I love credit cards so much!

[elgerber]

Glad to hear it's not just me, I couldn't figure out what that meant either.

I was thinking maybe it meant you can’t cash out on just referral dollars or something?

 

[alryan]

I was thinking maybe it meant you can’t cash out on just referral dollars or something?

Ahh...that would make sense!

 

[amalone1013]

@wendow Costco has the Atom $100 gift card pack for $69.99 instead of $74.99 through 12/16

 

[GlamMistress]

Ahh...that would make sense!

Yes that does make sense. Why not just write it that way though? Very odd.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I saw a new blog (to me, I don’t follow many blogs I’m sure our vets know it) to watch out for today- Ask Sebby. Operated by the same team that does TPG. Someone on Reddit mentioned some bad advice they got from this blog so FYI (they thought it was good advice, it wasn’t).

 

[MrPTato]

I saw a new blog (to me, I don’t follow many blogs I’m sure our vets know it) to watch out for today- Ask Sebby. Operated by the same team that does TPG. Someone on Reddit mentioned some bad advice they got from this blog so FYI (they thought it was good advice, it wasn’t).

I have been watching if for a little bit and every now and then he does give bad advice.

 

[calypso726]

You popped into my head this weekend as DH and I were talking about showing dogs. We were curious as to whether people sell their show dogs like we sell our show horses? I'm sure many people might gasp at the thought of selling their dog (I could never sell mine!) but I was just curious. While I love my horses, they are "investments" for us. We sold mine this weekend and were able to buy one for DH and one for me. I've probably owned 8 horses over the last 15 years and have only kept one who was permanently injured and has no value.

Yes, back when I was showing and breeding we did sell the puppies to carefully screened homes. But for all responsible breeders it is very different than the idea of an investment. In our circle you don't get to have a puppy from one of us just because you have the money to buy one. I'm not sure if it is like that with horses.

My process and just about everyone I know, required an application online and if I liked what I saw then a phone interview. If the phone interview was good then everyone in the prospective family had to come and meet me and the 4 legged crew. If that went well, then we could proceed with a deposit and go over the 5 page contract that detailed their and my obligations and responsibilities with regards to the welfare and care of their new furry family member, aka, my grandpuppy. Show quality puppies were kept by me or placed with qualified show homes that had good referrals. This all took place before the puppies were born and I turned away many more families than I would allow to get on a waiting list. The puppies were my responsibility for life and always have a home with me, no questions asked, if circumstances for their new family changed. As a responsible breeder, I was also obligated to be there for those families whenever they needed support, advice on health, nutrition, training etc. I don't get to walk away from that the way I would if it was a car I sold. When the day eventually comes that they are faced with saying goodbye to the dog that has brought them joy and wonderful memories, grew up with their children has now crossed the rainbow bridge and left a gaping hole in their lives they are heart broken, then I'm the one they call. They need to be able to cry and reminisce with someone who understands, it's not "just a dog."

I think it's a lot more personal with showing dogs than it is with horses. It's definitely not an investment. I wish. Dog sowing and responsible breeding is a money pit. I was lucky to break even most years. There were some that I never could or would place because they had a firm grasp of my heart and soul. Two of them were Golden Retrievers and one was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I also showed and bred Cavaliers briefly but couldn't do proper justice splitting my time and effort in two breeds so I stuck with Goldens.

Fun story time.

We were watching The Holiday this past weekend (love Nancy Meyers movies!), and my budding little flyer was stunned at the scene where Cameron Diaz's character is on her flight from LA to London in a lie flat first class seat. "Wow, her airplane seat is so big she can lie down and sleep in it," says my 43" little lady who never fails to curl up in her own seat and sleep on one of her parent's laps.

So my wife tells her, "That's why you need to study in school, work hard, and make lots of money so you can afford a big seat on the airplane."

And I say, "Or just be very clever with your credit cards."

