I love credit cards so much!

[Rjw615]

Looking at getting the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ MasterCard® as the DS and I will be traveling to the Caribbean next year a couple times and will be flying AA. I think I know the answer to this but just want to confirm, it says one bag checked free for cardholder and up to four guests on domestic flights. So does that mean, I wouldn't get the one bag checked free on flights to the Caribbean?

 

[AmyAnne]

Thanks! The irony is my cat needs daily care that I don't want to pawn off on someone else while we use the CP to travel. The best laid plans...

I hope your cat is getting better. We have a semi-empty nest as far as kids go, but the cats definitely have to factor into our travel plans.

 

[AmyAnne]

just did a retention call to Citibank. they gave me $95+1k TYP $3000 in 3 months... or +2 points on all categories for 6 month up to 35k. so its 5x on travel, 4x on dining, 3x on everything else. i took the +2 points offer.
Poor CSR, it was so comfortable in my wallet, now it just got replaced. lol

I'm curious how you do a retention call. Do you just call and say that you are considering cancelling the card and see what they offer, or do you call and ask for specific things?

 

[AmyAnne]

DH got a targeted 80K Marriott mailer, and that's been sitting on my desk. That would fill his 5th Chase slot. So I was thinking I'd have him go for that and then the SPG.

One thought about this - does the 5/24 apply to the Marriott card? I was at 5/24 a few weeks ago but got approved for the Fairmont card, so your DH might be able to get one more Chase card plus the Marriott if he is at 4/24.

 

[Ngwira]

One thought about this - does the 5/24 apply to the Marriott card? I was at 5/24 a few weeks ago but got approved for the Fairmont card, so your DH might be able to get one more Chase card plus the Marriott if he is at 4/24.

Do you have a redemption in mind for your Fairmont card?

 

[peel]

I hope your cat is getting better. We have a semi-empty nest as far as kids go, but the cats definitely have to factor into our travel plans.

Thanks so much. He's maintaining. He's not in any pain, and he's a lot better than he was a month ago, but he has kidney disease. It's day to day with him now. If we can manage to keep his numbers down he'll be around for a while, but if his body stops responding to his treatments it will go downhill fast. My poor buddy. He's been an absolute gift.

One thought about this - does the 5/24 apply to the Marriott card? I was at 5/24 a few weeks ago but got approved for the Fairmont card, so your DH might be able to get one more Chase card plus the Marriott if he is at 4/24.

Thanks for mentioning that. I know it counts toward 5/24, but you don't have to be under 5/24 to get it. So you're right, I can be looking at another Chase card first. The decision really has to do with expiration dates on offers and whether I can meet minimum spends in time, which is more difficult when trying to map out my own cards and his. I'm definitely in "one at a time" mode.

 

[peel]

I thought I'd share a site I found called Travel Is Free. I've been poking around and it looks to be a great resource for airline and hotel award redemption. It's kind of a one-stop-shopping site. I don't know how often it's updated, but it's worth checking out.

 

[ski_mom]

I know another way to dump those GC is through Venmo, where u send the money to someone, they cash it out and give it back to you. Your limited to 6x a half year i think.

Are you talking about dumping prepaid visa gift cards? If so, is there a fee to use them through venmo? I know my DDs use that among their friends to pay each other. They have theirs linked to their checking accounts and I know there is no fee with transferring money that way. Wasn't sure about a prepaid card though.

Thanks!

 

[Psychodisney]

Looking at getting the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ MasterCard® as the DS and I will be traveling to the Caribbean next year a couple times and will be flying AA. I think I know the answer to this but just want to confirm, it says one bag checked free for cardholder and up to four guests on domestic flights. So does that mean, I wouldn't get the one bag checked free on flights to the Caribbean?

I'm pretty sure I got free bag to San Juan and on the puddle jumper we took to Tortola that was on Seabourn (I think) but booked through AA.

 

[ski_mom]

Another benefit that comes with some of the credit cards (in my case the CSR) is price protection. I just filed my first claim, so we'll see how it goes. My daughter spilled some water on her macbook over Christmas break. Luckily, we had purchased the extended warranty on it. They contacted us and said that the repairs would cost almost as much as the original purchase price, so they reimbursed us for what was originally paid for the computer.

We did not have a lot of time to shop around to replace it because she was getting ready to head back to school, so we purchased at Best Buy knowing that the CSR had the price protection.

It finally went on sale, so I just submitted the claim for $250. Hopefully it goes through smoothly. They said I should find out in 5-7 days.

Just wanted to put this out there as a reminder of another reason to Love Credit Cards!

 

[havaneselover]

Another benefit that comes with some of the credit cards (in my card the CSR) is price protection. I just filed my first claim, so we'll see how it goes. My daughter spilled some water on her macbook over Christmas break. Luckily, we had purchased the extended warranty on it. They contacted us and said that the repairs would cost almost as much as the original purchase price, so they reimbursed us for what was originally paid for the computer.

We did not have a lot of time to shop around to replace it because she was getting ready to head back to school, so we purchased at Best Buy knowing that the CSR had the price protection.

