I love credit cards so much!

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I would start with where you want to go and how you will get there. For example, I first got into credit cards because I love going to WDW but have to fly. I had the Southwest card for a while, but practically speaking with 3 young kids not flying non stop is not an option and we are stuck with Delta. So decide where you go and what your preferred airline is.

Conventional wisdom is start acquiring Chase cards first. You can only get 5 credit cards or charge cards in a 2 year period (5/24 rule). Read some blogs like Million Miles Secrets and Points Guy. Stuff about best “travel reward credit cards” etc.

If you have any questions post. It is definitely a learning process. Even last year I messed up by getting the Hyatt Chase Card when I should have waited because it put me over 5/24. Live and learn.
 
So... I thought it was about time I read up on how best to utilize credit cards, frequent flyer plans, etc. to get the max value for travel. I'd seen this thread and always meant to give it a look.

But I can't read 574 pages! And it turns out I can barely read most of the posts anyway, since we don't seem to be speaking the same language. I've never seen so many acronyms!

Anybody have some pointers on how I can start learning about all this?

You can start by reading some of it and then asking specific questions.

Or you can outline where you are right now with credit cards, how many, which cards you have, how long you've had them, etc , and what your goals are for the credit card rewards.

One of the major ways that people here build rewards is by opening cards for the bigger bonuses and also taking advantage of spending categories.

Some of our goals are as simple as just wanting a few free hotel nights. Others are flying first class in lay flat seats. Once you figure out what you want to achieve, it all starts to come together.

One of the most important keys is not carrying a balance on any cards. Defeats the purpose of earning rewards.



There are actually some great 'pointer' posts already written. It would be nice if there was an index for these but there isn't. Right now you sort of have to read to find them.
 
So... I thought it was about time I read up on how best to utilize credit cards, frequent flyer plans, etc. to get the max value for travel. I'd seen this thread and always meant to give it a look.

But I can't read 574 pages! And it turns out I can barely read most of the posts anyway, since we don't seem to be speaking the same language. I've never seen so many acronyms!

Anybody have some pointers on how I can start learning about all this?

I'd recommend going to Reddit and checking out the Churning board. They have a tutorial there (with all the acronyms too)! Websites like The Points Guy can also provide starter info.
 


to add @wendow it also matters on instores or online. i find in stores will code quickly but online will take awhile to code. If its in stores, i wouldnt worry about it not coding in time... heck i bought gas 2 hours once before deadline and it coded down with the correct day.

online... is another mess i probably wouldnt touch. Im still waiting for my ebags purchases to complete.

I think part of the problem with online transactions for Amex is the merchant may not submit the transaction to Amex until the product ships or is sent, which depending on the merchant’s fulfillment procedures could take up to a few days.

I took a chance with some eGift cards from the Newegg offer today. Also made an eBags order today on the Chase side. Fingers crossed I won’t have to jump through hoops to get the points/credit.
 
Hmmm...I think I need to browse through and find some of these "pointer" posts. Is there a list of acronyms somewhere? I really can't even read a lot of posts.

My goal is mostly just to be able to make travel cheaper so I can justify traveling more.

I've had the American Express Preferred card for a few years. I got it because of the cash back on groceries but I pretty much never use it anymore and probably should cancel it. I've had a Chase Sapphire Preferred card for about a year and a half and it's the only card I really use. i signed up for it because of the signup bonus and have around 100,000 points, but I don't really understand how to get the most mileage out of redeeming them. I also recently signed up for an American Airlines AAdvantage Aviator card. I don't remember exactly why I got this one except that the signup bonus was supposed to be good. My husband was getting it and he suggested I do so as well and I didn't have the time to look into it myself so I just went ahead and signed up. I probably should read up on that one.

So these are the only cards I have besides a few never-used store credit cards I got for a one-time discount and should probably cancel (Home Goods, Lowe's, etc.). I always pay my balance in full every month and would never charge more than I could pay when the bill comes due.

