May 26, 2025 • 43 mins
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Contrary to popular belief, opening multiple credit cards doesn't automatically tank your credit score. I'm living proof – with eight new cards in just six months and an "excellent" credit score of 808 to show for it.
The credit card journey has been quite the ride. Growing up with warnings about the dangers of plastic and experiencing credit card debt twice in my younger years made me initially hesitant. Fast forward to today, and I've completely transformed my relationship with credit cards, using them strategically to fund incredible family adventures through points and miles.
My husband and I break down the eight cards I've opened since January – spanning Chase, American Express, and Citi – and reveal how diversifying across different banks has been crucial to approval success. We share the surprising factors affecting credit scores (like why my husband's 763 score gets fewer approvals than my 808) and how credit history length significantly outweighs the impact of new accounts.
The most pressing challenge we're facing? Meeting a massive $20,000 minimum spend requirement on the Amex Business Platinum. We discuss our strategy, including prepaying bills, planned expenses, and the somewhat controversial world of buying groups. And no, despite my husband's suggestions, we won't be purchasing jet skis to meet the requirement!
These strategic credit card moves have yielded nearly 700,000 points across various programs, funding upcoming adventures to Thailand, Japan, Yosemite, and European Christmas markets. We also tackle the counterintuitive decision to sometimes pay cash for flights rather than using points when the value proposition doesn't make sense.
Want to learn how to leverage points and miles for your own family travel? Join my waitlist for personalized one-on-one consulting sessions where I'll help you maximize your redemptions and plan your dream trips.
**Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission—at no extra cost to you—if you use them. I only recommend products I truly use and love.**
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Did you ever wonder how someone could open eight
credit cards in just six monthsand not destroy their credit?
In this episode, I'm breakingdown the eight cards I've opened
since January the wins, therisks and how we are going to be
tackling a $20,000 minimumspend.
Hi, I'm Raya.
(00:31):
And I'm Dwayne.
And we are your hosts of theTravel Party of Five podcast,
where we share how we travel asa family of five around the
world.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
We will also share how we use points and miles to
travel as affordably as possibleand sometimes even completely
free.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
So if you're wanting to travel more with your family
but you're not sure how, we'dlove for you to listen in.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
So welcome to our podcast, where we hope you learn
a thing or two to get youcloser to your next trip.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Welcome back.
Thanks for tuning in.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Hello friends.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Hello.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Hello, welcome back to Travel Party of Five podcast.
If you are new to joining us,my name is Raya.
I am one of your hosts.
This is my husband, dwayne.
We are the parents of threechildren and we travel around as
a family of five usingprimarily points and miles, and
we just kind of share ourexperiences in this points and
(01:35):
miles game, if you will.
Dwayne is just staring out thewindow.
Hello, hi, welcome, join us.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Hey, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Yeah.
So today, before we jump intoour main topic, which is that,
yes, I have opened now eightcredit cards just in my name
since January.
We're going to talk about thatbecause I briefly mentioned that
on a previous episode andthat's probably one of the
things I get asked the mostabout on Instagram since then,
(02:03):
so thought it was worthy of itsown episode.
But before we jump into that, Iwanted to do a quick little
update.
Another thing that I get askedfairly frequently on Instagram
is just around like best ways touse the points you've already
accrued, and so I'm going to beopening up a few spots for one
(02:26):
on one sessions where you canbook time with me to get
personalized help, whether thatis like figuring out your best
redemption options, fullyplanning a trip or just kind of
making sure you're not leavingvalue on the table.
This is not for you if you lovethe thrill of the hunt and you
like to dive deep in like Redditthreads and you already know
(02:48):
your way around transferpartners and points, currencies
and alliances and all that.
But it is for you if you'vekind of been earning the points
and now you want to use them ona trip for your family and you
feel overwhelmed about how to dothat.
So, more geared towardsbeginners and or people who just
(03:08):
don't have like the time ordesire to learn all of the nitty
gritty things like that this isfor you.
So I'm gonna start by openingup a waitlist and then, if
you're on the waitlist, you'llget early access and a discount
when the sessions launch.
So I will put the link to thatin the show notes, but wanted to
give a quick heads up that thatis something that we're going
(03:30):
to be offering going forward andwe'll see how it goes.
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
You definitely know what you're talking about.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
So it would be helpful.
Yeah, yeah, I feel like.
Yes, I think so.
So, anyways, okay, let's jumpinto the main topic, because I
think this is such a clearexample of how utilizing credit
cards can actually help excuseme, help your credit score
(04:01):
versus hurt it.
And if you're new here, or oreven if you're not, I grew up
hearing credit cards were bad.
I actually don't know like.
Did your parents use creditcards when you were growing up,
or did they ever talk about it?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Yes, they used it and they never really talked to me
about it.
No, Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
So I mean I just grew up with my stepdad.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
But yeah, I mean, our parents are totally different
when it comes to spending andthey're very different people.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Yes, um, very much on opposite ends of the spectrum,
I would say, yes, opposite Um,but yeah.
So I grew up with my stepdad,basically you know, preaching
how terrible credit cards areand blah, blah, blah.
And so when I got to college Idid open up actually quite a few
credit cards, because that wasthe time where you know they
(04:52):
would just be like the creditcard companies would be like
here's a free t-shirt if yousign up for this credit card,
and they would just be likewaiting outside the student
union for you, like lurking andand, um, like very predatory.
When I look back on it, Causelittle 18 year old me was like
sure, I need a free t-shirt anda pen, like yes, let's do it.
And I opened up a bunch ofcredit cards and then I got
(05:14):
myself into credit card debt andI actually had two cycles of
that in my life and finally,like around I don't know, and
(05:37):
finally, like around I don'tknow, mid to young 30s, got out
of credit card debt completelyand for good and then really
never opened up a credit cardagain until I wanted to go to
for the flight and I booked itin the chase portal I didn't
know any better and used up allmy points for an economy flight
to and from Bali, which I mean.
Now I know I could have forsure probably gotten business
class, at least one of thoseways, but I didn't know anything
(05:58):
at the time other than I didn'twant to pay for this flight.
So that's kind of my creditcard journey.
You kind of have a similar one.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
I mean, yes, I wasn't coerced by a free t-shirt.
They would just send meapplications in the mail oh
really yeah, and I would justfill them out and get a credit
card and go to town.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
You had a bunch of credit cards that were like
written off right, yeah, yeah.
So when we went to buy ourfirst house, this was like in
2016,.
I think you can imagine oursurprise when Dwayne's credit
score was higher than mine,despite having defaulted on some
credit cards way back in theday, and it's because after
(06:41):
seven years it falls off yourcredit report.
So I mean, mean, no one wasmore shocked than you, right?
no, I mean yes, you're right, Iwas shocked like duane, had the
better credit between the two ofus, and so our first um
mortgage was in his name alone,actually.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
So which is crazy to think about, because it is crazy
yeah, when I was young and dumb, there were, I don't know,
probably six or seven creditcards.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Yeah, so, and meanwhile I didn't default on
credit cards.
I paid them all off and I alsohad a hefty amount of student
loans which are also now paidoff.
I promise there's a reason tous sharing like our credit
background is because, if you'renew, I want you to understand
that.
I completely get it when peoplethink this is going to ruin
(07:32):
their credit and they thinkthere's no way that I could open
this many credit cards and,like, still have a good credit
score.
I fully understand that line ofthinking we both do.
But I'm here to tell you thatyou're wrong, wrong, and I'm
going to show you why and how Ithink.
First I'm going to give youboth of our credit scores that I
(07:52):
checked minutes before startingto record this podcast, and
then I'll jump into the eightcards that I have opened and
kind of thought processprocesses behind that.
So your credit score as of 20minutes ago was 763.
Nice.
That is, I would say, like it'sconsidered very good.
And to use uh, to check thescores, I'm using Experian.
(08:15):
That's the one I like the most.
It is free.
Do not let them coerce you intobuying their membership.
You do not need to.
It will ask you every time youlog in and you just say like, no
.
But I like it because it breaksdown kind of what factors are
helping your score, what factorsare hurting your score?
You can see your whole creditreport if you want.
(08:35):
So yours is 763, which theyconsider very good.
Okay, you have not had a newcredit card since the end of
last year, so it's been a while.
My credit score as of 20minutes ago was 808, which,
according to Experian, isconsidered excellent.
