What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?

[TravelGeek]

EDIT: Here is an example of what I'm talking about: IAH-DEN April 30 8:10 am. Saver award without card -- 6K. Saver award with card 5K.

Very interesting. I used my account (UA Visa + elite status) and the page first loaded with 6k miles as the cheapest price and even showed the 8:10am flight for that price... and then instantly refreshed to show 5K.

I then did the same search with my wife's account (same elite status, Gold, but no credit card). Her price: 6k.

Not sure that that is sufficient reason (value) to hold on to my UA credit card, but since I just paid for the AF a couple of months ago, I will keep an eye on this.

[essbeer]

EDIT: Here is an example of what I'm talking about: IAH-DEN April 30 8:10 am. Saver award without card -- 6K. Saver award with card 5K.

Very interesting. I used my account (UA Visa + elite status) and the page first loaded with 6k miles as the cheapest price and even showed the 8:10am flight for that price... and then instantly refreshed to show 5K.

I then did the same search with my wife's account (same elite status, Gold, but no credit card). Her price: 6k.

Not sure that that is sufficient reason (value) to hold on to my UA credit card, but since I just paid for the AF a couple of months ago, I will keep an eye on this.

The same flight is $49 cash, so I'm not that interested yet either. Do you have the Club Card? Not sure if they were throwing me this bone because of special award flight availability going away or because of close-in bookings fees going away.

[TravelGeek]

The same flight is $49 cash, so I'm not that interested yet either. Do you have the Club Card? Not sure if they were throwing me this bone because of special award flight availability going away or because of close-in bookings fees going away.

No, I have the old Select card.

https://www.chase.com/personal/credit-c ... t/benefits

[spammagnet]

... this works particularly well using Samsung Pay ...

I particularly like Samsung Pay because you can access the app on a locked phone by just swiping up from the bottom. It still requires a fingerprint to allow the charge, so it's secure, but you don't have to log in to the phone, scroll around to find the icon, start the app, log in to the app with your fingerprint again, etc. It's much faster.

[VictoriaF]

I’d get the MPE for the bonus if you have no bette choices, but not as a keeper or use it for ongoing spend.

One thing I'm wondering about: United offers expanded award availability to MPE cardholders. It'll be interesting to see whether or not this benefit becomes more valuable as time goes on.

It doesn’t really matter to me since I get that benefit as an elite; no need to keep the card for that hypothetical benefit.

MPE is a star of my travel "lazy portfolio." Occasionally, but not always, flights marked as "exclusive for MPE card holders" are my best alternatives. When I book cash flights in Basic Economy, I can still have my carry-on luggage and priority boarding. And on a couple occasions, the United Lounge pass has turned long layovers at ORD into relatively pleasant experiences.

As an elite, you get these perques in other ways, but for me, the $95 AF is well justified.

Travel bloggers have reported cases when MPE holder costs in points were lower than those of non-holders. My wishful thinking is that after UA eliminates its award charts, MPE savings may become even more pronounced.

Victoria

[TravelGeek]

MPE is a star of my travel "lazy portfolio." Occasionally, but not always, flights marked as "exclusive for MPE card holders" are my best alternatives. When I book cash flights in Basic Economy, I can still have my carry-on luggage and priority boarding. And on a couple occasions, the United Lounge pass has turned long layovers at ORD into relatively pleasant experiences.

As an elite, you get these perques in other ways, but for me, the $95 AF is well justified.

I think the MPE is perfectly justifiable for a UA flyer who uses the various benefits enough, but doesn’t quite reach elite status. I have several basic airline cards for the bag and boarding benefits (and the initial signup bonus). They don’t see much spend beyond the occasional coffee to keep the card companies from cancelling them for inactivity. The MPE at least offers 2x on dining and hotels, so there is some “everyday” spend benefit for those who don’t want to have a fleet of card. I’d assess, though, if 2x United miles is still better than 2 cents after these changes. I am doing just that for my $95 UA Select: are the 5k bonus miles every year still worth $95? I put maybe $6k in gas, home improvement and grocery spend on it each year for 2x, which could instead go on the FU for 1.5x URs.

[SlowMovingInvestor]

But for business class awards I expect this change to be devastating. And those are what I am generally shopping for. As a west coaster, there are no 6-7 hr coach trips to Europe, everything is 10-11 painful hrs

But rates for foreign carriers aren't changing, right ? So either UA won't show award availability on say Lufthansa in the future or will up foreign carrier rates too.

