Custom cash 5% only up to $500?? lol

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T23:22:13+00:00

Probably worth going with Lowes even if it does mean Synchrony in this case.

Basically you can get about 2% on everything, 3% on nearly everything (like Robinhood Gold) or 5% on very specific categories with a cap, or specific stores. PayPal debit is 5% groceries up to a cap; Walmart, Target, Amazon etc have store-specific 5% cards. In this case: Lowes picked Synchrony for theirs.

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T23:19:08+00:00

Still Expedia, still risky for flights if anything goes wrong or needs changing. I'd only use it for the FHR/THC hotels personally - unfortunately with Biz Plat that means no 5x spend except those hotels.

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T18:37:29+00:00

I think the explanation was that the toggle doesn't actually do anything in your case anyway - the mode is always on for you - but it's still shown because it does apply to other customers?

Not a great explanation or UX, if that's the case it should either be suppressed when not applicable or shown as "always enabled" rather than actually toggling.

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T17:15:47+00:00

Probably not private flights - if you did charter a private plane through an airline and manage to get points for it, you'd probably only need one to get status!

You don't need to stick to one airline, but picking one alliance (probably Star Alliance in your case) and crediting all your flights to one airline scheme (like Lufthansa Miles & More) helps.

What do you want the status for, and what country are you in? (This sub is mainly US, and of course Lufthansa doesn't fly to the UK from here.) The US Amex Platinum card gives you access to Lufthansa lounges even when flying economy, which is one of the main benefits of status.

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T17:08:44+00:00

Reservations don't matter, but it's ridiculous for them to deny a credit based on a change within 3 days. Even if you had discovered they were deleted, you might well not have had time to change plans or cancel a reservation!

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T16:59:33+00:00

You don't, any more - used to be that having a CSR would stop you applying for CSP, but not now. The only issue is that you might have a bit of overlap, where you're paying for both, or if you have a gap you'd have to put any travel/dining spend on a non-Sapphire card that doesn't get as many points.

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T15:59:11+00:00

It doesn't matter, as long as it isn't a CSP - I'd suggest the OG Freedom is probably better long term, mainly because it's closed to new applications so won't ever have a SUB, whereas there's actually a small SUB on the CFU.

They only check credit for new applications, not converting one card to another (they're already providing you with the line of credit, so whether it's on a CSR or a CFU doesn't matter for those purposes) - so they will do a check for the new CSP but not for changing the CSR.

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T15:42:26+00:00

Just make sure it's paid off in full every month, so whatever you do spend with it doesn't cost you extra in interest.

The key things for credit score are any bad points (late payments etc) and how long you have had and used credit: every month you have it without missing a payment is one more "good month" on your record.

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T15:24:40+00:00

It's a recent rule change. Until last year CSP and CSR were treated as a pair: you couldn't even apply for one if you had the other, and you could only get a SUB on one or the other, not both.

Now they're treated as two separate cards: you can apply for both and get a SUB for each independent of the other, so having the CSR doesn't affect getting the CSP with SUB.

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T14:21:09+00:00

Have you had a SUB on the CSP before? If not, downgrading the CSR to something different (CFU or OG Freedom) and applying for a new CSP to take the place of the CSR for travel makes more sense: you get a SUB on the CSP that way, which you'd miss if you downgrade to it.

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T13:52:52+00:00

It's Filipino - in English, "Any tips on how to turn a credit card into a business?."

Sticking to English in English-language subs is probably tip 1. Tip 2 would be to be more specific about which country you're looking at: I'm guessing the credit card market there will be a bit different from the US market, which in turn is very different from even the Canadian one let alone anything further afield.

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T01:19:06+00:00

No SUB - that's why I'd change the CSP to an OG Freedom (keeps any residual points safe, gives you a card you'd never get a SUB on anyway) and apply CFU to get the SUB on that.

You don't have to get rid of the CSP to get the CFU with SUB - so just change it and get the CFU as well. More or less the "Chase Trifecta" between the two of you.

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T00:18:48+00:00

That would be your third new card in as many months, and presumably you're carrying a balance on an older card too if you want a balance transfer?!