Okay, I have opened, sinceJanuary, eight credit cards.
(08:59):
It is May 25th when we arerecording this.
This will air tomorrow, may26th, memorial Day.
Happy Memorial Day.
Thank you to all that haveserved yes, thank you that's
kind of crazy, right like yourscore is lower than mine and I'm
over here saying I've openedeight credit cards in the last
six months and if you want to goback even further, I also
(09:19):
opened up a card in october,november and december of 2024.
So that's really that's 11credit cards in less than a year
nine months, yeah.
So I was trying to kind offigure out from Experian like
what, what, what is causing thebig difference in my score
(09:41):
versus Dwayne's?
And I think the the biggestfactor honestly seems to be age
of credit.
So your age of credit is listedas around nine years, almost 10
.
Mine is 24 years, almost 25.
Basically dating back to when Iwas like 18.
And I don't know if that'sbecause I opened cards when I
(10:04):
was 18.
I don't think so, because thoseare closed.
But I also had student loansthat were opened at that time
that have been paid off onlywithin the last like five to
seven years, and so those arefor sure still showing up on my
credit because it hasn't beenmore than seven years.
So that seemed to be thebiggest factor.
(10:26):
Um, we like so.
So the age of my credit isoffsetting the um one thing
that's hurting my credit, andputting that in air quotes,
which is amount of new credit,like that's the one thing that's
like fair right as opposed toexceptional.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
That's great.
So because you've had, you'veopened up credit cards since you
were 18, your credit score isthat high.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
I'm a little unsure because you also opened up
credit cards when you were 18,but yours are not showing.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
I didn't have any student loans or anything.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Yeah, I think that the student loans are what's
giving me that long of a credithistory, because, again, I think
in seven years they will falloff my credit, but it hasn't
been seven years since they'vebeen fully paid off, if that
makes sense.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
So why haven't I opened up any credit cards this
year?
Speaker 1 (11:24):
I've tried several times and you got declined.
So we just tried for a ChaseInc.
Duane was declined.
We were going to call thereconsideration line, except now
I have opened up a credit cardwith a very hefty minimum spend
that, quite frankly, I didn'tthink I was going to be approved
for, but I was, and so nowwe're in a position where we
(11:46):
have to meet that minimum spend,and so we can't do both like
that will just be too much andwe'll we'll talk more about how
I think we will meet the minimumspend at the end, but that's
why.
So it's not that I haven'ttried, but you haven't been
getting approved.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
So, with my credit score being very good, why is it
that I'm getting declined?
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I genuinely do not know, and that's what I was
trying to understand lookingthrough each of our credit
reports, Because when I applyfor like business cards well, I
mean really for any card I'musing the same information Like
I'm using the same business,like income excuse me, I'm also
(12:35):
using the same total householdincome for both of us, and so
it's weird, basically.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
It is weird.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Yeah, I think I have been more heavily reliant on my
credit since we started this,just because in the beginning it
was like we're gonna risk, likelet's only risk one of our
credit scores to see how thisplays out.
You know what I mean.
And so I opened the first fewcards and then I was like, okay,
(13:07):
like this is not hurting mycredit.
So then it's like okay, now wecan also use your credit.
I think the other piece that isgoing into your credit score is
I.
I now hold our mortgage in myname alone, and you had one car
loan in your name, but that hassince been paid off, so you
(13:28):
don't have a lot of other typesof debt.
That's one thing that thecredit score looks at is like
what's the word?
Like?
I can't think of the word butdifferent types of debt.
So secured versus unsecuredright, a mortgage is a secured
form of debt, student loans likethat sort of thing.
(13:49):
We don't have any of thoseanymore and the car is now fully
paid off.
So the only type of like debtyou have is credit cards, and
it's really not even it's notreally debt, because we pay them
off every month.
So, yeah, it's very interestingto me and I just think that the
(14:11):
age of the credit is thebiggest thing.
Yeah, I don't.
And like, if I had a card thatwas that old, I could add you as
an authorized user and it wouldgive you the same length of
credit.
But I don't, I don't have acredit card that's that old, so
I don't know.
The whole thing is very strangeto me, but okay.
(14:31):
So let me tell you the eightcards that I have opened have I
have I don't know where thatcame from.
Okay, january I opened up aChase Inc Business Unlimited.
Also January, a City AdvantageBusiness World Elite MasterCard.
February I opened up a ChaseInc Business Preferred and I
(14:53):
also opened a Chase UnitedBusiness.
There was an elevated offer onthe United Business, so that's
why I got that one.
And then, also in February, anAmerican Express Blue Business
Plus.
American Express was targetingme for the Blue Business Plus.
It was not a great offer, but Iknew that we could meet the
minimum spend in one swipebecause of our shower remodel,
(15:17):
so I did that.
It was only 25,000 membershiprewards points plus.
You know the amount for thespend, so we got around 30 MR
points for that.
In April I then opened up asecond City Advantage Business
World Elite Mastercard.
(15:37):
This was because I wasattempting to do what's called
the AA double dip.
I don't think it's going towork.
I got the points for the firstcard.
I just met the minimum spend onthe second one and the
statement is actually going toclose tomorrow, but I do not
(15:59):
think the points are going topost, based on what I've been
seeing from other people.
So potentially that was awasted $5,000 in spend, which is
a bummer, but it's a businesscard, so at least it doesn't
count towards 524.
So, and then also in April, endof April, I was able to get
(16:21):
approved for the Amex HiltonAspire card.
I was trying to get this cardfor months and like at least six
months, and I kept getting thepop-up.
I really wanted it.
Um, because there was anelevated offer.
I have this card right yes, youhave this card too, and it it
has a hefty annual fee, but youget a Hilton free night
(16:43):
certificate which can be used atany Hilton like worldwide, and
so I really wanted it too,because then we'll have two and
I wasn't able to get it for thelongest time.
And then, finally, amex let meout of pop-up jail and I was
able to get approved, so we areabout to meet the minimum spend
(17:05):
on that card.
I think we have less than athousand dollars to go um, so
that that is seven, I think.
Right, one, two, three, four,five, six, seven.
Yep, that's the seventh, andthen the eighth one is the Amex
business platinum, which Ialready have one of, and I
continually get targeted offersin the mail for this card.
(17:29):
I know people talk about beingon like the Amex gravy train
where they continually send youoffers, and I just kind of
assumed that was never going tohappen for us because we don't
put a ton of spend on our Amexcards.
However, maybe a month ago Igot an offer for 175,000 points
for 20k in spend.
(17:49):
I tried to apply for that oneand basically got like a offer,
not valid, kind of thing.
So I thought, okay, like thisis just the marketing department
sending these mailers, notrealizing that I already have
the card.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
So you have two of the exact same card?
Yes, correct.
I don't even know how that'spossible.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Well, I mean it is possible.
There are some people that havelike seven of this particular
card um so strange to me.
I would think american expresswould have like a red flag pop
up somewhere well, they havewhat's called no lifetime
language offers, because thetraditional offer says like you
(18:34):
cannot earn a welcome offer onthis if you've had it in the
last.
It says in your lifetime, but Ithink seven years is roughly
the actual time they consider tobe a lifetime, but there are no
lifetime language offers.
That float around sometimes andthen you can get the card again
, as long as it doesn't havethat specific line in the offer.
(18:59):
Does that make sense?
Yeah, so I got a second mailerfor 150,000 points for 20K
minimum spend.
This isn't the best offer.
Like there's a 250K offer outthere for 20K in spend.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
That's much better how do we get that?
Speaker 1 (19:19):
well, again, this is amx kind of deciding like what
you're worth to them.
And I applied for this,thinking I probably wasn't going
to get approved.
But I did get approved and like, only kind of after, the fact
(19:40):
was like, well, like now we haveto meet this 20k minimum spend
and I don't quite know how we'regoing to do that.
It also didn't like normally,when you apply for an Amex card,
it'll give you like the like.
It'll say like yeah, you'reapproved, like do you want to
accept this card?
It didn't do that, it just waslike congratulations, like your
(20:02):
card is on the way, and I waskind of like, oh, okay, like all
right, we're doing it now.
So I do have a plan for howwe're going to meet the minimum
spend, but first maybe youshould tell everyone how you
wanted to meet it.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
It's simple.
