Update (3/15): We update the story in this podcast about a Chase Shutdown in Episode 19. Including how the listener was able to convince Chase to reopen her personal CC account.
We’re back with another jam-packed “free” episode this week…
0:40 $600 Citizen’s Bank Checking Bonus (link)
- Requires recurring/single (?) $2,000 Direct Deposit
- Expires May 16th, 2019
1:50 [Targeted] $500 Bank of America Banking Bonus (link)
- $300 Checking/$200 Savings
- $4,000 in Direct Deposits within 90 Days
- Probably best to go just for the checking offer (savings offer requires $20,000 in new funds)
2:55 $400 Wells Fargo Checking Bonus (link)
- Requires $3,000 in combined monthly Direct Deposit
- Eligible if haven’t gotten WF banking bonus in last 12 months
- Pairs well with needing to be a customer for Business Plat CC worth $750 towards air travel (link)
4:15 Hyatt category changes don’t go into effect until March 18 (link)
- Robert: Booked Premium Suite at Hyatt Coconut Point for 30,000 (twice the 15,000 for a standard room, going up to 20,000)
- Room goes for $859/nt in peak-ish season
- Some ideas on things to book (link)
- Hyatt allows booking 395 days out
6:00 Marriott changes go into effect March 5 (link)
- Play here is high end hotels now capped at 60,000 Marriott/nt that will go up as high as 100,000
- Marriott allows booking 50 weeks out
7:00 Way to make Amex Bonvoy card (formerly SPG personal) earn 1 SPG point again (link)
- Card can now earn 2x Marriott rather than 3x it did previously
- With this promo you earn 1 additional point for spending in round increments of $25,000 up to 100,000 points
- Gotta love the psychology here
8:15 Chase Shutdown Story
- Shared episode about Chase Southwest Companion Pass promo with friend (link)
- Friend thought it over and saw good value in having the Companion Pass for a year because home airport is Southwest dominant and spouse could join on work trips in addition to leisure travel
- Applied for and was approved for Chase Southwest Personal card with an $8,000 limit
- Minimum spend requirement is $4,000. Charged $2,000 for an AirBnB. Charged $1,000 in cruise incidentals. Bought a $500 gift card at a grocery store. Fraud alert. Cleared. Waited a couple days. Again bought a $500 gift card at a grocery store. Fraud alert. Cleared.
- A couple weeks later, took out a car loan
- A couple weeks after that, applied for a Chase Southwest Business Card (to have more Southwest points with which to use in conjunction with Companion Pass). Application went pending.
- Then, Southwest Personal Card stopped authorizing transactions. Called, told that the department that handles this stuff is only open weekdays.
- Credit reporting service notified that Southwest Personal card had been closed
- Called Chase on Monday. They said they closed the account because of too many inquiries and balances too high.
- Credit score in the mid-600s
- Prior to this, had just a few credit cards. Highest credit limit was around $5,000.
- What happened? What can we learn from this? What would we do differently if we could turn back time?
Link to prior episode where we discussed another friend with difficulties navigating the Chase eco-system.
Subscribe to the Paid version of the Milenomics² Podcast
Like what you heard in the No Annual Fee version?
On this week’s Paid version we explore:
- An incredible Happy Card deal
- The biggest “jams” we’ve gotten into in points & miles (including one bank that seems to have a lifetime blacklist)
- A simple trick for earning rental car elite status
- And more…
Subscribe to the paid version of the podcast:
https://www.patreon.com/milenomics
Subscribe to the No Annual Fee Edition
Subscribe below to the Free, No Annual Fee Milenomics² podcast on Apple Podcasts:
Or on Google Play Music:
