Difference between revisions of "Reciprocal museum programs"

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{{DISPLAYTITLE: Temp: {{Title|Chase 5/24}} (2018)}}
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{{DISPLAYTITLE: Temp {{Title|thankyou}} (2018)}}
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{{seo|description=Optimize your credit card strategy and signup bonuses based on the Chase 5/24 rule.}}
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{{Page|article|Card Strategies|transferable points}}  
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{{Page|article|Card Strategies}}  
 
  
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{{Image|Chase524.jpg|full}}  
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{{Image|ThankYou.jpg|full}}  
  
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Many of the the best travel and reward credit cards come from Chase. Unfortunately, because of something called the "Chase 5/24 rule", you may need to take special steps to get approved for these cards.  
+
Citibank’s reward program is called ThankYou Rewards. [//www.thankyou.com/cms/thankyou ThankYou Rewards homepage].
  
 
<blockquote>
 
<blockquote>
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If you’ve already received 5 or more credit cards, during the previous 24 months, Chase won't approve your credit card application (regardless of your credit score or income).
+
ThankYou Rewards is a valuable credit card program. You can easily earn points from signup bonuses, and then redeem your points to get free tickets from a set of useful frequent flyer program partners. It isn’t as good of a program as Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards, but it is still a program that you are going to want to eventually take advantage of.
 
</blockquote>
 
</blockquote>
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They don’t just count cards you received from Chase. They count all the (personal) cards you’ve received from any credit card company, and even include cards for which you were simply added as an authorized user.
 
  
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If you are following our advice, you are about to start applying for a set of new credit cards—to take advantage of their travel benefits, signup bonuses, and/or reward earning rates. Once you hit the 5 card limit, you won’t be able to be approved for most Chase cards.  
+
ThankYou Rewards is the least valuable of the big three “transferable” points programs, with the weakest set of partner frequent flyer programs, no good options for redemptions other than award tickets, the fewest cards for earning signup bonuses, and the most restrictive rules for holding onto your points when you want to cancel your card.  
  
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<blockquote>
+
Nevertheless, you’ll still get great value by collecting their signup bonuses, and using your points for free airplane tickets. Even if you don’t want to mess with finding awards space, you can still use your points, at 1-1.25 cents each, to purchase travel through Citibank’s website. So a 50,000 point signup bonus is still worth at least $500-625, and often considerably more.  
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As a result, we recommend that everyone sign up for these Chase cards first, and only after hitting the limit, continue on to other cards.  
 
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</blockquote>
 
  
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The 5/24 rule doesn’t affect every Chase card. However, it affects most of their more attractive cards, specifically all their Ultimate Rewards cards (Sapphire, Freedom, Ink) and all of their airline and hotel cards. It doesn't affect a few of their other co-branded cards like the Amazon, Disney, Starbucks, and AARP card.  
+
Many people will wind up earning ThankYou points as a side benefit of getting the Citi Prestige card for its one-of-a-kind {{Link|4th night free|4<sup>th</sup> night free benefit}}, or as part of collecting the most valuable credit card signup offers. Starting in January 2019, many people will want to take advantage of the Citi Prestige's new 5x reward rate on all of their their airfare and restaurant spending.
  
 
{{TOC}}
 
{{TOC}}
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*[[#Prioritize getting any important Chase cards|Prioritize getting any important Chase cards]]
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*[[#Airline transfer partners|Airline transfer partners]]
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*[[#Expand your options with business cards|Expand your options with business cards]]
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*[[#Hotel transfer partners|Hotel transfer partners]]
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*[[#Use any remaining slots to collect signup bonuses|Use any remaining slots to collect signup bonuses]]
+
*[[#Cashing out your points|Cashing out your points]]
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*[[#Strategies to continue qualifying for the Southwest Companion Pass|Strategies to continue qualifying for the Southwest Companion Pass]]
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*[[#ThankYou Reward credit cards|ThankYou Reward credit cards]]
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*[[#Possibilities for bypassing the rule|Possibilities for bypassing the rule]]
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*[[#Collecting multiple signup bonuses|Collecting multiple signup bonuses]]
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*[[#Getting under Chase 5/24 again|Getting under Chase 5/24 again]]
+
*[[#Bonus category opportunities|Bonus category opportunities]]
 +
*[[#Point transfers and expiration|Point transfers and expiration]]
 +
*[[#Advantages of Citibank banking relationships|Advantages of Citibank banking relationships]]
 
{{/TOC}}
 
{{/TOC}}
  
 
{{Main|article}}
 
{{Main|article}}
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=== Prioritize getting any important Chase cards ===
+
=== Airline transfer partners ===
  
−
The number of new credit cards you've gotten in the past two years determines how many "slots" you still have left. For example, if you have received 2 new cards in the past 24 months, you'll have 3 slots left.
+
'''Points usually take 1-2 days to transfer to partners'''. However, points transfer instantly to Flying Blue and JetBlue, and transfers can take longer with Etihad and Thai.  
  
