Milenomics² Podcast Episode 221: Amex Referrals, Chase 5/24 Strategy, and a Quick DC Trip Report

0:21 Amex 10x Referrals: How’s It Going?

• So many questions…

• Are referrals that require reconsideration reliably attaching?

• How long does it generally take for the base bonus to post?

• How long does it generally take for 10x spend to post?

• Is email confirmation (or not) reliable indicator of success or failure?

• Can chat reps reliably determine if a referral is attached? If so, how long after approval does it take for a rep to be able to see this?

• Is emailing a referral vs. using a link vs. using a deep link most reliable? If an email is going to come, how quickly should we expect it?

• Which cards are best to refer from?

• Which cards are best to apply for through referral?

• How soon can you “safely” close a card after approval if the intent is just to get the referral?

• How likely is clawback on 10x spend? Does breaking it up into smaller denominations help?

18:59 Sam: Amex 2 (3?) card approval  applications 

• Said I couldn’t find a good Gold Business app, 150,000 point link showed up with Edge. Applied, pending (duplicate). 

• While thrashing around the Amex site I happened on a 250,000 point Business platinum link. Applied. Pending (Duplicate) 

• Reconsideration on the Gold Business read me the popup wording and cautioned me I won’t get the bonus on this card. 

• Still haven’t done a P2->P1 referral yet for 10x! That should be something I prioritize but I’m capped on Credit cards, so the lowes for pros isn’t possible. 

22:45 Robert: So Many Issues…

• Take1: Referred P2 for throwaway Business Green. Got pop-up. Denied because “couldn’t pull Transunion report”? Must have fat-fingered some details on application (or more likely, used some of my info accidentally 

• Take 2: Referred friend in real life for Bonvoy Business 185k. Denied “based on history.” Already in the penalty box without any shenanigans. Straight to jail.

• Take 3: P2 referred me for Delta Business Gold. Got the pop-up. Approved after reconsideration (and closing another credit card). Waited a week. No base bonus. Waited a few more days: No 10x posting. Chatted. Told that the person referred navigated to another part of the website and applied directly. As if! 

• Starting to feel like “the elders aren’t coming”

• Take 4: Referred P2 for a Personal Gold through a deep link. Got pop-up. Instantly approved. No email. A couple days later chatted. Rep could not confirm bonus. 

• Take 5: Referred P2 for a Business Gold again (trying to overcome possible fat-finger event). Got pop-up. Instantly approved. Got email! 

• Circling back on Take 4: Base bonus posted 4 days after approval. No email ever came.

• So I’ve got 2 qualifying referrals, and I’m wondering what other moves to make.

• Wait there’s more! Recon and Returned Payment in play. It never ends.

27:38 Topic: Should we close OBC?

• No card more perfectly encapsulates how much this game has changed in the last 10 years than this card. 5% uncapped was at the time unheard of, and the Blue cash card being such a nondescript card from Amex meant it flew under the radar. 

• Holding onto it has become…less and less competitive with what is on offer from Amex 

• Example: A citi Premier 3x and pay by phone earns 4.5%, a Business gold or Personal gold with schwab cash out earn 4.4%, all from the first dollar spent. 

• The hurdle to spending $6500 a year to unlock the 5% seems like such a chore now in the face of huge “first dollar” spending bonuses on Amex cards and other citi cards, and the opportunity cost of that $6500 in spend. 

• Counterpoint: this is a personal card and can be paid with PPBP (until that does die). 

• Consider: What if you closed OBC, thrashed around with referrals for 2 or 3 months, ultimately got a referral through and…it was all clawed back. How would you feel?

32:44 Chase 5/24 Strategy

• I went in and checked both myself and my P2’s 5/24 status and was pleasantly surprised. 

• Given all our applications on this show I am only at 6/24 and my wife was… 2/24! 

• That’s got me excited, because I can start the plan we discussed back in episode 208?209? (ADD LINK). Where a subscriber reminded us of the referral angle of Ink cards and the fact that they don’t show on your credit report. 

• That means if you’re under 5/24 the limit becomes Chase CreditSam extension. 

• Unfortunately my P2 has a LOT of chase credit, on multiple freedom and ink cards.

• But I did refer her and… approved for a 75k Ink card + 20k referral. 

• Will lather, rinse, repeat and consider her 5/24 status moving forward

39:29 Extending Hilton Free Night Certificates

• Robert taught me you can chat or call and ask for a certificate to be extended 

• Helpful as I had one expiring in early March. 

• Chatted and they pushed it to March 20. I leave for Hawaii on the 30th and didn't see a use for this. So I chatted again and say the magic word, because

• And the chat rep extended it to 4/14 without batting an eye.

• That's a full 5+ weeks after expiration 

42:22 Quick Take: British Airways vs. xworld wallet: Which is worse at refunds?

Quick DC Trip Report

48:11 Hilton Alexandria Mark Center

• Booked connecting rooms with points (a king suite and a 2 queen room) and…it just worked! Wasn’t expensive enough to justify the hassle of using FNCs. Really wish Hilton would make FNC booking easier.

• Hotel is 30 story, 400 room lower end convention hotel. Chose it for the location.A bit tired, and some clumsy interactions but overall…fine for what we wanted. Really enjoyed the spacious connecting rooms. 

• $30/nt Dimaond F&B credit, and you only get one when booking 2 connecting rooms. Breakfast buffet was pretty good, $21/pp. Worked out fine since we wanted brunch elsewhere the 2nd day and got coffee and light breakfast at the marketplace.

• Absolutely unacceptably terrible elevators

• Overall, interesting to check in with a median “full service” (but not really) domestic hotel from a bygone era.

54:50 Delta 

• Upgrade follies continue (but I’m getting better at managing the situation!)

• Changed flight times, which causes the lack of a First upgrade request w/companion to lapse. Have to remember to re-trigger that because at 5 days out I missed an upgrade once again.

• Outbound flight delayed 30 mins but they told us about the minor delay which I appreciate,SkyClub perk really nice vs flying JetBlue or AA (where we don’t have much access)

57:37 Rideshare Highs and lows

• Coming soon: Multi-stop Uber/Lyft rides.