I love credit cards so much!

[Angrose]

I'm cross-posting this from the Disneyland forum. I'm trying to find out what LMT (aka Last Minute Travel) codes as on credit cards. (I'd like to use my recently acquired Barclay Arrival Plus miles for Disneyland tickets.) It's not gonna bust my budget or anything if the Arrival miles won't cover the purchase but I'd love to know if anyone has tried this or even what LMT has coded as on your credit card?

I booked a room via LMTClub and it coded as Travel Agencies on my Arrival+ card.

 

[peel]

We’ve come up against a large unexpected expense that we won’t be able to pay for all at once. My cat developed a cancerous mass in his chest and is likely going to need surgery very soon. It will cost enough that I’ll be able to blow through a minimum spend. After that, I’m going to use a promotional balance transfer to my oldest card, a Bank of America Amex that isn’t worth using for spending but is kept open for AAoA. It will cost 3% to transfer, but after that I’ll have a 0% interest rate for a year, which is long enough to pay it off. This is definitely not a position I want to be in, but we’ll do whatever we have to to give our guy a fighting chance. I should mention that we just adopted 2 kittens this weekend, too. It was already in the works for a while before the cancer diagnosis, so definitely not an optimal time to be taking in more mouths to feed. But they are SO CUTE!

I just opened the SPG last month, so I’m going to cool it on any additional cards, but the last card DH opened was 3 months ago so it’s his turn. He’s at 5/24 and his last Chase card was opened 09/16. He already has CSR, Freedom, FU (PCed from CSP), SPG, Hilton (all personal). After my awful CIP recon phone call he isn’t too keen on trying for a Chase business card. I have CSR, CIP, SW Premier, SW Plus, SPG. I haven’t delved into Amex MRs yet, and I think I want to stick with collecting UR and SPG for their flexibility, or maybe add AA since there are a few CC bonus opportunities to quickly rack up miles. Or is it smarter to go with a cash back card? Those are generally not even on my radar.

I was originally thinking I would just put this bill on an existing card…either a Chase for the UR or an SPG, and transfer the balance to the Bank of America card. Is it crazy to open a new card for this? Ugh, my head is spinning from this awful news and I'm afraid of doing something irrational given the circumstances.

 

[gottalovepluto]

We’ve come up against a large unexpected expense that we won’t be able to pay for all at once. My cat developed a cancerous mass in his chest and is likely going to need surgery very soon. It will cost enough that I’ll be able to blow through a minimum spend. After that, I’m going to use a promotional balance transfer to my oldest card, a Bank of America Amex that isn’t worth using for spending but is kept open for AAoA. It will cost 3% to transfer, but after that I’ll have a 0% interest rate for a year, which is long enough to pay it off. This is definitely not a position I want to be in, but we’ll do whatever we have to to give our guy a fighting chance. I should mention that we just adopted 2 kittens this weekend, too. It was already in the works for a while before the cancer diagnosis, so definitely not an optimal time to be taking in more mouths to feed. But they are SO CUTE!

I just opened the SPG last month, so I’m going to cool it on any additional cards, but the last card DH opened was 3 months ago so it’s his turn. He’s at 5/24 and his last Chase card was opened 09/16. He already has CSR, Freedom, FU (PCed from CSP), SPG, Hilton (all personal). After my awful CIP recon phone call he isn’t too keen on trying for a Chase business card. I have CSR, CIP, SW Premier, SW Plus, SPG. I haven’t delved into Amex MRs yet, and I think I want to stick with collecting UR and SPG for their flexibility, or maybe add AA since there are a few CC bonus opportunities to quickly rack up miles. Or is it smarter to go with a cash back card? Those are generally not even on my radar.

I was originally thinking I would just put this bill on an existing card…either a Chase for the UR or an SPG, and transfer the balance to the Bank of America card. Is it crazy to open a new card for this? Ugh, my head is spinning from this awful news and I'm afraid of doing something irrational given the circumstances.

