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

[SouthFayetteFan]

AMEX RAT LANGUAGE
We speak frequently of the AMEX RAT (Rewards Abuse Team). For some of you this may be very elementary, but for others, I thought it might be worth sharing the actual wording that AMEX uses on their welcome offers and upgrade offers. I am going to take some liberties with the formatting to make this very clear to read. The takeaway here is that AMEX means business - and they will take any actions available to them to stem the tide of churners. At any rate, give this a read:

If we in our sole discretion determine that you have engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with the welcome offer in any way or that you intend to do so for example:​

• if you applied for one or more cards to obtain a welcome offer(s) that we did not intend for you
• if you cancel or downgrade your account within 12 months after acquiring it
• or if you cancel or return purchases you made to meet the Threshold Amount

They may take the following actions​

• not credit $150 statement credit
• freeze the $150 statement credit
• take away $150 statement credit from your account.
• cancel this Card account and other Card accounts you may have with us.

Purchases to meet the spend requirement do NOT include:​

• purchases or reloading of prepaid cards
• purchases of gift cards
• person-to-person payments
• purchases of any cash equivalents

American Express reserves the right to modify or revoke offer at any time.​

 

[thevalley]

I have had this happen several times. They will cancel the payment and refund the CC fees. Plastiq won't charge you for insufficient funds if the check is later cashed, but the mortgage company may. Plastiq will reimburse you for late fees, but not interest. I have cancelled 3 payments so far and it is easy to cancel, but a pain to deal with all the rest.

Ok thanks for the info. I plan on calling a little later this afternoon. I hope the mortgage company doesn’t charge me a fee for insufficient funds if the check gets cancelled. Do you know if any of the checks ever made it after you cancelled?

 

[amalone1013]

Daydreaming about dinner...

 

[thevalley]

Is there a link on our other site that talks about the dummy booking? I may try this.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Same here. I was planning on getting Arrival+ for DH in July but that didn’t work out. Hence the Capital1 Venture. I got AA biz (citi) and CIP2 in June. DH got a CIP2 end of May and HHBiz in mid June then the Cap1 Venture in July. Just kind of hanging out here without an MSR because the velocity just seems too much for me, even though they are mostly biz cards. Don’t want to push my luck. Maybe I will go ahead and close my CitiAAbiz since everyone seems to be having an easy time closing via chat right now. Seems like we’re on a roll.

I'm going to keep my x biz open until I am ready to app because I want to see how the newer DPs go as far as the gravy train. I don't want to close the aa biz I have if the train has derailed, because I'd like to keep it for checking bags in case we use the points for flights.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Daydreaming about dinner...

View attachment 426202

35 days until I'm eating this...

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

35 days until I'm eating this...

I'd probably order a new one. It likely won't taste good at 35 days old...

 

[platamama]

Can anyone see their Rewards and "support links" page on Plastiq? I have had the hardest time getting my FFD to post from DHs support click. I had to email them twice as DH and they finally posted his. I was going to wait a few days before I emailed if mine didn't show up after. I got an email last night saying don't forget to use your FFD before they expire so hoping that means I actually have some. But I have logged in twice this morning and every page works but that page. It just has moving dots like it is loading.

I saw that yesterday and today on my account. I had to "x" out the banner at the top of the page and the bottom of the page (where Plastiq was making announcements), and clear my browsing history, cookies, etc. for the past 24 hours. Then it finally worked for me, but that page is definitely slower to load than usual.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Crazy last week for me. Was at Disney last Weds-Saturday. Moved DS2 to Nashville (400 miles away!) on Monday-Weds this week (hi @disneymagicgirl!) for college (first year, I’m very emotional about this), DD (my last child) got her drivers license yesterday, and DS1 moves back to college today (his Jr year, and college is only a little over an hour away, so not so bad). Hoping to retain my sanity and things get normal for me next week so I can breathe. It’s a relief I won’t have to drive DD to volleyball practices and games anymore, but I’ll miss it too in a way. Just remembered I haven’t called our insurance yet to add her to our car insurance. $$$$. Wishing I had the August Plastiq promo but I don’t.

