I love credit cards so much!

[calypso726]

I don't have any advice except GO FOR IT! First world churning problems, indeed!

Thanks! We are planning to but will make definite decision at the end of the month. HAHAHA

Wow, all I ever get are invites by timeshare companies to stay in Washington DC or Ocean City, MD..LOL

We have had some invites to places here in Florida but we own DVC so I wasn't interested.

I'm so jealous of your problems...only advice I have is to GO!!!

Trying to think outside the box so we can!

what city is calypso from?

We are near Ft. Lauderdale but Miami isn't too far away either.

That sounds like a nice offer. I accepted a similar type of offer on the Big Island a few years ago, with Hilton, so I don't know if this will apply to Starwood, but... IIRC, I had to pay upfront and had a year to make my reservations and if I couldn't go within the year, then I would forfeit the money. Also, if I made a change within 30 days of travel then I paid a penalty to rebook. And it was on a space available basis, meaning that if it were a popular travel time then we couldn't book it. So you might want to check on the details of all that. We ended up going and everything did work out, including our award ticket flights (I put these on hold first before making my reservations), but DD had to miss school since we couldn't do it over a school vacation period (too popular a time to travel).

2nd piece of advice if you go: DO NOT BUY a timeshare through the developer (whoever the timeshare presentation is through). Seriously, and no matter what goodies they offer you. Give them your 90 minutes (set a timer) and be done. I wish I listened to my own advice on this (I have rescinded a couple of purchases so far bc I get caught up in the whole thing). You can buy these on the resale market for a fraction of the cost, even DVC (although DVC tends to hold its value better than others).

Thank you for the advice We are DVC owners at SSR, AKV, VGF and BCV. DVC retains value due to their ROFR rules. The rules and terms you received for Hilton seem very similar to what you describe in the offer we received.

Do you have status with a certain airline? Some will let you upgrade via miles, other won't. American does allow it:
https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-program/miles/redeem/award-travel/upgrade-with-miles.jsp
I don't know where you are flying from, but lie flat (while nice) really isn't completely necessary to Hawaii. I say that as a person who paid $4k cash for the luxury one time. I've flown to Hawaii several time first class in the old fashioned big seats, and that was just fine too. I've also flown coach, but I don't recommend it unless you have no other way to get there. Quite frankly, Hawaii is the literal definition of paradise - it's so worth the time, jet lag and money.

I've never stayed at the Westin on Maui but I'm sure it's nice. I've done the Ritz Carlton, Andaz Hyatt and Hyatt Regency. Go on this trip - do the road to Hana and eat at Mama's Fish House. Trust me.

Actually, I just got gold status with AA but don't know how it happened or what to do with it LOL Thank you for the link.

We'd be flying in from south Florida. When we did our first travel hacked flight which was to Scotland, we booked in first class. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, that experience turned DH into a or perhaps a He now refuses to fly in economy for any flight that is longer than 2 1/2 hours in duration. Sigh ...

We did go on a trip to Aulani which is on Oahu this past March. We also decided we'd be going back to Hawaii and visiting the other islands at some point. We just never anticipated it coming on so quickly. I would not want to do that flight in economy. We did book lie flat seats last time on the connection and would like to do it again if possible. Thanks for the advice!

 

[AmyAnne]

Is there any reason why the AmEx Hilton would be a keeper card? I opened this card near the beginning of the year for the sign-up bonus points. I've received the points, transferred all of them to my Hilton account, and have a reservation for December. I initially thought I would just keep the card because it does not have an annual fee, but I have recently realized that AmEx allows only four credit cards and the Hilton is taking up a spot that potentially could be used by a new and better (MR earning) card, so I'm thinking of closing it. Is there any risk to the points I have already transferred to Hilton? Any other reasons why I might want to keep the card? I currently have the AmEx Business Platinum, and although I probably will cancel that next year, I will still have it (and therefore Hilton status) when we actually stay at a Hilton property in December.

 

[Albort]

We are near Ft. Lauderdale but Miami isn't too far away either.

Have you tried KE route? awardace shows its 45k but i think thats offpeak. KE booked Delta seems like the way to go.
Awardhacker shows maybe 100k with JAL for AA?

 

[Angrose]

I guess I am missing something with these services like Plastiq to meet minimum spend because aren't they just eating into the value of the bonus? I was initially going to pay my real estate taxes with DH's new CIP but they want an extra 3% for using a credit card. That comes to $148. That's a nice percentage of the bonus I would be giving up. It seems better just to put things on the card that don't charge an extra fee.