No, you are not crazy to consider opening a new credit card. Emotions aside that simply is a logical idea. Let's analyze it a bit ok?
-Can you open a new card without messing up your current credit card plan? Yes.
-Can you pay the balance all at once? No.
-Do you have a plan for paying the balance without incurring double digit interest? Yes.
Now that the basics are covered what do you want most right now? Cash or miles/points? From there pick your new card.

IMHO it actually makes a lot of sense to me to open a new credit card for this expense. (Now, I don't understand balance transfers having never utilized that feature so make sure you do before initiating this plan obviously.) It's an emotionally painful and financially painful expense but the logical thing to do here is get anything you can back from it to help cushion the financial blow. (I hope your guy makes it btw!!)

 

[gottalovepluto]

My new Disney premier popped up in my Chase account today! With a rather high limit actually, Chase didn't re-distribute any of my CLs. For anyone wondering how much credit they're willing to extend my DP is 89% of my income = the combined total of my Chase CLs.

 

[AmyAnne]

We’ve come up against a large unexpected expense that we won’t be able to pay for all at once. My cat developed a cancerous mass in his chest and is likely going to need surgery very soon. It will cost enough that I’ll be able to blow through a minimum spend. After that, I’m going to use a promotional balance transfer to my oldest card, a Bank of America Amex that isn’t worth using for spending but is kept open for AAoA. It will cost 3% to transfer, but after that I’ll have a 0% interest rate for a year, which is long enough to pay it off. This is definitely not a position I want to be in, but we’ll do whatever we have to to give our guy a fighting chance. I should mention that we just adopted 2 kittens this weekend, too. It was already in the works for a while before the cancer diagnosis, so definitely not an optimal time to be taking in more mouths to feed. But they are SO CUTE!

I just opened the SPG last month, so I’m going to cool it on any additional cards, but the last card DH opened was 3 months ago so it’s his turn. He’s at 5/24 and his last Chase card was opened 09/16. He already has CSR, Freedom, FU (PCed from CSP), SPG, Hilton (all personal). After my awful CIP recon phone call he isn’t too keen on trying for a Chase business card. I have CSR, CIP, SW Premier, SW Plus, SPG. I haven’t delved into Amex MRs yet, and I think I want to stick with collecting UR and SPG for their flexibility, or maybe add AA since there are a few CC bonus opportunities to quickly rack up miles. Or is it smarter to go with a cash back card? Those are generally not even on my radar.

I was originally thinking I would just put this bill on an existing card…either a Chase for the UR or an SPG, and transfer the balance to the Bank of America card. Is it crazy to open a new card for this? Ugh, my head is spinning from this awful news and I'm afraid of doing something irrational given the circumstances.

So sorry about your cat Sending good thoughts for a full recovery.

I have a Capital One Spark that pays 2% cash back. Sometimes cash back in the present is worth more than travel points or miles for the future.

And I applied for a new card when DH was upgrading his home office furniture because why not get the rewards for something you're going to buy anyway? I do recall from when we occasionally carried a CC balance that some cards offered 0% for a certain amount of time plus no transfer fee. I haven't seen an offer like that in a while but I'm wondering whether BoA would waive or lower the transfer fee if you call and explain.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

We’ve come up against a large unexpected expense that we won’t be able to pay for all at once. My cat developed a cancerous mass in his chest and is likely going to need surgery very soon. It will cost enough that I’ll be able to blow through a minimum spend. After that, I’m going to use a promotional balance transfer to my oldest card, a Bank of America Amex that isn’t worth using for spending but is kept open for AAoA. It will cost 3% to transfer, but after that I’ll have a 0% interest rate for a year, which is long enough to pay it off. This is definitely not a position I want to be in, but we’ll do whatever we have to to give our guy a fighting chance. I should mention that we just adopted 2 kittens this weekend, too. It was already in the works for a while before the cancer diagnosis, so definitely not an optimal time to be taking in more mouths to feed. But they are SO CUTE!

