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So apparently in the process of getting an apartment in the SF bay area I had to pull my credit and my credit is coming in as 730-757 (!!). The credit score calculator on Capital One is gaming my score as being around 680. Probably because my credit history is less than one year. I have about 30,000 miles with American which probably isn't a lot to most people but it is to me. American's hub is out of Dallas though. United and a couple of others have SFO and other bay area airports as their west coast hubs. I have about 18,000 miles with United? Looking for a no annual fee card with some sort of reward, preferably airline miles. Maybe American, maybe United? I expect to take several long distance flights, probably international out of there over the next 18 months. I don't drive (gas) and I don't spend much on groceries. Hadlock fucked around with this message at 06:53 on Nov 19, 2015 |
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Nov 19, 2015 06:50
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Hadlock posted:Looking for a no annual fee card with some sort of reward, preferably airline miles. Maybe American, maybe United? I expect to take several long distance flights, probably international out of there over the next 18 months. I don't drive (gas) and I don't spend much on groceries.
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Nov 19, 2015 06:53
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Bank of America Travel Rewards may be good. 1.5% back, 3% for travel booked through the site, no annual fee, chip and sig, no FTF.
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Nov 19, 2015 08:39
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The Chase Sapphire Preferred has a temporarily high bonus, is difficult to get if you've gotten more than a few cards recently (so you should jump on it early), and transfers to United. It has an annual fee, but it's waived for the first year.
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Nov 19, 2015 14:54
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ETB posted:Bank of America Travel Rewards may be good. 1.5% back, 3% for travel booked through the site, no annual fee, chip and sig, no FTF. BofA Travel rewards is undervalued by a lot of people I think. The main stipulation is that to redeem the rewards you have to redeem against travel related categories. So you have to have spend on the card for rental cars, hotels, airfare, or certain amusements. So you can just earn and dump back on the card for an ongoing discount, you actually have to go somewhere to credit your points back. BUT, not only does it start at 1.5% everywhere, it also gets a bonus based on your BofA relationship, including investments with Merrill and MerrillEdge. So if you have more than 50k in combined investments and banking you get a 50% bonus plus free trades at Merrill Edge. Over 100k nets you a 75% points bonus. So that card can be up to a 2.625% everywhere earner. Plus the other preferred rewards benefits (ATM fees, etc.). If you're already all-in with BofA or looking to consolidate investments + banking it can be a really valuable set of benefits.
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Nov 19, 2015 18:37
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The "travel" redemption guidelines are pretty relaxed, if I recall correctly. Works for amusement parks, parking...
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Nov 19, 2015 18:46
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ETB posted:The "travel" redemption guidelines are pretty relaxed, if I recall correctly. Works for amusement parks, parking... Amusement parks yes. My local Zoo for yes. ParkingSpot parking at DFW no. I'm just saying it isn't as easy as "give me cash back", you have to have something moderately travel related to cash in on. That being said, it doesn't take much hotel or rental-car spend to give you a nice redemption target for 12 months. And you can partially redeem as you get the points so long as you had a valid charge in the last 12.
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Nov 19, 2015 19:51
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$0.01 to $0.01 redemption value is certainly all well and good. It just pales in comparison to the potential for $0.01 to $0.03-ish for points transfers out to partners and other loyalty programs. However, I think that a lot of people are in a better position to regularly redeem BoA points but not always in a position to take advantage of the bigger travel redemptions.
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Nov 19, 2015 19:59
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Insane Totoro posted:$0.01 to $0.01 redemption value is certainly all well and good. It just pales in comparison to the potential for $0.01 to $0.03-ish for points transfers out to partners and other loyalty programs. I think pale in comparison is overstating it. If you have the best multiplier you earn 2.65 points per dollar spent, or $0.02625. Amex, Chase, Citi, or SPG points may be more valuable per point, but on general spend you only earn 1 point per dollar. It of course comes down to how much you value these points, but in my experience over $0.02 is high unless you value business/first class flights at cost or are willing to structure your vacations around the best deal.