Some backstory. My wife calls our kiddo my "accomplice" because she swears something's not right with all this churning. I've taken my daughter on gift card runs since she was an infant. She's been an AU on my oldest credit card since she turned 2. She's been with me on Target gift card runs during the heyday of the gift card churn; flipped GCs at Target, Best Buy, Gamestop, Walgreens, BB&B, etc. and helped me "cash out" thousands of dollars into Disney. And more recently, I bring her along to redeem Amex and Chase offers, do Chase Pay and Swagbucks deals, and buy VGCs/MCGCs on sale. If we weren't in such a MS desert, I'd probably take her to buy MOs too. Now that she's older she asks a lot more questions, but I hesitate to tell her too much because she has no self-censor and talks waaay too much!

Anyway, my kiddo gave me a curious look.

My wife hesitated for a moment, looked at me and said, "You can't book first class seats with points."

My jaw dropped a little, "Uh, yeah you can."

I've told her this hundreds of times!

So she says, "Then why don't we?"

And I say, "Because domestic first class isn't a good value. Pick something international, and I'll work on the first class tickets."

Now, I personally have no interest in flying first class. Back when I was flying United a lot more and earned status with them, I was upgraded to business class a few times. It's nice. But I'm an economy guy. I prefer to stretch out my points and miles and don't mind suffering coach seats for an hour, five hours, or even twelve hours. But apparently, my ladies are quite taken by first class travel.

I think we'll have a reverse @calypso726 situation where I voluntarily sit in coach while my ladies are up in first.

As for Cameron Diaz's character in The Holiday, I doubt she booked her flight with miles but you never know.

Domestic first/business class isn't something to write home about. But a lie flat seat on an international flight may change your mind

I love this story! Funny, my DS10 pays attention A LOT and always comments when I get another credit card in the mail. He often asks me what the points from THAT card will be used for, lol! He knows that I recently booked us LIE FLAT seats for our trip to Europe next summer (LAX to Amsterdam on Delta via Virgin Atlantic points, check out TPG's post here https://thepointsguy.com/guide/book-delta-one-39k-amex-points/. I know, not the most popular site, but occasionally there's some really good info). We are all very excited...first time lie flat seats, woohoo! We visit family in the UK every year and are usually squished into economy. Last year I was able to get us premium economy and now business class is a big step up for us! You don't need to fly in first class to get the lie flat seats...international business class will probably impress your ladies just as much!

I totally agree! The Plane Princess even agreed to fly JAL in biz on a long haul flight because the short one he experienced was so good.

So there's a lot to parse through here, and I dug up some of your old posts for background to better help with a strategy. I'd really appreciate if @calypso726 can look this over, too!

1. You mentioned DH has a Hilton Honors account. You should sign up for a Hilton Honors account too (or you'll be assigned one when you sign up for your first Amex Hilton card). Hilton makes it super easy for you to combine points with your husband for a big redemption like the Conrad Maldives.

Hilton lets you do Points Pooling, where several members contribute points to a pool, or direct person-to-person transfers. Both are subject to a limit of 500k points sent and 2 million points received per calendar year, no fee.

When you log into DH's Hilton account, in the side menu under My Points, click More Ways to Use Points, then click Transfer Your Points. Select the number of points you want to transfer, in 1,000 points increments, up to 500k, enter your first name, last name, HH number, and email (or transfer vice versa). That's it.

Here's the fine print:

Hilton Honors Members can transfer Hilton Honors Points to another Hilton Honors Member through Points Pooling or 1-to-1 transfer in increments of 1,000 Points and up to 500,000 Points. Each Hilton Honors Member is limited to sending no more than five hundred thousand (500,000) Points and receiving two million (2,000,000) Points via Points Pooling or Transfers combined per calendar year. Each Hilton Honors Member is limited to making six (6) transfers to other member accounts and six (6) Hilton Points Pooling transactions per calendar year. Invitations to join a Points Pool is not considered transactional. Transactions refer to the transfer of Points to another member account either through 1-to-1 account transfers or through Points Pooling.

Any points beyond these limits will not be posted to any Member's account. Limits are at the sole discretion of Hilton Honors Worldwide L.L.C., subject to change.

