Credit Card Thread - Now with a Beginner's Guide to free travel/FAQ

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by blind dog, Apr 10, 2015.

  1. HuskerInMiami

    HuskerInMiami Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Miami DolphinsNebraska Cornhuskers

    What’s the spend on the Hilton Amex? I spent $2280 so far on it and can’t figure out what minimum is. Also I paid it off already(but first statement isn’t for 15 days) when do I get free points?
     
  2. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
    Donor

    $4000 but ask amex in chat for your amount and deadline to be safe
     
  3. The B1G Kucktis

    The B1G Kucktis 2 years, VARSITY!!
    Donor
    Penn State Nittany LionsPhiladelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia 76'ersPhiladelphia EaglesPhiladelphia FlyersTiger WoodsWolverhampton Wanderers

    I know, I’m normally not at the airport for very long.

    It’s a great lounge for sure.
     
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  4. Struggler

    Struggler Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Ohio State BuckeyesCincinnati RedsCincinnati Bengals

    I don’t believe you should pay off before billing. My Costco cashback wouldn’t count anything that was paid before that month’s bill was sent.
     
  5. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
    Donor

    not how this works for 99% fortunately
     
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  6. Todd Bonzales

    Todd Bonzales Sex with old ladies for money aaaand bear traps.
    Donor
    Ohio State BuckeyesCleveland BrownsUSA RugbyTiger WoodsOhio BobcatsCleveland CavaliersCleveland IndiansOlympics

    Whaaaaaaaat?
     
  7. Struggler

    Struggler Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Ohio State BuckeyesCincinnati RedsCincinnati Bengals

    Well shit. Just googled it.
    I swear I remember buying a $1,500 play structure (8 years ago)and paid it off early. When I checked my monthly statement the cash back was less than it should of been. Ever since then I just let it ride until the statement is issued. Apparently I should have bitched and got the points or Amex card was different deal than Citi
     
  8. Whammy Business

    Whammy Business Well-Known Member
    Donor

    Didn't think it would be as easy as it was to combine UR points. San Diego, here we come.
     
  9. Uncle Tupelo

    Uncle Tupelo Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Ohio State BuckeyesCincinnati RedsCleveland Browns

    Just wanted to give a thanks to all the great info provided in this thread. I always just had one cashback card I put everything on and really didn't pay attention to travel rewards and such.

    Just finished booking a 3 week Europe trip in July with exclusively with credit card points. A year ago I would have laughed at you if you asked me if we could afford a 3 week trip abroad.
     
  10. Nelson

    Nelson Can somebody please get Ja Rhule on the phone
    Donor
    Nebraska CornhuskersDenver NuggetsDenver BroncosColorado AvalanceBorussia DortmundManchester UnitedColorado State Rams

    Well, you might still not be able to afford it

    But the card providers can :awesomeface:
     
  11. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
    Donor

    Yessssss

    Congrats man. That's awesome
     
  12. Uncle Tupelo

    Uncle Tupelo Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Ohio State BuckeyesCincinnati RedsCleveland Browns

    Chase, paying for people to see the world. What a benevolent institution :smug:
     
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  13. Houndster

    Houndster Well-Known Member
    Donor TMB OG

    That’s awesome, I think I’m going to hoard most of mine until next year and do the same thing.
     
    TAS likes this.
  14. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
    Donor

    It's a delicate balance between hoarding and burning. IHG and AA devalued this week so I'm pro burning...But I also love having a stash

    Just means I have to get more cards I guess
     
    Nelson likes this.
  15. Nelson

    Nelson Can somebody please get Ja Rhule on the phone
    Donor
    Nebraska CornhuskersDenver NuggetsDenver BroncosColorado AvalanceBorussia DortmundManchester UnitedColorado State Rams

    I need a new bonus to churn with the wife. Might go double AmEx platinum
     
  16. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
    Donor

    :rain:
     
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  17. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
    Staff Donor

    Syd/Auckland flights got me to my Hyatt card spend

    now to figure out where to go next, go back and forth on the Delta card. companion pass I'd 100% get use out of, but really should wait until their yearly bigger bonus offers are in.
     
