I love credit cards so much!

[wendow]

Yes, the CS is a Chase Sapphire Preferred. Sorry about the typo.

If I get the SPG Biz it will take me the full 3 months to get to the MSR. Since I opened 2 Chase cards in March, would late June be too soon to apply for the CIP or should I wait a couple of months?

I'm near the Philadelphia and Newark airports, so I could look into getting a United or American card for my 5th slot. I usually fly Southwest, but having points with another airline would give me more options. So many possibilities.

I would think late June would be ok to hit Chase up again. IIRC, you had gotten a SW card in Nov so that would put you at having gotten 4 Chase in 8 mos (if CIP in late June)? Does that seem right? Waiting another month could be helpful but it's hard to know right now as the DP's on Chase shutdowns don't seem to have real clear rules. After the CIP, I'd maybe consider mixing in another Amex biz card before you try to fill that last 5/24 spot. There are lots of options for your last spot! I think I have read MR's transfer well to American. We don't ever fly AA so not sure on that.

 

[kmc8826]

It could be just too many St. Patrick’s Day beverages but DH just announced that since the girls don’t have school Friday we should go on a road trip and stay in Moab for a couple nights. I checked and rooms are fairly expensive, so his suggestion “just use points we always earn more.” Actually a pretty good use of points through the UR site in this case so I think we are going to do it. Funny part is we just mentioned it to the girls (only about 4 hours away but been a couple years since we have been down there), and D9 said “oh red rock like they show on Soarin?” I guess we need to travel more in our own state! And (gasp) maybe too much Disney?

I am such a hoarder of points that I am tempted to keep them and not use the UR’s but honestly it is a decent value and really for stuff like this (spur of the moment unbudgeted trip) is where having the points are so useful and fun.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Yes, the CS is a Chase Sapphire Preferred. Sorry about the typo.

If I get the SPG Biz it will take me the full 3 months to get to the MSR. Since I opened 2 Chase cards in March, would late June be too soon to apply for the CIP or should I wait a couple of months?

I'm near the Philadelphia and Newark airports, so I could look into getting a United or American card for my 5th slot. I usually fly Southwest, but having points with another airline would give me more options. So many possibilities.

I think you would be fine to apply for the CIP once you meet the spend for Amex.

 

[mrocco90]

Hi I’m not sure if this is the best place for this question but I was hoping someone may know. I have the discover it card and I realized today I forgot to activate my 5% cashback for warehouses. I went and activated it today but I already spent $1000 at BJs two weeks ago. Is there a chance I’ll still get the 5% back on that purchase? Thanks!

 

[Lain]

I need to sell a gift card. I've bought lots of them but have never sold. Is one place better than another? I've purchased on Raise before, so figured I would use them if there isn't a big difference. TIA!

Check giftcardwiki .com for what different sites are offering.

Different sites also impose different requirements/restrictions on new sellers. For example, Raise may hold new cards pending for days while they verify the card, and then Raise made me submit a scanned copy of the gift card and any available receipts after I had already sold them. If you sell a lot, they’ll ask you set up ACH or submit a W-9. All that said, Raise still has been the easiest to deal with even if they don’t always offer the best price. You set your own price after looking at what other cards are selling for, Raise takes a 12% commission, then sends you a check, PayPal or ACH when your card sells. Cardpool was fairly easy to use too, but unlike Raise you don’t list it; Cardpool buys your card for a set price. Ebay is also an option if you take a look at if your merchant’s gift card has sold recently, for how much, then list an auction or Buy It Now, factoring in 10% eBay fees and ~3% PayPal fees. I recall ABC gift cards (?) made me jump through so many hoops to start selling, I told them to forget it and close my account even though they were offering the best price.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I was just about to update my links while sitting here watching a hockey game. I guess I’ll wait until new threads are up. Thanks for keeping things going!

You’ll be able to copy and paste your comment exactly into the new threads so if you did update today it’s not necessarily wasted effort

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Hi I’m not sure if this is the best place for this question but I was hoping someone may know. I have the discover it card and I realized today I forgot to activate my 5% cashback for warehouses. I went and activated it today but I already spent $1000 at BJs two weeks ago. Is there a chance I’ll still get the 5% back on that purchase? Thanks!

From what I’ve read - no you will not get the 5% unfortunately. Discover does not apply the 5% retroactively. Can anybody else speak to this with experience (I have a Discover card but rarely use it).

 

[CyndiLouWho]

You’ll be able to copy and paste your comment exactly into the new threads so if you did update today it’s not necessarily wasted effort

No I hadn’t done it yet. For some reason chase has inundated me with emails about sharing my links in the past few weeks. So the emails were sitting there as a reminder yet I was still too lazy to do it. Any excuse...

 

[kmc8826]

Hi I’m not sure if this is the best place for this question but I was hoping someone may know. I have the discover it card and I realized today I forgot to activate my 5% cashback for warehouses. I went and activated it today but I already spent $1000 at BJs two weeks ago. Is there a chance I’ll still get the 5% back on that purchase? Thanks!