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Nov 19, 2015 20:39
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I currently have a Barclaycard Arrival+ (which I got in January at the suggestion of this thread) and a Chase Sapphire not-Preferred (which I never use). The Arrival+ has provided a pretty nice cash back rate over the year, but it looks like it got worse recently, and I think it'll make sense to downgrade it soon to avoid the annual fee. So, I'm looking for the next card, and I just got married recently so it'll be my first joint card as well. We're currently lucky that we can pay rent with a card, making our monthly spending around 88% rent, with the rest going to groceries, restaurants, and travel. As a result we can currently meet pretty much any bonus with a spending requirement. Unfortunately, we're likely moving in mid-2016 and at that point will lose the ability to do this. I was thinking of just getting the Citi Double Cash, since there's no fee and it's an all-around solid choice, especially when our rent spending goes away. But maybe we should get one with a big sign-up bonus while we still can, and then switch to the Double Cash after we move? Whatever we do, I just want it to be straightforward; I don't want to have to research point conversion and return rates and such, I just want to get some solid cash back. Thoughts on the best course of action?
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Nov 20, 2015 18:16
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Personally, I'd go DoubleCash and be done with it. Tack on the Quicksilver CapitalOne or Bank Travel Americard for travel: 1.5% cash back, chip+sig, and no FTF. I think either travel cards have a sign-up bonus, so you could start with that and then transition to the Citi DoubleCash.
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Nov 20, 2015 18:22
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Here's a good vox article about why SPG will likely be poo poo for the common man after the merger. RIP SPG. http://www.vox.com/2015/11/19/9760798/spg-merger-marriott
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Nov 20, 2015 21:06
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Are there any legit churn options still out there? Barclays just offered 30k bonus miles for 15k spend split over 6 months (2.5k/mo).
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Nov 21, 2015 18:21
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I'm new to this game and I'm wondering if there is a downside to cards associated with regional carriers? I'm in Minneapolis, so something like https://booksy.suncountry.com/Visa/Index/J6RGK6Q3S8ZYG/006 seems to worth doing for a few months since the spend is so low, and canceling before the annual fee. Am I missing something?
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Nov 21, 2015 20:07
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FunOne posted:Are there any legit churn options still out there? Barclays just offered 30k bonus miles for 15k spend split over 6 months (2.5k/mo). What do you mean by legit churn options? Cards you can get multiple of in a year? What you posted is just a run of the bill spending bonus for a card someone already has.
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Nov 21, 2015 20:47
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pig slut lisa posted:What do you mean by legit churn options? Cards you can get multiple of in a year? What you posted is just a run of the bill spending bonus for a card someone already has. I mean things I can do to churn spend on the card for little to no cost. Like the old Treasury department orders. Or reloadable cards.
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Nov 21, 2015 23:00
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FunOne posted:I mean things I can do to churn spend on the card for little to no cost. Like the old Treasury department orders. Or reloadable cards. The common term is manufactured spend (MS) for that. Churn is getting multiple of the same card for the signup points. To put a lot of spend on a card, I've just been buying 10 $500 visa debit cards at the mall for $40. If I'm feeling cheap and don't want to pay anything out of pocket, I'll split the order with a 2% back card to break even. So $3000 on the points card, $2000 on the FIA amex. Then hit walmart with the serve to unload the cards. This is getting to the point I only want to do it for minimum spends though. Its too much work/risk just for random 3000 points/miles (or $60 if I put it all on the FIA amex). For SPG points it was kinda worth it, but now.... RIP redbird.
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Nov 22, 2015 01:39
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Baddog posted:Then hit walmart with the serve to unload the cards.
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Nov 22, 2015 14:39
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dexter6 posted:What does this step mean? I get how to purchase cards for very cheaply, but what do you unload them into/onto? Load giftcards onto an AmEx Serve card, then transfer the money back into your bank account and pay off the credit cards.
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Nov 22, 2015 16:34
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Baddog posted:
Could I follow this example on a new Citi AAdvantage card to get the introductory 50k miles, or would they recognize the transactions and not honor the spend? New to all of this.
