I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 (see first page for add'l details)

[mmmears]

I didn't remember if you can do $50 with United TB. Just checked and you can. Think I'll wait for some DPs if I decide to do that though. Would be ironic if it now doesn't count lol.

I was thinking the exact same thing.

What did he hate about it? Thinking about using the resort credits there. But the rate is expensive, so I'd use FNC or points and the resort credits on food.

@mmmears I think you've been too? How's the food?

We stayed there for a long weekend and really enjoyed it, plus I have friends who did the same and they all liked it as well. It's been long enough that I don't recall much about the food, but I remember that we really liked what we ate there. For me the only negative is that it's so far from home - I wish it was at least north of LA so I didn't have to deal with the traffic. Other than that, it was really nice.

ETA - do you keep a spreadsheet or do you just have a really good memory?

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

FM reporting big changes to Aspire and Surpass. Some might be favorable changes but for me, I'll probably let it go next cycle.

I was coming on here to see what people thought about the changes. I'm disappointed as I think it will make the resort credit and airline credit harder for us to use. I do get a lot of value out of diamond, and the free nights so we'll see whether we keep them (DH and I each have one). This was one of my favorite cards as it took $500 off our annual dues for our London timeshare (a Marriott property) and I was flying quite a bit of Southwest. Now it requires a lot more tracking, which I'm sick of with other cards. We'll see.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Interesting news! My resort credit resets in November. Do you all think I could still use $250 in December and get another $200 in January? That would be really awesome! I happen to have a stay over Xmas.

Looking at how I can use my 2 resort credits before the end of the year and nothing is appealing to me yet.

ETA: Just realized it's 3 resort credits if I use it after mid-December. I usually plan way in advance for these, so it's quite the challenge!

I have one resort credit that just reset and I'll be using soon and another that resets 12/22, lol, so now I'm going to have to figure out how to use that in the 9 remaining days of 2023. I'm sure I can work out some churning math. DH's companion pass expires at the end of the year, so that calls for a trip, right?


In all seriousness, I do think I've seen DPs on various FT forums that some resorts will allow you to prepay a room charge deposit on your Aspire. So perhaps I will do that for a January stay.

 

[wanderlust7]

I think it was just the overall vibe. Granted most things were closed due to the hurricane (pool, golf, beach access, outdoor dining, etc.) so that did play a part. We were there on a Sunday and saw the guests were mostly wedding or conference attendees, lots of social drinking, and a noticeable um "lack of diversity" was evident. The kind of place where people with lots of money would feel more comfortable (haha not us). But what did we expect, it was a Waldorf Astoria. Our first time at one. Just not our scene. The staff were quite pleasant. The food was expensive, even with the $250 resort credit and $50 F&B credit, we still had a balance after a 1 nt stay (unavoidable valet parking is $70) and we didn't even eat at the expensive steak place. What we did eat was good though. It's a surprisingly small-ish property, or maybe it just felt that way because so much of it was closed. Anyhow, I also feel once was enough.

Last year we used the resort credit at the Hilton Santa Barbara on our road trip down the coast, and I wish we could have stayed a little longer just since there's more to see/do in that area. It's a more casual place and more our style. But we've only done that road trip twice in 33 years and otherwise don't go to Santa Barbara, so I don't need to keep the Aspire for that.

Any other place you're thinking of using your credits?

Good to know about the valet parking. I guess that would take are of 1 resort credit if we stayed 3 nights lol.

I was looking at the Hilton Santa Barbara. We've never been to Santa Barbara and it's on my list. The TA reviews are rather mixed though. Also looked at the Arizona Biltmore. DH is interested since we've never been to Phoenix, but I didn't see much the kids would be interested in. Another possibility is if I can find a hotel that charges the first night deposit right away that can go with a trip next year. So still mulling!

ETA - do you keep a spreadsheet or do you just have a really good memory?

Lol, no spreadsheet. I did happen to remember because we're in the same area. Most of the time I only know who said what after I search.

