topic Re: Hidden PC targets in Credit Cards

Hidden PC targets

MrDisco99 — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 17:05:23 GMT

I'm figuring out long term plans for AF cards from various banks and I got sucked into a rabbit hole of "hidden" card products that can serve as downgrade targets for cards with fees.

For example:

Citi Dividend

Chase Sapphire NAF

Barclay Arrival NAF

What other products are out there that are worth considering as ways to get rid of fees on tradelines?

Re: Hidden PC targets

kdm31091 — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 17:25:44 GMT

To me the only problem is that eventually the products will go away altogether. You can plan for PCs to a point but if a card is no longer available for apps it’s probably not going to be around that long for PCs.

Re: Hidden PC targets

MrDisco99 — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 18:08:52 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
To me the only problem is that eventually the products will go away altogether. You can plan for PCs to a point but if a card is no longer available for apps it’s probably not going to be around that long for PCs.

I don't know... the ones I mentioned have been hidden for how many years now?

Re: Hidden PC targets

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 18:13:50 GMT

The Amex plain BLUE w/o any perks is a good storage option for MR's when you don't want to pay AF's or deal w/ ED/P.

Re: Hidden PC targets

wasCB14 — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 18:14:01 GMT

I may PC to the no-AF "white/colorless" Barclays Aviator if I can't get a retention offer in a few months. I assume it's still available.

The future of the Arrival family is unclear. No word if Arrival Plus is closed to new apps permanently or just temporarily.

Re: Hidden PC targets

MrDisco99 — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 18:20:26 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
I may PC to the no-AF "white/colorless" Barclays Aviator if I can't get a retention offer in a few months. I assume it's still available.

The future of the Arrival family is unclear. No word if Arrival Plus is closed to new apps permanently or just temporarily.

Didn't know about the "white" Aviator. it seems every Barclay product has a NAF downgrade target.

Re: Hidden PC targets

iced — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 18:52:43 GMT

There’s also the Citi TY (and now Rewards+) that are downgrades for the Premier/Prestige with no AF, and just about every co-branded card has a no-AF downgrade option, some of which are not advertised (the no-AF Barclays Frontier card is one such example).

Re: Hidden PC targets

K-in-Boston — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 19:08:45 GMT

Chase Marriott Bonvoy Bold should essentially replace them, but there are a number of legacy lower/no-AF Marriott cards that are no longer available for apps but still exist. (As I stated in the launch thread for that card, I'm not sure of any value in actually downgrading to that card. If you stay at Marriott even once a year, the Boundless is more than worth the AF.)

Citi has a number of legacy products available for PCs, but Dividend is probably the best of those and the still-available Double Cash is generally a PC option since Citi is quite flexible.

There are SIX legacy personal Chase United cards that should still be available for PCs: https://www.chase.com/personal/credit-cards/united/personal-cards

Re: Hidden PC targets

wasCB14 — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 19:15:27 GMT

@MrDisco99 wrote:
@wasCB14 wrote:
I may PC to the no-AF "white/colorless" Barclays Aviator if I can't get a retention offer in a few months. I assume it's still available.

The future of the Arrival family is unclear. No word if Arrival Plus is closed to new apps permanently or just temporarily.
Didn't know about the "white" Aviator. it seems every Barclay product has a NAF downgrade target.

I wonder if they'll launch a no-AF member of the Luxury Card family. Maybe the Iron Card or Tin Card?

Re: Hidden PC targets

wasCB14 — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 20:46:35 GMT

Obscure,
What Amex AF card PCs to Blue?

As far as applications, ED/P are a little more complicated and EDP does have an AF...but I dont think ED has any downside when compared to Blue. AFAIK, an unmanaged ED is better than a perfectly managed Blue.

BBP is of course quite a different card and offers a lot more than the personal Blue.

Re: Hidden PC targets

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 21:05:17 GMT

@MrDisco99 wrote:
@kdm31091 wrote:
To me the only problem is that eventually the products will go away altogether. You can plan for PCs to a point but if a card is no longer available for apps it’s probably not going to be around that long for PCs.
I don't know... the ones I mentioned have been hidden for how many years now?

Right. The Dividend still surprises me as it requires work by Citi, selecting the rotating categories and informing users. I get quite a lot of email on this card. Seems that they would force convert to either a DC or something like Rewards+. After all, they did get rid of Forward in the end (after nerfing it first)

Re: Hidden PC targets

K-in-Boston — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 21:32:08 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
Obscure,
What Amex AF card PCs to Blue?

As far as applications, ED/P are a little more complicated and EDP does have an AF...but I dont think ED has any downside when compared to Blue. AFAIK, an unmanaged ED is better than a perfectly managed Blue.

BBP is of course quite a different card and offers a lot more than the personal Blue.

ED and EDP could be product changed to Blue. I'm assuming @Anonymous may have mentioned it since there was a news blurb a while back about it being discontinued (yet Amex is still accepting new applicants) and the theme of the thread seemed to be $0 annual fee product change options that are not advertised anywhere, notably things like Chase Sapphire and Citi Dividend. I still hold onto mine (with a self-nerfed $500 limit) just for card age (opened over 17 years ago), nostalgia, and because ED/EDP (my only PC options) do not fit into my current rewards strategy. No compelling reason to change it, and I would agree that a Blue is certainly less useful than an EveryDay.