−
If you really want any of these cards you are going to need to get them, before you hit the 5 card limit. Even if you don't decide to go crazy collecting signup bonuses, there is a good chance that you'll wind up hitting the 5/24 limit, just be adding some useful cards to your core credit card collection. Once you do, it may be a few years before you will be able to get any more of the affected Chase cards. If you are planning on collecting signup bonuses, it could be a much longer time are under 5/24.
+
'''Citibank occasionally run promotions where you’ll get a better-than-normal rate for transferring your points to a specific partner program during the promotional period'''.  {{Link|Transfer Bonuses}}.
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+
−
Depending on your circumstances, you may not be able to get them all. You'll need to prioritize your choices or potentially wait for some additional time to elapse before signing up for other cards.
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{{Table|center|6in}}
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!style="width: 25%;"|Star Alliance<br/>(United)
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There are also a few potentially important cards from other banks, where you are unlikely to get approved if you've signed up for too many other cards. Even though these cards will take up one of your available slots, if it is important to you, you'll need to get it early.
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!style="width: 25%;"|SkyTeam<br/>(Delta)
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!style="width: 25%;"|Oneworld<br/>(American)
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{{List|card}}
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!style="width: 25%;"|Other
 +
|-
 +
|'''Singapore''' (KrisFlyer)
 +
|'''Air France / KLM''' (Flying Blue)
 +
|'''Cathay Pacific''' (Asia Miles)
 +
|'''Jet Blue'''
 +
|-
 +
|'''Turkish Airlines'''<br/>&nbsp;
 +
|'''Garuda Indonesia'''
 +
|'''Qantas'''
 +
|'''Etihad'''
 +
|-
 +
|'''Avianca'''
 +
|''' '''
 +
|'''Malaysia'''
 +
|'''Virgin Atlantic'''
 +
|-
 +
|'''EVA Air'''<br/>&nbsp;
 +
|''' '''
 +
|''' '''
 +
|'''Jet Airways''' (India)
 +
|-
 +
|'''Thai'''
 +
|''' '''
 +
|''' '''
 +
|'''Qatar'''<br/>&nbsp;
 +
{{/Table}}
  
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{{CardItem|SWAPriority}}
+
Singapore, Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific, and Avianca are good frequent flyer programs, but they also are partners with other credit card programs.  Unlike Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards, ThankYou rewards doesn’t have a partner that helps avoid fuel surcharges on Star Alliance or SkyTeam airlines, and doesn’t partner with any of the big US airlines. 
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'''If you want to get the Southwest Companion Pass, your top priority is usually to get a Southwest Airlines card.'''. If you frequently fly Southwest, the Southwest Companion Pass is one of the most lucrative deals in travel hacking. It provides 2 for 1 paid and award tickets on Southwest Airlines, and can be used an unlimited number of times, for up to two years. {Link|Companion Pass}}.
 
  
−
If you want to earn enough Southwest points to qualify, you really want to take advantage of the 40-60,000 point bonus you can receive by signing up for a new Southwest Airlines card.  
+
JetBlue operates a fixed-value points program, so you can get around 1.3 - 1.5 cents per point, purchasing any tickets, without having to worry about award availability.  
  
−
Because you can only collect a signup bonus for one of their personal cards, every two years, we recommend getting the Priority version of the card  (unless one of the other cards currently has a higher signup bonus). The Priority cards's $75 travel credit and larger number of anniversary bonus miles more than make up for its higher annual fee. And you'll get some additional ongoing benefits for your future Southwest Airlines flights.  
+
Turkish Airlines offers some interesting award opportunities, but the ThankYou program’s other unique transfer partners are generally not particularly useful.  
  
−
{{CardItem|United}}
+
Remember that you can use miles from any of these programs to book awards with any of that program’s partner airlines. So, you can transfer your ThankYou points to Singapore Airlines, and then use the Singapore miles to fly United, any of the two dozen or so other airlines that are part of the Star Alliance, or any other of Singapore Airline’s airline partners. With all the partnerships, you can redeem your ThankYou points for flights in over 100 airlines.
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'''If you frequently fly United, you’ll want to make sure to get the United card, to get access to free checked bags and other benefits'''. You can potentially save some serious cash by getting and keeping the United credit card—it lets you and a companion avoid the fee on your first checked bag.  It is also useful for people who frequently fly United, because cardholders get increased availability for both “anytime” and “saver” award redemptions.  
 
  
−
{{CardItem|FreedomUnlimited}}
+
=== Hotel transfer partners ===
−
'''Many people will want to get the Sapphire Reserve and Freedom Unlimited cards, to earn the highest reward rates on much of their spending'''. These cards work together to earn the best rewards for your travel and restaurant spending, and for any spending that doesn’t fit into a bonus category. [[Chase Unlimited Combo|Upgrade to the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Sapphire Reserve Card]].
 
  
−
The Chase Unlimited combo normally take TWO slots, one for each card. The Unlimited card's reward rate is not very interesting unless you have the Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Preferred card, so that you can transfer your Ultimate Reward points to their travel partners (or use them at more than 1 cent each to purchase travel). And none of the other cards earn more than 1x points on everyday purchases.  
+
'''The typical value that you can get from many types of hotel points is well under 1 cent per point'''. It will rarely make sense to transfer your points to a hotel partner.  
  
−
{{CardItem|SapphireReserve}}
+
{{Table|center|6in}}
−
'''And as a side benefit, the Sapphire Reserve provides a number of valuable travel benefits like airport lounge access and primary rental car insurance'''. We highly recommend this combination of cards for most travelers. While this is usually our approach, some people may want to take an alternative strategy. If so, getting the Sapphire Reserve and Freedom Unlimited cards is not that critical. {{Link|advanced everyday}}.
+
|style="width: 25%;"|'''Hilton''' (1000:1500)
 +
|style="width: 25%;"|''' '''
 +
|style="width: 25%;"|''' '''
 +
|style="width: 25%;"|''' '''
 +
{{/Table}}
  
−
{{CardItem|Altitude}}
+
=== Cashing out your points ===
−
'''Bank of America's Altitude Reserve card is a lucrative card for anyone who wants to optimize their rewards for credit card spending, and is hard to get approved for once you start signing up for a bunch of credit cards'''. It earns 4.5% back on any purchase you make with digital wallets, like Apple Pay. This allows you to earn extra rewards at any brick and mortar or online business that supports mobile wallets. And with Samsung Pay, you can earn 4.5% at any location where you swipe your credit card. To get this card, you'll need an account at U.S. Bank. Even then, it is hard to get approved, if you have too many recent inquiries or credit card accounts.
 