Why can you only apply for 5 cards within a 24 month period? Also, is the way people maximize points just to apply for cards, get the signup bonus, and then cancel the cards at some after they get it? Does this affect your credit? I don't really see how having multiple cards is helpful beyond the initial bonus. What are sending categories? Is that where some cards award more points for specific purchases?

I think that's probably enough questions for now! I'll look into Million Miles Secrets and Points Guy. Thanks!
 


Hmmm...I think I need to browse through and find some of these "pointer" posts. Is there a list of acronyms somewhere? I really can't even read a lot of posts.

My goal is mostly just to be able to make travel cheaper so I can justify traveling more.

I've had the American Express Preferred card for a few years. I got it because of the cash back on groceries but I pretty much never use it anymore and probably should cancel it. I've had a Chase Sapphire Preferred card for about a year and a half and it's the only card I really use. i signed up for it because of the signup bonus and have around 100,000 points, but I don't really understand how to get the most mileage out of redeeming them. I also recently signed up for an American Airlines AAdvantage Aviator card. I don't remember exactly why I got this one except that the signup bonus was supposed to be good. My husband was getting it and he suggested I do so as well and I didn't have the time to look into it myself so I just went ahead and signed up. I probably should read up on that one.

So these are the only cards I have besides a few never-used store credit cards I got for a one-time discount and should probably cancel (Home Goods, Lowe's, etc.). I always pay my balance in full every month and would never charge more than I could pay when the bill comes due.

Why can you only apply for 5 cards within a 24 month period? Also, is the way people maximize points just to apply for cards, get the signup bonus, and then cancel the cards at some after they get it? Does this affect your credit? I don't really see how having multiple cards is helpful beyond the initial bonus. What are sending categories? Is that where some cards award more points for specific purchases?

I think that's probably enough questions for now! I'll look into Million Miles Secrets and Points Guy. Thanks!

This is a great place to start...
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/5wsvzr/faq_credit_card_recommendation_flowchart/

And the 5/24 rule means that Chase will only approve certain personal credit cards if you have been approved for less than 5 cards in 24 months, which is why you want to start with Chase.
I followed the Southwest path of that flowchart, because earning the companion pass was most important to me.
 
I used my Best Buy offer today in-store on two AMEX cards and got two "Congrats, you've just used your AMEX offer" emails a few hours ago.

It was the lowes $10 off $50 I used today but no email yet.
 
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Hmmm...I think I need to browse through and find some of these "pointer" posts. Is there a list of acronyms somewhere? I really can't even read a lot of posts.

My goal is mostly just to be able to make travel cheaper so I can justify traveling more.

I've had the American Express Preferred card for a few years. I got it because of the cash back on groceries but I pretty much never use it anymore and probably should cancel it. I've had a Chase Sapphire Preferred card for about a year and a half and it's the only card I really use. i signed up for it because of the signup bonus and have around 100,000 points, but I don't really understand how to get the most mileage out of redeeming them. I also recently signed up for an American Airlines AAdvantage Aviator card. I don't remember exactly why I got this one except that the signup bonus was supposed to be good. My husband was getting it and he suggested I do so as well and I didn't have the time to look into it myself so I just went ahead and signed up. I probably should read up on that one.

So these are the only cards I have besides a few never-used store credit cards I got for a one-time discount and should probably cancel (Home Goods, Lowe's, etc.). I always pay my balance in full every month and would never charge more than I could pay when the bill comes due.

Why can you only apply for 5 cards within a 24 month period? Also, is the way people maximize points just to apply for cards, get the signup bonus, and then cancel the cards at some after they get it? Does this affect your credit? I don't really see how having multiple cards is helpful beyond the initial bonus. What are sending categories? Is that where some cards award more points for specific purchases?

I think that's probably enough questions for now! I'll look into Million Miles Secrets and Points Guy. Thanks!