 

[robinb]

Hi guys! It's time to step up my Credit Card Game. We put nearly all of our expenditures on credit cards and and play them off every single month. We have no debt and our credit scores are in he excellent range. The cards that we use the most are our Visa from Fidelity (2%), Visa from Costco (Citi), and our Discover Card for groceries (it's the only card our grocery store takes) and bonus categories.

I am looking for another card to maximize cash back or travel points. We do travel frequently and my DH has a lot of left over travel points from when he was a road warrior. I *like* using travel points for free travel and he's no longer earning them as he now works from home.

The last credit card I opened was an Amazon gift card with Chase for a $200 gift certificate and 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods. That account was opened in my name with my DH as an authorized user.

Player 1
(1)
07/23 CHASE Amazon
(2)
a) $4,000+
b) Yes! We put everything on our cards and we pay off every month.
c) MSN, MKE, ORD
d) No
e) Not at MSN, but at MKE and ORD
f) No
g) Delta, Hilton, Hyatt, United, Southwest all in small amounts - maybe 1RT or a couple of nights. Player 2 has all the airline/hotel points
h) Cash back but I'm also open to travel cards too. Domestic and International. Next International flight planned 9/2024.
i) Travel party usually just my husband and me. Sometimes we pay for my adult daughter and her boyfriend.

Player 2

(1)
None

(2)
a) 4,000+
b) Yes! We put everything on our cards and we pay off every month.
c) MSN, MKE, ORD
d) Delta
e) Not at MSN, but at MKE and ORD
f) Hilton, Bonvoy & Hyatt
g) Delta - 368k, United, American and Southwest small amounts. Hilton - 873k, Bonvoy - 675k, Hyatt - 157k
h) same
i) same

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Wonder if EBCI will trigger the new $50 Aspire quarterly credit? The terms specifically call out airfare, but...

 

[SleepyatDVC]

So my parents just got back from a multi-country trip to Asia that I used points to book business class on many of the legs. They are thinking of a return trip to HK/Taiwan next October and I have to accumulate points for them again.

We just applied for the CIU for my Dad (P2 for my Mom) and it went into review... So, we wait...

In the meantime, my Dad finally got approved for GE a few weeks ago. He applied in January!! So, now we need to apply for my Mom. Any cards that give reimbursement for GE applications?

Mom has CSR and Dad has CSP. (We used up the GE credit on Mom's CSR already for Dad).

Dad has a traditional Gold card grandfathered from the 1970's.

I was thinking about applying for a Capital One Venture X for Dad...

They have some major spend coming up (insurance premiums) and may not be able to wait until the CIU gets sorted out...

Any advice? TIA

Doing some research about the Capital One Venture X and the Capital One Venture card for my Dad.

I am actually leaning towards the CO Venture for him. The SUB is the same for both cards AND they both get the GE $100 reimbursement every 4 years. And since Mom has the CSR, they do not need priorty pass lounge access. I doubt they will utilize the CO Travel Portal enough to justify the $395 AF.

The $95 AF for the CO Venture seems like a better deal in their case.

Anyone know if CO gives referral bonuses for the Venture? I have a CO Venture X.

And is a 75k SUB a good one for CO?

 

[mmmears]

Good to know about the valet parking. I guess that would take are of 1 resort credit if we stayed 3 nights lol.

I was looking at the Hilton Santa Barbara. We've never been to Santa Barbara and it's on my list. The TA reviews are rather mixed though. Also looked at the Arizona Biltmore. DH is interested since we've never been to Phoenix, but I didn't see much the kids would be interested in. Another possibility is if I can find a hotel that charges the first night deposit right away that can go with a trip next year. So still mulling!



Lol, no spreadsheet. I did happen to remember because we're in the same area. Most of the time I only know who said what after I search.

After reading the other review here, I'll say that we were also not there during a normal time. For us it was Spring 2021 and a lot of people weren't traveling much still. So the place was really quite empty, they gave us a choice of upgrades since we have Diamond status (we ended up with an enormous room), and we didn't have to wait for pretty much anything.

The guests seemed normal to me. Not a ton of kids, but they have a really nice kids/family pool so the ones who were there were spending time there.