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Nov 22, 2015 16:57
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spongeworthy posted:Could I follow this example on a new Citi AAdvantage card to get the introductory 50k miles, or would they recognize the transactions and not honor the spend? That's exactly what a lot of people do. These are the only things that don't count as purchases for the purposes of minimum spending: quote:Balance transfers, cash advances, account fees, interest and items returned for credit are not purchases. American Airlines AAdvantageŽ bonus miles typically will appear as a bonus in your AAdvantageŽ account 8-10 weeks after you have met the purchase requirements. Miles may be earned on purchases made by primary cardmembers and authorized users. Miles earned will be posted to the primary cardmember's AAdvantageŽ account.
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Nov 22, 2015 17:18
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SuperSpiff posted:That's exactly what a lot of people do. These are the only things that don't count as purchases for the purposes of minimum spending: becoming posted:Load giftcards onto an AmEx Serve card, then transfer the money back into your bank account and pay off the credit cards. I just walk up to a cashier and tell them I want to put the gift cards on my Serve card? I see three Serve cards available, guessing the most basic one will do?
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Nov 22, 2015 18:03
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spongeworthy posted:I just walk up to a cashier and tell them I want to put the gift cards on my Serve card? http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/gift-cards-load-bluebird-serve-walmart/ http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/the-complete-guide-to-bluebird-redcard-serve-and-softserve/ http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/american-express-serve-types-guide/
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Nov 22, 2015 18:10
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Just a reminder: ask your family and friends (especially the less Internet savvy older folks) if you can make any large purchases on their behalf and they can give you cash for it. You'd be surprised how many people jump at the chance if they know you can shop around and get them a good deal. Winter (Christmas) is coming
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Nov 22, 2015 19:02
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spongeworthy posted:I just walk up to a cashier and tell them I want to put the gift cards on my Serve card? I use the OneVIP, no fees if you put at least $500 on it a month. I haven't tried loading it at the cashier, since the lines and cashiers are always a shitshow at walmart. The people at the moneycenter or customer service (wherever there is no line) have been pretty cool about loading a bunch of cards. There is an ATM at some walmarts you can load the cards at and people seem to like, but (1) its loving slow as poo poo (2) it doesn't recognize cards or breaks in other ways often (3) you can apparently only load 1499 every 10 minutes or it locks up. So I just talk to people to do it. People also buy gift cards online through various cash back portals which is supposedly more lucrative, but it seems to me like there is a lot more opportunity to get hosed in various ways doing that. With less recourse. And you still have to unload the gift cards somehow, so you probably still end up at Walmart.
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Nov 22, 2015 19:31
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Thanks for the replies. Gonna try this out rather than incurring $90 in fees for paying my rent.
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Nov 22, 2015 19:51
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spongeworthy posted:Thanks for the replies. Gonna try this out rather than incurring $90 in fees for paying my rent. Save all receipts until the money is cleared and you have it back in your bank acct. If you buy a compromised card, it's the only way to get your money back.
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Nov 22, 2015 20:09
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Historically, I've been keeping my utilization ratio with my only credit card at about 30%. If I'm aiming to reduce it to 10% starting this month, how long do I have to keep it up before it will start to effect my credit score?
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Nov 23, 2015 17:31
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Blakkout posted:Historically, I've been keeping my utilization ratio with my only credit card at about 30%. If I'm aiming to reduce it to 10% starting this month, how long do I have to keep it up before it will start to effect my credit score? No history component to utilization. It will affect your FICO scores as soon as your card issuer reports the lower balance to the bureaus. That having been said, the difference between 30% and 10% is pretty minimal, as far as FICO is concerned. For example, if you are at 750, you might see a bump to 755.
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Nov 23, 2015 18:22
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spongeworthy posted:Thanks for the replies. Gonna try this out rather than incurring $90 in fees for paying my rent. Whatever you do, read, read, read. You don't want to get stuck with $5k in gift cards and be unable to unload them. If you have questions, ask before doing anything. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending-719/ Thanks to MS and churning, I just redeemed 195,000 AA miles for 2 business class flights on Qatar from Miami to Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Rome. The cost of the tickets would have been ~$22,500. I'll be redeeming either Amex MR>avios or Alaska miles to get back to the US from Italy. Plus I have 130k Hilton/75k SPG/60k IHG for hotel stays while there. MS is worth it, just make sure you do your homework!
