r/churning • u/AutoModerator • 2d ago
Frustration Friday Frustration Friday Weekly Thread - Week of April 04, 2025
This is your place to vent about the points and miles game.
- Did you have a particularly hard time on your MS run this week?
- MS avenue dry up?
- Did you screw up getting a bonus?
Let all your frustrations go here in this thread!
3
u/IronDukey 15h ago
p1, p2, and p3 are all in Amex popup jail despite all being able to pull 200k/15k ABG....
2
u/spicenhoney 2d ago
Missed a possible opportunity to double dip on Amex 20K POT offer.
I received an email to activate the offer daysss after I had already activated it from my offer tab in the app. Put a reminder in my phone to remove POT after 30 days. But forgot to put a reminder in my phone to click the link via the email. Of course when I remembered to search my email today, the offer expired yesterday. 🥲
-3
u/Motor_Focus1704 2d ago
Downgrading from CSR to CSP
I am a military spouse. I opened up my CSR in 2017 in the timeline between when SCRA ended and MLA began. Thus, I do not qualify for the annual fee waiver. I just learned this. I requested a re-evaluation and they denied it saying there's nothing they can do. I have 800k UR points from my CSR
If I downgrade from CSR to CSP will my UR points still be valid and then also get the annual fee waiver? And then from there I can re-open a CSR and get a fee waiver on that too?
My main concern is the potential of losing my UR for whatever reason. Ive been saving them for a huge vacation I will be taking.
Thank you for your help in advance
2
u/juan231f 1d ago
You’re going to want to downgrade to the OG freedom. Your points will remain. Then wait one week for the system to clear you no longer have a sapphire card. Then apply for the 100k offer CSP. Also do you have any plans to use your points? Never good idea to amass a lot of points without a purpose to use them. Heard many stories of people getting their accounts hacked and their points redeemed for gift cards.
6
u/casemanster 2d ago
I'd recommend going to a no fee Freedom card so you can apply for a fresh CSP/CSR with elevated bonus.
-1
u/Motor_Focus1704 2d ago
And would my UR still work with a freedom? I've heard stories about people losing their points when downgrading
2
u/9kuss 2d ago
I got a Citi Strata Premier. Until I guess a few days ago, there was no SUB tracker in the app. I figured this was just a bug and didn't matter. Today I checked and see a SUB tracker.
The problem: it did not count any charges prior to it showing up. Is this a bug? Who knows but I guess I might have to spend an extra 2k -_-
1
2
u/jennerality BTR, CRM 2d ago
Woudn't be surprised if the Shiti SUB tracker is just buggy
1
u/9kuss 1d ago
I wouldn't be surprised either. Do you know if the points go into some kind of pending screen when you hit the MSR or would I have to wait until statement close to see if the SUB credited for the correct amount?
1
u/jennerality BTR, CRM 1d ago
I don’t recall it ever showing up pending somewhere, just posting a couple days after statement close. But you could call and check with Citi once you’re sure you hit the spend.
1
u/TwitchOne1 2d ago
Where in the app?
2
u/9kuss 2d ago
You click redeem thank you points and it's there
1
u/TwitchOne1 2d ago
Shoot, it's not tracking either. Hopefully it will update later
1
u/EggIndividual6333 2d ago
When I was working on mine recently, sometimes it'd pop in and out of existence over the days...
2
u/lost_shadow_knight 2d ago
I'm 1200 eqm from MVP on Alaska. I have a flight coming up (1000 miles each way), which would get me to MVP... but I was planning to credit the flight to American since we'll need a checked bag on the return leg.
And the Alaska 70k bonus just decreased to 60k, if I wanted to hit MVP through spend... not that I have enough time before my next flight.
Should've gotten the Alaska biz in February like I originally planned to.
1
18
u/crimxona 2d ago
Booked refundable ticket on United.
Made a change for the return flight.
Didn't notice it changed it to nonrefundable
Now my entire ticket is nonrefundable. Screw me.
2
u/lifeinthedesert 2d ago
Was too happy thinking I could transfer P2's IHG pts to me since I have the OG card with 10% redemption rebate. Then I learned today, it's for Business member and Diamond only. Somehow I mistakenly understood it as Business credit card holder is eligible *facepalm*
1
10
u/martyconlonontherun 2d ago
I'm usually a point a to point b flyer but I really dislike aer lingus. Flies out of a terminal with no PP, not star alliance, wouldn't let me cancel within 24 hours since I booked from concur, outdated cabin, $100 first checked bag, no free wine, no outlets. I hate this airline and it's coming from a guy who usually forgets which airline he is on when he lands
3
u/jennerality BTR, CRM 2d ago
Yup had to go to Dublin last year but opted to just layover in London so I can go with another airline since Aer Lingus had the only direct flight. Admittedly I was also motivated by my company policy since we can opt for premium economy on these long international flights but Aer Lingus didn't have that option at all.
