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Yup, the Aspire is awesome. I got it right around the time I posted about the CSR issues (which I still havent cancelled yet because I need to use my $300 travel credits first). Diamond status was given within 24 hours.

Another good one is the Amex Gold. They just buffed the benefits and it's a worthwhile card now. 4x points on grocery stores and dining. $10 a month credit at GrubHub and a few restaurants. $100 per year airline credit (works the same as the platinum and aspire).

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  • 4 weeks later...

BLUF: If you opened the CSR card prior to them starting to waive the fee for military (Sept 2017). Send them a message online stating you are thinking of closing your account as AMEX waives the fee on their platinum. They may grandfather you in to the new policy.

So there's been some mention on here of Chase now waiving the fee on the Sapphire Reserve as of Sept 2017 for accounts opened after that date. Nothing retroactive. I contacted Chase late in 2017 asking to be grandfathered in to that policy as I had 2 accounts opened prior to that date. They declined to grandfather me in.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. After a few drinks, I again sent Chase a message through their online system asking them to grandfather me.  I honestly didn't even remember I had asked them before when I sent the message or I probably wouldn't have sent it. I told them that  AMEX was waiving the fee on their platinum card and I would start using that as my primary card if not grandfathered. I really didn't expect anything to come of it as I got a reply back that said they'd contact me by mail with a decision. Around 7-10 days later, I woke up to close to $5k in credit refunds split between two Chase accounts that I'd had for 4-6 years. I got a letter in the mail a few days later stating that they had applied SCRA benefits to my accounts going back to the day I opened them. I put $75-100k a year on the card so that may have factored into their decision. However, I'm not sure why they did it this time and not previously but I'm not complaining. It may be worth trying if you are paying for the CSR.

Edited by Bojangles
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  • 3 weeks later...
1 hour ago, ThreeHoler said:

Amex Platinum holders are eligible for a loan from Amex. The rates weren’t great or terrible...but Amex applies their internal SCRA policy to the loans. 0% interest and no fees. Pretty swank for an unsecured loan.


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Do you have to contact them for them to apply the SCRA policy or is this done automatically once the loan is procured?

Edited by Dynamite
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1 hour ago, ThreeHoler said:

I got a surprise email today from them that they were refunding all the interest already paid as a loan credit and reducing my monthly payment due to no new interest accrual/payments.

Probably the same phone number as their loan department.


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Did this loan originate while on AD?

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On 2/7/2019 at 6:44 PM, Bojangles said:

BLUF: If you opened the CSR card prior to them starting to waive the fee for military (Sept 2017). Send them a message online stating you are thinking of closing your account as AMEX waives the fee on their platinum. They may grandfather you in to the new policy.

So there's been some mention on here of Chase now waiving the fee on the Sapphire Reserve as of Sept 2017 for accounts opened after that date. Nothing retroactive. I contacted Chase late in 2017 asking to be grandfathered in to that policy as I had 2 accounts opened prior to that date. They declined to grandfather me in.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. After a few drinks, I again sent Chase a message through their online system asking them to grandfather me.  I honestly didn't even remember I had asked them before when I sent the message or I probably wouldn't have sent it. I told them that  AMEX was waiving the fee on their platinum card and I would start using that as my primary card if not grandfathered. I really didn't expect anything to come of it as I got a reply back that said they'd contact me by mail with a decision. Around 7-10 days later, I woke up to close to $5k in credit refunds split between two Chase accounts that I'd had for 4-6 years. I got a letter in the mail a few days later stating that they had applied SCRA benefits to my accounts going back to the day I opened them. I put $75-100k a year on the card so that may have factored into their decision. However, I'm not sure why they did it this time and not previously but I'm not complaining. It may be worth trying if you are paying for the CSR.

Anyone else try this and get refunded their annual fees?  I am waiting on a reply from Chase as of today...

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I am not being charged annual fees from Chase and I had my cards (CSR and several others) prior to 2017. They waived mine initially for about ~90 days worth of full-time orders I did this summer as a Guardsman. I'm back on AD for training now and they haven't asked me for any updates on my mil status nor have they charged me annual fees recently either. Good luck!

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Anyone else try this and get refunded their annual fees?  I am waiting on a reply from Chase as of today...

Didn’t work for me. Nsplayer probably got his to work since he effectively left and then returned to AD.


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  • 2 months later...
1 hour ago, ihtfp06 said:


Hilton Amex ascend gives 6 Hilton points on gas, groceries, and dining.


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FYSA, Hilton points are only worth about .5 cents. That's only a 3% return....The AMEX blue cash gets 6% cash back on groceries which is WAY better.

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FYSA, Hilton points are only worth about .5 cents. That's only a 3% return....The AMEX blue cash gets 6% cash back on groceries which is WAY better.

