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wow, glad I read this thread. You have two Sapphire reserve cards? That's 200k points, nice! I'm in the middle of reorganizing my cc's and thought about DH getting one or one for the business. I'll have to look into that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by unknown00
confused, so you are signing up for 2 credit cards? 2 credit checks? 2 more lines of credit? bleh...
My wife and I both have our own CSR so yes we did get 200k in ultimate rewards sign on bonus. We do this with a fair amount of the sign up bonus offers
I put 5-7k on my Amex buying a used accord a couple years back don't remember the exact amount but you can push them a bit on it typcially
Depends on the dealer. When I got my audi and just got my csp the max they would let me charge was 2500. Considering I signed up for the card thru the branch I only needed to spend 3k. Wish they would have kept it like that for the car. I do get my 100k this billing cycle so I'm happy.
Depends on the dealer. When I got my audi and just got my csp the max they would let me charge was 2500. Considering I signed up for the card thru the branch I only needed to spend 3k. Wish they would have kept it like that for the car. I do get my 100k this billing cycle so I'm happy.
Sure the amount will vary but you can typcially use the CC even if they balk at first
I churn airline loyalty credit cards from time to time to get the promotional FT miles and the year of free card. At 1 year, I cancel the card. I keep some of the cards even though they're canceled because you can get early boarding so you have somewhere to stuff your roll-aboard.
20 years ago, I used to pay credit card fees on Amex/Delta and American cards. As the FT programs got worse, I did the math and worked out that it's better for me to use a 2% cash back card like the Citi DoubleCash card and buy airline tickets. The FT points were basically worth a penny and I could get 2 cents as cash back. I got rid of those fee-based cards 8 years ago and switched to cash-back cards.
This all depends on your travel pattern. I used to do summer ski trips to Chile. At the time, American had a great deal on flights using FT points in September so I could get to Chile for the amount of miles it would usually take to do a domestic flight. When US Airways bought/merged with American, that program vanished. They also used to have a good off peak Europe FT deal that has gone away and they killed the Boston/London-Heathrow morning flight I used to take.
I just use the Chase United Mileage Plus card. Pay our massive monthly daycare bill with it as well as the rest of our bills and other large purchases, pay it off in full every month.
It's not the best for Perks, but I do use the MileagePlusX app on my phone to generate gift cards to a lot of places I shop (including Amazon), and that generates miles quickly when you use it in conjunction with your United card.
I travel a fair bit for work, and being in Houston, it's usually on United. So far in 2016 I've racked up about 280k miles between travel, bill paying, and the MileagePlusX App.
confused, so you are signing up for 2 credit cards? 2 credit checks? 2 more lines of credit? bleh...
If you have excellent credit the credit check hits don't matter too much. As for lines of credit yes you have high lines of credit between the cc's but that doesn't mean you use it. You just have to plan, know which card to use and make sure you pay it off in full every month. When DH and I get free flight, free hotels at very nice places, it's worth it.
My brother had the same attitude but complained he couldn't afford to go on vacation. Since I take care of moms finances I got her to apply for SWA so I could set up auto pay for her bills (much easier). She gave my brother a nice xmas gift ... she used her points to buy my brother and his gf tickets to go to FL with us. I used Amex SPG points for the hotel with two queen beds ocean front. I could have used points for car rental but didn't. Aside from dinners out they got a free vacation and we all had a great time.
After returning he wanted to know how to do it so I helped him get set up. He set his bills up on auto pay using the credit card and at the end of the month the cc account is set up to automatically pay full balance from his checking. Funny, bills straggle in, he complained about finding time to sit down to pay his bills. It takes a little time in setting it up in the beginning but in the end it saves him time every month. Sure there is a yearly fee but you can't even pay an accountant to take care of your bills every month for what you pay.
Originally Posted by unknown00 View Post
confused, so you are signing up for 2 credit cards? 2 credit checks? 2 more lines of credit? bleh...
Another case of .. those who plan in life get the most out of life
- Build good credit,
- Get a CC for air miles
- Get a CC for hotel points (with some CC's you can use points for air and hotel),
- Make sure you have online Air and Hotel points account (example SW rewards account and SPG rewards account)
- Set up bills (online accounts) to be paid by CC every month,
- Set up online CC account and set up to withdrawal FULL amount due every month
- When bills come in the mail, open and file in the current months folder.
- When CC bill comes in review to make sure nothing is on it that shouldn't be. (I get a paper cc bill sent to me)
* make sure you have enough in your checking account to cover cc payment (extra just in case),
* If you have to make a larger purchase buy after the closing date to give extra time to pay. Shouldn't have to use this but just in case,
* CC interest takes money out of your pocket that could be used for better purposes. (how many hours do you work to pay interest alone?)
* Bills tend to straggle in during the month. Having your bill pay automated saves you time and you'll won't be late. Sure you could set up bank autopay but you get nothing.
* keep credit card usage down (I think it's below 40% ??? of total credit available) to keep FICO score up (learn about Fico scores).
Any other tips? Always interested in learning to maximize money, time and rewards lol
I travel a fair bit for work, and being in Houston, it's usually on United.
