I love credit cards so much!

[CyndiLouWho]

So in my quick scan of 333 pages I couldn't find an answer to my question, so my apologies if this has been asked before:

DW and I have our 30th next year and we're thinking about going to Europe. I'd love it if we could get enough points to fly an upgraded class on points alone.

We've never really maximized points before and not really sure about the distinctions on flights between premium economy/business/first/etc. Anyone have any websites, links, books, tips, resources, etc. to help me starting getting smart on this and planning? Thanks!

It takes a while to plan and accumulate points so you should probably decide a plan A & B for where/when. Flights for next year are already open and some of the best awards seats are gone. You can read blogs like Points Guy, Reward Expert, View from the Wing, One mile at a time, Doctor of credit, etc.
I would start by deciding when/where and figuring out which airlines have hubs in your local airport. For instance, I am in Chicago, United & American both have hubs here. Southwest also has lots of flights. However JetBlue doesn't fly here. So I focus on AA & SW points. I have the AA & SW credit cards (Chase) plus AMEX SPG card (a hotel chain) and Chase Sapphire Preferred, both of which transfer points to other airlines & hotels.

Ps congrats on anniversary! Our 30th is 2019.

 

[Praying Colonel]

It takes a while to plan and accumulate points so you should probably decide a plan A & B for where/when. Flights for next year are already open and some of the best awards seats are gone. You can read blogs like Points Guy, Reward Expert, View from the Wing, One mile at a time, Doctor of credit, etc.
I would start by deciding when/where and figuring out which airlines have hubs in your local airport. For instance, I am in Chicago, United & American both have hubs here. Southwest also has lots of flights. However JetBlue doesn't fly here. So I focus on AA & SW points. I have the AA & SW credit cards (Chase) plus AMEX SPG card (a hotel chain) and Chase Sapphire Preferred, both of which transfer points to other airlines & hotels.

Ps congrats on anniversary! Our 30th is 2019.

I thought starting 12-14 months out would be enough time, but I guess not. Will take a look at your info, though--maybe it will help for 2019 and beyond, thanks!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I thought starting 12-14 months out would be enough time, but I guess not. Will take a look at your info, though--maybe it will help for 2019 and beyond, thanks!

I'm not good at following this advice as I'm pretty new to this but a number of people here plan about 2 years ahead. I've been doing this a couple years and am just looking for "free" domestic not business or first class. I've done a couple Disney trips and have a Grand Canyon trip planned for 2018 mostly free. I am starting planning for 2019 trip though as we're thinking Alaskan cruise and will need time to save for $.
Maybe you could plan something for end of 2018.

 

[Tikitoi]

60K links for the Southwest Plus and Premier cards are back! $2k spend required on each. I think these are the public links:
Plus https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/so...a202ee7b3f3e8d1f0INT&id=lw9MynSeamY&CELL=6PLS
Premier
https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/so...90baf2b6c0bebaaf0INT&id=lw9MynSeamY&CELL=6PLS

I was surprised to see this. Would love to see the CSR w/100k offer again though...

 

[disneymagicgirl]

it depends on how you earn your Hilton honors points. only citi and MR i believe transfers to Hilton. for 26k points, you would need to compare with the cash value of the place. If the place is anywhere above $260, you should book with points. If the room is below $260, you should book the room with cash and redeem a statement credit of amount paid.

As for an nice hotel, i would use UR --> Hyatt. They are usually the best value when it comes to point usage.

Our hilton points are earned thru stays. My husband is a business traveler and stays out a couple nights a week. It is $308 or 60k points direct thru hilton. It is over $300 thru UR portal or the $26k points. Unfortunately no hyatts in knoxville/east tn yet.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I closed DH SW Premier on 7/11/17. Is it safe to reopen now for the bonus points again to earn CP? He is well outside the 24m earn window.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I received the full 10X UR with my Freedom. I agree, SM Chase.

Have SM'd Chase 3x re: getting 1x at Walmart. Twice was told Rewards would post later. Last time, was told Rewards post differently on different accounts. WTH? As soon as my GCs arrive (weirdly they were supposed to arrive 8/19 & no tracking info) I'm returning them at Walmart. Will repurchase with DHs CSR.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Have SM'd Chase 3x re: getting 1x at Walmart. Twice was told Rewards would post later. Last time, was told Rewards post differently on different accounts. WTH? As soon as my GCs arrive (weirdly they were supposed to arrive 8/19 & no tracking info) I'm returning them at Walmart. Will repurchase with DHs CSR.

Yikes, that's turning into way more of a hassle for you than it was worth imho! Also- I don't think you can return gift cards. Walmart policy:
Gift Cards
Nonreturnable
Walmart plastic Gift Cards and Walmart eGift Cards are not returnable or refundable for cash except in states where required by law.

• California - $10 or less, only if original balance was greater than $10
• Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and Puerto Rico - $5 or less.
• Texas - $2.50, only if the original value was greater than $5
• Rhode Island and Vermont - $1

From: http://help.walmart.com/app/answers...KZzM1bEFBZDVUTmhtblF1R29BcU5CNVlOWlRBJTIxJTIx

Personally, at this point I'd set a calendar reminder in my phone to message chase about the missing points in 2 months.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Yikes, that's turning into way more of a hassle for you than it was worth imho! Also- I don't think you can return gift cards. Walmart policy:
Gift Cards
Nonreturnable
Walmart plastic Gift Cards and Walmart eGift Cards are not returnable or refundable for cash except in states where required by law.

