Credit Card Rewards

[Uuaww]

I don't know which thread is lamer, this one or the one about mattresses(?), sheesh

Kinda surprised you have zero interest in travel. When I graduated college I moved to the Caribbean like... 6 months after ha.

[Weasel]

Ted,you run into issues with the 5/24 rule getting that many cards?

not as much b/c I do so many business cards. I had a run for like the last 18 months where I never opened a personal. It helps that I actually have a pseudo-business (I rent half a duplex) but I had biz cards before that.

Yeah maybe Ill dip a bit more into the business cards, I do IC work on the side so its legit w an EIN

[Uuaww]

Ted,you run into issues with the 5/24 rule getting that many cards?

not as much b/c I do so many business cards. I had a run for like the last 18 months where I never opened a personal. It helps that I actually have a pseudo-business (I rent half a duplex) but I had biz cards before that.

Yeah maybe Ill dip a bit more into the business cards, I do IC work on the side so its legit w an EIN

yeah, I just said I wanted to sell stuff on ebay and have a dedicated card for that when I first started lol

How many points you sitting on now?

[Weasel]

Maybe 100k AA, 200K United/Ultimate rewards right now, although I earn and burn. Im leaning towards trying to stick w Chase cards as Ive found those to be the most useful for me

[Cnasty]

Im leaning towards trying to stick w Chase cards as Ive found those to be the most useful for me

How so? Learning so asking a lot of questions.

I got mine yesterday and already planning for my next point of attack once I hit the spend limit. I assume an airline centric one but dont want to get anywhere near the 5/24.

[shel311]

Can someone dumb this down for me, without too much detail, and just tell me exactly what you guys do?


ShelNotes!!!

[Cnasty]

Can someone dumb this down for me, without too much detail, and just tell me exactly what you guys do?


ShelNotes!!!

Enjoy!

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/wiki/index

[shel311]

That's the opposite of ShelNotes!!

I'll give it a whirl...maybe..probably not.

[Cnasty]

Shel notes:
Churning=apply for credit card, meet the spend requirements for the bonus points/miles/etc

Rake in the bonuses

Apply for next card, meet the spend requirements, rake the bonuses

Rather, rinse, repeat. Read details on 5/24 for education.

Never pay for hotels, flights, trips ever again.

[shel311]

Much better!


So you get all these bonuses, then get a new card. Can you still get the bonuses if you close the initial card? Or do you have to leave a bunch of cards open?

[Cnasty]

You lose them or you can transfer them which is less likely.

But even with that being the case you dont need like 20 cards to get what you need from them for your annual trips or multiple through the years as Weasel said. And you can earn and burn instantly as he stated as well.

These bonuses are sometimes 1 trip in themselves but can save up for some big ones like Ted.

After you use them and are ready for the next one you can close them slowly. It doesnt hurt to have them and the key is always paying your statement balance every single month and not carrying balance and meeting the spend limits required to get the bonus.

Example spend limit: 60k bonus points if you spend $4k in 3 months. If you spend $3,999 you dont get the bonus.

[shel311]

I guess I missed it. So in your example, you now have 60k bonus points. So you just spend it on...something/anything then close it and move on?

[Cnasty]

I guess I missed it. So in your example, you now have 60k bonus points. So you just spend it on...something/anything then close it and move on?

I dont get the 60k points until I meet the minimum spend (which we will easily do as we have used our credit card for every single purchase for the last 10ish years as we have talked about).

But yes, I will then get the points + what I've spent, buy a trip or whatever and then close it if I want and move to the next promo. Depending on your use, you may like the card and keep it open and watch to cancel before the annual fee and then get rid of it.

[Uuaww]

I keep 1 card at all times, The Chase Sapphire Reserve is usually it. Ultimate Reward points are the most useful currency, with the Reserve you get 1.5 cents per point when buying flights/hotels on their portal. Or you transfer them 1:1 to a bunch of airlines/hotels... a lot of options.