I just opened the SPG last month, so I’m going to cool it on any additional cards, but the last card DH opened was 3 months ago so it’s his turn. He’s at 5/24 and his last Chase card was opened 09/16. He already has CSR, Freedom, FU (PCed from CSP), SPG, Hilton (all personal). After my awful CIP recon phone call he isn’t too keen on trying for a Chase business card. I have CSR, CIP, SW Premier, SW Plus, SPG. I haven’t delved into Amex MRs yet, and I think I want to stick with collecting UR and SPG for their flexibility, or maybe add AA since there are a few CC bonus opportunities to quickly rack up miles. Or is it smarter to go with a cash back card? Those are generally not even on my radar.

I was originally thinking I would just put this bill on an existing card…either a Chase for the UR or an SPG, and transfer the balance to the Bank of America card. Is it crazy to open a new card for this? Ugh, my head is spinning from this awful news and I'm afraid of doing something irrational given the circumstances.

It seems that unless your DH was going to go for a Chase business card, then he won't be able to aim for another Chase card since he is at 5/24 until October 2019 (or maybe I have that date wrong? When does his oldest card drop off?). This limits your options somewhat. As for Amex, I think it is a good card to have since you will then have access to the Amex offers. I have two no annual fee Amex cards (Everyday and Blue), which I opened a long time ago, but they have saved me well over $1500 from the Amex offers in the past 2 years.

You might also want to consider looking at opening a new card that has a 0% promotional period. These don't usually have the huge sign up bonuses that other cards have, but you would save money by not having to pay a balance transfer fee. Some good options might be:

Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card
Offer: $150 statement credit after spending $1k in 3 months, 12 months 0% interest, 6% cash back at grocery stores, 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and at select U.S. department stores, access to Amex offers
Annual fee: $95

Amex Everyday Card
Offer: 10k MR points after spending $1k in 3 months, 12 months 0% interest, 2x cash back at grocery stores, access to Amex offers
Annual fee: $0

Discover it Cashback Match
Offer: 5% cash back in rotating categories each quarter, cash back matched for first year, 14 months 0% interest
Annual fee: $0

Otherwise, you could look into an AA card or the SPG business card could be another option.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

We’ve come up against a large unexpected expense that we won’t be able to pay for all at once. My cat developed a cancerous mass in his chest and is likely going to need surgery very soon. It will cost enough that I’ll be able to blow through a minimum spend. After that, I’m going to use a promotional balance transfer to my oldest card, a Bank of America Amex that isn’t worth using for spending but is kept open for AAoA. It will cost 3% to transfer, but after that I’ll have a 0% interest rate for a year, which is long enough to pay it off. This is definitely not a position I want to be in, but we’ll do whatever we have to to give our guy a fighting chance. I should mention that we just adopted 2 kittens this weekend, too. It was already in the works for a while before the cancer diagnosis, so definitely not an optimal time to be taking in more mouths to feed. But they are SO CUTE!

I just opened the SPG last month, so I’m going to cool it on any additional cards, but the last card DH opened was 3 months ago so it’s his turn. He’s at 5/24 and his last Chase card was opened 09/16. He already has CSR, Freedom, FU (PCed from CSP), SPG, Hilton (all personal). After my awful CIP recon phone call he isn’t too keen on trying for a Chase business card. I have CSR, CIP, SW Premier, SW Plus, SPG. I haven’t delved into Amex MRs yet, and I think I want to stick with collecting UR and SPG for their flexibility, or maybe add AA since there are a few CC bonus opportunities to quickly rack up miles. Or is it smarter to go with a cash back card? Those are generally not even on my radar.

I was originally thinking I would just put this bill on an existing card…either a Chase for the UR or an SPG, and transfer the balance to the Bank of America card. Is it crazy to open a new card for this? Ugh, my head is spinning from this awful news and I'm afraid of doing something irrational given the circumstances.