The 5/24 rule is a Chase specific rule regarding approval on some of their cards. If you have opened 5 or more new credit card accounts from any bank over the last 24 months they will auto deny you know matter how good your credit, history with Chase, income, score etc. Therefore, the rule of thumb when starting out is to get the Chase cards that are subject to the 5/24 rule first.

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) card your 100,000 Ultimate Rewards (UR) points are worth .0125 per point ($1,250) if you were to use them to purchase travel through the Chase UR portal. Alternatively, you could transfer your points 1:1 to the following airlines and hotels United, SouthWest, British Airways, Singapore, Aer Lingus, Iberia, Air France, Korean, Virgin Atlantic, Marriott, Hyatt, Ritz Carlton and IHG.

I believe all of us here also pay balances in full each month as well. Paying interest would negate the value of points earned.

The fastest way to earn the points is through the sign up bonuses. Some will cancel and churn their cards if they have no use for them beyond the sign up bonus. Some will keep the cards if the value of benefits and points earning negate the fee. I started this hobby in 2012 and my credit score was in the high 600's and low 700's back then. I apply for and cancel between 5 - 8 cards per year and my score has not dipped below 800 for a few years. It goes up and down between 805 - 840. So yes, it does affect your credit but not negatively. You always take a small hit with a new application but that falls off within a year and the new line of credit lowers your credit utilization percentage which in turn raises your credit score. I would advise against cancelling older cards especially if they are no fee cards. Closing older cards will affect your average age of credit negatively.

Earning points beyond the sign up bonus of a new card involves maximizing spending categories. This is where you can earn more points by spending in a specific category depending on the card. For example, your CSP card earns 2 UR points per $ on dining and travel. You should always use that card when paying for anything in those categories. I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve which earns 3 UR points in the same categories and those UR points are worth .015 in the Chase UR portal. One of my strategies is to also use my Chase Freedom no fee card which has rotating quarterly spending categories that earn 5x UR points up to $1500 in spending. On their own, those Freedom point cannot be transferred to airlines and hotels and they are only worth .01 for a statement credit. So, I transfer those 7500 UR points that I earned on my Freedom card to my CSR account and they are worth more and I can use them to transfer directly to airlines.

This hobby has allowed me to mitigate my travel expenses and I definitely travel a lot more now. Of the regular posters here, I'm in the "use miles to get lie flat seats in first class on international flights" camp. There is absolutely no way I could possibly travel as much as I do and in first class flights if I did not use multiple cards and maximize spending categories and utilize shopping portals. DH and I go through a lot of points every year. I'll give you a list of our vacations over 2017 and how many miles or points we needed to secure our flights:

January - Adventures by Disney Winter in Wyoming trip (United first class 200,000 miles)
February - London for the weekend to see Harry Potter & the Cursed Child play (British Airways first class 400,000 miles, 100,000 Club Carlson points for hotel stay)
March - Aulani in Hawaii in first class (American Airlines 74k miles, 90k Citi Thank You points)
June/July - Scotland for a long weekend to see the Fairy Pools "slumming" it in business (British Airways 250,000 miles)
July - San Francisco to see Hamilton first class (American Airlines gift cards from purchases that triggered annual airline credit on credit cards and 35,000 Amex membership rewards points, 24k SPG points to stay at Westin)
August - Adventure by Disney Italy trip (British Airways 200,000 miles and earned travel together ticket with credit card)
November - flew to Iceland in first class (Delta paid with 380,000 UR points, stayed at Hilton forgot how many points but got a point free night too due to length of stay)

So that is over 1.7 million points and miles that DH and I blew through just this past year. We are in 2 player mode when it comes to applications and bonus category earnings but it takes multiple cards to maximize the bonus categories, give us options and maintain 2 - 3 million points and miles. Hope this helps @1GoldenSun
 
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The 5/24 rule is a Chase specific rule regarding approval on some of their cards. If you have opened 5 or more new credit card accounts from any bank over the last 24 months they will auto deny you know matter how good your credit, history with Chase, income, score etc. Therefore, the rule of thumb when starting out is to get the Chase cards that are subject to the 5/24 rule first.

