I love credit cards so much!

[disneedee]

thankyou so much Calypso & Albort for all the great info. i will do some reading. i think i am right at the 5/24 but not sure, have beeen playing with the system a little bit the last year and not smartly. do have the freedom, also got a ihg and an ax 6% card which doesn't get 6% where i shop as it is a grocery store, not a supermarket. i want the chase sapphire and the britsh airlines which are both chase.

 

[LynnTH]

I have been stalking all the blogs on CSR also. I applied for DH today when it went live. ( I am the one who signs up for all the CC's and I try and alternate us when signing up). He was approved instantly. Yeah. I know the $450 fee is steep but the Travel Credits this year and next plus the 100,000 points outweighs that. I did sign up to be an Authorized User - didn't really want to pay the extra $75 but both of us will need the cards to put our daily spending on in order to get to the $4000 spend in 3 months. I am on the Homecoming committee for my kids school (was on the committee last year too). So, I will be able to buy all the concession food with the new CC and then get reimbursed from the school, so that will be about $1200. That will help.

 

[ski_mom]

I'm also thinking about signing up for the CSR - and probably in DH's name since he has the Chase Freedom that I could transfer points from. I haven't decided yet on adding myself as an Authorized user or not. I hate to pay the $75 fee and I hate to have that use up one of my 5/24 spots if I would end up getting serious about this credit card "game". If I don't add myself, I have a couple of big bills that I can pay over the phone / online that make up about 1/2 of the spending, but I do much more of the day to day spending than he does, so it would be easier to quickly meet the spending if we both had cards. Decisions, decisions...

 

[MommaBerd]

Noob question- Do UR points expire?

 

[JillianMarie]

Noob question- Do UR points expire?

Nope.

 

[Aanna]

Can someone please reality check this for me? I got so inspired by this board that I think I just figured out a way to get my travel party to Barcelona and still have the card companies giving *us* money...

Party of 6 with 4 adults (all with excellent credit) and 2 kids
United has a nonstop from Newark to Barcelona and asks 30k miles+ $6 for the one way (we're taking the WBTA so we only need one way)
United's MileagePlus Visa is currently offering 30k and a $100 sign-up bonus after $1,000 spent: each adult can get this card and get a free trip to Barcelona with $94 left over
For the children's fares, I just applied for the Chase Sapphire: 50k miles sign up (after $4,000 spent) + 5k miles with co-cardholder's first purchase. So, when as soon as I spend $5,000 I should have a total of 60k miles for the children's fares.

Both cards are first year with no annual fee... so, as I see it, as long as my parents spend $2,000 on their cards and DH and I spend $7,000 (ie. paying for EVERYTHING and our vacation for 3 months), we will walk away with 6 tickets to Barcelona and $364 in statement credits. And, yes, we're pay-in-full monthly sorts of folks.

What am I missing? It almost seems to good to be true.

 

[JillianMarie]

Can someone please reality check this for me? I got so inspired by this board that I think I just figured out a way to get my travel party to Barcelona and still have the card companies giving *us* money...

Party of 6 with 4 adults (all with excellent credit) and 2 kids
United has a nonstop from Newark to Barcelona and asks 30k miles+ $6 for the one way (we're taking the WBTA so we only need one way)
United's MileagePlus Visa is currently offering 30k and a $100 sign-up bonus after $1,000 spent: each adult can get this card and get a free trip to Barcelona with $94 left over
For the children's fares, I just applied for the Chase Sapphire: 50k miles sign up (after $4,000 spent) + 5k miles with co-cardholder's first purchase. So, when as soon as I spend $5,000 I should have a total of 60k miles for the children's fares.

Both cards are first year with no annual fee... so, as I see it, as long as my parents spend $2,000 on their cards and DH and I spend $7,000 (ie. paying for EVERYTHING and our vacation for 3 months), we will walk away with 6 tickets to Barcelona and $364 in statement credits. And, yes, we're pay-in-full monthly sorts of folks.

What am I missing? It almost seems to good to be true.

