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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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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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FunOne posted:Weird experience just now with Citi credit cards. I called to cancel my American Airlines card since I have the Barclays product, they're essentially the same card, and the Barclays card is cheaper. Plus, I figure I can sign back up for the Citi card in 18 months or whatever and get the bonus again. Unless they've recently fixed it, if you were upgraded to the platinum world elite citi AA card (I think everyone is automatically after about 2 months or so) you can reapply and get the bonus again. The system sees the world elite as a different product than the world card so you can effectively bypass the 18 month bonus waiting period. I did it successfully twice this year, others have done it 3 times already
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Nov 30, 2015 19:25
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Elysium posted:Coming up on my Barclaycard Arrival Plus annual fee date (was waived first year). I should probably just downgrade it to the no AF version right? And then just sign up for Chase Sapphire Preferred? Call and ask for retention offers on it first, apparently people have been having success with getting statement credits instead of fee waivers, but that's probably related to how much spend you've put on the card. Either way, try that first. lwoodio posted:I have always used debit and never had a credit card. I want to build my credit in preparation for buying a home. I recently applied for Chase Freedom, Amex Blue Cash, and Capital One Quicksilver, and was denied for all of them. Amex says my score was 605. What should I do next? Well, the first step would be not to have applied for 3 credit cards with a 605 FICO. But, now that that is out of the way, it sounds like you may need to get a secured credit card and build up credit slowly. These offer you a credit line of a low amount (say $500) that you prepay and once you establish a good payment history, banks don't see you as that much of a risk. You can probably do it over 9 months to a year by spending responsibly on it. Do you know a family member with good credit that would trust your responsibility to make you an authorized user on one of their longstanding credit cards? If your low credit score is only a function of a lack of history, then it should come up relatively quick, but if it's due to unpaid debts or a bankruptcy or something, you may have more trouble. Good luck.
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Dec 4, 2015 00:20
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Wells Fargo credit cards offer cellular phone protection for stolen/broken (not lost) phones. All you have to do is pay the bill with the credit card. $25 deductible and they will pay up to $600 for the phone. I think up to 2x per year, but I could be wrong.
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Dec 30, 2015 02:47
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It's pretty well documented that CSP is an instant no if you have >5 in 24mo.
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Jan 5, 2016 23:05
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Barry posted:I bet if there was essentially 0 way to MS (or at least if it wasn't nearly as easy as Redbird/Serve) there would be noticeable improvements in signup bonuses and award redemption rates/availability. Well, we'll find out. I'm willing to bet no, there won't be any improvement. But I'd be glad to be wrong!
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Jan 8, 2016 23:20
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Well, it sounds like you need points soon to book rooms for the fall. Can you complete the minimum spends on a bunch of new cards quickly? Second, check to make sure there are hotels that you would want to stay at near where you're going to be. A couple free nights may not be worth it if you're paying a fortune to get around town because the hotel you chose is too far away from everything. I believe Hyatt, Fairmont and Hilton all have cards that give you 2 free rooms as the sign up bonus.
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Jan 13, 2016 22:10
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asur posted:Anyone else that churns have difficulty with BoA? I got the travel reward card a couple months ago, but when I applied for the Alaska card they denied it due to too many inquiries. The reconsideration guy on the phone sounded shocked and disapproving when he told me the reason for denial was 15+ inquiries over the past year. Yeah, about a month before I applied, I decreased my CL with BofA by $7000, hoping for a second Alaska card, I got instant approved for $2000 - only 5000 Alaska miles. I called to get the visa signature (really wanted the extra 20k miles for a TATL flight) and they had to do a hard pull, I said no problem, it was worth it. It was initially declined for too many inquiries, but I talked the guy into increasing it and Got approved for additional $3000 to $5000. I didn't get any extra miles though, so I called and they said you have to be approved for the visa signature upon application to receive the 25k. I cancelled the card immediately, but they haven't taken back the 5000 miles they gave me. I don't like BofA.
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Jan 14, 2016 22:11
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Booked a trip to the UAE and Italy all on points. I'll need AED in UAE and euros in Italy. Is there a credit card with no for-ex fees that doesn't charge a cash advance fee at foreign ATMs? Are there any American banks that allow fee free debit card withdrawals from foreign ATMs? I have the pen fed platinum rewards visa, I've read conflicting info about cash advance fees for it though.