You should take a close look at the new Chase Sapphire Reserve card. It carries a hefty $450 annual fee which is not waived for the first year of card ownership, but it's currently offering 100,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points (transferable to United's MileagePlus program) after $5,000 spend in the first three months of card ownership, offers 3x points on travel and dining (both of which are defined very liberally), reimbursement of your Global Entry or TSA Pre-check application fee, Priority Pass lounge membership, auto rental insurance which offers primary coverage, and a $300 annual travel credit (to name the primary benefits I can remember off the top of my head). It's a great card for folks who travel a lot on United!
And you can get an extra benefit if your time your card application right; the travel credit is issued on a calendar year basis, but the annual fee is on a 12-month cycle. I got my card in early November 2016, and bought an airline ticket that same month for a flight I intend to take in the spring, so I got a $300 travel credit on my November statement. In early 2017 I'll buy another ticket for a flight I need to take in the fall, and I will receive a second $300 travel credit when I do, since the credits are yearly - but I won't pay another annual fee until November 2017, when my second year of card ownership begins. So I will have received $600 worth of travel credits in my first 12 months of card ownership, while paying only a $450 annual fee. Sweet! You could do the same if you applied for the card in February or March of next year (I'd hold off applying for now, as you might not get the card in time to make $300 worth of travel charges before the December 2016 statement closes.) The risk, of course, is that the bonus point offer may go down before you apply, but that's a risk I'd be wiling to take if I didn't already have the card.
You should take a close look at the new Chase Sapphire Reserve card. It carries a hefty $450 annual fee which is not waived for the first year of card ownership, but it's currently offering 100,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points (transferable to United's MileagePlus program) after $5,000 spend in the first three months of card ownership, offers 3x points on travel and dining (both of which are defined very liberally), reimbursement of your Global Entry or TSA Pre-check application fee, Priority Pass lounge membership, auto rental insurance which offers primary coverage, and a $300 annual travel credit (to name the primary benefits I can remember off the top of my head). It's a great card for folks who travel a lot on United!
And you can get an extra benefit if your time your card application right; the travel credit is issued on a calendar year basis, but the annual fee is on a 12-month cycle. I got my card in early November 2016, and bought an airline ticket that same month for a flight I intend to take in the spring, so I got a $300 travel credit on my November statement. In early 2017 I'll buy another ticket for a flight I need to take in the fall, and I will receive a second $300 travel credit when I do, since the credits are yearly - but I won't pay another annual fee until November 2017, when my second year of card ownership begins. So I will have received $600 worth of travel credits in my first 12 months of card ownership, while paying only a $450 annual fee. Sweet! You could do the same if you applied for the card in February or March of next year (I'd hold off applying for now, as you might not get the card in time to make $300 worth of travel charges before the December 2016 statement closes.) The risk, of course, is that the bonus point offer may go down before you apply, but that's a risk I'd be wiling to take if I didn't already have the card.
Oh gee (problem). Nice, I was confused about the terms but now I get it. Ok, now I'm looking for suggestions. I applied and was approved a short time ago and the card is on it's way. I did it now to time it with a larger purchase I will be making at the end of the month. We will be going next month but I have so many air miles that I hate to use it for buying an airline ticket. If I make arrangements for a hotel room the room isn't paid for until checkout. I was thinking about putting money on the cruise but we didn't decide where to yet. I wonder, if we make plans but change the cruise reservation will they credit the card or will they apply a credit to the new cruise plans.
I'm looking for idea's? I better get moving on the plans I guess.
You should take a close look at the new Chase Sapphire Reserve card. It carries a hefty $450 annual fee which is not waived for the first year of card ownership, but it's currently offering 100,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points (transferable to United's MileagePlus program) after $5,000 spend in the first three months of card ownership, offers 3x points on travel and dining (both of which are defined very liberally), reimbursement of your Global Entry or TSA Pre-check application fee, Priority Pass lounge membership, auto rental insurance which offers primary coverage, and a $300 annual travel credit (to name the primary benefits I can remember off the top of my head). It's a great card for folks who travel a lot on United!
And you can get an extra benefit if your time your card application right; the travel credit is issued on a calendar year basis, but the annual fee is on a 12-month cycle. I got my card in early November 2016, and bought an airline ticket that same month for a flight I intend to take in the spring, so I got a $300 travel credit on my November statement. In early 2017 I'll buy another ticket for a flight I need to take in the fall, and I will receive a second $300 travel credit when I do, since the credits are yearly - but I won't pay another annual fee until November 2017, when my second year of card ownership begins. So I will have received $600 worth of travel credits in my first 12 months of card ownership, while paying only a $450 annual fee. Sweet! You could do the same if you applied for the card in February or March of next year (I'd hold off applying for now, as you might not get the card in time to make $300 worth of travel charges before the December 2016 statement closes.) The risk, of course, is that the bonus point offer may go down before you apply, but that's a risk I'd be wiling to take if I didn't already have the card.
It might be something for me to consider in the future, but for now I'm pretty content and have enough United miles saved up to take the entire family on a few international vacations...
Some of the perks are a wash for me, for instance I get Global Entry/TSA PreCheck paid for by my employer. Lounge membership sounds cool, but my few visits to the United Lounge haven't blown me away.
But thanks for the good info, it does seem like a good way to churn miles for the future.
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