A friend was just at the Hilton in SB for a wedding - she thought it was way too expensive for what it is (but if you're using FNCs that doesn't really matter), plus it's closer if you're driving. We split the drive home and stayed at Vespera (Marriott) in Pismo Beach so we could visit a friend there.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

FM reporting big changes to Aspire and Surpass. Some might be favorable changes but for me, I'll probably let it go next cycle.

Weirdly, I got an email telling me about all the changes and increase AF to my Aspire...only I have Surpass, not Aspire.

 

[IFlossU]

Hi guys! It's time to step up my Credit Card Game. We put nearly all of our expenditures on credit cards and and play them off every single month. We have no debt and our credit scores are in he excellent range. The cards that we use the most are our Visa from Fidelity (2%), Visa from Costco (Citi), and our Discover Card for groceries (it's the only card our grocery store takes) and bonus categories.

I am looking for another card to maximize cash back or travel points. We do travel frequently and my DH has a lot of left over travel points from when he was a road warrior. I *like* using travel points for free travel and he's no longer earning them as he now works from home.

The last credit card I opened was an Amazon gift card with Chase for a $200 gift certificate and 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods. That account was opened in my name with my DH as an authorized user.

Player 1
(1)
07/23 CHASE Amazon
(2)
a) $4,000+
b) Yes! We put everything on our cards and we pay off every month.
c) MSN, MKE, ORD
d) No
e) Not at MSN, but at MKE and ORD
f) No
g) Delta, Hilton, Hyatt, United, Southwest all in small amounts - maybe 1RT or a couple of nights. Player 2 has all the airline/hotel points
h) Cash back but I'm also open to travel cards too. Domestic and International. Next International flight planned 9/2024.
i) Travel party usually just my husband and me. Sometimes we pay for my adult daughter and her boyfriend.

Player 2

(1)
None

(2)
a) 4,000+
b) Yes! We put everything on our cards and we pay off every month.
c) MSN, MKE, ORD
d) Delta
e) Not at MSN, but at MKE and ORD
f) Hilton, Bonvoy & Hyatt
g) Delta - 368k, United, American and Southwest small amounts. Hilton - 873k, Bonvoy - 675k, Hyatt - 157k
h) same
i) same

With your amount of monthly spend, and the fact that you already have quite a stash of hotel points, I would start working on building your flexible currency. Chase Ink Preferred, Cash, or Unlimited is where I would start. The bonuses are at all time highs. Or you can look into Amex MRs. You could easily do their Biz Gold or possibly Platinum with your spend, or one of the personal Platinum or Gold cards. Again these cards currently have some excellent sign up bonuses. You could build quite a nice stash of points by getting a card for yourself and then supporting your P2 to their own card. Your level of monthly spend would help you hit bonuses on multiple cards, which is how most of us here accomplish our travel goals.

 

[Psychodisney]

Hi guys! It's time to step up my Credit Card Game. We put nearly all of our expenditures on credit cards and and play them off every single month. We have no debt and our credit scores are in he excellent range. The cards that we use the most are our Visa from Fidelity (2%), Visa from Costco (Citi), and our Discover Card for groceries (it's the only card our grocery store takes) and bonus categories.

I am looking for another card to maximize cash back or travel points. We do travel frequently and my DH has a lot of left over travel points from when he was a road warrior. I *like* using travel points for free travel and he's no longer earning them as he now works from home.

The last credit card I opened was an Amazon gift card with Chase for a $200 gift certificate and 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods. That account was opened in my name with my DH as an authorized user.

Player 1
(1)
07/23 CHASE Amazon
(2)
a) $4,000+
b) Yes! We put everything on our cards and we pay off every month.
c) MSN, MKE, ORD
d) No
e) Not at MSN, but at MKE and ORD
f) No
g) Delta, Hilton, Hyatt, United, Southwest all in small amounts - maybe 1RT or a couple of nights. Player 2 has all the airline/hotel points
h) Cash back but I'm also open to travel cards too. Domestic and International. Next International flight planned 9/2024.
i) Travel party usually just my husband and me. Sometimes we pay for my adult daughter and her boyfriend.