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Jan 17, 2016 19:39
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Baddog posted:So that citibank american airlines card loophole is definitely closed. Just got my 3rd one and it has the "we see you already got a bonus, so gently caress off" language on the welcome letter. There's a gold or a bronze card with a lower bonus that you may be able to PC to, but dunno if you'll get the bonus. Good luck
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Feb 23, 2016 02:32
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pig slut lisa posted:Yeah you probably won't get the bonus on a product change True, but the only thing they can say is no, worth a shot I suppose
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Feb 23, 2016 02:40
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You want to use personal miles that you can (and should) use for vacation to upgrade your domestic work flights?
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May 22, 2016 15:13
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Don't you have to pay a fee if you have a corporate Amex to receive the MR points? I know I had to pay $90 or $95 last year. At the time I had no MR earning cards beside the corp Amex.
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Jun 8, 2016 14:48
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THF13 posted:The American Express green and gold corporate cards cost $90 to enroll in the membership programs, I think the platinum corporate card is enrolled by default. Yep, I have the green, so $90 for me. Is it yearly or a one time fee? I wish my company would allow me to use my personal cards, but I'll settle for MR points.
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Jun 8, 2016 18:43
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I've never had a problem linking citi accounts online. I always activate online and I have 4 current CCs with them. I don't want to defend them, but I've not had a problem in the past doing this. 
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Jun 22, 2016 11:44
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THF13 posted:2 new accounts in 9 months isn't unusual at all and shouldn't have prevented you from getting another card. I would search for and call Citi's recon line, they might be able to get you approved or at least tell you why you were denied. Yeah, this is correct. Call them and ask for reconsideration. That credit line is fine, you should have plenty of room. Mine is about 2x my salary.
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Jun 24, 2016 02:35
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Yeah probably. The Costco switchover has been a disaster. Apparently citi is inundated with complaint calls.
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Jun 24, 2016 21:58
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Doing some planning around how best to maximise my last tuition spend at the end of next month (final one for me, god willing), and work visa payment at the end of the year. There's always the citi aadvantage gold. It's usually 25k mi for $750 in 3mo I think. I thought I read recently that it was targeted up to 50k, but I could be mistaken.
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Jun 25, 2016 14:29
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Pompous Rhombus posted:So getting the Gold now wouldn't hurt me in a few months when I go to apply for the Platinum, when its 18 month cooldown wears off? I don't think it would. I signed up for 2 platinum AAdvantage cards and got 50k each (world elite loophole which I think is dead now) and an AAdvantage gold (25k) all within the last 12 months. You should be fine.
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Jun 26, 2016 02:47
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Reports are no, you can still get approved if you're over 5/24.
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Aug 16, 2016 13:52
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Spikes32 posted:God dammit I just signed up for the chase sapphire preferred as my first and only travel rewards card Meet the minimum spend, get the bonus, then apply for this one!
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Aug 16, 2016 15:01
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pig slut lisa posted:The bonus on that is 30,000 Skymiles right now, but it jumps up to 50,000 every so often, so I'd wait for that I was targeted for 60k miles and $50 delta credit for $1k spend and got it. I don't know what priority i get for having the card, but my work gives me zone 1, so that just means you board the plane with the other 10 people in zones 1, 2 and 3 after the entire plane boards in the sky priority 'zone'. Delta has too many freq flyers, at least in ATL.
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Aug 22, 2016 18:28
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I really want one as I will use the 3x travel and dining categories, plus I can get the $300 back when I get a airline club membership, but I'm waaaaaaay over 5/24. 
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Aug 23, 2016 02:53
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wyoak posted:Ugh pretty sure I'm 5/24'd on the CSR (got the 7-10 day wait) and won't be out of that for like 18 months. Considering product changing my CSP to it, if the travel credit is per calendar year as opposed to statement year I'll probably do it, but missing that bonus is a bummer. What's the consensus on PC'ing within chase to this card and not getting the bonus? Still worth it? Perhaps my wife will just get it for the bonus and I'll get an AU card. From what I read on DoC, AUs purchasing in the travel category will get the $300 airline credit (not in addition to her getting one, still one total for both of us).
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Aug 23, 2016 22:58
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I thought Amex was generally once per lifetime, unless you get a targeted mailer without the lifetime language. YMMV of course.