Personally, I find most international biz class award trips to have a lot of empty seats (which is probably why the award seats are open), so I think rates on lower demand routes might not change. And hopefully we won't have some of the 1-way fare > 2 way-fare absurdities we see on paid travel.

[TravelGeek]

But rates for foreign carriers aren't changing, right ? So either UA won't show award availability on say Lufthansa in the future or will up foreign carrier rates too.

They aren’t changing for now.

Personally, I find most international biz class award trips to have a lot of empty seats (which is probably why the award seats are open), so I think rates on lower demand routes might not change. And hopefully we won't have some of the 1-way fare > 2 way-fare absurdities we see on paid travel.

I see empty seats on foreign carriers that don’t offer their elites upgrades (e.g., UA GPUs). I have been in shockingly empty Qatar business class cabins recently, and yes that explained to me why I was able to find awards with AA miles.

[SlowMovingInvestor]

But rates for foreign carriers aren't changing, right ? So either UA won't show award availability on say Lufthansa in the future or will up foreign carrier rates too.

They aren’t changing for now.

What I meant is that right now UA awards price cheaper than awards on other carrier's metal. But that may not hold in the future if UA has dynamic award pricing.

Suppose UA's dynamic award for a flight is 105K, would it allow booking (say) a Lufthansa award for 75K on that same route ?

[TravelGeek]

What I meant is that right now UA awards price cheaper than awards on other carrier's metal. But that may not hold in the future if UA has dynamic award pricing.

Suppose UA's dynamic award for a flight is 105K, would it allow booking (say) a Lufthansa award for 75K on that same route ?

Isn't that already the case today? For any given day they might offer a "saver" award on a LH-operated SFO-FRA flight and only a higher-priced standard award on their own metal.

[ResearchMed]

But rates for foreign carriers aren't changing, right ? So either UA won't show award availability on say Lufthansa in the future or will up foreign carrier rates too.

They aren’t changing for now.

What I meant is that right now UA awards price cheaper than awards on other carrier's metal. But that may not hold in the future if UA has dynamic award pricing.

Suppose UA's dynamic award for a flight is 105K, would it allow booking (say) a Lufthansa award for 75K on that same route ?

I'm not familiar with UA's awards program, but what you are describing is precisely how AAdvantage awards sometimes work, and that was quite a surprise to us.
That is, we can sometimes fly on NON-AmericanAirlines partner metal for less than the exact same trip would cost us in "awards points" if we flew on AA, at least for First or Business (we don't use awards for economy, and we don't fly economy for ultra-long-haul).

And better yet, usually the equipment and service is MUCH better on the partners, for example, Japan Airlines or Cathay Pacific, instead of AA to Asia? Slam dunk given that AA would have cost more "points" for the exact same itinerary.
Of course, if we had to pay some extra points to fly F in Cathay instead of AA, we'd happily pay, but thus far, we have paid fewer points for the nicer partner travel.

[We are sort of waiting for this to change, but while it exists, we'll use it ]

RM

[DrGoogle2017]

I’ve been looking at first Class from LAX to LHR, I only saw 2 first class tickets available on British Airways 747, not the best time, plus if I recall correctly, I flew on this type of aircraft from London to LAX on business class and it was awful. I talked to the booking agent and she said perhaps they are aging planes, maybe that’s the reason why my back hurt on the way back. I’m still mulling whether I should book first class on 747 or just business class on A380, I had a better time on the way out on the business class on A380, plus the departing time is better, just in time for a 9 hour sleep, what’s not to like.
The problem is I didn’t see 2 first class tickets on A380, but I did see 2 first class tickets on 747, maybe they are so bad, nobody wants them.
Anybody has experience with these two type of aircrafts. Any preferences?

[ResearchMed]

I’ve been looking at first Class from LAX to LHR, I only saw 2 first class tickets available on British Airways 747, not the best time, plus if I recall correctly, I flew on this type of aircraft from London to LAX on business class and it was awful. I talked to the booking agent and she said perhaps they are aging planes, maybe that’s the reason why my back hurt on the way back. I’m still mulling whether I should book first class on 747 or just business class on A380, I had a better time on the way out on the business class on A380, plus the departing time is better, just in time for a 9 hour sleep, what’s not to like.
The problem is I didn’t see 2 first class tickets on A380, but I did see 2 first class tickets on 747, maybe they are so bad, nobody wants them.
Anybody has experience with these two type of aircrafts. Any preferences?