  
−
As a result, if you want to be sure to get this card, get it early, even though it will effectively take up one of your Chase 5/24 slots.  
+
'''If you don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer tickets, your best option is to purchase travel through the Citi Travel Center'''. As of now, if you have the Citi Prestige or Premier cards, you'll get 1.25 cents per point. In September 2019, the rate for the Prestige card will drop to 1 cent point. It is unclear whether the rate will drop for the Premier version as well. If it doesn't, and you have both cards, you can transfer your Prestige points to your Premier account and take advantage of the higher rate.  
  
−
{{CardItem|Hyatt}}
+
While we wouldn’t recommend booking hotels this way, you can easily redeem your points by paying for airfare, car rentals, or cruises.  
−
'''If you stay at Hyatt on a semi-frequent basis, the Hyatt card's ability to earn additional elite night credits can make it indispensable'''. You'll earn 5 qualifying nights just by having the card, plus 2 additional qualifying nights for every $5,000 you spend. If this may help you get to a higher status level this year, or in some future year, you'll want to make sure to get the card, while you still can.  
 
  
−
'''Many other travelers may still want the card for its other ongoing benefits'''. If you've got room for one more card, you might want to get the Hyatt card, rather than just choosing a card with the highest possible signup bonus. You'll get a valuable free night certificate you get each year you have the card, the ability to get a second certificate, if you spend at least $15,000, and at least some extra status benefits of Hyatt.
+
{{Image|CitiPortal.jpg}}
  
−
{{CardItem|Freedom}}
+
'''Alternatively, you could use your points for JetBlue tickets'''. JetBlue operates a fixed-value reward program, where you'll can use your points, at a value of around 1.3 - 1.5 cents each, to purchase any of their tickets, without worrying about award availability.
−
'''The Chase “Freedom” card is interesting, but you are probably better off prioritizing other cards instead'''. The “Freedom” card is a different card than the “Freedom Unlimited”. It earns 5x points on purchases made in a set of categories that change every quarter. This is an incredible reward rate, since the points are worth around {{Value|ur}} cents each. These rewards, however, are capped at $1,500 of spending per quarter, so you can only earn up to an 30,000 bonus category points per year (or 21,000 points on top of the Unlimited Combo's base earning rate). It can take a bit of effort to use this card effectively, so be sure you are willing to take the time to follow this approach, before prioritizing this card too highly, especially because the signup bonus is so low. {{Link|Rotating Category}}.
 
−
{{/List|card}}
 
  
−
'''Any personal card you get, before you hit the limit, blocks your ability to get one of the affected Chase cards'''. If you sign up for a card from another bank, you'll have one less slot available for getting a Chase card. Because Chase has so many good cards affected by the rule, you'll miss out on getting a card with a lucrative signup bonus, and/or with valuable travel or reward benefits.
+
=== ThankYou Reward credit cards ===
  
−
If you really don't want to wait to take advantage of a particular credit card's benefits, you can consider getting it before you hit the Chase, rather than waiting until after. For example, even though it "wastes" a slot, you may want to get the Citi Prestige card (for its valuable 4th night free benefit), the Alaska Airlines card (for its companion certificate and checked bag benefit), or the Hilton Aspire card (for its free night certificate), so you can take advantage of their benefits for an upcoming trip; or you may want to take advantage of a particularly good promotional signup offer, while it is still available.
+
Promotional signup offers are sometimes available that are higher than the typical signup bonuses shown below.  
  
−
{{Box|Timing Your Applications}}
+
{{Table|basic|6in}}
−
'''You can't apply for all these cards at the same time'''. Chase limits you to a maximum of two new credit cards every month, but we wouldn't recommend getting more than one card per month or two. The faster you expand the amount of your credit with Chase, the more nervous Chase might get that you are going to become a credit risk. If you don't spend enough to quickly meet the minimum spending requirements to earn the signup bonuses, you'll need to slow down even more. You never want to miss qualifying for the bonus. {{Link|initial spend}}.
+
!Card
 +
!style="width: 1in;"|Typical Signup Bonus
 +
!style="width: 2.5in;"|Bonus Categories
 +
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
 +
|-
 +
|{{Card|CitiPrestige|short}}
  
−
'''Once you've determined which cards you have room for, you can apply for them in whichever order is most convenient'''. For example, the Southwest Priority card may be your most important card, but you may want to wait until the end of the year to get it. So, you might get the Freedom Unlimited card first, to start earning a better reward rate on your everyday purchases. Or, if you have an upcoming trip on United Airlines, you might want to get the United card quickly, to take advantage of its free baggage benefit.
+
(no longer available for new signups)
 +
|30-50,000
 +
|3x hotel and air travel
  
−
If you are planning to use one of your slots on the Altitude Reserve, you should get it as quickly as possible, to increase your odds of approval. Make sure to check out the Altitude Reserve guide, as their are some other steps you may need to take.
+
2x dining and entertainment
−
{{/Box}}
+
|$100-200
 +
|-
 +
|{{Card|CitiPrestige|short}}
  
−
=== Expand your options with business cards ===
+
(Starting in 2019)
 +
|???
 +
|5x airfare and restaurants
  
−
Business credit cards help you partially get around the Chase 5/24 rule.
+
3x hotels and cruises
 +
|$100-$250
 +
|-
 +
|{{Card|CitiPremier|short}}
 +
|30-50,000
 +
|3x all travel
  
