PSA -Sapphire Reserve with 100K points bonus, LAST CHANCE is Saturday 3/11 at branch...

[Svnla]

Now that I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, question is should I leave my Chase Freedom alone or just cancel it? I already transferred my points over.

I would leave the Freedom alone. Do not cut off/cancel your CC unless you are paying annual fee for it and not using it.

 

[zinfamous]

That^

Never cancel a credit card that has no annual fee. Just bury it away in your sock drawer, maybe make a small purchase on it every couple of months. The Freedom card is good, though, so no reason to stop using it.

 

[Exterous]

Never cancel a credit card that has no annual fee.

I disagree with the use of "never". I've cancelled plenty of cards that have no annual fee for various reasons. For example some banks won't approve you for more cards if your existing credit with them is too high and, if you dont call Recon they will decline your app. Also, many providers have time limits on being a "new" customer so cancelling your card starts the timer on when you can be considered a "new" customer for the purposes of getting a sign up bonus.

 

[Svnla]

Another article about AE new fee and look like AE Platinum will have a metallic design - https://www.fool.com/credit-cards/2017/03/07/the-amex-platinum-card-now-has-a-550-annual-fee-is.aspx

 

[madoka]

I was looking at some international flights I could use my points on and found that the same flight on Orbitiz is $100 cheaper than what's on the Chase rewards page. Can I get Chase to match that?

 

[Aharami]

im debating what to do with my SPG card now. Should I cancel it? But the loss of credit will ding my credit score, no? But I don't really want to keep paying the $100 annual fee for it since I doubt I'll be using that much at all anymore

 

[Svnla]

FYI, this Saturday 3-11-17 end of business will be the last chance to get this card at one of Chase branch to get the 100K UR points. Go, go, go......

 

[RossMAN]

im debating what to do with my SPG card now. Should I cancel it? But the loss of credit will ding my credit score, no? But I don't really want to keep paying the $100 annual fee for it since I doubt I'll be using that much at all anymore

Hmmn I'm considering applying for the Amex SPG 35k points which are valuable when transferred to airline partners. If I knew I could downgrade from Amex SPG to Everyday Preferred I would do it, yep they both have an annual fee. Plus I'm not really crazy about the $5k minimum spend, maybe I'll just let it go.

 

[Aharami]

Hmmn I'm considering applying for the Amex SPG 35k points which are valuable when transferred to airline partners. If I knew I could downgrade from Amex SPG to Everyday Preferred I would do it, yep they both have an annual fee. Plus I'm not really crazy about the $5k minimum spend, maybe I'll just let it go.

the thing is that ever since the Marriott merger, I feel like SPG points don't go as far when it comes to hotel stays. I used to see free nights for less than 10K points all the time. Now there are hardly any. Most are 12.5K points and some much more

 

[yhelothar]

I signed up for the Amex Gold Premier Rewards card that has a 50,000 point signup bonus after spending $2000 within 3 months. The first year annual fee is waived.

 

[Exterous]

im debating what to do with my SPG card now. Should I cancel it? But the loss of credit will ding my credit score, no? But I don't really want to keep paying the $100 annual fee for it since I doubt I'll be using that much at all anymore

Depends on a few things: your available credit, credit utilization and average age of accounts. Average age doesn't matter too much but credit utilization % can matter a lot. If your % jumps by a lot (>10%?) because you lowered your available credit it can have a negative impact on your score. You could potentially find a now fee card, apply for that and cancel the SPG a few days\weeks after approval. You'd likely see a slight ding of ~3 points for the hard pull but you'll easily make those up over 3-4 months if you use the new card and pay on time

 

[Exterous]

I was looking at some international flights I could use my points on and found that the same flight on Orbitiz is $100 cheaper than what's on the Chase rewards page. Can I get Chase to match that?

Not sure but its worth a call to them to find out

 

[repoman0]

Got my points, looking to use some already to book a flight to Norway in May. Norwegian has nonstop flights from Boston for about $400-500 round trip, but I wasn't able to see them through the Chase portal ... apparently I may be able to book by calling Chase, which would be awesome. Should be only about 25k points.

 

[RossMAN]

I signed up for the Amex Gold Premier Rewards card that has a 50,000 point signup bonus after spending $2000 within 3 months. The first year annual fee is waived.

http://thepointsguy.com/2016/01/maximizing-amex-premier-rewards-gold-card-2016/

Hmmn I might apply for this instead, I prefer the lower min spend $2k vs $5k however annual fee is $195 vs $95 but waived the first year.

If I plan on redeeming for flights I wonder if 50k MR or 35k SPG is more valuable? We usually fly economy and are not interested in Plat personal or business cards.

Hmmn now I'm back to square one, perhaps I'll apply for both? I need to find out if I can change Amex SPG to EP or downgrade to a no AF card.

https://www.milevalue.com/which-is-the-better-offer-50k-business-gold-card-or-30k-spg-business-card/
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/06/12/starwood-amex-vs-amex-premier-rewards-gold-card/
https://upgradedpoints.com/redeem-amex-membership-rewards-points-for-max-value/

 

[Exterous]

http://thepointsguy.com/2016/01/maximizing-amex-premier-rewards-gold-card-2016/

Hmmn I might apply for this instead, I prefer the lower min spend $2k vs $5k however annual fee is $195 vs $95 but waived the first year.

If I plan on redeeming for flights I wonder if 50k MR or 35k SPG is more valuable? We usually fly economy and are not interested in Plat personal or business cards.