A new Hilton Honors Member can pool, transfer, or receive Points 30 days after enrollment providing they have activity on their account. After 90 days of enrollment, a new Member is eligible to pool, transfer, or receive Points regardless of their account activity.​

2. As I mentioned, Amex has 4 Hilton credit card offerings: (1) the Hilton Honors (Personal) Card; (2) the Hilton Ascend (Personal) Card; (3) the Hilton Aspire (Personal) Card; and (4) the Hilton Honors Business Card. See All Four American Express Hilton Cards Compared (Signup bonuses are a bit dated. Because Amex’s welcome bonuses are generally once per lifetime, per person, per card product, it’s always in your best interest to research what is the highest offer historically for a card, compare that highest offer to the current offer, and try to apply only for the highest and/or best offer you can get on that card).

The Hilton Honors Business Card ("Hilton Biz") will not add to your 5/24 count. The 3 other Hilton Personal cards, including the Aspire, will add to your 5/24 count.

3. The Hilton Aspire currently has a signup offer of 150k Hilton Honors points after $4k MSR in 3 months, which DoC says is the best ever. The Aspire has a $450 AF. You mentioned you don't want a high AF card, but the Aspire has some really compelling benefits that pay for themselves, like complimentary Diamond status, a $250 Hilton resort statement credit per membership year, a $250 airline fee credit per calendar year, and a free weekend night on account opening and every anniversary.

@calypso726 can probably speak to the Aspire's benefits, and how you'd use them towards the Conrad Maldives in Spring 2020.

4. The Hilton Biz currently has a signup offer of 125k Hilton Honors points after $3k MSR in 3 months, which I think is the best offer on that card. (You may be able to trigger the same offer with a statement credit by going through a dummy booking on Hilton, but this would mean no referral bonus.) The Hilton Biz has a $95 AF.

5. Since your DH has an Amex Platinum card, you can generate a referral link from DH's Platinum card through Amex's Refer A Friend website worth 15k MR per approval, copy and paste that referral link into an incognito window or another browser, then click through all other cards with referral offers to find either the Hilton Aspire or Hilton Biz (whichever card you want to apply for first), then apply for the Hilton card you want through DH's link. DH's gets a 15k MR referral bonus, you get a new card.

6. When you're ready for your next Hilton card, either generate another link from your DH's Platinum card for a 15k MR referral bonus to DH (max 55k MR/yr.), or generate a referral link from your first Amex Hilton card for a 20k Hilton Honors points to your Hilton account (max 80k Hilton Honors points/yr.). MR points usually transfer to Hilton at a 1,000:2,000 ratio, so DH's 15k MR = 30k Hilton Honors to DH's Hilton account, which he can then transfer to/pool with you. There's currently a transfer bonus from MR to HH until the end of this year, which is something Amex runs periodically.

7. If DH is willing to sign up for Hilton cards, always remember to have him apply through referrals.

I concur with everything here. Very well thought out and written. Sorry I haven't been able to chime in all day, I was teaching an OSHA 10 hour class which doesn't allow me the opportunity to pop in online and catch up on the thread. Work always gets in the way of fun.

@Lain and @calypso726 I got an e-mail a while ago that I was approved for the Hilton Aspire! Also got an 3-mail from Hilton to set up my account (which I've done).

Next step is to start hitting the MSR (which will be covered by the ABD payment due late January / early February for Japan).

Well congratulations!!! The Aspire is my favorite sock drawer card. We have a fair number of high AF cards and all are subject to the chopping block each year as we determine whether or not to keep them. This is not one of those cards. This one is a keeper for both of us!

 

[MrPTato]

I hit up BJs again tonight for some fee-free VGCs and I am pretty sure they haven't replenished them since I started to hit them up. I also got stopped at the exit door because self check out has yellow receipt paper and the lady was surprised that it would allow that much without an override. So she called the LP manager over...took a look at the receipt and sent me on my way. I had to show my receipt on this one as I had purchased a double box of Cheerios as well.

 

[wendow]

@wendow Costco has the Atom $100 gift card pack for $69.99 instead of $74.99 through 12/16

Awesome! Thank you for telling me. I just checked a few days ago and couldn't find Atom tix GC's on the Costco site. Last year the price was slightly better but saving 40% is good with me

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Sounds like you were raised like me I was raised with a very healthy fear of my mother...

