HikerT

You're just writing to some guy in India who doesn't have the authority to do anything. Save your keystrokes for your next credit card application. There's plenty more out there, not many that offer 50K.

robyng

I don't take a lot of trips (can't afford to the way I travel - and - the older I get - the less I like to go through the hassles involved in traveling these days - I am still keeping my fingers crossed for "beam me there Scotty" ). Also fly out of a sleepy airport (JAX). Think it has a DL lounge - that's about it. And I suspect the lounge might be more crowded than the terminal. Our airport is so sleepy that until 9/11 - there was a large parking lot right next to the terminal where you could park for free for 45 minutes to pick up arriving passengers.

Anyway - I did upgrade our AMEX card this year to a Premier Rewards Card (from a regular Rewards card). Costs $175/year - as opposed to $150 for the old card. And we get 15k extra miles a year if we spend $30k+ a year (which we always do). It's not much - but it's something.

We've been with AMEX since 1974 - and have come to realize that the primary purpose of a credit card is to have access to credit - especially when it comes to emergency situations (even if you pay off your balance every month). It is also good to be with a credit card company for a long time - because it learns your profile and avoids potential problems (including fraud problems). AMEX knows that I might go on a trip and spend $500 in Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills - but I'm not going to spend $500 on punk rock CDs in Thailand or $150 in TJ Maxx in a London suburb (I actually got calls from the AMEX fraud department when people tried to use my card number to buy this stuff). IOW - I think AMEX knows me better than my husband does. FWIW - it is always a good idea to let your CC companies know when you'll be out of your home country. Before we went to Japan - the AMEX computer probably didn't know how much we love Japanese food .

I think spending limits are very important. We have no pre-set spending limit on our AMEX card - or the Chase Sapphire cards we just ordered. The miles on the new Chase Sapphire are a nice bonus - but we need a non-AMEX card with no pre-set spending limit if we have to make a big charge at a place that doesn't accept AMEX. Like a nursing home. Don't laugh. We had to move my late FIL to a nursing home about 10 years ago from a hospital in North Carolina. Had to pay for an ambulance transfer - and a month in advance at the nursing home. Neither provider took AMEX.

FWIW - we almost always use our miles on F or BF tickets - mostly international - but some transcontinental domestic. And you generally need lots/tons of miles for those rewards. So we save and save and save - and then spend. 50k miles one way or the other doesn't in general make a big difference.

What is a $100 global entry? Robyn

Happy

The speed-up pass at Port of Entry of good ole USA. Port of Entry is where you first encounter US Immigration.

robyng

OT - but where do you plan to go in Norway? The train between Oslo and Bergen is absolutely breathtaking. But - apart from that - if you want to do the coast - the fjords - you should either drive (it is a "white knuckle" drive) or take a regular cruise or the Hurtigruten (the mail boat). I doubt this would be an easy trip to put together through a "package type" travel website (unless you were simply doing a regular cruise). You can get lots of useful info here in the Scandinavia forum about the things to see - and the best ways to see them. Note that Norway is an extremely expensive country (be prepared for $5 chicken breasts at the grocery store and $5 beers at the bars). Robyn

Happy

Well, the response came back very short - requires Invitation Number to honor the offer, and all other questions ignored and unanswered - they dont bother to sugar-coated the replies any more. :-)

Chase will see $3K on this card but that would be pretty much about it.

AMEX on the other hand would get the $$$ with their generosity. And the original offer requires only 1/3 spend than Chase no less.

AMEX MR pts have far more transfer partners than Chase also.

Happy

I think it is more expensive than that. The whole Scandinavia is never a low-cost destination. It seems to get more expensive each year.

It would be a shame not to do the fjords if one already is at Bergen.

Agree on the fjords is not a "package" you could buy from outside the country. The drive is no more "white knuckle" than a drive in the Northwest corner of NZ's South Island.

robyng

What do you get out of Capital One that you like? I have a really old Capital One no annual fee Visa Signature card - and the only reason I got it years ago was because - at the time - it was the only game in town with no forex surcharges. That picture is changing today. OTOH - Visa is more widely accepted in some areas (like Europe) than Mastercard. So even if the Chase Sapphire MC doesn't have forex fees - it may not be readily accepted in certain countries.

