Which credit card do you use the most?

[irvinehomeowner]

british airways avios has the best mileage deal i've seen for flights to hawaii.  avios flights are calculated based on distance and cabin, and LA to hawaii is a sweet spot where you can still get in at the 12.5k one way (25k round trip) price point.  UR points are transferable 1:1.

https://www.milevalue.com/award-space-picture-to-hawaii-right-now-on-12500-avios-flights/

It's an excellent value, but keep in mind that availability has gone downhill the last few years.  I've been monitoring Avios for Hawaii for 5 years and had to use UR -> Skypass and book Delta last 2 years.  I had no issue the previous 3 years in using Avios.

Yep, had converted points to Avios a while ago because I heard how good they are but have not been able to schedule any flights with them. I should check because I think they expired already.

 

[Liar Loan]

british airways avios has the best mileage deal i've seen for flights to hawaii.  avios flights are calculated based on distance and cabin, and LA to hawaii is a sweet spot where you can still get in at the 12.5k one way (25k round trip) price point.  UR points are transferable 1:1.

https://www.milevalue.com/award-space-picture-to-hawaii-right-now-on-12500-avios-flights/

A new one that has come up is Singapore Krisflyer > Alaska Airlines > Hawaii for 12k one way... a slightly better deal.

And TPG is a shill. He was good early on but now I can't stand his posts or site.

You beat me to it.  I was going to say the same exact thing. 

DoctorOfCredit.com is my go to site and he does not get referral fees from the credit card companies.  I have things pretty dialed in these days, so I simply wait for his weekly e-mail on Mondays to see if any new deals are out that I'm interested in.

The real difference in AF is $55 ($450-$300 travel credit).  That is easily offset with the additional 1x in Dining/Travel over the course of a year.  The additional benefits also add in some additional value - 1.5c redemption vs. 1.25, PP membership and free roadside assistance.

They also charge $75 for an authorized user and since I play this game in 2-player mode (wife), the actual difference is then $130.  Also, regarding the travel credit, there are some years where I might not max out the $300, which makes it an even worse deal for me.

Yep, had converted points to Avios a while ago because I heard how good they are but have not been able to schedule any flights with them. I should check because I think they expired already.

Avios expire after 36 months of inactivity, making it one of the more generous programs.  If your points are still there, any activity will reset the clock.  Transfer another 1,000 in or make a small purchase with them.

 

[Cares]

You're playing 2 player mode wrong. You need to stagger CSR cards between wife and you. I originally got it, downgraded, and then wife got it. I was one of the lucky few that got CSR with 24 month language a 2nd time before the 48 month language came in. Got 3x bonus on CSR with self-referral. Sold extra Global Entry credit. Maximized coverage on Priority Pass Lounge.

 

[Liar Loan]

You're playing 2 player mode wrong. You need to stagger CSR cards between wife and you. I originally got it, downgraded, and then wife got it. I was one of the lucky few that got CSR with 24 month language a 2nd time before the 48 month language came in. Got 3x bonus on CSR with self-referral. Sold extra Global Entry credit. Maximized coverage on Priority Pass Lounge.

We could do that, but we are both over 5/24 so neither of us could get approved. 

Frequently, we are working on hitting minimum spends for signup bonuses on other cards, so our spend on the CSP fluctuates dramatically.  That's why for our daily spenders I don't really like large annual fees.  Some months we may put a few thousand on it, and other months maybe only a few hundred.  It's tough to project how much annual spend will be put on our daily spenders because it completely depends on what signup bonuses are available on other cards. 

Maybe eventually we will run out of signup bonuses and focus more on maximizing the Travel/Dining/Gas/Grocery categories in exchange for higher annual fees, but right now I don't feel that is our best strategy.  Signup bonuses are still the fastest way to accrue points.

 

[Cares]

You're playing 2 player mode wrong. You need to stagger CSR cards between wife and you. I originally got it, downgraded, and then wife got it. I was one of the lucky few that got CSR with 24 month language a 2nd time before the 48 month language came in. Got 3x bonus on CSR with self-referral. Sold extra Global Entry credit. Maximized coverage on Priority Pass Lounge.

We could do that, but we are both over 5/24 so neither of us could get approved. 

Frequently, we are working on hitting minimum spends for signup bonuses on other cards, so our spend on the CSP fluctuates dramatically.  That's why for our daily spenders I don't really like large annual fees.  Some months we may put a few thousand on it, and other months maybe only a few hundred.  It's tough to project how much annual spend will be put on our daily spenders because it completely depends on what signup bonuses are available on other cards. 

