Capital One Venture X
I applied for the Capital One Venture X and was denied (too many inquiries). I forgot to freeze Experian beforehand to reduce the risk of getting denied. If I do that 30-ish days after the first application, do you think Capital One will take into account the letter they sent me as to why they denied me the first time. Or, do you think my chances will fare better because I freeze my credit with my Experian account?
SAHM card applications
One more question if I'm allowed! My mom, a SAHM, would like to get started with points and miles. She isn't technically self-employed but does tailor clothes occasionally, that could count as a business. Technically, I think her employment status would be "Other" in the context of a card application, but would that impact her changes to get business cards? Should she put self-employed? Sorry for blowing up the AMA!!!
Business cards for businesses that are partnerships
Hi there! Long time listener, first time caller! I have a niche question that probably only applies to a few people but you ladies might be one of the few. I have been getting business credit cards through a rental my husband and I have, but that is a sole prop and we're also considering selling the rental, in which case that "business" wouldn't exist. I own 50% of another business with a partner that is an LLC and has legitimate revenue. We've both been getting into travel hacking lately and I'd love to start using this as my business for business credit cards. I'm wondering if you ladies have any experience opening business cards using partnerships where you don't own 100% of the business. It's my understanding that in these cases, we would both have to have our credit reports pulled for any card opened and I'm wondering if there is a work around for that. Thanks so much for all your great content!
Companion Pass renewal
2 years ago I opened up 2 Southwest cards to get a companion pass for all of 2024-2025. I’m wanting to get it again but I’m unclear on the timeline this time around. I opened the Rapid Rewards Plus in November 2023 and got the SUB in January 2024. Can I open it up again now? Or do I need to wait 24 months from hitting the sub?
Mortgage pre-qualification question
We open many cards each year. For the last 2 years, between P2 and myself, we're around 33 (give or take a couple). Several of these are us being "employees" of each other on AmEx business cards, so not all new cards have associated hard credit pulls. My question is, we are looking at purchasing a new home and will need to get prequalified for a mortgage about 18mo from now. Should we stop new card applications soon to allow current card inquiries the 24 months to fall off, or are numerous inquiries less important than actual new lines of credit? I've read posts that say 6 months, but my gut is saying longer is better? Thoughts/insights? Thanks!
AmEx card strategy
I have been an AmEx client since 2005, with a "slow burn" Hilton card I got in college. Thanks to you ladies I have exponentially expanded my award card portfolio and was enjoying the waterfall of AmEx no lifetime language offers on Gold, Platinum, and biz Blue cards, until after repeated attempts I was not eligible for a retention offer to keep my first Business Gold card open. I closed this card this summer, and was immediately shut off, put in pop-up prison and have remained there for the last 7 months. What is your experience with closing AmEx cards (personal or business) and then staying in AmEx good graces in the immediate aftermath? Or, should I just downgrade all eligible cards to Green, and hope to get an upgrade offer in the future?
IHG
Booked a trip to Europe for my husband and 2 kids (yay for a random Delta skymiles flash sale, 39,000 miles round trip comfort plus MSP to AMS and CDG to MSP). We ended up booking 2 IHG properties because they worked best for our situation and there wasn't Hyatt award availability. I'm working on a minimum spend on another card so won't be able to earn enough on an IHG to get points in time to get these hotels with points, but is it worth still getting an IHG card before our trip so we can charge the hotel rooms to it? Any other benefit in having an IHG card specifically for the stays? IHG cards have never been on my radar before so I don't know much.
Lifetime language on Inks
What’s going on with the lifetime language with the ink cards? What do we know and what do you all think could happen? This plus not being able to get a sapphire card, pretty much means that free Hyatt stays are over for our family. This is prob one of the worst things that could happen in p&ms
Recommended inter-Europe airlines?
Hi ladies - going to Paris and Italy next summer and need to get from CDG to FCO. I'm seeing Air France and ITA and a few others. What are the airlines you've flown that you would recommend or NOT recommend (aka avoid at all costs)? I'll have one carry on bag with a backpack. Thank you!
Costa Rica
I’m planning a Costa Rica January 2027 so I’m getting ready to book my hotels. For my husband and two 17 year olds would you do 3 days at the Andaz and 3 days at Tabacon Thermal Resort or 2 days at Tabacon, 2 days at Andaz and 2 days at Sende Monteverde? I’m worried moving around between 3 hotels will be too much but I also think they all sound amazing!!
How to meet the minimum spend?
I often hear you guys talk about opening business cards; some of them require as much as $30,000 minimum spend in three months (I believe the CSR, Capital One Spark etc). Do you manage to achieve the spend with your own natural spend throughout the year or do you have any secret hack you can share with us? :-) I know some people overpay taxes and then get a refund, but I dont want to go down that road. Thanks!!
Hyatt awards
Hi! Thanks to all of you this will be my first time achieving 20 nights and earning a Hyatt reward. I’m not a globalist, so I assume the two CAAs are by far the most preferred choice of rewards, but what is best practice for when to claim them (waiting is better to extend their expiration?), how long they last before expiration, and where to actually use them (since it seems many hotels have very limited spaces available for CAAs). If I choose this, I want to make sure I have a plan for them and don’t waste them. (For example we are going to Hawaii this summer but I won’t be able to use them at Hyatt Regency Maui or Grand Hyatt Kauai since the club rooms are the first to go and aren’t available in August)… 😩 Thank you!
Big payments (estimated taxes) to meet spend
Hi there! In many episodes you ladies mention meeting your minimum spends by paying estimated taxes. My business and personal finances are mid to high end but I don’t pay nearly enough in estimated taxes to hit 3-6 cards that have $20-30k spend each. For example, Pam said she did min spend on her platinum, husbands platinum, plus $15k Hyatt card, and quite a few other high ones all in the same year just with estimated taxes. Are you overpaying those taxes and just paying the credit card fee then getting a super large refund? I heard some people do this!
How many hard inquiries?
Jess talks about a lot of her applications getting denied, especially this past year. Are you guys worried about the amount of hard inquiries you have? Specifically with Experian, since Chase pulls from them. How many inquiries do each of you have on your biggest one right now?
Which card to cancel/downgrade?
I have a Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Ink Preferred, I'd like to downgrade or cancel one of them to get rid of an annual fee since I don't need both. Which is better? I also have the Freedom Unlimited card and Chase Ink Cash card which I am keeping both for the time being since neither have annual fee.