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Nov 24, 2015 02:53
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Cacafuego posted:Whatever you do, read, read, read. You don't want to get stuck with $5k in gift cards and be unable to unload them. If you have questions, ask before doing anything. Thanks. It seems I mainly need to insure that the gift card I purchase is eligible to be transferred to Amex Serve. Is there anything else I should be chiefly concerned with?
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Nov 24, 2015 04:37
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spongeworthy posted:Thanks. It seems I mainly need to insure that the gift card I purchase is eligible to be transferred to Amex Serve. Is there anything else I should be chiefly concerned with? Keep an eye out for altered gift card packaging (fraud). Never float more than than you can afford to cover as MS can change at any time.
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Nov 24, 2015 05:16
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spongeworthy posted:Thanks. It seems I mainly need to insure that the gift card I purchase is eligible to be transferred to Amex Serve. Is there anything else I should be chiefly concerned with? Start slow slow slow. When I first got serve, my order of operations was as follows: -Load $100 from my real debit card -Use that $100 to billpay a credit card -After (and only after) the payment posted, order one $200 gift card -Load the $200 gc -Use that $200 to billpay the CC that I used to buy the GC -After (and only after) that payment posted, begin ordering multiple $500 GCs at a time Perhaps an overabundance of caution, but I'd rather go slow than end up with thousands in gift card cash to liquidate (or worse, it goes missing).
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Nov 24, 2015 12:25
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Cacafuego posted:Keep an eye out for altered gift card packaging (fraud). Never float more than than you can afford to cover as MS can change at any time. Agree with this but would stress that at least from my perspective (and maybe this is what cacafuego means to) "cover" means "lose". Maybe you're ordering gift cards online and they get lost in the mail and the vendor won't process your claim. Maybe you accidentally buy a tampered GC. Whatever happens, you should still be able to pay all necessary expenses without needing to carry even a short-term interest-generating balance on your credit card. In my case, my maximum float was $2,000. Would have sucked to lose that but it would not have forced me to scramble to make ends meet.
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Nov 24, 2015 12:32
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pig slut lisa posted:Start slow slow slow. When I first got serve, my order of operations was as follows: Good info. I do intend to take it slow before ramping up, and I will be paying some bills over the next three months with it, so that will take care of a decent chunk of the required spend. From what I can tell so far from research, some of the cards recommended here might no longer work? I'm sure this list isn't all inclusive.
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Nov 24, 2015 16:34
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For that Chase 10% back on Amazon, do Amazon gift cards count? I usually do the bulk of my holiday shopping on Amazon anyway, but don't get anywhere near $1.5k. Is it kosher to just max out the rest with giftcards and basically have 10% off on Amazon for the rest of the year too?
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Nov 24, 2015 20:33
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Amara posted:For that Chase 10% back on Amazon, do Amazon gift cards count? I usually do the bulk of my holiday shopping on Amazon anyway, but don't get anywhere near $1.5k. Is it kosher to just max out the rest with giftcards and basically have 10% off on Amazon for the rest of the year too?
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Nov 24, 2015 21:08
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Amara posted:For that Chase 10% back on Amazon, do Amazon gift cards count? I usually do the bulk of my holiday shopping on Amazon anyway, but don't get anywhere near $1.5k. Is it kosher to just max out the rest with giftcards and basically have 10% off on Amazon for the rest of the year too? Yes, you can even just directly reload your gift card balance. I spend way too much on Amazon and I'm planning large purchases next year to build a high end PC.
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Nov 24, 2015 21:23
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What about gift cards for things not Amazon? Bonefish Grill gift cards make great stuffing stockers!
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Nov 24, 2015 23:42
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This wasn't technically a "reward" but Citi's Price Rewind just saved me $125 on a TV I bought back in September. If you're buying high dollar items for the holidays and using your Citi card, don't forget to enroll the purchases in Price Rewind.
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Nov 25, 2015 00:10
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