Ok, so let me see if I have this right.

grandma - United Explorer (UX) 30k miles/$100 statement credit for $1k
grandpa - UX 30k miles/$100 statement credit for $1k
Parent 1 - UX 30k miles/100 statement credit
Parent 2 - UX 30k miles/100 statement credit
Parent 1 - CSP @ 50k/$4K
authorized user 1 - 5k miles/first purchase (credited to parent 1)
authorized user 2 - 5k miles/first purchase (credited to parent 1)

Mom ends up with 120k miles, enough to book 4 tickets (technically, you'll end up with 124,000+ because you'll get credit for the dollars you spend)
grandma has 30k, enough to book one
grandpa has 30k, enough to book one.

Your math is right, except I think you only have to spend $6K to get your miles, instead of $7k like you mentioned above. Both the authorized user cards will credit toward the $4K you have to spend on the CSP. The only thing is that you'll get your $100 statement credits before you can book the actual plane tickets so you're still getting the $94 back, it'll just apply to a different purchase than the flight. I think. All of my statement credits have been retroactive. So, it's like hit your spend on September 15th, statement closes September 29th, miles credit September 30th. The $100 credit will credit toward the September statement but you can't buy the tickets with your bonus miles until September 30th. It all works out in the wash, but it's less fun than literally getting paid to go to Spain.

Welcome to the hobby.

 

[Aanna]

YAY!! Thank you so much, JillianMarie!

LOL I suppose it *would be more fun if the statement credits worked just so. I have officially been hooked thanks to you folks!

 

[calypso726]

Can someone please reality check this for me? I got so inspired by this board that I think I just figured out a way to get my travel party to Barcelona and still have the card companies giving *us* money...

Party of 6 with 4 adults (all with excellent credit) and 2 kids
United has a nonstop from Newark to Barcelona and asks 30k miles+ $6 for the one way (we're taking the WBTA so we only need one way)
United's MileagePlus Visa is currently offering 30k and a $100 sign-up bonus after $1,000 spent: each adult can get this card and get a free trip to Barcelona with $94 left over
For the children's fares, I just applied for the Chase Sapphire: 50k miles sign up (after $4,000 spent) + 5k miles with co-cardholder's first purchase. So, when as soon as I spend $5,000 I should have a total of 60k miles for the children's fares.

Both cards are first year with no annual fee... so, as I see it, as long as my parents spend $2,000 on their cards and DH and I spend $7,000 (ie. paying for EVERYTHING and our vacation for 3 months), we will walk away with 6 tickets to Barcelona and $364 in statement credits. And, yes, we're pay-in-full monthly sorts of folks.

What am I missing? It almost seems to good to be true.

Welcome to travel hacking! Make sure when you are searching for awards on United after you get your credit card that you are logged in to the site first. United card holders will see more award availability than non-card holders. This is the only reason I even keep my United card. Well that and the two lounge passes every year. Also, keep in mind that there may not be 6 award seats available when you book your flight. Be prepared to go on different flights if needed or have someone flying in a different class of service although you'd need more miles for that. I was helping friends get flights to Hawaii using miles for a trip next year and during the process they were aware that we might not find 4 award seats on the same flight and were prepared to split up. Fortunately we did find 4 seats for them on the same flight.

Have a "plan B" in place. Whenever I plan out vacations I always plan out at least three ways to get to my destination which came in handy when planning that Hawaii trip as I wound up using plans A, B and C. I was able to get to from Florida to Hawaii in first using American Airline saver miles (plan A) and I was able to get from LAX to Florida in first with United (plan B). I could not find anything to get me from HNL to LAX in first using a reasonable amount of miles. Fortunately, I had planned for that and was able to purchase the first class tickets using Citi Prestige and Citi Premier Thank You points (plan C) which are redeemable for 1.8 cents per point if you use them to buy American Airlines tickets.

