I love credit cards so much! v5.0 - 2022 (see first page for add'l details)

[4Hawks]

Since you are considering a Chase UR card, you can't go wrong with either Chase Sapphire card. For your needs, the Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) is likely sufficient. Right now the SUB is 60k, but there are some targeted mailers for 80k (my DD's BF just received one). What's nice about UR is that it's really versatile, meaning you can transfer it to several airline and hotel programs, like Southwest, IHG, Hyatt etc, or you can cash out the points.

Right now, Chase offers something called Pay Yourself Back. With the CSP, you can cash out your points for 1.25 cents when you spend on an AirBNB. Not sure if that will be extended past 9/30. The way PYB works is you put charges on in an eligible category, like AirBNB, and then erase that charge with the points you've earned. So if you earn the SUB of 60k, you could "erase" $750 in AirBNB charges. Or cash out at 1 cent each.

CSP	1.25 cent per point.	Airbnb.	Sept. 30, 2022.
CSR	1.5 cents per point.	Airbnb and dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services).	Sept. 30, 2022.

Other people might have better recommendations on cash back cards.

Do not add your spouse as an AU, as that counts towards their 5/24. You have plenty of organic spend, so instead, you can always sign up for a card and then send a support link to your spouse to sign up for the same card. You generate that link from your account. You get extra points for doing that. Your spouse will then earn his own SUB, worth between $600-750. Since your spouse has a Chase login already, he might try logging in and see if he has any special offers towards the CSP. I think there might be a 70k special offer floating around by logging in.

Let us know if you have other questions.

Thank you! This is very helpful.

I'm sorry. I meant to say I'm thinking about applying for the Chase Freedom Unlimited. I have edited my post to reflect that. I will look into the Chase Sapphire card as well.

 

[Haley R]

We have 4 JAL RT J tickets booked. Booked with a combination of AA and BA.
Departure is booked via AA for 60k + $5.60 each, home airport to LAX to KIX. When looking it was easy to get 4 tickets to KIX via AA, 4 tickets to HND and NRT were more difficult because they are more popular routes and we were booking via AA which are booked 331 days in advance. If you aren’t bAAned, you could easily get 180k AA miles. You can churn Barclay cards, at least for now.
Return is booked HND to DFW, via BA 92,750 + $335 each. I booked them on the same day because even though BA release flights 355 days in advance they only release 2 J seats at that time about 5 days later they release more seats some days at total of 4 seats some 5. I’m not sure how many miles you need to fly to/from the east coast via BA but you should be able to collect enough miles. I think tickets from the west coast are 72k miles. The great thing about BA is that you can transfer from several credit card companies, including Chase and Amex.

Thanks for the advice! That makes me feel better about finding 3 seats. We would rather fly into Tokyo but it’s not the end of the world if we have to do KIX. We would most likely try flying out of LAX so we would fly over and stay the night before. We’ve never had any AA cards so I don’t think we’re banned.

Did you do BA because you didn’t have enough AA points to fly back? I’m wondering if we could do all AA there and back. It seems really overwhelming to me right now

 

[Princess Michele]

We have an Alaska Cruise/Tour booked for 2023 with Princess Cruises and were planning on purchasing the flights through Princess. Since we are flying from the East coast we thought it would be less stressful to go through Princess so they could get us where we needed to go if anything happened. The prices for flights are now double what they were last year so we are rethinking our plan. Now we are planning to purchase our flights to Alaska through Princess but purchase our return fights on our own and use points/miles.

Looking at the flights from Vancouver to the Washington, DC area the best options are Air Canada so I am looking at getting the Aeroplan CC and transferring UR's to make up the difference. There will be 5 of us so the free first checked bag for each of us and possible need for fewer points for flights would be worth the AF. We easily charge $4,000-5,000 each month and pay the cards off in full.

I am currently 4/24 until 1/2023 and these are the cards I currently have:

1/21 - BOA Premium
4/21 - CSP
4/21 - CSR
12/21 - AMEX Platinum
4/22 - CIC

P2 is currently 3/24 and these are his cards.

8/21 - Barclay Wyndham Earner
10/21 - CSP
8/22 - CFF

Once I am back under 5/24 I am planning on getting a CIU or another CIC to replenish the UR's we transfer. I looked at the Venture and VentureX but Capitol One's pre-approval did not bring up either one for me. DD just started a full time job and could be a P3 and possibly get her own Aeroplan CC to add to the points totals or P2 could get one in November.

Does 1 or 2 Aeroplan CC's and transferring UR's for the balance make the most sense for us or is there something else that would be better? Thanks for any input.

