We are living in our house for almost 20 years and the time has come for us to get a new roof. To replace our roof it will cost between $8,000 and $10,000. The only way to ease the pain of this cost is to earn point or miles while paying for it. Both Lowe’s and Home Depot accept credit cards including American Express for full payment of a new roof. Many private contractors in our area accept VISA and MasterCard without any additional fees. My plan is to pay for our roof with our new credit cards and earn free travel.
Today I applied for and was approved for three new cards.
1-Chase Ink Bold Business MasterCard Charge Card. There is no annual fee for the first year. After my first purchase I will earn 25,000 Ultimate Rewards bonus points. Then I will earn another 25,000 bonus after spending $10,000 in the first 3 months in addition to the points earned for purchases. These points are valuable because they are transferable to a number of hotel and airlines programs at a 1:1 ratio including British Airways, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club, Southwest and United Airlines.
By using the Ink Bold card to charge phone, internet, cable and purchases at office supply stores, I will earn 5 points for each dollar spent. At gas stations and hotels I will earn 2 points per dollar.
After applying online I received a message stating, “Your application requires further review before we make a decision.” I called the Chase Business reconsideration line 800-453-9719. The representative was very pleasant, asked me about 10 questions and needed to put me on hold twice before I was approved for this card. Since I already have 4 other personal Chase VISA cards, she needed to move some of my credit from another card to this new Ink Bold MasterCard.
2-Hilton Honors Surpass AMEX. This card has a $75 annual fee. My offer included 50,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months, gold status link for at least one year and airport lounge access (at a reduced cost) from Priority Pass. This card was an upgrade to my existing card and I was approved immediately. I have had a Hilton American Express for many years, since it has no annual fee. We have about a half million Hilton HHonors points. I plan to use some of those points in the next year. Hilton gold status will give us free internet and a number of other benefits depending on the specific Hilton hotel brand.
Earnings using this card are 9 HHonors Bonus Points for every eligible dollar spent at participating Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands. 6 HHonors Bonus Points per dollar on everyday purchases at gas stations, drugstores and supermarkets.
3-Fairmont Chase VISA. There is no annual fee for the first year. After spending $1,000 on the card in the first 3 months I will receive 2 free nights with breakfast for 2 at any Fairmont hotel worldwide. Here is the link to my post about all of the benefits of this credit card. We will be in Maui in November and plan to use our free nights at the Fairmont Kea Lani, an all suite property.
After applying online I received a message stating, “Your application requires further review before we make a decision.” I called the Chase personal reconsideration line 888-245-0625. The representative told me I was denied for this credit card because I had applied for two Chase credit cards on the same day. I explained that one was a personal card and the other was a business card. Then I suggested how to move my credit from another card to this one. She agreed and I was approved for this credit card too.
Looking forward to receiving my new cards in the mail, beginning my $14,000 in spending to earn free nights, free food and at least 113,000 more points for travel. A new roof will help us feel better about the condition of our home, especially while we are away traveling.
How are you meeting your minimum spends to get your bonus points and miles?