I use a combo of organic spending and Plastiq to help meet min spends. By using Plastiq, I can meet a min spend in about a month instead of it taking 3 months. I have been using it to pay rent for the last 5 months. My rent is $1650 so the fee has been about $41 per month. Here's the breakdown for me:

April: met SPG spend = 25K points to transfer to Hawaiian airlines
May: met Arrival+ spend = $560 in statement credit towards travel expenses = one night at DL Hotel ($600)
June: met SPG spend for DH's card = 35K points to transfer to Hawaiian airlines
July: met Venture spend = $480 in statement credit travel expenses = another night at DL Hotel ($600)
Aug: met CSP spend = 50K points to use on hotel in Hawaii (worth over $750)

2 nights at the Disneyland Hotel would have cost me $1200 out of pocket, but Plastiq helped me meet the min spends on the Arrival+ and Venture cards. Taking into consideration Plastiq fees and the amount not covered by the statement credits, I only paid $242 out of pocket to stay 2 nights at my favorite place on Earth!

The SPG points paid for three one way tickets back from Hawaii (HNL to OAK), worth $786. I only paid 2 months of Plastiq fees, total $82 to help me meet the min spends on those two cards.

The CSP is going towards 3 nights at the Outrigger Waikiki. I'm booking the room on the UR portal. Not bad for $41 fee!

Also, all of those cards waive the annual fee for the first year...YAY! Now I get to go to Hawaii THIS November instead of Nov 2018!

Jeez, I sound like a salesman for Plastiq, lol!

 

[Albort]

I use a combo of organic spending and Plastiq to help meet min spends. By using Plastiq, I can meet a min spend in about a month instead of it taking 3 months. I have been using it to pay rent for the last 5 months. My rent is $1650 so the fee has been about $41 per month. Here's the breakdown for me:

April: met SPG spend = 25K points to transfer to Hawaiian airlines
May: met Arrival+ spend = $560 in statement credit towards travel expenses = one night at DL Hotel ($600)
June: met SPG spend for DH's card = 35K points to transfer to Hawaiian airlines
July: met Venture spend = $480 in statement credit travel expenses = another night at DL Hotel ($600)
Aug: met CSP spend = 50K points to use on hotel in Hawaii (worth over $750)

2 nights at the Disneyland Hotel would have cost me $1200 out of pocket, but Plastiq helped me meet the min spends on the Arrival+ and Venture cards. Taking into consideration Plastiq fees and the amount not covered by the statement credits, I only paid $242 out of pocket to stay 2 nights at my favorite place on Earth!

The SPG points paid for three one way tickets back from Hawaii (HNL to OAK), worth $786. I only paid 2 months of Plastiq fees, total $82 to help me meet the min spends on those two cards.

The CSP is going towards 3 nights at the Outrigger Waikiki. I'm booking the room on the UR portal. Not bad for $41 fee!

Also, all of those cards waive the annual fee for the first year...YAY! Now I get to go to Hawaii THIS November instead of Nov 2018!

Jeez, I sound like a salesman for Plastiq, lol!

wow, very well planned out. when i was checking Disneyland resorts, they do pull up on the Chase UR portal... 1.5 redemption with UR might work there too. Not sure what your deal is with arrival+ and Venture card is...

 

[Angrose]

wow, very well planned out. when i was checking Disneyland resorts, they do pull up on the Chase UR portal... 1.5 redemption with UR might work there too. Not sure what your deal is with arrival+ and Venture card is...

Yes, it does work at DLR, but I used all my UR points back in Dec to stay onsite and cover park tickets, so I didn't have any left to use this summer. The UR points for Hawaii are from my DH's CSP. I'm loving 2-player mode!

Barclay Arrival+ is 50K points for $3,000 spend. It can be used as a $500 statement credit for travel expenses. You get 2x on all purchases so coupled with the min spend, it comes out to a $560 statement credit.

Capital One Venture card is the same deal, except it's only 40K points, a also 2x on all purchases, so works out to $460 statement credit.

 

[wendow]

Well done, @Angrose

 

[Lain]

Well done, @Angrose

Are you taking notes for your own Disneyland trip?

 

[peel]

This is what I am confused about. Some say the Business Cards don't count but because it is Chase that they can see it and count it against your 5/24.

I just applied DH for the SPG Business and got approved so going to try and use Platiq on that to cover half of our expenses. Still have another $4000 or so in organic spend. Would love to try for the Marriott Business if I knew for sure it would not count against the 5/24 (and I have to wait until I am at 0/30 with Chase, which would be Mid August)

Trying to find other Business cards that would work but not finding much of anything..