Annual fee is $450 but they give you $300 travel credit a year refunded. So if you spend any money on a flight/hotel/uber it is refunded. Lowers the annual fee to $150. Then you get free Global Entry/TSA precheck application ($100) and you get airport lounge access for you and up to 2 guests.

Lounges are awesome... free food/drink. Some airports don't have lounges but have random restaurants that just give you $56 off your bill ha.

[The_Niddler]

The “Chase 5/24” rule, as it is commonly called in the miles and points community, refers to the reality that even a perfect credit score isn’t enough to get you approved for many Chase rewards cards. If you have opened five or more new credit card accounts in the past 24 months, you won’t be approved for a new Chase card.

[Weasel]

Lots of things to touch on here:

-I started by using airline cards for American Airlines and United; as Ive gone along Ive found the Chase Ultimate Reward points to be more valuable as they can be used for anything (hotels/flights), and sometimes at a lower rate when using their travel portal to book them.

-I look at those with the highest sign on bonus, and if I can, try to get those with the annual fee waived for the first year. The Chase Sapphire Preferred (different than the Reserve Ted mentioned) and Chase Ink are the exceptions. They usually have great sign on bonuses any are worth the fee for me.

-With Chase UR, the points are there as long as the card is open. So long as you have a card earning points, youre good. So if I get a bonus using the Ink, and the year is about up and Im ready to close the account but dont want to lose the balance, I can transfer those points to another open card so theyre not lost. Between my wife and I, we always have at least one of these active.

-I keep the card open for the year, and dont close it after 3 months. Even if Im not using it, keeping it open longer increases the avg length of credit account and helps your credit score

-I learned the hard way: Adding a spouse as an authorized user can still count against the 5/24 rule. So Ive stopped doing that

-Airline miles (United, AA) usually have an 18 month expiration date. However, any activity will refresh the 'shot clock'. So if Im down to the last month before they expire, Ill transfer 1000 pts from Chase UR to the United acct. Its effectively nothing, but its enough to reset the miles so they have another 18 months

-With bonuses, you can 'churn' some. Most will have language stating you cant earn the bonus if you already have for that card in the last 24 months. I set up a rotation so every 2 years Im going through the same cards.

-If youre going to do this, set up a speadsheet. Keep track of open accounts, what youve applied for and when, etc. This shit can get confusing in a hurry, keeping an account of your activity is vital. When I get home I can post a pic of what I do if theres interest.

[shel311]

Just when I thought it was making a little sense, Weasel lost me here

[Cnasty]

All good stuff and things I've done including getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

I did mess up and add the wife as an authorized user but that's ok as I'll need her spend to meet the need

Then she can get cards in the future as well.

Also how many acitve cards do you carry at one time?

Love this. Between my current card and now this we have a huge trip goal planned. Appreciate it fellas.

(Yes please post that picture)

[Weasel]

I did mess up and add the wife as an authorized user but that's ok as I'll need her spend to meet the need

Pro tip: Utilize google/android/Apple Pay. Wife gets a card in her name, we only have the one card. I enter into Google pay, that way I can use it by paying with my phone at gas stations/stores that accept it (more and more do), and any online purchases I make use it as well (its saved and auto-filled when selecting payment options, I only have to memorize the 3 digit security code on back). This way we both can contribute to meeting the minimum spending while only having one physical card between us.

Also how many acitve cards do you carry at one time?

I only use 1 card at a time, but usually have 3-4 open/active at any given time (this is between both wife and I). Like I said before, once I earn a bonus, I keep that card open (while not using it, most of the time theyre not even in my wallet after meeting bonus) until just before the next annual fee is due.

(Yes please post that picture)

Couldnt imbed for some reason
https://ibb.co/tKvMg94

[Weasel]

Also, I know you mentioned the subreddit, but if you REALLY want to go down the rabbit hole, FlyerTalk has loads of info on this stuff. I remember spending weeks reading this stuff working nights as an intern when things were slow. Cant believe that was 5 years ago

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles-points-1/