Don't hesitate to message me if I can ever help you in any way. I know if the DCP parent group there were times when a local mama would go to a hospital and sit with a kiddo who had been in a wreck or something while the parent was trying to fly in. Hopefully, nothing that scary ever happens while he is here, but in case it does, I am here for you.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Oops. Lol.

 

[gottalovepluto]

AMEX RAT LANGUAGE
We speak frequently of the AMEX RAT (Rewards Abuse Team). For some of you this may be very elementary, but for others, I thought it might be worth sharing the actual wording that AMEX uses on their welcome offers and upgrade offers. I am going to take some liberties with the formatting to make this very clear to read. The takeaway here is that AMEX means business - and they will take any actions available to them to stem the tide of churners. At any rate, give this a read:

If we in our sole discretion determine that you have engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with the welcome offer in any way or that you intend to do so for example:​

• if you applied for one or more cards to obtain a welcome offer(s) that we did not intend for you
• if you cancel or downgrade your account within 12 months after acquiring it
• or if you cancel or return purchases you made to meet the Threshold Amount

They may take the following actions​

• not credit $150 statement credit
• freeze the $150 statement credit
• take away $150 statement credit from your account.
• cancel this Card account and other Card accounts you may have with us.

Purchases to meet the spend requirement do NOT include:​

• purchases or reloading of prepaid cards
• purchases of gift cards
• person-to-person payments
• purchases of any cash equivalents

American Express reserves the right to modify or revoke offer at any time.​

Solid way to lay out World of RAT for our new Amex churners!

 

[platamama]

I was a DP of Serve working as a DD for the bonus. I made the deposits in April, and the bonus posted when my statement closed in May.

I'm doing the same with the BoA checking I opened for DH (again, he was never targeted either, I waited a couple years for him too), and the 2nd deposit has just posted. I'll know when his statement closes if he got the bonus or not, but that won't be until mid-August.

Quoting myself to provide context for the DP. Serve worked as a DD for BoA checking. Made transfers on 7/23 and 7/24, bonus posted 8/9, statement closed 8/12.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Yes they do. I received two notifications from Credit Karma that my Equifax had been pulled this morning, so both Citi and Capital One pulled it.

Thanks

 

[Limes96]

Don't hesitate to message me if I can ever help you in any way. I know if the DCP parent group there were times when a local mama would go to a hospital and sit with a kiddo who had been in a wreck or something while the parent was trying to fly in. Hopefully, nothing that scary ever happens while he is here, but in case it does, I am here for you.

Aww, thank you so much! My older son had a medical emergency last fall, so that really means a lot. It certainly weighs on the mind when you’re at a distance.

 

[WVMomof3]

I saw that yesterday and today on my account. I had to "x" out the banner at the top of the page and the bottom of the page (where Plastiq was making announcements), and clear my browsing history, cookies, etc. for the past 24 hours. Then it finally worked for me, but that page is definitely slower to load than usual.

Thanks. Finally got it to load to show $0 FFD. Boooo Sent in a support ticket to see if I can get it straightened out. PSA - make sure you tell someone when using their Plastiq link in case it never shows up!!

 

[Ngwira]

I'm going to keep my AA biz open until I am ready to app because I want to see how the newer DPs go as far as the gravy train. I don't want to close the aa biz I have if the train has derailed, because I'd like to keep it for checking bags in case we use the points for flights.

I did the same thing but kept my Barclays Aaviator biz open. We fly from Philly which is an AA hub. We currently have 5 flights booked between now and next June on AA.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I'll continue with some thoughts on AMEX POP UPS:

When you apply for an AMEX card, the RAT is watching...always watching! And if they identify you as a churner (i.e. an unprofitable customer to them) you may encounter this popup:

(Name), based on your history with American Express welcome offers, introductory APR offers, or the number of cards you have opened and closed, you are not eligible to receive this welcome offer.​

​

We have not yet performed a credit check. Would you still like to proceed?​

[CONTINUE AND SUBMIT] OR [CANCEL APPLICATION]​

Unless you are ok with NOT getting the bonus, you want to hit the Cancel button at this point. Amex has warned you and they will not reward your bonus no matter how much you spend on this new card at this point. You can always try again in the future to see if the popup goes away.