I did a Reddit search using the churningsearch site, and I see people who are adamant that it DOES count and people who are adamant that it DOESN'T count. I know that's not very helpful. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to go for the Marriott card and risk the hard pull so soon after getting the CIP, which would be my 5/24 if it counts. I might just go for the Amex SPG instead, using my DH's 7500 referral link.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Adding to the list of #firstworldproblems and #whatwouldyoudo:

So DH got an offer from American Airlines. The offer is to take a 6 day 5 night trip to Maui, stay at the Westin Ka'anapali, car rental for the duration and 5,000 AA miles for $649 total. We'd have to respond by the end of the month and then have one year to go and use it. In return, we sit through a 90 minute - 2 hour timeshare presentation. We've never been to Maui, we can swing the fee and we can fit it into the vacation schedule next year ... barely. My problem is that I can't find ANY saver awards available for a flight with lie flat seats on any bloody airline for the month we'd be able to go. I'm toying with the idea of booking a refundable fare and then waiting to see if saver awards get released. I'd hate to get stuck with a high fee refundable fare. We could just blow it off and not take the offer, but YOLO, you know. I'm not sure how booking in economy and upgrading with miles works since I've never done that but I am willing to look into it. I'm just wondering if there is anything I'm missing or should look into. So if anyone has ideas or suggestions, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

I got that offer too. Reluctantly had to pass. But that is a great rate and I'd be tempted to try he refundable fare if I could afford it.

 

[GlamMistress]

Is there any reason why the AmEx Hilton would be a keeper card? I opened this card near the beginning of the year for the sign-up bonus points. I've received the points, transferred all of them to my Hilton account, and have a reservation for December. I initially thought I would just keep the card because it does not have an annual fee, but I have recently realized that AmEx allows only four credit cards and the Hilton is taking up a spot that potentially could be used by a new and better (MR earning) card, so I'm thinking of closing it. Is there any risk to the points I have already transferred to Hilton? Any other reasons why I might want to keep the card? I currently have the AmEx Business Platinum, and although I probably will cancel that next year, I will still have it (and therefore Hilton status) when we actually stay at a Hilton property in December.

You should consider keeping the card. The no fee version gives you silver status, which is nothing except giving you the opportunity to get the 5th night free on points bookings. After your 1 year anniversary, you can upgrade to the AmexSurpass ($75 fee) and get ANOTHER signup bonus - without a credit pull. Your account number will stay the same.

 

[Alice Sr.]

Apologizing in advance for the multi quotes, it took me all night to get caught up. So much good info here I had to follow up!

heh, i spent the last $2k of my spg card on plastiq alone. I had $1500 free money with plastiq so i didnt take a huge hit. i couldnt find big bills that i could use my amex card on. :\ It works! It does take like 8-9 days to get the check though. so make sure u send it extra early!

I am not sure what you mean "I had $1500 free money with plastiq so i didnt take a huge hit." Does this mean you processed a check to yourself?

Gyft, PPDG, Cashstar code as internet services, which earns 3x on CIP, 5x on CIC/Ink+.

Ahhh, I could never quite understand why Albort loved Ink (and Gyft) so much, I didn't get the internet services coding.

I did a Reddit search using the churningsearch site, and I see people who are adamant that it DOES count and people who are adamant that it DOESN'T count. I know that's not very helpful. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to go for the Marriott card and risk the hard pull so soon after getting the CIP, which would be my 5/24 if it counts.

Did you see the recommendation to apply for two cards the same day to get to 6/24 (you have to be 0/30 of course)?

You should consider keeping the card. The no fee version gives you silver status, which is nothing except giving you the opportunity to get the 5th night free on points bookings. After your 1 year anniversary, you can upgrade to the AmexSurpass ($75 fee) and get ANOTHER signup bonus - without a credit pull. Your account number will stay the same.

This is a new concept to me, I don't recall reading anything about upgrading to an AF card and getting another bonus. Are there any other options other than Hilton that you are aware of?

 

[Albort]

Apologizing in advance for the multi quotes, it took me all night to get caught up. So much good info here I had to follow up!

I am not sure what you mean "I had $1500 free money with plastiq so i didnt take a huge hit." Does this mean you processed a check to yourself?


Ahhh, I could never quite understand why Albort loved Ink (and Gyft) so much, I didn't get the internet services coding.