Hmmn now I'm back to square one, perhaps I'll apply for both? I need to find out if I can change Amex SPG to EP or downgrade to a no AF card.

https://www.milevalue.com/which-is-the-better-offer-50k-business-gold-card-or-30k-spg-business-card/
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/06/12/starwood-amex-vs-amex-premier-rewards-gold-card/
https://upgradedpoints.com/redeem-amex-membership-rewards-points-for-max-value/

I'd get the SPG card at the very least if you haven't had it before since there is a very good chance it will be going away for good as Marriott uses chase for their co-branded card.

 

[RossMAN]

I'd get the SPG card at the very least if you haven't had it before since there is a very good chance it will be going away for good as Marriott uses chase for their co-branded card.

I'm leaning towards SPG, both or none.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I'm leaning towards SPG, both or none.

Play the game now while its lucrative because the way things are going, it's only gonna be worth less over time.

 

[RockinZ28]

Think my fav perk has got to be the National car rental complimentary Executive status with the CSR. Booked a regular mid-size, drove off with a Buick Enclave with no extra cost today.

National's rates are retarded if you book direct or through Priceline etc, but often times I've found them to be very near the others if you go through Ultimate Rewards. I don't mind Employer won't notice paying another 10% or so.

 

[manly]

Applied today, I should get the card early next week.

 

[Svnla]

Applied today, I should get the card early next week.

Today? Why didn't you wait until 5 minutes before the closing time this coming Saturday?

And I thought I was the one that pushed the envelope edge.

 

[Exterous]

Think my fav perk has got to be the National car rental complimentary Executive status with the CSR. Booked a regular mid-size, drove off with a Buick Enclave with no extra cost today.

National's rates are retarded if you book direct or through Priceline etc, but often times I've found them to be very near the others if you go through Ultimate Rewards. I don't mind Employer won't notice paying another 10% or so.

They are definitely my favorite car rental company. Incredibly low fuss and no hassle although I feel like their sub 1 week rentals are getting more expensive

 

[brianmanahan]

Think my fav perk has got to be the National car rental complimentary Executive status with the CSR. Booked a regular mid-size, drove off with a Buick Enclave with no extra cost today.

nice, NCR has been pretty good to me before. managed to snag a one-way california to ohio full-size car rental for 650$ using a KLM dutch airlines membership code

 

[RossMAN]

Think my fav perk has got to be the National car rental complimentary Executive status with the CSR. Booked a regular mid-size, drove off with a Buick Enclave with no extra cost today.

National's rates are retarded if you book direct or through Priceline etc, but often times I've found them to be very near the others if you go through Ultimate Rewards. I don't mind Employer won't notice paying another 10% or so.

They are definitely my favorite car rental company. Incredibly low fuss and no hassle although I feel like their sub 1 week rentals are getting more expensive

Hmmn how does National compare to Enterprise in prices, selection and service?

Using CostcoTravel.com I can usually rent an Enterprise intermediary class for around $30 a day including all taxes/fees.

 

[RockinZ28]

They are definitely my favorite car rental company. Incredibly low fuss and no hassle although I feel like their sub 1 week rentals are getting more expensive

Is that what it is? All my business trips are usually 5-6 days max. Never looked at a weekly rate. Every time I've looked at National, outside of UR portal, their rates have literally been double the price of the other major chains. They do deserve a premium for having the best service, but not a markup like that.

Hmmn how does National compare to Enterprise in prices, selection and service?

Using CostcoTravel.com I can usually rent an Enterprise intermediary class for around $30 a day including all taxes/fees.

Haven't rented from Enterprise, they're always way up there in price compared to like Avis/Hertz/Dollar/Thrifty. $30/day total is pretty good tho. Main reason I do National is because with the CSR you book an intermediate, and get to pick anything in the Emerald Executive isle. I've done Dodge Challenger, 2017 Mustang convertible, Buick Regal Turbo II, Buick LaCrosse and Buick Enclave. Those would cost a lot more without the CSR perk. Service is good with National too, always super friendly and helpful. Just grab your car and go.

 

[Exterous]

Hmmn how does National compare to Enterprise in prices, selection and service?

Using CostcoTravel.com I can usually rent an Enterprise intermediary class for around $30 a day including all taxes/fees.

National blows Enterprise out of the water for selection and service - really everyone else too IMO. At most of their locations you just head to the appropriate aisle, pick a car and drive to their manned booth. Hand them the hang tag and your license and 2 minutes later you're done. None of the 'do you want X service or Y add on?' or paperwork. Returning is just as easy, all they do is check the mileage and fuel level - no slow walk around the car looking for scratches or dings. Takes about 10 seconds to return the car so there is never ever waiting for a rep like I've had at other companies.

The selection is excellent if you have their Exec level status although that depends a bit on airport and luck. At the LAX airport I've reserved a midsized car and driven off with a 2017 mustang with 1200 miles on it, a nissan 350z, a couple of camaros and challengers and a lacrosse.

Is that what it is? All my business trips are usually 5-6 days max. Never looked at a weekly rate. Every time I've looked at National, outside of UR portal, their rates have literally been double the price of the other major chains. They do deserve a premium for having the best service, but not a markup like that.

Yeah price can be the sticking point. If you can get close to a week rental or more or do a one way rental they are generally competitive but if its a 1-3 or 4 day rental not as much so. Its been a while since I've played around with their system (we have a very good contract for them through work but its a different portal with more opaque pricing) but their 5 or 6+ day rentals used to use their weekly rate with a pro-ration for days based on the weekly rates. Less than that used a daily rate calculation that was more expensive. I've seen 4 day rentals that were more expensive than 6 day rentals at the same location. I suspect that is still the case as we have contracts with other companies and for 1-3 day rentals I tend to use someone else because the other company is often notably cheaper.

Random side note - one of the things our agreements have in addition to low rates and free insurance is that we are allowed up to 15 drivers on a car rental. Why not just make it unlimited at that point?