I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 (see first page for add'l details)

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I got an offer in the mail today for the CIU for $1,200 cash back for a $6,000 spend. It looks like would be a bit better than the standard referral offer other than the CIP which has the annual fee - plus I wouldn't have to pay taxes on the 40,000 points for referral.

The issue is that it is not addressed to my formal name. I'm not sure if that would cause a problem if I change the name in the application?

Has anyone run into this, or have any reasons for not going after this.

As long as you're not saying it's addressed to another household member or a stranger, but it's addressed to a shortened or previous version of your name, I would certainly start the application process and see if you can alter the name. I can't see any reason why this would be problematic.

 

[newski_mom]

As long as you're not saying it's addressed to another household member or a stranger, but it's addressed to a shortened or previous version of your name, I would certainly start the application process and see if you can alter the name. I can't see any reason why this would be problematic.

Yes, it's like Beth instead of Bethany - I'll give it a shot and see what happens.

 

[newfamilyman]

Schwab is good for foreign ATM. My only experience so far was Canada. Make sure your money is in the bank account not brokerage to have debit card access.

I've used it in Egypt and England. No fees at all, which is why I can't see ever switching banks.

 

[newfamilyman]

So I took the plunge today and transferred 113K MR to Hilton at the 2.8 bonus. That along with the 4K I had in my Hilton account put me over the 320K I need to book 5 nights at the Conrad St James in London for Sept. We are staying 5 nights with the 5th being free, so only needed points for 4 nights at 80K each. I KNOW it's a great value, cash price for 5 nights was over $2000, but it always gives me anxiety to see my MRs drop so low. We are actually staying 6 nights, but staying at L'Oscar the first night with my Amex FHR for this year. Flying in early morning it will be nice to have a guaranteed noon check-in with a late check-out the next day to rest and get our bearings before moving to the Conrad.

Then to Paris for 4 nights! We will use IHG points there since the 4th night is free.

I'd recommend the Hilton LXR Mayfair Biltmore, if you can swing the points. I've stayed at the Conrad, but the Biltmore is so much nicer, especially if you're Diamond for free breakfast and get a park-facing room.

 

[AndreaDM]

I'd recommend the Hilton LXR Mayfair Biltmore, if you can swing the points. I've stayed at the Conrad, but the Biltmore is so much nicer, especially if you're Diamond for free breakfast and get a park-facing room.

As of May 1 it is no longer a Hilton property.

 

[wanderlust7]

I have so much to learn. How far in advance did you book the tickets? Sorry about the credit card issues. It's always something with those foreign transactions (I got both my CSP and DH's CSR temporarily shut down when I was frantically trying to book VIP tickets to Stonehenge and they wouldn't accept AMEX for that one.)

I think it opens up 30 days in advance. But there usually isn't any urgency to book right away.

 

[KPK02090]

If I book a hotel today for April 2025 using the Chase portal and my CSR at 1.5 redemption, then downgrade that CSR before the trip. Will that be an issue?

 

[EACarlson]

If I book a hotel today for April 2025 using the Chase portal and my CSR at 1.5 redemption, then downgrade that CSR before the trip. Will that be an issue?

It shouldn't because you're paying for it now. But that's logical so I'm probably wrong because it's the banking industry.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I know this subject has come up before, but I never dreamed that I would be in this position. As a few of you know, four weeks ago my 54-year-old husband died suddenly and unexpectedly. Of all the many things to deal with since that horrible day, I have started to think about points/credit cards. He was an active player 2 and probably had 15 cards (including high annual fees ones that we haven't gotten all the benefits of).

Literally the day after he passed, he received an email from Southwest that he'd qualified for the companion pass. We were also $5,000 away from a 2 for 1 on BA with his Chase BA credit card

I have a few questions for anyone who might have dealt with the death of a spouse:

1. Any chance in transferring the companion pass? I know the rules say "no" but I wonder if anyone has been able to talk them into it.

2. Anything I should watch out for or be aware of?

3. I have moved the points that I can so far, and I plan to make bookings with any points I can't for myself or my kids.

4. Is there any chance of getting partial annual fee refunds on some of his high annual fee cards (especially those where I haven't used all the credits, i.e. Hilton Aspire, Amex Plat., etc).

5. Can you cancel Chase cards via chat? His Amex Gold card just came up for annual fee so I cancelled that one via chat.

6. I'm trying to keep as many accounts open for now until I come up with a plan.

Any help would be appreciated. In the realm of things this is very low priority, but I don't want to make any stupid mistakes.