We flew last year outbound (different route from USA to Europe, however) on LH F (connecting in FRA), and then back on BA F (connecting in LHR, in the wonderful CCR, Concorde Room).
In both cases, we were in the pointy front end, and I think that's only on the 747's (?).

They were very similar, and were very comfortable.

The only "unfortunate" thing (First World Problem alert!) was that the year before, we had flown to Asia in F on JL (Japan Airline) and returning on CX (Cathay Pacific).
Those were SUPERB F accommodations, and of the two, CX was hands down a winner in terms of both service and hard product.
By comparison, the LH and BA seemed a bit cramped, but still a wonderful way to travel.

In both of those cases, since there were two of us, we had a middle pair, so we could talk more easily if we wished.
(We were also able to pre-order our meal selection, and we are glad we knew about that, as our choices were not available to those who hadn't pre-ordered. (Not sure why; we assume either they didn't load extras or someone else grabbed whatever of that wasn't pre-ordered.)

Our agent has recommended against J (Business) in BA on the routes to/from LHR, and he hasn't led us astray yet...

RM

[THY4373]

I have flown BA F on the 747, A380 and 777 but not so far the 787. I would rate BA F on those aircraft as A380>747>>777. If you are a bit of an aviation geek flying in the nose cone of a 747 in seats 1A or 1K is fun as you are flying in front of the pilots (who are above and behind you) and you have the windows that look out almost forward. BA F is not Cathay F or ANA F nor Etihad apartments (which I have also flown) but I think it is a bit underrated by the bloggers. On my last flight in BA F on a 747 I was one of two people in the First Class cabin and it was great I had one seat made up as a bed and my main seat as a seat. My son and I are flying BA F this summer outbound again on a 747 and I am looking forward to it.

I am not a fan of BA business at all but I do like their First Class. If you are doing this on points I assume you are already aware of the taxes and fees on F tickets on BA? Doing your redemption as two one-ways can lower this cost by a few hundred. And basically it is these fees that keep the seats available. It is not that folks don't want BA F it is just it is a 14 seat cabin (except 787) and selling 14 seats in F is hard and even more so when you have multiple flights a day. A lot of awards folks don't want to drop $1800 in BA's surcharges (can be avoided to some degree depending on which Oneworld carrier points you have access to) in addition to six figure sums of points. In fact a lot of the times I have flown BA F I have upgraded using points from a cheapish J cash fare that was only a few hundred more than BA stupid surcharges.

[ResearchMed]

I have flown BA F on the 747, A380 and 777 but not so far the 787. I would rate BA F on those aircraft as A380>747>>777. If you are a bit of an aviation geek flying in the nose cone of a 747 in seats 1A or 1K is fun as you are flying in front of the pilots (who are above and behind you) and you have the windows that look out almost forward. BA F is not Cathay F or ANA F nor Etihad apartments (which I have also flown) but I think it is a bit underrated by the bloggers. On my last flight in BA F on a 747 I was one of two people in the First Class cabin and it was great I had one seat made up as a bed and my main seat as a seat. My son and I are flying BA F this summer outbound again on a 747 and I am looking forward to it.

I am not a fan of BA business at all but I do like their First Class. If you are doing this on points I assume you are already aware of the taxes and fees on F tickets on BA? Doing your redemption as two one-ways can lower this cost by a few hundred. And basically it is these fees that keep the seats available. It is not that folks don't want BA F it is just it is a 14 seat cabin (except 787) and selling 14 seats in F is hard and even more so when you have multiple flights a day. A lot of awards folks don't want to drop $1800 in BA's surcharges (can be avoided to some degree depending on which Oneworld carrier points you have access to) in addition to six figure sums of points. In fact a lot of the times I have flown BA F I have upgraded using points from a cheapish J cash fare that was only a few hundred more than BA stupid surcharges.

I wasn't aware that one way vs. RT changed the fee structure.
But we've never paid anything close to $1,800 for a to/from Europe on BA (or LH).
The fees seem to be slightly different depending upon ticketing options, but only by a small amount, and I don't understand the details. (It's not enough to get us to change flights, something like $50 or $100 when figuring F flights.)

RM

[SlowMovingInvestor]

What I meant is that right now UA awards price cheaper than awards on other carrier's metal. But that may not hold in the future if UA has dynamic award pricing.

Suppose UA's dynamic award for a flight is 105K, would it allow booking (say) a Lufthansa award for 75K on that same route ?

Isn't that already the case today? For any given day they might offer a "saver" award on a LH-operated SFO-FRA flight and only a higher-priced standard award on their own metal.

