How Many Credit Cards Do You Have?

[Dr Rick Daris]

my god this gets more incredible with each passing day

you have no idea. there is a guy that i think was my boss. like 60% sure he was my boss. anyway, i think he became my boss back around february. we talked once and it was around a month ago. great guy. he apparently just told his bosses that he is no longer going to boss other people and is going to go back to doing what he did before february. because of our work setup, he's able to do this. why he ever took the bossing stuff on is beyond me, but he's a great guy so he probably just wanted to help out. this is probably too vague to be as good as it is but still.

[steve dave]

SD,

I am thinking about going for the British Airways Visa Signature® Card: 50,000 Avios as my next card.  My thinking here is around the benefits of Avios that you mentioned earlier to me, and my ability to move my UR Chase points and MR Amex to British Airways as well, and really have some good options for both domestic and international flights.

Thoughts?

Yep, avios are great. There are sweet spots though. Short domestic flights are amazing values (mentioned chicago earlier). Downside is they charge you 3x the miles for first while most programs will only charge 2x the miles for first class domestic. Not a big deal if you aren't going to fly first. Some international flights are really good values while others aren't (because they base the amount of miles needed on the actual miles flown). But, overall they are great.

[steve dave]

SD,

I am thinking about going for the British Airways Visa Signature Card: 50,000 Avios as my next card.  My thinking here is around the benefits of Avios that you mentioned earlier to me, and my ability to move my UR Chase points and MR Amex to British Airways as well, and really have some good options for both domestic and international flights.

Thoughts?

A follow up question...

Tell me what you think of this plan...Since SPG points also transfer to British Airways, and since the SPG card has a higher than normal bonus right now (according to Lucky's site), I am considering applying for the SPG and a British Airways card in the same day, perhaps with another one or two, to minimize any impact to credit that any of them see...but my credit is score is really good, so I am not concerned about that too much.  Thoughts?

Yep, great plan. I wouldn't just plan to transfer the SPG points there though. They are so versatile that I'd hoard them and only transfer them when you have a need for them somewhere.

[steve dave]

Also, Pete, here in a couple months we're going to get you a SW card or two and get you a companion pass for 2016 & 2017.

[Dr Rick Daris]

Also, Pete, here in a couple months we're going to get you a SW card or two and get you a companion pass for 2016 & 2017.

both pete and his wife should do that cause family of four and all. he'll have to transfer some marriott points or something to top off to 110 though.

[steve dave]

Also, Pete, here in a couple months we're going to get you a SW card or two and get you a companion pass for 2016 & 2017.

both pete and his wife should do that cause family of four and all. he'll have to transfer some marriott points or something to top off to 110 though.

I have faith that Pete can buy enough hot tub related products to get to that 110k figure.

[Pete]

Also, Pete, here in a couple months we're going to get you a SW card or two and get you a companion pass for 2016 & 2017.

I have a southwest card now, so I am probably mumped on that, right?

[steve dave]

Nope!

[Pete]

Also, Pete, here in a couple months we're going to get you a SW card or two and get you a companion pass for 2016 & 2017.

both pete and his wife should do that cause family of four and all. he'll have to transfer some marriott points or something to top off to 110 though.

I have faith that Pete can buy enough hot tub related products to get to that 110k figure.

Guys, I am sitting at 74,413 points for THIS year RIGHT now on Southwest (I have lie 83K overall on Southwest but 74K is just this year), and I am also sitting on 155,000 Marriott points.  I had NO idea that I could transfer Marriott points to Southwest for credit toward the companion pass...WHAT IS THE CATCH????

[Dr Rick Daris]

pete-your idea of multiple cards on the same day is a good one. keep in mind that these cards are issued by different banks though and for the most part you don't want to apply for multiple cards with the same bank. so if you get the british airways card, no more chase cards this go around.

[Dr Rick Daris]

Also, Pete, here in a couple months we're going to get you a SW card or two and get you a companion pass for 2016 & 2017.

both pete and his wife should do that cause family of four and all. he'll have to transfer some marriott points or something to top off to 110 though.

I have faith that Pete can buy enough hot tub related products to get to that 110k figure.

