How Many Credit Cards Do You Have?

[steve dave]

one imprtant thing to remember with SPG is that your points expire after 12 months unless you a)earn new points with your credit card or b) pay for a hotel stay at an SPG property.    You cannot keep your points with any affiliate offers like on other programs, and since the AMEX has an annual fee, be prepared to spend money one way or another to keep your points long term.

cancel card at annual fee, get card and possible partial or full sign up bonus again, rinse, repeat. 

[Mikeyis4dcats]

you can churn AMEX?  I thought I had read Chase and AMEX were once per person lifetime.

[steve dave]

you can churn AMEX?  I thought I had read Chase and AMEX were once per person lifetime.

I've cancelled my SPG amex and turned around and gotten it again to avoid the annual fee.  I just got the 10k SPG and not the additional 15k after spending whatever it was at the time.  Trim recently cancelled and reapplied to not pay the fee and got the entire 25k SPG.  Worst case scenario you just avoid the fee if you still want/use the card.  best case is you churn it.  no downside.  Or, just pay the annual fee.  It's not much. 

[EllToPay]

one imprtant thing to remember with SPG is that your points expire after 12 months unless you a)earn new points with your credit card or b) pay for a hotel stay at an SPG property.    You cannot keep your points with any affiliate offers like on other programs, and since the AMEX has an annual fee, be prepared to spend money one way or another to keep your points long term.

cancel card at annual fee, get card and possible partial or full sign up bonus again, rinse, repeat. 

so if i use it as my everyday spending card i don't have to worry about the points expiring, correct?

[steve dave]

also, a note on annual fees, you don't need to worry about missing your cancellation date and getting an annual fee if you were planning on cancelling the card.  When it appears on your account you can call and cancel the card and they will remove it.

[steve dave]

one imprtant thing to remember with SPG is that your points expire after 12 months unless you a)earn new points with your credit card or b) pay for a hotel stay at an SPG property.    You cannot keep your points with any affiliate offers like on other programs, and since the AMEX has an annual fee, be prepared to spend money one way or another to keep your points long term.

cancel card at annual fee, get card and possible partial or full sign up bonus again, rinse, repeat. 

so if i use it as my everyday spending card i don't have to worry about the points expiring, correct?

no.  as long as you use the card once a year or stay in a SPG property once a year or do anything really with the SPG miles once a year you are fine.  use awardwallett and it will monitor all of this for you as well.  It will even email you when miles are about to expire.

[Dr Rick Daris]

you can walk up to the bar at any spg property, order a drink and ask them to credit your spg number and that will keep them active as well.

[EllToPay]

one imprtant thing to remember with SPG is that your points expire after 12 months unless you a)earn new points with your credit card or b) pay for a hotel stay at an SPG property.    You cannot keep your points with any affiliate offers like on other programs, and since the AMEX has an annual fee, be prepared to spend money one way or another to keep your points long term.

cancel card at annual fee, get card and possible partial or full sign up bonus again, rinse, repeat. 

so if i use it as my everyday spending card i don't have to worry about the points expiring, correct?

no.  as long as you use the card once a year or stay in a SPG property once a year or do anything really with the SPG miles once a year you are fine.  use awardwallett and it will monitor all of this for you as well.  It will even email you when miles are about to expire.

 

[Trim]

you can churn AMEX?  I thought I had read Chase and AMEX were once per person lifetime.

I've cancelled my SPG amex and turned around and gotten it again to avoid the annual fee.  I just got the 10k SPG and not the additional 15k after spending whatever it was at the time.  Trim recently cancelled and reapplied to not pay the fee and got the entire 25k SPG.  Worst case scenario you just avoid the fee if you still want/use the card.  best case is you churn it.  no downside.  Or, just pay the annual fee.  It's not much. 

30K. 

[raquetcat]

250 free spg points

http://slickdeals.net/f/3879132-250-FREE-SPG-Starwood-Preferred-Guest-points-by-01FEB2012

Got the email today and sent back my spg number. They said it will be 4 - 8 Weeks before the points are suppose to show up in your account :fingerscrossed:

Already got the points!   

[raquetcat]

The points guy links all the best business card deals currently available:
http://thepointsguy.com/2012/02/sunday-reader-question-do-you-have-to-have-a-business-to-get-a-business-credit-card/#comments

Is there any reason I couldn't get the 60K Hilton AmEx and the 50K Citi Hilton Visa ( http://millionmilesecrets.com/credit-cards/hotel-credit-cards/ ) at the same time?