I was just going to go to theBass Pro Shop and buy two jet
skis and call it a day,something my parents would have
done.
Yeah, we're not Side note.
Growing up, I remember wheneverI saw an American Express car
I'm pretty sure back then it wasonly the gold one.
I mean, maybe I don't know that, but every time someone pulled
(20:40):
that out I thought, damn, theygot money and now we have 10.
And it's like, oh, oh, that'sfunny.
But yeah, two jet skis.
We live by some lakes,different lakes to choose from
as well.
Yeah so reach out to us and youknow.
(21:02):
If it's a good idea to buy twojet skis, let us know.
And you know the consensus iswe should get two jet skis and
you know, maybe we'll get twojet skis.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Oh my God, we're not buying any jet skis, okay, maybe
just one Blessed be, no jeskies.
okay, let's maybe just one letno blessed be no, um, no.
So here's my plan to meet thisminimum spend.
We have three months and I I'mgonna do some buying groups.
(21:31):
We don't talk about buyinggroups very much because they're
definitely not a beginnerfriendly thing and there is some
risk involved.
But I will kind of go into moredetail, I guess, because that's
the only way we're going tomeet this minimum spend.
We do have some child care wehave to pay for for our youngest
(21:55):
that we haven't paid for yet,some childcare we have to pay
for for our youngest that wehaven't paid for yet.
So that'll, I don't know, be acouple thousand dollars probably
.
I'm going to prepay our HOA forthe next year and a half-ish.
We need a new gate.
I'm going to.
(22:23):
We have to, um, have our pooldrained and like cleaned and a
light repaired, so, uh, that'sgoing to cost another roughly
thousand dollars.
Um and like, obviously we'll do.
We, you know, we have avacation coming up in a few
weeks.
We'll use the card wherever wecan for that, like gas and stuff
like that, cause it's a roadtrip and we actually have two
vacations in the timeframe thatwe have to meet the minimum
(22:43):
spend, so we'll definitely usesome money for that.
And then, beyond that, the restof the spend is going to be
buying groups.
And so, if you're not familiarwith buying groups, essentially
buying groups leverage, like the, the power of the people.
(23:04):
That sounds, that soundsridiculous.
Okay, so a buying group is likeyou go on a website and this
buying group can be like okay,we want this very specific iPad
with this item number and wewill pay you $100 for it.
And then it'll say, like, youcan buy this iPad from, let's
say, amazon for $100.
So basically, you buy the iPad,you ship it directly to them.
(23:29):
Most buying groups are locatedin states where there's no sales
tax, and so you basically haveto add the address for the
buying group into, like yourAmazon account, and you ship it
directly to them.
So you never see the productand then you just kind of log
okay, this is my order number,this is my tracking number, and
(23:49):
then when it gets delivered,they pay you for it.
Sometimes there is a delay inthem paying you, and so you have
to make sure that you canafford to pay the credit card
bill even if they haven't paidyou yet, and every buying group
is a little bit different.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
It seems sketchy to me.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
I know, and that's why it's not talked about super
often this is calledmanufactured spend, basically
like making up spend that youwouldn't normally do, and if you
have like credit card affiliatelinks, which we do not have,
you're not really supposed tolike talk about stuff like that.
(24:30):
It's technically against termsand conditions, I believe.
So we don't have credit cardaffiliate links at this point.
I am not opposed to them downthe road.
I would actually love to havethose, but we're just not there
yet, and so we but the brightside is, we can talk about stuff
like this.
But yes, it does seem sketchyand there's a lot of different
(24:53):
buying groups out there.
Frequent Miler has a very goodin depth article about it.
If you just Google it, you'll.
I'm sure you'll find it.
The one that I like the best isbuy.
For me, retail.
I find it the easiest to useand I pretty much can only send
offers through Amazon andoccasionally Costco.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
I love Costco.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
Okay, you just have to be super careful because you
don't want to do too much oryour accounts can get shut down.
We order a ton of stuff offAmazon regularly so I you know,
knock on wood haven't had anyissues doing a good amount
(25:36):
through Amazon.
The thing you have to becareful of is especially with
buy for me retail.
A lot of them have below retaildeals.
So that would be like okay,we're going to pay you $100 for
this exact blue iPad, but Amazonis selling it for 105.
Right, so they want you to buyit for 105.
And they'll give you $100 forit.
(25:58):
So that's not the best deal.
Right Like you don't really wantto come out of pocket Sometimes
.
If there is a deal where it'slike oh, maybe you're going to
make $1 per item, right Like youmake a profit If I can do five
of those plus the iPad and comeout even.
That's kind of how I thinkabout it.
(26:18):
You know what I mean.
So I'm not losing money by anymeans, but I'm not profiting.
I don't need to profit becausemy profit is the credit card
points.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
With those buying groups.
Can you buy multiple iPads oris it just one?
Speaker 1 (26:33):
So you can buy, like usually two or three max.
And it's because amazon setsselling limits on sale items and
that's why the buying groupshave to kind of go about it this
way is because they can't justgo to amazon themselves and be
like we want to buy 5 000 ofthese ipads at this price,
because amazon is like no, youcan buy two like where are these
(26:57):
iPads going To?
Speaker 3 (26:58):
some like family that lives in wherever and they sell
it for double the amount.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
I have no idea how or where they sell it, but you
ship it directly to theirwarehouse and it gets like
received by someone and theykind of mark down the tracking
number Again buy.
For me, retail is the one I'vehad the most success with and
the least amount of issues.
(27:26):
There was a different buyinggroup that I tried.
I want to say it was max outdeals and it was like a limited
release kind of.
I forget some kind of VR thingfrom Apple and like I had
ordered it and then, while itwas being shipped, they lowered
(27:47):
the price that they were goingto pay on it and I thought that
was really really shady.
So I've never done another dealwith them Because I was like
this is ridiculous.
It's like I had already.
Like you go into the websiteand you say like I'm reserving
two of these, right, so like I'mgoing to send you two or
(28:07):
whatever, and like it shows youthe price and whatever, and then
you also add in your, yourorder number, your tracking
number, so they they know, likewhen it's coming.
And I had already done all ofthat and then they were like, oh
, just kidding, for any ordersthat arrive after this date this
is the price.
But it had already been shippedand so it was like okay, well,
fortunately that was one wherethey were offering a profit and
(28:31):
the price that they changed tookaway the profit, but it didn't
like we weren't out any money,so that was the only saving
grace there.
But I thought like, what if it?
What if it hadn't been that way?
You know, it just all seems alittle.
So, yeah, so again, proceed atyour own risk.
Everyone is going to have adifferent risk tolerance that
they're comfortable with, andonly you can figure out what
(28:54):
that is for you.
But I just wanted to be supertransparent that the only way
we're going to meet this minimumspend is by doing this, and so
yes, or again vote.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
Or buy jet skis Jet skis, would love to hear from
you.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
Oh goodness, Should I put up a poll?
Speaker 3 (29:13):
on Instagram.
Tomorrow you should put up apoll.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
I'll put up a poll and we'll see.
Okay, so let's see.
So I've walked through thedifferent cards.
I think one of the key thingsto note is there are three
different banks that I havegotten these cards through.
So there's a few from Chase,there is a couple from Citi and
(29:37):
then a few from Amex.
So I think that's one of thereasons why I was able to get
approved for all eight.
Right, like, obviously, chaseis not going to approve me for
eight cards in a row Same withAmex, same with any bank, really
and the card I opened inDecember was Barclays, so that
(29:57):
would add a fourth if we'relooking at like a six to seven
month window.
So I do think that matters.
Someone asked me on Instagramthe other day, like I was just
denied for a chase card, howsoon can I apply to get a card
from a different bank?
And the answer is immediately.
You don't need to wait if youdidn't get the first card and
(30:21):
it's a different bank or issuer.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
How long would you have to wait for Chase to apply
again?
Speaker 1 (30:28):
At least 30 days is how long it'll take for your
application to expire.
Depending on the reasons fordenial, you may want to wait
longer than that, but minimum of30 days.
So the other thing I brieflywanted to touch on regarding
meeting the minimum spend forthe American Express card that
(30:50):
we just got is, in addition tothe 150,000 American Express
points that we'll get when wemeet the minimum spend, there is
also a $500 statement creditwhen you book at least $2,500 in
airfare, either in the Amexportal or direct with an airline
(31:13):
.