Maybe eventually we will run out of signup bonuses and focus more on maximizing the Travel/Dining/Gas/Grocery categories in exchange for higher annual fees, but right now I don't feel that is our best strategy.  Signup bonuses are still the fastest way to accrue points.

I'm over 5/24 but got approved the 2nd time around for CSR through the branch. Of course maybe a loophole.

 

[woodburyowner]

I'm over 5/24 but got approved the 2nd time around for CSR through the branch. Of course maybe a loophole.

This method is definitely closed now. 

 

[Cares]

I'm over 5/24 but got approved the 2nd time around for CSR through the branch. Of course maybe a loophole.

This method is definitely closed now.

This was about 3 months ago...and I doubt it was publicly available to most people. It involved private client.

 

[Netperx]

Alliant Credit Card - 3% straight cash Homie!

Chase Sapphire Reserve - Restaurants and travel

Costco card - Gas and Costco electronics purchases

Discover/Freedom - 5% quarterly categories

 

[Cares]

Chase Sapphire Reserve - 3% Restaurants/Travel
Chase Freedom x3 - Rotating 5%
Chase Freedom Unlimited - 1.5% general spend
Citibank Costco - Gas (if not on Freedom) This made me realize I no longer will use this CC because I don't have a gas car anymore!
Chase Ink Cash - Home office stuff
Chase Ink Preferred - Venmo, Plastiq (RIP)
Chase Amazon - 5% Amazon.com/Whole Foods

Other cards that I have but unused:
Chase Hyatt x2 - Used for 4 nights at Cat 7 hotels, annual free night award, keep
Southwest Premier Business - Used to get CP, will cancel/downgrade
Southwest Plus Business - Used to get CP, will cancel/downgrade
Chase Marriott Business x2 - Annual free night, keep
Barclays Jetblue - Used for 60k sign up bonus, will cancel/downgrade
Chase United Mileage Plus - Just keeping open for AAoA
AMEX Platinum - Used for 100k sign up, will cancel/downgrade
AMEX Hilton Aspire - Used for 150k sign up, will cancel/downgrade
AMEX SPG Luxury - Used for 100k sign up, will cancel/downgrade


That's all I can think of now but there's so much more.

 

[Liar Loan]

I'm over 5/24 but got approved the 2nd time around for CSR through the branch. Of course maybe a loophole.

This method is definitely closed now.

This was about 3 months ago...and I doubt it was publicly available to most people. It involved private client.

Yeah, that's been a well-publicized loophole.  It just wouldn't make sense in my case to move that kind of money over to Chase in exchange for the fees and lower returns it might entail.  It's also possible to get 100,000 UR's by getting a mortgage through Chase, but again the cost of those points is more than made up for in higher origination fees / rates.

 

[ps99472]

For those that have the Target REDcard... do you guys have to reset your security questions every time you try to log in?  I resetted my questions like 5 times already.  Not sure if its Target's fault or my browser.. tried clearing all history and cookies.. but still have trouble with the site.  I'm on Chrome

 

[Hugo Township]

Yeah, that's been a well-publicized loophole.  It just wouldn't make sense in my case to move that kind of money over to Chase in exchange for the fees and lower returns it might entail.  It's also possible to get 100,000 UR's by getting a mortgage through Chase, but again the cost of those points is more than made up for in higher origination fees / rates.

What you said makes perfect sense, but it's also possible to use CPC to get a lower rate. Last year we got 3.375 for a 30 year fixed in exchange for bringing money to the bank. We didn't get 100k URs but who cares if the rate is significantly lower.

 

[qwerty]

For those that have the Target REDcard... do you guys have to reset your security questions every time you try to log in?  I resetted my questions like 5 times already.  Not sure if its Target's fault or my browser.. tried clearing all history and cookies.. but still have trouble with the site.  I'm on Chrome

I use chrome and safari and have no issues with having to reset the password.

 

[Hugo Township]

My keeper cards are:

Business:
AMEX BBP, 2% MR is equivalent to about 3% Cashback Equivalent (CBE). Max out $50k easily
AMEX Biz Plat: 1.5% MR when paying vendors at over 5k, so about 2.25% CBE. Important to liquidate MR at a guaranteed rate
AMEX Biz Gold Rewards: 3% MR on ads, since we spend north of 40k/yr here it works out nicely
Chase Ink Unlimited: 1.5% UR, so about 2.25% CBE.

Personal:
Bank of America Travel Rewards/Premium Rewards. 2.625% real cashback