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  18. Nelson

    Nelson Can somebody please get Ja Rhule on the phone
    Donor
    Nebraska CornhuskersDenver NuggetsDenver BroncosColorado AvalanceBorussia DortmundManchester UnitedColorado State Rams

    Leaving money on the table not to do it tho. Trying to score some non-economy action to NZ for a wedding in 2020
     
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  19. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
    Staff Donor

    make sure and use card match to see if either of you have the 100k offer
     
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  20. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
    Donor

    I'm never opposed to bonuses, friend

    Party on
     
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  21. Lip

    Lip Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Michigan State SpartansDetroit LionsGeorge Washington Colonials

    I’m sitting on 200k Chase and don’t have any big trips to spend them on until prob 2020. Any reason to worry?
     
  22. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
    Donor

    Chase is unlikely to devalue. SW and Hyatt and United might and that will hurt but you have a safe floor on those
     
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  23. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
    Staff Donor

    I'm convinced Hyatt is going to add another tier of points pricing for theirs. 30k points for $1k a night hotels isn't something I imagine they can keep doing as everyone else is so far away from that value.

    This is why with all refundable award nights I've booked out forever even if I may swap hotels later. The points/cash change was a toe in the water of devaluing.
     
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  24. Struggler

    Struggler Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Ohio State BuckeyesCincinnati RedsCincinnati Bengals

    Did not get 100k offer. :(
    I fly 4-5 times a year out of Oakland airport. Their only lounge is free through Amex Platinum only. That and the doubling of points transferred to Hilton has me considering applying.
    Should I wait for the possible 100k offer or just take the 60k? Is there another card(s) I should apply for instead?

    Have had Chase Southwest visa for 10+ years and Costco credit card (Amex/Citi) for 10+

    Since August 2018 4/5 24
    CSR/CSP (double dip)
    Discover (cash back match. Only approved
    for $3k limit) :(
    Amex Hilton

    Plan on wife churning after I run out of cards to apply for.
     
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  25. pratyk

    pratyk Arsenal FC, Rutgers Scarlet Knights
    Rutgers Scarlet KnightsArsenal

    Got a targeted 100k offer?
    If you're going for it anyway for the 60k bonus, I can refer you
     
  26. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
    Donor

    I'd love to do this but divorces are messy
     
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  27. Lip

    Lip Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Michigan State SpartansDetroit LionsGeorge Washington Colonials

    I just got the 60k points. You’re saying it’s a good idea to just book random nights in the future and then cancel them if I don’t want them?
     
  28. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
    Staff Donor

    the rhyme or reason for the 100k offer i don't know, wife got the offer i didn't. so who knows if you'd ever get it. be the last card you'd get as 5/5 tho, I get tons of value out of mine with the $200 incidental credit, $200 uber credits, 5x flights, etc. go to lounges at least once a month and like you the best lounges here are Amex only access.

    Apply for an American Express Card with this link. We can both get rewarded if you're approved! http://refer.amex.us/JONATAzQmL?xl=cp27
     
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  29. Struggler

    Struggler Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Ohio State BuckeyesCincinnati RedsCincinnati Bengals

    What they don’t know...
    Unless you’re telling me she’ll get shot down when she applies. I’ve already spent the referral bonuses in my head.
     
  30. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
    Staff Donor

    i'll give you an example of what i'm doing, because planning my korean vacation is going to cause me to go insane I have 4 night block in the middle that I don't know what we're doing so I just picked a location we might go and booked 4 nights at Park Hyatt Busan. no idea if we'll end up using them or even going to that city, but it prevents me from getting clipped by devaluation or them running out of award nights.

    in a week or two will do the same in Auckland/Sydney, just placeholder fully refundable hotel bookings.

    if anyone has lots of knowledge about south korea hit a guy up, picking the non-seoul city to go to is driving me nuts. leader so far is Busan with day trip to Gyeongju. have no interest in the resort island. will probably do a day trip from Seoul to Jeonju. if timing works PERFECT might do day trip from Seoul to the cherry blossom city, but seems most people think it's redundant as Seoul will be blowing up with cherry blossoms too.
     