So we are in the midst oftrying to book flights back from
Thailand and, thanks to anInstagram follower, cathay
Pacific was going to be how Ibooked them 38,000 points per
person, one way in economy, fromBangkok to LAX or SFO.
(31:37):
They had a lot of availabilityfor either flying through Hong
Kong, and that was my plan.
The problem is those flights aregoing to cost $1,000 in taxes
and fees for the five of us andagain that's in economy.
So 38,000 points a person, andagain that's in economy.
So 38,000 points a person plus$1,000 in fees total and when I
(32:03):
look up cash prices for theflights, like for the five of us
, it's roughly $2,500 total,without using any points.
Total without using any points.
So we were talking about thislast night Cause I'm like it
might make more sense to justpay cash again, utilize that
(32:24):
$500 statement credit and savethe points.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
So it would be $2,000 or 2,500 is with the.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
It depends on the flights that we book.
The range is roughly from$2,000 to $3,000.
And the $2,000 is the absolutebasic economy ticket that if you
cancel you don't get any moneyback, kind of a thing.
So I probably wouldn't bookthat.
I would spend a little moremoney to at least earn some
(32:57):
miles and be able to cancel orchange if necessary.
There's still a fee to cancelor change, but I'd rather that
than just be out that moneycompletely.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
Yeah, so use 200, almost 200,000 points and still
pay a thousand dollars.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
So it's like, okay, would I rather just spend $1,500
more, right, and save all thosepoints, because at that point
the cost per point is like onecent.
That is not a good redemption.
It's pretty crappy actually,and especially for American
Express points where I wouldreally like to get two cents per
(33:36):
point at a minimum.
But I mean even just regards tomoney out of pocket, it's not
that much more, in my opinion,if we're already going to spend
$1,000 in taxes.
Like just spend a little bitmore and save the points at this
rate.
So that's what I'm thinking.
And like if you had told me atthe beginning of this year that
(33:59):
we would be paying cash for ourflights to Thailand both ways, I
would have said you're insane.
But I mean I think we're goingto spend roughly a little more
than $4,000.
And like to be fullytransparent, that was the cost
of our lodging in Belize, likejust the lodging.
I mean I guess I had alreadyplanned to spend the money.
(34:21):
I wasn't thrilled about it, butit's the same amount roughly, I
think it's worth it.
And then we I mean I'm just waymore excited about Thailand than
Belize, and again, it's nothingagainst Belize, I.
Just Thailand has been likesince since you and I met and I
came back from Europe I was likeI want to go to Southeast Asia,
(34:43):
like that was where I wanted togo next, but then instead we
had a kid so got postponed a bit.
But Thailand has been superhigh on my list for more than a
decade, so it's worth it to me.
And then we would againposition back from, uh, likely
San Francisco.
So we, we would have to stayovernight, one night on our way
(35:06):
back in San Francisco and thenfly home the following day.
That's just the way the flighttimes line up, but that was
that's for any flight I can find.
So again, I feel fine aboutthat, you know.
Speaker 3 (35:20):
Yeah, I'm all for it.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
So that's likely what we will do and again, it will
help us to meet the minimumspend, obviously by putting that
on the card, but, moreimportantly, it just doesn't
seem to be a good value for ourpoints.
We will use points for thepositioning flights, however, to
and from San Francisco so, andpoints for all the hotels when
(35:45):
we're there.
So, anyways, once that'sofficially booked, we'll do a
whole episode on bookingThailand, because I've learned a
ton.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
So, from all the cards that we've recently
acquired, how many points havewe gained from that?
Speaker 1 (36:01):
So, oh yeah, that's okay, that's fun, okay.
So for, okay, two chase cards.
So I'm just going to do likethe sign up bonus, I'm not going
to do like referral points orlike additional points.
You earn from the minimum spend.
(36:23):
So chase points 165,000 totalultimate rewards.
That's from two cards, thechase Inc unlimited and the
chase Inc business preferred.
The United card was an elevatedoffer and that one was for
100,000 United miles, so 165Chase, 100,000 United.
(36:50):
25,000 American Express pointsfrom the Blue Business, plus the
Aspire card, which we are veryclose to hitting the minimum
spend, will give us 175,000Hilton points plus a free night
certificate.
And then the city a card waselevated, so 75,000 a miles.
On the rare chance that Iearned the second bonus for the
(37:14):
second city that would beanother 75,000.
But again all data points seemto say like that's not going to
happen, so a littledisappointing.
And then the American ExpressPlatinum that we just opened.
Once we meet that minimum spend, it'll be 150,000 Amex points.
So a good diversification thereof a lot of different points.
(37:35):
Currencies right, we've gotsome united miles, of which you
also have some, so I'm planningto combine those for, hopefully,
a national park yellowstonetrip.
Maybe, I don't know when, um,and then a good amount of chase
and amex points which areflexible and plus a a mile super
valuable, and we're stacking upthe hilton points.
We're going to have close to600 000 hilton points plus two
(37:58):
free night certificates when allis said and done.
So, feeling good about that,we're going to use that in
Scotland next year, some ofthose Hilton points.
So more on that to come the way.
Someone is going to ask so theway that I keep track of all of
our cards and whether or notwe've hit the minimum spend is
the Travel Freely app.
(38:19):
If you do not use this app, itis incredibly helpful.
It's the first thing that I doevery single time I open a new
card is I log it in this app.
First and foremost, it tells mewhen my annual fees are coming
due.
It tells me my 524 status,which, if you're curious, I am
424 and Dwayne is 324.
(38:39):
And we will plan to stay likelyboth of us under 524 if
possible.
Dwayne actually cannot open anypersonal cards.
Well, actually, I'm sorry youcould open one personal card,
but that's it until July of 2026.
Because that's when your nextpersonal card falls off.
(39:00):
So you're you're a little bitlimited.
My next one falls off inOctober, so not as bad.
Anyways, the travel freely appif you do not use it, I will put
a link to to it in the shownotes because it is the hands
down, the easiest way to keeptrack of all your cards and when
their annual fees are due, andthen, like, at that point you
(39:22):
can decide should I keep it,should I downgrade it, whatever?
And it also keeps a fun tallythis is my favorite part of like
how many points you've earnedfor the year and so I like to
look at that because I thinkthat is super fun and motivating
.
So, again, put a link to thatin the show notes.
Would highly recommendutilizing that if you are not.
And the best part is it'scompletely free and it doesn't
(39:42):
take any of your like logininformation, so you don't need
to say, like you know, this ismy Chase bank information or
this is my Barclays account.
Like you don't need to do anyof that.
You simply put in the card youopened whatever the bonus points
are for the minimum spend andta-da voila.
So really, really like the app.
(40:05):
I check it all the time and Iuse it.
Like at least once a week.
I'm opening it, so would highlyrecommend.
Um, last thing, I think we justwanted to give you a quick kind
of heads up of what's comingnext as far as trips and stuff
on the horizon for us.
So we have a Yosemite NationalPark trip coming up here in a
(40:28):
few weeks.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Slash Lake.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
Tahoe?
Yes, and we're also going to begoing to Lake Tahoe for a few
days and we are driving, so thatwill be our longest road trip
we've ever done with the kids.
Um, after that we have anotherweek ish in Palm Springs and
Oceanside, california, and thenafter that is our big Japan trip
(40:52):
, which is super exciting.
That's in the fall, and then wehave a Christmas market trip
around Thanksgiving.
Well, we also might go to Cabo.
Oh, yes, duane and I aresupposed to have a couple's trip
to Cabo here coming up in acouple months.
We've already moved it oncebecause we lost our childcare
and it's still a little bit upin the air, so hopefully we
(41:15):
don't have to cancel, but we mayhave to either cancel or
reschedule for a third time.
So TBD on that.
And then we have somestaycations coming up too.
So we're still doing our summerseries.
We've got a few more hotelsbooked over the summer that we
will be reporting back to youabout.
Our next one is the ArizonaGrand, which is actually not a
(41:38):
points property but can bebooked through some portals, and
so we'll talk about that.
But it has like a full waterpark and so super excited and
that's like our kids kind of endof school year little bash
treat.
Yeah that we're.
We're treating them to that.
So lots of fun stuff coming up.
