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

[sinnika]

One last question about the Chase Freedom cards. If I choose the Chase Freedom Flex, will I get the 5% on the categories each quarter when they are for gas or groceries AND an additional 5% for groceries and gas for the first year? In other words, would I get 10% for gas or groceries when that is the quarterly bonus during the next 12 months?

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

One last question about the Chase Freedom cards. If I choose the Chase Freedom Flex, will I get the 5% on the categories each quarter when they are for gas or groceries AND an additional 5% for groceries and gas for the first year? In other words, would I get 10% for gas or groceries when that is the quarterly bonus during the next 12 months?

So, the way Chase does the points, it'll give 1% for everything, then an additional 4% for the quarterly bonus and an additional 4% for the first year bonus.

Assuming gas and/or grocery come up as categories during that year (they usually do) you'll get 9% for the quarter that they overlap.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Thank you for mentioning this! I am in the process of looking for a card for my oldest DD. She's in her first year of college, has been an auth user on our amex cards for several years and has had a PT job of varying degrees for several years. I was considering adding her as an auth user on my freedom unlimited just so she could have a visa for the times that she is places that don't take amex. How long was your nephew an auth on your chase card before he applied? I'd like for her to have a card of her own, so that she can start building her own credit and in looking at this card it seems like its a good starter card.

I had dd as an AU on my Chase Hyatt card for a few years, then she applied and was approved for the CSP. I met the MSR and transferred the points to my account. She has since received the Hilton Surpass, HH biz and HH regular cards. I need to find another card for her to apply.

 

[becauseimnew]

Best day ever! I was able to secure Qatar Business class from DFW to DOH! That's a 15 hour flight. We'll have to book a separate ticket from DOH to CPT, but that's a 9 hour flight so I don't mind flying economy since I think I missed those J seats that were released today.

ETA: Booked via AA. 70K miles/ ticket from home airport in Y to DFW, J DFW to DOH.

 

[calypso726]

I typically advocate planning trips two years out. Sometimes though, unexpected trips don’t allow for that. I made it off the waitlist for Taylor Swift tickets in Wembley! We also managed to tickets to the concert. Thanks to this hobby, I was able to book flights there and back plus hotels. So this is how this unexpected trip across the pond turns out with points and miles.

I booked flights to Paris on Air France in J using miles that were going to expire next year. These were the refunded miles from when I changed my AF flight from Tahiti this past summer to an earlier flight using Alaska Miles instead. We will fly in a couple days before the show and I booked 2 nights at the Paris Hyatt Vendome. This hotel has been a bucket list destination for quite some time. We plan to take the Eurostar to London the day of the show and check into a nearby Hilton for one night booked on points. The next morning we will fly out on Virgin Atlantic in upper class. I took advantage of the 30% transfer bonus with Chase that I believe expires today.

Im pretty pleased with this surprise trip.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

That was quite the dump today, hey? Were you able to score 4 J seats, or will just the 2 of you fly in J? Impressive that you had the stash of points for it. The DOH-CPT route would be nice in J if it becomes available, even for just some of you. I think it's 22.5k Avios for Y and 45k for J through Qatar. Might be worth a paid subscription to seats.aero for an alert.

I grabbed a couple seats to DOH for next fall as well, but just speculatively. We'll see...

 

[gottalovepluto]

Do WDW package payments count towards CSR Travel Credit?

 

[afan]

Do WDW package payments count towards CSR Travel Credit?

Yes. My $200 deposit was credited last month.

 

[becauseimnew]

That was quite the dump today, hey? Were you able to score 4 J seats, or will just the 2 of you fly in J? Impressive that you had the stash of points for it. The DOH-CPT route would be nice in J if it becomes available, even for just some of you. I think it's 22.5k Avios for Y and 45k for J through Qatar. Might be worth a paid subscription to seats.aero for an alert.

I grabbed a couple seats to DOH for next fall as well, but just speculatively. We'll see...

I was able to grab 4 J seats on the same flight. It seem like the DFW route was released a little after the other routes because I did first look for DFW but nothing came up, I had 3 ORD-DOH on hold (I figured we could just use the Avios from our original Y seat to book the 4th ticket), then I got busy at work and came back for more research and found 4 from DFW. We will have 190K Qatar Avios once I cancel our original Y flights, so fingers crossed we can get 4 J seats too.

I'm going to let the dust settle a little because I'm sure lots of people book speculative flights.

 

[leeniewdw]

I typically advocate planning trips two years out. Sometimes though, unexpected trips don’t allow for that. I made it off the waitlist for Taylor Swift tickets in Wembley! We also managed to tickets to the concert. Thanks to this hobby, I was able to book flights there and back plus hotels. So this is how this unexpected trip across the pond turns out with points and miles.