1
u/Noodle-718 2d ago
I despise aer lingus as well. They are like the allegiant of the Atlantic. And I mostly fly AA, so I can tolerate a lot.Â
0
3
u/s00nerorlater 2d ago
Forgot to check the exact date my last Target debit card was opened, sent in application a week too early. Application went pending, expecting rejection in the mail.
3
2
u/Gandalfs_Dick 2d ago
I goddamn hate US Bank
Got a shitty $3,000 CL on a Triple cash that needed $6,000 in 180 days. 7 days before my 180 days I pay off the remaining balance to fit the last $2000 payment in and it turns out that these fucking cunts put my payment on an 8 day hold.
So my balance shows the payment, but my available credit limit won't until the 8 days have past.
Fucking cunts fucked me out of the $750 SUB
never in my LIFE has a payment ever been put on hold before. It left my bank and it is reflected in my balance, but not in the available credit. What a bunch of horse shit. its the same bank they've been taking monthly auto payments from since Nov
25
u/at3martinez 2d ago
I don't understand the frustration over the $3k CL when it took you 6 months to hit $6k. It averages out to $1k a month and you waited until 7 days before the 180 to put $2k? Why?
9
u/jennerality BTR, CRM 2d ago
Yeahhh I don't even like to risk relying on the last week on a 90 day spend requirement let alone a 180 one...
15
u/SagittandiEstVita 2d ago
For future reference to others who struggle with low CLs from USB: you can push an overpayment to the card using Bill Pay from your bank (we've used Fidelity) and the payment will "increase" your credit limit.
P2 got a Triple Cash with $3k CL and we wanted to make a $5k tax payment. Pushed $3k to the card from Fidelity when the card had a 0 balance and about 2 biz days later, it showed as $6k available credit.
Obviously this requires you to not burn every last remaining day in the MSR period, but works fine if you plan ahead a little bit.
5
u/sleepibaby 2d ago
I had a $1000 limit on a triple cash. I pretty much was paying it off after every purchase. That was back when it was a lower spend for $600, I didn’t even bother to request the $750 offer when it came out (I would’ve been able to) because I wasn’t willing to put up how annoying the additional spend would be with the credit limit
2
u/tehflip449 TFF, LPP 2d ago
Call and try CL increase? They will HP again. Any other CL that you can reallocate? Good news is Triple cash is fairly churnable now that you have a relationship. P2 has 3 of these still open even after having an Altitude Connect closed by USB.
1
u/superdex75 2d ago
Is the 7 days already passed, or is it in 7 days from today?
1
u/Gandalfs_Dick 2d ago
Made the payment on April 2, last day is April 9, payment is released April 10
3
u/superdex75 2d ago edited 2d ago
Payment was pulled or pushed in? If pulled in, I would immediately set up a bill pay payment (push in) from external account. It's still tight, but might work. E.g. if I submit Fidelity bill pay now, it will execute 04/07. I just checked, a bill pay payment from my Fidelity account (initiated at Fidelity) landed 04/02 on my USB biz triple cash, CL is updated (I don't know when it updated, but it is updated now).
(I never ever pull in any funds to pay a credit card, push only).
You could probably also open a USB deposit account, e.g. biz savings, fund it with CC when opening, then pay the card from the new account. I think last time when I did this, the funds were available immediately after opening.
1
u/Gandalfs_Dick 2d ago
I have a US bank personal checking and biz checking. I'm not sure I'd have time to get the money in, pay it off, then get the cc transaction to post in time.
Thats a good idea, though.
4
u/superdex75 2d ago
Cash deposit at USB (are you within a branch) as a last resort?
Or wire transfer into USB now (or on Monday, better now). Free at Fidelity, otherwise there well most likely be a fee. But $750 is on the line.
9
u/biggerty123 2d ago
Yeah it's a nothing burger, plenty of ways to get that to post in time. That said, the guy waited 180 days to hit bonus....
7
u/rynosoft PDX, MSP 2d ago
Employer changed HR systems and has over-written my records at least twice importing from the old system on a day that something changed in the new system. Churning relevant: pay check today did not have the bank changes I made so no Chase DD bonus next week and I'm going to be short on my monthly Discover bonus.
7
u/Agitated_Okra_9356 2d ago
Amex pop up jail and forever being denied for the Venture card from C1 while holding a venture x 🫣.
1
u/xyzzy321 1d ago
Ditto. No Inks, no Amex, no elevated Venture. Ended up getting US Bank biz cards instead
1
u/superdex75 2d ago
How long? 7m for me since getting Venture for me ("too many open accounts", only 6). Will soon give up.
3
u/Agitated_Okra_9356 2d ago
I’ve had the VX since product launch. Been getting denied for the venture for about a year.