(41:58):
Um, again one more reminder thatif you are potentially
interested in some one-on-onelike consulting sessions to help
you figure out the best use ofyour points and how to book your
points vacation, I am openingup sessions in the next few
weeks and again I will put alink to the waitlist in the show
(42:20):
notes.
If you want to hop on there,you'll get first access and a
discounted price that won't beavailable anywhere else.
So again, link to that is inthe show notes.
If you have any questions,please come find us on Instagram
.
Come vote on my jet ski pollthat I will put up.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
Please vote.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
We're not getting jet skis, but you can vote.
You can vote and let's see.
We'll see.
Okay, hope you have a greatweek.
Speaker 3 (42:48):
Yes, happy Memorial Day.
Thanks for all those thatserved or are serving.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
Yes, we appreciate you very much and we will catch
you on the next episode.
Speaker 3 (42:58):
Yes, thanks for tuning in.
Bye, have a good one.
Did you ever wonder how someone could open eight
credit cards in just six monthsand not destroy their credit?
In this episode, I'm breakingdown the eight cards I've opened
since January the wins, therisks and how we are going to be
tackling a $20,000 minimumspend.
Hi, I'm Raya.
(00:31):
And I'm Dwayne.
And we are your hosts of theTravel Party of Five podcast,
where we share how we travel asa family of five around the
world.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
We will also share how we use points and miles to
travel as affordably as possibleand sometimes even completely
free.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
So if you're wanting to travel more with your family
but you're not sure how, we'dlove for you to listen in.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
So welcome to our podcast, where we hope you learn
a thing or two to get youcloser to your next trip.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Welcome back.
Thanks for tuning in.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Hello friends.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Hello.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Hello, welcome back to Travel Party of Five podcast.
If you are new to joining us,my name is Raya.
I am one of your hosts.
This is my husband, dwayne.
We are the parents of threechildren and we travel around as
a family of five usingprimarily points and miles, and
we just kind of share ourexperiences in this points and
(01:35):
miles game, if you will.
Dwayne is just staring out thewindow.
Hello, hi, welcome, join us.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Hey, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Yeah.
So today, before we jump intoour main topic, which is that,
yes, I have opened now eightcredit cards just in my name
since January.
We're going to talk about thatbecause I briefly mentioned that
on a previous episode andthat's probably one of the
things I get asked the mostabout on Instagram since then,
(02:03):
so thought it was worthy of itsown episode.
But before we jump into that, Iwanted to do a quick little
update.
Another thing that I get askedfairly frequently on Instagram
is just around like best ways touse the points you've already
accrued, and so I'm going to beopening up a few spots for one
(02:26):
on one sessions where you canbook time with me to get
personalized help, whether thatis like figuring out your best
redemption options, fullyplanning a trip or just kind of
making sure you're not leavingvalue on the table.
This is not for you if you lovethe thrill of the hunt and you
like to dive deep in like Redditthreads and you already know
(02:48):
your way around transferpartners and points, currencies
and alliances and all that.
But it is for you if you'vekind of been earning the points
and now you want to use them ona trip for your family and you
feel overwhelmed about how to dothat.
So, more geared towardsbeginners and or people who just
(03:08):
don't have like the time ordesire to learn all of the nitty
gritty things like that this isfor you.
So I'm gonna start by openingup a waitlist and then, if
you're on the waitlist, you'llget early access and a discount
when the sessions launch.
So I will put the link to thatin the show notes, but wanted to
give a quick heads up that thatis something that we're going
(03:30):
to be offering going forward andwe'll see how it goes.
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
You definitely know what you're talking about.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
So it would be helpful.
Yeah, yeah, I feel like.
Yes, I think so.
So, anyways, okay, let's jumpinto the main topic, because I
think this is such a clearexample of how utilizing credit
cards can actually help excuseme, help your credit score
(04:01):
versus hurt it.
And if you're new here, or oreven if you're not, I grew up
hearing credit cards were bad.
I actually don't know like.
Did your parents use creditcards when you were growing up,
or did they ever talk about it?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Yes, they used it and they never really talked to me
about it.
No, Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
So I mean I just grew up with my stepdad.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
But yeah, I mean, our parents are totally different
when it comes to spending andthey're very different people.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Yes, um, very much on opposite ends of the spectrum,
I would say, yes, opposite Um,but yeah.
So I grew up with my stepdad,basically you know, preaching
how terrible credit cards areand blah, blah, blah.
And so when I got to college Idid open up actually quite a few
credit cards, because that wasthe time where you know they
(04:52):
would just be like the creditcard companies would be like
here's a free t-shirt if yousign up for this credit card,
and they would just be likewaiting outside the student
union for you, like lurking andand, um, like very predatory.
When I look back on it, Causelittle 18 year old me was like
sure, I need a free t-shirt anda pen, like yes, let's do it.
And I opened up a bunch ofcredit cards and then I got
(05:14):
myself into credit card debt andI actually had two cycles of
that in my life and finally,like around I don't know, and
(05:37):
finally, like around I don'tknow, mid to young 30s, got out
of credit card debt completelyand for good and then really
never opened up a credit cardagain until I wanted to go to
for the flight and I booked itin the chase portal I didn't
know any better and used up allmy points for an economy flight
to and from Bali, which I mean.
Now I know I could have forsure probably gotten business
class, at least one of thoseways, but I didn't know anything
(05:58):
at the time other than I didn'twant to pay for this flight.
So that's kind of my creditcard journey.
You kind of have a similar one.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
I mean, yes, I wasn't coerced by a free t-shirt.
They would just send meapplications in the mail oh
really yeah, and I would justfill them out and get a credit
card and go to town.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
You had a bunch of credit cards that were like
written off right, yeah, yeah.
So when we went to buy ourfirst house, this was like in
2016,.
I think you can imagine oursurprise when Dwayne's credit
score was higher than mine,despite having defaulted on some
credit cards way back in theday, and it's because after
(06:41):
seven years it falls off yourcredit report.
So I mean, mean, no one wasmore shocked than you, right?
no, I mean yes, you're right, Iwas shocked like duane, had the
better credit between the two ofus, and so our first um
mortgage was in his name alone,actually.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
So which is crazy to think about, because it is crazy
yeah, when I was young and dumb, there were, I don't know,
probably six or seven creditcards.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Yeah, so, and meanwhile I didn't default on
credit cards.
I paid them all off and I alsohad a hefty amount of student
loans which are also now paidoff.
I promise there's a reason tous sharing like our credit
background is because, if you'renew, I want you to understand
that.
I completely get it when peoplethink this is going to ruin
(07:32):
their credit and they thinkthere's no way that I could open
this many credit cards and,like, still have a good credit
score.
I fully understand that line ofthinking we both do.
But I'm here to tell you thatyou're wrong, wrong, and I'm
going to show you why and how Ithink.
First I'm going to give youboth of our credit scores that I
(07:52):
checked minutes before startingto record this podcast, and
then I'll jump into the eightcards that I have opened and
kind of thought processprocesses behind that.
So your credit score as of 20minutes ago was 763.
Nice.
That is, I would say, like it'sconsidered very good.
And to use uh, to check thescores, I'm using Experian.
(08:15):
That's the one I like the most.
It is free.
Do not let them coerce you intobuying their membership.
You do not need to.
It will ask you every time youlog in and you just say like, no
.
But I like it because it breaksdown kind of what factors are
helping your score, what factorsare hurting your score?
You can see your whole creditreport if you want.
(08:35):
So yours is 763, which theyconsider very good.
Okay, you have not had a newcredit card since the end of
last year, so it's been a while.
My credit score as of 20minutes ago was 808, which,
according to Experian, isconsidered excellent.
Okay, I have opened, sinceJanuary, eight credit cards.
(08:59):
It is May 25th when we arerecording this.
This will air tomorrow, may26th, memorial Day.
Happy Memorial Day.
Thank you to all that haveserved yes, thank you that's
kind of crazy, right like yourscore is lower than mine and I'm
over here saying I've openedeight credit cards in the last
six months and if you want to goback even further, I also
(09:19):
opened up a card in october,november and december of 2024.
So that's really that's 11credit cards in less than a year
nine months, yeah.
So I was trying to kind offigure out from Experian like
what, what, what is causing thebig difference in my score
(09:41):
versus Dwayne's?
And I think the the biggestfactor honestly seems to be age
of credit.
So your age of credit is listedas around nine years, almost 10
.
Mine is 24 years, almost 25.
