I love credit cards so much!

[liloca]

@Lain, thank you for taking the time to help me try to understand. As for cards, we'd be at 0/24. I don't think we've added a card in over 5 years. If I seem cautious, know that my DH is even more so, so I need to be conservative and take things slowly, which probably is the opposite of what's needed here. I'll follow along and try to learn more as others post. I don't want to take up too much of your time. Everyone is so generous with it here.

I do know about the gift cards and how people pay for their trips and cruises that way, but DH didn't want to play that game. We're novices here, and pretty happy that we were able to use points for our flights this summer. Hopefully I'll learn a lot and that will help fund our next big adventure. :

There are a lot of people here that are going slow so you should go at your own pace.
I for just started this churning game in January and my plan was only to get the Southwest Companios pass. So 1 sw business card and 1 personal.
My husband got his sw business card and we finished the MSR in less than 1 month! So I ended up getting myself a Bussiness Amex SPG card back when the sign up bonus was 25K points. I currently only have a plan for a “bussiness” a Etsy store that may or may not never come out to life but the plan is there so I needed a card to “set up” my bussiness.
So far we have saved over 1.1k in tickets to Orlando and now have 30K SPG points.
Again what I just got does not compare to the Millions of points that @SouthFayetteFan or @calypso have accumulate/used in this churning game but I super happy with what I got. Because months ago I would have paid CASH and got nothing in return for my everyday spend!
So go as slow or as fast as you want but I want to warn you that this is VERY addictive and I now am currently on my 8K MRS for my CSR and CSP double dip!
I never felt so excited about paying bills!

 

[gottalovepluto]

go at your own pace and what your family is comfortable with. I know many who are light churners and i also know some super heavy hitters too. Ask questions! we dont bite!

@mmmears btw, WE don’t bite. Reddit’s r/churning does so while we reference that group know they DO bite. (DISchurners on Reddit does not. That’s our seperate DISers only group on Reddit that is flame free where we share our... “support” links )

 

[Lain]

You asked about Amex though and what we earn with Amex and Disney expenses is very minimal, barely a drop in the bucket. This is by using Amex offers. If the offer will earn 10% off or better we will go that route. Lowe’s had a spend $50 get a $10 statement credit offer on several of our cards plus earn an extra MR point for Lowe’s and we maxed that out. Lowe’s sells Disney gift cards. A year or so ago there was a 20% off deal with Sam’s up to $1200 in spend or so and we used that. Sam’s sells Disney gift cards at a discount.

Thank you! I forgot to mention Amex Offers, which occasionally pop up with discounts to Best Buy, Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc. that are good for buying Disney gift cards.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Dropped a note in our discussion/member list thread on Reddit. Food for thought for those with Chase Disney cards.
ETA: note wasn't nearly as interesting as I'd hoped. moving on

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I shared my insight for what it’s worth

 

[Lain]

So what was happening over the referrals on /r/churning today? I've only been casually popping in here and there today so don't really understand what's going on or why it matters.

(My DD graduates from preschool tomorrow, so real life > churning drama.)

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I never felt so excited about paying bills!

Yes, they come in the mail and I'm all "yippee, a bill to pay!"

 

[disneymagicgirl]

So what was happening over the referrals on /r/churning today? I've only been casually popping in here and there today so don't really understand what's going on or why it matters.

(My DD graduates from preschool tomorrow, so real life > churning drama.)

I wish I could understand. It is like Greek to me.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Wow so much drama over on Reddit.

@Lain thanks since I can’t quote or reply at the moment. Phone is not liking me today.

 

[gottalovepluto]

So what was happening over the referrals on /r/churning today? I've only been casually popping in here and there today so don't really understand what's going on or why it matters.

(My DD graduates from preschool tomorrow, so real life > churning drama.)

Pretty much @SouthFayetteFan has been stirring up trouble

 

[gottalovepluto]

I shared my insight for what it’s worth

Worth a lot!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

So what was happening over the referrals on /r/churning today? I've only been casually popping in here and there today so don't really understand what's going on or why it matters.

(My DD graduates from preschool tomorrow, so real life > churning drama.)

