Credit Card Rewards and Recommendations

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Credit Card Rewards and Recommendations

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dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

I have 4 credit cards (Visa, MC, AmEx, Discover) that I've had open for 10+ years each, all with perfect history and good utilization and high credit limits. I plan on keeping these open forever.

I want to start opening airline and hotel cards, spending enough to get the initial bonus and then close them.

How frequently should I apply for / open a new card? How long, after getting my initial bonus should I keep the card open?

# ¿ Jan 12, 2015 20:29

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 23:03

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

This may be common knowledge, but thought I'd put it in this thread just for other peoples information

Barclays will not allow you to have > airline branded card open at once. I attempted to open a second US Airways card for the additional 50k miles, but they declined the app because I already "had sufficient credit" with them.

I found a two-year-old blog post from someone saying that it was possible, but apparently, it's not.

# ¿ Jan 22, 2015 20:42

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

My two year anniversary with the US card was coming up in February, but used the card very little. I did, however, get them to successfully waive the first and second annual fees, so I got that going for me, which is nice.

I was talking to their reconsideration line and he flat out told me that barclays would be happy to possibly issue me more credit OR move credit around, but that it would have to be for any other non-US Air card. He mentioned a couple others, but I wasn't interested in those. He said several times that Barclays would not issue me two of the same card, regardless of credit line.

Oh well, I guess my plan of getting the US Air card, American and American business for a total of 150k miles (after Q2 merger) has changed. 100k miles on American will work nicely though, considering I fly about 65k a year.

Small White Dragon posted:

This is not true. I just got recently got a second one.

They are definitely very conservative in their approvals, though.

Shrug - I dunno. Maybe you got lucky? Or me, unlucky?

# ¿ Jan 23, 2015 00:37

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Pompous Rhombus posted:

AAdvantage (Citi) card + US Airways card (Barclay's) and wait for them to merge systems in Q2 (at the moment you can't combine them for a booking). The AAdvantage one has a $95 fee that's waived the first year, US Airways one is about the same buy you do have to pay it the first year (but there's no minimum spend, just "first purchase"), for a total of 100k miles. There is also a higher fee AA one ($450, not waived) if you really want another 50k, although the perks aren't really gonna be worth it unless you're a frequent traveler. From what I've been hearing, the days of taking out multiple versions of the same AA card at once to stack sign up bonuses are kinda over.

That's close, but...

AA has two cards. Standard and Business. Per this, looks like you can get each. Both have the annual fee waived up front, require you to spend $3k in your first 3 months to get the bonus.

The Barclays USAir card current offer is for 50k miles once you pay the $95 annual fee and make one purchase, per this.

So, if you got all three cards today (and I'd recommend at least getting the US Air card before it disappears), you could get 150k American miles in Q2.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2015 22:26

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Pompous Rhombus posted:

Oops, forgot about the business card! It seemed like a bit of a grey area when I was looking into it myself (no business) so decided to leave it alone.

I've heard that business cards are easy to get. Apparently they don't ask for a business name or ID or anything, because people can get them because "they would like to start a business" you know, like, some day. I know lots of people that have them for no reason other than the points.

The only reason I haven't tried yet is because I just hit my $3k minimum on my standard AA card and want to take a break before running up a 2nd card.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2015 22:37

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

I see people asking for chip-card recommendations.

What is the driver of this request? I've never cared what technology is on my card - should I?

# ¿ Feb 4, 2015 22:32

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

I have two Amex open: Blue for Students (opened 2003) CL: $11,500 and Starwood Preferred (opened 2015) CL: $13,500

Should I keep the blue for students open? Or attempt to consolidate the CL into the new card?

# ¿ Feb 23, 2015 21:00

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Not a credit card question, per se, but related.

I'm headed to Thailand for 2 weeks in a few days. The way I see it, I can handle expenses a few ways:

- Bring credit card and pay 3% foreign transaction fee (but get 1% - x% cash back)
- Take out bunch of cash for free and bring it with me, exchange as needed (for a fee)
- Withdraw cash over there (but get charged non-Wells Fargo ATM fee, and the local ATM fee)

Any thoughts?

# ¿ Feb 25, 2015 22:34

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

I just did the Starwood Amex card because you get 10k points for your first purchase and another 15k points after you hit your spending target.

Plus SPG points transfer to any airline 1:1 and come with a 5k bonus for each 20k you transfer. So, I really got 30k points instead of 25k, and can throw them right on top of my 50k for US and 50k for American once the airlines finish merger in a few weeks.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 05:15

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

I'm going to be traveling to London (or having my London friend come to DC) a bunch. It looks like purchasing a coach fare is ~$1k. Using AA miles, however, I can get there for 40k round trip.

Which credit cards would be best for me to churn to get miles that will help me get to an from UK frequently? I've already got the Barclays US Air, Citi American and Amex Starwood cards, so those are probably off limits for now.

Thanks!

# ¿ Mar 22, 2015 05:34

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Thoguh posted:

Also don't assume just because there are 40k mile tickets available that you'll be able to get 40k mile tickets on the dates/flights you want.

