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

[trenty]

know if this works for SW too? My kids all have a handful of points expiring soon b/c we never actually pay for flights.

I do erewards surveys for SW. It does keep points from expiring.

 

[Psychodisney]

You can request specific items so I’m going to try and request a $100 Disney Gift Card from target.

Can't wait to hear if this works!

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Wow, wonder what happened to her!?! She posted a lot too. Weird to just stop.

I've wondered that before too, she started the UO AP hotel rates thread and I always wonder when I check it. She let me know it was there and it's helped me a ton!

 

[Psychodisney]

Yep, and we get’em churning right away!

Even though my ‘baby’ turns 19 tomorrow, she’ll always be my baby

If you don't mind me asking, what were the order and pacing of her cards? I know she has a Discover, a Freedom, CIP and now SWA...scary I remember that...even without a spreadsheet.
My DD19 hasn't been as lucky. She has a credit union VISA 8/17, Discover 6/18. She was denied a SW card last summer and a Marriott last month. I think her credit score is mid to upper 700's.

 

[wendow]

if only swa would have PP lounges near the gates. We fly SWA only bc its cheaper than other airlines especially with bags

Well, as you got to experience recently, the PP lounge in Denver is near the SW gates (and the new centurion lounge will be by SW) but it does seem like at most airports, the PP lounge is not by SW.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Fair. But Liverpool trounced Barcelona with half the side on the DL! (although they did have most of their players healthy right up until that game) Lots of teams playing at a really high level this year - Man City played well and deserved to win the league, but it was sad that Liverpool lost out by such a narrow margin. DH doesn't care about Arsenal v Chelsea in the Europa final (although he will probably still watch it) but he's pumped about the Tottenham/Liverpool game.

Yeah even DS said he felt bad that Liverpool worked so hard and lost by 1 point.

 

[wendow]

If you don't mind me asking, what were the order and pacing of her cards? I know she has a Discover, a Freedom, CIP and now SWA...scary I remember that...even without a spreadsheet.
My DD19 hasn't been as lucky. She has a credit union VISA 8/17, Discover 6/18. She was denied a SW card last summer and a Marriott last month. I think her credit score is mid to upper 700's.

That is crazy you remember that!?!
Discover 06/18
CFU 12/18
CIP 02/19
SW 05/19

She was an AU'er on two of my cards before she ever got her own and I added her to my Amex plat (gold card) in 12/18. She's also had her own college checking at Chase for 3 years now - yes, they allow high school kids to have college accounts. Credit score is high 700's now.

What is your dd's income? Did she feel comfortable trying to recon the Marriott? I know, at one point, Chase was advertising their CFU as a 'student card', which is why my dd went for that one first. I wonder if your dd should try for that one. I think the CF and CFU are easier to get. I had done some googling about different cards and CS needed and the Freedom cards both seem to allow lower scores so even though your dd's score is high, maybe it's her age. Once you get one of the freedoms and Chase sees you are responsible, other cards become available...? IDK. I'd have her keep trying!

 

[Lain]

Here’s an interesting rumor going around Reddit today regarding the upcoming Amex Green refresh.

An alleged insider at a travel accessories company claims that his company is releasing a product in mid-September in collaboration with the Amex Green card. This leads him to think the updated Green card will be released around September. He also adds that Amex will offer a credit (unclear if it’ll be specific to Green cardmembers or available to all “Amex users”) for buying the company’s product.

https://www.reddit.com/r/amex/comments/bo6q0s/amex_green_update/

From the teasing in the comments, people seem to think it may be Away Luggage.

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/bo225b/discussion_thread_may_13_2019/encxf0h/

I think Away Luggage would definitely fit Amex’s recent push towards offering credits for products and services that attract affluent millennials customers (a demographic Amex has been on record as wanting to win away from Chase’s CSR hit), e.g. Uber credit on the Platinums, WeWork access on the Biz Plat, GrubHub/Seamless credit on the Gold (heck, even a “Rose Gold” card), 6% cash back on streaming services and 3% cash back on transit and ride share services on the updated BCP, and if other rumors are true then possibly Amazon Prime on the refreshed Green.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Well, as you got to experience recently, the PP lounge in Denver is near the SW gates (and the new centurion lounge will be by SW) but it does seem like at most airports, the PP lounge is not by SW.

yes that was nice! now if only they would work like that at all airports. we dont have plans to go though den anytime soon. next airport will be dca or bwi to mco depending on price

 

[speedyfishy]

Here’s an interesting rumor going around Reddit today regarding the upcoming Amex Green refresh.