Basically dating back to when Iwas like 18.
And I don't know if that'sbecause I opened cards when I
(10:04):
was 18.
I don't think so, because thoseare closed.
But I also had student loansthat were opened at that time
that have been paid off onlywithin the last like five to
seven years, and so those arefor sure still showing up on my
credit because it hasn't beenmore than seven years.
So that seemed to be thebiggest factor.
(10:26):
Um, we like so.
So the age of my credit isoffsetting the um one thing
that's hurting my credit, andputting that in air quotes,
which is amount of new credit,like that's the one thing that's
like fair right as opposed toexceptional.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
That's great.
So because you've had, you'veopened up credit cards since you
were 18, your credit score isthat high.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
I'm a little unsure because you also opened up
credit cards when you were 18,but yours are not showing.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
I didn't have any student loans or anything.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Yeah, I think that the student loans are what's
giving me that long of a credithistory, because, again, I think
in seven years they will falloff my credit, but it hasn't
been seven years since they'vebeen fully paid off, if that
makes sense.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
So why haven't I opened up any credit cards this
year?
Speaker 1 (11:24):
I've tried several times and you got declined.
So we just tried for a ChaseInc.
Duane was declined.
We were going to call thereconsideration line, except now
I have opened up a credit cardwith a very hefty minimum spend
that, quite frankly, I didn'tthink I was going to be approved
for, but I was, and so nowwe're in a position where we
(11:46):
have to meet that minimum spend,and so we can't do both like
that will just be too much andwe'll we'll talk more about how
I think we will meet the minimumspend at the end, but that's
why.
So it's not that I haven'ttried, but you haven't been
getting approved.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
So, with my credit score being very good, why is it
that I'm getting declined?
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I genuinely do not know, and that's what I was
trying to understand lookingthrough each of our credit
reports, Because when I applyfor like business cards well, I
mean really for any card I'musing the same information Like
I'm using the same business,like income excuse me, I'm also
(12:35):
using the same total householdincome for both of us, and so
it's weird, basically.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
It is weird.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Yeah, I think I have been more heavily reliant on my
credit since we started this,just because in the beginning it
was like we're gonna risk, likelet's only risk one of our
credit scores to see how thisplays out.
You know what I mean.
And so I opened the first fewcards and then I was like, okay,
(13:07):
like this is not hurting mycredit.
So then it's like okay, now wecan also use your credit.
I think the other piece that isgoing into your credit score is
I.
I now hold our mortgage in myname alone, and you had one car
loan in your name, but that hassince been paid off, so you
(13:28):
don't have a lot of other typesof debt.
That's one thing that thecredit score looks at is like
what's the word?
Like?
I can't think of the word butdifferent types of debt.
So secured versus unsecuredright, a mortgage is a secured
form of debt, student loans likethat sort of thing.
(13:49):
We don't have any of thoseanymore and the car is now fully
paid off.
So the only type of like debtyou have is credit cards, and
it's really not even it's notreally debt, because we pay them
off every month.
So, yeah, it's very interestingto me and I just think that the
(14:11):
age of the credit is thebiggest thing.
Yeah, I don't.
And like, if I had a card thatwas that old, I could add you as
an authorized user and it wouldgive you the same length of
credit.
But I don't, I don't have acredit card that's that old, so
I don't know.
The whole thing is very strangeto me, but okay.
(14:31):
So let me tell you the eightcards that I have opened have I
have I don't know where thatcame from.
Okay, january I opened up aChase Inc Business Unlimited.
Also January, a City AdvantageBusiness World Elite MasterCard.
February I opened up a ChaseInc Business Preferred and I
(14:53):
also opened a Chase UnitedBusiness.
There was an elevated offer onthe United Business, so that's
why I got that one.
And then, also in February, anAmerican Express Blue Business
Plus.
American Express was targetingme for the Blue Business Plus.
It was not a great offer, but Iknew that we could meet the
minimum spend in one swipebecause of our shower remodel,
(15:17):
so I did that.
It was only 25,000 membershiprewards points plus.
You know the amount for thespend, so we got around 30 MR
points for that.
In April I then opened up asecond City Advantage Business
World Elite Mastercard.
(15:37):
This was because I wasattempting to do what's called
the AA double dip.
I don't think it's going towork.
I got the points for the firstcard.
I just met the minimum spend onthe second one and the
statement is actually going toclose tomorrow, but I do not
(15:59):
think the points are going topost, based on what I've been
seeing from other people.
So potentially that was awasted $5,000 in spend, which is
a bummer, but it's a businesscard, so at least it doesn't
count towards 524.
So, and then also in April, endof April, I was able to get
(16:21):
approved for the Amex HiltonAspire card.
I was trying to get this cardfor months and like at least six
months, and I kept getting thepop-up.
I really wanted it.
Um, because there was anelevated offer.
I have this card right yes, youhave this card too, and it it
has a hefty annual fee, but youget a Hilton free night
(16:43):
certificate which can be used atany Hilton like worldwide, and
so I really wanted it too,because then we'll have two and
I wasn't able to get it for thelongest time.
And then, finally, amex let meout of pop-up jail and I was
able to get approved, so we areabout to meet the minimum spend
(17:05):
on that card.
I think we have less than athousand dollars to go um, so
that that is seven, I think.
Right, one, two, three, four,five, six, seven.
Yep, that's the seventh, andthen the eighth one is the Amex
business platinum, which Ialready have one of, and I
continually get targeted offersin the mail for this card.
(17:29):
I know people talk about beingon like the Amex gravy train
where they continually send youoffers, and I just kind of
assumed that was never going tohappen for us because we don't
put a ton of spend on our Amexcards.
However, maybe a month ago Igot an offer for 175,000 points
for 20k in spend.
(17:49):
I tried to apply for that oneand basically got like a offer,
not valid, kind of thing.
So I thought, okay, like thisis just the marketing department
sending these mailers, notrealizing that I already have
the card.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
So you have two of the exact same card?
Yes, correct.
I don't even know how that'spossible.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Well, I mean it is possible.
There are some people that havelike seven of this particular
card um so strange to me.
I would think american expresswould have like a red flag pop
up somewhere well, they havewhat's called no lifetime
language offers, because thetraditional offer says like you
(18:34):
cannot earn a welcome offer onthis if you've had it in the
last.
It says in your lifetime, but Ithink seven years is roughly
the actual time they consider tobe a lifetime, but there are no
lifetime language offers.
That float around sometimes andthen you can get the card again
, as long as it doesn't havethat specific line in the offer.
(18:59):
Does that make sense?
Yeah, so I got a second mailerfor 150,000 points for 20K
minimum spend.
This isn't the best offer.
Like there's a 250K offer outthere for 20K in spend.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
That's much better how do we get that?
Speaker 1 (19:19):
well, again, this is amx kind of deciding like what
you're worth to them.
And I applied for this,thinking I probably wasn't going
to get approved.
But I did get approved and like, only kind of after, the fact
(19:40):
was like, well, like now we haveto meet this 20k minimum spend
and I don't quite know how we'regoing to do that.
It also didn't like normally,when you apply for an Amex card,
it'll give you like the like.
It'll say like yeah, you'reapproved, like do you want to
accept this card?
It didn't do that, it just waslike congratulations, like your
(20:02):
card is on the way, and I waskind of like, oh, okay, like all
right, we're doing it now.
So I do have a plan for howwe're going to meet the minimum
spend, but first maybe youshould tell everyone how you
wanted to meet it.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
It's simple.
I was just going to go to theBass Pro Shop and buy two jet
skis and call it a day,something my parents would have
done.
Yeah, we're not Side note.
Growing up, I remember wheneverI saw an American Express car
I'm pretty sure back then it wasonly the gold one.
I mean, maybe I don't know that, but every time someone pulled
(20:40):
that out I thought, damn, theygot money and now we have 10.
And it's like, oh, oh, that'sfunny.
But yeah, two jet skis.
We live by some lakes,different lakes to choose from
as well.
Yeah so reach out to us and youknow.
(21:02):
If it's a good idea to buy twojet skis, let us know.
And you know the consensus iswe should get two jet skis and
you know, maybe we'll get twojet skis.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Oh my God, we're not buying any jet skis, okay, maybe
just one Blessed be, no jeskies.
okay, let's maybe just one letno blessed be no, um, no.