−
<ul class="bulletlist">
+
3x gas, parking, public transportation
−
<li>'''You can get as many small business credit cards as you want, without taking up any of your Chase 5/24 slots'''. Of all the major banks, only Capital One will add your business cards to your personal credit report. Because they aren't listed, they aren't counted against the 5 card limit.</li>
 
  
−
<li>'''Most people are eligible to get small business cards'''. If you have kind of small business, even a side business that is not incorporated (like selling stuff online, doing odd jobs, working on a book or website. etc.), you can get small business cards. In most cases, you don't even need to have made any money yet. You just need to apply with your social security number and specify your business income. {{Link|Business Cards}}.</li>
+
2x dining and entertainment
 +
|$95, waived first year
 +
|-
 +
|AT&T Access More
 +
|Only available on conversion,
 +
|3x online retail and travel purchases
  
−
<li>'''If you are aiming for the Southwest Companion Pass, you'll definitely want to get the Southwest business card'''. You can earn a typical signup bonus of 60,000 points, independently of the bonus you can earn from one of their personal cards. Simply by signing up for a personal and a business version, and meeting the spending requirement, you will have enough points (or nearly enough) to qualify for the pass, as well as pay for over $3,000 in tickets.</li>
+
3x AT&T
 +
|$95
 +
|-
 +
|{{Card|ATT|short}}
 +
|10,000
 +
|2x online retail and travel purchases
  
−
<li>'''Getting the Ink Unlimited card instead of the Freedom Unlimited card saves a slot, and earns you a more valuable bonus'''. Chase's Ink Unlimited earns the same 1.5x Ultimate Reward points per dollar as the Freedom Unlimited card and doesn't have an annual fee. But unlike the Freedom Unlimited, it doesn't take up one of your Chase 5/24 slots. Even better, you can earn a signup bonus of 50,000 points ($4,000 minimum spend), rather than 15,000 points ($500 minimum spend).</li>
+
2x AT&T
 +
|$0
 +
|-
 +
|{{Card|CitiPreferred|short}}
 +
|10-30,000
 +
|2x dining and entertainment
 +
|$0
 +
{{/Table}}
  
−
{{Card|InkUnlimited|guide}}
+
The points you earn from the Citi Preferred and the AT&T cards can’t normally be transferred to frequent flyer programs. However, if you have the Citi Prestige or Premier cards, you can temporarily transfer your points to the account associated with that card, and then onto one of the airline partners.
  
−
<li>'''If you want the United card, you can save a slot by getting the business version instead of the personal version'''. It provides all the important benefits as the personal card (as well as a few additional benefits that probably don't add much additional value). But, it allows you to use up your slot on an additional Chase card, like the Hyatt card or one of the Avios cards.</li>
+
Because you can receive the Citi Prestige’s travel credit every calendar year, it is possible to receive up to $500 in airfare credits during the first year you have the card, which covers the $450 annual fee.
  
−
<li>'''It is always valuable to save your slots by getting the business version of a card'''. Even if you have enough slots to get the cards that are most important to you, you can choose to use any remaining slots to collect lucrative signup bonuses from some of the other Chase cards.</li>
+
=== Collecting multiple signup bonuses ===
−
 
 
−
<li>'''If there is a business version available, you don't have to wait to start taking advantage of useful credit card benefits from other banks'''. Rather than waiting until after you've hit the Chase 5/24 limit to start getting credit cards from other banks, you can get business cards at any time. For example, you could get the business version of the Alaska Airlines credit card to start getting free bags and a companion certificate, or the business version of the SPG credit card to start getting Marriott elite night credits and free night certificates, without using up any of your slots, or waiting until you are done applying for the Chase cards you need.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''You need to get any Chase business cards BEFORE you hit the 5/24 limit'''. The way that Chase handles their own small business cards is confusing. Any business cards you get don't "count" as part of the total number of cards you've gotten in the last 24 months. So, if you've already gotten three cards, and you get two small business cards, your count will still be 3. But, once you've hit the 5/24 limit, you won't be able to get approved for any Chase business cards. For example, even though the United Business Explorer and Chase Ink Preferred card don't count against the limit, as soon as you hit the limit, you won't be able to get them.</li>
 
−
</ul>
 
−
 
 
−
{{Box|Getting the Ink Cards Before it is Too Late}}
 
−
At this point, you might not be particularly interested in the {{Card|InkPreferred|only}} and {{Card|InkCash|only}}. They don't have any special travel benefits, and you should be able to earn 3x Ultimate Reward points on travel spending with your Sapphire Reserve card.
 
−
 
 
−
{{Card|InkCash|guide}}
 
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−
What they do offer is high reward rates on a variety of small business categories. Unless you have a more substantial business, there is a good chance you wouldn't naturally spend enough money in these bonus categories to make the cards worthwhile. But, as you get more sophisticated, there is a good chance that you wish you had at least one of these cards.
 
−
 
 
−
Unfortunately, if you don't get them now, while you are still under 5/24, there is a good chance you can't get them later. Our advice is to try to signup for both cards now, collect the lucrative signup bonuses (a total of 130,000 Ultimate Reward points, valued at ${{Value|UR|130000}}), and keep at least the Ink Cash card (which has no annual fee) after the first year. If you apply separately with an EIN and a SSN, you may even be able to get two copies of each card, and collect double the signup points.
 
−
 
 
−
Because Chase sometimes restricts the number of Ink cards you can receive, the order you apply is important. Apply for the Ink Preferred card first. It has the most valuable signup bonus and can be converted into either of the other cards after the first year. Then get the Ink Unlimited. Finally, get the Ink Cash.
 
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{{/Box}}
 
−
 
 
−
=== Use any remaining slots to collect signup bonuses ===
 
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
−
<li>'''If you are willing and able to use business cards, you can collect bonuses from  every Chase business card'''. As mentioned above, you just need to sign up before you hit the 5/24 limit. You might have already decided to get the Ink Unlimited, United Business Explorer, and/or Southwest Business Premier cards; and if you are following our recommendations, you should be planning to get at least one of the Ink Preferred and Ink Cash cards. That leaves the Marriott Business card as the remaining option, plus any of the cards mentioned above that you weren't already planning to get.</li>
 
−
 
−
<li>'''If you have any remaining personal slots, you can use them to collect signup bonuses'''.</li>
 
−
 
−
{{List|Card}}
 
−
{{CardItem|SapphirePreferred}}
 
−
'''If you aren't already planning on getting a Sapphire card, it is usually the best option'''. If you are already getting the Sapphire Reserve, you can't also earn a bonus on the Sapphire Preferred. Chase only allows earning the bonus on one Sapphire card every two year. But, if you aren't planning on getting the Sapphire Reserve, sign up for the Sapphire Preferred to earn its 50,000 Ultimate Reward point bonus. The annual fee is waived the first year.
 
−
 
−
{{CardItem|Hyatt}}
 
−
'''If you want to focus on points that are easy to use, get the Hyatt and/or a Southwest Airlines card next'''. It is easy to redeem your points with both programs, and both cards provide other useful benefits. As mentioned above, you can only receive the bonus on one of the personal Southwest Airlines cards every two years.
 
−
 
−
{{CardItem|Iberia}}
 
−
'''If you can generate a lot of credit card spending, and the promotional offers are still available, you may want to get one or more of the Avios cards'''. Signup bonuses on the British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus cards can be up to 100,000 points. You'll get 50,000 points if you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months, an additional 25,000 points if you spend $10,000 in your first year, and another 25,000 points if you can spend $20,000. 
 
−
 
−
Since you can transfer points between these three programs, it doesn't matter very much which of the three cards you get. However, they all offer different companion certificates, so read the guide to determine which card works best for you.
 
  
−
{{CardItem|United}}
+
<li>'''These cards don't always offer signup bonuses'''. Sometimes they have bonuses in the 50,000 point range, sometimes they don't. With the possible exception of the prioritizing the Citi Prestige card to start taking advantage of the 4<sup>th</sup> night free benefit, you should wait to get started until you can get a nice bonus.</li>
−
'''Otherwise the United Explorer is a good option''', typically offering 40,000 United miles.  
 
  
−
{{CardItem|Marriott}}
+
<li>'''You need to spread out your applications'''. With Citibank, you can only earn a signup bonus, if you haven’t opened or closed a card from the same family in the past 24 months. So, if you get the Prestige, Premier or Preferred cards, you’ll need to wait 24 months before you can get a signup bonus for another one of these cards. The AT&T Access card is considered a separate category, so getting this card doesn’t affect the bonuses from the other cards.</li>
−
'''Don't bother with the Marriott card'''. Since you can't get both the Marriott card and the SPG card, and the SPG card has a similar bonus, it is better to use your Chase slot for another card, and get the SPG card from Amex if you want the Marriott points.  
 
  
−
{{/List|Card}} 
+
<li>'''If you want to hold onto the Citi Prestige card, you can’t periodically cancel and re-apply'''. You may want to hold onto the Citi Prestige card for its 4<sup>th</sup> night free and airport lounge benefits, and its high reward rates on travel, dining, and entertainment purchases. If so, there is no good way to repeatedly receive the signup bonus. If you cancel the card, you’ll need to wait two full years before you can get it again.</li>
  
−
<li>'''There is some risk of getting too many Chase cards'''. Each time you apply, Chase reevaluates your entire relationship. If they decide that you are a potential risk, they can shut down all your accounts. Some people can get them reinstated, and some can't. Unfortunately, there isn't really a clearly identifiable pattern, so there are no hard and fast rules to follow. We wouldn't get more than a total of 8 Chase cards, including small business cards. This won't guarantee that you avoid a shutdown, but seems like a reasonable trade-off between risk and reward.</li>  
+
<li>'''If you are only interested in collecting a signup bonus for one of these cards, you can’t just cancel at the end of the first year'''. Normally, you’d want to cancel the card to avoid paying an additional annual fee. However, if you cancel the card, you’ll reset the 24-month clock for another card.</li>
  
−
It is also worthwhile to start reducing the credit limits on your existing Chase cards, before you apply for more.  
+
<li>'''You can collect a bonus (on the Citi Premier or Prestige card) every two years'''. If you want to make the Citi Prestige card part of your core credit card collection, get it first. Two years later, get the Premier Card. Then just before the annual fee is due, downgrade the Premier card to the Preferred version. About a year later, you can apply for the Premier card again, and cancel your Preferred card. If you don’t care about holding onto the Citi Prestige card, you can do the same thing, but sign up for whichever card has the higher signup bonus each time. </li>
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
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=== Bonus category opportunities ===
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The Barclays Arrival Plus offers a signup bonus of at least 50,000 points, worth 1 cent each towards almost any travel purchase. It is usually only available to people who are under a 6 cards in 24 month limit. So, if you are collecting signup bonuses (or collecting cards with 2% cashback rates), a good time to get it is just after you use up your last Chase 5/24 slot.
 
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=== Strategies to continue qualifying for the Southwest Companion Pass ===
 
−
 
 
−
If you qualify for a Southwest companion pass, by earning your signup bonuses towards the beginning of the year, you will have access to the pass for almost two years (the pass is good until the end of the year following when you qualify for it).
 
−
 
 
−
When the pass expires, most people will to want to re-qualify for it. But to do that, you’ll need to be under the Chase 5/24 limit, so that you can reapply for the cards.
 
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
−
<li>'''The simplest approach is to have one person stick to a smaller number of cards'''. Every two years, they are eligible for a total of 5 personal cards. As long as you sign up for the Southwest Business card first, you can get the Southwest personal card, as well as four other personal cards during every each two year period. The other person doesn’t have to worry about the signup limit, and can sign up for as many cards as they want.  </li>
+
<li>'''The Citi Prestige and Premier cards have nearly the same bonus categories'''. Interestingly, the less-expensive Premier card offers an extended range in the travel category, including various transportation options, and even gas and parking. Nevertheless, it probably doesn’t make sense to keep both cards. There are better ways to spend another $95 (or more) per year. If you can take advantage of the 4<sup>th</sup> night free benefit and/or you need the airport lounge membership, most people would prefer the Prestige card. Otherwise, you might as well earn bonus rewards from a broader range of purchases, and pay a lower fee, for the Premier card.</li>  
  
−
<li>'''The skip-a-year method'''. Under this approach, you get all the credit cards which are most important to you, including the Southwest Airlines cards, during the first year. That way, you can be sure to get all the cards you want for your core credit card collection, and collect all the best signup offers. Then, you stop signing up for new credit cards. A year later, your Southwest pass will expire, but you won’t be able to immediately re-qualify. Then, about two years after you finished your initial burst of signup activity, you’ll back under the limit, and will be able to apply for the Southwest Airlines cards again. Depending on how quickly you acquired the other cards you want, you may only need to live without the pass for 12-18 months.</li>
+
<li>'''The AT&T Access card is a nice addition, which can earn bonus reward points on almost anything you buy online'''. The older annual-fee-based AT&T Access More card earns even higher rates, so it is usually worth getting the regular version, and then calling to “convert” it to the Access More version.  </li>
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
−
=== Possibilities for bypassing the rule ===
+
=== Point transfers and expiration ===
  
−
While is almost impossible to get approved for the affected cards, if you are over the 5/24 limit, it is not completely impossible.  
+
''You can transfer your points to anyone’s account, however the points will then expire in 90 days''. The number of points you can transfer in, or receive each year is capped at 100,000 points.  You can only transfer points to a partner loyalty account that matches the name on your ThankYou account. However, you can transfer points to someone else’s ThankYou account, and they can transfer them to their own frequent flyer account.
  
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<ul class="bulletlist">
+
'''Rather than having a centralized ThankYou account, you have separate accounts for each credit card''' (or bank account). You can combine your accounts. But, if you do, the points are still associated with the credit card, or bank account, that earned them. If you close an account, you'll lose any unused points that were earned with that card, 60 days later.
−
<li>'''If you are “pre-approved” in-branch, you will usually be able to get the card, even if you are over 5/24'''. You need to ask your banker to see if you are pre-approved for any cards, and fill out the application in the branch. Just be aware that there isn’t a high likelihood that you will qualify for any pre-approved offers if you are over 5/24.</li>
 
  
−
<li>'''If you have a more significant business, you may be able to get approved for additional cards, even if you are over the limit'''. You will need to have your own “Business Relationship Manager”, and fill out a paper-based application form. For this to work, you usually need to be doing a significant amount of business-related banking with Chase.</li>
+
'''If you don’t want to lose your points when you cancel your card, you either need to use them, transfer them to the frequent flyer program where you expect to get the most benefit later, or convert your card to the no-annual-fee Citi Preferred card'''. If you convert your card, and you don’t have another Citi Prestige / Premier card (in your household), you’ll lose your ability to transfer to partner loyalty programs. 
  
−
<li>'''Being a Chase Private Client no longer exempts you from the rule'''. During the earlier days of the Chase 5/24 rule, Chase didn’t always apply the rule to its best customers. If you were a Chase Private Client, your application might still get approved, or you could wind up getting up approved by having your personal banker help you with the reconsideration process. While anything is possible, this is no longer working for most people.</li>
+
=== Advantages of Citibank banking relationships ===
−
</ul>
 
  
−
=== Getting under Chase 5/24 again ===
+
{{Image|CitiPriority.jpg}}
  
−
Our basic approach to the Chase 5/24 rule is simple. Sign up for as many affected cards as you can, move onto other cards, and don’t look back.
+
<ul class="bulletlist">
 +
<li>'''Citibank’s more valued banking customers get some advantages with the Citi Prestige card'''. People who have a Citigold checking account receive a $100 discount on the annual-fee, and earn a bonus of .15 points per dollar on all their Citi Prestige spending every year. You’ll see this expressed as a 15% bonus, but you only get the bonus on the base points, not the extra points you get from the bonus categories. Similar benefits are given to “Global Clients”, and employees of certain companies. If you are a “Citi Private Bank” customer, the earning bonus goes up to .25 points per dollar.</li>
  
−
'''But, if Chase cards are extremely important to you, you can use a one-year-on, two-years-off strategy'''. With this approach, you go crazy with credit cards sign-ups, and then go (close to) cold-turkey for two years. At the end of your two-year abstinence, you can sign up for up to a set of Chase cards again, then a bunch of other credit cards, and then possibly go cold-turkey again.
+
Opening a Citigold checking account is easy, but it comes with a $30 monthly fee. To avoid this fee, you need $200,000 in combined assets with Citibank. If you have a substantial amount of existing retirement or investment accounts that you wouldn’t mind moving over to Citi, you can earn more rewards and pay a lower fee.  
  
−
During the two “down years”, you can always sign-up for a particularly amazing or useful card. You’ll still get under the 5-card limit around the same time. You just will have room for one less Chase card, when you do. And, you can still sign-up for business cards the entire time.  
+
It has been reported online that if you were a Citigold customer, and you are not any longer, you may still get the lower annual fee. This means it is possible to only pay the maintenance fee for a couple of months, or only transfer your assets on a temporary basis, and still get the added benefits.  
  