43
u/Parts_Unknown- 2d ago
Didn't get any thousand dollar checks from Chase 🫤
11
5
u/Out_of_the_Bloo 2d ago edited 2d ago
Ugh, I know with ATT you can make one time payments and still keep your auto pay discount. But Verizon over here is onto that method even if you make a partial payment so auto pay would still kick in. What's even more ridiculous to me is that it even threatened to remove the paperless discount too, what the fuck. So scummy.
Pay My Bill Your Auto Pay and Paper Free Billing discount will be removed for this month if you make a one-time payment.
Was going to use Amex gold for the $5 off offer but this would be a loss overall
Downvote away for being frustrated
3
u/EarthlingMardiDraw 2d ago
Unless it's changed recently: r/churning/comments/1j04a9z/comment/mfa2bz5/
1
u/Out_of_the_Bloo 2d ago
Thanks, don't have any physical places around me sadly.
1
u/EarthlingMardiDraw 2d ago
I don't have V, but there might be other ways. Possibly could pay some amount prior to your statement cut and then let the remaining amount due get autopaid and keep the discount (e.g., pay everything except $1 or $5). I feel like I have read of other ways, but I'm not sure.
1
u/Out_of_the_Bloo 2d ago
That's what I thought, I was only going to pay half (need $50 for credit, I need to pay $100, was going to do 51) but then it prompted this and I backed off.
If I'm in an area with a store before the offer expires, I'll give what you found a shot though thanks.
11
u/readymint 2d ago edited 2d ago
My last Sapphire was the CSP in July 2021. I'm so close but so far away
Edit: also I work in supply chain and our new "situation" sucks so much. My next 6 months is just full of simulations, escalations, and bs analysis
4
u/suitopseudo 2d ago
If it makes you feel better, I’m more than 4 years out, but I won’t be under 5/24 until July.
3
0
59
u/wiivile JFK, EWR 2d ago
trump
5
u/suitopseudo 2d ago
I accidentally contributed $800 too much into an 2 days ago. The market dropped so much in 2 days I will get $40 less back.
10
u/girardinl 2d ago
I know I'm not supposed to look at my 401(k), but it's so hard to ignore. And all the tyranny has me freaking out. Friends have lost jobs, and even those who are still employed are drastically cutting back on spending.
Churning has been a wonderful distraction though. I'm planning a summer trip to Brussels, France, and Ireland, and knowing how little I'm paying in cash for the flights and hotels is cheering me up. Plus, I'm booking hotels with breakfast included, so we'll make that into a big meal and cut back on costs a bit more.
The U.S. dollar may be truly in the shitter by the summer, but I'm trying to not think about that yet.
14
u/RTW34 2d ago edited 2d ago
A few friends have lost their jobs and those who still work for the federal government have said DOGE requirements have made them less efficient. Everyone knows there’s legitimate waste to root out but they decided to cut necessary programs (cancer research!) and institute rules that make it harder for workers to do their jobs well. So stupid.
Thankful as well for churning as hotels booked via points will hopefully reduce the impact of Trump economics for my upcoming trips.
9
u/girardinl 2d ago
I work with a lot of nonprofits, and most of them are gutted financially, and firing staff, cutting services people need to survive, and so on. The suffering being caused is already horrible and unnecessary, and worse, it's just the beginning.
I've been hosting potlucks with friends so we can all spend less money while spending more time together. It's fun, and also reminds us we're not alone in this.
30
24
28
u/mapalm 2d ago
It's all so stupid and pointless. But the biggest frustration is that this regime is hell bent on dismantling our entire society and economy, stripping it for parts, and pocketing the proceeds. After that, they're happy to let the whole thing burn. But hey, the CSP SUB is at 100k UR!
3
u/apolloniandionysian 2d ago edited 2d ago
Just noticed that my 5k UR spending bonus for my United Gateway card didn't materialize given that I PC'd to United Explorer (I received a solicited email offer) shortly after meeting the spend threshold on the Gateway card, and the fine print states that the 5k UR bonus is nullified if any PC takes place. I tried calling, but Chase is pointing fingers at United and United is pointing fingers at Chase. Grr.
2
u/mets2016 2d ago
and the fine print states that the 5k UR bonuses is nullified if any PC takes place
If this is the case, why are you asking Chase/United for the points? You didn't meet the terms of the deal, so you shouldn't be surprised when they don't give you the points and tell you to kick rocks
2
u/apolloniandionysian 2d ago
Because it's rather unexpected to be presented with an upgrade offer which nullifies any spending bonus that one completed in the past. I figured it was worth a shot.
11
u/IronDukey 2d ago
P3 realized he needed to pay 25k additional federal taxes by April 10 but only told me today. Praying to the Amex gods I can get one of us a 200k/15k biz gold with an instant card number.
