I love credit cards so much!

[tink1970]

Then you will really groan when I tell you I redeemed some for a Old Navy/Gap gift card a few years back! I truly had no other use for them and I wasn't using the card. This was before amex offers which made me value that lil ole MR card more

Of course you know your situation best Seriously, you do you. No judgement! I redeemed all my Citi TY points for cash I think

Re my trainer- I just wish he'd take a little more direction...he's 23, owns his own business, can you imagine the MRs he could be racking up right now??

 

[miztressuz]

Conversation this am with my trainer:

TuckerTheTrainer: So I have 16 or 17,000 Amex Rewards with my new card

me: great...

TTT: I can use them for cash back on my bill or a Nike gift card or some other thing

me: Um, some would say that gift cards are not the best use of your points but of course you know your situation best
(internally yelling: NOOOOOO!!!!!! Just NOOOO!)

TTT: I'm going to think about it

me: good idea

I've tried to explain the benefits of card hacking but as a 23 year old he is quite risk adverse. Then again, I knew nothing about this at his age so he's better off than I was.

I could just hear the collective groans at the idea of MRs being used for a nike gift card

At least Nike is 1 cpp, he could do worse. You might have to beg him not to take the statement credit though, for your own sanity.

 

[amalone1013]

This is the business version of adding Gold AU cards to the personal Plat.

You can add Plat AU cards to your Biz Plat but I think it costs $300 per AU. Instead you can add an employee Green AU card for free. This is an AU CARD added to your platinum and thus their spend counts towards your MSR.

Ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I feel silly now. Obviously I don't know enough about AMEX.

@Lain thanks for your help and patience Sorry I didn't understand that in your first comment!

 

[miztressuz]

Then you will really groan when I tell you I redeemed some for a Old Navy/Gap gift card a few years back! I truly had no other use for them and I wasn't using the card. This was before amex offers which made me value that lil ole MR card more!

I think I possibly redeemed some for a magazine once. I know I was looking at it before cancelling a card. (and we had an random magazine subscription show up around the same time that we couldn't figure out where it came from. so maybe I did?)
I had a couple hundred left that would otherwise be forfeit so I figured anything was better than forfeiting them. But it was so long ago I can't remember exactly, did AmEx always pool MR's? I had my Gold and Blue cards at the same time but I don't remember having only one MR balance, otherwise not sure why I'd be spending MR's before I closed a card.

 

[Lain]

Him having an employee biz green will count towards biz plat? Mind blown.

An employee card is essentially an AU card. Charges on the employee/AU card goes towards the master account.

 

[Lain]

Ok, read it. I will try and work up some courage today.

I'd suggest some liquid courage, but I don't think alcohol mixes well with applying for new cards or having young kids around. So just take some deep breaths.

 

[tink89]

That's where another double dip loophole comes in, because you apply for both cards on the same day, individually each application sees 4/24 and so you're good. After it you are now at 6/24 and locked out for most Chase cards until two cards age out. So you'd want to pick wisely

As for which Sapphire is better will depend on what you plan to use it for. If you have a travel redemption in mind the CSR is probably better even with the high AF. For $450 you get a $300 travel credit that will be automatically applied to any travel related charge until it's used up. We used most of ours on our EZPass toll charges that we were going to pay for anyway because of daily commutes. Because of that I consider it a $150 AF that I paid to get $750 worth of travel, because I will be using the points towards a cruise I have with Chase travel, giving me a net profit of $600. (My 50k sign up bonus x 1.5 cpp = $750) It also comes with a credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck if you have any interest in that. (If you planned to spend that money anyway then that effectively reduces the AF further. ) This card also earns at a 3x rate for travel and dining.

But if you don't have plans for the 1.5 cpp travel redemption, I might stick with the CSP even thought it only gets 2x earnings for travel and dining. It's the same 50k sign up bonus but the $95 AF is waived the first year, plus you have an opportunity for an extra 5k bonus if you add an AU and use that card during the first 3 months. I'd recommend not adding DH as the AU, maybe you have kids that can be added? Other trusted family members that don't play the CC game and wouldn't mind helping out? Perhaps the dog? If you're only after more points and only want one, that may be the way to go. A potentially free $550 to use as cashback or $687.50 for travel. Then if you decide later to have DH double dip, you can refer him to the CSP to get referral bonus on top and he'd apply outright for the CSR. (and vice versa if you decide on CSR)

Unless you want to go for Southwest points Can double dip both personal cards, but I'm not recommending it! Really just a random thought popped in for how to use the last possibly 2 slots at Chase with a lower spend requirement (each card is only 1 or 2k). Maybe someone else has another recommendation for a high earn card outside of Chase. Since you both already have the Hilton cards from AmEx, I'm drawing a blank

Ok definitely sounds like something that needs to be well planned out. I might give it a few months before i think about doing those two. If i do not do both i might just do the CSP given the AF on the CSR.