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) card your 100,000 Ultimate Rewards (UR) points are worth .0125 per point ($1,250) if you were to use them to purchase travel through the Chase UR portal. Alternatively, you could transfer your points 1:1 to the following airlines and hotels United, SouthWest, British Airways, Singapore, Aer Lingus, Iberia, Air France, Korean, Virgin Atlantic, Marriott, Hyatt, Ritz Carlton and IHG.

I believe all of us here also pay balances in full each month as well. Paying interest would negate the value of points earned.

The fastest way to earn the points is through the sign up bonuses. Some will cancel and churn their cards if they have no use for them beyond the sign up bonus. Some will keep the cards if the value of benefits and points earning negate the fee. I started this hobby in 2012 and my credit score was in the high 600's and low 700's back then. I apply for and cancel between 5 - 8 cards per year and my score has not dipped below 800 for a few years. It goes up and down between 805 - 840. So yes, it does affect your credit but not negatively. You always take a small hit with a new application but that falls off within a year and the new line of credit lowers your credit utilization percentage which in turn raises your credit score. I would advise against cancelling older cards especially if they are no fee cards. Closing older cards will affect your average age of credit negatively.

Earning points beyond the sign up bonus of a new card involves maximizing spending categories. This is where you can earn more points by spending in a specific category depending on the card. For example, your CSP card earns 2 UR points per $ on dining and travel. You should always use that card when paying for anything in those categories. I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve which earns 3 UR points in the same categories and those UR points are worth .15 in the Chase UR portal. One of my strategies is to also use my Chase Freedom no fee card which has rotating quarterly spending categories that earn 5x UR points up to $1500 in spending. On their own, those Freedom point cannot be transferred to airlines and hotels and they are only worth .01 for a statement credit. So, I transfer those 7500 UR points that I earned on my Freedom card to my CSR account and they are worth more and I can use them to transfer directly to airlines.

This hobby has allowed me to mitigate my travel expenses and I definitely travel a lot more now. Of the regular posters here, I'm in the "use miles to get lie flat seats in first class on international flights" camp. There is absolutely no way I could possibly travel as much as I do and in first class flights if I did not use multiple cards and maximize spending categories and utilize shopping portals. DH and I go through a lot of points every year. I'll give you a list of our vacations over 2017 and how many miles or points we needed o secure our flights:

January - Adventures by Disney Winter in Wyoming trip (United first class 200,000 miles)
February - London for the weekend to see Harry Potter & the Cursed Child play (British Airways first class 400,000 miles, 100,000 Club Carlson points for hotel stay)
March - Aulani in Hawaii in first class (American Airlines 74k miles, 90k Citi Thank You points)
June/July - Scotland for a long weekend to see the Fairy Pools "slumming" it in business (British Airways 250,000 miles)
July - San Francisco to see Hamilton first class (American Airlines gift cards from purchases that triggered annual airline credit on credit cards and 35,000 Amex membership rewards points, 24k SPG points to stay at Westin)
August - Adventure by Disney Italy trip (British Airways 200,000 miles and earned travel together ticket with credit card)
November - flew to Iceland in first class (Delta paid with 380,000 UR points, stayed at Hilton forgot how many points but got a point free night too due to length of stay)

So that is over 1.7 million points and miles that DH and I blew through just this past year. We are in 2 player mode when it comes to applications and bonus category earnings but it takes multiple cards to maximize the bonus categories, give us options and maintain 2 - 3 million points and miles. Hope this helps.[/QUOTE
 
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@calypso726 outlined it nicely and why most of us are in awe of her :smooth:
Her goal is travel in luxury. Mine is simpler, just free travel I wouldn't have otherwise

I don't really see how having multiple cards is helpful beyond the initial bonus.
Some cards offer additional benefits and can be keepers, depending on your goals. Some hotel cards offer a free night yearly and status level. Airline cards may provide a free bag or yearly free miles. Other cards have "travel credits," insurance, ability to transfer to multiple airlines or hotels or higher earning rates for points. Figuring out your goals, and a plan can help you decide which cards, if any, you want to keep.
 
