I Was Just Approved for the United Business Card

In January of 2018, I began a credit card fast that lasted for nine months. In other words, I stopped applying for new credit cards. At that point I had been cutoff from Chase credit cards for a long time, years, and was tired of it. I had opened a number of new credit cards, more than five in the prior two 24 months, which is where the Chase 5/24 rule gets its name from.

The Five Chase Cards to Apply for if You’re a Points Omnivore

In the context of food, an omnivore eats all types of energy sources: animals and plants, and even algae, fungi, and bacteria. In the context of travel rewards, a points omnivore collects any mile or point they can to get more travel. Their motto is a dollar saved is a dollar saved.

This post is for all my points omnivores out there and particularly for those who strive to be one and are just starting to collect rewards cards.

The Five Chase Cards You Should Apply For: Combo #3

Once you’ve opened five credit cards from any bank in the last 24 months (not counting most business cards), Chase will likely deny you for all of their travel rewards credit cards.

New Chase Rule: Only One Sapphire Bonus Per 48 Months

Yesterday Chase made it harder to get repeat bonuses on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card by changing the terms and conditions of the card offers. Previously, you were only eligible to earn the bonus on a Sapphire family card 24 months after you earned the bonus on a previous one.

You now have to wait four years instead of two between Sapphire cards to get a new member bonus.

The Five Chase Cards You Should Apply For: Combo #1

If you're just starting to collect miles and points, possibly the single best piece of advice is to sign up for five Chase cards before moving on to any other bank's rewards cards. This post is going to talk about which five cards you should choose, depending on a few factors, and why.

The fact of the matter is that Chase will cut you off from eligibility for their travel rewards credit cards once you've opened five credit cards from any bank whatsoever in the last 24 months (not counting most business cards).

SPG Luxury Card Loophole: Apply Aug 23-25 Before New Rules Hit

The Starwood Preferred Guest Luxury Card, which will be the latest addition to the Marriott family credit card portfolio, is actually scheduled to launch August 23, 2018.

Eligibility Rules for New Marriott & SPG Cards Hit Aug 26

Despite the fact that Marriott and the Starwood Preferred Guest programs are merging into one unified loyalty program on August 18, both Marriott and SPG credit cards will continue to be issued for the time being, by Chase and Amex respectively. Both banks have published new terms for all current (and future) Marriott-family credit cards that define who is and isn't eligible for sign up bonuses, as of August 26.
Why These New Rules are Different
Sign up bonus rules are not new to the miles and points community.

New Marriott Award Category Assignments & Strategy Moving Forward

We have been watching the merger of Starwood Preferred Guest and Marriott unfold for a long time now.

A Few Changes to Sapphire Reserve Benefits Come August

If you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card, you should have already gotten a notice in the mail about a few changes to your benefits effective August 26, 2018. But let's get real. I'm sure many of you throw that mail away without even looking at it. Here are the changes it went over.
1.

New Sign Up Bonus Rules for Personal Southwest Cards

Chase has come out with new sign up bonus eligibility rules that make earning a  Southwest Companion Pass more complicated.

As of April 5, if you already have a personal Southwest credit card open (the Personal Plus or the Premier Plus), you are no longer eligible for the other personal Southwest credit card.