It can be a challenge for some people to keep up with more than three credit cards. Some credit card issuers have a policy where they can close your accounts after six or twelve months of inactivity. So, how often should you use your credit cards to keep them "alive"? The answer is that it depends on the credit card issuer.
I'm more conservative when it comes to timelines, so I usually make at least one transaction on each credit card every six months. Rules also vary by state. For example, in the state of California, banks are required to send you a notice before closing the account.
My recommendation is to use your credit card every three months to be on the safe side. Maybe I'm weird, but I think about the calendar year in quarters. The one upside about credit card spend is that there's not a minimum requirement to keep the card active. You can buy a cup of coffee and rotate the cards.
I usually add all of my cards to my Amazon account and buy 50 cent Amazon gift card reloads on them. If I have 30 credit cards (I don't), that comes out to $15 per quarter. Your number might be lower because most likely you'll have fewer credit cards that aren't active, and you might have a few cards you regularly use.
Having Amazon Prime and being on Slickdeals.net helps me find great deals. I typically don't buy things unless it's on sale or it's a necessity.
Even if you don't have Amazon Prime, there are similar solutions that you can use. Something my friend does is reload their bus pass in small increments each week with the minimum amount ($5).
If you're the opposite of me and you don't sit in front of a computer every day, you can get a credit card holder and rotate the cards in your wallet.
One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, "Why do you have multiple of the same credit card?" In this post, we'll cover which cards you can have multiples of, the general policies, and the cards I have.
Yes, depending on the credit issuer. With most major issuers, it's possible to hold two of the same credit card. The main issue is HOW you obtain multiple of these cards.
In most cases, you'll need to product change a card to hold two of the same credit card.
Important: You do NOT receive an intro bonus when you product change a card.
For example, if you product change a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to a Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you do not receive a bonus for the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Some people obtain a second Chase Freedom Flex® card from getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred and product changing the card after the first year. You will not receive an intro bonus for the second Chase Freedom Flex.
For some credit issuers, if you currently have the card, you cannot apply for the same card. The application will automatically get rejected. Always check the card offer details and terms for the most accurate information.
Bank of America is more flexible with having multiple cards, but restrictions do apply for select products. You can have multiple Better Balance Rewards and Cash Rewards cards.
Be sure to read the Bank of America card application rules post to see if you qualify to apply for additional cards: https://www.asksebby.com/blog/bank-of-america-adds-24-month-rule-to-some-credit-cards
For example, the Bank of America Alaska card is not available to you if you currently have or have had the card in the past 24 months.
One product that is no longer available is the Better Balance Rewards card. The system allowed me to apply for multiple at the same time, and they were approved. However, Bank of America did close two of the accounts after enforcing their new application rules.
American Express lets you apply for the same product, but you will not receive the intro bonus again due to the "once in a lifetime" rule.
I don't recommend submitting multiple applications all at once; otherwise, the system may view them as duplicate applications and automatically reject them. Space the applications out by a few months.
Keep in mind that applying for a card is different from upgrading a card. When you upgrade a card, there are often upgrade offers after you spend "x" amount in "x" months.
I only recommend doing the product change if you currently have or had the card for the intro bonus in the past, otherwise, you might not qualify in the future.
Watch the video below for the Amex product change strategies.
Chase allows you to earn an intro bonus for a product once every two years, except for the Sapphire cards, which are once every four years.
However, it is possible to product change to a card you already have.
Reminder: You do NOT receive an intro bonus when you product change.
For example, you can sign up for a Chase Freedom card and earn an intro bonus. If you also have a Chase Sapphire Preferred that you no longer get positive expected value from, you can product change the Sapphire to a second Chase Freedom card.
There are two main reasons for why I have multiple of the same credit card:
Rotating category cards are some of my favorite cards to have duplicates. For example, the Chase Freedom Flex card earns 5% on up to $1,500 in combined category purchases each quarter you activate.
There are some categories that I can easily maximize, so having a secondary card helps me earn more points.
Another example is the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card that earns 5% cash back on the first $25,000 in combined purchases on office supply stores; internet, cable, and phone services. Some office managers who carry the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card can easily maximize the $25,000 in combined category spend each year. Having a secondary Ink Business Cash® Credit Card would help earn points faster.
You can product change the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card or Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card to a secondary Ink Business Cash® Credit Card. Business cards can only be changed to business products, and not personal cards.