So here's a complete summary from what I see:

• Since contest mode broke months (years?) ago, all referral threads were basically sorted by old (i.e. the first person in was always at the top)
• Some of us had figured this out and were using it to our advantage (I think most people were aware of it, but few were aware what an impact it had on your number of clicks).
• I maxed out numerous cards by being first in.
• Nobody discussed the whole first in method (it was kind of like a "known" secret)
• A few days ago somebody started a little buzz about people using bots to game the referral system (i.e. to be first in).
• I have been accused of using a bot by numerous people over there...and 100% truth I do not use a bot. I just checked r/churning frequently and always right at noon when referral threads typically came out (this probably will surprise nobody here).
• So the unsaid rule about not talking about first in was out the door and a whole controversial discussion ensued
• A few people started pulling data and we determine that one use was truly using a bot and beating all other human users by 5+ seconds.
• Once I saw the data and the cat was out of the bag I decided to open my mouth
• The mods setup a trap today and caught the user using his bot to get into a CFU thread immediately
• A bunch of us reported his link and it was removed, the mods got angry about that then
• The user contends he wasn't using a bot...but the way he describes it, it was basically a bot or something like a bot used to gain an unfair advantage
• Instead of dealing with the user who was gaming the system, the mods decided to sort all referral threads by NEW now
• This means you can upvote and downvote referral posts (which I'm sure will be a point of contention even though they are useless internet points)
• It also means that the LAST person into a thread is the most likely to get a click, which is so strange. The LATE bird gets the worm??
• So basically for those of us that were following the rules and just trying to post our links quickly...we will lose that advantage
• It's now a free-for-all of sorts and I'd imagine there might be referral arguments now for a few weeks because any change gets us all crazy over there

And to @gottalovepluto's point...I kinda did stir things up. But I didn't like that this person was gaming the system.

Probably more detail than anybody wanted...but that's what happened.

 

[mmmears]

I'll stick around here. Not ready for Reddit.

As for what we want the points for... mostly we pay for coach domestic flights and use the points to go business or first overseas since it's just such a long, uncomfortable flight and we'd rather wait until we can get a better seat. I was able to get 3 1st class ones from my AA card years ago, then realized that that card wasn't the best way to go. I got us 3 RT BC seats to/from Europe this summer for our DCL cruise. If only the cruise was free! We don't travel exclusively Disney - this itinerary just fit our dates and interests. Love to go to WDW and DL but prefer to stay on property there so hotel points don't help us there (although I have used them elsewhere). Basically we like nice things, but don't have unlimited funds so figuring out a way to reduce costs is my goal. So much to learn. Thank you all for being so patient.

 

[MrPTato]

@Lain, thank you for taking the time to help me try to understand. As for cards, we'd be at 0/24. I don't think we've added a card in over 5 years. If I seem cautious, know that my DH is even more so, so I need to be conservative and take things slowly, which probably is the opposite of what's needed here. I'll follow along and try to learn more as others post. I don't want to take up too much of your time. Everyone is so generous with it here.

I do know about the gift cards and how people pay for their trips and cruises that way, but DH didn't want to play that game. We're novices here, and pretty happy that we were able to use points for our flights this summer. Hopefully I'll learn a lot and that will help fund our next big adventure. :

 

[Lain]

Wow. I had no idea you were doing that for the people here. Thank you.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Wow. I had no idea you were doing that for the people here. Thank you.

Nothing to see here...move it along people!

 

[gottalovepluto]

So here's a complete summary from what I see:

