Absolutely right!

Thanks! I had totally forgot about that one.

I had read about that you can cancel the card before the end of the first cycle and the $450 will be refunded. Do I need to pay it off before I cancel? I have the cash to do the whole kitchen, so that isn't a problem.

the miles post after the billing cycle, isn't it? So how could one cancel and get the miles before first billing?

Just a reminder that Home Depot and Lowes gc's are available at your fav-o-rite office supply store. You'd also be eligible for 1% if you've got a Visa biz card enrolled in Visa Savings Edge. So that 10K in cabinets, if bought at Home Depot instead, could be 50K in UR points, plus $100 back, on top of the 70K you're already getting for the sign up bonus. Just sayin"...

Also any grocery store bonus, such as 2x on Amex with the various swipe bonuses of 20-30% for the Everyday Cards, can be boosted by buying gift cards at the grocery store. I've never seen an Ikea gc, but I've never looked, either. They definitely have an array of cards. I recently saw an Ebay variable load, too!

My usual advice is to know where you want to go, and who flies there, then work backwards to get the points needed. Then you can focus this opportunity in one Alliance or a travel goal, and make sure that your resulting points will help you achieve the goal. You didn't say how many are travelling or where you'd like to go.

For myself... I'd do a Chase Ink, Chase Bold (going away) and a UA personal, plus a non-Chase Hotel card or two. Ambitious, yes, but possible, especially as a 3-6 month plan. You could most likely pull off this if your Fico score is high and you don't have large credit lines at Chase.

OR-- a focus on the One World alliance-- AA and US Air, plus the hotel card, and supplement with a BA, and a big fat Amex offer for more BA points.

Grocery stores don't sell IKEA gift cards, only place I've seen them is at IKEA itself.

US Bank Cash+ is the only card I'm aware of with a 5% category bonus for IKEA. But the limit is 2,000 per quarter.

About to make a big ($24,000) purchase
 

Hi folks - I'm kind of a newby at this but I have been churning for some time now and have been enjoying some nice free flights.

At present I have my long-time Citi AAdvantage World Elite, a second Citi AAdvantage Premium Select that I just took out for the 50,000 reward, a MC IHG Rewards Club card (for the free night it provides)...and that's it.

I'm about to make a $24,000 purchase that has be be paid in full by credit card.

My question...what is the best card to use or to get...what is the best way to make this purchase? I will be paying the card off immediately after it's billed.

Thanks for any help.

Cheers, Dori

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Does the entire $24K have to be charged to a single card, or can the charge be split among two or more cards?

If it has to be charged to a single card, your options will be limited to those cards (if any) on which your credit limit exceeds $24K.

There are several ways to answer this question. Each answer makes an assumption about your situation.

1. You'll get the best return if you split up the charge across several new cards to earn the signup bonus on each one. This method assumes a) you can get a bunch of new cards, and b) you can split the $24k charge. Note with regard to (b) that many merchants will let you split up a big charge into smaller payments or installments. They may charge a fee for this, but the value of the signup bonuses will likely dwarf the extra fees.

2. If you have to put the whole charge on one card, you might look at getting the Starwood card. They pay 1 point/dollar but their points are considered to be worth 2-3%. This also assumes you want hotel (or airline) points, as opposed to cash, and can get a new card.

3. If you prefer cash and can get a new card, the Citi 1+1 card pays 2% cash.

4. If you're limited to the three cards you already have, charge it to either of your AA cards. Their points are worth way more than IHG points.

Depending on what the purchase is, some credit cards offer free insurance for new purchases and other benefits. Good customer service can matter if there are problems with the item.

What type of purchase is it? Some cards offer bonus miles based on category or merchant. One example is office supplies/furniture earn 5 miles per $1 with certain Chase cards, computers 3x with some Amex cards. Also, check out the AA or UA e-shopping portals as you can get multiple miles per $1 just for clicking thru to merchant from the e-shopping portal... in addition to miles from using your credit card.

Don't forget to check your credit line, you my not have $24K on any one of your cards. And even if you do, make sure you pay it off before the statement closes, otherwise your utilization may go through the roof and your credit score will take a dive for a few cycles.

Do you need the EQMs from the AA card (you get it at $40K spend)? If so this would get you close.

Let's see if we can get you some better feedback here in the dedicated Credit Card Programs forum.

Good luck!

Moderator, Information Desk

About to make a big ($24,000) purchase
 

You realise the vendor is paying fees for taking payment by credit card. for a purchase like this you can almost certainly negotiate a larger saving by offering to pay "cash" (I.e. bank transfer or cheque) than the credit card will offer you in miles. The vendor should be offering you ~5% of for cash which is over a thousand dollars.

5% is a reach. Most high volume vendors pay between 1-2%. Why would they offer 5% off if they only incur 1-2%. That would be dumb business.