I have not found this to be the case on my flights, but the routes I go with have very few UA award seats (even standard) on their own metal. Mostly Lufthansa and it's subsidiaries for Europe.

[THY4373]

I wasn't aware that one way vs. RT changed the fee structure.
But we've never paid anything close to $1,800 for a to/from Europe on BA (or LH).
The fees seem to be slightly different depending upon ticketing options, but only by a small amount, and I don't understand the details. (It's not enough to get us to change flights, something like $50 or $100 when figuring F flights.)

RM

BA fees on F (and J) were $1200-$1300 round trip EX-US East Coast to London until recently if you were booking using BA or AA points (west coast may have been higher). More recently this was raised $1800 for entire US (and J went to $1400). Using other OneWorld carriers frequent flyer programs can allow you to bring this down some. Also if you are not going to London the fees will be somewhat less (about $200) because you avoid the UK APD tax.

More here: https://onemileatatime.com/british-airw ... -increase/

LH has some crazy fees too but most likely you are using a frequent flyer program such as United that doesn't pass them along. You can completely avoid LH fees because there are frequent flyer programs in Star Alliance that don't pass along fuel surcharges at all. Some more on LH fuel surcharges here:
https://onemileatatime.com/lh-yq-increase/

[ResearchMed]

I wasn't aware that one way vs. RT changed the fee structure.
But we've never paid anything close to $1,800 for a to/from Europe on BA (or LH).
The fees seem to be slightly different depending upon ticketing options, but only by a small amount, and I don't understand the details. (It's not enough to get us to change flights, something like $50 or $100 when figuring F flights.)

RM

BA fees on F (and J) were $1200 round trip EX-US East Coast to London until recently if you were booking using BA or AA points (I think West Coast was a bit more than $1200). More recently this was raised $1800 for entire US (and J went to $1400). Using other OneWorld carriers frequent flyer programs can allow you to bring this down some. Also if you are not going to London the fees will be somewhat less because you avoid the UK APD tax.

More here: https://onemileatatime.com/british-airw ... -increase/

Ah, thanks. That link was helpful.

For our flights to/from Europe later this month, we booked last summer, so we didn't see the increase (yet).
We are booked in F on BA returning home. But for outbound on LH, we don't qualify for F until about 14 days out, so we are in J (business).
I now wonder... IF F opens up in a few days, will we get hit with the new higher fees to change J to F? It's not that long a flight, compared with the flights to Asia, so we might just stick with J.
(In the past, we've been able to switch to F at the last minute, especially since we are usually at least a bit flexible as to the specific date of travel.)

And for a just-planned trip to Edinburgh mid-summer. we paid cash. This is a business trip for DH, and he can expense J, so we just paid for my ticket. We paid cash in part because J was less to begin with, and also because we avoided those awards fees entirely.
For a short "hop" to Edinburgh, J is plenty "fine"
And the non-stop didn't have F anyway. Avoiding a connection is definitely a plus.

RM

[DrGoogle2017]

Thanks for all the comments, I will be booking separately. I might try a few destinations to avoid the surcharge. Possibly Amsterdam or Madrid or Edinburg.

[THY4373]

IF F opens up in a few days, will we get hit with the new higher fees to change J to F? It's not that long a flight, compared with the flights to Asia, so we might just stick with J.

From the data points I have seen on Flyertalk BA is passing along the increased fuel surcharges if you change/upgrade your flight. For LH I assume the same but these would only get passed along if you are using a frequent flyer program that passes the surcharges along such as Aeroplan. United doesn't so you won't see any increase in fees I don't believe with them.

[THY4373]

Thanks for all the comments, I will be booking separately. I might try a few destinations to avoid the surcharge. Possibly Amsterdam or Madrid or Edinburg.

If I recall you have BA Avios these can be moved to Iberia and often Iberia is cheaper points and tax-wise than BA even on BA metal. Not so much for London but for other cities in Europe. It can be quite a bit of a difference. Iberia and BA are owned by the same parent company (IAG).

[DrGoogle2017]

Thanks for all the comments, I will be booking separately. I might try a few destinations to avoid the surcharge. Possibly Amsterdam or Madrid or Edinburg.

If I recall you have BA Avios these can be moved to Iberia and often Iberia is cheaper points and tax-wise than BA even on BA metal. Not so much for London but for other cities in Europe. It can be quite a bit of a difference. Iberia and BA are owned by the same parent company (IAG).

Thanks, I’ll look into it. I do fly Iberia using Avios point in Europe. But I prefer not to have too many accounts, I can’t keep up with it.

