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I guess Chase doesn’t want people stockpiling rewards point to use on future travel?
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Sep 30, 2020 01:39
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smackfu posted:I guess Chase doesn’t want people stockpiling rewards point to use on future travel? No, they don't want people ditching their cards because they aren't traveling.
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Sep 30, 2020 01:50
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I don’t see that they’re stopping anyone from accumulating points for travel, just providing a new value prop for the points where the original one has become uncertain.
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Sep 30, 2020 02:00
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I'm thinking of switching away from Chase Freedom. We do just about everything on the credit card and then just pay the whole mess at the end of the month. We can end up blowing something like 3-6k in a month between stores and the bills. I'm thinking one of the blanket 2% cards is going to work out the best for us but I wanted to check first if our situation is in any way peculiar for a specialty card of some kind. We don't really travel or eat out that much.
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Oct 1, 2020 19:45
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Rocko Bonaparte posted:I'm thinking of switching away from Chase Freedom. We do just about everything on the credit card and then just pay the whole mess at the end of the month. We can end up blowing something like 3-6k in a month between stores and the bills. I'm thinking one of the blanket 2% cards is going to work out the best for us but I wanted to check first if our situation is in any way peculiar for a specialty card of some kind. We don't really travel or eat out that much. Just get a Citi double cash for general spend. You can get a Discover IT as well (2% cashback on all purchases and 10% back on categories for the first year) and just check the category once every 3 months (they will also email you to remind you to activate). If you want to min/max, then just use the 2% for everything except the 5% categories. If not, then just use the 2% for everything. The only situation where something would be simpler/better would be if you are really only interested in travel rewards or you have an extremely large amount of cash held by Bank of America.
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Oct 1, 2020 19:53
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Rocko Bonaparte posted:I'm thinking of switching away from Chase Freedom. We do just about everything on the credit card and then just pay the whole mess at the end of the month. We can end up blowing something like 3-6k in a month between stores and the bills. I'm thinking one of the blanket 2% cards is going to work out the best for us but I wanted to check first if our situation is in any way peculiar for a specialty card of some kind. We don't really travel or eat out that much. Keep the Freedom for the rotating 5% categories, grab a 2%, grab something with a high grocery rate like the Amex Blue Cash Everyday (or Preferred if your grocery spending supports it), and also grab a US Bank Cash+ for 5% back on two categories of your choice (I usually go with Home Utilities and TV/Internet for my categories): https://cashplus.usbank.com/merchants/index edit: actually the Freedom Unlimited still has 5% back on groceries for the first year so that might be a great option, too
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Oct 1, 2020 19:54
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Rocko Bonaparte posted:I'm thinking of switching away from Chase Freedom. We do just about everything on the credit card and then just pay the whole mess at the end of the month. We can end up blowing something like 3-6k in a month between stores and the bills. I'm thinking one of the blanket 2% cards is going to work out the best for us but I wanted to check first if our situation is in any way peculiar for a specialty card of some kind. We don't really travel or eat out that much. It's always handy to have the Freedom card on hand, though I rarely use mine these days because 5% back on gas? Ha! The categories just have not made sense for me to use this year. I have several dozen credit cards, but in the best of times if a category fits the Freedom gets moved to the front of my stack to maximize the category until I hit the limit. But if you just want to simplify things, you can get the Freedom Unlimited (CFU) for the 1.5% on everything. With all the new shakeups to the Chase lineup, they have got me hooked with the Chase Freedom, CFU, and the Reserve (CSR) until at least January when my CSR annual fee kicks in. $550 is a steep price to pay ($250 after the $300 travel bux) and I'm hoping they extend the fee reduction through Spring 2021. Especially since much of the Western world is going back into some kind of lockdown. I always have the Citi Doublecash on standby (2% back on everything) for stuff I can't be bothered to figure out the category or how to min/max a purchase. We paid for a lawyer recently with it, it was nice to make a few bucks on the retainer fee. They didn't charge us a fee for using the credit card and I would have no idea what credit category that would have fallen into! I guess I could have used the CFU but straight up cashback made more sense in the moment. Usually this stuff comes down to squeezing out a few extra bucks depending on how much and where you are spending. If it's not worth a huge hassle or having to track stuff, just go with a 2% card. I then just use the cashback for statement credit, which makes everything much easier. Funny, looking back on this post it was just a few years ago I had one crappy Citi card I put everything on. I paid it off every month, but the rewards were crap and I never considered looking into cashback cards or category cards or anything. So many wasted years of missed opportunities!
