If any of you guys are looking to sign up for the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card you can use my sign up link -

https://www.referyourchasecard.com/21/QMQUA688ED

80,000 points after you spend $5,000 in 3 months.

Details on the card here -

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/chase-ink-card-showdown/

10/24/2018 5:06:56 PM

My Chase Sapphire Reserve AF hit this month. I know I'm getting back much more, but it still hurts to pay that annual fee.

10/26/2018 11:56:57 AM

yeah thats a big one

when i got hit with that after the first year i called in and downgraded the card and got a refund

10/26/2018 2:21:17 PM

I won't keep it for forever, but for now, it still makes sense. This might be my last year with it.

I travel a lot (both personally and for work) so the $300 travel credit is used quickly. I earn about 25k points each year, worth at least $250 (if I redeem via Chase). I use the Priority Pass membership for me and my S/O at least 5 or 6 times a year (even more now that they've restaurant credits to it). I was super bummed out when they limited PP guests to only 2 now (still not bad).

10/27/2018 5:54:44 PM

The $300 travel credit eliminates most of the yearly fee. The priority pass is $100. TSA pre check.

10/28/2018 9:58:39 AM

And even services like uber even go towards the credit, it's easy to hit $300 if you travel just once per year

After that getting more than $100 in benefits is easy

10/28/2018 10:32:07 AM

Meh, I feel like they're all handing out PP memberships like candy these days. I have at least 3, maybe 4...

10/28/2018 12:29:08 PM

Yo, lemme hold one of those

I had one with the Sapphire, but downgraded the card so the priority pass doesn't work now

^ Hey is there anything new in the manufactured spend world, or is it still all vgc to money order focused?

[Edited on October 28, 2018 at 3:08 PM. Reason : ]

10/28/2018 3:06:00 PM

Well, at one point I had 3 dif amex platinums
I think the us bank altitude gave me one, as well as the new fancy amex hilton card
Not really. I'm sort of running out of cards to get so haven't really had to do any ms in over a year

10/28/2018 9:12:03 PM

The Sapphire Reserve is a no brainer if you travel multiple times a year. I combine all the points from my Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, Ink Business Preferred, and Sapphire reserve and they are all worth 50% more with the Reserve. The $150 easily pays for itself. The priority pass and TSA precheck are the cherries on top.

10/29/2018 11:30:18 AM

I buy a metro card which is $121/month so the $300 is gone in a month or two.

10/29/2018 12:50:26 PM

I churned so many cards I can't seem to get anymore sign up bonuses.

10/29/2018 2:51:03 PM

Your application get denied...or you do the spend and don't get the bonus?

10/29/2018 3:34:33 PM

applications get denied

10/29/2018 8:17:40 PM

you're probably getting hit with this: https://cardsfortravel.com/what-is-the-chase-524-rule/

10/29/2018 11:49:32 PM

I have a list - I should be clear of that now.

It's not just chase, but citi and capital one too. They know I'm a churner so I think I'm getting denied.

10/30/2018 8:21:25 AM

Amex? Boa? Synchrony? Usbank?

10/30/2018 9:11:10 AM

Quote :

"The Sapphire Reserve is a no brainer if you travel multiple times a year. I combine all the points from my Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, Ink Business Preferred, and Sapphire reserve and they are all worth 50% more with the Reserve. The $150 easily pays for itself. The priority pass and TSA precheck are the cherries on top."

yeah that's a great card. I also happen to get the annual fee waived by being military, which makes it a double no-brainer (to be clear, the annual fee is really $450, although you get a $300 travel credit. I just get the $300 credit for free! I've even used it to rent an airplane before...it's not just for hotels and rental cars.)

Why do you keep the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited, though? I had both of those at one time or another, but cancelled them. The AmEx Blue Cash Preferred has better rewards, I'm pretty sure.

Basically, I use my Sapphire Reserve for most stuff. I put gas/groceries/drug stores on the AmEx. I keep an IHG (hotel) card because it has a free night or two per year, and Chase waives the annual fee on that one, too...but the Sapphire Reserve and AmEx Blue Cash Preferred are basically the 2 that I keep in the rotation for ongoing use.

...then I occasionally sign up for another card and use it for a couple of months just to score the bonus, and then cancel it.

10/31/2018 1:41:51 AM

Because the Freedom for a lot of people was their first decent rewards bearing card (credit history) and it has no annual fee and there are some decent 5% categories from time to time. Zero risk/cost to keep open.

10/31/2018 9:14:01 AM

Declined from Amex.

I don't think USbank or Synchrony have sign up bonuses worth my an application

10/31/2018 10:33:22 AM

^^ ok, that makes sense for credit history, if it's your first/oldest card.

10/31/2018 10:18:26 PM

^^ I've gotten over $1000 for travel via USBANK
Also, Bank of Puerto Rico

11/1/2018 5:20:18 PM

Paid $450 for amex biz plat 1st year, entire fee waived 2nd year, 3rd year, 5K points up front + 25K points for $10K spend in 3 months as their retention offer which I accepted

11/28/2018 12:58:21 AM

David, do you actually need to have s Biz for that card?

11/28/2018 7:51:26 PM

No. If they ask for business name say Vandelay Industrials and for tax ID use your social.

11/28/2018 8:24:32 PM

^

11/29/2018 11:49:15 PM

I've been getting denied left and right lately

12/7/2018 1:06:47 PM

Just got approved for one of the Delta 70K offers last month as well as another Alaska Air.
With Chase expanding 5/24 to all of their cards, I may take it easy on new approvals next year.
The retention offer I just got will take care of my spending for most of Jan and Feb.
Maybe I'll try to put 15K spend on my Hilton card to get a free night and possibly open myself back up to getting Chase cards in late 2020 which would work out nicely for companion pass timing if it still exists then...