It finally went on sale, so I just submitted the claim for $250. Hopefully it goes through smoothly. They said I should find out in 5-7 days.

Just wanted to put this out there as a reminder of another reason to Love Credit Cards!

I had a great experience with chase price protection. Such a nice benefit.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Ugh I am so irritated. Approved for new AA MC and still waiting for it to arrive. In the meantime I have taxes & insurance pavements pending. Also, ressies for MSEP dining are available for our DL trip and I'm considering re-booking our WOC dessert party. But I need the new CC!

Everyday I run home to check the mail. It's been 6 days & they said 7-10 but I was hoping.

 

[sibesx2]

Wow--isn't that worth 105 K Marriott points? The spend is $3k in three months for 25K and an additional 10 K for spending another $2k in the first six months. That would be easy.

Question about the spend for SPG. Can you spend 5,000 at once and get 35,000 points? Or do you have to spend 3,000 in the first 3 months and 2,000 in the next 6? I have to pay tuition soon and looking for a way to get something out of such a big spend.

 

[havaneselover]

Question about the spend for SPG. Can you spend 5,000 at once and get 35,000 points? Or do you have to spend 3,000 in the first 3 months and 2,000 in the next 6? I have to pay tuition soon and looking for a way to get something out of such a big spend.

My understanding is the extra $2,000 has to be spent in the first six months. So yes, all at once will work.

 

[Ngwira]

Amex green card arrived yesterday. I also got a mailer for the Barclay arrival card 50,000 points for 3k spend. Must apply by April to take advantage. I have no barclay cards so it will likely be my next card if I can manage the spend.

 

[mhartman09]

Amex green card arrived yesterday. I also got a mailer for the Barclay arrival card 50,000 points for 3k spend. Must apply by April to take advantage. I have no barclay cards so it will likely be my next card if I can manage the spend.

I got this same Barclay mailer yesterday too. Not sure if I want to get it or not. I know the travel redemption would be nice. I just don't see it as a long term card. I suppose I could just get it, then cancel after a while.

 

[Eighty8Keys]

I got the same Barclays offer too and am on the fence about it. We're hoping to do a stay at the Poly next January and trying to figure ways to make it more affordable. Does anyone know how the travel redemption works? Could I make a $500 payment towards a room only reservation and use the points as a statement credit? DS and I each have 100k UR points from our CSR cards that we're also planing to use in some way. I think I'm now below 5/24 so I may go for the CSP first and then the Barclays.

 

[GPC0321]

And yet another question!

I just finished my $4k spend on my CSP, as in I reached $4008 this morning when my pending purchases from Thursday posted. I checked my UR points...that screen that shows what you have and what you've earned and will be getting when the new statement comes out. My 50k points are not showing up yet. My statement should be issued on Monday (is always the 20th for that card). Should I be worried? I have confirmation via secure message that I will get the points as long as I make the spend by March 26th. I obviously made it with plenty of time to spare. Will they show up on Monday's statement?

ETA: Ah! Just found the answer to my question! Apparently I needed to make the spend 7 days before the end of this billing cycle. I didn't quite do that, so I'll have to wait until March 20th to get them. That's okay! Something to look forward to!

 

[peel]

Instant approval in-branch for the CSR yesterday!

 

[calypso726]

That's right, I remember now! It's just as insane as basing my Britain vacations around seeing bands! Have fun!!

Ok that actually sounds quite interesting. Do tell.

Ok.... please be careful -to any on this thread just diving in...... be really careful. The churning game can be fun,and almost addictive- but it's really important to have specific goals in mind,otherwise you may find yourself spending money to be in the game that you don't have, or getting points you have no use for. The general rule of thumb (from diehards of the game) is the goal... there ARE a lot of great offers, but are all of them great for everyone? No. Just accumulating points b/c you can -the game changes constantly. That's the one constant. So what points can do for you right now (with a specific travel goal) they may not do in 6 months,or less,etc.
Also,getting all the bonuses is great, but it's not free,it costs in both time and money to get to certain levels of spending. Now if you get another card for the bonus, knowing you don't have the $ for the spend, you now have to learn how to MS (it's not a simple game) So that's a whole other level you're getting into. *and* it goes without saying that paying finance charges b/c you charged more than you can pay off in a month is not a good idea either.
Also if you have no travel plans, and don't plan to travel for quite a while, accumulating tons of points in various programs may not be the best idea,since,as noted before things change ALL the time. That coupled with keeping an organized record of cards,points,expiration dates,transfer options,etc is a part time job (at least!) so travel bonuses are ONLY valuable and useful if you have/can make plans to use them. I'm just tossing this out there b/c this thread is so very pleasnt and helpful....( I appreciate reading it daily) but once you really start 'getting into' doing this a bit.... on other boards you will definitely hear all of what I've noted (but mostly in not very nice words lol)
I'm not trying to discourage anyone here, but it isn't a 'no stakes' game it involves extra time, money,and commitment to doing it.
I've made plenty of 'oops' myself over the years I've been doing this sort of thing,so not on a high horse,just sayin'.....

Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes. Knowing your limits is key and so is knowing your goals.