 

[becauseimnew]

Thanks for the advice! That makes me feel better about finding 3 seats. We would rather fly into Tokyo but it’s not the end of the world if we have to do KIX. We would most likely try flying out of LAX so we would fly over and stay the night before. We’ve never had any AA cards so I don’t think we’re banned.

Did you do BA because you didn’t have enough AA points to fly back? I’m wondering if we could do all AA there and back. It seems really overwhelming to me right now

Yes and no, we only had 260k AA miles. But also because AA and BA are the same award seats, JAL releases 4/5 award seat to all the partners not each. And because BA can be booked 350ish days the seats could be gone before AA opens up their calendar.

AA is definitely better because you can mix AA and JAL in one ticket, we are flying AA to LAX and JAL LAX to KIX, but BA won’t let you combine AA and JAL.

You should be able to get enough AA miles for 3 RT tickets
Barclays AA Biz is 70k miles
Barclays AA Personal is usually 60k
And Citi Aa biz is usually 65k
You can your DH could each get one of those cards. The MSRs are small compared to Chase and Amex.
But also focus on URs and MRs to book via BA.

 

[afan]

We have an Alaska Cruise/Tour booked for 2023 with Princess Cruises and were planning on purchasing the flights through Princess. Since we are flying from the East coast we thought it would be less stressful to go through Princess so they could get us where we needed to go if anything happened. The prices for flights are now double what they were last year so we are rethinking our plan. Now we are planning to purchase our flights to Alaska through Princess but purchase our return fights on our own and use points/miles.

Looking at the flights from Vancouver to the Washington, DC area the best options are Air Canada so I am looking at getting the Aeroplan CC and transferring UR's to make up the difference. There will be 5 of us so the free first checked bag for each of us and possible need for fewer points for flights would be worth the AF. We easily charge $4,000-5,000 each month and pay the cards off in full.

I am currently 4/24 until 1/2023 and these are the cards I currently have:

1/21 - BOA Premium
4/21 - CSP
4/21 - CSR
12/21 - AMEX Platinum
4/22 - CIC

P2 is currently 3/24 and these are his cards.

8/21 - Barclay Wyndham Earner
10/21 - CSP
8/22 - CFF

Once I am back under 5/24 I am planning on getting a CIU or another CIC to replenish the UR's we transfer. I looked at the Venture and VentureX but Capitol One's pre-approval did not bring up either one for me. DD just started a full time job and could be a P3 and possibly get her own Aeroplan CC to add to the points totals or P2 could get one in November.

Does 1 or 2 Aeroplan CC's and transferring UR's for the balance make the most sense for us or is there something else that would be better? Thanks for any input.

Before you consider more than one person getting the aeroplane card you'll want to see if you can combine their points or not. If not you need to be strategic in what each person gets as you'd need to be able to transfer ur to make up any difference and you can only do that if the account names match.

If you can get enough miles from one sign up without leaving points behind it makes sense to get more than one. Also depends on how the bag fee works. Does everyone need to be on thr same booking or just traveling together.

May be better off getting the urs 1st with the biz card and then get the aeroplan. My concern would be needing to book all 5 together for baggage and only 3 seats in the lowest redemption available so when you book 5 it bumps them all up to the next redemption level. But if they don't have to be on the same booking to get baggage, just with you, then you do it separately.

I'd just rather get more ur 1st with your spend and then get the aeroplan. You can always use more or where I would imagine you wouldn't need more aeroplane.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

I swear I'm cursed w/ VGC! Today apparently 1 of my cards didn't activate when I was buying them. The cashier was so flustered and didn't know what he was doing. He had rung up the same cards 3 different transactions and he had to keep refunding me. So I had to drive back and get him to refund the inactive card. The receipt even said to refund it. Again, he was so flustered he asked me to just call my bank and ask them to give me $200. Like WHAT? LOL Luckily he finally figured it out and refunded me. But it was a mess!

And you'll get fired if the school finds out.

Well considering school KNOWS what is going on with my dad. AND knew there was a HUGE possibility I wasn't going to go AT ALL! And they weren't going to get refunded if I flat out cancelled....I don't think they will be upset if I stay one more day to make sure my dad is okay before I go (since he's getting a pacemaker). I don't think I'm going to get fired for changing my flight because of my dad who's been in the ICU for a month.

 

[Haley R]

Yes and no, we only had 260k AA miles. But also because AA and BA are the same award seats, JAL releases 4/5 award seat to all the partners not each. And because BA can be booked 350ish days the seats could be gone before AA opens up their calendar.

AA is definitely better because you can mix AA and JAL in one ticket, we are flying AA to LAX and JAL LAX to KIX, but BA won’t let you combine AA and JAL.

