reading it right, it is saying that the $300 credit on the CSR is an airline credit? Has that changed from the travel credit? I hope it hasn't changed. We don't typically spend $300 on airlines (not that we couldn't), I'm just hoping that it's still for travel in general.

Thanks!
I think the chart has that incorrect. I've not read anything about chase changing the CSR travel credit to only cover airline charges.
 


That's a great chart - I do have one question though. If I'm reading it right, it is saying that the $300 credit on the CSR is an airline credit? Has that changed from the travel credit? I hope it hasn't changed. We don't typically spend $300 on airlines (not that we couldn't), I'm just hoping that it's still for travel in general.

Thanks!
It's still a travel credit! Nice catch, will mention it to the person who did the chart.
 
n00b MS questions —

Normally, I don’t care to mess with MS, but I need to make a sizeable payment in money order or cashier’s check, so no credit cards or Plastiq checks. I don’t want to leave over $1000 in spend on the table. Please help me with this!

I found a few Walgreens outside of the city that sell variable load Vanilla Visa gift cards up to $500 (with a $5.95 activation fee). Walgreens accepts Apple Pay, which I plan to use for the Sapphire mobile payment extra point bonus. (I don’t have another card that’ll give me a better bonus at drug stores.) My understanding is that I can typically liquidate these at the post office, correct? Is there any issue with Chase flagging my card for MS (I know this was an issue with US Bank).

I know Staples has a sale right now on 5back Visas, and Safeway and Whole Foods sells Metabank Visa gift cards where I can get a better grocery category bonus, but I believe these Metabank VGCs can only be liquidated at Walmart, and the closest one is about 30-40 miles away and I’m not sure that store is even MS friendly. So Metabank VCGs aren’t practical for me.

Became my own DP by trying it out. Didn’t have any problems liquidating a Vanilla Visa bought from Walgreens at the P.O. Now I just have to go back for the balance next week.
 
Became my own DP by trying it out. Didn’t have any problems liquidating a Vanilla Visa bought from Walgreens at the P.O. Now I just have to go back for the balance next week.

sorry, meant to reply but was at school with an iPad keyboard. Great! your test run was successful, just thought i point out some pointer for you that i know of.

- at PO, if they bring out a form, dont give them any information. the form is called SCAR which has something to do with reporting your stuff to the IRS.
- be wary of how you swipe your card. Some workers do care what you swipe, swipe the front of the card towards you, the back towards them. Dont let them see the card.
- if they ask you what kind of card your swiping, always insist its a debit card. it is not a Visa Gift Card. :]
- i think PO is $3000 max so make sure u dont go over that.

Other places you can also look at for your MO needs are grocery stores ie Kroger. Im not familiar with that one since there isnt a Kroger in town. Good Luck!
 
sorry, meant to reply but was at school with an iPad keyboard. Great! your test run was successful, just thought i point out some pointer for you that i know of.

- at PO, if they bring out a form, dont give them any information. the form is called SCAR which has something to do with reporting your stuff to the IRS.
- be wary of how you swipe your card. Some workers do care what you swipe, swipe the front of the card towards you, the back towards them. Dont let them see the card.
- if they ask you what kind of card your swiping, always insist its a debit card. it is not a Visa Gift Card. :]
- i think PO is $3000 max so make sure u dont go over that.

Other places you can also look at for your MO needs are grocery stores ie Kroger. Im not familiar with that one since there isnt a Kroger in town. Good Luck!

Yeah, I’ve skimmed the MS threads on Reddit, but I’ve never bothered because MS is a PITA in SF. Grocery stores sell Metabanks — I can even buy $500s from Whole Foods — but I have to liquidate them at Walmart, which like I said is 30 miles away and may not be MS-friendly! Many drug stores in SF don’t carry much of a selection of GCs, and it’s hard to find one that carries Vanillas much less ones that load up to $500. And then I don’t have a credit card that gives me a category bonus for drug stores so at 1x it’s not worth it. With this payment only accepting money orders or cashier’s check, and my CSR earning 2x with Apple Pay, it changes the calculation a little.

I bought a Vanilla VGC that was the plainest design, didn’t have “Gift Card” splashed over the whole face of the card, and the only mention of “Gift Card” was in small 10 pt type off to the side and the name “Gift Card Recipient.” The Walgreens cashier was unsure about me paying with credit and had to ask her manager, who said it was fine. I was a little worried the P.O. clerk might ask to see my “debit” card.