Funny you mention that. I was just talking to my mom about that on thanksgiving. I was scared of my parents, esp my mom, but my kids did not inherit it. And I’m no pushover, so I’m not sure where I went wrong.

 

[miztressuz]

I saw a new blog (to me, I don’t follow many blogs I’m sure our vets know it) to watch out for today- Ask Sebby. Operated by the same team that does TPG. Someone on Reddit mentioned some bad advice they got from this blog so FYI (they thought it was good advice, it wasn’t).

Yeah, I've come across posts there and it seems hit or miss. If I find something there in my search, I also cross reference to see if I can find any correlation. I'm pretty sure he's a reddit user too, I thought I saw that name on r/churning posts.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

The good news is she's young and you can educate her. A lot of people assume if you vacation with Disney (via WDW/DL/ABD/DCL) you are made of money. As the popularity of this thread indicates, no, you can be strategic and have your money work for you. I have no doubt we have a budding churner on our hands once you do some 'splainin'.

Yes a common discussion around here is how just because all her friends’ families appear loaded, doesn’t mean their bank accounts say the same. Many people spend every dime they make and then some.
And like you said, and we have always said even before I got into this heavier churning, we can only do all this travel as a large family because of points. Before I got into this thread we were limited to Hilton/southwest/hertz, but even that combo afforded us some nice trips.
She really is a good kid, and generally quite responsible. She got a job at 15 and saved for a car. Has been working ever since. She just sometimes has these moments where she suddenly becomes entitled to anything she wants. Usually she apologizes.
I’m glad she took the initiative to register for class early and without prodding. Small victories.

 

[wendow]

Funny you mention that. I was just talking to my mom about that on thanksgiving. I was scared of my parents, esp my mom, but my kids did not inherit it. And I’m no pushover, so I’m not sure where I went wrong.

My kids aren't really scared of me either and I'm pretty strict and firm. I was terrified of my mom but I was disciplined very harsh (spankings with paddles, belts and switches). My kids have to sit in time out or lose their screen time lol. Very different. I will say though that, at least my teens, respect me. Imo, that is better than being afraid of me. I have a much better relationship with my teens than I ever have had with my mom. I don't want my kids afraid of me!!

 

[wendow]

I’m glad she took the initiative to register for class early and without prodding. Small victories.

Exactly! This is better than her sitting around waiting until the last possible second to register and then she cannot get the class she needs. What will she take while in her CP?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Exactly! This is better than her sitting around waiting until the last possible second to register and then she cannot get the class she needs. What will she take while in her CP?

Itis a math class to stay on track. Can’t remember which one.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Any ideas of good places to use Chase Pay for the bonus (after using Chase Pay 5 x for > $25)? I've been locked out of DH's online account twice from trying to use it at Walmart on DH's card and it's getting old! I remember WM was sensitive but this seems crazy! I bought a $25 gc two days ago, then tried again this morning and it locked me out (again)! I only need two more transactions to get the 3k UR points. Thanks!

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Any ideas of good places to use Chase Pay for the use 5x bonus? I've been locked out of DH's online account twice from trying to use it at Walmart on DH's card and it's getting old! I remember WM was sensitive but this seems crazy! I bought a $25 gc two days ago, then tried again this morning and it locked me out (again)! I only need two more transactions to get the 3k UR points. Thanks!

Do you have shell or Best Buy

 

[magickingdomprincess]

I also have a UR question. My understanding is that UR's are worth $.01 each, but when I use the Chase Pay app, it shows 33,517 points, but a dollar value of $268.13. Does that make sense? Shouldn't it be $335.17? I'm so confused by this. Thank you!

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Do you have shell or Best Buy

We have Best Buy. They accept in store, right? But Walmart is online only? Not sure if we have Shell, I pretty much always use QT or Kroger if I have fuel points.

 

[Judique]

Any ideas of good places to use Chase Pay for the bonus (after using Chase Pay 5 x for > $25)? I've been locked out of DH's online account twice from trying to use it at Walmart on DH's card and it's getting old! I remember WM was sensitive but this seems crazy! I bought a $25 gc two days ago, then tried again this morning and it locked me out (again)! I only need two more transactions to get the 3k UR points. Thanks!

Was this a targeted bonus?