I doubt they will just give it to you automatically but I think it would be worthwhile to contact them and ask. Just explain the situation and hope that good customer service comes through. I have a Discover (longest credit card on my history...first credit card ever) but have only recently started using it again so I don’t have any personal experience with your situation. Good luck!

 

[taraaplin]

Hey guys, I was directed to this thread. I tried to skim through but couldn’t find an answer. Let me start by saying that currently my husband had one credit card at 600 with a zero interest rate. We typically take turns applying every 16 (or annually depending on the promotional zero interest rate) and transfer the balance to keep it interest free. The balance began at 5000 9 years ago and slowly but surely it is almost paid off. The only other loan type we have is mortgage (new mortgage in 2016)and garage (built last year). Garage will be paid off in two years. With that said, we have excellent credit. 835 and 825.
We are looking to put whole vacation on a credit card to get rewards/points/cashback. It will be paid off immediately. Which credit card offers most money back etc... the balance will be roughly 4 grand.

 

[hsmamato2]

as far as online banking (from about 6 million pages back lol) I don't like how long it takes to transfer our of Cap1 360...(it's 3-4 days!) does Ally bank or an y others transfer faster?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Hi and welcome! @taraaplin
So am I understanding correctly...you have been paying down a $5k cc balance for 9 years and still owe $600 but you’re wanting to open a new cc and charge a $4k vacation to a card?
If I read that right...the first rule of this game is don’t carry a balance. I’s Recommend doing a $3400 vacation if you have $4k cash in hand for a trip, and pay off the $600 balance.

As for what cash back card to use...I don’t do cash back cards, except freedom but I convert that to UR points so not really cash back. I have read a lot on here about a discover card that someone can probably come along and help you with. Are you interested in doing any types of points cards at all? You could knock out a MSR with that charge and get a nice bonus of points to use on your next trip, in lieu of cash. You could also cash out UR points if you were to choose a UR earning card for the bonus, but those aren’t the best value for those points. However the best value for each person varies. I’d start by researching the discover. I think maybe it is the IT card.
Good luck!

ETA: What cards do you already have?

EATA: I haven’t had enough coffee. For some reason the first time I read it all I saw was cashback. I change my vote to CIP. Ha!

 

[hsmamato2]

You could look at the regular offer 25k for $5,000 in 3 months. People typically recommend you always get the Max bonus with AMEX due to their “once per lifetime” bonus rule. But if $7k gives you heartburn perhaps it’s not worth it.

Let’s do a quick comparison of the 2 offers assuming a 3cpp value for SPG points:

1) Standard Offer: 25,000 Points PLUS 5,000 Points (for meeting min spend) = 30k for $5,000. You earn approx. $900 at an 18% return.

2) Current Increased Offer: 35,000 Points PLUS 7,000 Points (for meeting min spend) = 42k for $7,000. You earn approx. $1,260 also at an 18% return.

Both are solid offers and since they offer an identical return - it’s not necessarily a bad situation to “settle” for the standard offer if the $7k MSR presents a problem. Of course if there is any way to meet the higher spend requirement I’d absolutely go with that. Hopefully this helps a little bit

 

[hsmamato2]

It could be just too many St. Patrick’s Day beverages but DH just announced that since the girls don’t have school Friday we should go on a road trip and stay in Moab for a couple nights. I checked and rooms are fairly expensive, so his suggestion “just use points we always earn more.” Actually a pretty good use of points through the UR site in this case so I think we are going to do it. Funny part is we just mentioned it to the girls (only about 4 hours away but been a couple years since we have been down there), and D9 said “oh red rock like they show on Soarin?” I guess we need to travel more in our own state! And (gasp) maybe too much Disney?

I am such a hoarder of points that I am tempted to keep them and not use the UR’s but honestly it is a decent value and really for stuff like this (spur of the moment unbudgeted trip) is where having the points are so useful and fun.

I LOVE MOAB!!!!! been to Arches once and I wish I lived 4 hours away and could do that too....it's one of my favorite places in the worlds....oh red rocks I love you....

 

[SBWB48]

as far as online banking (from about 6 million pages back lol) I don't like how long it takes to transfer our of Cap1 360...(it's 3-4 days!) does Ally bank or an y others transfer faster?

Generally, I’ve noticed the transfer and funds delivery times are much faster when pulling funds rather than pushing funds. Meaning, set up the transfer to take place via the bank you want the funds to ultimately end up at. Have them pull the funds from CapOne. Whenever I pull funds into my Wells Fargo account, it’s a one business day process. If I want to push funds from Wells into another account, 3 business days. This is the same for me with Discover and Citi. Both who I have accounts with as well. I have a CapOne account but rarely pull funds into, so I can’t say.

However, if this is to trigger a bank bonus via direct deposit then DO NOT pull, always push funds.