I’ve been around this game before with gift card churning, so I knew how to swipe to hide the card. Made sure the magnetic stripe was positioned the right way when pulling the card out of my wallet (down and facing me), with four of my fingers covering the face of the card. Tried to act completely ordinary and didn’t want to give the clerk any reason to suspect otherwise. Right now, I feel comfortable enough to swipe just one card per transaction. I’ll eat the extra $0.80. The next time I go, I’ll ask to put $500 on my debit card and pay the $1.20 in cash. Rinse and repeat.
 
Yeah, I’ve skimmed the MS threads on Reddit, but I’ve never bothered because MS is a PITA in SF.

The IRC server i idle in has a few SF churners... all of stated that SF is one of the worse places to MS. I recall seeing a map where Walmart is all on the east side of the bay and all the whole foods are on the west side... haha. I live in OC where its iffy here. Ive been declined a few times, even got the managers called on me... haha.
 
Today is a somewhat sad churning day for me. My annual fee has posted on my AMEX Schwab Plat...$550. :(

Schwab Plat...you've been so good to me over the past 12 months. You've been with me thru good times and bad. You've given me free TSA Precheck, $400 in Southwest gift cards, and High Level Status with Hilton, Marriott and Starwood. Most importantly, You've given me over $4,900 in cash by redeeming MRs at $0.0125 per point. :worship:

You may soon be gone but you will not soon be forgotten. :thumbsup2
 
So hubby just got a SW offer in the mail, it's the 40K pts but also a $100 stmt credit after the first purchase. While the points aren't that great, the stmt credit kinda makes it tempting since it'd pay for the AF... free pts. I think this is the first offer he's ever gotten from them despite having a RR account for close to 10 yrs :)

We just paid for our flights next year already and don't fly very often so I'm not concerned with going for the CP. Is there a downside to taking this offer? Has there been something better that I might miss if we do it? Since they instituted the no bonuses within 24 months of receiving a bonus we'd be 'locked out' of a better offer in future (I already have the Premier)

We're not in need of points, I've got a good balance still, but free is free (I think :P).

On another note, after only just starting to use my AmEx card again this year after a long hiatus, they just sent an update to the Member Rewards T&C that if they determine "in our sole discretion" that you've engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming with earning or using points they can take away your points, suspend your ability to earn or redeem points, cancel the rewards account or even cancel the whole card.
They made it really broad in their favor, but I can't figure out what would be abuse/misuse. If people charge something and then pay the bill, isn't that what you're rewarding them to do? Unless you're engaging in illegal activities and using the card as like a money launder, I'm not sure what's against the program. But then again, I'm not really a hacker/churner, my scale is much much smaller than some of the things I've read on the internet so maybe it's just a shear volume game. With all the hacking sites out there I guess it was bound to happen.
 
So hubby just got a SW offer in the mail, it's the 40K pts but also a $100 stmt credit after the first purchase. While the points aren't that great, the stmt credit kinda makes it tempting since it'd pay for the AF... free pts. I think this is the first offer he's ever gotten from them despite having a RR account for close to 10 yrs :)

We just paid for our flights next year already and don't fly very often so I'm not concerned with going for the CP. Is there a downside to taking this offer? Has there been something better that I might miss if we do it? Since they instituted the no bonuses within 24 months of receiving a bonus we'd be 'locked out' of a better offer in future (I already have the Premier)

We're not in need of points, I've got a good balance still, but free is free (I think :P).

On another note, after only just starting to use my AmEx card again this year after a long hiatus, they just sent an update to the Member Rewards T&C that if they determine "in our sole discretion" that you've engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming with earning or using points they can take away your points, suspend your ability to earn or redeem points, cancel the rewards account or even cancel the whole card.
They made it really broad in their favor, but I can't figure out what would be abuse/misuse. If people charge something and then pay the bill, isn't that what you're rewarding them to do? Unless you're engaging in illegal activities and using the card as like a money launder, I'm not sure what's against the program. But then again, I'm not really a hacker/churner, my scale is much much smaller than some of the things I've read on the internet so maybe it's just a shear volume game. With all the hacking sites out there I guess it was bound to happen.
If you think it's the best offer for you then it's a good offer :)

They've been doing these 60k points offers on occasion recently and the "incremental 20k pts" would be worth over $300 in flights. Net the $100 you're getting out and it could be an additional $200 - but you said you have plenty of points for your flying habits.

You could also redeem those extra 20k points for for a $200 gift card (I think they have Target and maybe Walmart). That said, the 40k offer + $100 might be easier and simpler. So you have some options...good luck!
 