No help on the cards but hoping your kitty makes a great recovery or has some more time with good quality of life.
My pup was near death's door last summer, having lost 10 lbs of her 35lb weight. It wasn't cancer but an autoimmune thing and she is now a chubby 40lbs. Hope you have similar luck with your kitty.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

It seems that unless your DH was going to go for a Chase business card, then he won't be able to aim for another Chase card since he is at 5/24 until October 2019 (or maybe I have that date wrong? When does his oldest card drop off?). This limits your options somewhat. As for Amex, I think it is a good card to have since you will then have access to the Amex offers. I have two no annual fee Amex cards (Everyday and Blue), which I opened a long time ago, but they have saved me well over $1500 from the Amex offers in the past 2 years.

You might also want to consider looking at opening a new card that has a 0% promotional period. These don't usually have the huge sign up bonuses that other cards have, but you would save money by not having to pay a balance transfer fee. Some good options might be:

Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card
Offer: $150 statement credit after spending $1k in 3 months, 12 months 0% interest, 6% cash back at grocery stores, 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and at select U.S. department stores, access to Amex offers
Annual fee: $95

Amex Everyday Card
Offer: 10k MR points after spending $1k in 3 months, 12 months 0% interest, 2x cash back at grocery stores, access to Amex offers
Annual fee: $0

Discover it Cashback Match
Offer: 5% cash back in rotating categories each quarter, cash back matched for first year, 14 months 0% interest
Annual fee: $0

Otherwise, you could look into an AA card or the SPG business card could be another option.

There is also BankAmericard Cash Rewards card with 0% interest for 12 cyclesand no annual fee. Also gives 2% grocery/wholesale clubs & 3% on gas up to 2500 per quarter

 

[eeyoresmom]

@calypso726 thanks for the advice on buying Disney gift cards with my Amex. My tentative plan is to pc my CSP to a Freedom before the AF hits in Feb. We'll keep DH's CSR. So far I've only used UR to book an independent hotel for Disneyland next month but I'm interested in learning more about using points for flights. We do fly SW almost exclusively but will probably be going to Europe in 2018. Is it usually best to book international flights directly through the UR portal or transfer UR points to the airline? Is transferring easy to do online?
Edited to add, my plan IS to pc the CSP to a Freedom but if I do that can I transfer UR 's to DH's CSR? I had this all worked out in my brain a few months ago but I'm forgetting my strategy! I really need to read this thread daily!

 

[calypso726]

Off topic I know, but we went to Hamilton yesterday in Chicago. It was great, but not quite as good as School of Rock that we saw in NYC last summer.

Well, it looks like I will have to add School of Rock to my list. I want to go see Hamilton again but in NY, Chicago and London if I can get tix at face value. It's become mine and DH's favorite musical, replacing Rent and Phantom of the Opera respectively. That insane endeavor will require some serious travel hacking though.

We’ve come up against a large unexpected expense that we won’t be able to pay for all at once. My cat developed a cancerous mass in his chest and is likely going to need surgery very soon. It will cost enough that I’ll be able to blow through a minimum spend. After that, I’m going to use a promotional balance transfer to my oldest card, a Bank of America Amex that isn’t worth using for spending but is kept open for AAoA. It will cost 3% to transfer, but after that I’ll have a 0% interest rate for a year, which is long enough to pay it off. This is definitely not a position I want to be in, but we’ll do whatever we have to to give our guy a fighting chance. I should mention that we just adopted 2 kittens this weekend, too. It was already in the works for a while before the cancer diagnosis, so definitely not an optimal time to be taking in more mouths to feed. But they are SO CUTE!

I just opened the SPG last month, so I’m going to cool it on any additional cards, but the last card DH opened was 3 months ago so it’s his turn. He’s at 5/24 and his last Chase card was opened 09/16. He already has CSR, Freedom, FU (PCed from CSP), SPG, Hilton (all personal). After my awful CIP recon phone call he isn’t too keen on trying for a Chase business card. I have CSR, CIP, SW Premier, SW Plus, SPG. I haven’t delved into Amex MRs yet, and I think I want to stick with collecting UR and SPG for their flexibility, or maybe add AA since there are a few CC bonus opportunities to quickly rack up miles. Or is it smarter to go with a cash back card? Those are generally not even on my radar.

