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  1. #26
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    505
    Anyone with a taste for deferred gratification should consider the Fidelity card that kicks 2% back into an IRA or 401k or perhaps other types of investment accounts. Nerdwallet should have details, that's where I learned about it. Or if you have kids to educate, the Upromise card that kicks 2% into their 529 plan for college. then charge every expense possible, keep up with your payment so the whole scheme does not backfire, and bingo - free money, the magic of tax free savings, and you don't have to decipher and deal with all the frequent flyer rules bullshit. YMMV but to me it always seems like work to get the FF deals right, and it seems much easier to set up those savings kickbacks for accounts that need all the help I can get.

  2. #27
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    Quote Originally Posted by ts01 View Post
    Anyone with a taste for deferred gratification should consider the Fidelity card that kicks 2% back into an IRA or 401k or perhaps other types of investment accounts. Nerdwallet should have details, that's where I learned about it. Or if you have kids to educate, the Upromise card that kicks 2% into their 529 plan for college. then charge every expense possible, keep up with your payment so the whole scheme does not backfire, and bingo - free money, the magic of tax free savings, and you don't have to decipher and deal with all the frequent flyer rules bullshit. YMMV but to me it always seems like work to get the FF deals right, and it seems much easier to set up those savings kickbacks for accounts that need all the help I can get.
    For easy cash back cards (for those who don't want to mess with frequent flier type cards), there's also a Citi card that gives 2% back on everything. IIRC no annual fee.

    If you shop at Costco, the Citi Costco card is really a no brainer for there + gas.
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  3. #28
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    Quote Originally Posted by plugboots View Post
    I cam to see if other mags had switched to a Chase Sapphire Reserve like me, but shit, El C wins thread.
    The 100K sign up bonus for that card is amazing.

    I'm way past Chase 5/24 limit, couldn't get that card. Tried though...
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  4. #29
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    driven way past the Stop and Shop
    Posts
    3,068
    Quote Originally Posted by AaronWright View Post
    Yeah. I don't know if they still offer it but my American Express card(Blue?) gives 6% cash back on groceries at non club stores, 3% back on gas at non club gas stations and 1.5% on everything else.
    That's been our go to card for the past 4 or 5 years. It's been good for about $1k in cash back a year. Went that way after finding delta gold Amex trip redemptions way too limited.
    Damn, we're in a tight spot!

  5. #30
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    12,612
    Quote Originally Posted by El Chupacabra View Post
    The 100K sign up bonus for that card is amazing.

    I'm way past Chase 5/24 limit, couldn't get that card. Tried though...
    Worth 150000 miles if used on travel. Already used up the miles on a few trips. The $300 travel credit is nice too.

  6. #31
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
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    none
    Posts
    8,340
    If you travel frequently with a companion and live near an airport served by Southwest. This is the best deal going.

    https://www.thriftytraveler.com/earn...ompanion-pass/

  7. #32
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    Sep 2004
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shredhead View Post
    If you travel frequently with a companion and live near an airport served by Southwest. This is the best deal going.

    https://www.thriftytraveler.com/earn...ompanion-pass/
    Absolutely.

    I'm on around our 4th companion pass. If you time it right, you can get nearly 2 full years of companion pass usage.
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  8. #33
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    At the beach
    Posts
    19,070
    Quote Originally Posted by shroom View Post
    chup has it covered. i did the same for the last few years but have slowed down with the thought i was going to refi some loans.

    points via recurring spend ain't worth shit unless you're doing some serious spending.


    for those currently looking - i believe the CSR 100k point offer is still available at B&M locations
    Where do I apply / get this card from? I get the Chase part, but not B & M
    Quote Originally Posted by leroy jenkins View Post
    I think you'd have an easier time understanding people if you remembered that 80% of them are fucking morons.
    That is why I like dogs, more than most people.

  9. #34
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    Sep 2004
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    That card isn't available online anymore with that sign up bonus, but supposedly is still available in Chase branches - Brick & Mortar.
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  10. #35
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    United States of Aburdistan
    Posts
    7,281
    I do as many household expenses on AE Gold as I can, but I probably should upgrade to platinum since I could avoid paying to get into Sky Clubs and get access to Centurion Clubs, too. I've had very few issues booking the exact flight I want with AE points. I usually get 2-4 free flights a year, mostly short ones though. I use Chase Ink for business use, it gives me the choice of cash back or a bit more value than cash if I book travel though their website. Usually enough for a trip for two somewhere in the US. And I use hotels.com for biz trips to get me free nights for personal use. Since I book other peoples rooms besides mine, I get a fair amount of nights.

    I don't know exactly what El Chup is talking about in all his posts, but it seems like I'm a redeeming rookie compared to him.

  11. #36
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    CO
    Posts
    1,799
    Quote Originally Posted by shredgnar View Post
    Worth 150000 miles if used on travel. Already used up the miles on a few trips. The $300 travel credit is nice too.
    It's really a $600 travel credit as it's $300 per calendar year. I signed up last November, bought a $300 Southwest gift card, got the credit/refund and I now have another $300 for this calendar year (just verified). I need to make sure to cancel (after using or transferring the points) before this November to avoid the $450 fee again. Gotta love a company that pays you $150 and 100k points. They are also offering 50k points and no fee for the first year on the other sapphire card.

  12. #37
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    12,612
    Quote Originally Posted by ColMan View Post
    It's really a $600 travel credit as it's $300 per calendar year. I signed up last November, bought a $300 Southwest gift card, got the credit/refund and I now have another $300 for this calendar year (just verified). I need to make sure to cancel (after using or transferring the points) before this November to avoid the $450 fee again. Gotta love a company that pays you $150 and 100k points. They are also offering 50k points and no fee for the first year on the other sapphire card.
    Do you think that there is a downside to cancelling so early? Might have negative effect on credit? Wish I would have had the wife sign up for one too.

