How Many Credit Cards Do You Have?

[steve dave]

Dumb question here.  How do you bank the points when you're cancelling the cards?  Do you have to be signed up for British Airways, Starwood, etc. prior to getting the credit card and then associate your existing airline/hotel accounts with the credit card?

yes. sign up for starwood account online. then give your starwood account # when getting the card. then your points go to you starwood account. then you just cancel the credit card. same for airlines miles, etc.

Yeah, your airline/hotel mile programs are separate from the cards.  You can get miles without the card by staying/flying.  Once the points are in your account they are yours.  There are big formulas to figure out how much each airline and hotel point is worth.  Starwoods are said to be worth about 2.5 cents each.  So, if you get 20k for signing up for two cards you are basically getting $500 in free travel.  But, there are smart ways and dumb ways to use them to maximize the value you get for them.  

[Trim]

yes. sign up for starwood account online. then give your starwood account # when getting the card. then your points go to you starwood account. then you just cancel the credit card. same for airlines miles, etc.

That makes this whole thing seem a lot more feasible.  I've already got barely used accounts for most hotel companies from work travel (bunch of non-elites in there from staying in podunk KS towns).  I'll likely put together a list of existing hotel/airline accounts I have and post for you and sd to put together my credit card plan.

[Dr Rick Daris]

yes. sign up for starwood account online. then give your starwood account # when getting the card. then your points go to you starwood account. then you just cancel the credit card. same for airlines miles, etc.

That makes this whole thing seem a lot more feasible.  I've already got barely used accounts for most hotel companies from work travel (bunch of non-elites in there from staying in podunk KS towns).  I'll likely put together a list of existing hotel/airline accounts I have and post for you and sd to put together my credit card plan.

its like trim just gave me a great big christmas present 10 months ahead of time. 

[Jeffy]

I chose not to reward banks that have already received my tax dollars in bailouts.

that's your fault then. i rewarded a lot of them by letting them give me tons of free crap. thanks citibank!  

This.  Slu and I make $500 to $700 a year on citibank and discover.  Never have paid a penny in interest.  I guess we are smart enough not to reward the banks and have them reward us.

OH.... wrong answer!

You do realize that there are fees that are added to credit card transaction that the "store" pays?  And of course that store doesn't really pay them.  They pass them on to consumers.  In fact, there has been a trend over the last couple of years for gas stations to return to the credit-cash dichotomy pricing.  Most stations don't advertise it.

I use the cc fees when I'm negotiating prices on large items.  The money I've saved by making cash transactions and negotiating prices is easily several hundred dollars.

[steve dave]

I chose not to reward banks that have already received my tax dollars in bailouts.

that's your fault then. i rewarded a lot of them by letting them give me tons of free crap. thanks citibank!  

This.  Slu and I make $500 to $700 a year on citibank and discover.  Never have paid a penny in interest.  I guess we are smart enough not to reward the banks and have them reward us.

OH.... wrong answer!

You do realize that there are fees that are added to credit card transaction that the "store" pays?  And of course that store doesn't really pay them.  They pass them on to consumers.  In fact, there has been a trend over the last couple of years for gas stations to return to the credit-cash dichotomy pricing.  Most stations don't advertise it.

I use the cc fees when I'm negotiating prices on large items.  The money I've saved by making cash transactions and negotiating prices is easily several hundred dollars.

You ever negotiate a nine day trip to Hawaii flying first class for free?

[sys]

OH.... wrong answer!

you're paying the cc margin on everything you buy that you don't negotiate down on a cash price, anyways.  would make sense to get a cut of that back with a rewards cc.

[Dr Rick Daris]

OH.... wrong answer!

you're paying the cc margin on everything you buy that you don't negotiate down on a cash price, anyways.  would make sense to get a cut of that back with a rewards cc.

this is obvious to everyone but jeffy, who apparently spends a good part of his day negotiating for big ticket items and only paying for them in cash.

[steve dave]

Every time I swipe my cc I'm going to chuckle to myself about how many of jeffy's pennies I just pocketed

[LinuxHuskerSometimesBasketballCat]

1

I had 5 but over the course of a year, we've paid them down to only 1 now. 27% apr. Kiss my ace. You'd be stupid to put your money in savings gaining 6%

[Johnny Wichita]

cash back is lame cause you're just going to spend it on toilet paper or corndogs at riverfest or something. there are a bunch of airline credit cards that will give you enough miles for a free roundtrip ticket anywhere just for signing up. signup, use it for a month or two then cancel it. fly to mexico roundtrip for free (basically) and then repeat process.

I don't really like Mexico.  

[Jeffy]

Every time I swipe my cc I'm going to chuckle to myself about how many of jeffy's pennies I just pocketed

Enjoy.  I love the power of paying in cash.  Since the paychecks are automatically deposited, making that monthly cash withdrawal is a good feeling.  Plus, I never overspend my budget, which my wife and I agree upon every single month.

