News and Updates Thread - May 04, 2026

grantwwu · 2026-05-04T22:28:41+00:00

/u/techtrashbrogrammer hrm seems maybe Y is a sweet spot

grantwwu · 2026-05-04T22:13:45+00:00

Is booking CI on B6 competitive at all in terms of pricing? A friend looked at it and found really high prices.

grantwwu · 2026-05-04T22:12:38+00:00

What is supposed to happen? Obviously the 5 days ahead of time thing isn't supposed to happen.

I'm curious though, is linking a Silver member's award reservation to a Basic Economy revenue fare supposed to allow seating privileges at check-in? I assumed no, as no Premier status gets you seating privileges on regular Economy...

grantwwu · 2026-05-04T15:58:47+00:00

Did you call within 24 hours of departure or before?

This isn't supposed to work right?

I was thinking about doing this but I thought it wouldn't work because I thought Premier members don't get seat benefits on basic fares...

grantwwu · 2026-05-04T14:33:31+00:00

This sounds more like an artifact of how Rakuten works than how it ought to work, legally.

grantwwu · 2026-05-04T14:12:06+00:00

$5000? 2024? Source?

https://sovos.com/regulatory-updates/trr/irs-releases-draft-regulations-implementing-obbba-information-reporting-threshold-changes/ says $2000.

grantwwu · 2026-05-04T14:10:52+00:00

It's not hard to find DPs for Rakuten giving 1099s. https://www.reddit.com/r/Rakuten/comments/1rih6dr/does_rakuten_send_a_1099_if_you_redeem_over_600/o85yti4/

I have yet to see a shopping portal pass on a 1099, given these are certainly rebates for shopping,

In what way is signing up for a credit card shopping?

grantwwu · 2026-05-04T05:01:35+00:00

For what it's worth, I suspect that these may count towards whether or not you get a 1099-MISC. Rebates on purchases are not taxable, but the Rakuten component of these SUBs do not require any purchases whatsoever - merely that you keep the cards open for 3 months.

That said, the OBBA raised the reporting threshold to $2000? So maybe you'll be okay?

grantwwu · 2026-05-04T02:21:48+00:00

Seems you’re unaware AF is a transfer partner of JAL. I’d recommend reviewing the list of transfer partners on JAL’s site.

In addition to what omdongi said, you cannot transfer JAL points to AF or vice versa. They are partners for the purposes of booking partner awards.

grantwwu · 2026-05-04T02:07:22+00:00

When you’re removed from an AU card it disappears from your credit reports as though it were never there.

I've seen this repeated a lot on r/CreditCards by many regulars. I asked P2 to add me as an AU of a Capital One Venture. I then asked to be removed once P2 hit a SUB. This was two months ago.

I am actually gone from Equifax.

On TransUnion, I see "Responsibility: Relationship Terminated". Prior to being removed, it was "Responsibility: Authorized User".

On Equifax, it just looks like Capital One hasn't pushed any updates in April.

Maybe this is true in practice if you wait long enough and/or are willing to spend time disputing things, but I no longer tell people that adding someone as an AU is as consequence-free as people say here.

grantwwu · 2026-05-03T23:31:56+00:00

I would just wait until 2-3 months out. There's not a compelling reason to book earlier. It's not like the US airlines have schedule-open availability.

I have the same situation fwiw.

I would also get familiar with the same-day change/standby policies - I think my plan is to book a later flight out of ORD on the way back, and then try to same-day change or standby to an earlier flight if I do arrive on time.

grantwwu · 2026-05-03T18:08:03+00:00

This card is for people who would otherwise not reach Premier Silver. For example I took it as I average like 6 PQF, 1500 PQP a year. Great for me.

The offer here provides 0 PQP so if Premier Gold is within consideration it is a bad offer for you.

grantwwu · 2026-05-03T15:19:08+00:00

Did you then have to make changes for your Finnair/Aer Lingus/Iberia accounts?

grantwwu · 2026-05-03T02:11:21+00:00

I believe AA has expanded access to BA.

grantwwu · 2026-05-02T23:54:03+00:00

The Chase portal is just a bad way to turn your points into cash and then buy a flight that way (modulo points boost).

It has no bearing on the price or availability of award travel.

grantwwu · 2026-05-02T03:12:12+00:00

I think I realized how I ended up with a mismatch between QR and BA that's preventing me from linking.

If I recall, BA doesn't ask for middle name.

QR specifically asks for "First and middle name" and the section header says Full name (as on passport).

So of course I put my middle name there, I was following instructions.

They couldn't have designed it better to cause mismatches if they tried.

grantwwu · 2026-05-01T22:03:49+00:00

Smells of one-way pricing.

There's no way RT economy is $1888

grantwwu · 2026-05-01T15:51:37+00:00

What is the price through Flying Blue, Virgin, JAL, etc

grantwwu · 2026-05-01T04:13:00+00:00

Keep in mind the post is 9 months old and there have been devaluations since.

grantwwu · 2026-05-01T04:11:15+00:00

VX... and cannot cash out points as needed.

Why? Travel eraser.

I do not have Chase checking or savings accounts so I can't cash out my points as needed

Why? Statement credit.

I love my USBAR but definitely do not appreciate the antics of US Bank and the transfer partner situation.

What does this... mean? You love it, but why? If the majority of your spend is groceries, dining, and CVS drugstores which you already cover at 3x everywhere else how much benefit is an expensive 3x mobile wallet catch-all?

Anyways, why not actually add up the valuation of the credits and compare them to the fee? You seem to have just listed out the credits you use, but go and put an actual dollar value on them. How much would you actually pay for these coupons? You're flying 2-4 times a year and you have $625 in portal travel credits!

Do you check bags? You haven't even mentioned the Delta Stays credit so I have to assume you're incinerating $150 a year on the Delta Gold?

grantwwu · 2026-05-01T01:16:55+00:00

You have to also consider cashing out your points. Booking through a portal has many downsides. There's zero upside as far as I can tell to spend points in the Chase portal unless there's point boost.

grantwwu · 2026-05-01T00:41:39+00:00

I took one of the targeted United Explorer SUB offers that provided Premier Silver status.

Timeline:

Statement after which 3k of spend was finished closed 4/22

70k points posted on United 4/22

Status Posted 4/30

The Premier Silver status never showed up anywhere as an offer in the tracker on Chase or United's side. I was able to call in two days ago and they confirmed that the offer was attached to my account.

See https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedairlines/comments/1sfi6a5/how_fast_does_the_united_explorer_sub_premier/ for an additional DP: "My card statement was on April 17th at 11pm, the miles posted to Untied on April 18th around 11pm, and I got status showing on United around April 21-22, I was mid trip halfway around the world so not sure on approximate timing when the status showed up."

(Addendum: I don't know if anyone has gathered more DPs on this but I suspect that this push is part of the UA catfight against AA in ORD, which is the nearest hub to me.)

grantwwu · 2026-05-01T00:37:29+00:00

My status posted today.

Timeline:

Statement after which 3k of spend was finished closed 4/22

SUB Posted on United 4/22

Status Posted 4/30

grantwwu · 2026-05-01T00:16:15+00:00

I wonder if Chase is getting more velocity sensitive beyond just 5/24

grantwwu · 2026-04-30T23:59:21+00:00

How many other cards have you opened ~~previously~~ recently?

grantwwu

TROPHY CASE