1
u/PastTense1 2d ago
Could someone estimate what the financial penalties would total say if he was a week late?
6
14
u/EatMoreSleepMore 2d ago
If P3 dropped a random tax bill of $25K on me I’d be looking at age limits to put him up for adoption:
12
u/DCJoe1 2d ago
Risky to use instant card number to pay taxes. Significant history of data points that that spend may not be counted towards the SUB spending. Better to apply and request expedited delivery once approved. Then pay taxes once card arrives and is confirmed online/app.
1
u/rorys88888888 2d ago
Does anyone know, if you call and ask the bank for the card number, is this the instant card number or the one that will be on the physical card?
4
u/IronDukey 2d ago
Real card number would be ideal but p1 and p3 are overseas currently so highly unlikely we can get the real card in time. I think we're 8/8 on instant card number for taxes this past year between federal, state, city and HMRC (UK national tax) but have only paid 60k ish USD that way. Small N sample but we've had good luck with it so far.
4
8
3
u/johnald03 2d ago
Was planning to book repositioning flights and an intra-Africa excursionist perk flight through United. Unfortunately the points took 36hrs to transfer and the total price almost doubled
2
u/martyconlonontherun 2d ago
was it just bad timing / saver pricing was removed or was this a devalv?
1
-9
u/Total-Shelter-8501 2d ago
I'm out of cards to apply :/
1
3
u/planeserf 2d ago
I was also convinced of this after I had been churning for about a year. That was over 4 years and dozens and dozens of cards ago. I learned I needed to try harder.
47
u/EatMoreSleepMore 2d ago
My 401k turning into a 301k.
Might impulse apply for another ink to try and feel better, and then get rejected.
5
u/Rus_Shackleford_ 2d ago
It’s been on an ever rising high since the money printing and spending bonanza with Covid, I buy VTI on that first of every month and don’t pay attention to it other than that. Staring at your balance all the time or panic selling is setting yourself up for failure.
11
u/anaccount50 ATL 2d ago
My 401k is currently between plans as a part of the transition after my company got acquired. Our old logins have been deactivated for the blackout period and the transfer to the new funds/account isn’t complete yet, so I’m kind of hoping that the period where our assets are out of the market is right now, but I’m not holding my breath for that lucky of a coincidence.
At least I can’t see how much of a loss I’m facing right now, I guess
1
4
u/dmcoe RDU, GSO 2d ago
When my company transitioned 401ks last year, our money stayed invested in the market for the blackout period
3
u/anaccount50 ATL 2d ago
The notice they sent out says that our money may go out of the market for a couple business days since the plans have completely different investment fund choices (for the ones I'm in at least), and our money will only stay invested without any interruption if we're in the same exact funds across providers.
Like I said it's definitely a (very) long shot, but I am wondering if there's a slight chance
4
u/Obby_Jedi 2d ago
Found out my friend AND their P2 got a Prime Visa card which I could have given them a referral for.
It DID make me feel slightly less bad when my friend said they realized they could have referred their P2 but didn't. But also I feel bad for my friend now.
2
1
u/TheSultan1 ERN | BRN 2d ago edited 2d ago
Biz card denials & popup:
- Denied for Alaska Biz for 3/12. Should've kept up with DPs, I guess.
- Finally pulled up Biz Gold 200k/Biz Plat 250k via referral, got pop-up. Can't seem to pull it direct.
- All on top of P2 getting denied for a CIP a few weeks ago.
PNC bank:
- Got $700 mailer, signed up, later got $800 mailer. Haven't received the bonus yet, but I'm afraid to contact them to try to switch codes now that we don't have a functional CFPB.
- Switched DD from BoA to PNC on a Sunday, and the following Thursday paycheck deposited fine. Switched back this past Sunday, and I'm getting a paper check this week - which hasn't arrived yet.
2
u/mehjoo_ SFO, SJC 2d ago
PC'd a Amex biz gold to a biz plat for an upgrade offer and before I even receive the card I get Safekey transactions (fraud) from meta and createjoy.
Denied recon on a CIC. App went pending (3 inks opened at the time), closed an ink, reconned 2 weeks after closing that ink, still declined for "for insufficient business revenues and too many recent requests for credit."
My investing portfolio is down >3% again this morning.
1
u/ElJacinto BNA 7h ago
I have been churning for about five years now, exclusively Chase, being careful to stay under 5/24 for both p1 & p2 by primarily getting business cards. Well, p1 got first denial ever last week. The primary reasons for denial were too many requests for credit or opened accounts and insufficient business revenue. I listed the same business revenue I always do, and I haven't opened a credit account (business or personal) with them for p1 since October. I did open a checking account for that signup bonus a few weeks ago, but I doubt those are related.