aSiAnRiCk

I have the Altitude Reserve. Did not know I get 4.5% at Costco? If so, this is great news and I've been using the wrong card all along (Citi Costco card)

mia

Nothing to do with Costco, but rather earning 3 points per dollar anywhere you pay with a Mobile Wallet, and then redeeming the points at $0.015/each.

Chris2013

Hello,

Looking for some input on my credit card strategy and perhaps some suggestions for new ones that would compliment my arsenal. A little about me....30 years old, married with a newborn daughter, dual six figure income, not necessarily interested in churning and burning but rather getting cards that offer a long term value proposition. We usually fly coach on either Delta or United when traveling for leisure however we often splurge on 4/5 star chain hotels located in the heart of the city (i.e. Four Seasons, Grand/Park Hyatt, St. Regis). We like to go on a "big" trip once a year and then a few smaller trips throughout the year (pre covid of course). Our nearest airport is Omaha, NE so loyalty to a singular airline doesn't make sense for us, we just book whatever offers the most convenient routing and best price or points offer. Right now here's what I have in my wallet:

Chase Sapphire Reserve
Chase Freedom Unlimited
Chase Freedom
Hyatt Visa
Marriott Boundless
United Mileage Plus card
Amex Platinum

Currently I'm thinking about downgrading my Reserve card to a Preferred due to the increased $550 fee plus the fact the Amex Platinum offers identical benefits and more. I really only need a single benefits card and the Reserve is getting to be a tough value proposition especially in a time of Covid. I usually transfer all my Chase UR points to Hyatt or United and never use the Chase booking portal so no benefit of the increased point value of 1.5 cents.

I thought about going for the Chase IHG card but my last Chase application was a couple months ago for the Hyatt Visa and I received the dreaded "application pending" notification which is the first time I haven't been automatically approved for a card. Luckily I called the reconsideraition line and was able to move some of the credit I had on my Marriott card to be able to get the Hyatt one. I'm afraid of a similar fate with the IHG card unless someone has some knowledge as to if the IHG card is easier to be approved for?

Thoughts or suggestions on any certain cards I should look into? Or on my current strategy and perhaps advice on the best course of action forward?

I know we will ALL travel again, hopefully in less than a years time things get back to some semblance of normalcy. Until then I plan to rack up points as best I can waiting for brighter days on the horizon.

sdsearch

You still haven't told us enough about yourself. What's very important: What exact cards have you applied for in the past 24 months (whether they're still open or now closed), and how long ago for each one?

In case you're not aware, many banks are now implementing various "anti-churning" rules (which can affect "card collectors" as you say you are, not just true "churners"), and so based on the answers you may or may not be locked out of certain banks and/or may need to wait rather than jumping in now.

Chris2013

Most recent cards were:

Hyatt Visa in June 2020

Amex Platinum in October 2019

Marriott Boundless in February 2019

Everything else in my wallet is 4+ years old.

How would anti-churning policies effect card collectors? I mean if I'm not opening/closing cards every year. I wouldn't think there would be any negative consequences for holding them would there?

The only card I may downgrade is my CSR to the CSP due to Covid. I simply cannot justify having an Amex Platinum (which has MUCH better perks) as well as a CSR, there's just too much overlap between the two. With the increase in fees to $550, it's just not worth it to me when the CSP provides 90% of what the CSR does for $95 versus $250.

sdsearch

No, but you haven't said how many cards you want to open soon.

You have two cards opened in the past 24 months. So if you open 2 more personal cards at any bank, you then won't able to open a third card at Chase until your count of opened in the past 24 month (personal) cards drops back to 4 (which it will in a couple months for the card you got in October 2019).

Most banks' anti-churning rules are only about how many cards opened in a certain amount of time, nothing about whether they were closed or not. So that's why a "collector" doing "fast buildup" can run into that just as much as a true "churner" can. But it sounds like your collecting is slow enough that it you may not have an issue as long as you keep going this slowly (and/or start opening business cards, which in most cases don't appear on personal credit reports).

Now, back to your original question, your don't have all the effectively "net negative AF" hotel cards yet. As you mentioned, you're missing IHG. You're also missing Hilton, where depending on your specifics, the most expensive card ($450 AF Hilton Aspire) might actually be the cheapest (since it gives up to $250 resort credit a year, up to $250 airline incidental credit a year, Priority Pass, and a free weekend uncapped hotel night cert a year (and temporarily those can be used any day of the week). So depending on how much hotel you redeem for costs, you may not even need to be able to use all of those credits to offset the AF completely. Oh, and you also get Hilton's top elite status, Diamond, with the card, while no other hotel program that I know gives either top or even second-from-top elite status with any card any more.