  13. #38
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    Sep 2004
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    There's a hit to your credit rating for every hard inquiry (ie new card opening) and a small hit for closing cards early (it lowers the average age of all your credit accounts). It's not a big deal.

    When I started card churning, I had a credit score around 760. After the first few cards, it jumped up to around 820. After a couple years, and about 30 cards open + close, it's back down to around 780.

    If you're going to play this game, track everything carefully. No late payments. No carried balances - paying interest kind of defeats the purpose of getting the freebies...

    Latest credit card subsidized trip: we are in Oakland airport now returning home from Whistler. $22 for our two flights, $80 rental car for 4 days, $45 for airport Hilton at SEA (overnight stay before early departure today), $70ish for a Hotwire hotel in Squamish on Friday night (on the way to Whistler), 2 nights free at Whistler Hilton (free breakfast from Hilton Gold status, and they didn't even charge us for parking ($30/ day). Breakfast today at AmEx Centurion lounge in SEA, free.
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  14. #39
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    CO
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    1,799
    Quote Originally Posted by shredgnar View Post
    Do you think that there is a downside to cancelling so early? Might have negative effect on credit? Wish I would have had the wife sign up for one too.
    Only downside I can think of is losing the preferred points if you haven't used them all. The credit hit is usually due to the pull when you apply but it's temporary. I make sure I keep one no-fee card open that I've had for many years with a high credit line and zero balance. Keeps my average credit age high and utilization low. Delinquencies and credit utilization are two of the biggest factors though no one truly knows the algorithm they use.

    Sounds like you can still sign up for a reserve card w/ the 100k bonus in a branch until 3/17. I may also have my wife sign up for it as well now that I hit my required spend amount. Too good of a deal to pass up.

    Edit: El Chupacabra covered it as I was typing.

  15. #40
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    388
    Quote Originally Posted by El Chupacabra View Post
    That card isn't available online anymore with that sign up bonus, but supposedly is still available in Chase branches - Brick & Mortar.
    just got this over the weekend in a branch. The offer expires today (2/28)

  16. #41
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    CO
    Posts
    1,799
    Quote Originally Posted by myles long View Post
    just got this over the weekend in a branch. The offer expires today (2/28)
    Good to know, thanks. The post on slickdeals is incorrect.

  17. #42
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Treading Water
    Posts
    6,686
    Good to know about this deal from a bank who's closest branch is 200mi from me.
    However many are in a shit ton.

  18. #43
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    3,727
    Quote Originally Posted by ColMan View Post
    Good to know, thanks. The post on slickdeals is incorrect.
    Just got back from doing it in branch and they told me March 11 was the last day.

  19. #44
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Not in the PRB
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    tried to get that card, but just barely missed on the 5/24 thing.
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

  20. #45
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    100'F and Muggy
    Posts
    604
    Chase Sapphire Reserve for the win. Just got it recently. I'll take $600 (300 x2) in travel credit and 100k UR for a single $450 annual fee, it's a no brainer.
    Anyone who spends cash or uses a debit card anywhere credit cards are accepted is leaving at minimum 2% on the table. For people who don't travel, get a 2% cash back card. Use it on purchases you would make anyway, pay off in full every month. Don't have self control to not spend money you don't have? Credit cards (and probably life as an adult in general) are not for you.

    I've been to New Zealand twice, Chile, Japan, and all over the US. Always in First or Business Class. And I have over a million miles/points in the bank. Card signups are the low hanging fruit.

  21. #46
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    shadow of HS butte
    Posts
    6,400
    2% cash back would net me about 20 bucks a month... haha

    do you guys all have families or what?

  22. #47
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Not in the PRB
    Posts
    32,789
    Quote Originally Posted by east or bust View Post
    2% cash back would net me about 20 bucks a month... haha

    do you guys all have families or what?
    Outside of rent/mortgage/student loan, you only spend $1000/mo? Yeah, I wish.

    Still, even if so, by using a cc you get a short term interest free loan, and pay one bill instead of many, and in return they give you $240 a year. Seems like a good deal to me.
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

  23. #48
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    seatown
    Posts
    4,117
    ^^ i think he's pretty young. i was in a similar boat when i was single, even in seattle. manufactured spending and/or solid planning is required in that scenario. plan the bulk insurance payments, car work you've been putting off, new skis etc. into the time you need to hit your minimum spends. back to my previous point - for most, you'll make your money on the sign-ups, not the recurring spend.

  24. #49
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    12,612
    I have the Sapphire reserve for work. They don't give me a company card but reimburse me for all of my spending, so I spent a shitload on new equipment, which isn't out of the ordinary. Ended up with the 150,000 miles (it is actually 1K but they are worth more if you spend them on travel), spent some of them on work travel, then got reimbursed in cash. Used that cash to pay for a trip to HI for two on another card and got 3X miles on that purchase. Looking at rolling that into a trip to Chile...

    Another trick: If you are a ways out from making the $4k or whatever it is for the mileage bonus, you can just buy gift cards to places that you know you will use, like the grocery store. Buy a $1k in grocery cards, get the miles, and use the cards over the next year. Or buy gift cards for xmas presents.

    ETA: we have never carried a balance on a CC. Pay them off monthly. Just makes it easier to track spending and build credit, as well as miles.

  25. #50
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Not in the PRB
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    32,789
    Quote Originally Posted by shredgnar View Post
    ETA: we have never carried a balance on a CC. Pay them off monthly. Just makes it easier to track spending and build credit, as well as miles.
    Quoting for emphasis. None of this cc stuff makes a damn bit of sense if you aren't paying it off in full every month.
    Last edited by Danno; 03-02-2017 at 09:58 AM.
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

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