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Oct 1, 2020 20:10
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Freedom Q4 is 5% Walmart & Paypal Discover Q4 is Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com Make sure to activate if you haven't! By the way, it sounds like most people should have access to this now: astral posted:Paypal now has a "Paypal Key" that gives you a virtual card card number which you can use to pay online at places that don't accept paypal. You get to select which card is charged.
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Oct 1, 2020 20:16
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That's mega dope, just in time for the Freedom / Freedom Flex 5% Paypal bonus. Though that's probably not a coincidence, would be my guess. Does the Paypal Key work exactly like a credit card? Is there any way I can use it to game the system? 
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Oct 2, 2020 00:21
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literally this big posted:That's mega dope, just in time for the Freedom / Freedom Flex 5% Paypal bonus. Though that's probably not a coincidence, would be my guess. It might be considered a debit card by some places, and there are a decent amount that offer more favorable rates when paying with a debit card instead of credit (or block credit, but allow debit). There was at least one report it might code as a cash advance, so I would recommend making sure to lower your cash advance limit on any credit card you want to use it with, just to be safe (good advice in general, to be honest).
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Oct 2, 2020 00:27
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Quaint Quail Quilt posted:I did this in 2018 and it took a year to get to 640. Geez, maybe I should set my limit from $500 to maybe a grand instead, gonna take a couple years to crack the 700 mark 
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Oct 2, 2020 02:15
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astral posted:According to DoC, Chase's Pay Yourself Back feature for the Sapphire cards has been extended to April 30, 2021, and still includes groceries! That's dope. I missed the first round and have no travel for the foreseeable future, so I just went in now and redeemed out almost $2,000
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Oct 2, 2020 02:35
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Keep in mind the PayPal key is also useful for places that accept MasterCard but may not accept another card you want to use. I bought a set of tires with Discover last month and it came in use nicely.
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Oct 2, 2020 05:25
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Given that most of the money I used to spend on restaurants is now being spent on groceries I think I'm going to end up getting a larger actual bonus out of the Freedom Flex than I did from the CSR between the rotating categories, sign up bonus, and 5X on groceries for the first year. Chase is going hard with this card.
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Oct 4, 2020 13:09
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Mastercard holders can get 2 free months of Instacart Express (free delivery on $35+ orders): https://www.instacart.com/mastercard (redeemable between October 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 11:59pm PT) Terms: https://www.instacart.com/help/section/360008747572/360049943892
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Oct 4, 2020 19:34
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astral posted:Mastercard holders can get 2 free months of Instacart Express (free delivery on $35+ orders): Wow nice thanks for this. Just signed up with my Paypal Mastercard
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Oct 4, 2020 20:41
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Southwest is offering 30,000 points plus a Companion Pass (good through 12/31/2020) on new Rapid Rewards Plus cards.
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Oct 5, 2020 18:42
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For referrals, Freedom is no longer available and Freedom Unlimited is now merged with Freedom Flex with a new link. I updated my links on the referral spreadsheet, but most of the others are dead. Should maybe update or make a new tab for the Flex, or merge the tab with Unlimited since it'll be the same link. And I guess clear out the dead ones at some point.
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Oct 5, 2020 20:25
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runawayturtles posted:For referrals, Freedom is no longer available and Freedom Unlimited is now merged with Freedom Flex with a new link. I updated my links on the referral spreadsheet, but most of the others are dead. Should maybe update or make a new tab for the Flex, or merge the tab with Unlimited since it'll be the same link. And I guess clear out the dead ones at some point. I'll nuke it and start over, it's better to drop the cruft every now and them. I'm considering wiping all the posts every two months and posting in thread. Let me know what you think.
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Oct 5, 2020 22:10
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runawayturtles posted:For referrals, Freedom is no longer available and Freedom Unlimited is now merged with Freedom Flex with a new link. I updated my links on the referral spreadsheet, but most of the others are dead. Should maybe update or make a new tab for the Flex, or merge the tab with Unlimited since it'll be the same link. And I guess clear out the dead ones at some point. Great news, I was just about to apply for the Flex since I just saw the grocery store offer this morning and you're the only one in the new sheet (besides me) so I'll use your link.
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Oct 5, 2020 22:13
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I can't find my link for the Freedom Flex anywhere... I purged some old records from the sheet and then added the new referals. Let me know if it works.
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Oct 5, 2020 22:20
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It seems to be working, I added my link to the Freedom cards. Not CC related, but you could add a section for a Robinhood referral (both people get a free random stock added to their account) and the NetSpend 5% high yield savings account (both people get a $20 bonus added to their accounts).
