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"If you have 29 credit cards you're probably a millenial."

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FactoryofLies

Neo Member
I'm kind of surprised you'd do that many in such a short period of time. I'd space those out purely out of the risk of another fantastic offer like the Sapphire Reserve card coming around and having to miss out because of 5/24.

With how many people signed up for the Reserve and Chase ending the 100k promotion so soon I don't see that happening. Regardles, to me it's not worth it to stay under 5/24 when there are so many other great signup bonuses out there. I already have more points than I know what to do with. We are both going cold turkey soon and will start over again in two years. Reddit/churning has taught me how much this game has changed over the years. Need to get as many points as you can and spend them before they are inevitably devalued.
 

lunchtoast

Member
Just wanted to share this article from The Points Guy how a reader used various credit cards and points to stay at the Maldives for a week for under 4k.

https://thepointsguy.com/2017/04/honeymoon-maldives-success-story/



To book seven nights at the Conrad, we needed to come up with 380,000 Hilton Honors points and two weekend night certificates. I had around 50,000 points to start with, so we needed 330,000 more. First, I got the Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express, which comes with Gold status and earns 6 points per dollar on groceries and at restaurants. The sign-up bonus (at the time) netted me 50,000 points. I then got the Citi Hilton Honors Visa Signature Card, which netted me a sign-up bonus of 75,000 points
Finally, I got the Hawaiian Airlines MasterCard from Barclaycard, which comes with a bonus of 35,000 miles that transfer to Hilton at a ratio of 1:1.5. Since you have to transfer in increments of 10,000, I transferred 30,000 miles to get 45,000 Hilton points. After a paid Hilton business stay that I put on my Surpass card (earning 12 points per dollar at Hilton properties), and other grocery and restaurant spending we put on that card, I had about 311,000 points in my account.

To make up the balance, I turned to the Membership Rewards points I had amassed from my sign-up bonus for the Platinum Card from American Express. Hilton is an Amex transfer partner at a ratio of 1:1.5, so I was able to transfer 46,000 Membership Rewards points to get the remaining 69,000 Hilton points. Finally, I got the Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Card and earned the sign-up bonus of two weekend night certificates after spending $2,500 on the card in the first four months. Those certificates are stackable with my points awards, and I called ahead of time to make sure they were redeemable at the Conrad Maldives.

To cover our airfare, my wife got the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card and netted the very lucrative 100,000-point bonus. I transferred about 60,000 of my Ultimate Rewards points to her account (which you can do as a couple or family residing at the same residence), and we booked two round-trip, economy tickets on Cathay Pacific through the Chase travel portal. We also used Ultimate Rewards to book a night at the Hotel Jen Malé, since our flight didn't get in until late on our first night in the Maldives. In both cases, we got a redemption rate of 1.5 cents per point.
We paid nothing for our hotels and airfare, and while we couldn't get around the cost of the seaplane transfers ($560 per person), we did save $70 thanks to an Amex Offers discount at Conrad properties.

We spent liberally on food and entertainment, and ultimately spent less than $4,000 for what would have been a $20,000 vacation. The room rates were pretty high during our stay (the first week of January), so we got a great redemption rate for our Hilton points, and booking an award helped us avoid a lot of hotel taxes and service fees.
We loved the Conrad Maldives and found the service to be impeccable. As Gold members and honeymooners, they honored my request (made when booking) and upgraded us to an overwater villa. Champagne and roses awaited us when we walked into our beautiful and spacious room, which came with its own plunge pool on a private deck over the water. Snorkeling all around the island, we saw everything from sea turtles to reef sharks, and even came across an octopus. The house reefs were simply incredible!

Our Gold status also got us complimentary breakfast each day, which at this hotel was quite a spread, complete with one of the most elaborate juice bars I've ever seen and free flowing champagne. We were treated to a complimentary cocktail hour each evening, afternoon tea, and complimentary massage ad-ons at the spa. As honeymooners, the Conrad also gave us a complimentary three-course dinner at their Mandhoo restaurant. We found the food and drink at this resort to be exceptional. This is definitely the best points redemption we've experienced, and we will absolutely return here in the future!
If you're looking for an exclusive beach getaway, the Maldives is the ultimate honeymoon destination. The trade-off for the intimate location is that the islands are far away and expensive (both in terms of getting there and once you arrive). It's difficult to cover an entire trip there with points and miles, but you can get excellent value by booking flight and hotel awards to make your visit more affordable.
Paul and his wife smartly began planning far in advance, which gave them ample time to earn sign-up bonuses and find award availability. That made it easier to schedule their stay so they could redeem their free weekend nights and take advantage of Hilton's fifth night free benefit, which saved them 95,000 points. You can sometimes find award availability at the last minute, but booking early gives you the best chance at the seats and rooms you want.