And there's also the Radisson Rewards card to consider. It gives many thousands of points, instead of an expiring cert, every renewal year, which can be good in that case, because the good hotels worth redeeming for in Radisson Rewards are only found in some countries overseas, so you may go a few years between being in locations where redeeming Radisson Rewards makes sense.

Of note: The IHG, Marriott, and Hyatt free night certs are all capped at some level, so they can't be used for absolutely any hotel in the program. Hilton's certs are not capped per se, but you can only redeem for "standard" rooms, so once those sell out, you can't use a cert. And like I aid, the Radisson Rewards card gives points instead of a cert, so there's no worrying about whether the cert works differently than points.

Chris2013

I’ve thought about the Hilton Aspire card but two things are really holding me back- 1) the airline fee credit which is already difficult for me to use all of on my Amex Platinum and 2) the negligible difference between the Gold status I have compared to Diamond on the Aspire. The biggest benefit with any status for me is free breakfast and because I get that with Gold, I’m not sure Diamond really offers all that much more.

ill have to look at Radisson rewards as that’s one program I’ve never given much consideration to. I appreciate the suggestion!

rice4u

Flyers, what should my next card me. I am planning for our 15 year anniversary next year (spring 2021*/2022) to Bali. Would like to surprise the wife w/1st class to Asia from the Eastcoast U.S (but flexible from the west coast as well). I am thinking about the Alaska airline or AA advantage, never have BoA so not sure due to recent opened accounts..., but any recommendation to supplement would be great. Currently has the following cards/points:

Chase Sapphire Preferred May 2017
Chase Freedom Unlimited Apri 2016
Chase Freedom April 2017
WoH Nov 2019 (67k pts)
IHG premier Nov 2019 (150k pts)
Amex Plat Jan 2018
Amex Gold Sep 2018
Amex Delta Reserve Jul 2019 (100k SkyMiles +1 comp. cert)
Amex Marriott Bonvoy Oct 2019
Hilton Aspire Oct 2019 (160k)
Amex Schwab Plat Jan 2020
Amex Green May 2020
Citi Prestige Dec 2019

Chase UR: 50k , Amex MR: 250k , Cit TYP: 70k

My question is what is the best use of what I have to achieve what described up above. If anyone can share their experiences as far as flight (airlines, route etc) I would greatly appreciate it. Btw, I am currently active duty so all AF is waived. The wife also has all the cards above except for the prestige, Schwab, WoH, but she has the CSR.

Thank you!

sdsearch

Please explain "2021*/2022". (I don't know what you by putting "*/" between two years. "/" by itself would mean "either", but "*/"? Did you mean to write footnote about 2021 but forgot to? )

A 1st class flight to Asia booked for spring 2021 that ends up being something you can't take because of Covid-19 rules in Bali or on the airline or whatever, doesn't sound like a great surprise.

rice4u

I would think most flyers would know what * potentially mean, but yes unlikely 2021 with the current state we're in. Anyhow, the WHEN is not that important compares to the experiences and recommendations from others on the planning. TIA!

sdsearch

Well, your basic question is a bit hard to answer to answer right now, because we don't know for sure what airlines are going to change their flight schedule and the planes they fly by 2022. Some airlines which currently have international first class might get rid of it by then if no business purchases of seats in that came come back by then.

Meanwhile, you should study up on the airlines that your current programs transfer into (especially the ones that multiple programs you have points in share), because you may or may not already have enough points/miles already, but different programs require different amounts of miles for the same flights (though that can change over time, too), so some foreign airline that is neither based where are flying from or where are flying too might possibly the best.

Ie, start by figuring out which are the airlines with both Amex MR and either Citi TYP or Chase UR transfers available, and figure out how many miles they typically need to the Asia destination(s) you're thinking about (many programs need more miles to some parts of Asia than other parts of Asia, so just specifying "Asia' is not specific enough to know the miles cost at most airlines).

Also familiarize yourself with the expiration policies of each airline you consider. The wikipost atop this thread:

Miles/Points that Do and Don't Expire

can be a good starting point for that.