You should be able to get enough AA miles for 3 RT tickets
Barclays AA Biz is 70k miles
Barclays AA Personal is usually 60k
And Citi Aa biz is usually 65k
You can your DH could each get one of those cards. The MSRs are small compared to Chase and Amex.
But also focus on URs and MRs to book via BA.

Thanks for your help! We currently have around 270k UR that we were saving to transfer to virgin for ANA. But it seems like that has been hard to get. So maybe we could use those on BA if we have to. I think our goal is to get AA points and keep BA as our backup.

Is there anything I need to know about applying for Barclays cards?

 

[Princess Michele]

Before you consider more than one person getting the aeroplane card you'll want to see if you can combine their points or not. If not you need to be strategic in what each person gets as you'd need to be able to transfer ur to make up any difference and you can only do that if the account names match.

If you can get enough miles from one sign up without leaving points behind it makes sense to get more than one. Also depends on how the bag fee works. Does everyone need to be on thr same booking or just traveling together.

May be better off getting the urs 1st with the biz card and then get the aeroplan. My concern would be needing to book all 5 together for baggage and only 3 seats in the lowest redemption available so when you book 5 it bumps them all up to the next redemption level. But if they don't have to be on the same booking to get baggage, just with you, then you do it separately.

I'd just rather get more ur 1st with your spend and then get the aeroplan. You can always use more or where I would imagine you wouldn't need more aeroplane.

Thanks for your response. I have been going back and forth between getting biz cards to replenish the UR's I would transfer and getting the Aeroplan CC. I was researching Aeroplan's program and from what I found they have family sharing with up to 8 members and all points go into a shared balance.

The cc terms state the cardmember and up to 8 travel companions on the same reservation would have their first checked bag free. I had not thought about if there were not 5 seats for the same number of points. I guess worse case scenario we would have to make 2 reservations and some would not get the free checked bag.

We would probably need a minimum of 170,000 points/UR's to book 5 flights. If I get 1 Aeroplan cc that would give my at least 73,000 points (70,000 SUB + 3,000 for MSR). The remainder can be transferred from our current UR's balance and I can replenish our UR's with 1 or 2 biz cards.

 

[havaneselover]

So I can't seem to get a retention offer on my Bonvoy Amex (the $95 one). I'm thinking of canceling and getting the Marriott Bonvoy card (trying to rebuild my Bonvoy stash for a 2024 trip to London). I also want the Amex Hilton card (maybe I'll go for Biz) and BB Plus. That's $5000 in 3 months (easy peasy even though no tax payment due until 1/15) and $15/16k in 12 months. I think I'm at 2/24 so 1 personal card should be okay.

 

[Alexle2007]

Well it looks like I need to restock no fee VGCs this week when I return from Chicago. DS has decided the grass is not greener on the other side and has asked to return to private school. I have contacted them to see when I can get him in back. Of course, I sold all of his uniforms so I will have that expense too. Pants, oxfords, ties, blazers and Sperry’s. Ugh!

 

[ten6mom]

Supposed to leave this morning for Saskatoon... overnight I got notification that the first leg of my flight is delayed an hour. Logged in this morning to see that the second leg has been delayed until TOMORROW with a 19 hour layover in Calgary.

Sure hope they're going to put me up in a hotel overnight... and since this is a work trip I'm sure my boss is going to be thrilled that they're now paying for a night in Saskatoon that I apparently won't be able to use....

UGH

 

[Judique]

So I can't seem to get a retention offer on my Bonvoy Amex (the $95 one). I'm thinking of canceling and getting the Marriott Bonvoy card (trying to rebuild my Bonvoy stash for a 2024 trip to London). I also want the Amex Hilton card (maybe I'll go for Biz) and BB Plus. That's $5000 in 3 months (easy peasy even though no tax payment due until 1/15) and $15/16k in 12 months. I think I'm at 2/24 so 1 personal card should be okay.

Are you going for the Chase card,(100k points) or the new Brilliant (150K plus 85k FNC)?

I have/had an upgrade for the latter on my $95 card. I may have deleted it as I wasn't that interested.

 

[becauseimnew]

Thanks for your help! We currently have around 270k UR that we were saving to transfer to virgin for ANA. But it seems like that has been hard to get. So maybe we could use those on BA if we have to. I think our goal is to get AA points and keep BA as our backup.

Is there anything I need to know about applying for Barclays cards?

Barclays has a soft 6/24 rule.

 

[leeniewdw]

This is a subject that's important to me. I am a "cozy minimalist" at heart and get nervous when there is too much clutter. My mother-in-law died this year and we had to clean out her house. My mother moved to assisted living and we are still in the process of cleaning hers.
I've read tons of books on the subject and for me the absolute best, most helpful is Dana K. White's "Decluttering at the Speed of Life." It actually works for people who live in their homes. She has a blog also.
Close behind that is "The More of Less" by Joshua Becker. I also like The Minimalists. I'm not a Marie Kondo fan. And this relates to this thread because we sometimes sell stuff and use that for our travels.