I was originally thinking I would just put this bill on an existing card…either a Chase for the UR or an SPG, and transfer the balance to the Bank of America card. Is it crazy to open a new card for this? Ugh, my head is spinning from this awful news and I'm afraid of doing something irrational given the circumstances.

First, let me say I am sending good thoughts and pixie dust for your cat's speedy recovery.

In this situation, I'd open up a new card that has a bonus offer worth higher than the 3% transfer fee. You're going to spend it anyhow so if there's a a way you can get something out of it, then all the better. Opening a new card with a valuable bonus can mitigate or negate the 3% transfer fee. I'd suggest getting a Citi Prestige or Premier for the 50,000 TY points. On Prestige it would be worth $625 or you can transfer to airlines and you get a $250 annual airline credit. If not a Citi card then an Amex MR card with high bonus. If not that then an SPG business card. Amex is easier to get business cards from than Chase. Hope this helps.

@calypso726 thanks for the advice on buying Disney gift cards with my Amex. My tentative plan is to pc my CSP to a Freedom before the AF hits in Feb. We'll keep DH's CSR. So far I've only used UR to book an independent hotel for Disneyland next month but I'm interested in learning more about using points for flights. We do fly SW almost exclusively but will probably be going to Europe in 2018. Is it usually best to book international flights directly through the UR portal or transfer UR points to the airline? Is transferring easy to do online?

You're welcome. Yes transferring the points to an airline is easy right from the UR portal.

Booking flights through UR or transferring to an airline for an award ticket depends on a number of factors. First would be the difference in the number of UR points to pay for a ticket via the UR portal vs the number of points/miles required by the airline for an award ticket. Next you'd have to make sure there are award tickets available before transferring.

So I will use one of my own recent examples to illustrate. I needed to fly from Shanghai to Tokyo next year. UR points can transfer to BA. BA doesn't fly that route but they are part of One World alliance and partner with Japan Air Lines. The flight is a little over 3 hours so DH is going to want to fly in business. BA requires 15,000 miles to fly on JAL in business for the flight I need. BA happens to have award availability for my flight on the date I need too. The cash price is over $1,000 which would require over 66,000 UR points to pay for the flight in the portal. So here, I am better off transferring 15,000 UR points to BA to get the same flight. Hope that helps.

 

[GlamMistress]

We’ve come up against a large unexpected expense that we won’t be able to pay for all at once. My cat developed a cancerous mass in his chest and is likely going to need surgery very soon. It will cost enough that I’ll be able to blow through a minimum spend. After that, I’m going to use a promotional balance transfer to my oldest card, a Bank of America Amex that isn’t worth using for spending but is kept open for AAoA. It will cost 3% to transfer, but after that I’ll have a 0% interest rate for a year, which is long enough to pay it off. This is definitely not a position I want to be in, but we’ll do whatever we have to to give our guy a fighting chance. I should mention that we just adopted 2 kittens this weekend, too. It was already in the works for a while before the cancer diagnosis, so definitely not an optimal time to be taking in more mouths to feed. But they are SO CUTE!

I just opened the SPG last month, so I’m going to cool it on any additional cards, but the last card DH opened was 3 months ago so it’s his turn. He’s at 5/24 and his last Chase card was opened 09/16. He already has CSR, Freedom, FU (PCed from CSP), SPG, Hilton (all personal). After my awful CIP recon phone call he isn’t too keen on trying for a Chase business card. I have CSR, CIP, SW Premier, SW Plus, SPG. I haven’t delved into Amex MRs yet, and I think I want to stick with collecting UR and SPG for their flexibility, or maybe add AA since there are a few CC bonus opportunities to quickly rack up miles. Or is it smarter to go with a cash back card? Those are generally not even on my radar.