So here's my plan to meet thisminimum spend.
We have three months and I I'mgonna do some buying groups.
(21:31):
We don't talk about buyinggroups very much because they're
definitely not a beginnerfriendly thing and there is some
risk involved.
But I will kind of go into moredetail, I guess, because that's
the only way we're going tomeet this minimum spend.
We do have some child care wehave to pay for for our youngest
(21:55):
that we haven't paid for yet,some childcare we have to pay
for for our youngest that wehaven't paid for yet.
So that'll, I don't know, be acouple thousand dollars probably
.
I'm going to prepay our HOA forthe next year and a half-ish.
We need a new gate.
I'm going to.
(22:23):
We have to, um, have our pooldrained and like cleaned and a
light repaired, so, uh, that'sgoing to cost another roughly
thousand dollars.
Um and like, obviously we'll do.
We, you know, we have avacation coming up in a few
weeks.
We'll use the card wherever wecan for that, like gas and stuff
like that, cause it's a roadtrip and we actually have two
vacations in the timeframe thatwe have to meet the minimum
(22:43):
spend, so we'll definitely usesome money for that.
And then, beyond that, the restof the spend is going to be
buying groups.
And so, if you're not familiarwith buying groups, essentially
buying groups leverage, like the, the power of the people.
(23:04):
That sounds, that soundsridiculous.
Okay, so a buying group is likeyou go on a website and this
buying group can be like okay,we want this very specific iPad
with this item number and wewill pay you $100 for it.
And then it'll say, like, youcan buy this iPad from, let's
say, amazon for $100.
So basically, you buy the iPad,you ship it directly to them.
(23:29):
Most buying groups are locatedin states where there's no sales
tax, and so you basically haveto add the address for the
buying group into, like yourAmazon account, and you ship it
directly to them.
So you never see the productand then you just kind of log
okay, this is my order number,this is my tracking number, and
(23:49):
then when it gets delivered,they pay you for it.
Sometimes there is a delay inthem paying you, and so you have
to make sure that you canafford to pay the credit card
bill even if they haven't paidyou yet, and every buying group
is a little bit different.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
It seems sketchy to me.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
I know, and that's why it's not talked about super
often this is calledmanufactured spend, basically
like making up spend that youwouldn't normally do, and if you
have like credit card affiliatelinks, which we do not have,
you're not really supposed tolike talk about stuff like that.
(24:30):
It's technically against termsand conditions, I believe.
So we don't have credit cardaffiliate links at this point.
I am not opposed to them downthe road.
I would actually love to havethose, but we're just not there
yet, and so we but the brightside is, we can talk about stuff
like this.
But yes, it does seem sketchyand there's a lot of different
(24:53):
buying groups out there.
Frequent Miler has a very goodin depth article about it.
If you just Google it, you'll.
I'm sure you'll find it.
The one that I like the best isbuy.
For me, retail.
I find it the easiest to useand I pretty much can only send
offers through Amazon andoccasionally Costco.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
I love Costco.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
Okay, you just have to be super careful because you
don't want to do too much oryour accounts can get shut down.
We order a ton of stuff offAmazon regularly so I you know,
knock on wood haven't had anyissues doing a good amount
(25:36):
through Amazon.
The thing you have to becareful of is especially with
buy for me retail.
A lot of them have below retaildeals.
So that would be like okay,we're going to pay you $100 for
this exact blue iPad, but Amazonis selling it for 105.
Right, so they want you to buyit for 105.
And they'll give you $100 forit.
(25:58):
So that's not the best deal.
Right Like you don't really wantto come out of pocket Sometimes
.
If there is a deal where it'slike oh, maybe you're going to
make $1 per item, right Like youmake a profit If I can do five
of those plus the iPad and comeout even.
That's kind of how I thinkabout it.
(26:18):
You know what I mean.
So I'm not losing money by anymeans, but I'm not profiting.
I don't need to profit becausemy profit is the credit card
points.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
With those buying groups.
Can you buy multiple iPads oris it just one?
Speaker 1 (26:33):
So you can buy, like usually two or three max.
And it's because amazon setsselling limits on sale items and
that's why the buying groupshave to kind of go about it this
way is because they can't justgo to amazon themselves and be
like we want to buy 5 000 ofthese ipads at this price,
because amazon is like no, youcan buy two like where are these
(26:57):
iPads going To?
Speaker 3 (26:58):
some like family that lives in wherever and they sell
it for double the amount.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
I have no idea how or where they sell it, but you
ship it directly to theirwarehouse and it gets like
received by someone and theykind of mark down the tracking
number Again buy.
For me, retail is the one I'vehad the most success with and
the least amount of issues.
(27:26):
There was a different buyinggroup that I tried.
I want to say it was max outdeals and it was like a limited
release kind of.
I forget some kind of VR thingfrom Apple and like I had
ordered it and then, while itwas being shipped, they lowered
(27:47):
the price that they were goingto pay on it and I thought that
was really really shady.
So I've never done another dealwith them Because I was like
this is ridiculous.
It's like I had already.
Like you go into the websiteand you say like I'm reserving
two of these, right, so like I'mgoing to send you two or
(28:07):
whatever, and like it shows youthe price and whatever, and then
you also add in your, yourorder number, your tracking
number, so they they know, likewhen it's coming.
And I had already done all ofthat and then they were like, oh
, just kidding, for any ordersthat arrive after this date this
is the price.
But it had already been shippedand so it was like okay, well,
fortunately that was one wherethey were offering a profit and
(28:31):
the price that they changed tookaway the profit, but it didn't
like we weren't out any money,so that was the only saving
grace there.
But I thought like, what if it?
What if it hadn't been that way?
You know, it just all seems alittle.
So, yeah, so again, proceed atyour own risk.
Everyone is going to have adifferent risk tolerance that
they're comfortable with, andonly you can figure out what
(28:54):
that is for you.
But I just wanted to be supertransparent that the only way
we're going to meet this minimumspend is by doing this, and so
yes, or again vote.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
Or buy jet skis Jet skis, would love to hear from
you.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
Oh goodness, Should I put up a poll?
Speaker 3 (29:13):
on Instagram.
Tomorrow you should put up apoll.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
I'll put up a poll and we'll see.
Okay, so let's see.
So I've walked through thedifferent cards.
I think one of the key thingsto note is there are three
different banks that I havegotten these cards through.
So there's a few from Chase,there is a couple from Citi and
(29:37):
then a few from Amex.
So I think that's one of thereasons why I was able to get
approved for all eight.
Right, like, obviously, chaseis not going to approve me for
eight cards in a row Same withAmex, same with any bank, really
and the card I opened inDecember was Barclays, so that
(29:57):
would add a fourth if we'relooking at like a six to seven
month window.
So I do think that matters.
Someone asked me on Instagramthe other day, like I was just
denied for a chase card, howsoon can I apply to get a card
from a different bank?
And the answer is immediately.
You don't need to wait if youdidn't get the first card and
(30:21):
it's a different bank or issuer.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
How long would you have to wait for Chase to apply
again?
Speaker 1 (30:28):
At least 30 days is how long it'll take for your
application to expire.
Depending on the reasons fordenial, you may want to wait
longer than that, but minimum of30 days.
So the other thing I brieflywanted to touch on regarding
meeting the minimum spend forthe American Express card that
(30:50):
we just got is, in addition tothe 150,000 American Express
points that we'll get when wemeet the minimum spend, there is
also a $500 statement creditwhen you book at least $2,500 in
airfare, either in the Amexportal or direct with an airline
(31:13):
.
So we are in the midst oftrying to book flights back from
Thailand and, thanks to anInstagram follower, cathay
Pacific was going to be how Ibooked them 38,000 points per
person, one way in economy, fromBangkok to LAX or SFO.
(31:37):
They had a lot of availabilityfor either flying through Hong
Kong, and that was my plan.
The problem is those flights aregoing to cost $1,000 in taxes
and fees for the five of us andagain that's in economy.
So 38,000 points a person, andagain that's in economy.
So 38,000 points a person plus$1,000 in fees total and when I
(32:03):
look up cash prices for theflights, like for the five of us
, it's roughly $2,500 total,without using any points.
Total without using any points.
So we were talking about thislast night Cause I'm like it
might make more sense to justpay cash again, utilize that
(32:24):
$500 statement credit and savethe points.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
So it would be $2,000 or 2,500 is with the.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
It depends on the flights that we book.