12/7/2018 5:30:09 PM

Pulled the trigger on the new Amex Gold card. The standard sign-up offer is 25k points but actually got 50k, I assume because I'm a net new customer. I'll probably switch all my spending to this card and earn about twice as many points as I did with my Chase Sapphire last year, even before the bonus. We spend a metric fuckton of money on food.

1/8/2019 9:46:51 AM

^^^What denial reasons have you been getting? And how many new cards have you gotten in the past two years?

1/8/2019 6:27:51 PM

^^^it seems to me that the best offers for the Delta cards are given out during a flight. I never seem to see the same bonuses through mailed flyers or any other invitation.


I think this is my last year with the Sapphire Reserve. I've got a couple trips planned that will basically zero out my rewards points and travel credit. My plan is to get all of that booked and then downgrade the card this fall before my AF hits.

But i'm just not sure what's next.

1/9/2019 8:46:49 AM

Business Insider: Southwest just announced an unheard-of deal for its credit cards — you'll get the coveted Companion Pass simply by opening one.
https://www.businessinsider.com/southwest-companion-pass-deal-for-new-cardholders-2019-1

1/11/2019 11:19:58 AM

^^ The inflight offers are usually better than their normal offers, but not higher than the upgraded offers they usually do at least once a year.

^ You only get 30,000 pts plus it's only good til end of year, vs the normal one good for all of this year and next.

1/12/2019 12:40:40 PM

I got the Amex Platinum. We’ll see if it’s total overkill.

1/14/2019 4:57:36 PM

^^^^ Sapphire Reserve is my go-to. No annual fee for military!



___________________________________________________________________

I'm looking at the Hilton Honors AMEX Ascend. 125k signup bonus after just $2k in purchases, 6x points on gas, groceries, and restaurants, and 3x on everything else (plus 12x at Hilton). $95 annual fee.

1/15/2019 3:38:29 AM

That's just hilton honors points though right? Are they transferrable for any other use?

1/15/2019 10:40:31 AM

Don’t know, but I’ll for sure stay in a hotel room numerous times per year.

1/15/2019 5:14:13 PM

Looks like it is Hilton points, but I am intrigued by "6x" back on grocery and dining. Seems like it might be a good replacement for the AMEX blue cash.

I am skeptical that it's actually 6 cents back per dollar when you go to spend the Hilton points tho. Can anyone speak to that? With the at hotel points have been devalued lately I doubt the deal is that good.

They also have a 5x card without the annual fee.

1/16/2019 12:31:47 PM

It’s not that great. Hilton points are currently in the .5-.6 cents per point value.

1/16/2019 12:37:30 PM

Yeah, sitting on half mil hilton points now getting about .6 cents per point when utilizing 5th night free with status

1/16/2019 10:35:36 PM

Quote :

"I am intrigued by "6x" back on grocery and dining. Seems like it might be a good replacement for the AMEX blue cash."

That's what I was thinking. It might become my overall go-to card, as it combines the categories that I use on my main 2 cards (Blue Cash and Sapphire Reserve), with equal or better point multiples.

I'd still keep Blue Cash (at some point, if I had enough hotel points, I'd just the cash back) and the Sapphire Reserve ($300 travel credit for free every year due to no annual fee on mine, plus $32k credit limit on that card with 4% APR.) This Hilton card could really be the ticket, though, except:

Quote :

"I am skeptical that it's actually 6 cents back per dollar when you go to spend the Hilton points tho."

Oh, that's some ol' bullshit. That would put it pretty much in line with a bunch of other rewards cards, effectively, right?

1/17/2019 12:25:39 AM

Valuations by the Points Guy

Hilton - 0.6 cents
Amex - 2.0 cents
Chase - 2.0 cents

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/monthly-valuations/

So technically worth less in some cases.

[Edited on January 17, 2019 at 11:37 AM. Reason : .]

1/17/2019 11:36:43 AM

What's the confusion? Of course a hilton card is going to give you hilton points and not cash back...

1/17/2019 6:07:24 PM

No confusion, just that 6points per dollar with Hilton points is only 3.6cents back. Versus sapphire reserve with 3points per dollar and those points are worth a minimum of 4.5cents

1/17/2019 10:18:36 PM

Chase freedom has been sending me notes like once a month to increase my credit limit. I have that and the Chase amazon and really nothing else in terms of lines of credit. Should I continue to ignore/tell them to fuck off or finally accept the increase. My instinct says not to only bc they keep asking me so much. I figure if chase wants it that much, its bad for me.

1/18/2019 5:40:44 PM

It won't hurt you as long as you are a responsible person who isnt going to suddenly spend more than you can afford, it could actually help you if you have any balance because your credit utilization would be better. I'm surprised they ask, Chase has increased mine on their own

1/19/2019 6:23:58 AM

^

1/19/2019 3:28:41 PM

Anything new on the manufactured spending front?

Don't want to go the VGC-MO route because i'm lazy and it seems they were tightening down on that

2/7/2020 3:41:49 PM

Nah, got a little paranoid after all they shut down all those accounts and clawed back all those bonuses. I still prepay bills when possible and try to pay for airbnbs and stuff up front and have other people pay me back. I took last year off to get under 5/24 so just got 2 shiny new southwest cards last month.

2/7/2020 6:03:23 PM

The hot thing right now is buying clubs. I don't really have the time to deal with all of that, but they exist if you're looking to do some serious ms.

2/17/2020 10:37:53 AM