[steve dave]

no

[Mikeyis4dcats]

The points guy links all the best business card deals currently available:
http://thepointsguy.com/2012/02/sunday-reader-question-do-you-have-to-have-a-business-to-get-a-business-credit-card/#comments

Is there any reason I couldn't get the 60K Hilton AmEx and the 50K Citi Hilton Visa ( http://millionmilesecrets.com/credit-cards/hotel-credit-cards/ ) at the same time?

better AMEX option:   60k points for $750 spend, no annual fee

https://www262.americanexpress.com/apisites/microsite/apply/hilton-hhonors-card/71-1000-112

[Dr Rick Daris]

The points guy links all the best business card deals currently available:
http://thepointsguy.com/2012/02/sunday-reader-question-do-you-have-to-have-a-business-to-get-a-business-credit-card/#comments

Is there any reason I couldn't get the 60K Hilton AmEx and the 50K Citi Hilton Visa ( http://millionmilesecrets.com/credit-cards/hotel-credit-cards/ ) at the same time?

better AMEX option:   60k points for $750 spend, no annual fee

https://www262.americanexpress.com/apisites/microsite/apply/hilton-hhonors-card/71-1000-112

actually the best option for hhonors points right now aren't even the hhonors cards, they are the boa hawaiin airlines and virgin atlantic cards that i posted about three days ago. you can transfer them at a rate of 1:2, so you'd end up with 100k hhonors for one and 70k for the other or 170k if you did both.

[Mikeyis4dcats]

The points guy links all the best business card deals currently available:
http://thepointsguy.com/2012/02/sunday-reader-question-do-you-have-to-have-a-business-to-get-a-business-credit-card/#comments

Is there any reason I couldn't get the 60K Hilton AmEx and the 50K Citi Hilton Visa ( http://millionmilesecrets.com/credit-cards/hotel-credit-cards/ ) at the same time?

better AMEX option:   60k points for $750 spend, no annual fee

https://www262.americanexpress.com/apisites/microsite/apply/hilton-hhonors-card/71-1000-112

actually the best option for hhonors points right now aren't even the hhonors cards, they are the boa hawaiin airlines and virgin atlantic cards that i posted about three days ago. you can transfer them at a rate of 1:2, so you'd end up with 100k hhonors for one and 70k for the other or 170k if you did both.

will look.     But the one I posted is a freebie....very low spend, no fee....get and dump and move on.

[Dr Rick Daris]

  darius posts and butthurt gary responds...

http://millionmilesecrets.com/2012/02/13/where-are-the-100000-credit-card-offers/#more-9043

[steve dave]

darius posts and butthurt gary responds...

http://millionmilesecrets.com/2012/02/13/where-are-the-100000-credit-card-offers/#more-9043

rough ridin' Gary 

[raquetcat]

I applied for the amex hhonors card Monday night. I got the instant "you're approved" email and they express shipped (via UPS) my cards to me and I got them today! In the past my cards have always come standard mail, has anyone else experienced this?

[steve dave]

I applied for the amex hhonors card Monday night. I got the instant "you're approved" email and they express shipped (via UPS) my cards to me and I got them today! In the past my cards have always come standard mail, has anyone else experienced this?

I've gotten them on my front porch overnight a few times.  AMEX does this a lot.  iirc my starwood card actually came like that. 

[EllToPay]

I applied for the amex hhonors card Monday night. I got the instant "you're approved" email and they express shipped (via UPS) my cards to me and I got them today! In the past my cards have always come standard mail, has anyone else experienced this?

I've gotten them on my front porch overnight a few times.  AMEX does this a lot.  iirc my starwood card actually came like that. 

Yeah, my Starwood said 8-10 business days for delivery and it was overnighted to my house.

[Mikeyis4dcats]

I applied for the amex hhonors card Monday night. I got the instant "you're approved" email and they express shipped (via UPS) my cards to me and I got them today! In the past my cards have always come standard mail, has anyone else experienced this?

same thing happened here.

[sys]

i want to thank this thread.  it has had a more positive impact on my life than pretty much anything else on the internet.  good job, cc thread.

[steve dave]

SPG category changes start 3/1.  If you are going to be staying somehwere on points that is going up you need to book before 3/1.  If you are going to be staying somewhere that is going down, obviously wait until after 3/1 to book.  All the good Colorado and NYV properties are going up 

https://lacek.hs.llnwd.net/e1/starwood/2012categorychange/SPG_CategoryChanges2012.pdf

[JavaCat]

SPG category changes start 3/1.  If you are going to be staying somehwere on points that is going up you need to book before 3/1.  If you are going to be staying somewhere that is going down, obviously wait until after 3/1 to book.  All the good Colorado and NYV properties are going up 

https://lacek.hs.llnwd.net/e1/starwood/2012categorychange/SPG_CategoryChanges2012.pdf

Damn, thanks SD. All of the San Francisco category 4's are going up and I've been meaning to get reservations for October.

[Mikeyis4dcats]

SPG category changes start 3/1.  If you are going to be staying somehwere on points that is going up you need to book before 3/1.  If you are going to be staying somewhere that is going down, obviously wait until after 3/1 to book.  All the good Colorado and NYV properties are going up 

https://lacek.hs.llnwd.net/e1/starwood/2012categorychange/SPG_CategoryChanges2012.pdf

I bet a lot of places will be adjusting upwards given the big bonuses lately.    I saw Hilton last week bumped everything up.