re: Credit Card Rewards and Points Discussion

Tell me if I'm starting to figure this rewards thing out. My goal is to pay for most of one of the following trips next summer:
Seattle and Mt. Rainier
San Fran and Yosemite
San Fran TO Seattle (drive Hwy 1)
Banff/Lake Louise


I. Received Barclay Arrival Plus in December
1. 2% toward miles on all purchases
2. Spend $3k for 50,000 miles
a.(earn $560 with bonus plus 2% on purchases).
b.Use card for most of my spending and by next summer I'll have $740 to use for general travel.

II. Girlfriend applies for IHG
1. 2% points on gas and food
2. Spend 1k for 60,000 miles
a.(earn $620 with bonus plus the 2% on first $1k)
b.Use card for most of her spending and by next summer She'll have roughly $700 to use for hotels
PLUS one free night after annual membership date

III. I apply for IHG in March after meeting my 3k for Barclay
1. Spend the 1k over three months to reach 60,000 miles and let card sit dormant
I'll have $620 to use for hotels PLUS one night free as well, Right??

IV. Late May I apply for Capital One Venture or some kind of Airline Card (though I don't like to be limited)
1. I spend 1k to 3k to earn between 30,000 to 60,000 miles that will go toward flights...earning roughly $450

So there you have it, We earn $2,500 toward general travel and TWO free nights thanks to IHG.

How should I maximize the benefits of the above plan? Could we easily spend $2,500 on flights, rentals, and lodging somewhere in California, Oregon, Washington?

P.S. I do not wish to cancel these cards...would like to keep IHG forever based on free annual night ($49) fee. The Venture has a $59 fee after year one and the Barclay has $89 fee. I'm willing to spread out $350 in fees to get approx $2,500 back.

Feel free to critique

EDIT: Mistake number one - IHG points are not 100 points per dollar. They're usually 100 points for 50 cents...LAME. Or, you can find deals to where hotels will offer $400 stays for 40,000 pts instead of 80,000 pts.
Will continue to look for 70k or 80k Bonuses through IHG. Will I have better luck talking to someone at Chase directly?

I just read about the 5/24 rule. I've only applied for one card so far, but honestly I'm just trying to figure out the best way to pay for 75% of a modest vacation.

I like to travel, and have plenty of time to do it, but my teacher's salary doesn't allow me to reach several different spending limits in quick succession. I'm not yet sold on manufactured spending, and I'm quite sure I don't need the added stress of keeping up with numerous cards.

Miles will accumulate faster in the future. Right now I'm content to apply for 2-4 cards per year and use them for a decent trip every 18 or so months.

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All those I believe will net $400 each per application x 2 is a lot of money.

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We're not exactly at that x's 2 stage yet since she's still in school without steady income
Like I said, things are looking up for the future when hopefully we'll have dual incomes. For now, it'll probably be three cards for me this year and one, maybe two for her. She's never applied for a card.

I hope we can do exactly what you and your wife did by getting two free nights at the Crowne Plaza in Seattle next summer (2018).

Anyone here do any manufactured spending to meet minimums?
I'll probably never get that far, but I'm curious.
The gift card/money order route seems most effective, but is also somewhat confusing. What do YOU do?
I've definitely transferred what I can easily transfer to my BarclayCard (cox, att, netflix, spotify) Utilities charge a $3-4 fee on cards so I can't justify that.

Are all of my questions in this 422 page thread?

Good stuff.
Would using Plastiq limit me to just the 2.5% fee that it charges or would my utilities put yet another fee on the cards through Plastiq?

Would Plastiq for utilities worsen the fee problem?

EDIT: According to your own comment on page 322 Plastiq sends checks so it seems there will be no double fee.
Could I even pay Chase auto and mortgage loans this way?? Has anyone done it?

What are the current ways to get free in-air wifi? Best options? (Specifically a United flight)

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Southwest has put a stop to transferring points from partner sites towards companion pass.

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Yes this sucks but understandable on SW end. Just wished they gave a little notice. Im sittng with 330k Marriott pts transfered from 110 SPG Amex pts and was going to get the package for SW CP 110 SPG pts is still very valuable and not the end of the world I guess.

Sapphire reserve dropping 100k bonus to 50k for online apps Jan 12

I wonder if they'll waive the annual fee for the first year then

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Do you ever worry about SARs or banks shutting down your accounts?

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No. I am confident I am doing nothing wrong and can prove that with the records I maintain. Also, I use throwaway accounts for depositing MOs. Basically, I don't care if they shut me down. It's sweeter if I can get a bonus to open the account too. Never shite where you eat. So I keep my Chase bank account and my main checking/savings account separate from all this activity. As long as I am good with Chase, life is good

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Should I risk paying my auto and mortgage on Plastiq to meet this spending requirement?

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Yes. Plus, necessity is the mother of invention (or in this case, courage). Maybe you'll be driven to try out MS if all other avenues are shut Thank me when you are sipping your wine in Italy

Plus you could just venmo your wife $5k over a few weeks from your couch and call it a day. At 3% it is not much worse than Plastiq.