Quantcast

asthejoeflies

Helping you and your family save money on your vacations to Disney and beyond

Don’t let Credit Card Companies Cancel Your Accounts

Since I’m still getting back in the swing of things at home, I’ve been doing some housekeeping in regards to my credit card accounts. I figure the “clean up” mentality post vacation should help me alleviate some of the issues I’ve had staying on top of my game. One thing I’ve wanted to touch upon is something that has affected me personally three times in the last year – credit card companies proactively closing my accounts.

I know most readers are aware of this, but just in case, something we always need to remember is that the average age of accounts has an effect on our credit score. The longer the average age of our accounts is, the better. Moreover, the total amount of credit available has an effect on our score as well. Bottom line, you want lots of credit available and an older average age of accounts in general.

Kind of sad to lose one of my first cards ever
Kind of sad to lose one of my first cards ever

So what three cards have I gotten cancelled on me recently? Three no annual fee cards that I’ve just been holding on to to keep my average age older. The first card that was cancelled was half a year ago – Bank of America cancelled the credit card that I had had with them for almost ten years. That was fair since I hadn’t used it in like, eight years, but I wish it hadn’t happened. Then, my Discover Card was cancelled proactively and I was told there was no way to reinstate it except for to apply again. That one particularly hurt because I was thinking about starting to use it again due to the 5X bonuses and my renewed faith in cash back.

I found out about my third card cancellation the day I got back from my trip. I applied for a Delta Skymiles card with a 50K bonus after my buying and cancellation of tickets to Los Angeles. After the second purchase I received a special offer and pulled the trigger. American Express saw I hadn’t used my HHonors card in 13 months, proactively closed it and moved the line of credit over to my new card. This time, thankfully, they let me reopen the card with a simple call. Even if they hadn’t, at least they had preserved my credit line.

My brilliant reminder
My brilliant reminder

Anyway, you may have remembered me mentioning that to stay on top of annual fees I have started to set Google Calendar reminders for myself. I’ve decided I’m going to do the same thing with my no annual fee accounts so that I remember to make at least one purchase on them per year. The majority of my no annual fee cards are my oldest ones and I don’t want to risk losing them. If I’m gonna get shut down, it’s gonna be for shady spending not non spending! jk…sorta. Hopefully this post will help nobody else gets their no annual fee accounts shut down without their consent.

Anyone have similar experiences or any better ideas?

Time to get out of the miles and points game?

Go...crazy? Don't mind if I do!
Go…crazy? Don’t mind if I do!

A few things have happened in the last month or so that have really made me question my competency with miles and points – and even made me wonder whether it’s still worth it? In the end, I don’t think I’m quitting, buuuut I am getting a bit old (or baby brained) and making mistakes that I shouldn’t be. This is happening concurrently with the miles and points game changing (read: devaluations) – can I keep up? Here are some reasons I considered getting out and the solutions that I’m implementing to keep myself IN.

Reason 1: I forgot to cancel a card before the annual fee was due

This one is kind of embarrassing on two fronts. Before we left for Germany I noticed my Chase Sapphire Preferred card was missing. Embarrassment #1. THEN when I went to check online to make sure there had been no fraudulent charges, I noticed that my annual fee had already hit and I hadn’t cancelled the card yet. Embarrassment #2.

Lost this, forgot to downgrade, #fail
Lost this, forgot to downgrade, #fail

I had decided months ago to downgrade to a regular Sapphire (keep line and credit history, get rid of annual fee), but I was really shocked that I hadn’t cancelled before the fee hit. Even though I have a detailed spreadsheet I check two or three times a week, I missed it. Yes, it was still waived because I cancelled soon enough, but still.

Gmail reminder
It’s as easy as googling “gmail reminder”

Solution: Set up auto reminders through gmail

If I start paying annual fees by mistake I’m going to cut into the money I save really quickly and painfully. I’ve now set up calendar reminders for 11 months before each annual fee is due – my spreadsheet is too long to not miss something every once in awhile.

Reason 2: One of my credit cards went missing

See above. I know my CSP is in my house somewhere, I just don’t know where. Since I downgraded it doesn’t matter (change in expiration date) but still…embarrassing.