The second group of cards is ones that have annual fees, but you don't need to spend a lot on the card to derive positive expected value.
The best example is the Amex Hilton Aspire that has a $450 annual fee and comes with a free weekend certificate and resort credits. Since I can redeem the free weekend certificate at high-value properties, I derive more than $450 in value each year.
The automatic Diamond status has also saved me hundreds of dollars on breakfast and executive lounge access.
Your mileage may vary depending on where you plan to redeem the free weekend night. I currently hold two Amex Hilton Aspire cards.
Having multiple of the same credit card isn’t for everyone. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a specific use case like maximizing spend categories or utilizing travel benefits.
One of the most commonly asked questions I get is how to get the most value from points. It took me awhile to realize this, but when people asked that question, they meant the number of flights and not cash value.
Normally, my answer would be transfer partners to get first class flights using points because most people would never pay the cash rate. Here's how to get more flights from the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Reserve.
There are three main ways to book flights:
Let's dive into the different flight scenarios and rank the cheapest to most expensive ways to book flights for each one.
Last minute flights are usually the most expensive to book. To save money, transfer UR points to transfer partners to redeem points up to 2 cents per point. The benefit of transfer partners is the price doesn't change based on timing. Reward flights are a set number depending on the route.
The second method is to book the last minute flight using the Chase travel portal. Redeem UR points at 1.25x or 1.5x with the Preferred and the Reserve, respectively. The travel portal will obviously be cheaper than buying tickets at the cash price.
Normal flights depend on the specific route, but transfer partners are usually the best bet. Each airline partner is different, so depending on if you're taking a domestic or international flight, transfer partners could potentially cost more than the travel portal. Be sure to research which route makes the most sense for you.
The reason why the travel portal is the best value for deal tickets is that the prices are discounted, and you're stacking the travel portal discount on top of it (25% or 50%). If you don't want to use UR points to book, then the cash rate would be the next best bet.
Transfer partners are rarely a good redemption when there's a deal because they have set rates. More likely than not, the deal will be cheaper than the transfer partner rate.
There are two ways to find deals:
Option 2 is a lot of work, so I recommend going with option 1, leveraging an existing community or deals newsletter. Be sure to find one that's focused on your city. For example, if you're based out of Houston, subscribe to Escape Houston.
My personal favorite is Scott's Cheap Flights because he sends out a newsletter every 1-3 days with cheap fares. The best deal I've seen from Scott was a $500 roundtrip ticket to Tokyo during the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Scott's Cheap Flights does have two tiers, a free version and a paid version. I think the free version is great, but if you want more frequent notifications and locations, then go for the paid version.
What's your favorite way to find flight deals? Let us know in the comments below!
No, you typically can’t upgrade a credit card within the first year, especially if there is a difference in annual fee due to the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD Act of 2009).
The CARD Act was passed by the United States Congress in 2009 to protect consumers from unfair practices from credit card issuers, which include changing the annual fee within the first card membership year.
For example, if you apply for the Chase Freedom card today, you can’t product change it to a Chase Sapphire Preferred a few months later since there would be a change in annual fee ($95). Banks are not allowed to charge you more than what you agreed upon the first year.
Unless you accept a product change offer, you will not get a bonus when you upgrade or downgrade your card.
This means that if you product change a Chase Freedom card to a Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP), you will not receive the 60,000 points welcome bonus that’s usually associated with the CSP.
Again, you won’t receive a welcome bonus for the respective credit card when you do product change.
However, upgrade offers do exist with some card issuers like Chase and American Express.
We typically see an upgrade offer from Chase when they want you to product change to the newest version of a credit card.
For example, the “old” grandfathered Hyatt credit card has a targeted upgrade offer of ~5,000 points when you product change to the “new” World of Hyatt card.
Grandfathered card =
1) Card that was previously publicly available
2) Can’t be applied for
3) Potentially can’t be product changed to
Chase Hyatt (discontinued) ($75 Annual Fee)
- anniversary night = Category 1-4
- 3x at Hyatt
- status = Discoverist (Explorist if $50k spend cal. year)
Chase World of Hyatt ($95 Annual Fee)
- anniversary night = Category 1-4
- additional anniversary night = Category 1-4 ($15,000 spend, card year)
- 4x at Hyatt
- status = Discoverist
- 2 nights towards status (not free nights) per $5k spend
Since the Chase Hyatt card isn’t my only hotel credit card, it wouldn’t make sense to pay an increased annual fee when I’m keeping the card for the free anniversary night. I’m grandfathered into the $75 annual fee as long as I don’t accept the upgrade offer.