[DrGoogle2017]

Just got approved for Chase ink business card. I got tired of waiting for the 100,000 points bonus. Plus I’ve already exceeded the spending limit on the Citi Premier. This is it for a while now. I have enough points for Japan business class.

[TravelGeek]

Just got approved for Chase ink business card. I got tired of waiting for the 100,000 points bonus. Plus I’ve already exceeded the spending limit on the Citi Premier. This is it for a while now. I have enough points for Japan business class.

Ink Cash? (the one without annual fee)

[DrGoogle2017]

Just got approved for Chase ink business card. I got tired of waiting for the 100,000 points bonus. Plus I’ve already exceeded the spending limit on the Citi Premier. This is it for a while now. I have enough points for Japan business class.

Ink Cash? (the one without annual fee)

No, the one with 80,000 points, I believe there’s an annual fee.

[JBTX]

Recently approved for wells Fargo business bank account with $1000 bonus. Have to park $25k in there several months. Must go to branch and find a branch with a "business specialist". If you are approved for that you are automatically approved for wells Fargo business credit card with $500 bonus.

Not a bad ROI for about an hour of your time at the bank.

[Theseus]

I was refused for Chase Ink (business) because I have too many credit cards opened in the last 2 years. I though Chase business cards are exempt from 5/24 rule?

Did you try calling Chase to see if they will make an exception? They rejected mine - even though I had only two chase cards. I called them up - the underwriter (or someone that represents them) interviewed me on the phone and then they approved it. They had to transfer the credit limit from Reserve to Ink to get me started. I was fine with that. 80,000 miles got me business class ticket to Europe with 20,000 points to spare.

[Starfish]

I was refused for Chase Ink (business) because I have too many credit cards opened in the last 2 years. I though Chase business cards are exempt from 5/24 rule?

Did you try calling Chase to see if they will make an exception? They rejected mine - even though I had only two chase cards. I called them up - the underwriter (or someone that represents them) interviewed me on the phone and then they approved it. They had to transfer the credit limit from Reserve to Ink to get me started. I was fine with that. 80,000 miles got me business class ticket to Europe with 20,000 points to spare.

Thank you, good to know!
I still have ~100k points from good old days (we had 300k in bonuses couple of years ago, and spent some flying to Europe).

[spammagnet]

80,000 miles got me business class ticket to Europe with 20,000 points to spare.

On what airline?

[Theseus]

80,000 miles got me business class ticket to Europe with 20,000 points to spare.

On what airline?

United. I have found United interface to be easiest to find the right deal - especially for someone like me who has immense flexibility in travel dates. E.g. I had booked Lufthansa business class to Amsterdam for 70,000 miles via United award tickets. But it was a connecting flight from Frankfurt. A few days before the flight I found a direct United flight to Amsterdam for 60,000 and $125 change fee. I flew the same day as originally planned but direct. I was happy to do that change and save time on airport transfer.

[VictoriaF]

For those considering getting Chase IHG card with the 80k + 40k = 120k bonus, I have seen bloggers posting the end date of the offer on May 1st, 2019. See for example, Doctor of Credit, https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targeted ... 00-points/

I want to get Chase-IHG, but I have just applied for Chase-Ink-Unlimited and was approved yesterday. IHG is a personal card, Ink is a business card. How soon can I apply for the IHG card? Should I wait until I receive the Ink card before applying for IHG?

Victoria

[DrGoogle2017]

Thanks for all the comments, I will be booking separately. I might try a few destinations to avoid the surcharge. Possibly Amsterdam or Madrid or Edinburg.

On British Airways website, booking from LAX to AMS costs more than from LAX to LHR. More Avios and more taxes. Plus I only get a maximum of 4 hours layover. Not good. The only good thing is more first class award travel seats.

[DrGoogle2017]

Just got approved for Chase ink business card. I got tired of waiting for the 100,000 points bonus. Plus I’ve already exceeded the spending limit on the Citi Premier. This is it for a while now. I have enough points for Japan business class.

I’ve been playing around with a few frequent flyer website on where to transfer this bonus. Asiamiles somehow didn’t even show me anything, I need to call them. Singapore Airline states 107,000 miles for first class from LAX to Japan, but waiting list, I read it only releases within 10-14 days. I’ve been thinking of transferring this bonus to United Airline to book on ANA First class. What do you think about this?

