Amex Retention offer with intent to downgrade
I have an Amex business platinum card that I’d ideally like to downgrade to an Amex biz green when my AF comes due. If I’m offered a retention offer, is there a way to downgrade after meeting that offer requirement (or sooner) or do I need to wait a year before downgrading? Thanks!
How would your strategy change if you were ONLY using personal cards?
I know y'all love a good business card, but I'm curious how your strategy would change if you were just starting out and personal cards were the only option. After the classic "beginner cards" of CSP and Capital One Venture, what would you focus on? Thanks!
Capital One Card Quantity Limits
I have heard you guys mention that capital one only allows you to have two personal cards at a time. My question is whether that has any caveats, such as if you’ve had one of their cards for more than 7 years if you might be able to have more than two? My oldest card is a Capital one, so I never want to close that, but I’d like a Venture X as well, and have heard you say I don’t really want to cancel that either. Are my Capital one points earning opportunities pretty limited, then?
How far in advance do you book SLH properties?
We are wanting to stay at the Grand Hotel Lake Como property in 2026. I have all the points ready to go but the calendar isn’t open for cash or points. How do you figure out when the rooms will be open for you to book in order to snag availability? I noticed lots of SHL properties weren’t available for 2026 yet (ex Santorini)
Bora bora
Planning a trip here in a few years so mostly in the points earning/planning stage. I’ve been looking at award availability about a year out (just to practice seeing what comes up) and it seems like Conrad Bora Bora drops availability randomly. There’s more availability closer out than planning a year out. With flights on Air Tahiti Nui I’ve found some business class flights 10-11 months out but random dates. It seems United releases a few business class awards closer towards the date of flying. Tips on booking flights vs hotel first for this kind of trip?
Paying for College with Credit Cards
I am paying for my grandson's college. The college charges a 3% fee for using a credit card for tuition and fees. Is it still worth it? Is there any workaround to it? What is the best utilization of ccs to do this? It will be about $35k each year for five years. Hoping that I will have enough points saved up at the end of five years to take him on an amazing graduation trip using points!
Amex business plat airline incidental credit
What are the best ways to use this credit? I’ve seen some data points online to suggest cheap (<$100) flights might qualify. I’ve also heard you all talk about the United travel bank. What are some easy ways to not miss out on this credit, esp if there’s no incidental charges coming up?
Sapphire Preferred Door Dash Credits
My husband and I both have Sapphires, we use his for Dashpass. Since the cards come with monthly non restaurant $10 credits, can we use both cards under the 1 account and potentially get $20 a month or do we need to make 2 different doordash/dash pass accounts?
Virgin red and flying blue transfer of points
Question regarding booking flights through virgin red/virgin Atlantic and flying blue program. If you know you will be booking one way flights for 3 on both of these airlines do you suggest roughly estimating the amount of points you will need and moving them into each account before you need to book? I have been reading about people missing out due to points not transferring instantly. I will be booking as soon as calendar opens but want to be prepared and set myself up for success since I am new and it’s my first international redemption.
Combine AMEX MR between P1 and P2
I'm trying to figure out the strategy for adding P1/P2 as authorized user to combine/pool Amex membership rewards. I have the BBP, and my P2 has his own BBP and a Business Gold Amex. I would like to be able to combine our points. If I add P2 as an AU on my BBP, can we pool points between both of us in either direction? Do we need to add each other as AU in order to share points both ways? How does adding someone as an AU on the BBP affect 5/24? Thanks!
New vs. Old airplanes
How can we find the newest planes and best routes? I love a new plane and am willing to reposition to fly on one. Maybe I’m being a plane snob, but my first DeltaOne flight was disappointing. It was an old plane and literally smelled bad the whole way to Europe. Since then, I have tried to google to find out how old the plane is before I book. There has got to be a better way—a resource somewhere that can tell me the best planes/routes to choose. Any tips?
Stockpiling Hyatt Points
If I'm remembering correctly, I think Jess said she used 700,000+ Hyatt points last year. If you know you are going to need that many Hyatt points, do you concentrate some spend on Hyatt cards vs Chase cards since some Hyatt cards have higher category multipliers? If so, what percentage of Hyatt points did you earn on Hyatt cards vs Chase cards? I'd like to do a large family all inclusive when our youngest turns 18 in 12 months and I'm trying to figure out the best way to rack up Hyatt points. I can't get a Chase card to save my life right now, so it might be a "pointless" endeavor for me to apply for/spend on a Hyatt card. :)
Talking to the bank
Despite having lots of success with this hobby, one of my biggest fears is applying for a new card, not getting automatically approved, then having to justify to the bank why I need another card. I know you ladies talk about not drawing attention to all your cards, but what do you do/say when your on the phone and someone is reviewing your accounts and inquiring?
The Other Banks
I am working on closing my Chase biz inks in order to apply for more Chase biz cards. Seems like 90% of the cards I'd like to get are thru Chase. I was an unlucky one who entered the world of Amex in 2023 with my first card as a personal platinum RIGHT before they implemented family language. I have a biz blue card, but the minimum spend for the other Amex biz cards are quite hefty. What do you suggest for business cards with reasonable spends while working back into good graces with Chase and out of luck with personal cards with Amex? I can't be the only one who got caught in this predicament.
Closing Cards
I know there's a lot of information out there about closing cards, but I am missing some of the finer points. Can you go into all the considerations you make? Some of the questions I have had recently: 1. WHEN do I cancel to not risk losing the sign up bonus? Is it a year from when I RECEIEVED the SUB? Or a year from when I was approved? 2. Timing? Wait 30 days per bank? 3. Anything I'm not considering? PS - LOVING the topics you've been covering - so helpful!
Recent Southwest Policy Updates
Hello! Regarding the recent SW updates, I see that they still offer a free checked bag (or a 'checked bag credit,' whatever that means) to SW credit card holders. I just got mine through your link (thank you!) for the companion pass promo in February. Does this mean that I now have to pay for the flight using that SW credit card in order to get the checked bag? I usually pay for all cash flights with my AmEx Plat since it earns 5x. Thank you <3