−
Also, there is no hard and fast rule about how long your active period should be. You could limit it to six months, so you can get Chase cards every 2.5 years; or you can lengthen it out to 2 years, and wait to get Chase cards every four years.
+
<li>'''You can also earn ThankYou points directly from your banking activity'''. With the Citigold account, you can earn up to 1,600 points per month, depending on how many different Citibank banking and lending programs you use. With a regular Citibank account, you’ll earn less from each program, with a maximum of 1,000 points per month.  You can also periodically earn large numbers of points as a banking account signup bonus. Be aware that unlike the points you earn with credit cards, these points will expire 3 years after the end of the year when you earned them, and can’t be transferred to other people. In addition, they can’t be directly transferred to partner loyalty programs. If you want to use them for award tickets, you’ll need to temporarily transfer them to your Citi Prestige / Premier account first. </li>
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Revision as of 16:30, 21 December 2018

  Credit Card Reference, Introduction to 'Transferable' Reward Points

ThankYou.jpg

Citibank’s reward program is called ThankYou Rewards. ThankYou Rewards homepage.

ThankYou Rewards is a valuable credit card program. You can easily earn points from signup bonuses, and then redeem your points to get free tickets from a set of useful frequent flyer program partners. It isn’t as good of a program as Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards, but it is still a program that you are going to want to eventually take advantage of.

ThankYou Rewards is the least valuable of the big three “transferable” points programs, with the weakest set of partner frequent flyer programs, no good options for redemptions other than award tickets, the fewest cards for earning signup bonuses, and the most restrictive rules for holding onto your points when you want to cancel your card.

Nevertheless, you’ll still get great value by collecting their signup bonuses, and using your points for free airplane tickets. Even if you don’t want to mess with finding awards space, you can still use your points, at 1-1.25 cents each, to purchase travel through Citibank’s website. So a 50,000 point signup bonus is still worth at least $500-625, and often considerably more.

Many people will wind up earning ThankYou points as a side benefit of getting the Citi Prestige card for its one-of-a-kind 4th night free benefit, or as part of collecting the most valuable credit card signup offers. Starting in January 2019, many people will want to take advantage of the Citi Prestige's new 5x reward rate on all of their their airfare and restaurant spending.


Jump to


Airline transfer partners

Points usually take 1-2 days to transfer to partners. However, points transfer instantly to Flying Blue and JetBlue, and transfers can take longer with Etihad and Thai.

Citibank occasionally run promotions where you’ll get a better-than-normal rate for transferring your points to a specific partner program during the promotional period. Take Advantage of Transfer Bonuses to Get More Value from Your Reward Points.

Star Alliance
(United) 		SkyTeam
(Delta) 		Oneworld
(American) 		Other
Singapore (KrisFlyer) Air France / KLM (Flying Blue) Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles) Jet Blue
Turkish Airlines
  		Garuda Indonesia Qantas Etihad
Avianca   Malaysia Virgin Atlantic
EVA Air
  		    Jet Airways (India)
Thai     Qatar
 

Singapore, Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific, and Avianca are good frequent flyer programs, but they also are partners with other credit card programs.  Unlike Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards, ThankYou rewards doesn’t have a partner that helps avoid fuel surcharges on Star Alliance or SkyTeam airlines, and doesn’t partner with any of the big US airlines. 

JetBlue operates a fixed-value points program, so you can get around 1.3 - 1.5 cents per point, purchasing any tickets, without having to worry about award availability.

Turkish Airlines offers some interesting award opportunities, but the ThankYou program’s other unique transfer partners are generally not particularly useful.

Remember that you can use miles from any of these programs to book awards with any of that program’s partner airlines. So, you can transfer your ThankYou points to Singapore Airlines, and then use the Singapore miles to fly United, any of the two dozen or so other airlines that are part of the Star Alliance, or any other of Singapore Airline’s airline partners. With all the partnerships, you can redeem your ThankYou points for flights in over 100 airlines.

Hotel transfer partners

The typical value that you can get from many types of hotel points is well under 1 cent per point. It will rarely make sense to transfer your points to a hotel partner.

Hilton (1000:1500)      

Cashing out your points

If you don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer tickets, your best option is to purchase travel through the Citi Travel Center. As of now, if you have the Citi Prestige or Premier cards, you'll get 1.25 cents per point. In September 2019, the rate for the Prestige card will drop to 1 cent point. It is unclear whether the rate will drop for the Premier version as well. If it doesn't, and you have both cards, you can transfer your Prestige points to your Premier account and take advantage of the higher rate.

While we wouldn’t recommend booking hotels this way, you can easily redeem your points by paying for airfare, car rentals, or cruises.

CitiPortal.jpg

Alternatively, you could use your points for JetBlue tickets. JetBlue operates a fixed-value reward program, where you'll can use your points, at a value of around 1.3 - 1.5 cents each, to purchase any of their tickets, without worrying about award availability.

ThankYou Reward credit cards

Promotional signup offers are sometimes available that are higher than the typical signup bonuses shown below.

Card Typical Signup Bonus Bonus Categories Effective Annual Fee
Citi Prestige

(no longer available for new signups)

30-50,000 3x hotel and air travel

2x dining and entertainment

$100-200
Citi Prestige

(Starting in 2019)

??? 5x airfare and restaurants

3x hotels and cruises

$100-$250
Citi Premier 30-50,000 3x all travel

3x gas, parking, public transportation

2x dining and entertainment

$95, waived first year
AT&T Access More Only available on conversion, 3x online retail and travel purchases

3x AT&T

$95
AT&T Access 10,000 2x online retail and travel purchases

2x AT&T

$0
Citi Preferred 10-30,000 2x dining and entertainment $0

The points you earn from the Citi Preferred and the AT&T cards can’t normally be transferred to frequent flyer programs. However, if you have the Citi Prestige or Premier cards, you can temporarily transfer your points to the account associated with that card, and then onto one of the airline partners.