• Since contest mode broke months (years?) ago, all referral threads were basically sorted by old (i.e. the first person in was always at the top)
• Some of us had figured this out and were using it to our advantage (I think most people were aware of it, but few were aware what an impact it had on your number of clicks).
• I maxed out numerous cards by being first in. Also if some of you didn't understand my earlier statement, once I maxed out I was then sharing links of people here in lieu of my own and thereby getting them points. (PLEASE NOBODY EVER SHARE THAT I DID THAT IN r/churning OR IT COULD GET CRAZY, LOL!)
• Nobody discussed the whole first in method (it was kind of like a "known" secret)
• A few days ago somebody started a little buzz about people using bots to game the referral system (i.e. to be first in).
• I have been accused of using a bot by numerous people over there...and 100% truth I do not use a bot. I just checked r/churning frequently and always right at noon when referral threads typically came out (this probably will surprise nobody here).
• So the unsaid rule about not talking about first in was out the door and a whole controversial discussion ensued
• A few people started pulling data and we determine that one use was truly using a bot and beating all other human users by 5+ seconds.
• Once I saw the data and the cat was out of the bag I decided to open my mouth
• The mods setup a trap today and caught the user using his bot to get into a CFU thread immediately
• A bunch of us reported his link and it was removed, the mods got angry about that then
• The user contends he wasn't using a bot...but the way he describes it, it was basically a bot or something like a bot used to gain an unfair advantage
• Instead of dealing with the user who was gaming the system, the mods decided to sort all referral threads by NEW now
• This means you can upvote and downvote referral posts (which I'm sure will be a point of contention even though they are useless internet points)
• It also means that the LAST person into a thread is the most likely to get a click, which is so strange. The LATE bird gets the worm??
• So basically for those of us that were following the rules and just trying to post our links quickly...we will lose that advantage
• It's now a free-for-all of sorts and I'd imagine there might be referral arguments now for a few weeks because any change gets us all crazy over there

And to @gottalovepluto's point...I kinda did stir things up. But I didn't like that this person was gaming the system. AND I really don't like the change they made as it will negatively impact my support clicks from r/churning going forward (and recently I was giving a lot of those clicks back to our community).

Probably more detail than anybody wanted...but that's what happened.

I'd caught bits and pieces but that was it so thanks for typing up a summary version. Very interesting.

 

[Artygal90]

When I started DISchurners, I felt bad because I personally wasn't actively applying for any cards that had support links and therefore couldn't really give back to the community via support clicks. I felt bad but couldn't really do anything about it so I was trying to come up with a way to get people clicks on my behalf...

The idea of sharing people's links on r/churning started when I maxed out my AMEX Blue cash everyday card...I literally maxed it in a week back in January and I was like...wow I can use this top spot and sub somebody else in. So I started doing this more, and then I was sharing links on cards I didn't have. I tried to tell people via PM when I had a chance, but sometimes I couldn't remember whose link I put there, lol.

I was basically being support link Robin Hood...LOL! And It worked...it definitely worked. But now it's dead, and I'm sad So if you happened to get a click you couldn't explain, it could've been me (but obviously it could've been somebody here too who just didn't PM you).

You're a champ! That was very nice of you, while it lasted. Reddit is so weird - you can make a completely innocuous (to you) comment and then some stranger will bite your head off over it. Or get their pants all twisted over karma points. I like our drama-free corner of the internet

In other news, I'd like to pour one out for the CIC and CIP mailers that showed up at work today. "Nah, I don't need them," says my boss. So there went $500 cashback and 120k UR points, right in the shredder D':

By the way, that's the second 120k mailer offer for the CIP we've gotten in a month. My boss has had the CIP for a year and already earned the sign up bonus. No other Chase products. Anyone know why they keep sending her (and not me!) these sweet offers when she already has the card? (edited to add: I promised her I'd ask the experts!)

 

[gottalovepluto]

You're a champ! That was very nice of you, while it lasted. Reddit is so weird - you can make a completely innocuous (to you) comment and then some stranger will bite your head off over it. Or get their pants all twisted over karma points. I like our drama-free corner of the internet

In other news, I'd like to pour one out for the CIC and CIP mailers that showed up at work today. "Nah, I don't need them," says my boss. So there went $500 cashback and 120k UR points, right in the shredder D':

By the way, that's the second 120k mailer offer for the CIP we've gotten in a month. My boss has had the CIP for a year and already earned the sign up bonus. No other Chase products. Anyone know why they keep sending her (and not me!) these sweet offers when she already has the card?

Chase can be really great about sending mailers to those who already have their products. Or those who will never qualify (I'm looking at you Chase United mailers and freaking 5/24).

 

[gottalovepluto]

Costco-Visa Checkout $50 is issued! It posted through as a "return" on CFU.