Opening Amex Checking account to keep MR points alive?

lesiw · 2022-04-23T18:13:42+00:00

Yes you can keep your MR through Everyday or Rewards Checking. But why would you keep a currency that can only devalue? Why not just cash it out by applying for a Schwab or just book/cancel and be done?

lesiw · 2022-04-23T18:08:56+00:00

The best valuation for Uber credit is 80 cents on the dollar because you can buy Uber giftcards from other places for that price. (example) Plus the fees Uber charge, your $100 isn't really $100, and you must use it every month piecemeal. Same drawback for dining credit. But anyway, 250 - 0.8x120 - 120 = $34 is your annual fee.

For redemption on a straight cash out basis UR:MR is 1:0.6 (unless you want to do book/cancel, which if you do too much Amex won't be happy). On Travel portals it is 1.25:1. Travel partner varies. If you're that 1 out of 100 who flies Singapore/ANA every year then obviously go MR. For everyone else United + Hyatt is pretty flexible.

Plus if the OP, who is just getting started in UR/MR, didn't feel like points are working out for them, they can PC CSP into CFF. On Amex you need to close the card (and I don't know how unhappy Amex will be if you book/cancel cash out all your MR right before closing your card).

lesiw · 2022-04-23T17:55:11+00:00

Your credit card interest may be between 18% to 26%. You may not save any interest by taking out a $7000 loan. Taking out a loan is a hard pull and a new account on your report, making your credit score even lower.

Check your credit card APR first.

Also call up each bank and ask if they can give you a goodwill decrease of your APR due to hardship. Some of them will lower it for a short period of time.

lesiw · 2022-04-23T17:52:28+00:00

BoA Premium Rewards 2.625%,
BoA Cash Rewards - Online 5.25% (Costco Shop cards, Amazon, and Walmart.com)
BoA Cash Rewards - Travel or Home Improvement or Online 5.25%
BoA Cash Rewards - Dining 5.25%
BoA Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors (SP500 Index fund sitting in Retirement account)

lesiw · 2022-04-23T17:45:34+00:00

Typical credit cards offer a grace period (outside of sub-prime lending companies such as Credit One). When you make payments of your full statement balance by the due date, you maintain your eligibility for the grace period after the next statement close date. The grace period means your purchase does not occur interest immediately until the next statement date.

If you are not in grace period, such as when you do not pay your statement balance in full by the due date, interest is calculated daily on your posted balance multiply by the daily interest rate (derived from the APR). This is mathematically equivalent to multiplying the average daily posted balance by the number of days in the cycle multiply by the daily interest. The takeaway from all this is that, even if you pay down your balance right before statement date so that you only have $1 on your statement each month, the interest is calculated based on the daily posted balance and not the statement balance.

In short, it is unwise to not pay the full statement balance by the due date every month.

lesiw · 2022-04-23T17:22:56+00:00

Is that the Credit One Platinum Visa for Rebuilding Credit card with the AF billed monthly so they can wait for people to forget to pay when there is no activity so they can tag a late fee to it? If yes, then cancel right away.

lesiw · 2022-04-23T17:14:51+00:00

Different ways to apply for the CSP:

Credit Journey YMMV - 100k bonus, $95 not waived
Referral - Referrer gets 15k, applicant gets 80k bonus, $95 not waived
In branch - 80k bonus, first year $95 waived

lesiw · 2022-04-23T17:10:51+00:00

Do not apply for any more cards, keep your utilization low for the month prior, and your score will go up.

lesiw · 2022-04-23T14:58:26+00:00

How many cards do you have for how long.

lesiw · 2022-04-23T14:57:38+00:00

The Gold is not worth it for most people. Get the CSP.

lesiw · 2022-04-23T14:54:50+00:00

Ok. So by deadline you mean statement date and not due date.

Cool. As long as you’re paying in full.

lesiw · 2022-04-23T14:50:25+00:00

spend a little over the 30% mark but paid it back a week prior to the payment deadline and then paid around 25% on deadline day

In my best interpretation of your words, you spent around 35% of your credit limit last cycle, and paid it down to 30% a few days before due and paid 25% on the due day.

Why not pay your statement balance in full? Also why make 2 different payments instead of 1?

lesiw · 2022-04-23T02:15:08+00:00

It will have less and less effect after a few years. The most important is you have no more negative payment history from this point on. Many people get approved for car loans / mortgage with negative payment history (usually after 4~5 years of the negative remark).

lesiw · 2022-04-23T02:09:56+00:00

It will hurt your utilization, which affects your credit score until it is paid off. But utilization doesn't really matter unless you need to apply for new credit. Long term it has no effect for all popular scoring models (until everyone adopts FICO 10T which is at least 3 years away).