I don't fly southwest and prefer not to. I usually fly Alaska or jet blue if flying to L.A. and when I fly anywhere else i usually stick with Alaska if available or Virgin.

Like you said I have the Hilton amex, so maybe i will look at a Marriot, Sheraton, or Hyatt card and see what they offer.

 

[disneybirds]

Inquiring minds want to know.. where you going good for $1200/night?

Looking at the Caymans over the Christmas break. The cash rates are ridiculous!

 

[snugglebug]

Well I should have $500 towards the MSR for the Biz Plat done as soon as it arrives. Verizon increased my phone bill recently so I’m switching to T-Mobile. We have to finish paying off SO’s phone before the switch. I’m excited for the T-MOBILE Tuesday deals too. lol

DW and I have AT&T's grandfathered unlimited data plan for our iPhones, but AT&T's been increasing the price on the plan every few months recently. We've thought about switching to T-Mobile -- how are their data plans?

We'll be switching from ATT to Tmobile this week as well. I just paid off my daughter's phone last night (well, my credit card her cash), waiting to get it unlocked. Four lines with 3 phones financed on ATT is more than 6 lines and 4 financed phones on Tmobile's military plan, and I'll be back to unlimited data.

Tmobile does have a deal where they'll pay off your phone. Basically you give them the phone and get a new one, they give you a gift card worth your pay off amount to finish paying ATT. He told me the virtual card takes 1-2 weeks and the physical takes 6-8. I'm trying to decide how best to utilize since I'll be doing this for my phone. I'd rather pay off ATT with my CIP for points, then use the gift card to other spend I think that wouldn't code at 3x.

 

[speedyfishy]

Tmobile does have a deal where they'll pay off your phone. Basically you give them the phone and get a new one, they give you a gift card worth your pay off amount to finish paying ATT. He told me the virtual card takes 1-2 weeks and the physical takes 6-8. I'm trying to decide how best to utilize since I'll be doing this for my phone. I'd rather pay off ATT with my CIP for points, then use the gift card to other spend I think that wouldn't code at 3x.

Yeah, he was telling me about this, but the rep said I’d finance it through them, but from what I’m seeing online is we would actually own the phone. I want to upgrade when the next iPhone comes out.

 

[peel]

Just got a reply from one buyer:

Just want to let you know that I will be paying for this item Tomorrow, Tuesday Evening.

Ummm alright?

I do Buy It Now a lot and choose the option to require immediate payment,. But if I have something I'm not so sure of the value of and choose an auction format, I include language in the description that says payment is due within 24 (or 48) hours of the auction's close. That way I can reference it if someone tries to delay payment. In reality, it probably doesn't mean much to eBay, but I like being able to say "Hey, I told you you have to pay me in a certain amount of time and you should read descriptions carefully." Then I don't have to look like the bad guy for cancelling a sale.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I feel silly now. Obviously I don't know enough about AMEX.

@Lain thanks for your help and patience Sorry I didn't understand that in your first comment!

Oh no worries. We were talking about self referring to a biz green. Referring your husband to a biz green and then adding an AU biz green to your Biz Plat...that’s a lot to keep straight when all of them are green cards!!!

 

[amalone1013]

Oh no worries. We were talking about self referring to a biz green. Referring your husband to a biz green and then adding an AU biz green to your Biz Plat...that’s a lot to keep straight when all of them are green cards!!!

And I'd really payed the Biz Plat no mind with the $10k/$15k 100k offer since that wasn't happening, so I had zero idea you could add different 'types' of cards as employee cards. My employee card experience is limited to the SPG Biz

 

[1st*toright]

If you missed it, once you get your Biz Platinum account set up, consider referring yourself to the Biz Green card for a total of 30k MR points, and maybe consider referring DH too. Let me know if you need the details and I can dig them up.

Thanks - I did see the biz green chatter in the previous pages (I did try to catch up). Because these are Biz's, no /24 implications, right? I'm up for more points by cheating with Amex, but my is all for chase.