I was originally thinking I would just put this bill on an existing card…either a Chase for the UR or an SPG, and transfer the balance to the Bank of America card. Is it crazy to open a new card for this? Ugh, my head is spinning from this awful news and I'm afraid of doing something irrational given the circumstances.

Like others above, I'd suggest just getting a card with a 0% promo APR.

- Citi DoubleCash (15 months 0 apr)
- Amex Blue Business Plus (earns Membership Rewards, no fee, 0 for 12 months)
- Amex Everyday (earns Membership Rewards, no fee, 0 for 12 months)

Have you had a Barclay Arrival plus yet? It's offering 50k points after 3k spend - that's worth $500 on travel. You would definitely need to balance transfer tho.
That said, you mention AA - you can get 50k AA miles with first purchase from the Barclay Red Aviator. Again, you'd need to roll balance.

 

[Tikitoi]

Check your Amex offers. My Everyday card had one for an additional 4x on gas!

Just checked and none for me I wonder if it has to do with the fact that I have the AMEX Hilton Honors or that I just got that card a little over a month ago...

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I finally got a response from Experian regarding removing the AU for my Marriott card from DH's credit report. I was unable to submit the request via their website for some reason. They physically mailed the response and confirmed that the AU is now removed! That means that it has now been taken off all 3 credit agency reports and DH is at just 3/24, which will drop to 2/24 in January.

The plan is for him to get the CSP some time within the next 6 months. It will really depend on whether we have some big spending coming up. If not, then we will wait until day care costs start in January, since just paying that will get us 3/4 of the way towards the minimum in just 3 months. The other $1k should be easy to hit. Feeling grateful that the day care accepts credit card payments, since that is going to be a lot of spending for the next several years.

 

[Ava]

Well, it looks like I will have to add School of Rock to my list. I want to go see Hamilton again but in NY, Chicago and London if I can get tix at face value. It's become mine and DH's favorite musical, replacing Rent and Phantom of the Opera respectively. That insane endeavor will require some serious travel hacking though.

Go on the official website & sign up for their e-mail list to be notified when new blocks of tickets are going on sale. Both times I saw Hamilton on Broadway I bought the tickets as soon as a new block went on sale; they were for performances 8-9 months out but I got good seats at face value.

 

[peel]

Thank you all so much for your suggestions and good wishes for Loki! He’s feeling fine so far. We only found out about the mass because he had an x-ray to look for an intestinal blockage after he stopped eating. Since the entire cat’s body can fit in an x-ray, they saw the mass even though they weren’t looking for it. It turned out that one had nothing to do with the other and he had pancreatitis. Now he’s recovered from that and doing fine, but we had to start with a bunch of other expensive tests to figure out exactly what the mass was. So here we are.


I meant to stay on top of your responses last night but I never made it back to the computer after I posted. So, it looks like there are two camps of thought…go with a card that has 0% for the first year or so of owning the card, or go with a card with a signup bonus that will offset the cost of the balance transfer. Both are very valid paths to choose. Your Amex/Discover suggestions make a whole lot of sense. I never really looked into them because until now I was focused on travel points, but the temporary 0% interest rates are a very logical reason to choose one of them. I will investigate those right away. Thank you for planting the seed! But I can also see the advantage to getting a card with a big signup bonus and then moving the balance to my 0% card. I have to act pretty quickly, because we have a consultation with an oncologist tomorrow, and if he says surgery is the way to go, we want to schedule it ASAP.


I am going to do some serious research tonight and crunch some numbers. We don’t know the exact total for the surgery, but we were given an estimated range, and OUCH. We’ve already drained some YNAB categories to pay for the tests he’s had so far.


Anyway, thank you all for your help! You’ve given me options I didn’t realize I had!!

 

[tink1970]

@peel- I hope all goes well for you and your four legged child...I lost 3 bulldogs in 13 months to cancer and it is truly so very sad...sending prayers and pixie dust!


