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

Just call SW when you're ready to switch. They'll switch the companion and rebook the flight for you.

 

Went to DC last weekend. Used AA bonus miles to cover both our flights and CSR pts for a 3 night stay at the Fairmont. The exchange/conversion rate for hotels was pretty good, around 8k per night.

We originally wanted to do NYC like we did last year but the point rate for even a decent hotel was about 20-25k per night.

FYI, the Newseum in DC is incredible. I enjoyed it the most of anything we saw.

 

I'm going to be paying for 6 months of day care in one shot coming up soon - any great signup bonuses out there right now? Have a Chase: Sapphire Reserve, Southwest, Amazon, AMEX: Delta, and AAdvantage Aviator (American) - looking for largest signup bonus, will hit that then throw it in a drawer.

 

How much is it?

 

Probably around 3,000 so I shouldn't have a problem hitting a 4 or 5k spending in 3months

 

Chase Ink Preferred? Are you below 5/24?

 

Chase United card is doing 50k miles and no annual fee for the first year. Card has some nice other benefits as well but there's also a lesser free version of it to downgrade to eventually

 

Should be

 

Yeah I would agree with the ink preferred then, good for 3x points on cable and cell phone also

 

I have a dumb question. I applied for a CC the other day (amazon) I got accepted and don't really want it. I would much prefer to swap it for the UBER card. Do you have any recourse if you never activate it? I know applying for credit card hurts your credit. I have 3-4 other cards so if I never use the amazon and don't get the uber it doesn't matter that much.

 

I don’t believe so. The account is open, the card just isn’t activated. If it’s a no fee card, just sock drawer it and keep the line of credit.

 

It's open, it's too late

Also don't get uber yet, get a big bonus card from chase

 

Which one is that?

 

CIP or Sapphire Reserve, depending on your goals.

Send a PM and I can help you work through the decision process

 

does anybody know how long somebody has to post a charge onto my credit card? I just was charged for something from October and want to know if I am allowed to dispute it.

 

So I flew American Airlines over the weekend. They're offering 60,000 free miles if you sign up for their card. Thinking about signing up, booking a trip and then cancelling whenever they let me. Good idea or bad idea?

 

Also, what's the best card for racking up airline miles?

 

Annual fee? Can you hit the spend requirement? Always a good idea imo

 

they do a 100k bonus once a year

 

new card with sign up bonus every few months

 

Which AA card? They have one that's always 60k

You're going to need to tell us more about your life if you want good info

 

Get the united card from chase first

 

The Aviator card. I flew this weekend and they said it "expires Jan. 31" haha

I have 3 kids and rarely fly. I'm looking for a card that will allow me to take the kids on a family vacation every year or two.

 

I got it months ago same rate.

What's your home airport and where do you like to vacation? Two or three top choices. Also, what will your accommodations be when you get there?

 

Home airport: DFW

Want to travel with wife to Chicago, Seattle, Vegas, NY, etc. Want to take kids to Disney, on cruises, the beach, etc. Stay in hotels with wife but would be most likely in a condo/air bnb situation with kids when possible.

 

If I were you I'd get both that card and the 50k Citi AAdvantage card. The aviator doesn't have a minimum spend and the aadvantage is an attainable amount. 110,000 miles for not much money. Then after a year I'd switch the aadvantage to double cash and use that as your daily card with no annual fee

Doesn't seem like you need a big card for your life right now. You can also get more AA cards in the future to build that bank

 

Not sure if we have any die hard United flyers in here but there are targeted offers out there for the Chase United MileagePlus Club Card for no annual fee the first year. Card gives you unlimited access to United Clubs even if you're not flying them on that trip ($550 value) and better perks than the standard MileagePlus Chase card. No huge mileage bonus signup unfortunately

 

LInk? I have MP but this info is relevant to my interests (esp if I can carry both for the next year).

 

Any clue whether I can switch my MP explorer card to it?

 

www.mpclubcard.com/relax

I don't know the answer there. I got the explorer card a couple months ago and was targeted for this current offer in addition so you could probably hold both for a time

 

thanks for the link. looks like i'm targeted for this offer though i haven't recieved any comm. yet.

 

I read about it somewhere so calling it targeted may be a little off base. It is a very solid offer though

 

I got the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer card in May 2017 for the 70k mileage offer. I've now used those miles. Since the card is through Chase, can I downgrade that card to a Chase Freedom to get rid of the $95 fee even though it's a United card? And would doing that before I've had it for one year ding my credit?

Edit: Looks like no, but it might be possible to downgrade it to the United no-annual-fee card. And Chase reserves the right to deny the downgrade if the card has been open less than 1 year.

 

I think its standard for them to not let you downgrade until you've hit a year of having it open. I know that was the case with my Sapphire Preferred and for many others in here as well

 

This thread is relevant to my interests as a I have a chase sapphire reserve, gold Amex, rewards, and citi aa. I’m a big points guy picked up from being in the world of consulting. Love my sapphire reserve.

 

Sounds like you'll be able to hit some nice sign-up bonuses

 

Yeah you can only product change within the same line with chase. UR cards with UR cards. SW cards with SW cards etc

And definitely don't downgrade until the annual fee hits

 

Question on reaching the sign up bonus requirements. Does the 90 days/ 3 months start when you activate your card, or when you are approved for a card? Pretty sure it's when you activate it, can't remember though.

Thanks.

 

What’s the best on the market I’m missing out on right now

 

Probably the Chase Ink Preferred if you can get approved

 

Ink Preferred. If you want a personal instead of business, I love the SPG card even though it's not at its all-time high of points.

But really, if you live anywhere close to a Southwest airport you should get the two SW cards and get the companion pass for 23 months

 

I have a chase ink business preferred. I hit my 5k in 3 months. When is the soonest I can/should downgrade it to a no annual fee card?

 

No matter the card the earliest you should ever is the day the fee hits for year two

 

Wait why because it hurts your credit?

 

Because 99% of the time they'll reject it before a year and 100% of the time it will piss the bank off

 

He did already answer this with the real reason, but also just fyi, it does not hurt your credit. That's the whole reason to downgrade a card to a free one and keep it; it's the same line of credit so it does not impact your score

 

Also, on the topic of credit scores: last week I decided to get my free annual report because I wanted to compare it to the info Discover provides as well as CreditKarma (used it initially for the free tax prep and now use it some for the credit reporting). The reports that both of those places are able to provide compare pretty well with what the full detailed report says from the agencies. You obviously don't get quite as much information but for a free service they both do the job well. I like both of them far more than the free service Chase provides

 

Quick question. I am a newbie to this stuff but I signed up for a chase CC Southwest card. If I spend 1k in the first 3 months I get 40k in southwest points.

Been using the card for a few weeks now, paying it off weekly. When I log into the Southwest site, I still have zero points. Is there normally a lag time or something?

Sorry if this seems basic. New to the ballgame.

 

Yes, there's a lag; it typically takes a little time after you hit the required spend and I think they even say to allow up to 6 weeks after your promo time period, so that would be after the 3 month period is up. Can't remember exactly when my bonus offers have posted in the past

 

I believe your monthly statement needs to close before you make a payment.