 

[platamama]

I know this subject has come up before, but I never dreamed that I would be in this position. As a few of you know, four weeks ago my 54-year-old husband died suddenly and unexpectedly. Of all the many things to deal with since that horrible day, I have started to think about points/credit cards. He was an active player 2 and probably had 15 cards (including high annual fees ones that we haven't gotten all the benefits of).

Literally the day after he passed, he received an email from Southwest that he'd qualified for the companion pass. We were also $5,000 away from a 2 for 1 on BA with his Chase BA credit card

I have a few questions for anyone who might have dealt with the death of a spouse:

1. Any chance in transferring the companion pass? I know the rules say "no" but I wonder if anyone has been able to talk them into it.

2. Anything I should watch out for or be aware of?

3. I have moved the points that I can so far, and I plan to make bookings with any points I can't for myself or my kids.

4. Is there any chance of getting partial annual fee refunds on some of his high annual fee cards (especially those where I haven't used all the credits, i.e. Hilton Aspire, Amex Plat., etc).

5. Can you cancel Chase cards via chat? His Amex Gold card just came up for annual fee so I cancelled that one via chat.

6. I'm trying to keep as many accounts open for now until I come up with a plan.

Any help would be appreciated. In the realm of things this is very low priority, but I don't want to make any stupid mistakes.

Oh my, please except my condolences on your loss, that is shocking. I imagine these days are a haze and I hope you are maintaining self-care as much as possible.

This post by Nicolas Reyes on FM has info, and includes a link to a post OMAAT that has more info, and maybe you've already looked at those. I don't have any answers to your specific questions, but just want to say I'm really sorry for what you're going through. Please take care.

 

[afan]

Can you cancel Chase cards via chat? His Amex Gold card just came up for annual fee so I cancelled that one via chat.

So sorry you are going through this.

You can close a chase card via sm, did it a couple of weeks ago. There's a chance they may call to confirm but you don't need to answer/call them back from what I've read they'll still cancel it.

 

[havaneselover]

I know this subject has come up before, but I never dreamed that I would be in this position. As a few of you know, four weeks ago my 54-year-old husband died suddenly and unexpectedly. Of all the many things to deal with since that horrible day, I have started to think about points/credit cards. He was an active player 2 and probably had 15 cards (including high annual fees ones that we haven't gotten all the benefits of).

Literally the day after he passed, he received an email from Southwest that he'd qualified for the companion pass. We were also $5,000 away from a 2 for 1 on BA with his Chase BA credit card

I have a few questions for anyone who might have dealt with the death of a spouse:

1. Any chance in transferring the companion pass? I know the rules say "no" but I wonder if anyone has been able to talk them into it.

2. Anything I should watch out for or be aware of?

3. I have moved the points that I can so far, and I plan to make bookings with any points I can't for myself or my kids.

4. Is there any chance of getting partial annual fee refunds on some of his high annual fee cards (especially those where I haven't used all the credits, i.e. Hilton Aspire, Amex Plat., etc).

5. Can you cancel Chase cards via chat? His Amex Gold card just came up for annual fee so I cancelled that one via chat.

6. I'm trying to keep as many accounts open for now until I come up with a plan.

Any help would be appreciated. In the realm of things this is very low priority, but I don't want to make any stupid mistakes.

So very sorry. My dad passed away in March and he had just paid (in January) his Platinum renewal. I asked on here and what was recommended was to downgrade to green, get a partial refund, then cancel. So we cashed out his MRs (although they probably could have been transferred to my mom), downgraded the card (I logged into his account and chatted), then cancelled it. At least my mom was able to get $400 or so back. She then got her own Platinum card.

Again, I am so incredibly sorry.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I am so very very sorry for your tremendous loss.

 

[DogCat]

I know this subject has come up before, but I never dreamed that I would be in this position. As a few of you know, four weeks ago my 54-year-old husband died suddenly and unexpectedly. Of all the many things to deal with since that horrible day, I have started to think about points/credit cards. He was an active player 2 and probably had 15 cards (including high annual fees ones that we haven't gotten all the benefits of).

Literally the day after he passed, he received an email from Southwest that he'd qualified for the companion pass. We were also $5,000 away from a 2 for 1 on BA with his Chase BA credit card

I have a few questions for anyone who might have dealt with the death of a spouse:

1. Any chance in transferring the companion pass? I know the rules say "no" but I wonder if anyone has been able to talk them into it.

2. Anything I should watch out for or be aware of?

3. I have moved the points that I can so far, and I plan to make bookings with any points I can't for myself or my kids.

4. Is there any chance of getting partial annual fee refunds on some of his high annual fee cards (especially those where I haven't used all the credits, i.e. Hilton Aspire, Amex Plat., etc).