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So hubby just got a SW offer in the mail, it's the 40K pts but also a $100 stmt credit after the first purchase. While the points aren't that great, the stmt credit kinda makes it tempting since it'd pay for the AF... free pts. I think this is the first offer he's ever gotten from them despite having a RR account for close to 10 yrs :)

We just paid for our flights next year already and don't fly very often so I'm not concerned with going for the CP. Is there a downside to taking this offer? Has there been something better that I might miss if we do it? Since they instituted the no bonuses within 24 months of receiving a bonus we'd be 'locked out' of a better offer in future (I already have the Premier)

We're not in need of points, I've got a good balance still, but free is free (I think :P).

If you think it's the best offer for you then it's a good offer :)

^This! If the offer is good for you, then I say jump on it. My family is large and we fly SW so those extra 20k points are worth a lot to me. A lot more than $100. But if you don't need those points cause you have a nice stash and you aren't flying much, then $100 is a nice chunk of change :)
 
If you think it's the best offer for you then it's a good offer :)

I definitely agree! I put off obtaining my AmExPlatinum since conventional wisdom said to hold off for the 100,000 offer. I tried every way online to get it, waited for a mailer, etc. Finally accepted that 60,000 was the highest offer I was going to get, and within 2 months had earned over 40,000 MR, plus utilized several of the benefits. So sometimes the waiting game works, other times if you know you're going to use the heck out of a card, just do it.
 
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If you think it's the best offer for you then it's a good offer :)

...

^This! If the offer is good for you, then I say jump on it. My family is large and we fly SW so those extra 20k points are worth a lot to me. A lot more than $100. But if you don't need those points cause you have a nice stash and you aren't flying much, then $100 is a nice chunk of change :)

I definitely agree! I put off obtaining my AmExPlatinum since conventional wisdom said to hold off for the 100,000 offer. I tried every way online to get it, waited for a mailer, etc. Finally accepted that 60,000 was the highest offer I was going to get, and within 2 months had earned over 40,000 miles, plus utilized several of the benefits. So sometimes the waiting game works, other times if you know you're going to use the heck out of a card, just do it.

Thanks, all. I just know I'd kick myself if we take it and then a month or two from now I hear of people getting the 50-60K offer with the $100 stmt credit :) I did a couple quickie searches for SW offers and it could be worse. Some targeted offers only had a $50 credit, others have a higher min spend. We have until the end of Nov to apply, might give it a few weeks to mull over (and perhaps have to convince him to get another card :laughing:)
 
Ok...I'm so sorry that I'm asking again..... but I lost my question/replies in here quite a while ago...and I need to double check my info..... Sapphire reserve questions re: Travel credit.
1) Dh got card Dec 2016- his statment date is Dec 17,'17. SO that means his reset date for the TC is Dec 18 (correct,right?) That means he will get the AF on his Dec statement,and it will be due by Jan 14 (right?) In the meanwhile,we have a travel plan that includes picking up a car rental on Dec.9,and returning it on Dec 17. Since it takes transactions a day or so to post to acct, I should be safe using DH's CSR for this charge,right? Then I can apply the NEW years TC to this rental.(it's literally almost exactly $300) ADVICE? do you think this is a valid timeline?
2) We intend to PC his CSR anyway- but if the above works, we will wait till after that. What should we PC to? a sapphire or a FrU? (he has 2 FR already due to PC'ing,so thinking the 'new' one is a good plan) And I can still transfer his FR points into MY acct with the premium cards (right?)
3)Then my CSR stment close date is 12/9,so reset is 12/10 for NEW TC. I was going to use mine for other misc. travel expenses both on Dec 19,and in April. (this should work,right?)
4)Now I need to decide on my CSP- Af will come due in Feb '18- should I keep or PC to another FR(or FrU?) I think it's more valuable to keep CSR for at least another year for me- my only concern would be being eligible for the CSP again if I decide I prefer that one- (I highly value my UR,and using those) The CSP is at least 5 years old so I think it would work to do this for at least the next year (right?)
I've done a ton of reading on the CSR TC and I believe this all fits together..... thank you for any replies on this!
I know,I know..... still looking for confirmation that this is a plan to go with.... I'm getting a little anxious as the time nears to decide on our Sapphire products.... still looking for wisdom
 
Longtime lurker on this thread, lots of good info. :D I have a chase IHG question. Does it seem difficult to use the rewards, or am I doing something wrong? When I go to book, most of the hotels say that rewards night are not available. And if I choose flexible dates, there are usually none available all year! We stay in a lot of Holiday Inns on road trips because they are everywhere, and many have a pullout bed for our 5th person. Seemed like this would be a good choice but I can hardly find any that take the rewards nights (in spite of the "no blackout dates on rewards" that is listed under benefits). I've found amex Hilton to be really easy to book, although I feel like they use a lot more points.

I have been using IHG rewards for a couple of years and haven't had too much trouble using rewards nights. It obviously depends on demand, but have usually been able to find a room.
 
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