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  31. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
    Donor

    I was joking about your phrasing. You said you were going to churn wives not have your wife churn
     
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  32. Uncle Tupelo

    Uncle Tupelo Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Ohio State BuckeyesCincinnati RedsCleveland Browns

    I was able to pull a 75k offer via incognito for the amex plat about a month ago FWIW. Not sure if that's still a thing or not.

    Edit: Struggler I was able to pull up the 75k offer again today.
     
    #9082 Uncle Tupelo, Jan 6, 2019
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2019
    Struggler likes this.
  33. hawkeyeOUTeast

    hawkeyeOUTeast Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Iowa HawkeyesChicago CubsCarolina PanthersKansas City ChiefsCarolina HurricanesPGABig Ten Conference

    I need another citi AA code, signed up a dog and a fish, still nothing....
     
  34. Zebbie

    Zebbie Hey Mike, guess what I have in my underwear?
    Donor
    Texas Tech Red RaidersTexas RangersChicago CubsDallas StarsTexas Tech Red Raiders alt

    Fuggers - how bad was the AA deval?
     
  35. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
    Donor

    Good: Canada got cheaper
    Bad: Europe and Hawaii got more expensive in business/first

    The latter hurts me much more than the former helps me but it could've been so much worse so I'm ok with it
     
  36. Nelson

    Nelson Can somebody please get Ja Rhule on the phone
    Donor
    Nebraska CornhuskersDenver NuggetsDenver BroncosColorado AvalanceBorussia DortmundManchester UnitedColorado State Rams

    Best practices for pulling the best amex bonus offer?
     
  37. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
    Staff Donor

    https://www.creditcards.com/cardmatch/

    ive never been sold on the benefit of applying from incognito mode but can't hurt, i guess
     
  38. Struggler

    Struggler Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Ohio State BuckeyesCincinnati RedsCincinnati Bengals

    I can’t get 75k offer. Wife pulled 100k offer though.
     
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  39. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
    Donor

    Jelly
     
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  40. Struggler

    Struggler Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Ohio State BuckeyesCincinnati RedsCincinnati Bengals

    Haven’t dealt with Amex rewards. Is there any reason not to double up points through Hilton rewards?
     
  41. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
    Donor

    One AMEX point is worth more than two HH
     
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  42. Det. Frank Bullitt

    Det. Frank Bullitt God Bless Texas
    Donor TMB OG
    Texas LonghornsManchester United

    Standard conv. rate is 1:2

    They do have promo periods sometimes. I got in at 1:3 over the holidays, but some only qualified for 1:2.5
     
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  43. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
    Donor

    1:3 is about even. I'd probably do it. I don't like amex that much
     
  44. Struggler

    Struggler Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Ohio State BuckeyesCincinnati RedsCincinnati Bengals

    May not matter. Her application hasn’t gone through online, twice for different reasons. She’s on hold as I type...

    Edit: Phone application did not work either. Fuck you credit match.
     
    #9094 Struggler, Jan 6, 2019
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2019
  45. Uncle Tupelo

    Uncle Tupelo Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Ohio State BuckeyesCincinnati RedsCleveland Browns

    Weird. Did you try it a few times? I think it worked on like the 3rd one for me.
     
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  46. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
    Staff Donor

    amex transfer partners aren't great for me at least
     
  47. BP

    BP Bout to Regulate.
    Donor
    Atlanta BravesGeorgia BulldogsAtlanta Falcons

    How many Schrute bucks tho?
     
  48. Lip

    Lip Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Michigan State SpartansDetroit LionsGeorge Washington Colonials

    Great contribution. What’s your referral link?
     
  49. BP

    BP Bout to Regulate.
    Donor
    Atlanta BravesGeorgia BulldogsAtlanta Falcons

    #9099 BP, Jan 7, 2019
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2019
    EMAW FC likes this.
  50. HuskerInMiami

    HuskerInMiami Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Miami DolphinsNebraska Cornhuskers

    So the first $2,280 won't count towards my points because I paid it before they even sent me the bill?