The 5/24 rule is a Chase specific rule regarding approval on some of their cards. If you have opened 5 or more new credit card accounts from any bank over the last 24 months they will auto deny you know matter how good your credit, history with Chase, income, score etc. Therefore, the rule of thumb when starting out is to get the Chase cards that are subject to the 5/24 rule first.

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) card your 100,000 Ultimate Rewards (UR) points are worth .0125 per point ($1,250) if you were to use them to purchase travel through the Chase UR portal. Alternatively, you could transfer your points 1:1 to the following airlines and hotels United, SouthWest, British Airways, Singapore, Aer Lingus, Iberia, Air France, Korean, Virgin Atlantic, Marriott, Hyatt, Ritz Carlton and IHG.

I believe all of us here also pay balances in full each month as well. Paying interest would negate the value of points earned.

The fastest way to earn the points is through the sign up bonuses. Some will cancel and churn their cards if they have no use for them beyond the sign up bonus. Some will keep the cards if the value of benefits and points earning negate the fee. I started this hobby in 2012 and my credit score was in the high 600's and low 700's back then. I apply for and cancel between 5 - 8 cards per year and my score has not dipped below 800 for a few years. It goes up and down between 805 - 840. So yes, it does affect your credit but not negatively. You always take a small hit with a new application but that falls off within a year and the new line of credit lowers your credit utilization percentage which in turn raises your credit score. I would advise against cancelling older cards especially if they are no fee cards. Closing older cards will affect your average age of credit negatively.

Earning points beyond the sign up bonus of a new card involves maximizing spending categories. This is where you can earn more points by spending in a specific category depending on the card. For example, your CSP card earns 2 UR points per $ on dining and travel. You should always use that card when paying for anything in those categories. I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve which earns 3 UR points in the same categories and those UR points are worth .015 in the Chase UR portal. One of my strategies is to also use my Chase Freedom no fee card which has rotating quarterly spending categories that earn 5x UR points up to $1500 in spending. On their own, those Freedom point cannot be transferred to airlines and hotels and they are only worth .01 for a statement credit. So, I transfer those 7500 UR points that I earned on my Freedom card to my CSR account and they are worth more and I can use them to transfer directly to airlines.

This hobby has allowed me to mitigate my travel expenses and I definitely travel a lot more now. Of the regular posters here, I'm in the "use miles to get lie flat seats in first class on international flights" camp. There is absolutely no way I could possibly travel as much as I do and in first class flights if I did not use multiple cards and maximize spending categories and utilize shopping portals. DH and I go through a lot of points every year. I'll give you a list of our vacations over 2017 and how many miles or points we needed o secure our flights:

January - Adventures by Disney Winter in Wyoming trip (United first class 200,000 miles)
February - London for the weekend to see Harry Potter & the Cursed Child play (British Airways first class 400,000 miles, 100,000 Club Carlson points for hotel stay)
March - Aulani in Hawaii in first class (American Airlines 74k miles, 90k Citi Thank You points)
June/July - Scotland for a long weekend to see the Fairy Pools "slumming" it in business (British Airways 250,000 miles)
July - San Francisco to see Hamilton first class (American Airlines gift cards from purchases that triggered annual airline credit on credit cards and 35,000 Amex membership rewards points, 24k SPG points to stay at Westin)
August - Adventure by Disney Italy trip (British Airways 200,000 miles and earned travel together ticket with credit card)
November - flew to Iceland in first class (Delta paid with 380,000 UR points, stayed at Hilton forgot how many points but got a point free night too due to length of stay)

So that is over 1.7 million points and miles that DH and I blew through just this past year. We are in 2 player mode when it comes to applications and bonus category earnings but it takes multiple cards to maximize the bonus categories, give us options and maintain 2 - 3 million points and miles. Hope this helps.
Holy cannoli! I didn't realize you earned/spent that many miles. Here I am trying to get 4 people to Hawaii in 2019. And I don't think I'll be able to get all the points I need for hotels, we have enough for economy tickets.
 