5. Can you cancel Chase cards via chat? His Amex Gold card just came up for annual fee so I cancelled that one via chat.

6. I'm trying to keep as many accounts open for now until I come up with a plan.

Any help would be appreciated. In the realm of things this is very low priority, but I don't want to make any stupid mistakes.

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[becauseimnew]

I know this subject has come up before, but I never dreamed that I would be in this position. As a few of you know, four weeks ago my 54-year-old husband died suddenly and unexpectedly. Of all the many things to deal with since that horrible day, I have started to think about points/credit cards. He was an active player 2 and probably had 15 cards (including high annual fees ones that we haven't gotten all the benefits of).

Literally the day after he passed, he received an email from Southwest that he'd qualified for the companion pass. We were also $5,000 away from a 2 for 1 on BA with his Chase BA credit card

I have a few questions for anyone who might have dealt with the death of a spouse:

1. Any chance in transferring the companion pass? I know the rules say "no" but I wonder if anyone has been able to talk them into it.

2. Anything I should watch out for or be aware of?

3. I have moved the points that I can so far, and I plan to make bookings with any points I can't for myself or my kids.

4. Is there any chance of getting partial annual fee refunds on some of his high annual fee cards (especially those where I haven't used all the credits, i.e. Hilton Aspire, Amex Plat., etc).

5. Can you cancel Chase cards via chat? His Amex Gold card just came up for annual fee so I cancelled that one via chat.

6. I'm trying to keep as many accounts open for now until I come up with a plan.

Any help would be appreciated. In the realm of things this is very low priority, but I don't want to make any stupid mistakes.

My condolences. So very sorry.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I know this subject has come up before, but I never dreamed that I would be in this position. As a few of you know, four weeks ago my 54-year-old husband died suddenly and unexpectedly. Of all the many things to deal with since that horrible day, I have started to think about points/credit cards. He was an active player 2 and probably had 15 cards (including high annual fees ones that we haven't gotten all the benefits of).

Literally the day after he passed, he received an email from Southwest that he'd qualified for the companion pass. We were also $5,000 away from a 2 for 1 on BA with his Chase BA credit card

I have a few questions for anyone who might have dealt with the death of a spouse:

1. Any chance in transferring the companion pass? I know the rules say "no" but I wonder if anyone has been able to talk them into it.

2. Anything I should watch out for or be aware of?

3. I have moved the points that I can so far, and I plan to make bookings with any points I can't for myself or my kids.

4. Is there any chance of getting partial annual fee refunds on some of his high annual fee cards (especially those where I haven't used all the credits, i.e. Hilton Aspire, Amex Plat., etc).

5. Can you cancel Chase cards via chat? His Amex Gold card just came up for annual fee so I cancelled that one via chat.

6. I'm trying to keep as many accounts open for now until I come up with a plan.

Any help would be appreciated. In the realm of things this is very low priority, but I don't want to make any stupid mistakes.

I cannot imagine your heartbreak. I'm so very sorry for what you and your kids are going through.

1. Any chance in transferring the companion pass? I've not seen any dps of this, but it couldn't hurt to email them here.

2. Anything I should watch out for or be aware of? The general advice is to avoid notifying the banks and instead utilize points and begin the process of closing out accounts at your pace.

4. Is there any chance of getting partial annual fee refunds on some of his high annual fee cards (especially those where I haven't used all the credits, i.e. Hilton Aspire, Amex Plat., etc). If you list the high annual fee cards, we can advise a cancellation or downgrade path for each.
Hilton Aspire- downgrade to no fee or Surpass for pro-rated refund of AF. After that, can cancel the downgraded card.
Amex Plat- downgrade to Gold or Green for pro-rated refund of AF, but there aren't any no-AF options. But I believe if you then cancel the downgraded card w/i 30 days, you will get that AF refunded. Can anyone confirm?

5. Can you cancel Chase cards via chat? Absolutely. I have cancelled multiple cards with one secure message.

 

[newski_mom]

I know this subject has come up before, but I never dreamed that I would be in this position. As a few of you know, four weeks ago my 54-year-old husband died suddenly and unexpectedly. Of all the many things to deal with since that horrible day, I have started to think about points/credit cards. He was an active player 2 and probably had 15 cards (including high annual fees ones that we haven't gotten all the benefits of).

Literally the day after he passed, he received an email from Southwest that he'd qualified for the companion pass. We were also $5,000 away from a 2 for 1 on BA with his Chase BA credit card

I have a few questions for anyone who might have dealt with the death of a spouse:

1. Any chance in transferring the companion pass? I know the rules say "no" but I wonder if anyone has been able to talk them into it.