Did you see the recommendation to apply for two cards the same day to get to 6/24 (you have to be 0/30 of course)?

When you do referrals, they give you what they call "free money." so i got $1500 of "free money." so basically, if i make a $1500 payment, the free money basically allows me to send the check fee free. but only $1500 is fee free.
so for example, i was using plastiq to pay for my health insurance. $300, would have cost me $7 in fees, but with "free money", the fee is waived. i got $1200 of "free money" and so on.

Ink+ + gyft is dynamite. it codes at 5x so target, walmart, sams club, etc code as 5x. Whenever i buy something, this is my first outlook.

The recommendation is when u are at 4/24 is to apply for 2 cards at once. Apply first most desirable first, and then the 2nd. of course.

 

[GlamMistress]

Apologizing in advance for the multi quotes, it took me all night to get caught up. So much good info here I had to follow up!

I am not sure what you mean "I had $1500 free money with plastiq so i didnt take a huge hit." Does this mean you processed a check to yourself?


Ahhh, I could never quite understand why Albort loved Ink (and Gyft) so much, I didn't get the internet services coding.


Did you see the recommendation to apply for two cards the same day to get to 6/24 (you have to be 0/30 of course)?


This is a new concept to me, I don't recall reading anything about upgrading to an AF card and getting another bonus. Are there any other options other than Hilton that you are aware of?

Every once in awhile there is an Amex upgrade offer. When you log in to mange your account, you'll see an "upgrade" button when you are eligible. Keep in mind, Amex bonuses are once in a lifetime, so you need to weigh if the upgrade offer is worth it to you. Often you can get a few more points with a new hard pull but for me it wasn't worth it.

 

[AmyAnne]

You should consider keeping the card. The no fee version gives you silver status, which is nothing except giving you the opportunity to get the 5th night free on points bookings. After your 1 year anniversary, you can upgrade to the AmexSurpass ($75 fee) and get ANOTHER signup bonus - without a credit pull. Your account number will stay the same.

If I could have unlimited AmEx credit cards, this would definitely be the thing to do. My problem is that there is a limit of 4. Currently in addition to the Hilton card I have the Simply Cash Plus, which I am keeping for sure; the SPG Business which I might or might not keep long-term but seems a better keeper card than Hilton, even with the $95 AF; and the Delta Gold, which I can't get rid of at the moment (for reasons unrelated to the card itself). The reason I signed up for the Hilton card was for points for a specific stay, but in general I don't have a great need for Hilton points. I do however have a continual need for MR points.

 

[GlamMistress]

If I could have unlimited AmEx credit cards, this would definitely be the thing to do. My problem is that there is a limit of 4. Currently in addition to the Hilton card I have the Simply Cash Plus, which I am keeping for sure; the SPG Business which I might or might not keep long-term but seems a better keeper card than Hilton, even with the $95 AF; and the Delta Gold, which I can't get rid of at the moment (for reasons unrelated to the card itself). The reason I signed up for the Hilton card was for points for a specific stay, but in general I don't have a great need for Hilton points. I do however have a continual need for MR points.

Get the new Amex Blue Business Plus. 2x MR on all spend. It's a business card and won't take up a slot. No AF. I have it and use it daily.
https://thepointsguy.com/2017/05/amex-blue-business-plus-news/

 

[Albort]

Get the new Amex Blue Business Plus. 2x MR on all spend. It's a business card and won't take up a slot. No AF. I have it and use it daily.
https://thepointsguy.com/2017/05/amex-blue-business-plus-news/

does non AF cards allow transfers to partners for amex?

 

[GlamMistress]

does non AF cards allow transfers to partners for amex?

Yes, the no fee Amex Blue Biz Plus is a full MR earning card and allows for transfers. The points are just pooled in to your main MR account, even though it's a business account. Amex is very lenient in approval for business cards as well.

 

[wendow]

Are you taking notes for your own Disneyland trip?

You bet I am! This is good stuff

 

[wendow]

I did a Reddit search using the churningsearch site, and I see people who are adamant that it DOES count and people who are adamant that it DOESN'T count. I know that's not very helpful. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to go for the Marriott card and risk the hard pull so soon after getting the CIP, which would be my 5/24 if it counts. I might just go for the Amex SPG instead, using my DH's 7500 referral link.

Same thing here, peel. The CIP either counts and I am at 5/24 and I need to go Amex for the SPG OR it doesn't count, I am at 4/24 and I want the Chase Marriott. The CIP does not show up on my CR.