Right - I checked the calendar view and it looks pretty consistent.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2015 16:09

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Lets say I end up getting 40k chase miles, 40k BA miles and I have 100k AA miles... am I able to combine those in any way, or are they all used on their own?

# ¿ Mar 22, 2015 16:23

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

I'm less concerned about which airline I fly and more concerned about having enough miles. So lets say I want a 50k flight and only have 40k BA miles, I can't dip into the 100k I have for AA to book the flight, right?

# ¿ Mar 22, 2015 16:45

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

pig slut lisa posted:

Correct. As far as I know there are no airline miles that can be transferred into another mileage program or used in a combined booking. The only points that can be transferred into something else are Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, and Starwood Starpoints.

Interesting - so maybe I hold CUR, Amex and Starwood points in their own buckets and transfer them in as needed.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2015 17:09

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Cacafuego posted:

From the previous post though, it sounds like you can book the 50k BA flight with the 100k AA miles though, correct? If so, I may be getting the BA card next.

Yes, I can book AA with BA miles and BA with AA miles, however from reading blogs, it seems you should almost never book BA flights because of the fuel surcharges they put on. I priced out a flight that was 40k miles but $800 in fees/taxes.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2015 17:15

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

If anyone is looking for a place to track all of their rewards points (Airlines, Credit Cards, Hotels, Rentals, etc.) I've been very happy with Award Wallet. It's like mint but it tracks your points instead of transactions.

If you use this link, it will give me referral credit:

http://awardwallet.com/?refCode=gzirmuzwgv

# ¿ Mar 23, 2015 18:06

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

I had success raising my credit limit immediately in the past by asking for a specific amount and saying I wanted to make the purchase right away.

So instead of "Can I have higher?" its, "I was hoping to buy x for $z, can you raise my limit? I applied for the card specifically for this purchase."

# ¿ Mar 23, 2015 20:21

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Not a credit card offer, but I got an offer from Citi for 30k AA Miles in exchange for opening a checking account and meeting some spend requirements.

How do bank accounts work WRT to credit pulls? Should I stagger this away from other applications I've done or should I be fine?

# ¿ May 6, 2015 23:24

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

TastyLemonDrops posted:

There's a slightly better deal if you try to book a flight on United's website: 50k miles with 3k spend over 3 months, and a 50 dollar statement credit after your first purchase.

Plus you get 5k more points for adding an authorized user. Seems like a pretty easy way to get 55k + $50

# ¿ May 8, 2015 03:41

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

smackfu posted:

SPG does transfers, but I think it is 2:1 which sucks since other airlines are 1:1.

Other airlines also get a 5k transfer bonus when you transfer increments of 20k miles. Not sure if that applies to UA or not.

# ¿ May 8, 2015 15:13

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

(crosspost from the airfare thread)

I love referring to these info graphics, folks in this thread may find them useful:

Infographic Comparison of Airline Award Charts - Which airlines have the best reward flights, by class and destination.

Flexible Bank-Point Airline Transfer Partner Master Guide - Which reward points transfer to which airlines, and what alliance each airline is a part of

# ¿ May 8, 2015 23:18

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Tewdrig posted:

Was it this offer?

Yep it was that one. Once I looked into the minimum requirements to avoid fees, I did the calc per mile and it wasn't worth the hassle at that point.

# ¿ May 9, 2015 01:56

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Looks like the Citi Executive / AAdvantage card has a new deal. Still $450/annually, but now you get 75k miles for $7,500 spend in first 3 months. $7500 is a lot for me, so I'm going to pass, but apparently a lot of people rate this card pretty highly.

https://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/...oryId=undefined

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 23:26

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

big mean giraffe posted:

I apologize if this is a repost which I'm sure it is but I'm on my phone at work and cant do a thorough search. I read the OP and know keeping a balance is dumb, does anyone have any links or information so I can show them to someone who's insisting that a balance is key to good credit?

http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/Amounts-Owed.aspx, specifically,

quote:

How many accounts have balances?

A larger number of accounts with amounts owed can indicate higher risk of over-extension.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2015 21:41

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

big mean giraffe posted:

I apologize if this is a repost which I'm sure it is but I'm on my phone at work and cant do a thorough search. I read the OP and know keeping a balance is dumb, does anyone have any links or information so I can show them to someone who's insisting that a balance is key to good credit?

Case in point, I've never had a mortgage, I've had a couple car loans and leases, and never carried a balance on cards, while churning them a ton this year. My score is always within 10 points of 800.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2015 21:48

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Small White Dragon posted:

With all that said, with the Prestige, you can redeem points at 1.33 cents/pt towards airfare and specifically 1.6 cents/pt towards airfare on AA or US, including codeshares. If you fly either of those airlines or some of their partners, this can be lucrative.