It depends on the credit issuer, but the general rule is that they prorate a refund based on the months you have the card.
This is an interesting strategy for people who missed downgrading the card on the anniversary date. You’ll receive a prorated refund based on how many months are left in the cardmember year.
For example, if you have an Amex Platinum card that just renewed, but you want the Gold card instead, Amex would refund the prorated amount for the Platinum and then charge the Gold card annual fee. This assumes that you did NOT receive a retention offer for the Amex Platinum card.
If you received a retention offer, keep the Amex Platinum for the year to avoid getting blacklisted. It’s in the terms of the offer that closing a card shortly after accepting a retention offer can qualify as “abuse.”
It depends. The general rule is that you can only product change within a family of cards (same point system).
For example, the Chase Freedom can only be product changed to a Chase Slate, Chase Freedom Unlimited, Chase Freedom Student, Chase Sapphire, Chase Sapphire Preferred, or Chase Sapphire Reserve.
You cannot product change the Chase Freedom to a World of Hyatt or United Explorer card, vice versa.
A few items to keep in mind:
No, they are completely separate credit issuers. You cannot product change across different credit issuers.
No, you can’t product change international products across the same credit issuer. American Express Hong Kong, Amex Canada, Amex UK, etc. are all separate entities that have different regulations.
International organizations have different…
However, if you are an international and looking to gain U.S. credit, American Express has a Global Transfer Program.
You might be able to do this, but I don’t advise it. American Express explicitly has terms that say they can close your account for “gaming” the upgrade bonus.
“ If we in our sole discretion determine that you have engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with the welcome offer in any way or that you intend to do so (for example, if you applied for one or more cards to obtain a welcome offer (s) that we did not intend for you; if you cancel or downgrade your account within 12 months after acquiring it; or if you cancel or return purchases you made to meet the Threshold Amount), we may not credit Hilton Honors Bonus Points to your account. We may also cancel this Card account and other Card accounts you may have with us. “
Source: Offer terms https://online.americanexpress.com/dapply/partner/preacq/hil/hhas-upg-51/cmupgrade/carddetails#/cshop
If you accept an upgrade bonus, I recommend keeping the respective card open for at least 12 months.
Capital One has become more involved in the travel industry in recent years. In 2018, the issuer introduced airline and hotel transfer partners to its credit card rewards program, and more recently, it upgraded its partner transfer ratios and expanded its travel site to drive reservations and establish itself as a serious contender in travel and loyalty programs.
Now, the issuer is venturing into airport lounges for the first time. As of Nov. 4 2021, Capital One has formally opened the doors to its first-ever lounge at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport.
The lounge provides passengers with a variety of amenities that they won't find at other lounges in the United States, helping to establish Capital One from its legacy lounge rivals in a number of ways.
As mentioned, there’s one Capital One Lounge open in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport at the moment. According to Capital One Travel, two more lounges will open in major airports in 2022, at Denver, Colorado and Washington, DC.
Here are the details of what we know so far.
Opened November 4, 2021
Location: Terminal D Near Gate D22
Size: 10,000 sq. ft.
Capital One has adopted a deliberate design approach to the lounge experience, using technology, consumer data, and industry trends.
While all airport lounges vary, the issuer tells us to expect the following amenities–all accessible for free for eligible cardholders and are categorized into three themes.
Focus
Wellness
Taste
If you want to learn more about the new DFW premium in-lounge dining menus, see screenshots below.
Capital One airport lounge admission is free or discounted for travelers who have qualified Capital One credit cards. The chart below shows which Capital One credit cards entitle you to its lounge access, including the guest policy and how much it will cost per visit.
American Express recently sent out targeted 100,000-150,000 point upgrade offers to Hilton cardholders. Although the offers are tempting, don’t jump to accept them yet. You could potentially miss out on a welcome offer if you accept. Consider the following scenarios in this post before upgrading your Amex card.
The main reason why you should think twice before accepting an upgrade offer is that once you product change the card, you will no longer be eligible for the respective welcome offer.
“Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card.”