Guys, I am sitting at 74,413 points for THIS year RIGHT now on Southwest (I have lie 83K overall on Southwest but 74K is just this year), and I am also sitting on 155,000 Marriott points.  I had NO idea that I could transfer Marriott points to Southwest for credit toward the companion pass...WHAT IS THE CATCH????

the catch (i guess) is that they don't transfer 1:1

https://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morerew.mi

[Pete]

pete-your idea of multiple cards on the same day is a good one. keep in mind that these cards are issued by different banks though and for the most part you don't want to apply for multiple cards with the same bank. so if you get the british airways card, no more chase cards this go around.

I am probably already mumped on Chase, since I just got the Sapphire a while back, failed on the Ink Biz card app, and then accidentally clicked on SD's link to the Freedom and it like auto-submitted an application immediately. 

[Pete]

Also, Pete, here in a couple months we're going to get you a SW card or two and get you a companion pass for 2016 & 2017.

both pete and his wife should do that cause family of four and all. he'll have to transfer some marriott points or something to top off to 110 though.

I have faith that Pete can buy enough hot tub related products to get to that 110k figure.

Guys, I am sitting at 74,413 points for THIS year RIGHT now on Southwest (I have lie 83K overall on Southwest but 74K is just this year), and I am also sitting on 155,000 Marriott points.  I had NO idea that I could transfer Marriott points to Southwest for credit toward the companion pass...WHAT IS THE CATCH????

the catch (i guess) is that they don't transfer 1:1

https://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morerew.mi

Do you guys think it's worth it to try and go for the companion pass now, this late in the year?  I mean on the one hand, I have the 74K for this year, and would hate to "waste" that when I am somewhat close to getting a companion pass, BUT I don't want to burn a bunch of Marriott or other points just to get ther and only have 15 months of Companion pass if I just wait and am able to do it effectively later and get more like 20+ months.  I am, however, concerned that I won't be able to get as close to the target next year because I already have a Chase Southwest card and have apparently made them grumpy and less likely to give me another Southwest card.   

[Dr Rick Daris]

Also, Pete, here in a couple months we're going to get you a SW card or two and get you a companion pass for 2016 & 2017.

both pete and his wife should do that cause family of four and all. he'll have to transfer some marriott points or something to top off to 110 though.

I have faith that Pete can buy enough hot tub related products to get to that 110k figure.

Guys, I am sitting at 74,413 points for THIS year RIGHT now on Southwest (I have lie 83K overall on Southwest but 74K is just this year), and I am also sitting on 155,000 Marriott points.  I had NO idea that I could transfer Marriott points to Southwest for credit toward the companion pass...WHAT IS THE CATCH????

the catch (i guess) is that they don't transfer 1:1

https://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morerew.mi

Do you guys think it's worth it to try and go for the companion pass now, this late in the year?  I mean on the one hand, I have the 74K for this year, and would hate to "waste" that when I am somewhat close to getting a companion pass, BUT I don't want to burn a bunch of Marriott or other points just to get ther and only have 15 months of Companion pass if I just wait and am able to do it effectively later and get more like 20+ months.  I am, however, concerned that I won't be able to get as close to the target next year because I already have a Chase Southwest card and have apparently made them grumpy and less likely to give me another Southwest card.   

dunno. there are four different chase southwest cards though. 2 personal and 2 businaaaassss. you're probably fine holding off.

[steve dave]

You could Pete, and then have your wife get a couple SW cards and you'd have the companion pass for the rest of this year and all of next and your wife would have it for most of 16 and all of 17.

[Pete]

You could Pete, and then have your wife get a couple SW cards and you'd have the companion pass for the rest of this year and all of next and your wife would have it for most of 16 and all of 17.

Oh man, I think that sounds like a good idea.  Plus, if she has one during 2016, and I have one during 2016, then we can drag the kids along at a big discount.

[Pete]

Also, Pete, here in a couple months we're going to get you a SW card or two and get you a companion pass for 2016 & 2017.

both pete and his wife should do that cause family of four and all. he'll have to transfer some marriott points or something to top off to 110 though.

I have faith that Pete can buy enough hot tub related products to get to that 110k figure.