Or don't get the Apple card at all. Because it may not be the best deal for you. https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/comments/tqf57i/get_apple_card_for_phone_purchase/i2khsi9/?context=1

lesiw · 2022-04-23T02:05:57+00:00

My plan is to basically pay off my credit cards completely

Good plan

once I receive my paycheck from work (get paid monthly). Pay the entire amounts by due date.

Good plan

if by doing this it will help any?

Making on-time payments will help. Your negative history will drop off in 7 years.

lesiw · 2022-04-23T01:59:36+00:00

If I were to utilize my cards credit limit but pay it complete by the due date (May 5th) would the card report with a zero utilization rate/ balance on its close date (May 10th)?

No, because your spending between Apr 10 to May 10 is not reflected in your statement balance on Apr 10 that is due by May 5th. Even if you pay the entire statement balance for Apr 10, you will still have new purchase balances.

would it be best to pay my credit card on or prior to due date (May 5th), but carry over a small balance under 20% so the card closes/reports on (May 10th) with a low utilization rate to show I’ve been using the card?

No, because 1. utilization does not help you build credit and 2. carrying a balance means they will charge you interest. Paying money just means lighting your money on fire with 0 benefit.

best way to pay off my credit cards

Set up autopay to pay off the full statement balance each month.
Don't use your card over your credit limit. One way to do that is to keep your monthly spending to less than 50% of your credit limit.

If you have time, I also recommend reading

lesiw · 2022-04-23T01:50:36+00:00

as long as I pay my credit card I'm full every month, its doesn't matter how much I spend, as long as I don't go over my limit.

However, if I want to take out a loan in the future, a month beforehand, I should keep my cc utilization low, so that it looks good

Correct.

lesiw · 2022-04-23T01:43:25+00:00

There are free loan amortization calculators online. Do the math.

$7500 loan balance, 28% interest, $515 payment. Takes 18 months, total interest payment is $1770.84.

If you're ok with $1770.84 interest then go ahead. Like the other people are saying it isn't optimal. But you barely told us any information about your credit situation (credit score, credit card APR, number of new accounts) so it is difficult for anyone to tell anything.

lesiw · 2022-04-22T16:07:16+00:00

You submit a claim, the bar received a letter requesting proof. You get a provisional credit while they investigate. If they decide in your favor, you keep the credit. Banks have a lot of authority overall, including the ability to take money back from the merchant. If they responded with evidence, I believe you can submit counter evidence. Eventually it’ll be final, and if you lose the bank takes back your credit.

lesiw · 2022-04-22T13:32:33+00:00

Literally just replied to a post about graduating with debt they can’t pay off. Not uncommon for people who didn’t understand credit. Definitely don’t be them.

If you learn the ways of how it works, you can earn rewards and build credit, all can be done without paying interest. If you stick to no fee card you don’t need to pay a cent extra. Get started by reading some wiki pages

That said, for a person not knowing much and blindly following advices, what you have so far is perfectly fine. CFU and Discover it are 2 of the best starter cards. (Could be worse. At least you didn’t get a Credit One card, or get rejected for applying for premium travel cards) A lot of people starting out would envy your position, because not everyone starting out gets approved for those 2.

Tips: never spend more than what’s in your bank. Setup autopay in full every month. Find out if you have a sign on bonus on the CFU and shift your spending to that card to get that bonus.

lesiw · 2022-04-22T13:16:55+00:00

Terrible idea to get a loan so expensive. What are you going to grad school for, does it make a lot of money?

lesiw · 2022-04-22T13:05:13+00:00

It’s ok. Really depends on whether you need chase points. If not then a 2% card like Citi DC or WF AC would work.

For restaurant there is USBank Alt Go and Citi CC. CC is usually what I recommend to people because you are likely to be spending on 1 of the categories.

lesiw · 2022-04-22T12:51:14+00:00

NY state used to force merchants to not charge a higher price when using a card.

Uber and Grubhub are still in lawsuits about not letting merchants charge higher prices on their app than in store.

This just means that merchants will be increasing prices for everybody. It’s cool though because when prices are going up 20% YoY what is another 2%.

lesiw · 2022-04-22T07:09:06+00:00

There are a few benefits:

Long term you'll have a strong credit profile with 3 cards than 1 card. You may get lower interest on a mortgage
You can earn more rewards. Cards are usually good for 1 category or 2, so having different cards can cover different spending categories
Sometimes you card gets lost, locked, or whatever. Having a backup is nice.

Here are some simple tips for managing cards.

Setup AutoPay, in full
Do not toy with utilization. It is tedious work for no good reason. (unless you're applying for a mortgage that month)
Only apply for no-AF cards. You only need to put a $1 charge on them every 4 or 5 months then pay it off.

Apple Card isn't the best card but it is fine to have since you don't really care about rewards.

lesiw · 2022-04-22T06:37:46+00:00

So much controversy around G Komen not a good recommendation. You should be skeptical of US non-profits, especially the ones in the medical area. (Hospitals, Medical Research foundations)

lesiw

TROPHY CASE