 

[snugglebug]

Yeah, he was telling me about this, but the rep said I’d finance it through them, but from what I’m seeing online is we would actually own the phone. I want to upgrade when the next iPhone comes out.

I just got my Samsung S7 in Nov so I'm perfectly happy with upgrading and starting a new financing plan with TM. My daughter was halfway through paying off her iPhone and for the first time ever has kept it in one piece for an entire year so she wanted to just keep it instead of starting over.

I agree with you, if you want to upgrade soon better to pay it off so you're ready for the upgrade.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Ok definitely sounds like something that needs to be well planned out. I might give it a few months before i think about doing those two. If i do not do both i might just do the CSP given the AF on the CSR.

I don't fly southwest and prefer not to. I usually fly Alaska or jet blue if flying to L.A. and when I fly anywhere else i usually stick with Alaska if available or Virgin.

Like you said I have the Hilton amex, so maybe i will look at a Marriot, Sheraton, or Hyatt card and see what they offer.

I’m going to add don’t forget about the protections CSR offers like trip delay that kicks in at 6 hours. Priority Pass can chop away at the AF as well. Lounge visits save me about $20/person (limit 2 guests starting in Aug I think?). Check the PP website to see if airports you travel to have participating lounges/restaurants. You can double dip the $300 travel credit by using it as soon as it resets and then downgrade/cancel and get a full refund of your $450 annual fee if done within 30 days.

 

[amalone1013]

@tink89 I will second @gottalovepluto's mention of priority pass. We have a restaurant at our home airport and now always eat there if we have time - we usually spent $40 at one place, now we spend $10 for a tip and I always get a "start of vacation" drink to celebrate But we definitely save $30 each time because otherwise we'd do a sit down.

 

[amalone1013]

@disneymagicgirl I just got an email for triple points with Hilton. I know nothing about Hilton so not sure if they do super targeted offers but I thought I'd mention it!

 

[miztressuz]

Ok definitely sounds like something that needs to be well planned out. I might give it a few months before i think about doing those two. If i do not do both i might just do the CSP given the AF on the CSR.

I don't fly southwest and prefer not to. I usually fly Alaska or jet blue if flying to L.A. and when I fly anywhere else i usually stick with Alaska if available or Virgin.

Like you said I have the Hilton amex, so maybe i will look at a Marriot, Sheraton, or Hyatt card and see what they offer.

The Hyatt card is not currently subject to the 5/24 rule, so in theory you could wait on that one. Eventually it will be, but there's no timeline for it; Chase has just said that eventually they'll have all their cards under that rule. If it's not a necessity and you're ok extending how long you'd be locked out of Chase, I'd hold out for that one.
The Marriott's not bad, 75k sign up bonus for 3k, $95 fee. The SPG (Sheraton) is rumored to have the same sign up bonus for the same fee later in Aug, probably around when they release the new SPG Luxury card. Right now it's only a $100 stmt credit after 1k of spend, but the $95 fee is waived for the first year. You can get another $100 stmt credit after making a purchase at Marriott/SPG locations or online stores. Personally, I'd take the points over the statement credits even paying the fee.
Also should keep in mind the restrictions being imposed on the Marriott/SPG cards starting 8/26/18, if you had interest in multiple cards for yourself. Otherwise P1 can get Marriott and P2 can get SPG, and vice versa, and should be ok. I liked this chart for a visual to go with the descriptions https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/2018/07/30/navigating-marriotts-byzantine-credit-card-rules/ (thanks for pointing it out @platamama !)

So many decisions, good luck

 

[tink89]

I’m going to add don’t forget about the protections CSR offers like trip delay that kicks in at 6 hours. Priority Pass can chop away at the AF as well. Lounge visits save me about $20/person (limit 2 guests starting in Aug I think?). Check the PP website to see if airports you travel to have participating lounges/restaurants. You can double dip the $300 travel credit by using it as soon as it resets and then downgrade/cancel and get a full refund of your $450 annual fee if done within 30 days.

This adds to things i need to sit down and check before making a decision. I more than likely will not be applying for anything just to keep me at 4/24 until i know what i am doing. Can I only use PP for two guests? Am i reading that correctly? That will not work since we are a family of three and usually fly with more people. I fly out of SFO anf SJC and it does look like they both have a lounge. IS this only available when traveling internationally?