Because you can receive the Citi Prestige’s travel credit every calendar year, it is possible to receive up to $500 in airfare credits during the first year you have the card, which covers the $450 annual fee.

Collecting multiple signup bonuses

  • These cards don't always offer signup bonuses. Sometimes they have bonuses in the 50,000 point range, sometimes they don't. With the possible exception of the prioritizing the Citi Prestige card to start taking advantage of the 4th night free benefit, you should wait to get started until you can get a nice bonus.
  • You need to spread out your applications. With Citibank, you can only earn a signup bonus, if you haven’t opened or closed a card from the same family in the past 24 months. So, if you get the Prestige, Premier or Preferred cards, you’ll need to wait 24 months before you can get a signup bonus for another one of these cards. The AT&T Access card is considered a separate category, so getting this card doesn’t affect the bonuses from the other cards.
  • If you want to hold onto the Citi Prestige card, you can’t periodically cancel and re-apply. You may want to hold onto the Citi Prestige card for its 4th night free and airport lounge benefits, and its high reward rates on travel, dining, and entertainment purchases. If so, there is no good way to repeatedly receive the signup bonus. If you cancel the card, you’ll need to wait two full years before you can get it again.
  • If you are only interested in collecting a signup bonus for one of these cards, you can’t just cancel at the end of the first year. Normally, you’d want to cancel the card to avoid paying an additional annual fee. However, if you cancel the card, you’ll reset the 24-month clock for another card.
  • You can collect a bonus (on the Citi Premier or Prestige card) every two years. If you want to make the Citi Prestige card part of your core credit card collection, get it first. Two years later, get the Premier Card. Then just before the annual fee is due, downgrade the Premier card to the Preferred version. About a year later, you can apply for the Premier card again, and cancel your Preferred card. If you don’t care about holding onto the Citi Prestige card, you can do the same thing, but sign up for whichever card has the higher signup bonus each time.

Bonus category opportunities

  • The Citi Prestige and Premier cards have nearly the same bonus categories. Interestingly, the less-expensive Premier card offers an extended range in the travel category, including various transportation options, and even gas and parking. Nevertheless, it probably doesn’t make sense to keep both cards. There are better ways to spend another $95 (or more) per year. If you can take advantage of the 4th night free benefit and/or you need the airport lounge membership, most people would prefer the Prestige card. Otherwise, you might as well earn bonus rewards from a broader range of purchases, and pay a lower fee, for the Premier card.
  • The AT&T Access card is a nice addition, which can earn bonus reward points on almost anything you buy online. The older annual-fee-based AT&T Access More card earns even higher rates, so it is usually worth getting the regular version, and then calling to “convert” it to the Access More version.  

Point transfers and expiration

You can transfer your points to anyone’s account, however the points will then expire in 90 days. The number of points you can transfer in, or receive each year is capped at 100,000 points.  You can only transfer points to a partner loyalty account that matches the name on your ThankYou account. However, you can transfer points to someone else’s ThankYou account, and they can transfer them to their own frequent flyer account.

Rather than having a centralized ThankYou account, you have separate accounts for each credit card (or bank account). You can combine your accounts. But, if you do, the points are still associated with the credit card, or bank account, that earned them. If you close an account, you'll lose any unused points that were earned with that card, 60 days later.

If you don’t want to lose your points when you cancel your card, you either need to use them, transfer them to the frequent flyer program where you expect to get the most benefit later, or convert your card to the no-annual-fee Citi Preferred card. If you convert your card, and you don’t have another Citi Prestige / Premier card (in your household), you’ll lose your ability to transfer to partner loyalty programs. 

Advantages of Citibank banking relationships

CitiPriority.jpg
  • Citibank’s more valued banking customers get some advantages with the Citi Prestige card. People who have a Citigold checking account receive a $100 discount on the annual-fee, and earn a bonus of .15 points per dollar on all their Citi Prestige spending every year. You’ll see this expressed as a 15% bonus, but you only get the bonus on the base points, not the extra points you get from the bonus categories. Similar benefits are given to “Global Clients”, and employees of certain companies. If you are a “Citi Private Bank” customer, the earning bonus goes up to .25 points per dollar.

    • Opening a Citigold checking account is easy, but it comes with a $30 monthly fee. To avoid this fee, you need $200,000 in combined assets with Citibank. If you have a substantial amount of existing retirement or investment accounts that you wouldn’t mind moving over to Citi, you can earn more rewards and pay a lower fee.

    It has been reported online that if you were a Citigold customer, and you are not any longer, you may still get the lower annual fee. This means it is possible to only pay the maintenance fee for a couple of months, or only transfer your assets on a temporary basis, and still get the added benefits.

  • You can also earn ThankYou points directly from your banking activity. With the Citigold account, you can earn up to 1,600 points per month, depending on how many different Citibank banking and lending programs you use. With a regular Citibank account, you’ll earn less from each program, with a maximum of 1,000 points per month.  You can also periodically earn large numbers of points as a banking account signup bonus. Be aware that unlike the points you earn with credit cards, these points will expire 3 years after the end of the year when you earned them, and can’t be transferred to other people. In addition, they can’t be directly transferred to partner loyalty programs. If you want to use them for award tickets, you’ll need to temporarily transfer them to your Citi Prestige / Premier account first. 



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The Best Credit Card Signup Bonuses
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