An alleged insider at a travel accessories company claims that his company is releasing a product in mid-September in collaboration with the Amex Green card. This leads him to think the updated Green card will be released around September. He also adds that Amex will offer a credit (unclear if it’ll be specific to Green cardmembers or available to all “Amex users”) for buying the company’s product.

https://www.reddit.com/r/amex/comments/bo6q0s/amex_green_update/

From the teasing in the comments, people seem to think it may be Away Luggage.

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/bo225b/discussion_thread_may_13_2019/encxf0h/

I think Away Luggage would definitely fit Amex’s recent push towards offering credits for products and services that attract affluent millennials customers (a demographic Amex has been on record as wanting to win away from Chase’s CSR hit), e.g. Uber credit on the Platinums, WeWork access on the Biz Plat, GrubHub/Seamless credit on the Gold (heck, even a “Rose Gold” card), 6% cash back on streaming services and 3% cash back on transit and ride share services on the updated BCP, and if other rumors are true then possibly Amazon Prime on the refreshed Green.

Omg I love Away!!! I have four pieces of luggage now with them, but if I got a credit I can make room for more.

 

[SBWB48]

Actual pic of the new Apple Card: https://twitter.com/BenGeskin/status/1127319394542063616?s=19

shared from r/churning.

ETA:
Again, if you're pulling out the physical card to pay, you're earning only 1% cash back; but hey, you get to look cool, right?

The Apple Card earns 2% cash back when used in Apple Pay, but then it's just a nifty graphic in a digital wallet or a token being transmitted between servers.

Oh, and there's no SUB.

Makes the Starbucks card look like a steal

 

[Albort]

my USPS inform delivery is showing my Amex SPG Lux card replacement is here!!!!

 

[havaneselover]

my USPS inform delivery is showing my Amex SPG Lux card replacement is here!!!!

Yippee!

 

[Hoosier John]

CIP on the way! I applied over the weekend and got the 2 weeks message right away, which is a first for me so wasn't sure what to make of that (the others went from 30days straight to approved), but checked this morning and there's a beautiful CIP showing up in my biz login
Called the status line and spoke with a rep and it's being expedited, I should see it Wednesday!

[QUOTE="SouthFayetteFan, post: 60608031 @Hoosier John[/USER] - might want to check that status line this morning. See if your status has updated at all.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the reminder folks! I too applied on 5/11, got the, "Answer will arrive in writing within 2 weeks" message. Just checked (first weekday) and it was APPROVED. Don't really see a need to expedite, so should arrive in 7 days.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

[QUOTE="SouthFayetteFan, post: 60608031 @Hoosier John[/USER] - might want to check that status line this morning. See if your status has updated at all.

Thanks for the reminder folks! I too applied on 5/11, got the, "Answer will arrive in writing within 2 weeks" message. Just checked (first weekday) and it was APPROVED. Don't really see a need to expedite, so should arrive in 7 days.[/QUOTE]
Congrats on approval my man!! Yeah, If you aren’t in a pinch for the card no need to expedite. It’ll get there sometime next week for sure!

 

[punkin]

Wow, wonder what happened to her!?! She posted a lot too. Weird to just stop.

Sometimes you just need a break. Let's hope that's all it is.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

[QUOTE="SouthFayetteFan, post: 60608031 @Hoosier John[/USER] - might want to check that status line this morning. See if your status has updated at all.

Thanks for the reminder folks! I too applied on 5/11, got the, "Answer will arrive in writing within 2 weeks" message. Just checked (first weekday) and it was APPROVED. Don't really see a need to expedite, so should arrive in 7 days.[/QUOTE]

Congrats

 

[havaneselover]

Floatplane accident in Ketchikan

Last year my mom went with me and my kids against her better judgment. It was amazing though.

 

[Hoosier John]

Need some advice. My youngest sister is going to college in the fall and taking a grad trip to Europe with her school. What is a good credit card to start her off on that will be a good one to have for use at college and one she can use on her trip. Something with out any type of fees.

I agree with the other poster who said a real chip AND pin card might work better in Europe. Short of that, Navy Federal is offering an AmEx Rewards card: 40K pts for $4k spend in 90 days. It has No AF, and No Foreign Transaction fees. But I think parents or children must be current/former military or DoD civilian. (I got a targeted offer in the mail ... think website is only offering 30k pts)

 

[MKTokyo]

PSA for those lurking or new to the game...You can never start planning and/or earning points too soon!