The more I look, the more I like this Ink Business card, it gives me 3 times travel points, so it’s most likely if I were to spend $30k on travel, I would get 90,000 points on top of the 80,000 points. So I might get 170,000 points and could be up to 200,000 points. I might qualify for 2 one way first class suites from LAX to NRT or I might transfer to United Airline to book 2 round trip first class seats on ANA. Still mulling about this.

[DrGrnTum]

Unread post by VictoriaF » Thu Apr 11, 2019 8:15 am

For those considering getting Chase IHG card with the 80k + 40k = 120k bonus, I have seen bloggers posting the end date of the offer on May 1st, 2019. See for example, Doctor of Credit, https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targeted ... 00-points/

I want to get Chase-IHG, but I have just applied for Chase-Ink-Unlimited and was approved yesterday. IHG is a personal card, Ink is a business card. How soon can I apply for the IHG card? Should I wait until I receive the Ink card before applying for IHG?

Victoria

Victoria,
In the last week of September of 2017 I applied for one of the SouthWest cards. One week later I applied for the 2nd Chase SouthWest card. In doing so I was able to pick up the SouthWest Companion pass at the start of the next year. This was back when SW was allowing people to apply for the two cards.

When I applied I did not immediate get approval on the cards. To expedite the process I did call in to their reconsideration line. Here is that number: 1-888 245-0625.

Playing the CC game it is always YMMV, so good luck.

[Horsefly]

This seems like a good place to ask this question. If it seems more appropriate for a new thread, the mods should feel free to move it.

The Chase Ink Preferred is currently offering an 80K point sign-up bonus. I already have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, so this sign-up bonus is very tempting.

Although I do have a business (and an EIN) I actually have no intention of using the card for any actual business expenses, mostly because I don't have any real business expenses (it's an investment partnership, with a single brokerage account). Fact is, I plan on spending the required $5K for the sign-up bonus and then will probably keep the card only long enough to get the points.

From everything I've read on-line, they warn you not to use a business card for personal expenses, but only because the protections afforded individuals are not provided for business cards. They don't seem to have any outright rule against personal charges.

Does anyone see any real problem with this?

[DrGoogle2017]

My husband’s business is consulting. In the pass we didn’t have any problem using it to book non business stuff, we used it to pay for travel and stuff. I plan on keeping this card for the long haul and get rid of my British Airways eventually. They are both from Chase.
Where did you read this? Reddit? I did read from Reddit that Amex will not give you bonus point because they label you misuse the card, so I don’t plan to apply to any Amex card ever again.

[Horsefly]

My husband’s business is consulting. In the pass we didn’t have any problem using it to book non business stuff, we used it to pay for travel and stuff. I plan on keeping this card for the long haul and get rid of my British Airways eventually. They are both from Chase.
Where did you read this? Reddit? I did read from Reddit that Amex will not give you bonus point because they label you misuse the card, so I don’t plan to apply to any Amex card ever again.

It's been a few weeks since I read all this, as we've been out of the country on vacation. I honestly don't remember where I've read what about this. I know I read some stuff on the points guy, and a similar site.

I was not really considering Amex for anything. I've not had good experience with them in the past, so I'll just stay in the Chase Ultimate Rewards universe.

[TravelGeek]

Where did you read this? Reddit? I did read from Reddit that Amex will not give you bonus point because they label you misuse the card, so I don’t plan to apply to any Amex card ever again.

They reserve the right to claw back the points if you cancel within 12 months.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/american ... 12-months/

I assume they won’t mind if you never sign up for another card if your self-declared Intention were to just collect the bonus and then cancel the card. Seems a bit drastic of a reaction to that policy, though. There are plenty of Amex cards that many people find worthwhile keeping for the ongoing earnings/benefits. And even if not, just keep it for a year and cancel after the card renews (AF refunds).

[DrGoogle2017]

Where did you read this? Reddit? I did read from Reddit that Amex will not give you bonus point because they label you misuse the card, so I don’t plan to apply to any Amex card ever again.

They reserve the right to claw back the points if you cancel within 12 months.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/american ... 12-months/

I assume they won’t mind if you never sign up for another card if your self-declared Intention were to just collect the bonus and then cancel the card. Seems a bit drastic of a reaction to that policy, though. There are plenty of Amex cards that many people find worthwhile keeping for the ongoing earnings/benefits. And even if not, just keep it for a year and cancel after the card renews (AF refunds).

I usually transfer my points so there’s nothing to claw back. One time I did cancel the account, I forgot what’s the reason, they gave me back $300.
But I also read on Reddit that they don’t give you the bonus if in the past you showed that you abused the credit card bonus.