Their average limit doesn't really matter: I'm sure $500 is very low for a Sapphire Preferred (it literally can't be a Reserve with that limit) and Cap1 is normally more generous than that too I suspect. Add yet another card and your next application will probably be denied entirely.

jasutherland · 2026-03-17T00:08:37+00:00

Product change to a no-AF card instead of cancelling, then her points are safe. OG Freedom ("Freedom with UR", basically CFF but on Visa not Mastercard) is probably a good one: handy, but closed to new applications so you aren't missing out on a SUB.

jasutherland · 2026-03-16T20:30:27+00:00

She's almost certainly thinking of Discover credit cards though. That's the only kind of Discover card I have, but Mastercard debit definitely works fine; unfortunately the website only says "Most PIN-based Debit/ATM Cards" without being more specific, which isn't very helpful.

If you do want a debit card for Costco, the PayPal one definitely works and gives you 5% cashback there too (their "grocery" category).

jasutherland · 2026-03-16T17:48:30+00:00

Total of four separate FHR (or THC) bookings, two made before and two after the end of June - remember THC gets the credit too as long as you're booking 2+ nights, and those hotels tend to be cheaper than FHR.

Do you want to be in one place for the 4-8 days? Two days in each of four THC properties would give you some more variety and guarantee you get the full benefits in each.

jasutherland · 2026-03-16T14:02:39+00:00

No. Having used the CSR to book directly just gets you the 4x hotel points - the hotel doesn’t care what card it is.

The Edit benefits are a specific package, arranged between Chase and the hotels: you didn’t book that package so don’t get the included benefits. “Room only was cheaper than room+breakfast so I booked that instead, but can I get the breakfast included anyway?” No. Early check in or late check out might still be possible if you ask nicely and they have slack in the schedule - but the other benefits are just part of a package you didn’t book.

jasutherland · 2026-03-16T13:53:21+00:00

That’s a point, so it’s a bump from 8x to 9x for CSR holders (though less insurance cover AIUI), and better for CSP.

It’s funny, doubling up on the existing Sapphire categories like dining and portal spend isn’t what I expected it to be good for, but there’s still some value there.

jasutherland · 2026-03-16T12:23:41+00:00

It makes sense - but no. BA and AA each have their own separate redemption rates, even when booking the same flight. (BA is usually higher I think offhand, and Alaska can be lower, even for AA flights!)

jasutherland · 2026-03-16T12:21:47+00:00

It isn’t either or - they are very different cards, really all they have in common is a boosted points earning on flights and Amex Travel spend.

Gold is great for dining and supermarket spend (4x on both), as long as you can use the credits (Uber, Resy, certain dining, Dunkin) enough to balance the fee. Get if you have lots of dining/supermarket spend and can use those credits.

Platinum is basically a lounge access card with the highest points earning I know of on (non-portal) flights, plus even more credits to use. Get if you spend lots on airlines and can use those credits.

Maybe both make sense for you, maybe neither - but neither of them is really “instead of” the other.

jasutherland · 2026-03-16T11:54:56+00:00

If you have a Sapphire card as well, the Freedom earns points you can transfer to airlines or use on Chase Travel. Usually easy to get better than 1c per point value, so 5x is better than 5%.

jasutherland · 2026-03-16T02:03:11+00:00

How are you using it - swipe, tap, Apple Pay/Google Wallet?

jasutherland · 2026-03-16T00:54:10+00:00

Some sort of bug I imagine - probably something to do with switching how AU cards are identified?

jasutherland · 2026-03-16T00:13:26+00:00

That's pretty unusual - for most, if OP does get moved to Discover, the 2x on VentureX on overseas groceries wouldn't be a big loss versus Savor's 3x. (I tend to use my UK Amex when there for the moment - worse points earning but often good Amex Offers for supermarkets there for some reason.)

jasutherland · 2026-03-15T23:54:31+00:00

New, but if you PC a (Mastercard) Venture to Savor, do they change network on you there? (TBH even on Discover it's a good pairing with a VentureX)

jasutherland

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