So this is the scary "popup" we refer to that means you have somehow been labeled a churner. You may encounter this even if you only have gotten 1 Amex card. We are not able to pinpoint what causes this but theories include:

• Getting card(s) from Amex and only meeting the MSR and then "sock-drawering" the card(s) (i.e. no ongoing spend)
• Meeting an MSR extremely quickly primarily through a large purchase(s) and then only putting minimal spend on the card after that
• Closing cards without paying the 2nd year annual fee
• Opening numerous cards with Amex in the past and and now you aren't putting recurring spend on them
• Some other abuse in the past (using a leaked link that wasn't meant for you), returning purchases against your MSR, etc.
• and numerous other reasons

So how do you avoid the Amex Popup?
Well first, don't get Amex cards that you don't plan to use regularly. Does that Delta offer sound great, but you won't put a dime on it afterwards...then AVOID that card. Start with cards that have good recurring value to you, my list includes cards like Amex BCE, BCP, BBP and Gold because of their category bonuses and/or excellent earn rates.

Meet the MSR methodically through regular/normal purchases. Avoid returns during your MSR period at all costs. Keep spending after you hit the MSR and come up with a plan to support regular spend on that card.

If the Platicorn (100k Plat offer) is what you're after...and you get it...then be in it for the long haul. You are going to need to continue to spend on this card despite it's terrible earn rate. Just factor that into your decision at the begininning.

Can I get rid of this Popup?
Yes - by spending on your cards you can get rid of it. Nobody can tell you how much you have to spend or for how long. Anybody who tells you is either a) guessing or b) providing anecdotal evidence. Your experience may differ - I know of people who spend thousands and still saw the popup. I know of others who spend a few hundred and the popup was gone. It's up to you to decide how committed you are to getting rid of the nasty popup message.

Isn't there another Popup?
Yes - there is a different popup if you've already held this card product. It reads:

(Name), Because you have or have had The (INSERT CARD), you are not eligible to receive the welcome offer.​

​

We have not yet performed a credit check. Would you still like to proceed?​

[CONTINUE AND SUBMIT] OR [CANCEL APPLICATION]​

If you get this popup - you are applying for a card you previously held. You aren't going to get the bonus and you probably want to cancel UNLESS you were applying for this card intentionally and did not plan to earn the bonus.

So there are some thoughts on Amex Popups Hopefully you never face this issue, but if you do, now you know what causes it, and how to deal with it.

 

[Ngwira]

Finally packed for our trip to Montreal and Quebec City on Monday morning. Weather looks great. 80s all week. Flying out on Air Canada (cash)and back on AA using miles from the graAavy train.
One night at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth using gift cards and then 3 nights at Intercontinental Montreal using points from IHG sign up bonus.

 

[marsh0013]

Oh boy. Our flight that was supposed to be 8:49pm-11:32pm is now delayed to 10:08pm-12:51am. And our preview is at 9am! I looked at the next earlier flight and it's delayed to leave at 7:49pm now, but my husband works til 5pm, won't get home til 5:45/6pm and EWR is 30 minutes away with no traffic. And there will be traffic.

He gave me a hard no on trying to make that switch. If this were a planned trip, he'd ask to leave early. But he's already gotta call out sick tomorrow. Let's hope we can catch a nap on the plane. We're going to be zombies tomorrow! Let's cross our fingers we're not further delayed.

 

[platamama]

Thanks. Finally got it to load to show $0 FFD. Boooo Sent in a support ticket to see if I can get it straightened out. PSA - make sure you tell someone when using their Plastiq link in case it never shows up!!

I had the same thing happen when I logged in this morning. I about had a heart attack when I saw $0 FFDs because I KNEW I had some sitting in there. I even had a screenshot proof from last month. After doing the clear browser thing a few times, I finally had my screen show me the FFDs that I was expecting. It's good that you opened a support ticket - I've found Plastiq to be very responsive and helpful when I chat with them. I hope you end up with some FFDs!!