Player 2

(1)
None

(2)
a) 4,000+
b) Yes! We put everything on our cards and we pay off every month.
c) MSN, MKE, ORD
d) Delta
e) Not at MSN, but at MKE and ORD
f) Hilton, Bonvoy & Hyatt
g) Delta - 368k, United, American and Southwest small amounts. Hilton - 873k, Bonvoy - 675k, Hyatt - 157k
h) same
i) same

I’m guessing your grocery store is Woodman’s! I miss it so much. (I’m in FL most of the year)
Would you consider business cards? I use the Chase Ink cash to buy visa gift cards when they are on promo. 5x points at office supply stores. Then use them as debit at Woodmans! Alternatively, you can get them at Mariano’s for fuel points.
Ink cards pair nicely with the Sapphire products for travel.

 

[kmc8826]

Doing some research about the Capital One Venture X and the Capital One Venture card for my Dad.

I am actually leaning towards the CO Venture for him. The SUB is the same for both cards AND they both get the GE $100 reimbursement every 4 years. And since Mom has the CSR, they do not need priorty pass lounge access. I doubt they will utilize the CO Travel Portal enough to justify the $395 AF.

The $95 AF for the CO Venture seems like a better deal in their case.

Anyone know if CO gives referral bonuses for the Venture? I have a CO Venture X.

And is a 75k SUB a good one for CO?

There is a referral bonus for Venture. Mine is 20k. I referred my husband and he now has one for 30k! I don’t think you can cross refer though (Venture X to Venture). I got mine for the 75k and that is higher than usual. Briefly it was at 90k but that was literally for only a couple days.

I have been happy with it and glad we got it. Good card for a flat $95 AF and easy 2% on everything. If he won’t use the benefits not much sense in getting the X with the higher fee.

 

[smallsy]

Approved for CSR yesterday but forgot about going for MDD this morning and went off to work. Just got home and tried but got reviewing my application message. I don't think I'll call. I'm fine with just the CSR and being able to PC if necessary.

Following up here since I got my letter... says they need proof of DOB. Since it's been a couple days, would it be best just to ignore it or is there still a chance the CSP app will be approved if I fax this in today?

 

[robinb]

I’m guessing your grocery store is Woodman’s! I miss it so much. (I’m in FL most of the year)
Would you consider business cards? I use the Chase Ink cash to buy visa gift cards when they are on promo. 5x points at office supply stores. Then use them as debit at Woodmans! Alternatively, you can get them at Mariano’s for fuel points.
Ink cards pair nicely with the Sapphire products for travel.

I’m open for anything. I’m not sure what the eligibility requirements are for business cards. Fuel points do not work for us. We drive an electric hybrid with a 7 gallon tank that we fill maybe twice a month.

 

[djmeredith]

Hi guys! It's time to step up my Credit Card Game. We put nearly all of our expenditures on credit cards and and play them off every single month. We have no debt and our credit scores are in he excellent range. The cards that we use the most are our Visa from Fidelity (2%), Visa from Costco (Citi), and our Discover Card for groceries (it's the only card our grocery store takes) and bonus categories.

I am looking for another card to maximize cash back or travel points. We do travel frequently and my DH has a lot of left over travel points from when he was a road warrior. I *like* using travel points for free travel and he's no longer earning them as he now works from home.

The last credit card I opened was an Amazon gift card with Chase for a $200 gift certificate and 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods. That account was opened in my name with my DH as an authorized user.

Player 1
(1)
07/23 CHASE Amazon
(2)
a) $4,000+
b) Yes! We put everything on our cards and we pay off every month.
c) MSN, MKE, ORD
d) No
e) Not at MSN, but at MKE and ORD
f) No
g) Delta, Hilton, Hyatt, United, Southwest all in small amounts - maybe 1RT or a couple of nights. Player 2 has all the airline/hotel points
h) Cash back but I'm also open to travel cards too. Domestic and International. Next International flight planned 9/2024.
i) Travel party usually just my husband and me. Sometimes we pay for my adult daughter and her boyfriend.