• California - $10 or less, only if original balance was greater than $10
• Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and Puerto Rico - $5 or less.
• Texas - $2.50, only if the original value was greater than $5
• Rhode Island and Vermont - $1

From: http://help.walmart.com/app/answers...KZzM1bEFBZDVUTmhtblF1R29BcU5CNVlOWlRBJTIxJTIx

Personally, at this point I'd set a calendar reminder in my phone to message chase about the missing points in 2 months.

Agh. Didn't think of that. While it's probably chase's fault, once again I hate shopping at Walmart.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Agh. Didn't think of that. While it's probably chase's fault, once again I hate shopping at Walmart.

I assume that the problem was that you PC'd before the purchase had posted. Even though the freedom should quality for the offer, it probably just didn't carry over from one card to the other.

 

[Angrose]

Have SM'd Chase 3x re: getting 1x at Walmart. Twice was told Rewards would post later. Last time, was told Rewards post differently on different accounts. WTH? As soon as my GCs arrive (weirdly they were supposed to arrive 8/19 & no tracking info) I'm returning them at Walmart. Will repurchase with DHs CSR.

Ugh, this sounds like a nightmare. I don't think you can return gift cards

 

[Albort]

Our hilton points are earned thru stays. My husband is a business traveler and stays out a couple nights a week. It is $308 or 60k points direct thru hilton. It is over $300 thru UR portal or the $26k points. Unfortunately no hyatts in knoxville/east tn yet.

depends on how you value hilton points now. If i had the 60k points, id probably use that instead of the UR points through portal as the UR points are more valuable to me. I mean it could be used else where. Unless u have another plan to use your hilton points else where for a better redemption(or longer redemption), thats also something to consider.

 

[Albort]

I thought starting 12-14 months out would be enough time, but I guess not. Will take a look at your info, though--maybe it will help for 2019 and beyond, thanks!

its possible to hit your goal... its just a matter of how hard to apply for the cards and earning power. i spent a year and accumulated 300k. thats enough for a few upgrades if need.
where to start is honestly up to you. If your looking for upgrades, its best to chase the card with the airline of choice. If you need help choosing an airline, the best thing to do is to look at your local airport and see if its a major hub. If it is, its best to fly with that major hub carrier. If not, it opens you up to all sorts of options. The reason you dont want to upgrade via *A or other alliance partners is that you usually have to buy the most expensive Y ticket to get the upgrade. But going through this method evens out since some airlines, it would skip PE and go straight to J.

Let us know if you have any questions, we be happy to point u to the right direction.

 

[platamama]

So in my quick scan of 333 pages I couldn't find an answer to my question, so my apologies if this has been asked before:

DW and I have our 30th next year and we're thinking about going to Europe. I'd love it if we could get enough points to fly an upgraded class on points alone.

We've never really maximized points before and not really sure about the distinctions on flights between premium economy/business/first/etc. Anyone have any websites, links, books, tips, resources, etc. to help me starting getting smart on this and planning? Thanks!

You've gotten some great advice so far. I'd like to add that you might "window shop" award availability at the various airline websites (AA, United, etc.) by trying a dummy booking for the time of year you want to travel, and clicking on the Award Travel or Redeem Points option so that you can see if those awards are widely available or not before you start accumulating your points (no point in earning if you can't redeem them).

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I assume that the problem was that you PC'd before the purchase had posted. Even though the freedom should quality for the offer, it probably just didn't carry over from one card to the other.

Yeah, always in too much of a hurry to get stuff done. That's why I thought they could fix it, but I give up.

Ugh, this sounds like a nightmare. I don't think you can return gift cards

Yeah I remember that now. I have a friend with Sams Club membership. Hopefully she can use the GCs to get me Disney GCs. Then I'm done.

 

[Albort]

Yeah, always in too much of a hurry to get stuff done. That's why I thought they could fix it, but I give up.



Yeah I remember that now. I have a friend with Sams Club membership. Hopefully she can use the GCs to get me Disney GCs. Then I'm done.

u win some, u lose some... you will get the next opportunity! :]

 

[AmyAnne]

Yeah, always in too much of a hurry to get stuff done. That's why I thought they could fix it, but I give up.

Did you call Chase customer service? I have always found them super friendly. I suspect that if you explain that you used Chase pay with the CSP then had it changed to the Freedom, they would at least try to help you get the extra UR points.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Did you call Chase customer service? I have always found them super friendly. I suspect that if you explain that you used Chase pay with the CSP then had it changed to the Freedom, they would at least try to help you get the extra UR points.

I hate phone calls. Lol. I might have to try but ugh. For someone who is too old to have grown up with tech, I much prefer it to an actual phone call. Text, email, twitter much preferred.

 

[belle1986]

Anyone here know if I book the AA basic economy rate does my Citi free checked bag still count? The wording on the website is confusing.

 

[mousehappync]

OMG. I have found my tribe! We are very new to this game, but I'd love advice from you experts. We are doing a huge home renovation right now, with 30k-ish spend that could be accomplished really quickLy buying things like cabinets, fixtures, etc, all of which is immediately paid off. I decided to try to maximize that purchasing with cc bonuses, and was planning to spend the rewards on a big Disney trip. However, we are rethinking that, and as of right now I'm only planning to use my Barclay Arrival and Capitol One Venture points for park tickets and Starwood points for two separate 5th night free stays at the Dolphin, but want to use the rest of the points for other travel.

I am still not great at figuring out the timing of applying for more cards--at this point we will be adding cards strategically and using everyday spend to meet minimums. I would like a CSR and an Ink Business (I own a small business) and would love to drop and re-add my Southwest personal and business Visas in 2019 to get a companion pass, so I'm not sure if we should apply for more cards or not. It looks like I can maybe apply for Hyatt and IHG cards and it won't trigger 5/24? Any thoughts on Flexperks? I applied for 5 cards in 2017, all by June.