Guys, I am sitting at 74,413 points for THIS year RIGHT now on Southwest (I have lie 83K overall on Southwest but 74K is just this year), and I am also sitting on 155,000 Marriott points.  I had NO idea that I could transfer Marriott points to Southwest for credit toward the companion pass...WHAT IS THE CATCH????

the catch (i guess) is that they don't transfer 1:1

https://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morerew.mi

Do you guys think it's worth it to try and go for the companion pass now, this late in the year?  I mean on the one hand, I have the 74K for this year, and would hate to "waste" that when I am somewhat close to getting a companion pass, BUT I don't want to burn a bunch of Marriott or other points just to get ther and only have 15 months of Companion pass if I just wait and am able to do it effectively later and get more like 20+ months.  I am, however, concerned that I won't be able to get as close to the target next year because I already have a Chase Southwest card and have apparently made them grumpy and less likely to give me another Southwest card.   

dunno. there are four different chase southwest cards though. 2 personal and 2 businaaaassss. you're probably fine holding off.

OK, here is the big trade off....you really got me thinking about this Cancun pricing, and I just looked it up, and I am about THIS close to flying all four of us down there the first week of January and burning my Marriott points on the Casa Magna for the week.  THIS close, Rick.

[Pete]

I guess I do have these newly acquired UR points as well.  But, maybe those should be horded to try and gun for a 2016-2017 companion pass? 

I DON'T WANT TO SCREW THIS UP!

[Dr Rick Daris]

Also, Pete, here in a couple months we're going to get you a SW card or two and get you a companion pass for 2016 & 2017.

both pete and his wife should do that cause family of four and all. he'll have to transfer some marriott points or something to top off to 110 though.

I have faith that Pete can buy enough hot tub related products to get to that 110k figure.

Guys, I am sitting at 74,413 points for THIS year RIGHT now on Southwest (I have lie 83K overall on Southwest but 74K is just this year), and I am also sitting on 155,000 Marriott points.  I had NO idea that I could transfer Marriott points to Southwest for credit toward the companion pass...WHAT IS THE CATCH????

the catch (i guess) is that they don't transfer 1:1

https://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morerew.mi

Do you guys think it's worth it to try and go for the companion pass now, this late in the year?  I mean on the one hand, I have the 74K for this year, and would hate to "waste" that when I am somewhat close to getting a companion pass, BUT I don't want to burn a bunch of Marriott or other points just to get ther and only have 15 months of Companion pass if I just wait and am able to do it effectively later and get more like 20+ months.  I am, however, concerned that I won't be able to get as close to the target next year because I already have a Chase Southwest card and have apparently made them grumpy and less likely to give me another Southwest card.   

dunno. there are four different chase southwest cards though. 2 personal and 2 businaaaassss. you're probably fine holding off.

OK, here is the big trade off....you really got me thinking about this Cancun pricing, and I just looked it up, and I am about THIS close to flying all four of us down there the first week of January and burning my Marriott points on the Casa Magna for the week.  THIS close, Rick.

you should do it and i'll take you one step further. you and your wife could both apply for the wyndham cards. there is a $69 ( ) fee that is not waived but you get 45k wyndham points. that will get you three nights at the all inclusive wyndham azteca just outside of playa del carmen. you and your wife both get it and boom, for $138 you have six nights at a pretty decent all inclusive.

https://www.barclaycardus.com/apply/Landing.action?campaignId=2152&cellNumber=12&prodidreq=CCVVS64804&referrerid=PointG15v2

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g150812-d185331-Reviews-Viva_Wyndham_Azteca-Playa_del_Carmen_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

[steve dave]

Pete, one thing to keep in mind is the points for the companion pass have to post before the end of the year. So, if you're getting the other SW Card (which one do you have now? Plus or Premier?) make sure you hit the spend ASAP so you get the points to your SW account before dec 31. Check your SW account to see your Companion Pass status and confirm you've earned those 70k+ for this year. Also, the MR and UR points transferred to SW don't count towards the companion pass. But, the Marriott points do.