 

[hsmamato2]

Generally, I’ve noticed the transfer and funds delivery times are much faster when pulling funds rather than pushing funds. Meaning, set up the transfer to take place via the bank you want the funds to ultimately end up at. Have them pull the funds from CapOne. Whenever I pull funds into my Wells Fargo account, it’s a one business day process. If I want to push funds from Wells into another account, 3 business days. This is the same for me with Discover and Citi. Both who I have accounts with as well. I have a CapOne account but rarely pull funds into, so I can’t say.

However, if this is to trigger a bank bonus via direct deposit then DO NOT pull, always push funds.

got it- I'll give it a try.... I got in the habit of pushing them...

 

[calypso726]

Hey guys, I was directed to this thread. I tried to skim through but couldn’t find an answer. Let me start by saying that currently my husband had one credit card at 600 with a zero interest rate. We typically take turns applying every 16 (or annually depending on the promotional zero interest rate) and transfer the balance to keep it interest free. The balance began at 5000 9 years ago and slowly but surely it is almost paid off. The only other loan type we have is mortgage (new mortgage in 2016)and garage (built last year). Garage will be paid off in two years. With that said, we have excellent credit. 835 and 825.
We are looking to put whole vacation on a credit card to get rewards/points/cashback. It will be paid off immediately. Which credit card offers most money back etc... the balance will be roughly 4 grand.

Hi and welcome to the thread! That depends on specifically what you are looking for since rewards/points/cashback are not created equal so the answer can be different for each one. When you say most money, are you referring to strictly cash or do you mean most value. That answer is also different and subjective depending on the goals. Also, are you looking for a one and done bonus for your purchase or on going points earning.

If you are looking for rewards points back that can be redeemed for travel, transfer to airlines and hotels, your current best bet would be the Chase INk Preferred which will get you 80,000 Ultimate rewards points for 5,000 spent in 3 months that can be transferred to certain airlines and hotels 1:1. It can also be used to purchase travel through the Chase UR travel portal with a value of .0125 per point and worth $1,000. If you get a Chase Sapphire Reserve the bonus is 50,000 for $4K in 3 months but points are worth .015 for travel and it comes with a $300 travel credit plus your travel purchase would code at 3x.

For a one and done purchase I'd recommend the Bank of America Premium rewards card. $3K in 3 months earns 50K worth $500 and the $95 annual fee is offset by a $100 airline credit.

Most of us here use multiple credit cards with specific sign up bonuses and spending bonus categories to travel free or nearly free year after year. Some of us use the credit cards bonuses, spending categories in order to afford luxury style travel like flying international first class and staying in (borrowing a phrase from another DISer) snooty hotels. There's nothing wrong with getting a bonus for a one time purchase but I just wanted you to realize there is much more potential in this hobby than a one time $500 bonus or so every year. Most of us here are getting thousands in value every year with travel hacking.

 

[Psychodisney]

Hey guys, I was directed to this thread. I tried to skim through but couldn’t find an answer. Let me start by saying that currently my husband had one credit card at 600 with a zero interest rate. We typically take turns applying every 16 (or annually depending on the promotional zero interest rate) and transfer the balance to keep it interest free. The balance began at 5000 9 years ago and slowly but surely it is almost paid off. The only other loan type we have is mortgage (new mortgage in 2016)and garage (built last year). Garage will be paid off in two years. With that said, we have excellent credit. 835 and 825.
We are looking to put whole vacation on a credit card to get rewards/points/cashback. It will be paid off immediately. Which credit card offers most money back etc... the balance will be roughly 4 grand.

Welcome! I agree with @calypso, if you want easy cash back, the BOA premium card is a great choice. Also comes with 1 TSA pre check or Global entry credit. You can use the bonus points as a deposit into an account or a statement credit. Most of us here are also fans of the Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards (UR). The UR points are flexible. You can use them towards gift cards(not the best bang for your buck)if you want $, or use them to book travel through CHase's website, or transfer them to partner airlines (ie. SW). If you have a business or "business", you could do the CIP or if you want a personal card the CSP.

 

[StephPlum]

ACK!!! It seems like I am the opposite of most data points with regards to business cards. I have a "business" and was almost instantly approved for the CIP with just $500 of revenue and given a 13K CL. But for the SPG biz, I got a call yesterday that they have questions on my application. Could just be easy questions since I have no other AMEX cards and no relationship. I do have a long Chase relationship with the CF, Disney Visa, Checking/Savings and Mortgage. I am waiting until Monday to call back. Crossing my fingers.

 

[hsmamato2]

Hi and welcome! @taraaplin
So am I understanding correctly...you have been paying down a $5k cc balance for 9 years and still owe $600 but you’re wanting to open a new cc and charge a $4k vacation to a card?
If I read that right...the first rule of this game is don’t carry a balance. I’s Recommend doing a $3400 vacation if you have $4k cash in hand for a trip, and pay off the $600 balance.

this is 100% logical- try to pay off that balance with a part of the amount you want to put on your vacation,and proceed from there if you can