Had I been trying to get seats in economy it probably would not have been such a headache. Travel hacking has turned my DH into a spoiled princess who won't fly in economy now if it is over 3 hours It's turned me into a spoiled airplane snob who won't pay more than xx,xxx amount of miles for a first class seat on THAT type of plane with THOSE kinds of seats. Other than turning us into spoiled brats it's a fun hobby and we've been able to travel more than ever before and in a manner we never would have been able to otherwise.

 

[Aanna]

Travel hacking has turned my DH into a spoiled princess who won't fly in economy now if it is over 3 hours It's turned me into a spoiled airplane snob who won't pay more than xx,xxx amount of miles for a first class seat on THAT type of plane with THOSE kinds of seats. Other than turning us into spoiled brats it's a fun hobby and we've been able to travel more than ever before and in a manner we never would have been able to otherwise.

LOL Now, of course, I'm starting to wonder how many points and what routes/times it would take to make that step up to business class. So much to learn!! You're my hero! LOL

 

[CaterFamily]

#addicted_to_travel_hacking

This is going to get fun I can imagine. Lots of hard work to get exactly what we're wanting.

Family of 4 traveling together 99% of the time makes for some serious point hoarding!

Tips/tricks to get really good deals on a combo airfare and hotel?

 

[calypso726]

#addicted_to_travel_hacking

This is going to get fun I can imagine. Lots of hard work to get exactly what we're wanting.

Family of 4 traveling together 99% of the time makes for some serious point hoarding!

Tips/tricks to get really good deals on a combo airfare and hotel?

Starwood Preferred Guest card. The points transfer to over 30 airlines and of course to Starwood properties. Utilizing their nights and flights packages combines hotel stays at category 3 or 4 properties and flights when you redeem for both. The Dolphin at WDW is a category 4 SPG property.

Using British Airways Avios miles for short haul flights on American Airlines or other partner airlines. BA flights are distance based so it's only 7,500 Avios each way for domestic short haul flights. BA Avios points are easy to earn from the Chase BA card, Chase UR cards with one being either a Chase Ink Plus, Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve to transfer into air miles. You can also use Amex membership rewards which no longer transfer 1:1. However, if you hold out for transfer bonuses like the 50% one right now your transfers can be worth 1:1.25. SPG points also transfer to BA and if you transfer 20,000 at a time you get an additional 5,000 bonus.

If you can fly on Alaska Airlines their credit card holders can get an annual companion ticket in economy for $99 plus taxes and fees.Southwest card holders can also get a companion ticket. Delta platinum card holders also get an annual companion ticket.

Hotel cards that earn annual free night like Marriott, IHG, Hyatt etc. DH and I each have a Marriott and IHG card so between us that is 2 free nights each year for each property. The free night is worth much more than the annual fee. We also keep a Club Carlson card for stays in Europe in a Radisson Blu. The card holders get gold status which gives you and upgrade and early and late check out plus 40,000 points every year on your card anniversary. For the $75 every year on this card we have been able to redeem over $2,000 worth of hotel stays over the last 3 years in Europe.

Your best bet is credit card sign up bonuses. Whatever card you get make sure your SO gets one too so you can double the points. Variable points are worth the most as they are flexible. Hope this helps.

 

[peel]

Can someone please reality check this for me? I got so inspired by this board that I think I just figured out a way to get my travel party to Barcelona and still have the card companies giving *us* money...

Party of 6 with 4 adults (all with excellent credit) and 2 kids
United has a nonstop from Newark to Barcelona and asks 30k miles+ $6 for the one way (we're taking the WBTA so we only need one way)
United's MileagePlus Visa is currently offering 30k and a $100 sign-up bonus after $1,000 spent: each adult can get this card and get a free trip to Barcelona with $94 left over
For the children's fares, I just applied for the Chase Sapphire: 50k miles sign up (after $4,000 spent) + 5k miles with co-cardholder's first purchase. So, when as soon as I spend $5,000 I should have a total of 60k miles for the children's fares.

Both cards are first year with no annual fee... so, as I see it, as long as my parents spend $2,000 on their cards and DH and I spend $7,000 (ie. paying for EVERYTHING and our vacation for 3 months), we will walk away with 6 tickets to Barcelona and $364 in statement credits. And, yes, we're pay-in-full monthly sorts of folks.