I don't deny that credit cards can be used responsibly.  Heck, I had 2 cards in my possession until last October.  I used them in the way you guys were mentioning for some budget categories.  But if you don't actively budget, money will disappear.  Studies show there is a mental response to paying with cash vs paying with credit.  Paying with cash hurts.  The pain level decreases with credit dramatically.  I am able to more easily partition my needs vs wants when I'm paying cash.

And for those that didn't know, banks are now starting to offer rewards on debit cards as well:  http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/debit-card-rewards-1277.php.  This program will only continue to gain steam as time goes by.

[Dr Rick Daris]

cash back is lame cause you're just going to spend it on toilet paper or corndogs at riverfest or something. there are a bunch of airline credit cards that will give you enough miles for a free roundtrip ticket anywhere just for signing up. signup, use it for a month or two then cancel it. fly to mexico roundtrip for free (basically) and then repeat process.

I don't really like Mexico.  

california?

[steve dave]

And for those that didn't know, banks are now starting to offer rewards on debit cards as well

You've got my attention

[Johnny Wichita]

cash back is lame cause you're just going to spend it on toilet paper or corndogs at riverfest or something. there are a bunch of airline credit cards that will give you enough miles for a free roundtrip ticket anywhere just for signing up. signup, use it for a month or two then cancel it. fly to mexico roundtrip for free (basically) and then repeat process.

I don't really like Mexico.  

california?

That works.  I got your point.  Just trying to be difficult.  

I love the idea of taking advantage of this stuff.  I don't know if it is feasible in my situation with the damage to credit history.  That's why I would like to find one good one and just get as much back as possible.  Won't change how much I buy or pay, would just make it go through one more step before hitting the checking account.  I also see the value in the free travel, I've just been trying to travel a lot less than I used to and it seems like free money would make more sense now.    

[Dr Rick Daris]

cash back is lame cause you're just going to spend it on toilet paper or corndogs at riverfest or something. there are a bunch of airline credit cards that will give you enough miles for a free roundtrip ticket anywhere just for signing up. signup, use it for a month or two then cancel it. fly to mexico roundtrip for free (basically) and then repeat process.

I don't really like Mexico. 

california?

That works.  I got your point.  Just trying to be difficult. 

I love the idea of taking advantage of this stuff.  I don't know if it is feasible in my situation with the damage to credit history.  That's why I would like to find one good one and just get as much back as possible.  Won't change how much I buy or pay, would just make it go through one more step before hitting the checking account.  I also see the value in the free travel, I've just been trying to travel a lot less than I used to and it seems like free money would make more sense now.    

yeah. i was just trying to be difficult as well. you'd probably be best off w/ just a cashback card. that way you can stock up gobs and cash and then put a pool in your back yard or something. prob wouldn't even need a vacation if you had something like that.


also, a pretty easy way to make a quick hundred is this. also, if you have a wife and a different mailing address available for one of you, i bet you could get a quick two hundred... http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1847851


also, sd's amazing 100,000 BA airline miles thing is apparently back on. i'm gonna pull the trigger this time....
https://applynow.chase.com/FlexAppWeb/renderApp.do?SPID=CQ7P&CAT=0&REF=null&AFFID=null&MSC=null&CELL=6R9F&PROMO=DF01&TABID=1

[steve dave]

also, sd's amazing 100,000 BA airline miles thing is apparently back on. i'm gonna pull the trigger this time....
https://applynow.chase.com/FlexAppWeb/renderApp.do?SPID=CQ7P&CAT=0&REF=null&AFFID=null&MSC=null&CELL=6R9F&PROMO=DF01&TABID=1

sys, as your attorney I recommend you sign up for this immediately.  Spend $2k on it as soon as you can. 

[Dr Rick Daris]

also, sd's amazing 100,000 BA airline miles thing is apparently back on. i'm gonna pull the trigger this time....
https://applynow.chase.com/FlexAppWeb/renderApp.do?SPID=CQ7P&CAT=0&REF=null&AFFID=null&MSC=null&CELL=6R9F&PROMO=DF01&TABID=1

sys, as your attorney I recommend you sign up for this immediately.  Spend $2k on it as soon as you can. 

us mint 

[steve dave]

also, sd's amazing 100,000 BA airline miles thing is apparently back on. i'm gonna pull the trigger this time....
https://applynow.chase.com/FlexAppWeb/renderApp.do?SPID=CQ7P&CAT=0&REF=null&AFFID=null&MSC=null&CELL=6R9F&PROMO=DF01&TABID=1

sys, as your attorney I recommend you sign up for this immediately.  Spend $2k on it as soon as you can. 

us mint 

Yeah, do this.  You can buy president or native american dollar coins from the US Mint at face value with free shipping.  If you aren't going to spend the $2k on anything you need spend it there and just deposit the coins to pay off the card.  Two rountrips from the US to Madrid/London/Paris.