The sign up bonus on the Hilton is better, and you can earn a free night after 10k in spend. With the annual fee waiver it’s best to go with cards that provide additional benefits. Amex limits you to 5 credit cards (no limit on charge cards). I have 5 Platinums, the Aspire, Ascend, Delta Reserve, Bonvoy and Bonvoy Business. Between those I end up getting two Hilton nights, two Marriott nights, and a business class companion pass on Delta. The 6% phases out after 6k, so I wouldn’t trade a free night and 36k Hilton points for $360 in cashback.


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14 hours ago, ihtfp06 said:


The sign up bonus on the Hilton is better, and you can earn a free night after 10k in spend. With the annual fee waiver it’s best to go with cards that provide additional benefits. Amex limits you to 5 credit cards (no limit on charge cards). I have 5 Platinums, the Aspire, Ascend, Delta Reserve, Bonvoy and Bonvoy Business. Between those I end up getting two Hilton nights, two Marriott nights, and a business class companion pass on Delta. The 6% phases out after 6k, so I wouldn’t trade a free night and 36k Hilton points for $360 in cashback.


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Nice! That makes a lot more sense. My wife and I use 2 of the blue cash cards so we get $720, but you have a nice variety in your setup. I discovered what an awesome deal a lot of these credit cards are with no annual fee as a military member this year. I've been racking up sign-up bonus's for my wife and I on our normal budget since January. ihtfp06, curious if you have any advice for additional cards. Here is my setup right now:

2 x AMEX Platinum (120,000 point signup bonus = $1200 / $400 in Southwest gift cards each year / $200 Saks credit each year)

2 x Chase Sapphire Reserve (100,000 point signup bonus = $1500 / $600 in travel credits each year)

2 x Hilton Honors Aspire (300,000 point signup bonus = $1500 / $500 in Southwest gift cards each year / 2 x free weekend nights each year / $500 for Hilton Resort stays each year)

2 x AMEX Blue Cash Preferred

 

Total Sign Up Bonus's: $4200

Recurring Annual Benefits: $600 travel credit (2 x CSR) + $900 Southwest Gift Cards (2 x Aspire, 2 x Platinum) + $500 Hilton Resort credit + $200 Saks (AMEX Platinum) + $500ish (2 x Hilton weekend nights) = ~$2,700 each year

Now that I'm done with sign-up bonus's, here is how I plan to use the cards:

Groceries 6% / Gas 3% - Blue Cash

Hotels (all Hilton) 20% - Hilton Aspire

Travel 4.5 % & Everything Else  1.5% - Chase Sapphire Reserve

**If any of you active duty dudes aren't using at least one of these credit cards, you are leaving free money on the table. Spouses get them for free too, so you can double up the benefits.**

Edited by GoodSplash9
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If you’re under 5/24 (5 new cards in the last two years, including being an authorized user) Chase has a lot of good options. Marriott, IHG, Hyatt, and United are all affiliated with Chase, and the Sapphire Reserve and Preferred are good options. Citi also seems to be waiving fees under the MLA, so the citi prestige and AA executive are good options. Barclays does not waive fees, but it’s worth churning their AA cards. Their Wyndham card is a decent value even with paying the annual fee. US bank offers waived fees, and the Radisson card is a good value, especially if you travel to Europe and the Middle East. BofA has a great card if you want to move your brokerage accounts to them. I think you can get something like 2.5% on all spending if your investments with them top 100k. Derpreport is a great website for MLA/SCRA related info.


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17 hours ago, GoodSplash9 said:

 

2 x AMEX Platinum (120,000 point signup bonus = $1200 / $400 in Southwest gift cards each year / $200 Saks credit each year)

New Platinum user here, so gift cards for the selected airline fall under the 200$ credit? I'd heard sometimes they honor it sometimes they don't. Unless it's airline based which I could see, but I chose Delta. 

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New Platinum user here, so gift cards for the selected airline fall under the 200$ credit? I'd heard sometimes they honor it sometimes they don't. Unless it's airline based which I could see, but I chose Delta. 

Delta you have to stay under $50, which sucks because you can only apply 2 or 3 gift cards when buying a ticket. Southwest is still good at $200. No other airlines are working anymore. I always check flyertalk before setting my airline to see what still works.


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4 hours ago, ihtfp06 said:


Delta you have to stay under $50, which sucks because you can only apply 2 or 3 gift cards when buying a ticket. Southwest is still good at $200. No other airlines are working anymore. I always check flyertalk before setting my airline to see what still works.


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How are you able to get the SW gift card? The website never works for me 😞

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7 hours ago, elvis said:

New Platinum user here, so gift cards for the selected airline fall under the 200$ credit? I'd heard sometimes they honor it sometimes they don't. Unless it's airline based which I could see, but I chose Delta. 

So I'd read the latest updates from ThePointsGuy or other credit card bloggers. This forum has recent data points as well (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1300482-airline-fee-250-200-100-reimbursement-reports-wn-fl-southwest-only-118.html).

I think Southwest is the only airline left that works. I can personally confirm in the last 2 weeks that I was able to buy a $200 E-Gift card from Southwest on my AMEX Platinum and a $250 gift card on my Hilton Aspire. To me using these to buy tickets is way more valuable than other incidentals.

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