FWIW - I haven't received my Chase Sapphire card yet. Does it have one of those "chips" that will allow you to use it in countries/places where you a need a card with a chip to buy certain things? Robyn

Happy

C1 Venture card $1100 promo ended in early April. It is a de facto 2% cash rebate card if you use it to redeem compensation on the Travel Activities booked with the card. Extremely easy redemption all done online and takes 1 to 2 days to finish the process - statement credit to offset the expenses. Venture is the first entry of C1 into the Up Market of Credit Card Industry. Its reward structure is different from the regular C1 cards. Same as Sapphire Preferred has a different Ultimate Reward than other Chase cards UR program.

Sapphire is NOT a Chip and PIN card that is the standard in Europe.

The Other Credit Card forum has a long-running thread about When and If, the US issuers would eventually be forced to go that route.

cazic99

I agree, Chase will get Chruned while never having real long term customers while Amex will. Myself included.

And this spend 3k for 50k points is worthless to me. Way too much in a short time for way too little. BA 25k in 3 months for 100k miles, FINE. But not for 50k.

Sosiouxme

This.

ddfr

my wife is a sapphire card holder and is just about to cross over the $3k threshold. My MIL just got a card and we are considering having my wife get a secondary card to help expedite the spending on this card.

Would my wife getting a card on my MIL's account adversely impacting my wife getting her 50k points or my MIL getting her 50k when the spend requirement is met. In short, I am wondering since my wife's name would be on both accounts would Chase say that she, in effect, can only get the bonus one time?

Any help/guidance would be very much appreciated.

Again, also thanks to all for making this such a great site. You all seem very knowledgeable and I have learned a great---just wish that I had my to offer you.

robyng

So what do you plan to do with this stuff? I always kind of like to have a game plan. And am more or less in the process of developing one given the hyperinflation in the "miles" cost of international F/BF tickets.

FWIW - when you are deciding what cards to get rid of (I do that maybe once every couple of years) - look at what you got with the card - and whether it will disappear if you cancel the card. For example - I have a bunch of CO President's Club passes through my Chase CO MC that are good until the end of 2012. But I must have an active Chase CO MC to use them. If I get rid of the card - the passes are trash. I will probably trash the passes with the card come renewal date - but that's just what makes sense for me.

In terms of companion tickets - look at the fine print. I always got them on my Chase CO MC - but they were pretty much worthless because they could only be used on very high fare categories.

FWIW - I very much agree with you about the $500 for doing something you would do anyway. We bought a new Lexus in 2009. And found out if we charged $10k on a Lexus (no annual fee) CC - maximum we could charge when we bought the car - we'd get $500 in service credits good for 5 years (not hard to do in 5 years on a Lexus). Total no-brainer IMO. Robyn

robyng

Who cares about the points? When people become joint holders on credit card accounts - there can be all kinds of sticky financial consequences. I have handled money for parents/inlaws - and would never allow a child/grandchild to sign up as an additional cardholder on an account where the parent had the primary responsibility to pay for card activity.

I don't know beans about you - or your family. This is just a bad financial idea IMO. Robyn

P.S. We did put my late FIL as a cardholder on *our* accounts. But he was in a nursing home - and we handled all of his investments and spending. Different situation.

robyng

Thanks for the info. We are only out of the US once every year or two. No big thing for us. The mileage of other people may vary. Robyn

robyng

Well - you have convinced me never to drive in the NW corner of NZ's South Island . I think my husband had a little problem with heights when he was young. And - after living in Florida for 20-30-and now 40 years - we are used to driving on wide roads that are flat as pancakes! OTOH - considering our background - we have been on some pretty terrifying mountain roads (at least in terms of first world standards - and a couple of drives in second world countries I'd rather forget).

And who could go to Norway without seeing the coast and the fjords? I think it's the most beautiful part of the world we've ever seen (but have never been to NZ ).

I don't so much mind Scandinavia being expensive as the fact that - for what you pay - you don't get a heck of a lot. Three star Hilton properties at 5 star Four Seasons prices. Not a good value. Still - Finland is one of those places I want to see before I die. New Zealand too for that matter. Beam me over there Scotty . Robyn