On a "You have to consider what you use in this game" report...I had booked a stay for my brother and his family at a Marriott Residence Inn for next week on the site, using my Chase Marriott (charges at the stay). I figured this would garner about 4000 points plus an extra 2000 for a current promotion. Since I value SPG points more, this would equal 2000 SPG points (I'm always chasing SPG and Delta...have come to the realization that URs just don't benefit me that much). I like to stockpile SPGs and then transfer to Delta or stay at a Sheraton/Westin on points.

Today received a targeted Amex offer-10,000 MR if I spent $500 with Amex travel before September. I booked the same room (slightly higher rate) and will earn 4000 MR points plus the extra 10,000...so cancelled the 2000 SPG points for 14,000 MR (which to me equals 14,000 skymiles/pesos). It is the small things in life but I figured y'all could appreciate my excitement.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

@peel- I hope all goes well for you and your four legged child...I lost 3 bulldogs in 13 months to cancer and it is truly so very sad...sending prayers and pixie dust!


On a "You have to consider what you use in this game" report...I had booked a stay for my brother and his family at a Marriott Residence Inn for next week on the site, using my Chase Marriott (charges at the stay). I figured this would garner about 4000 points plus an extra 2000 for a current promotion. Since I value SPG points more, this would equal 2000 SPG points (I'm always chasing SPG and Delta...have come to the realization that URs just don't benefit me that much). I like to stockpile SPGs and then transfer to Delta or stay at a Sheraton/Westin on points.

Today received a targeted Amex offer-10,000 MR if I spent $500 with Amex travel before September. I booked the same room (slightly higher rate) and will earn 4000 MR points plus the extra 10,000...so cancelled the 2000 SPG points for 14,000 MR (which to me equals 14,000 skymiles/pesos). It is the small things in life but I figured y'all could appreciate my excitement.

I got that same offer, but have no way to use it really. Not going to be doing a whole lot of travel between now and until maternity leave ends. *womp womp*

 

[peel]

@peel- I hope all goes well for you and your four legged child...I lost 3 bulldogs in 13 months to cancer and it is truly so very sad...sending prayers and pixie dust!

I’m so very sorry. We just lost our beloved Marvin 2 months ago, and now this. He had kidney disease, and we went through a very long and draining fight to keep him around. He was Loki’s buddy too, and I can’t help but wonder if the loss of Marvin contributed to Loki developing cancer. We’ve all felt the loss tremendously. He was a special guy.

 

[WVMomof3]

Go on the official website & sign up for their e-mail list to be notified when new blocks of tickets are going on sale. Both times I saw Hamilton on Broadway I bought the tickets as soon as a new block went on sale; they were for performances 8-9 months out but I got good seats at face value.

What is face value? Maybe I am just too cheap. My daughter is going to be in Chicago next week. I had looked into surprising her with tickets. Cheapest I saw was @$300 each. I just couldn't do it.

 

[peel]

In this situation, I'd open up a new card that has a bonus offer worth higher than the 3% transfer fee. You're going to spend it anyhow so if there's a a way you can get something out of it, then all the better. Opening a new card with a valuable bonus can mitigate or negate the 3% transfer fee. I'd suggest getting a Citi Prestige or Premier for the 50,000 TY points. On Prestige it would be worth $625 or you can transfer to airlines and you get a $250 annual airline credit. If not a Citi card then an Amex MR card with high bonus. If not that then an SPG business card. Amex is easier to get business cards from than Chase.

I don't think I can utilize the Prestige right now to the extent that it would give me a good return on the steep annual fee, but it's definitely something I'm considering down the line. Because of that, I don't know if I want to get the Premier because now you can only collect one bonus (in 2 years, I think) no matter which card you got it on.
Any insight on how the Amex business card application process compares to Chase?
The Blue and Everyday cards seem like good options at first because of their 0% apr, but they have such low minimum spend requirements that I feel like I might be wasting this huge bill on a card with a $1000 min spend.