If the trip you are planning is less than 12 months from now and you haven't started earning points towards it yet, it's ok, but it's TIME TO MOVE! Don't hesitate, don't think it over, start earning points NOW With all the anti-churning rules in place with the various issuers and recommended pacing, you can truly only earn so many points in 6-12 months even in the almighty 2 player mode. Time until your trip will become your enemy and you could be faced with tough choices of paying for a portion OOP or cutting costs from your budget.

Also keep in mind, if you have a trip scheduled for June of next year, you may think that you have a whole year to earn points. BUT, you need to book that trip in advance...possibly 4-6 months in advance to make sure you get what you want. You might need to start booking pieces of that trip as soon as 7 months from now! That seems like a long time, but it goes by super fast when you're trying to space cards out by 2-3 months.

TL/DR: It's never too early to start earning points for your trip!

It never is! And, many times, it's best if you can think even farther ahead & have a few plans going at once.

I would also recommend sharing those travel plans here from time to time as it can help to write things out & read over them. You might also be able to get good advice from someone who sees a better way to do something or knows that something won't work as you intended!

So, here are mine, updated.

2019
May: Versailles/DL Paris/WDW - Flights were booked before I started in this hobby but our hotel in Versailles was paid for almost entirely with the Aspire... will elaborate at some point in case it can help someone. Reading "how I did it" posts from others definitely helped me a lot.
August: London - Got the flights with points at 11 months out. My first flight booked with points I earned here! But, we but did not book a chain hotel for various reasons (location & history, nothing to do with property quality or anything like that)
September: Kyoto - I have a conference here & the museum is paying for the hotel so not really relevant. We were going to go in March but decided to tack some leisure time onto the conference instead since I'd be there anyway. I don't usually count domestic trips in my plans but this is a "bigger" one so I decided to make sure I have enough time blocked for it.
October: Maldives (honeymoon) - Wedding gift from parents but the Aspire is ready for the resort charges. Originally we wanted to go touring around South Korea & we are really into Korean food/cooking at the moment but, well... honeymoon. Maldives. Must-do

2020
January: Using our winter break to go to South Korea now (& you should see my restaurant list) - using either Hyatt or Bonkyvonk points. Probably Hyatt bc I can pair points with the free anniversary night on the CC as Grand Hyatt Seoul is only Category 4!
April/Golden Week: Disneyland (CA) - Hoping to rent points at VGC from a kind owner I found on the boards. Already paid a partial deposit for that & we will see what happens at the end of the month. Flights will be with points and I think I have those squared away!
July-August: OLYMPICS!!! I'm not going anywhere, I'm just excited. (Well... hopefully we will see some cool events. We had better hit that lottery)
October: Vienna/Prague/Budapest - I'm currently working on the "point plan" for this one & it looks like we will be staying at IHG properties. We wanted the ABD Danube Oktoberfest but timing didn't work out & we wanted to change the itinerary a little bit.

2021
Unknown but it will likely be somewhere AA flies since I'm on the train & packing away points already - contenders include Madrid & Dubrovnik. Copenhagen is also a possibility but not via AA. And, I think we will do a WDW/short Disney cruise combo in the fall or winter. I'll be in the second year of my PhD program so not sure how much time I will want to take off then but I will definitely need a break at some point. I won't be booking anything far ahead of time, though, so this could be a lean travel year.

2022
March-May: ABD Egypt (this is when we think we will feel comfortable going but we will need to decide for sure at least one year in advance) - I am going to start working on these flights as a "just in case" as soon as I have the October 2020 trip squared away, since I need to be booking those flights in about 4-5 months. I try to collect Disney GC year-round but for this trip, a CIC might be a good idea. I'm thinking about going for CIP #2 next month & PCing CIP #1 to a CIC.

So, at the moment, I am planning 3 years out for multiple trips at once. I quickly learned that spreadsheets are your friends. I think it's also important not to put all of your eggs in one basket when it comes to loyalty programs. If you have a few programs to choose from, you can rotate the program you use & give yourself time to build up a stash again after each trip you take.

For airlines, I work with JAL, AA, Delta, JetBlue, United. (JAL is AA's partner & keeping points with both is not necessary for anyone who doesn't do Japanese domestic flights. The reason to do it then is because JAL blocks AA & other overseas partner awards out of J/F on domestic flights. You can upgrade for a fee, but I don't want to chance not getting the upgrade when I really want it. I don't want to pay the fee, either.)

For hotels, I have Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott. I use Hilton most because the Aspire is amazingly lucrative in terms of picking up points. Hyatt is a better brand overall, though. (IMO)

Thanks to everyone here I am always refining my strategies, picking up new ones, etc. I love this thread