Player 2

(1)
None

(2)
a) 4,000+
b) Yes! We put everything on our cards and we pay off every month.
c) MSN, MKE, ORD
d) Delta
e) Not at MSN, but at MKE and ORD
f) Hilton, Bonvoy & Hyatt
g) Delta - 368k, United, American and Southwest small amounts. Hilton - 873k, Bonvoy - 675k, Hyatt - 157k
h) same
i) same

Welcome! As others have mentioned, biz cards are an important part of maximizing your ability to earn SUBs. A biz can be a sole proprietorship (unincorporated). A lot of people sell things on Facebook Marketplace, other sites, or even garage sales and that is their sole prop biz. Some people have other side businesses that are sole props, like consulting on the side of their full-time job.

One thing I don't see mentioned to you so far is that we generally do not recommend adding authorized users on any cards. Because it takes up a valuable 5/24 card slot without gaining any SUB. Chase has a 5 personal cards in 24 months rule that is set in stone. With 2 "players" (spouses), that becomes 10/24 slots as long as you don't add the other as an AU.

 

[Psychodisney]

I’m open for anything. I’m not sure what the eligibility requirements are for business cards. Fuel points do not work for us. We drive an electric hybrid with a 7 gallon tank that we fill maybe twice a month.

To get into the business card realm, you need a business or "business" which means if you do any side gigs or selling on FB/ebay you are eligible. You sign up as a sole proprietor using your SSN as the business EIN. If you're open to anything, I would go for the Chase Ink Cash (CIC) or Chase Ink Preferred (CIP). They have great SUBs right now to get into the Chase UR world. The CIP would allow transfers to travel partners. For the CIC, you might want to pair it with a CSP or CSR. The CIC gets you 5x points at office supply stores which is how you benefit buying VISA gift cards for Woodman's.

 

[djmeredith]

I am starting to see some decent deals to Europe on AF/KLM and Delta. I just saw 15,00 pts in economy BOS-LHR on AF in May. I saw a Delta One seat for under 200K to LHR (not great at all in my opinion, but is very good for Delta rates).

ETA: I had the wrong amount of pts listed at first, so I amended it. On that same May date I see VA UC for 70K + $201.

 

[reliev]

I haven't seen a post about this but here goes, I was pretty loyal to Delta able to get platinum from CC spend and flights, after this fiasco about them moving the bar extremely high I've decided to go free agent and I'm finding flights are actually cheaper with other airlines vs them. I am going to drop my DW au on the card as we can probably deal with the 10 visits a year, but the BOGO is still worth it for us for a trip a year. I'm finding American Airlines to be easier to chase after, I get cross loyalty points for being a Hyatt globalist too as well as when you shop, etc, going to take my first AA trip in years maybe even a decade how are the lounges worth getting the admirals card? Any tips for an American Airlines newbie to get loyalty faster?

 

[robinb]

To get into the business card realm, you need a business or "business" which means if you do any side gigs or selling on FB/ebay you are eligible. You sign up as a sole proprietor using your SSN as the business EIN. If you're open to anything, I would go for the Chase Ink Cash (CIC) or Chase Ink Preferred (CIP). They have great SUBs right now to get into the Chase UR world. The CIP would allow transfers to travel partners. For the CIC, you might want to pair it with a CSP or CSR. The CIC gets you 5x points at office supply stores which is how you benefit buying VISA gift cards for Woodman's.

Would I need to file a Schedule C to qualify? I would prefer not. I did it for my Amazon Marketplace business for years and it's a PITB.

 

[iujen94]

Data point on something that surprised me, but maybe is common knowledge? My husband applied for the CFU with the double earnings bonus and got denied. The letter said he was denied because he had already received the SUB on that card within the last 24 months. I was surprised because I knew he had gotten the SUB in February of 2021. BUT then I realized his card had also come with 5x groceries for the first year. I recently read an article (unfortunately I can’t remember where) talking about when a SUB is earned when it includes a “bonus over time” like that. The article speculated that maybe the SUB is only fully earned (and the 24-month clock starts ticking) when that last piece of the bonus posts. That’s what happened here, so my husband’s 24 months won’t end until January 2024, 24 months after he got the last bit of 5x on grocery spend. Again, maybe common knowledge but thought it might be helpful to some, especially those now applying for the CFU with double earning for a year - presumably your 24-month clock won’t start ticking until the end of your double earnings year.