[Pete]

Also, Pete, here in a couple months we're going to get you a SW card or two and get you a companion pass for 2016 & 2017.

both pete and his wife should do that cause family of four and all. he'll have to transfer some marriott points or something to top off to 110 though.

I have faith that Pete can buy enough hot tub related products to get to that 110k figure.

Guys, I am sitting at 74,413 points for THIS year RIGHT now on Southwest (I have lie 83K overall on Southwest but 74K is just this year), and I am also sitting on 155,000 Marriott points.  I had NO idea that I could transfer Marriott points to Southwest for credit toward the companion pass...WHAT IS THE CATCH????

the catch (i guess) is that they don't transfer 1:1

https://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morerew.mi

Do you guys think it's worth it to try and go for the companion pass now, this late in the year?  I mean on the one hand, I have the 74K for this year, and would hate to "waste" that when I am somewhat close to getting a companion pass, BUT I don't want to burn a bunch of Marriott or other points just to get ther and only have 15 months of Companion pass if I just wait and am able to do it effectively later and get more like 20+ months.  I am, however, concerned that I won't be able to get as close to the target next year because I already have a Chase Southwest card and have apparently made them grumpy and less likely to give me another Southwest card.   

dunno. there are four different chase southwest cards though. 2 personal and 2 businaaaassss. you're probably fine holding off.

OK, here is the big trade off....you really got me thinking about this Cancun pricing, and I just looked it up, and I am about THIS close to flying all four of us down there the first week of January and burning my Marriott points on the Casa Magna for the week.  THIS close, Rick.

you should do it and i'll take you one step further. you and your wife could both apply for the wyndham cards. there is a $69 ( ) fee that is not waived but you get 45k wyndham points. that will get you three nights at the all inclusive wyndham azteca just outside of playa del carmen. you and your wife both get it and boom, for $138 you have six nights at a pretty decent all inclusive.

https://www.barclaycardus.com/apply/Landing.action?campaignId=2152&cellNumber=12&prodidreq=CCVVS64804&referrerid=PointG15v2

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g150812-d185331-Reviews-Viva_Wyndham_Azteca-Playa_del_Carmen_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

Hmmmm, can the reservation be made using two different accounts, or are you essentially checking and checking out to string together two three night stays?  Also, how fast do those post?  I am a bit concerned that the hotel will fill up or run out of slots before we get cards and then get around to getting the points in our account, etc.

[Pete]

Pete, one thing to keep in mind is the points for the companion pass have to post before the end of the year. So, if you're getting the other SW Card (which one do you have now? Plus or Premier?) make sure you hit the spend ASAP so you get the points to your SW account before dec 31. Check your SW account to see your Companion Pass status and confirm you've earned those 70k+ for this year. Also, the MR and UR points transferred to SW don't count towards the companion pass. But, the Marriott points do.

OK, that is a huge point on the UR and MR. 

My Southwest card is a Premier.  I have had it for YEARS.  My 74K is fully posted to my account right now...it's from actual travel over the last year, so I don't have to worry about that part.

[Dr Rick Daris]

Hmmmm, can the reservation be made using two different accounts, or are you essentially checking and checking out to string together two three night stays?  Also, how fast do those post?  I am a bit concerned that the hotel will fill up or run out of slots before we get cards and then get around to getting the points in our account, etc.

i would just make two separate reservations and then send an email before you go letting them know what's going on and honestly 6 days at the same all inclusive might get a little boring. i think we'll do 3 or 4 days there and then mix it up and either head to tulum or stay in playa or something. it's a pretty good deal though because you're getting an all inclusive for a family of four at the wyndham azteca in january which would cost over $300/night if you were paying in cash.

i suppose it's possible that the hotel books up but pretty doubtful. they would have to actually be completely booked. the points will post fairly quickly. one thing you can do is book a southwest flight with the card the day that you get it. book it as far out as you can and book a fully refundable fair. the minimum spend on the card is 1k, so book something over 1k. that guarantees you hit the spend before the end of the billing cycle and then when you get your 45k, you can cancel the flight.

[Boom Roasted]

I can still refer folks for the spg if they want it!

[Boom Roasted]

Have to be approved by 9/14 for the 30k pts