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Oct 6, 2020 00:30
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Wow, I'm really glad I found this thread, never knew it existed. I tried reading Reddit, but it's really difficult to parse through all the info they offer. It's a lot of great insights, but it's hard to ingest and I always feel like the discussions change so rapidly. I'm currently at 1/24 with a CSP card I got last week. I'm already halfway at 2k in spend and will probably get the bonus next month (lots of medical bills..). I'm trying to figure out what my next move is for a juicy bonus. The trouble is that I am not really looking for airline rewards, just hotel stays as our family likes to do weekend trips and stay at places that have huge pools and such. Since we're gonna be getting 80k in UR, is my understanding of the "order of operations" in spending the UR correct? #1: Use pay yourself back on groceries #2: Book hotels through CSP points for 1.25 redemption #3: Basically leave the points there for future redemption (I reckon if I get a ton of points I'd upgrade to CSR to get 1.5 redemption) or transfer the points to other partners like Hyatt. Once I get my bonus, there's not much of a reason to use it anymore, correct? Unless I wanted the benefits of extended warranty, primary rental insurance, >2% back category? I have a Fidelity 2% for everything else. Is there a recommended way to get spend in? Or are folks here just getting their natural spend in, then buying VGCs/Plastiq and the like? One of my BILs always stays in hotels using points, and I only realized this when he started paying for all our dinners with a "Dining Everywhere Card" he got from Office Depot or something and asking us to Venmo him half the bill back. I got kinda sick of subsidizing his points so I just started rolling with my own card and tossing mine in to split the bill.
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Oct 6, 2020 06:19
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Shear Modulus posted:Great news, I was just about to apply for the Flex since I just saw the grocery store offer this morning and you're the only one in the new sheet (besides me) so I'll use your link. Thanks, that'll be my first one after all these years.  Bank posted:Since we're gonna be getting 80k in UR, is my understanding of the "order of operations" in spending the UR correct? Eh, I wouldn't put it that way exactly. Your points can be worth different amounts depending on the redemption option, so it really comes down to value vs. effort and timing. Your points are theoretically worth the most by transferring to hotels and airlines, but that depends on finding a high value booking that you want (and currently, on traveling in the first place). Many people accept the 1.5 for CSR/1.25 for CSP cents per point as an acceptable value for the convenience of just booking travel through their site (or currently using pay yourself back)... even more so right now due to the uncertainty of when those points could otherwise be used, and whether you'll still be paying for the CSR/CSP at that time.
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Oct 6, 2020 07:03
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I've added a few cards that came to me in PMs. I'm not going to add a Robinhood link since it's basically a criminal enterprise and I'd rather not be a venue for Goons to start WSB style nonsense.
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Oct 6, 2020 15:09
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My apologies if this has been brought up a bunch of times, the threat is just too large and search sucks too bad. I need to put a down payment on a car, and rather than empty my bank account, I'd like to be able to put it on a credit card, until I sell my own vehicle. It would probably only be a week or two between closing on the new car, and selling the old one, but it could be up to a month. I have several credit cards, with high limits, and a very good credit rating (800+). Is there such a thing as asking one of them to let me make a single large purchase with a low or possibly 0% apr? Another option is just pick the card with the lowest interest rate and use that. or open up an entirely new card with a 0% APR introductory fee, but that seems silly, since I already have several. Feel free to tell me that I'm being silly, but I just have this anxiety about making very large purchases and taking a lot of money out of my personal account. null_pointer fucked around with this message at 19:11 on Oct 10, 2020 |
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Oct 10, 2020 19:06
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Many car dealerships will let you put a few thousand dollars on a credit card to use towards a down payment. They will probably charge a 2-3% fee for this, because it costs them money to accept a credit card. If they don't, there's negotiating room in there somewhere. If you're taking out non-dealership financing, you'll probably have a very hard time using a credit card to cover the down payment. Dealerships are more willing to do it because it means they get to put you in a car, which is how they actually make their money. The most straightforward way to get a 0% APR is to just open a new card. Amex does have a "Plan It" feature that lets you split a large payment into smaller ones, but part of the deal is that it's a fixed fee - you pay for the privilege of borrowing money, and you don't even get to shave off interest by paying it down earlier. Generally, credit card companies are willing to cut you a deal when you're opening a card, because they're willing to invest money to get you as a customer. They're much less willing to give you benefits that cost them money (interest-free loans, point hauls) when you're already carrying their card. If you're worried about timing, get quotes to buy your old car from Carmax and Carvana. They will buy your car quickly - within an hour or so (Carmax, on-site) to a few days (Carvana, since they have to send somebody out to inspect it and pick it up). They won't pay as much as you could get in a private party sale, but the quotes can be better than you'd expect.