[Dr Rick Daris]

also, sd's amazing 100,000 BA airline miles thing is apparently back on. i'm gonna pull the trigger this time....
https://applynow.chase.com/FlexAppWeb/renderApp.do?SPID=CQ7P&CAT=0&REF=null&AFFID=null&MSC=null&CELL=6R9F&PROMO=DF01&TABID=1

sys, as your attorney I recommend you sign up for this immediately.  Spend $2k on it as soon as you can. 

us mint 

Yeah, do this.  You can buy president or native american dollar coins from the US Mint at face value with free shipping.  If you aren't going to spend the $2k on anything you need spend it there and just deposit the coins to pay off the card.  Two rountrips from the US to Madrid/London/Paris.

they're also part of oneworld so the miles can transfer to like ten other airlines if you don't want BA. daris is gonna be back in business w/ 200,000 AA miles and 3x daily flights out of mhk. 

[steve dave]

also, sd's amazing 100,000 BA airline miles thing is apparently back on. i'm gonna pull the trigger this time....
https://applynow.chase.com/FlexAppWeb/renderApp.do?SPID=CQ7P&CAT=0&REF=null&AFFID=null&MSC=null&CELL=6R9F&PROMO=DF01&TABID=1

sys, as your attorney I recommend you sign up for this immediately.  Spend $2k on it as soon as you can. 

us mint 

Yeah, do this.  You can buy president or native american dollar coins from the US Mint at face value with free shipping.  If you aren't going to spend the $2k on anything you need spend it there and just deposit the coins to pay off the card.  Two rountrips from the US to Madrid/London/Paris.

they're also part of oneworld so the miles can transfer to like ten other airlines if you don't want BA. daris is gonna be back in business w/ 200,000 AA miles and 3x daily flights out of mhk. 

Yep, we are flying rountrip to Hawaii in first class on American via said miles 

[Dr Rick Daris]

also, sd's amazing 100,000 BA airline miles thing is apparently back on. i'm gonna pull the trigger this time....
https://applynow.chase.com/FlexAppWeb/renderApp.do?SPID=CQ7P&CAT=0&REF=null&AFFID=null&MSC=null&CELL=6R9F&PROMO=DF01&TABID=1

sys, as your attorney I recommend you sign up for this immediately.  Spend $2k on it as soon as you can. 

us mint 

Yeah, do this.  You can buy president or native american dollar coins from the US Mint at face value with free shipping.  If you aren't going to spend the $2k on anything you need spend it there and just deposit the coins to pay off the card.  Two rountrips from the US to Madrid/London/Paris.

they're also part of oneworld so the miles can transfer to like ten other airlines if you don't want BA. daris is gonna be back in business w/ 200,000 AA miles and 3x daily flights out of mhk. 

Yep, we are flying rountrip to Hawaii in first class on American via said miles 

 

[ben ji]

Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa is nice.  

Use it on anything, and use it towards a southwest purchase and it doubles your credits.

Each dollar is worth 1 credit. (double if it is towards southwest purchase)

1200 credits is 1 point.

16 points for a free roundtrip flight to any Southwest destination.

When you sign up for Rapid Rewards Visa, you automatically get 8 points, and you get 2 points for creating a Rapid Rewards account on southwest.com. (10 points total)

This leaves only 6 points for your first free rountrip flight.  Each one-way flight is 1 point.

Pretty badass IMO.  I use it as a company card, and some of my coworkers have over 13 free roundtrip flights waiting to be used.

Just applied for this one. Fly nothing but southwest for work when I can. Plan on putting all flights on that card instead of company card and just having them reimburse me.

[ben ji]

Bank of Blue Valley here in KC has a pretty great checking account deal, 4% apy which is more than you would earn in any savings account or CD. They make their money by requiring you to run your debit card as a credit card at least 12 times a month so that they can collect on those transaction fee's. You also get $25 in ATM reimbursement every month since they dont have very many locations. Can have up to $25,000 in the account.

I also have a question for SD and the other churners out there. Does the constant applying for and canceling credit cards have any effect on your credit score?

[Dr Rick Daris]

Bank of Blue Valley here in KC has a pretty great checking account deal, 4% apy which is more than you would earn in any savings account or CD. They make their money by requiring you to run your debit card as a credit card at least 12 times a month so that they can collect on those transaction fee's. You also get $25 in ATM reimbursement every month since they dont have very many locations. Can have up to $25,000 in the account.

I also have a question for SD and the other churners out there. Does the constant applying for and canceling credit cards have any effect on your credit score?

most people see a quick drop of 10-20 points due to the number of inqueries and the shortening of your avg credit length. this will go back up in about six months provided you cxl your cards quickly after getting them.

[steve dave]

I also have a question for SD and the other churners out there. Does the constant applying for and canceling credit cards have any effect on your credit score?

Supposed to be about 5 points per card until you cancel them.  The reason being the average length of your credit goes down with each new card.  But, I ran mine a couple of months ago because I was curious how it affected it and my score was 760.  So, moral of the story:  If you aren't going to be applying for a mortgage within a year there is little downside re. your credit.