I booked flights to Paris on Air France in J using miles that were going to expire next year. These were the refunded miles from when I changed my AF flight from Tahiti this past summer to an earlier flight using Alaska Miles instead. We will fly in a couple days before the show and I booked 2 nights at the Paris Hyatt Vendome. This hotel has been a bucket list destination for quite some time. We plan to take the Eurostar to London the day of the show and check into a nearby Hilton for one night booked on points. The next morning we will fly out on Virgin Atlantic in upper class. I took advantage of the 30% transfer bonus with Chase that I believe expires today.

Im pretty pleased with this surprise trip.

Congrats, that sounds awesome. I missed the signup for the Dublin dates by 1 day. Have friends that were able to get DUB tickets, so don’t know if it was easier or they got lucky. Was hoping to go with DS and fiancé (by then wife).

I think we’ve decided to postpone our 2024 Europe trip (I was waffling on itinerary/countries) and are going to focus on 2025.

I think your long range planning advice is good, I had been focused on our Ireland trip for years and everything was easy as windows opened for my planned itinerary. I was not at that stage for 2024.

That being said, we’re going to be opportunistic if something fun pops up next year and works for points. We have a Zion/Bryce/Vegas (U2 at The Sphere) soon and a Jan trip to Key West, but will sit tight until something actually makes sense.

Congrats again!

 

[djmeredith]

Thank you for mentioning this! I am in the process of looking for a card for my oldest DD. She's in her first year of college, has been an auth user on our amex cards for several years and has had a PT job of varying degrees for several years. I was considering adding her as an auth user on my freedom unlimited just so she could have a visa for the times that she is places that don't take amex. How long was your nephew an auth on your chase card before he applied? I'd like for her to have a card of her own, so that she can start building her own credit and in looking at this card it seems like its a good starter card.

I hadn’t even added him yet when he applied. I only added him because the banker said he probably wouldn’t get approved for the Rise. He’s had a checking acct at Chase for about 2 years with his dad on the acct. The Rise info page says having a checking acct at Chase helps with approval.

 

[chattadisser]

I had dd as an AU on my Chase Hyatt card for a few years, then she applied and was approved for the CSP. I met the MSR and transferred the points to my account. She has since received the Hilton Surpass, HH biz and HH regular cards. I need to find another card for her to apply.

I hadn’t even added him yet when he applied. I only added him because the banker said he probably wouldn’t get approved for the Rise. He’s had a checking acct at Chase for about 2 years with his dad on the acct. The Rise info page says having a checking acct at Chase helps with approval.

Thank you both for these data points. Do you think that being auth on a Chase product helped them get approved for the Chase product? DD currently is auth on our Amex and I'm wondering if I should add her as an Auth on one of our Chase cards before I have her apply for a Chase card?

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Thank you both for these data points. Do you think that being auth on a Chase product helped them get approved for the Chase product? DD currently is auth on our Amex and I'm wondering if I should add her as an Auth on one of our Chase cards before I have her apply for a Chase card?

My daughter was an authorized user with Chase, which actually gave her a pretty decent credit score. Despite that, she hasn't been approved for any of the co-branded cards. Suggestions here are to start with Chase Freedom cards; I usually see the Student suggested. Rise looks like a great option for non-students and I like that they spell out the pathway with a Chase checking acct and the specific balance.

ETA: specific reason for denial was lack of existing relationship with Chase

 

[djmeredith]

Thank you both for these data points. Do you think that being auth on a Chase product helped them get approved for the Chase product? DD currently is auth on our Amex and I'm wondering if I should add her as an Auth on one of our Chase cards before I have her apply for a Chase card?

I definitely do not think it matters whether they are an AU or not for this Freedom Rise card. The banker at Chase told my nephew is credit score is 4 and that he would probably not get approved. He still got approved without ever having been an AU.

From their website: "Having a Chase checking account with a balance of at least $250 will increase your chances of getting approved for Chase Freedom RiseSM." My nephew has had a checking acct there and it had around $500 because he had just received his paycheck.

ETA: I think the biggest deciding factor is their banking history at Chase.

 

[Haley R]

Dh got another (good) pop up with Amex today. This time it was for the Amex BBP. It said 75,000 points after spending $15k in 12 months.

 

[disneybirds]

Congrats, that sounds awesome. I missed the signup for the Dublin dates by 1 day. Have friends that were able to get DUB tickets, so don’t know if it was easier or they got lucky. Was hoping to go with DS and fiancé (by then wife).

I think we’ve decided to postpone our 2024 Europe trip (I was waffling on itinerary/countries) and are going to focus on 2025.

I think your long range planning advice is good, I had been focused on our Ireland trip for years and everything was easy as windows opened for my planned itinerary. I was not at that stage for 2024.