Solution: Create a system that is a little more organized than my sock drawer

I need to do this, but I’m terrible at organizing. Anyone have suggestions?

Reason 3: Infant taxes have the potential to become painful

Even though we had a great agent help us book our lap infant below what it should have cost, it’s not something I can really count on. When flying premium cabins internationally a lap infant is supposed to cost 10% of what the cash ticket would cost – or $2000 in the case of our current trip. That’s…a lot. Yes, M will be old enough for her own seat soon, but that’s going to cost miles so costs are rising either way.

Lufthansa First Class
Do we need to give this up?

Solution(s): Start flying coach, stick to domestic vacations, or start manufacturing more spending

I haven’t decided which of these solutions to pursue yet. Flying coach would cut costs by quite a bit (both miles and cash wise) and we’d still be saving money. We just wouldn’t be flying as comfortably as in the past. I’ll have to do some thinking about whether M is “worth” the miles to fly in premium cabins. Another option is to stick to domestic vacations and shift our earning strategy to saving money on hotels.

Albert Bierdstadt's Rocky Mountain
If so, there are consolation prizes to be had in the U.S. (Albert Bierdstadt)

After the German mountain landscapes I’m curious to check out the Rockies or the Appalachian mountains, which I’m sure are equally impressive. Finally, I think it’s time I need to step up my manufactured spending game. If you don’t know what that is, here is a primer. Saverocity has some of the most skilled MS people out there – it’s about time I caught up.

Reason 4: Playing the game takes up too much time

One thing preventing me from really ramping up my manufactured spending is time. I already spend so much time looking for award tickets (either for my family, friends, or clients) – that’s the part of the game I really enjoy and most enjoy helping people learn about.

gcmap.com Asia
This kind of stuff is fun for me (gcmap.com)

But I can do that from the comfort of my home when my daughter is sleeping – manufactured spending requires a real time commitment – and time is money. So sometimes I really do think about quitting because I just imagine what else I could do with my time. Write the greatest American novel composed entirely of run on sentences, perhaps?

Solution: Stick to pursuits that are the most efficient timewise

I’ll have to evaluate what that entails exactly, but in the spirit of German efficiency, I’ll need to learn to maximize my time better. Which leads me to the fifth and final reason that really made me think about this:

Reason 5: I dreamt about booking an award ticket the other night – it was super intense

Seriously.

Solution: Get a life

Final Thoughts

No, I’m not really going to quit the miles and points game. Still, I think it’s important for all of us to evaluate where we are from time to time – there is no point in earning miles just for miles’ sake, or becoming unbalanced in the rest of our life, or turning the hobby into a pursuit where we lose money. As I’ve said before, my goal is to expose my family to new experiences in as much comfort as possible – all these things that have been happening lately have just reminded me I need to take stock of the means by which we will get there. The game keeps changing but the goal stays the same.

Anyone else notice “slip ups” in their game, have ideas for how to combat them, or ever feel the same way?

Credit Card Application Strategy: What Credit Card Should I Get?

So many cards to choose from...
So many cards to choose from…

The question that I hear the most in life is “Why didn’t you shave?” But when I’m not speaking with my wife, the question I hear the SECOND most is “What credit card should I get?” It’s a pretty complicated question that leads to a whole other set of questions – today I’m going to talk about the things you should be asking yourself when you’re trying to choose a credit card to apply for. As always, don’t bother applying for a credit card in an effort to reap rewards if you can’t pay your bill off in full monthly. You’ll just lose yourself money in the long run because interest charges won’t be worth any rewards you own. Anyway, on to the post.

[Read more…]

Maximizing Bonuses on Everyday Credit Card Spending with Gift Cards

Chase Freedom offers 5X points every quarter – and you don’t have to use them for cash

I’m on record saying that the fastest way to earn miles and points is through lucrative sign up bonuses. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be concentrating on maximizing your earning rate at other times. In this post I’ll detail some of the ways I ensure that I earn the most points possible whenever I’m purchasing something.

[Read more…]