For example, if you currently have the no annual fee Hilton Honors American Express Card and you accept an upgrade offer to product change to the Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card, you’ll automatically be disqualified for an Ascend welcome offer since you have the card (assuming you never had the card before).
One common misconception is that you can only get either an upgrade offer or a welcome offer, but not both. However, if you plan the applications correctly, you can earn both, resulting in double the amount of points.
Even though you can get both upgrade and welcome offers, there are a few exceptions for who shouldn’t do this.
With American Express credit cards, the optimal strategy is to apply for the higher tier credit card first, and then accept the upgrade offer. If you’re someone who can handle the minimum spend requirements for both cards, you can accept the upgrade offer a few days after applying for the credit card.
The idea is that you apply for the credit card first, that way you can earn a welcome offer, in addition to the upgrade offer.
SITUATION 1: Hilton Honors + Hilton Ascend
Sunk:
Route 1: Upgrade
Route 2: Apply + Upgrade
In the situation above, you applied for the Hilton Honors card 12 months ago, and there’s an upgrade offer for the Hilton Ascend card.
There are 2 routes you can take, either take only the upgrade or apply for a new Hilton Ascend and then accept the upgrade offer later.
If you take the latter route, you’ll receive two bonuses: the welcome offer and the upgrade offer. Yes, you can have two of the same credit cards at the same time.
For people who don’t want two Hilton Ascend cards, you can always product change one the no annual fee Hilton Honors card after 12 months.
SITUATION 1: Hilton Honors + Hilton Ascend + Hilton Aspire
Sunk:
Route 1: Upgrades
In the first situation for the complicated example, if you want to stick with just one account/credit card, you can apply for the no annual fee Hilton Honors card and accept a new upgrade offer each year.
When you stick to one account, you’ll earn the welcome offer from the initial card, and then two additional bonuses for each Hilton tier you upgrade.
On the other hand, if you want to maximize the number of points potential, consider the plan below.
SITUATION 2: Hilton Honors + Hilton Ascend + Hilton Aspire
Route 2: Apply + Upgrade
By adding the next tiered card before accepting the upgrade offer, you’ll earn the welcome offer for the respective card AND the upgrade offer, resulting in 5 additional bonuses.
The difference between the two scenarios above is two bonuses vs. five bonuses. If each bonus is about 100k to 125k Hilton Honors points, then you’re potentially missing out on an additional ~350,000 points by not playing your cards right.
Customer service representatives can be useful at times, but there are often behind the scene factors that you don't see. Even though if you talk to a frontline rep, the information may not be accurate.
The Rewards Abuse Team (RAT) is a division within American Express that looks into accounts who try to game or abuse the rewards system.
Often, people will tell me that they called into the American Express customer service line and talked to an agent, and cleared everything with them. However, what they don't realize is that there is a secondary team, RAT, that will review the account.
For example, a handful of people messaged me recently telling me that their plan is to open the new Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card, acquire the welcome bonus, and use the $300 Marriott credit, all within 30 days. They plan to close the credit card within 30 days to avoid paying the hefty $450 annual fee.
Their rationale is that they cleared this with a frontline representative, but they don't realize that the RAT team will audit the account later. Closing a card within 30 days of opening and acquiring the welcome bonus is one of the easiest ways to get your account blacklisted.
Another example is with Chase. People often tell me that they walked into a physical Chase branch and the banker told them that the Chase 5/24 rule doesn't exist.
A few reasons for this:
We know that the Chase 5/24 rule exists because people online have been the data point they would like to see. By having enough data points, you can infer some rules.
The main takeaway from this post is always to do your own research, and to look at data points online to see if what the consequences are for each action.
CLEAR is a tech company that operates a biometric travel document verification system at some major airports and stadiums.
Offering a stress-free airport experience nationwide, CLEAR streamlines the process of getting through security, making air travel and stadium events more efficient and enjoyable.
With CLEAR, every trip to the airport and select stadiums can be a stress-free experience, helping you manage your time more efficiently and making your travels more enjoyable. It’s like having a personal guide to help you navigate the security process, ensuring a more predictable and less time-consuming airport experience.
While CLEAR and TSA PreCheck® enhance the airport security experience, they offer unique benefits. CLEAR provides a swift identity verification process. You can breeze through security by using a CLEAR pod and verify your identity using your eyes or fingerprint.