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Oct 10, 2020 19:33
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I'm pretty sure I put the down payment on my last car, which was all of about 2k, on my credit card with no issues. Just paid it off on the bill like normal. I doubt the dealership / car lot is interested in eating the fees on a large transaction, but they might be motivated to get a deal done (or if they're already screwing you out of that money elsewhere). That's assuming you're paying your cards in full each month. You don't owe interest until after the bill cuts and the grace period after that hits.
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Oct 10, 2020 19:33
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null_pointer, there's no reason not to get another card if it offers you a tangible benefit. No reason to pay interest on something if you don't need/want to, either. Also, I've heard a rumor that if you negotiate the payment setup before mentioning a credit card, they'll be less likely to bake in the credit card fees.
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Oct 10, 2020 19:37
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Yeah, wait till they send you back to the credit person then say you gotta run home to get a check book or we can put it on the card. They do not want you to leave and think further about your purchase.
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Oct 10, 2020 21:15
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null_pointer posted:My apologies if this has been brought up a bunch of times, the threat is just too large and search sucks too bad. 
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Oct 10, 2020 21:35
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To be fair, there was only one old result for "down payment" anyway.
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Oct 10, 2020 21:45
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astral posted:To be fair, there was only one old result for "down payment" anyway. Yeah, I couldn't find the magic search terms, and gave up. More info to come.
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Oct 10, 2020 22:41
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astral posted:Also, I've heard a rumor that if you negotiate the payment setup before mentioning a credit card, they'll be less likely to bake in the credit card fees. I've only bought used but was able to avoid fee because through a series of calls I established that I'd be paying through AMEX and on the day of the sale had a handshake agreement on my cost "out the door" So after any closing, licensing, and credit card fees my cost was what we shook on. Also, keep in mind that if you time the purchase to be just after the closing of a statement cycle, you'll have close to 2 months before paying interest.
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Oct 11, 2020 03:33
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I figure this is the closest thread to what I'm looking for. I don't want a credit card recommendation, but rather an online bank recommendation: - I have multiple tenants who pay rent, they like to pay late or in weird partial amounts so it is extremely difficult to track. My current bank account I can't even review the check images (I can see imaged of checks I write but not those I deposit) so I have to rifle through my paper copies and figure things out. Worse yet the bank only lets me go back 6 months online. - There's also security deposits which legally I'm supposed to keep in separate accounts and track interest on to give back to them. My current bank doesn't let me name the accounts and sometimes when I do an online check deposit it goes into the wrong account and fucks everything up - My bank allows me to deposit checks by phone but they have a $3000 limit. Sometimes I have bigger checks than that (like if someone is catching up on a late payment) and I don't want to have to drive to a branch. So is there some kind of online bank that has: 1) Really long transaction history (preferably go back to the beginning of time with images of all checks incoming and outgoing) 2) Allows me to make lots of named sub-accounts 3) Can do a mobile phone check deposit of very large amounts
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Oct 12, 2020 04:38
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I guess I'm on the hook for buying a bunch of apple poo poo Is it worth it to get the Apple card? Looks like 3% off, which doesn't quite nullify the sales tax, but close enough, plus I can put it on a 0% apr payment plan (could buy it in cash but, nah) Apple card has a pretty good credit limit right? And no annual fee? Any other cards I should consider? I have just an Amex and two scrub tier cards right now
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Oct 12, 2020 04:52
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Hadlock posted:I guess I'm on the hook for buying a bunch of apple poo poo Do you have to buy it directly from Apple? Discover has 5% categories this quarter for Amazon.com, Walmart.com, and Target.com. Cashback match would double that amount after the first year. Alternatively, the Chase Freedom (Flex) has 5% back at Walmart and Paypal - combine with the paypal key and anywhere that takes Mastercard would give 5% back this quarter.
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Oct 12, 2020 06:00
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astral posted:Do you have to buy it directly from Apple? Discover has 5% categories this quarter for Amazon.com, Walmart.com, and Target.com. Cashback match would double that amount after the first year. I've got a Chase Freedom but the bonus is only good for $1500 in spend which is like half a MacBook nowadays?
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Oct 12, 2020 07:28
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Zero VGS posted:I figure this is the closest thread to what I'm looking for. I don't want a credit card recommendation, but rather an online bank recommendation: 18 months activity online with check images. Statements are available to start of account. Easy to make new accounts. No issue depositing large checks, funds availability may vary especially over $25k. Maybe one of the other online banks has better activity available though? One thing to watch out for is if anyone pays by money order, which can be hard / impossible to online deposit.
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Oct 12, 2020 13:31
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BofA has 18m history and mobile check deposits cap at 50 or 100k a month. Something like that. The named account thing might be more of a pain though. I thought local banks were usually the ones setup for these kind of businesses.
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Oct 12, 2020 14:14
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