[DrGoogle2017]

My husband’s business is consulting. In the pass we didn’t have any problem using it to book non business stuff, we used it to pay for travel and stuff. I plan on keeping this card for the long haul and get rid of my British Airways eventually. They are both from Chase.
Where did you read this? Reddit? I did read from Reddit that Amex will not give you bonus point because they label you misuse the card, so I don’t plan to apply to any Amex card ever again.

It's been a few weeks since I read all this, as we've been out of the country on vacation. I honestly don't remember where I've read what about this. I know I read some stuff on the points guy, and a similar site.

I was not really considering Amex for anything. I've not had good experience with them in the past, so I'll just stay in the Chase Ultimate Rewards universe.

It’s for small businesses, some businesses earn nothing some years. You are personally guaranteed for business card anyway.
I have a lot of pending spending coming up, I may have to open a Chase Preferred card too. I still have less than 5/24.

[TravelGeek]

I usually transfer my points so there’s nothing to claw back. One time I did cancel the account, I forgot what’s the reason, they gave me back $300.
But I also read on Reddit that they don’t give you the bonus if in the past you showed that you abused the credit card bonus.

That's probably part of their eligibility checker.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/american ... n-process/

Makes sense to me that they wouldn't be interested in more of the same if, as you say, "you showed that you abused the credit card bonus" in the past. If you were running the Amex credit card business, wouldn't you do the same?

[JBTX]

This seems like a good place to ask this question. If it seems more appropriate for a new thread, the mods should feel free to move it.

The Chase Ink Preferred is currently offering an 80K point sign-up bonus. I already have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, so this sign-up bonus is very tempting.

Although I do have a business (and an EIN) I actually have no intention of using the card for any actual business expenses, mostly because I don't have any real business expenses (it's an investment partnership, with a single brokerage account). Fact is, I plan on spending the required $5K for the sign-up bonus and then will probably keep the card only long enough to get the points.

From everything I've read on-line, they warn you not to use a business card for personal expenses, but only because the protections afforded individuals are not provided for business cards. They don't seem to have any outright rule against personal charges.

Does anyone see any real problem with this?

Your situation describes mine exactly. I went through all three chase business cards and it was all personal expenses. They have no way of knowing nor do they probably care. I've done this several other business cards. If the spend requirement is really large I may put property tax or estimated tax on it.

[Horsefly]

Your situation describes mine exactly. I went through all three chase business cards and it was all personal expenses. They have no way of knowing nor do they probably care. I've done this several other business cards. If the spend requirement is really large I may put property tax or estimated tax on it.

Well, I started an application but stopped. My company is actually a partnership (3 partners), and they want all the specifics on the other owners if they own over 25%. My sister and brother wouldn't care that I'm doing this, but I don't want to put their info (SSN, etc.) into the application.

I'm gong to start over as a sole proprietor, with no EIN.

[JBTX]

Your situation describes mine exactly. I went through all three chase business cards and it was all personal expenses. They have no way of knowing nor do they probably care. I've done this several other business cards. If the spend requirement is really large I may put property tax or estimated tax on it.

Well, I started an application but stopped. My company is actually a partnership (3 partners), and they want all the specifics on the other owners if they own over 25%. My sister and brother wouldn't care that I'm doing this, but I don't want to put their info (SSN, etc.) into the application.

I'm gong to start over as a sole proprietor, with no EIN.

They may ask for some proof there is a business. On 2 of them I sent in a copy of the IRS form that issued the EIN.

[spammagnet]

It’s for small businesses, some businesses earn nothing some years. You are personally guaranteed for business card anyway.
I have a lot of pending spending coming up, I may have to open a Chase Preferred card too. I still have less than 5/24.

Note that some of the benefits, specifically rental car primary CDW, is specific to the card type. The Sapphire cards state they cover rentals for personal use while the Ink cards cover rentals for personal uses. How they would determine that or whether they would ever ask, I have no clue.

[DrGoogle2017]

Just got approved for Chase ink business card. I got tired of waiting for the 100,000 points bonus. Plus I’ve already exceeded the spending limit on the Citi Premier. This is it for a while now. I have enough points for Japan business class.

I’ve been playing around with a few frequent flyer website on where to transfer this bonus. Asiamiles somehow didn’t even show me anything, I need to call them. Singapore Airline states 107,000 miles for first class from LAX to Japan, but waiting list, I read it only releases within 10-14 days. I’ve been thinking of transferring this bonus to United Airline to book on ANA First class. What do you think about this?