Hmmm...I think I need to browse through and find some of these "pointer" posts. Is there a list of acronyms somewhere? I really can't even read a lot of posts.

My goal is mostly just to be able to make travel cheaper so I can justify traveling more.

I've had the American Express Preferred card for a few years. I got it because of the cash back on groceries but I pretty much never use it anymore and probably should cancel it. I've had a Chase Sapphire Preferred card for about a year and a half and it's the only card I really use. i signed up for it because of the signup bonus and have around 100,000 points, but I don't really understand how to get the most mileage out of redeeming them. I also recently signed up for an American Airlines AAdvantage Aviator card. I don't remember exactly why I got this one except that the signup bonus was supposed to be good. My husband was getting it and he suggested I do so as well and I didn't have the time to look into it myself so I just went ahead and signed up. I probably should read up on that one.

So these are the only cards I have besides a few never-used store credit cards I got for a one-time discount and should probably cancel (Home Goods, Lowe's, etc.). I always pay my balance in full every month and would never charge more than I could pay when the bill comes due.

Why can you only apply for 5 cards within a 24 month period? Also, is the way people maximize points just to apply for cards, get the signup bonus, and then cancel the cards at some after they get it? Does this affect your credit? I don't really see how having multiple cards is helpful beyond the initial bonus. What are sending categories? Is that where some cards award more points for specific purchases?

I think that's probably enough questions for now! I'll look into Million Miles Secrets and Points Guy. Thanks!

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/wiki/index

RIP a few hours... :]
 
Ok ..... I need a refresher course.... I have lots of British Airways Miles to use- I was planning on using them to get to HI (maybe).... I know the smartest use of them is to use on a partner airline,and NOT to fly into London. That's where my knowledge gets fuzzy..... Is it complicated to do this? I've read about AA award saver seats which is what I'm thinking -and planning on flying on one of my domestic (swa or JB) options over to the west coast beforehand. Any advice or where to go to learn more?
 
The 5/24 rule is a Chase specific rule regarding approval on some of their cards. If you have opened 5 or more new credit card accounts from any bank over the last 24 months they will auto deny you know matter how good your credit, history with Chase, income, score etc. Therefore, the rule of thumb when starting out is to get the Chase cards that are subject to the 5/24 rule first.

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) card your 100,000 Ultimate Rewards (UR) points are worth .0125 per point ($1,250) if you were to use them to purchase travel through the Chase UR portal. Alternatively, you could transfer your points 1:1 to the following airlines and hotels United, SouthWest, British Airways, Singapore, Aer Lingus, Iberia, Air France, Korean, Virgin Atlantic, Marriott, Hyatt, Ritz Carlton and IHG.

I believe all of us here also pay balances in full each month as well. Paying interest would negate the value of points earned.

The fastest way to earn the points is through the sign up bonuses. Some will cancel and churn their cards if they have no use for them beyond the sign up bonus. Some will keep the cards if the value of benefits and points earning negate the fee. I started this hobby in 2012 and my credit score was in the high 600's and low 700's back then. I apply for and cancel between 5 - 8 cards per year and my score has not dipped below 800 for a few years. It goes up and down between 805 - 840. So yes, it does affect your credit but not negatively. You always take a small hit with a new application but that falls off within a year and the new line of credit lowers your credit utilization percentage which in turn raises your credit score. I would advise against cancelling older cards especially if they are no fee cards. Closing older cards will affect your average age of credit negatively.