That's an important point. The cool part about Citi Thank You points (and the reason I think this is going to be my next card) is that I can redeem them on AA, AND the miles I then fly count towards my status AND accrue AA miles. So it's kinda like you get to double dip.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 03:20

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

JohnCompany posted:

Can I ask anyone with a Amex how rough it actually is day to day? 'm looking at the Wells Fargo Propel, because the WF loyalty bonuses are sweet and I'm with them anyway, and am just wondering if it'll be accepted often enough, particularly in western Europe, that between it and a debit card I'll be covered?

I'm in US, and when I had the AmEx card, I was forcing myself to carry a second card b/c 1 out of 10 times it wouldn't be accepted.

# ¿ Jul 24, 2015 16:26

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

You can also get the business card for another 30k miles, but requires $5k in spend in 3/mos instead of $3k in spend.

# ¿ Aug 11, 2015 18:48

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

I'm going to come up short on a sign-on bonus in one more cycle. Anyone doing MS these days?

Looks like the RedCard from Target and the Amex Serve can't be loaded by credit cards anymore. Any thoughts?

# ¿ Sep 3, 2015 19:14

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Quick question about minimum spending for bonuses...

Does it include returns? For instance, if I spend $3000 exactly but return a $100 pair of shoes, did I hit the $3k minimum or did I miss it?

# ¿ Sep 17, 2015 03:07

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

I plan to get both the Citi Thank You Premier and Prestige cards, so that I can take advantage of the higher value, pooled points. However, is there a specific sequence I should apply for them?

I only keep cards long enough to get the sign on bonus but not get a second annual fee.

I�m thinking I should do the Thank You Premier first, get the bonus, then the Prestige, so that I can pool them, and they higher value points will be around and usable longer. Am I thinking about this right or am I over thinking it?

# ¿ Sep 30, 2015 01:43

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

I have 4 old cards (one each of Amex, Visa, MC and Discover) that I've had open for like 13 years that all have high CL an low utilization.

Can I get these converted to "better" cards? And if so, what cards should I convert them to? It feels weird to have 4 cards I opened in college that are basically unchanged.

American Express: Blue for Students
Chase: Sapphire Visa (not Sapphire Preferred)
Discover: Open Road
Citi: Dividend World Elite MasterCard

Notes:
APR doesn't matter, I never carry a balance.
Needs to be $0 annual fee

# ¿ Nov 6, 2015 16:23

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Barry posted:

You have a bunch of 13 year old credit cards with no AF's. That's like a churning goldmine. I wouldn't touch them at all. Apply for new cards and leave them alone.

Alright, that's what I needed to hear. I'll continue to churn away other cards.

Next question:

I have two cards that I plan to close in the next 6 months prior to the annual fee being charged. Should I try to get them converted to something else? And if not, how successful might I be in getting the CL applied to other cards?

Citi AAdvantage Platinum
Amex Starwood Preferred Guest

# ¿ Nov 6, 2015 17:16

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Baddog posted:

Then hit walmart with the serve to unload the cards.

What does this step mean? I get how to purchase cards for very cheaply, but what do you unload them into/onto?

# ¿ Nov 22, 2015 14:39

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

I have the Starwood AmEx card, so I like getting the 2 stay / 5 night credit every year. But I'm thinking about canceling or downgrading it (not sure the $95 fee is worth it).

What happens to that credit that is already showing up in my account - does it go away, or have I already gotten it for 2016 now?

# ¿ Jan 5, 2016 19:18

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

becoming posted:

Serve is still useful to me and I still happily keep an account open and use it to deposit cash (don't have a local branch for my credit union), but it is significantly less useful now.

Could you talk about this a little more? When I switched to Ally bank I lost a way to make cash deposits so something plug in like this would be nice.

# ¿ Jan 10, 2016 15:01

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

becoming posted:

We had a big discussion about this a few months ago, but this isn't unilaterally true. It depends on the scoring model that is being used. However, it's probably smart to keep it open, as closed accounts will roll off your report after ten years, and having long-standing accounts in good standing helps to lessen the hit to Average Age of Accounts (AAoA), which absolutely will have an immediate impact on every credit scoring model.

So, in other words, if it's costing you nothing to keep it open, it's probably a good idea to keep it open. Put your Netflix subscription on it, have it auto-pay every month, and ~~take ten seconds to look at the statement monthly~~ always have your cards loaded into Mint and review transactions weekly to make sure a fraudulent charge didn't find its way on.

FTFY

# ¿ Feb 1, 2016 18:54

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

I want to churn the AAdvantage Platinum card, but now you won't get approved for a card if you have opened or closed the card in the last 18 months.

So would this plan be the best churn option?

Today: Apply for card 1
18m: Apply for card 2
19-23: months: Close card 1
18m from ^: Apply for card 3
19-23 from ^: Close card 2

etc...

Or am I missing something?

# ¿ Feb 13, 2016 19:15

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

Have you guys with citigold been charged a fee yet? I've received two statements and no fees yet.

# ¿ Feb 23, 2016 05:16

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 23:03

dexter6: Sep 22, 2003

asur posted:

The first two months are free.

Duh.

Thanks

# ¿ Feb 23, 2016 13:46

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Credit Card Rewards and Recommendations

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