That being said, we’re going to be opportunistic if something fun pops up next year and works for points. We have a Zion/Bryce/Vegas (U2 at The Sphere) soon and a Jan trip to Key West, but will sit tight until something actually makes sense.

Congrats again!

We saw U2 at the Sphere a few weeks ago and it was amazing! We brought back Covid souvenirs from Vegas, but it hasn't been too bad. Hopefully, something pops up for your next year trip. I wasn't able to book our flights to Italy when the window for May 2024 opened, but I have just recently started seeing some better flights. I was able to get a Delta direct flight and booked through VA since we have so many MR. Of course, the only open Comfort Plus seats are in the middle but I am hoping some window/aisle seats open closer to time as those folks get upgraded. I haven't been able to find a direct flight back home, but I booked a connecting flight on United so we can change if needed.

If anyone wants to fly Delta from ATL to Italy, I am seeing some direct economy flights on KLM/AF/VA. I haven't seen any Business or First class seats. Most of them are in April, so we will be switching to earlier trips once our youngest graduates from college in May.

 

[reliev]

We saw U2 at the Sphere a few weeks ago and it was amazing! We brought back Covid souvenirs from Vegas, but it hasn't been too bad. Hopefully, something pops up for your next year trip. I wasn't able to book our flights to Italy when the window for May 2024 opened, but I have just recently started seeing some better flights. I was able to get a Delta direct flight and booked through VA since we have so many MR. Of course, the only open Comfort Plus seats are in the middle but I am hoping some window/aisle seats open closer to time as those folks get upgraded. I haven't been able to find a direct flight back home, but I booked a connecting flight on United so we can change if needed.

If anyone wants to fly Delta from ATL to Italy, I am seeing some direct economy flights on KLM/AF/VA. I haven't seen any Business or First class seats. Most of them are in April, so we will be switching to earlier trips once our youngest graduates from college in May.

they had a good deal from RDU to Italy new non stop routes on air france i wanna say 32k in business a few days ago might want to see if its not all gone. unless you are locked to delta.

 

[leeniewdw]

We saw U2 at the Sphere a few weeks ago and it was amazing! We brought back Covid souvenirs from Vegas, but it hasn't been too bad. Hopefully, something pops up for your next year trip. I wasn't able to book our flights to Italy when the window for May 2024 opened, but I have just recently started seeing some better flights. I was able to get a Delta direct flight and booked through VA since we have so many MR. Of course, the only open Comfort Plus seats are in the middle but I am hoping some window/aisle seats open closer to time as those folks get upgraded. I haven't been able to find a direct flight back home, but I booked a connecting flight on United so we can change if needed.

If anyone wants to fly Delta from ATL to Italy, I am seeing some direct economy flights on KLM/AF/VA. I haven't seen any Business or First class seats. Most of them are in April, so we will be switching to earlier trips once our youngest graduates from college in May.

Glad you had a great time at U2/Sphere. Any tips? We dinner reservations at a restaurant in the Venetian (not fancy/fine dining) for 5:45, I’m presuming it’s enough time to eat and walk over.

they had a good deal from RDU to Italy new non stop routes on air france i wanna say 32k in business a few days ago might want to see if its not all gone. unless you are locked to delta.

RDU doesn’t have direct to any cities in Italy, but they do have direct from RDU to CDG (AF) and RDU to FRA (Lufthansa). When I was actively looking, final destinations in Rome (or Zurich) were same amount of points as CDG/FRA. So good options from RDU to Italy, but not direct.

 

[reliev]

Glad you had a great time at U2/Sphere. Any tips? We dinner reservations at a restaurant in the Venetian (not fancy/fine dining) for 5:45, I’m presuming it’s enough time to eat and walk over.



RDU doesn’t have direct to any cities in Italy, but they do have direct from RDU to CDG (AF) and RDU to FRA (Lufthansa). When I was actively looking, final destinations in Rome (or Zurich) were same amount of points as CDG/FRA. So good options from RDU to Italy, but not direct.

ahh i didnt look into it thanks

 

[Princess Michele]

Update on Chase applications.

I went into the branch on Monday and was able to open both the checking and savings accounts to earn the $900 SUB.

I received a letter from Chase that I needed to call regarding my SW Business appliction to verify that I applied. I called and the rep. in the Fraud Dept. reviewed everything and said it looked good and it would be forwarded for further review. Now I have received an email from Chase regarding my new card approval and it has shown up in my Chase account. I was beginning to think I may not get approved and would need an alternate strategy for DH to get his SW CP. Crossing my fingers that I will not have any problems applying for a second biz card next year so I can get my SW CP.

@AmyAnne I hope you get good news on your recent cc application.