What am I missing? It almost seems to good to be true.

One thing, and I could be wrong about this, I don't think you get 5,000 bonus Ultimate Rewuards for every AU you add to the CSP. If I remember correctly from a few months ago when I signed up, the fine print said you'd get 5,000 for adding the FIRST AU.

 

[Aanna]

One thing, and I could be wrong about this, I don't think you get 5,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards for every AU you add to the CSP. If I remember correctly from a few months ago when I signed up, the fine print said you'd get 5,000 for adding the FIRST AU.

I just checked, and you are correct. I've added up our planned spending vs. required miles, and we should be fine, though. I'm now seriously working on figuring out the best path to upgrading everyone to Business class, which will take a BUNCH more points.

 

[calypso726]

I'm now seriously working on figuring out the best path to upgrading everyone to Business class, which will take a BUNCH more points.

Well, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is now available and the bonus offer is 100,000 UR points for the same spend as the Sapphire Preferred. The fee is $450 but it comes with a $300 travel statement credit. I am going to have to wait a year before I can apply for it due to being over 5/24. I think I can feel the withdrawals starting.

 

[CaterFamily]

Just got my business approved for the Ink Plus...now to meet the spending requirement in September.

I was really hoping for this one - two fold: 1. it would help differentiate my business spending on credit from personal - bad habit of using all cards for everything and 2. 5x points!!!

Special thank you to the OP and the subsequent travel nerds who are always pointing out tips to those of us new to the "game".

 

[Aanna]

Well, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is now available and the bonus offer is 100,000 UR points for the same spend as the Sapphire Preferred. The fee is $450 but it comes with a $300 travel statement credit. I am going to have to wait a year before I can apply for it due to being over 5/24. I think I can feel the withdrawals starting.

Yup: planning on getting this for my DH as soon as we've paid off the bonuses on the cards I just got. REALLY looking forward to paying off the cruise for 3x points. With that and some other miles we happened to have, I think I'll manage to squeak by with enough miles to upgrade everyone. BUT those miles will not all arrive in time for me to reserve the 6 seats in business on the day they become available (ie. the only day I can count on getting all 6 at Saver rate). Which means I'll need to try and pick up upgrades at the last minute, I suppose. Still not precisely sure how to upgrade inexpensively on United with miles. I know my family: we'd rather all travel together on one flight in different classes than take different flights.

So much to learn!

 

[SMorgan711]

I think you all got my quite obsessed now! I've been checking out the united website and have a goal to fly to hawaii first class round trip for free! I wish I knew of this sooner! My husband and I are about to buy a house so after we do, game on !!!!!!!

 

[AmyAnne]

Another beginner question here. We are using our new CSP card for the next few months to meet the spending requirement. We need to make about $300 in purchases from Lowe's. I recall reading about purchasing gift cards from office supply stores to maximize points, but I am pretty sure that's for the Ink? For the CSP, is there any reason to purchase Lowe's gift cards rather than just use the card in the store? Or perhaps shop through Chase and pick up in store?

Thanks again to the experts posting here. Trying not to think about the new Chase card until we have met the spending requirement for the CSP.

 

[Albort]

Another beginner question here. We are using our new CSP card for the next few months to meet the spending requirement. We need to make about $300 in purchases from Lowe's. I recall reading about purchasing gift cards from office supply stores to maximize points, but I am pretty sure that's for the Ink? For the CSP, is there any reason to purchase Lowe's gift cards rather than just use the card in the store? Or perhaps shop through Chase and pick up in store?

Thanks again to the experts posting here. Trying not to think about the new Chase card until we have met the spending requirement for the CSP.

you are correct, ink card is the one that u use to buy gift cards from office supply stores. if there is an option via shop through chase, you can go through there. it will give us more points if available... The CSP is best used with MileagePlus App, where u can earn UA miles and 2x UR points as they codings get pass onto chase for the 2x. MileagePlus is like buying gc too. THeres also mileageDining that also earn points on both sides... double dipping!