The range is roughly from$2,000 to $3,000.
And the $2,000 is the absolutebasic economy ticket that if you
cancel you don't get any moneyback, kind of a thing.
So I probably wouldn't bookthat.
I would spend a little moremoney to at least earn some
(32:57):
miles and be able to cancel orchange if necessary.
There's still a fee to cancelor change, but I'd rather that
than just be out that moneycompletely.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
Yeah, so use 200, almost 200,000 points and still
pay a thousand dollars.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
So it's like, okay, would I rather just spend $1,500
more, right, and save all thosepoints, because at that point
the cost per point is like onecent.
That is not a good redemption.
It's pretty crappy actually,and especially for American
Express points where I wouldreally like to get two cents per
(33:36):
point at a minimum.
But I mean even just regards tomoney out of pocket, it's not
that much more, in my opinion,if we're already going to spend
$1,000 in taxes.
Like just spend a little bitmore and save the points at this
rate.
So that's what I'm thinking.
And like if you had told me atthe beginning of this year that
(33:59):
we would be paying cash for ourflights to Thailand both ways, I
would have said you're insane.
But I mean I think we're goingto spend roughly a little more
than $4,000.
And like to be fullytransparent, that was the cost
of our lodging in Belize, likejust the lodging.
I mean I guess I had alreadyplanned to spend the money.
(34:21):
I wasn't thrilled about it, butit's the same amount roughly, I
think it's worth it.
And then we I mean I'm just waymore excited about Thailand than
Belize, and again, it's nothingagainst Belize, I.
Just Thailand has been likesince since you and I met and I
came back from Europe I was likeI want to go to Southeast Asia,
(34:43):
like that was where I wanted togo next, but then instead we
had a kid so got postponed a bit.
But Thailand has been superhigh on my list for more than a
decade, so it's worth it to me.
And then we would againposition back from, uh, likely
San Francisco.
So we, we would have to stayovernight, one night on our way
(35:06):
back in San Francisco and thenfly home the following day.
That's just the way the flighttimes line up, but that was
that's for any flight I can find.
So again, I feel fine aboutthat, you know.
Speaker 3 (35:20):
Yeah, I'm all for it.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
So that's likely what we will do and again, it will
help us to meet the minimumspend, obviously by putting that
on the card, but, moreimportantly, it just doesn't
seem to be a good value for ourpoints.
We will use points for thepositioning flights, however, to
and from San Francisco so, andpoints for all the hotels when
(35:45):
we're there.
So, anyways, once that'sofficially booked, we'll do a
whole episode on bookingThailand, because I've learned a
ton.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
So, from all the cards that we've recently
acquired, how many points havewe gained from that?
Speaker 1 (36:01):
So, oh yeah, that's okay, that's fun, okay.
So for, okay, two chase cards.
So I'm just going to do likethe sign up bonus, I'm not going
to do like referral points orlike additional points.
You earn from the minimum spend.
(36:23):
So chase points 165,000 totalultimate rewards.
That's from two cards, thechase Inc unlimited and the
chase Inc business preferred.
The United card was an elevatedoffer and that one was for
100,000 United miles, so 165Chase, 100,000 United.
(36:50):
25,000 American Express pointsfrom the Blue Business, plus the
Aspire card, which we are veryclose to hitting the minimum
spend, will give us 175,000Hilton points plus a free night
certificate.
And then the city a card waselevated, so 75,000 a miles.
On the rare chance that Iearned the second bonus for the
(37:14):
second city that would beanother 75,000.
But again all data points seemto say like that's not going to
happen, so a littledisappointing.
And then the American ExpressPlatinum that we just opened.
Once we meet that minimum spend, it'll be 150,000 Amex points.
So a good diversification thereof a lot of different points.
(37:35):
Currencies right, we've gotsome united miles, of which you
also have some, so I'm planningto combine those for, hopefully,
a national park yellowstonetrip.
Maybe, I don't know when, um,and then a good amount of chase
and amex points which areflexible and plus a a mile super
valuable, and we're stacking upthe hilton points.
We're going to have close to600 000 hilton points plus two
(37:58):
free night certificates when allis said and done.
So, feeling good about that,we're going to use that in
Scotland next year, some ofthose Hilton points.
So more on that to come the way.
Someone is going to ask so theway that I keep track of all of
our cards and whether or notwe've hit the minimum spend is
the Travel Freely app.
(38:19):
If you do not use this app, itis incredibly helpful.
It's the first thing that I doevery single time I open a new
card is I log it in this app.
First and foremost, it tells mewhen my annual fees are coming
due.
It tells me my 524 status,which, if you're curious, I am
424 and Dwayne is 324.
(38:39):
And we will plan to stay likelyboth of us under 524 if
possible.
Dwayne actually cannot open anypersonal cards.
Well, actually, I'm sorry youcould open one personal card,
but that's it until July of 2026.
Because that's when your nextpersonal card falls off.
(39:00):
So you're you're a little bitlimited.
My next one falls off inOctober, so not as bad.
Anyways, the travel freely appif you do not use it, I will put
a link to to it in the shownotes because it is the hands
down, the easiest way to keeptrack of all your cards and when
their annual fees are due, andthen, like, at that point you
(39:22):
can decide should I keep it,should I downgrade it, whatever?
And it also keeps a fun tallythis is my favorite part of like
how many points you've earnedfor the year and so I like to
look at that because I thinkthat is super fun and motivating
.
So, again, put a link to thatin the show notes.
Would highly recommendutilizing that if you are not.
And the best part is it'scompletely free and it doesn't
(39:42):
take any of your like logininformation, so you don't need
to say, like you know, this ismy Chase bank information or
this is my Barclays account.
Like you don't need to do anyof that.
You simply put in the card youopened whatever the bonus points
are for the minimum spend andta-da voila.
So really, really like the app.
(40:05):
I check it all the time and Iuse it.
Like at least once a week.
I'm opening it, so would highlyrecommend.
Um, last thing, I think we justwanted to give you a quick kind
of heads up of what's comingnext as far as trips and stuff
on the horizon for us.
So we have a Yosemite NationalPark trip coming up here in a
(40:28):
few weeks.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Slash Lake.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
Tahoe?
Yes, and we're also going to begoing to Lake Tahoe for a few
days and we are driving, so thatwill be our longest road trip
we've ever done with the kids.
Um, after that we have anotherweek ish in Palm Springs and
Oceanside, california, and thenafter that is our big Japan trip
(40:52):
, which is super exciting.
That's in the fall, and then wehave a Christmas market trip
around Thanksgiving.
Well, we also might go to Cabo.
Oh, yes, duane and I aresupposed to have a couple's trip
to Cabo here coming up in acouple months.
We've already moved it oncebecause we lost our childcare
and it's still a little bit upin the air, so hopefully we
(41:15):
don't have to cancel, but we mayhave to either cancel or
reschedule for a third time.
So TBD on that.
And then we have somestaycations coming up too.
So we're still doing our summerseries.
We've got a few more hotelsbooked over the summer that we
will be reporting back to youabout.
Our next one is the ArizonaGrand, which is actually not a
(41:38):
points property but can bebooked through some portals, and
so we'll talk about that.
But it has like a full waterpark and so super excited and
that's like our kids kind of endof school year little bash
treat.
Yeah that we're.
We're treating them to that.
So lots of fun stuff coming up.
(41:58):
Um, again one more reminder thatif you are potentially
interested in some one-on-onelike consulting sessions to help
you figure out the best use ofyour points and how to book your
points vacation, I am openingup sessions in the next few
weeks and again I will put alink to the waitlist in the show
(42:20):
notes.
If you want to hop on there,you'll get first access and a
discounted price that won't beavailable anywhere else.
So again, link to that is inthe show notes.
If you have any questions,please come find us on Instagram
.
Come vote on my jet ski pollthat I will put up.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
Please vote.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
We're not getting jet skis, but you can vote.
You can vote and let's see.
We'll see.
Okay, hope you have a greatweek.
Speaker 3 (42:48):
Yes, happy Memorial Day.
Thanks for all those thatserved or are serving.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
Yes, we appreciate you very much and we will catch
you on the next episode.
Speaker 3 (42:58):
Yes, thanks for tuning in.
Bye, have a good one.
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