The more I look, the more I like this Ink Business card, it gives me 3 times travel points, so it’s most likely if I were to spend $30k on travel, I would get 90,000 points on top of the 80,000 points. So I might get 170,000 points and could be up to 200,000 points. I might qualify for 2 one way first class suites from LAX to NRT or I might transfer to United Airline to book 2 round trip first class seats on ANA. Still mulling about this.

I finally found that transferring to Virgin Air is the best way to get Ana first class tickets to Japan for much lower mileage than United.

[Jags4186]

This seems like a good place to ask this question. If it seems more appropriate for a new thread, the mods should feel free to move it.

The Chase Ink Preferred is currently offering an 80K point sign-up bonus. I already have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, so this sign-up bonus is very tempting.

Although I do have a business (and an EIN) I actually have no intention of using the card for any actual business expenses, mostly because I don't have any real business expenses (it's an investment partnership, with a single brokerage account). Fact is, I plan on spending the required $5K for the sign-up bonus and then will probably keep the card only long enough to get the points.

From everything I've read on-line, they warn you not to use a business card for personal expenses, but only because the protections afforded individuals are not provided for business cards. They don't seem to have any outright rule against personal charges.

Does anyone see any real problem with this?

I don’t know where the boogie man argument of “protections afforded individuals are not provided for business cards.” Please document for me what protections you are not getting.

The only T&C that is negative on the business card vs the personal cards is that the rental car CDW is only for rentals used for “business purposes”. I am unaware of whether or not they verify this or how they would verify this. I just wouldn’t use an Ink card for rental cars.

[THY4373]

I finally found that transferring to Virgin Air is the best way to get Ana first class tickets to Japan for much lower mileage than United.

It is but you have to book round trip so you need to wait for the return to open up to book so some availability outbound will likely be lost as you wait for this (most Star Alliance carriers allow one way bookings). If you are flexible on dates, class of service and departure/return city you'll likely have no problem.

[Horsefly]

I don’t know where the boogie man argument of “protections afforded individuals are not provided for business cards.” Please document for me what protections you are not getting.

The only T&C that is negative on the business card vs the personal cards is that the rental car CDW is only for rentals used for “business purposes”. I am unaware of whether or not they verify this or how they would verify this. I just wouldn’t use an Ink card for rental cars.

I guess what I was talking about was references like the following.

https://www.morebusiness.com/business-c ... rd-issues/

Less Purchase Protection – When you use a personal credit card, most credit companies will offer purchase protection. However, business credit cards often do not have that same protection. This translates into more difficulties returning purchased goods, correcting billing errors, and even reversing fraudulent charges.

I think I've seen similar statements on sites like the points guy, doctor of credit, etc. (I don't have any links, just hazy memory of reading it).

If you can show me that it isn't true, I'm good with that. It wasn't meant as a "boogie man" to scare anyone. Just going with what I had understood.

I already knew about the CDW thing. That's also well documented on lots of credit sites, including some people who have been caught by the CC company when trying to make a claim.

[Jags4186]

I don’t know where the boogie man argument of “protections afforded individuals are not provided for business cards.” Please document for me what protections you are not getting.

The only T&C that is negative on the business card vs the personal cards is that the rental car CDW is only for rentals used for “business purposes”. I am unaware of whether or not they verify this or how they would verify this. I just wouldn’t use an Ink card for rental cars.

I guess what I was talking about was references like the following.

https://www.morebusiness.com/business-c ... rd-issues/

Less Purchase Protection – When you use a personal credit card, most credit companies will offer purchase protection. However, business credit cards often do not have that same protection. This translates into more difficulties returning purchased goods, correcting billing errors, and even reversing fraudulent charges.

I think I've seen similar statements on sites like the points guy, doctor of credit, etc. (I don't have any links, just hazy memory of reading it).

If you can show me that it isn't true, I'm good with that. It wasn't meant as a "boogie man" to scare anyone. Just going with what I had understood.

I already knew about the CDW thing. That's also well documented on lots of credit sites, including some people who have been caught by the CC company when trying to make a claim.

Maybe 30 years ago that was the case, but most if not all business cards offer the exact same protections personal cards offer. You should review your benefits guide before making purchases. I have yet to run across a business card worth getting that isn’t more or less equivalent to its consumer version.

Here is an example I can think of off the top of my head. AMEX Blue Business Plus does not offer Return Protection (i.e. if the company won’t take a product back within 90 days, AMEX will refund you up to $300). But no card has to offer return protection...it’s just over time cards have begun to offer more and more benefits.