Earning points beyond the sign up bonus of a new card involves maximizing spending categories. This is where you can earn more points by spending in a specific category depending on the card. For example, your CSP card earns 2 UR points per $ on dining and travel. You should always use that card when paying for anything in those categories. I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve which earns 3 UR points in the same categories and those UR points are worth .015 in the Chase UR portal. One of my strategies is to also use my Chase Freedom no fee card which has rotating quarterly spending categories that earn 5x UR points up to $1500 in spending. On their own, those Freedom point cannot be transferred to airlines and hotels and they are only worth .01 for a statement credit. So, I transfer those 7500 UR points that I earned on my Freedom card to my CSR account and they are worth more and I can use them to transfer directly to airlines.

This hobby has allowed me to mitigate my travel expenses and I definitely travel a lot more now. Of the regular posters here, I'm in the "use miles to get lie flat seats in first class on international flights" camp. There is absolutely no way I could possibly travel as much as I do and in first class flights if I did not use multiple cards and maximize spending categories and utilize shopping portals. DH and I go through a lot of points every year. I'll give you a list of our vacations over 2017 and how many miles or points we needed o secure our flights:

January - Adventures by Disney Winter in Wyoming trip (United first class 200,000 miles)
February - London for the weekend to see Harry Potter & the Cursed Child play (British Airways first class 400,000 miles, 100,000 Club Carlson points for hotel stay)
March - Aulani in Hawaii in first class (American Airlines 74k miles, 90k Citi Thank You points)
June/July - Scotland for a long weekend to see the Fairy Pools "slumming" it in business (British Airways 250,000 miles)
July - San Francisco to see Hamilton first class (American Airlines gift cards from purchases that triggered annual airline credit on credit cards and 35,000 Amex membership rewards points, 24k SPG points to stay at Westin)
August - Adventure by Disney Italy trip (British Airways 200,000 miles and earned travel together ticket with credit card)
November - flew to Iceland in first class (Delta paid with 380,000 UR points, stayed at Hilton forgot how many points but got a point free night too due to length of stay)

So that is over 1.7 million points and miles that DH and I blew through just this past year. We are in 2 player mode when it comes to applications and bonus category earnings but it takes multiple cards to maximize the bonus categories, give us options and maintain 2 - 3 million points and miles. Hope this helps.

Whoa! First time posting after a first time visit to Disney this Christmas as a gift from family.

I think I'm understanding the idea with sign up bonuses, but the churning is where I'm a little lost. For example, the CSP card. After the initial sign up bonus points, are you able to get those again in a few years or then is it simply using the card for purchases to keep building points?

Still have a lot to learn but our goal is to go back on January 2019 for as little as possible!

Thanks everyone!
 
How long after I close a chase card do I need to wait to be eligible for a sign up bonus again. I just got approved for the southwest business and I’ve had a personal for years. If I close that today, when can I reopen it? If I can get the personal sign up bonus, I’ll have enough points for a companion pass.
 
How long after I close a chase card do I need to wait to be eligible for a sign up bonus again. I just got approved for the southwest business and I’ve had a personal for years. If I close that today, when can I reopen it? If I can get the personal sign up bonus, I’ll have enough points for a companion pass.
It’s currently every 24 months you are eligible. So if you close it today, I would wait 30 day (so beginning of Feb) to reapply so they don’t look to reopen the account you just closed.

Oh, and there are two personal cards. So if you only have 1 of them, you could apply for the other now and be on your way sooner.
 
It’s currently every 24 months you are eligible. So if you close it today, I would wait 30 day (so beginning of Feb) to reapply so they don’t look to reopen the account you just closed.

Oh, and there are two personal cards. So if you only have 1 of them, you could apply for the other now and be on your way sooner.
If I have the premiere will they allow me to get the other one? Didn’t know if they had rules like the sapphires?
 
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