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Sep 12, 2016 11:17
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momtartin posted:Nope, no annual fee. I don't have any cards that have an annual fee at this point actually Consensus is to typically to keep it with a small rotating charge as you mentioned.
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Sep 23, 2016 00:07
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Vox Nihili posted:Whoa, so I could do $300 in December and $300 again in January? That's awesome. Be careful, from what I'd read (and it's possible I didn't read it right) the $300 credit you'd get this year has to be in a statement before the year ends and the one for next year can be anytime after 1/1/17. I don't know when your statements close, but I'd err on the safe side and ensure you get the credit early, or just buy flight tickets now for a New Years trip.
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Oct 1, 2016 14:59
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Vox Nihili posted:Anyone else get this? I just got a $150 credit offer on my BoA card if I call in and then start using it again ($500 spend): Yeah, I got that too. I'm going to do it, free $150, why not!
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Oct 6, 2016 15:07
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Congrats, that's quite a haul! Always good to hear success stories. I think I topped out at 14 or 15 successful card bonuses last year until serve cut me off and then only sporadically got some new ones throughout this year.
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Oct 11, 2016 14:01
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Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:Does anyone know how those Paypal money gift cards work? That's pretty much it. I think CVS still allows you to buy them with credit cards. Although, don't do it too much if you value your PayPal account, reports are they'll shut you down
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Oct 12, 2016 02:36
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Vox Nihili posted:The $150 credit already came through 
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Oct 28, 2016 02:12
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FunOne posted:I think I've got 30k Amex points hanging out cause I haven't figure out anything worthwhile to spend them on. Wasn't there something recently about using ~30k MR>Plenti points to buy an iPhone 7? I know I read that somewhere, but forgot about it
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Oct 28, 2016 20:06
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Sits on Pilster posted:One nagging thought is that I should be looking at more travel focused cards, considering my annual outlay on airline tickets. Confirm/deny? If you haven't signed up for many cards within the last 2 years and you're flying that much (or paying that much for flights), I'd probably suggest the chase sapphire preferred or chase sapphire reserve. You'd likely be able to get some of those flights for free with the bonuses at first and additional ones as you spend a lot in flights and decrease your annual airline ticket budget. This may give you a better incentive on a yearly basis than a flat 2% cash back. Someone in here should be able to discuss the pros/cons of the CSP/CSR and the Amex PRG though.
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Nov 7, 2016 18:19
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Sits on Pilster posted:Will look into the two Chase cards mentioned and see if the fee for the CSR is justified in my case. Unfortunately I don't see my annual airline ticket budget decreasing any time soon. Parents and in-laws live on opposite sides of the globe. Sorry, I meant you may be able to decrease the spending you do on airline tickets each year if you're getting the rewards flights for free from the points/miles you get from the chase cards/an airline card. Getting 2 free flights (for example) per year may be worth getting these cards because you'll be saving $ that you would have spent on flights.
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Nov 7, 2016 19:42
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The Slack Lagoon posted:Yea I think I'll just be using my double cash for everything. Does Barclays have a no fee 0 ftf I could convert this card to? Apparently Barclays is now offering the AAviator with a 40k miles bonus for anyone interested. T&C say you can't have had it before. The only way you used to be able to get this was a PC from the old US Air card.
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Dec 16, 2016 17:09
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I got the citi simplicity a while ago for the 18 month (or whatever it was at the time) 0%APR. Is there any reason to keep it now that I've paid it off and the 0%APR period has ended?
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Jan 13, 2017 15:03
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FunOne posted:Amex Plat? 5x points on Airfare, Amex lounges, various credits and comps. Amex plat gets you centurion lounge access, right? Do they offer a delta plat that gives you delta sky lounge access (similar to the United executive/AA executive club cards from chase/citi) and centurion lounge access?
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Jan 25, 2017 06:17
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Blinkman987 posted:I got a targeted United MP Explorer 70K sign up bonus offer... and then I saw the name on the mailer was that of the previous tenant I have one that keeps popping up on my United app even though I've had the Chase MPE for a year already and just cancelled it.
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Feb 15, 2017 19:55
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dexter6 posted:When I log into my Starwood account, I see that my 2 stays/5 nights credit is already there for having the Amex card open. I cancelled mine last year and they stayed.
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Feb 27, 2017 17:07
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