topic Re: CSP questions in Credit Cards

CSP questions

dddfresh — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 17:43:07 GMT

I was somehow approved for the chase sapphire preferred last night with a 5k limit. I am also going to Vegas next week and would like to use that card.

Who can I call to ask for a higher limit and ask to expedite the card??

Also, there was a thread the other day that I cannot seem to find that talked about a new site that you can pay rent or bills with your credit card to help with spending requirements but I am not sure if it's a cash advance.

Do you know those sites?

Thanks so much

Re: CSP questions

B335is — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 17:46:41 GMT

800-493-3319 to have it expedited. Check the sticky above for the credit analyst # but it will be another hard pull. Congrats!!

Re: CSP questions

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 17:48:10 GMT

You can just call any chase credit card customer service number to have them expedite the card and process a CLI request. It will be a new inquiry.

What kind of bills? For auto loan and mortgages there's charge smart. The fees are relatively high though so it's not really worthwhile. Usually they negate a big part of the bonus. You are much better off with MS in situations like this.

Re: CSP questions

dddfresh — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 19:40:18 GMT

Another hp! No thanks haha. I'm sorry, what is MS?

Re: CSP questions

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 19:47:39 GMT

MS is manufactured spend, using your credit card to purchase (usually indirectly) cash equivalents, allowing you to rack up large number of points and using the cash to pay off the credit card.

While I am one of the main proponents of this on this forum, for a one time need to meet minumum spend, chargesmart.com (or williamspaid for rent) might be ok. Enharu is right that the charge negates (and more) of the rewards, but if you are just trying to meet the spend for a bonus, that isn't so important.

Re: CSP questions

dddfresh — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 19:53:20 GMT

Is there somewhere I can learn more about MS?

Re: CSP questions

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 19:56:39 GMT

Google it for lots more examples, but one is:

http://thepointstraveler.com/beginners-guide-to-learn-how-to-travel-for-free-with-miles-and-points/intro-to-manufactured-spending/

Re: CSP questions

dddfresh — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 20:53:22 GMT

Thank you

Re: CSP questions

creditfan — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 04:25:55 GMT

sorry for hijack the thread

@longtimelurker

is chargesmart.com a secure site? are there any fee and/or hidden fee come with it

thanks

Re: CSP questions

Revelate — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 04:32:48 GMT

@creditfan wrote:
sorry for hijack the thread

@Anonymous
is chargesmart.com a secure site? are there any fee and/or hidden fee come with it
thanks

There is always a merchant transaction fee: basically these sites pass that on to you with some markup which is how they make their revenue. It's basically a convenience fee and I not certain there's any (I'm sure there's a couple, flat 2% or 3% might get you above) which aren't higher than the rewards on the cards themselves which you get back.

CSP side it's guarunteed to fall into the 1% category, so you will be spending more, but sometimes that's worthwhile. I basically bought my Amex CLI by paying my UCLA tuition with it to bump spending for a month, and I'd do it again too as the convenience surcharge difference from the 1% reward, was trivial in comparison to my chasing the 3X CLI.

Re: CSP questions

creditfan — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 04:51:18 GMT

sorry I'm still confused

so is it better off to use it or not use it

Re: CSP questions

Revelate — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 05:20:27 GMT

@creditfan wrote:
sorry I'm still confused
so is it better off to use it or not use it

If the spend bonus plus the base 1% rewards on the transaction is worth more than the service fee that you have to pay, then yes it's worth using. If it's not, you're throwing money away.

Re: CSP questions

toppers555 — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 07:43:02 GMT

@Revelate wrote:
@creditfan wrote:
sorry for hijack the thread

@Anonymous
is chargesmart.com a secure site? are there any fee and/or hidden fee come with it
thanks
There is always a merchant transaction fee: basically these sites pass that on to you with some markup which is how they make their revenue. It's basically a convenience fee and I not certain there's any (I'm sure there's a couple, flat 2% or 3% might get you above) which aren't higher than the rewards on the cards themselves which you get back.

CSP side it's guarunteed to fall into the 1% category, so you will be spending more, but sometimes that's worthwhile. I basically bought my Amex CLI by paying my UCLA tuition with it to bump spending for a month, and I'd do it again too as the convenience surcharge difference from the 1% reward, was trivial in comparison to my chasing the 3X CLI.

That how I meet my 6k requirement with Blue cash to activate the 5%. Now I need to figure out something for next year or sd the card.

Edit: fixed the quoting

Re: CSP questions

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 11:30:09 GMT

@Revelate wrote:
@creditfan wrote:
sorry I'm still confused
so is it better off to use it or not use it

If the spend bonus plus the base 1% rewards on the transaction is worth more than the service fee that you have to pay, then yes it's worth using. If it's not, you're throwing money away.

And in the case of the CSP, you usually need to spend say $3k ($2k if applied at a branch) In return for spending $3K, you get $400 (assuming you use the worst option, cash back) + $30 back in 1% reward, for a total of $430. If you put the whole $3K on Chargesmart, it costs less than 3% = $90, so from that point of view it is worth it. (The precise cost varies by payee and amount, so for example a $2500 mortgage payment had a fee of around $65)

But I think the real question is, can you meet the minimum spend without doing this in the required time. So if your normal spend gets you there in 3 months, no need to waste the $90. If there is no way you can do this, it's worth doing to get the bonus. Another case is where you need the miles for a trip that's coming soon, and this is a way of quickly reaching the bonus spend.

But in any of these cases, do as much of your normal spend, and minimize the amount you put on chargesmart.

And just to be clear again, this is usually not worthwhile to do routinely once you have reached minimum spend, the costs outweigh rewards (unless you reliably value UR at more than 2.7c per point)