In order to maximize your rewards, make sure you use the best sign-up offers available. Paul got 50,000 points from the Hilton Surpass card, but you can commonly find much a higher public bonus for that card — for example, the current offer gets you 100,000 points after you spend $3,000 in the first three months, plus a free weekend night after your first anniversary as a cardmember. Amex generally limits bonuses to one per card per lifetime, so don't settle for a smaller one unless you need the points right away.

Oh, and here's how to buy gift cards and transfer the money back to your account using Bluebird

http://millionmilesecrets.com/2014/04/21/how-to-load-bluebird-with-gift-cards-at-walmart/

-this is an old article, bluebird will cancel your account for using too many/high balance gift cards. Any other work arounds?
 

smisk

Member
I only have one, a Discover.. I've thought about signing up for one of those rewards cards, but I really don't think I spend enough to get the bonuses.
 

Rival

Gold Member
I have 4 right now. 2 with no balance. Ran up too much debt last year so I'm playing 0% interest balance transfer roulette until I pay it off.
 

J-Tier

Member
Older Millennial here, 3 I'm cycling between. I think the rewards I get are pretty shite though. Credit is good, no debts owed.
 

RMI

Banned
I only have one, a Discover.. I've thought about signing up for one of those rewards cards, but I really don't think I spend enough to get the bonuses.

there are a lot of cards that give cash back as a free feature just for using the card. I have a Capital One Quicksilver card, for example, that has no annual fees or membership fees of any kind, and gives cash back (1.5%) on all purchases.

I have another one US Bank Cash+ that gives money back on categories. I think every time I pay the family plan of my phone bill with that thing I get ~$7 back. That's $84 a year, for paying my phone bill.

It doesn't sound like a lot, but it adds up. My rewards from my cards are hundreds of dollars a year for my normal spending. Shit i would buy anyway. Gas, groceries, phone bill etc.
 

Akuun

Looking for meaning in GAF
This sounds like completely insane shit on the same level as extreme couponing.

I don't think anyone I know has more than 1-3ish credit cards. As they should.
 

Sami+

Member
Born in 1995. I have a Discover It card I got when I was 18 that I use for everything, debit I almost never​ use, Amazon Store Card I use for huge Amazon purchases, and just got the Amazon Visa for the $70 credit they gave me for applying lol.

Credit at 700+ is pretty good as I understand it so I'm happy. A lot of my friends don't even have credit cards.
 

Maxim726X

Member
1) Open Incognito
2) Google title
3) Enjoy

Wait, that doesn't actually work.

... Holy shit. My life has changed forever.

On topic, I have 7 cards, no balance on any of them. Have accumulated about 500,000 bonus points across them all. That will completely pay for a kickass vacation one day.
 
I have 7 cards from 4 different banks and I feel like it's too many. I only use 3 most of the time and I have no balance. 29 is a crazy number.
 
I only have 2. A Visa and a Master Card. One of them being the card for a grocery chain because I get double points for "free" groceries
 
I only have 3 CC's. One was maxed for a few years at 2 grand, but it's down to 1200 as of a few weeks ago. Gonna pay it off within two or three months. I also have the Amazon chase card, which is my daily driver, and pay it off every month. Lastly, a J Crew card cause I liked their clothes and wanted a discount the first time I shopped there. Currently at 0 cause I rarely shop for clothes.
 
30 years old, currently have 5. I've had like 4 or 5 other ones that I've closed. Credit score hasn't dipped below 740.

But as much as I want to get into the credit card churning game like the people in the article, I don't think I can handle juggling that many rewards programs.
 

Linkark07

Banned
1992. No credit card, just a debit card and no credit history. So either way, I'm fucked up anyways.

It is a shame these days you need to have debts for get loans from banks or other companies.
 

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
https://www.wsj.com/articles/if-you-have-29-credit-cards-youre-probably-a-millennial-1490972634

This article is insane. There is no way this won't be disastrous for most.

EDIT: Pasted parts of the article down below.

In an effort to get a Chase Sapphire Reserve card, Mary Xu made a card costume.

She was so disappointed to be rejected for the Sapphire Reserve last October that she spent hours constructing a costume of the card out of cardboard. She sent the bank a photo of herself dressed up, hoping for a second chance.

This is the saddest thing I've read today.
 

Exile20

Member
1992. No credit card, just a debit card and no credit history. So either way, I'm fucked up anyways.

It is a shame these days you need to have debts for get loans from banks or other companies.

Ye this is bad. I assume you live in America.

You need to get a credit building credit card as soon as possible.

Also, having a high credit score means nothing if your credit is new. When I was in college I got a credit card and although it was high, many places told me my credit history was too new. Even after 5 years I was getting that shit.
 
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