Renewal Progress
 

I have 7 cards that renew in May. Here is my progress so far:

US Airways Premier World MasterCard - they were unwilling to accommodate any sort of reduced fee and didn't offer any mileage bonus to make it worth my while. I rarely rarely fly US (I fly Alaska and American) so I'm not too motivated to keep this one. Plus, their companion ticket redemption is a pain. Paper coupons? Have to book within 9 months and fly within 12 months? No thanks. I gave my 2 cents and closed the card.

Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Visa This one has a $95 fee. Last year, they waived the fee for me and offered a spending challenge (I can't recall the details). They were just as generous this year. Waived fee (don't have to do anything, no spend, no nothing). Offered 1,000 bonus mile per billing cycle if I make $1,000 in eligible purchases in the cycle. Up to 16 cycles so up to 16,000 bonus miles. I said thank you and went on my merry way.

Citi AAdvantage American Express Select I couldn't recall if this one had the same benefits as my Platinum Select. In researching online (http://creditcardforum.com/blog/amer...x-card-review/), it appears this one is closer to the Gold benefits - only a $50 fee, no priority boarding, no free bag, etc. However, in reviewing my benefits online, they match my PS Visa exactly. So, perhaps my older version is different. Nevertheless, these Citi folks were just as generous as the last. They offered a $95 statement credit (which is the annual fee for my Amex) if I make at least 5 eligible purchases in the next 3 months. No dollar requirement, just a purchase. Easy, peasy, lemon, squeezy.

Chase Sapphire Preferred This has been and continues to be my favorite little card. I have a hard time just thinking about cancelling. But, you can't know till you try. Unbeknownst to me, if you cancel the card, any UR points associated with it go away, even if you have combined them with other UR points from other cards (I have an old Freedom card which I had some measly points on that I combined). Well, I'm not about to lose 40k+ points. I did ask (in my very best voice) if they could help me on the fee as I was trying to pay off other things... but she didn't bite. She only offered a lower grade card without a fee. No thanks, I'll suck it up and pay $95.

Chase Hyatt I have a good taste in my mouth from this card. I just got back from Australia and still remember the enjoyable two nights I redeemed at the Park Hyatt Sydney. That said, I'm not planning on closing this account. The ongoing free night is enough to justify the fee. I'll cough up $75 to keep it this year.

Alaska Airlines Visa Signature (Go Cougs!) This is my 2nd favorite card, mostly because I love and fly Alaska frequently. I'm also a WSU Alum so the cash back to the Association is a great side perk that makes me feel less guilty spending so much on...well...everything. The companion tickets are easy to use (tied to my account) and I have more time to redeem them and fly on them. Worth the $75 fee I'll continue to pay.

Starwood SPG American Express I'm torn on this card. I use it mostly at Costco, strangely enough (Amex or Debit at Costco and I refuse not to get points if I can somewhere!). My BF has lifetime Platinum so the status and points isn't a big deal to me since he has more Starpoints than he knows what to do with. Well, he knows what to with them - spend them on me! I might call and see if they will do anything for me about the $65 fee. Has anyone had luck with that? The bonus redemption (25k for 20k) is also still appealing. I have points to burn if I'm going to close it, I suspect.

Any tips/pointers are welcome.

If you transfer (or "combine" in Chase terminology) your UR points from CSP to Freedom you can keep the points after closing CSP. You just need the CSP or another "premium" UR card (Ink Bold, Ink Plus, or JPM Palladium) in order to transfer points 1:1 to travel partners like United, Hyatt, etc.

You can keep your UR points as long as you have another open UR-eligible account but you must transfer them away from the account you are closing.

just curious (since I see this post here, I'll ask) -- do the 2 free nights expire at the end of the year (whether the actual year or after the 12 month billing cycle?) same Q with the yearly free nights, do they expire or can you roll them over?

thanks!

Mine had an expiration a full 12 months from when I signed up for the card (May 2013). They didn't expire end of calendar year. So, I *think* it stays with your anniversary. But don't quote me on that.

Nearly the same for me -- signed up late March, $1000 spend to earn free nights beginning of April, they expire 30 April 2015.