I'll check out the White book (I've read/watched some of the others).

I have kept some things (which has of course become clutter in that extra bedroom) that seem worth selling, but I've not really done that and I don't have FB, so FB Marketplace is not an option. I'd love to get rid of a some things and get some $ for travel, but I'm not sure if I should use ebay, mercari, next door?

I love this idea, I might steal it! The thought of being able to pick off a project and then throw out the sticky note is so motivating to me. The clutter around the house drives me nuts and increases my anxiety. But with 3 other people, plus 2 dogs and a cat, in the house I feel like I'm fighting a loosing battle.

I can imagine! It is much easier with an empty nest (and 1 dog). I'd give it a shot with a lot of small things that take 20-30 minutes (clean out junk drawer, clean out 1 dresser of clothes, declutter surfaces in 1 room or counters in the kitchen). Good luck!

 

[becauseimnew]

I have a Paypal Instacart offer, $20 credit with $60 spend. Does anyone know if I use my CSR via paypal that I'll get the CSR $15 credit?

 

[havaneselover]

Are you going for the Chase card,(100k points) or the new Brilliant (150K plus 85k FNC)?

I have/had an upgrade for the latter on my $95 card. I may have deleted it as I wasn't that interested.

Chase card. I can't get the Amex ones.

 

[havaneselover]

I think I'm at 1/24 so Chase Bonvoy and Amex Hilton cards here I come.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

We are planning our rough Japan itinerary, to see how many days we need and cities we'll want to visit while there. Right now we plan for 11 days there, since with travel it's really like 13 days, and most we can take off at our jobs at a time is 2 weeks. To those that have been to Japan (I think @Haley R had a great trip report that I read but it's been a few years and I forget...), can you advise on if this itin looks good, or if there is something you'd change/skip, etc? I am most uncertain on if Nara and Nikko deserve a day, or if we should skip those and add another day to Kyoto. I also know Mt. Fuji is particularly shy, that's why we're opting for Kawaguchi area as I've read that's the best place/chance you have to see Fuji, and since we'll be there in November, those chances may be a bit better too.

3 days Tokyo
2 days Kyoto
1 day Nara
1 day Osaka
1 day Nikko
1 day Lake Kawaguchi area (Mt. Fuji)
2 days for Tokyo Disney

Thanks for the input! @Haley R if your trip report is still active somewhere, I'd love to read it through again now that we're actually going to go.

ETA: I know we're going to be cramming a lot into each day, which we're fine with since we have a limited time in Japan. Mainly wanting input on city selections.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I have a Paypal Instacart offer, $20 credit with $60 spend. Does anyone know if I use my CSR via paypal that I'll get the CSR $15 credit?

I got the same offer, used with my freedom flex and got the $10 on the card and the $20 in PayPal. I'd assume CSR would be the same.

 

[afan]

We are planning our rough Japan itinerary, to see how many days we need and cities we'll want to visit while there. Right now we plan for 11 days there, since with travel it's really like 13 days, and most we can take off at our jobs at a time is 2 weeks. To those that have been to Japan (I think @Haley R had a great trip report that I read but it's been a few years and I forget...), can you advise on if this itin looks good, or if there is something you'd change/skip, etc? I am most uncertain on if Nara and Nikko deserve a day, or if we should skip those and add another day to Kyoto. I also know Mt. Fuji is particularly shy, that's why we're opting for Kawaguchi area as I've read that's the best place/chance you have to see Fuji, and since we'll be there in November, those chances may be a bit better too.

3 days Tokyo
2 days Kyoto
1 day Nara
1 day Osaka
1 day Nikko
1 day Lake Kawaguchi area (Mt. Fuji)
2 days for Tokyo Disney

Thanks for the input! @Haley R if your trip report is still active somewhere, I'd love to read it through again now that we're actually going to go.

ETA: I know we're going to be cramming a lot into each day, which we're fine with since we have a limited time in Japan. Mainly wanting input on city selections.

Others will be able to advise better, and I'm skipping Kyoto but this is my plan.

2 days Tokyo
3.5 days Tokyo Disney
3 days Okinawa
3.5 days Osaka includes day trip to Hiroshima and universal
2.5 days tokyo

I feel like the only one in cramming stuff into is Osaka but also kinda Okinawa because of thr distance between stuff and also the desire to relax some while there. I'd thought about doing a day trip from Tokyo the 2nd time I'm there but realized it makes no sense.

You might consider not flying rt to Tokyo to make things easier inside Japan. Just be conscious of where things are so you aren't using up a ton of time traveling from place to place.