It won't be until you have a list of airlines whose miles may work for you that you can know which programs you could use more points in for that trip, and it's only once you know which programs you could use more points in for that trip that people can give you suggestions for specific cards in those programs to apply for next.

Also, this is not only not necessarily the best time to be planning trips for soon, it's also not necessarily the best time to be applying for credit card from many banks. Many banks are temporarily cutting back on approvals and or temporarily tightening up restrictions on applying, during the downturn caused by the pandemic (because so many people are perhaps about to lose jobs as several-month-old anit-layoff measures start to end (if not extended soon by congress), and the banks can't tell if you're one of the people about to lose your job or not).

So you might well take a lot of time learning about all the the different airlines you might transfer to, while you're waiting for all of this to improve.

rice4u

Thanks for the link.

Biscoff27

I am debating my next card move(s), and curious what others would do.

A little info:
Currently at 5/24, 2/12, 0/6. Credit score 825+. Currently Delta Diamond, but do not see myself going for that again anytime soon, even if things return to normal in 2021 or 2022 (adopted a dog so won't be traveling 2-3x per month like I was). Playing the long game--not planning for a specific trip, but keeping my options open. Will likely travel a mix of domestic (especially West Coast but also NYC, Hawaii, Florida) and foreign (especially Europe & Asia, sometimes South America and Australia).

Current cards (signup date in parenthesis for those less than 24 months): CSR, CFU, CF, WoH, Marriott Boundless, United Explorer (12/19), Schwab Plat, Amex Gold (1/19), Hilton Aspire, Delta Blue (oldest card), Citi Premier, ATTA, Citi Rewards+, Double Cash (converted AA Plat, which was 7/19), Expedia Voyager (11/19), Radisson (1/19).
Also Player 2, who has CSR, CFU, old Hyatt, Bonvoy Brilliant, Schwab Plat, Amex Gold, Hilton Aspire.
Currently have a fairly large stash of miles/points (between the two of us greater than 500k in Amex, Chase UR, Delta, AA, Marriott, Hilton, plus a fair number in other programs--basically not burning quickly enough, hence why leaving the elite qualification hamster wheel makes sense).

Originally my plan was to drop my Amex Gold when AF hits in January, downgrade CSR to a second CF when AF hits in Feb, signup for IHG in Feb (would be 3/24), and signup for CSR or CSP in May (when eligible for new bonus). However, I was targeted for the new Alaska 65K offer (well, now it is public), and then the Chase Freedom Flex just got introduced, so now I am debating, and curious what others would do.

I don't stay at IHG properties much (though that is likely in part because I do not have the card). P2 and I currently have 10 free night certs right now waiting to be used, in addition to our points. So I am not sure how much value the IHG card adds. I am Seattle based, so the Alaska free checked bag and companion pass could be helpful, though will likely continue to preferentially fly Delta, even if I am not going for Diamond or Platinum status. I do not have many Alaska miles currently (20K), and know there are a lot of ?? regarding the future of the program after they join One World and become more closely aligned with AA. However, I do enjoy trips to Asia, which seems to be one of the best uses of their miles. Regarding the new CFF--I do not want to convert my current CF to it, since I use it at Costco for gas, which is often a quarterly bonus. If the current signup offer is still around in Feb 2021 (when I fall under 5/24), the 5x Groceries for the first year would be great, since I plan a dropping the Amex Gold. But as far as I have seen, there is no date on how long the current CFU/CF/CFF signup will last.

So I am curious what others would do. Wait till Jan/Feb, and sign up for either the CFF (if offer is still good) or IHG? Signup for Alaska now, since no one knows what things will be like in the beginning of next year? I could also push back signing up for the CSR/CSP until August 2021 (which would allow me to add one card now and one in February). Or go for a totally different card (still have Everyday Preferred, Altitude Reserve, Venture Rewards, etc on my radar)?

Diplomatico

I'd probably see if the AMEX Green fits into your spending profile and/or look at a few business card options.

freebirds80

Would love for community advice. I have $50k worth of property taxes coming up in December. Are there any credit cards offers out there worth the spend/bonus?

more info:
I’m under 5/24
have CCP, the Marriott card, Southwest card, freedom, Quick silver and Spark business.

have Companion pass
have elite status at Marriott

Looking to make the transaction fees I have to pay (2.3%) worth whatever points/bonus.