2. Anything I should watch out for or be aware of?

3. I have moved the points that I can so far, and I plan to make bookings with any points I can't for myself or my kids.

4. Is there any chance of getting partial annual fee refunds on some of his high annual fee cards (especially those where I haven't used all the credits, i.e. Hilton Aspire, Amex Plat., etc).

5. Can you cancel Chase cards via chat? His Amex Gold card just came up for annual fee so I cancelled that one via chat.

6. I'm trying to keep as many accounts open for now until I come up with a plan.

Any help would be appreciated. In the realm of things this is very low priority, but I don't want to make any stupid mistakes.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I know this subject has come up before, but I never dreamed that I would be in this position. As a few of you know, four weeks ago my 54-year-old husband died suddenly and unexpectedly. Of all the many things to deal with since that horrible day, I have started to think about points/credit cards. He was an active player 2 and probably had 15 cards (including high annual fees ones that we haven't gotten all the benefits of).

Literally the day after he passed, he received an email from Southwest that he'd qualified for the companion pass. We were also $5,000 away from a 2 for 1 on BA with his Chase BA credit card

I have a few questions for anyone who might have dealt with the death of a spouse:

1. Any chance in transferring the companion pass? I know the rules say "no" but I wonder if anyone has been able to talk them into it.

2. Anything I should watch out for or be aware of?

3. I have moved the points that I can so far, and I plan to make bookings with any points I can't for myself or my kids.

4. Is there any chance of getting partial annual fee refunds on some of his high annual fee cards (especially those where I haven't used all the credits, i.e. Hilton Aspire, Amex Plat., etc).

5. Can you cancel Chase cards via chat? His Amex Gold card just came up for annual fee so I cancelled that one via chat.

6. I'm trying to keep as many accounts open for now until I come up with a plan.

Any help would be appreciated. In the realm of things this is very low priority, but I don't want to make any stupid mistakes.

I am so sorry for the loss of your husband…

You can definitely cancel Chase cards via SM, but they don’t PC via SM

 

[Haley R]

I know this subject has come up before, but I never dreamed that I would be in this position. As a few of you know, four weeks ago my 54-year-old husband died suddenly and unexpectedly. Of all the many things to deal with since that horrible day, I have started to think about points/credit cards. He was an active player 2 and probably had 15 cards (including high annual fees ones that we haven't gotten all the benefits of).

Literally the day after he passed, he received an email from Southwest that he'd qualified for the companion pass. We were also $5,000 away from a 2 for 1 on BA with his Chase BA credit card

I have a few questions for anyone who might have dealt with the death of a spouse:

1. Any chance in transferring the companion pass? I know the rules say "no" but I wonder if anyone has been able to talk them into it.

2. Anything I should watch out for or be aware of?

3. I have moved the points that I can so far, and I plan to make bookings with any points I can't for myself or my kids.

4. Is there any chance of getting partial annual fee refunds on some of his high annual fee cards (especially those where I haven't used all the credits, i.e. Hilton Aspire, Amex Plat., etc).

5. Can you cancel Chase cards via chat? His Amex Gold card just came up for annual fee so I cancelled that one via chat.

6. I'm trying to keep as many accounts open for now until I come up with a plan.

Any help would be appreciated. In the realm of things this is very low priority, but I don't want to make any stupid mistakes.

I’m really sorry for your loss.

 

[havaneselover]

I cannot imagine your heartbreak. I'm so very sorry for what you and your kids are going through.

1. Any chance in transferring the companion pass? I've not seen any dps of this, but it couldn't hurt to email them here.

2. Anything I should watch out for or be aware of? The general advice is to avoid notifying the banks and instead utilize points and begin the process of closing out accounts at your pace.

4. Is there any chance of getting partial annual fee refunds on some of his high annual fee cards (especially those where I haven't used all the credits, i.e. Hilton Aspire, Amex Plat., etc). If you list the high annual fee cards, we can advise a cancellation or downgrade path for each.
Hilton Aspire- downgrade to no fee or Surpass for pro-rated refund of AF. After that, can cancel the downgraded card.
Amex Plat- downgrade to Gold or Green for pro-rated refund of AF, but there aren't any no-AF options. But I believe if you then cancel the downgraded card w/i 30 days, you will get that AF refunded. Can anyone confirm?

5. Can you cancel Chase cards via chat? Absolutely. I have cancelled multiple cards with one secure message.

I just checked my dad’s platinum account and he was credited back the green card annual fee when the card was closed. It was closed about 15 days after the downgrade.