Conversely, TSA PreCheck® is a program run by the U.S. government. It aims to pre-identify travelers who pose a minimal risk based on an evaluation by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Approved travelers experience expedited security screening at U.S. airports nationwide without removing shoes, laptops, 3-1-1 liquids, belts, or light jackets.
Many travelers find that CLEAR and TSA PreCheck® complement each other, providing the fastest and most reliable route through the airport.
When you combine CLEAR with TSA PreCheck®, you can jump to the front of the TSA PreCheck® line. Depending on the time of day you travel, this may save a ton of time.
Several cards from American Express offer up to a $189 CLEAR Plus statement credit per year, including:
The versatility of CLEAR extends beyond airports, making it a handy tool in various aspects of daily life. CLEAR’s applications are vast, from facilitating quick entry at sports arenas to offering a Health Pass & Digital Vaccine Card.
The service is also helpful for sports events and comes with a CLEAR Plus option where you can add up to three people to your CLEAR account for just $60 each– saving you $380!
Additionally, Reserve powered by CLEAR provides a seamless dining experience at selected locations.
CLEAR s revolutionizing the airport experience and beyond with its state-of-the-art biometric technology. Offering safe, efficient, and stress-free navigation through security checks, CLEAR is the future of travel. Whether you frequent airports or attend stadium games, CLEAR ensures your identity verification process is a breeze.
A CLEAR membership has saved us a ton of time and let us enjoy more time in the airport lounge vs. standing in the airport security line.
Chase recently launched Sapphire Lounge by The Club, exclusively available to Sapphire Reserve cardmembers. Cardmembers can enjoy curated environments and luxurious facilities that embody each captivating city's unique essence and vibrant atmosphere.
Here's everything you need to know about who can access the Sapphire Lounges.
Primary cardmembers and authorized users of the following cards have complimentary access to Sapphire Lounges:
Cardmembers' Complimentary Priority Pass™ membership must be activated.
Guest Policies
Summary
Other Priority Pass members are eligible for one free visit to a Sapphire Lounge by The Club annually.
This means for all other Priority Pass cards outside of Chase, it's ONE visit across ALL lounges, not per lounge, and guests aren't complimentary.
For example, if you have a Priority Pass membership from the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, then you can get complimentary access to one Sapphire Lounge per year.
You can find more information about this by checking the lounge location listings or FAQs on the Priority Pass website.
If you already have a Priority Pass membership and a same-day boarding pass, you can enter the Sapphire Lounge by The Club within three hours of your flight. Show your physical or digital membership card at the lounge to enter.
Note that if you are a Sapphire Reserve, J.P. Morgan Reserve, or Ritz-Carlton cardmember and still need to enroll in your complimentary Priority Pass membership, you can activate it by logging in to your Chase account or calling the number on the back of your card.
You must enroll to activate the Priority Pass benefit.
You can check the locations of Sapphire Lounge by The Club by visiting the page where you found this information or searching on the Priority Pass website or app.
Sapphire Reserve, J.P. Morgan Reserve, and Ritz-Carlton cardmembers can also look for lounge locations in the Explore Lounges section under Benefits › Travel in the Chase Mobile app.
No, complimentary access to the lounge is not available for Chase Sapphire Preferred cardmembers.
If you're interested in accessing the lounge, consider upgrading to the Sapphire Reserve card by calling the number on the back of your card.
You can read our Chase Sapphire Reserve review here.
Note: Some of the offers/products mentioned below are no longer available.
As an American Express Platinum cardholder, you can add two types of authorized users:
1) Amex Platinum authorized user cards
2) Gold authorized user cards
There are a few main benefits of adding Gold authorized user cards to your account.
1) Same Multipliers as the Amex Platinum
If you're an employer and your team travels often, then you can earn 5x back on airfare when you issue employee authorized user cards.
2) More Amex Offers
If your family members don't have an American Express card, you can add them as an authorized user, and they can access deals.
3) Global Entry / TSA PreCheck®
A handful of new cards are offering the $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit benefit. With the Gold authorized user card, there's not a need to get a new card solely for the $100 credit anymore. You can simply add authorized users to take advantage of the credits.
If the authorized user would like to have any of the above benefits, it might be worth issuing them an Amex Platinum authorized user card. The fee is $175 for up to three authorized users, so if you add one, you might want to add up to three since it's the same price. Obviously, only add people you can trust.
