Tag Archives: Citi Bank

Don’t Close your Credit Card! Downgrade or Convert to these Credit Cards

Which Credit Card

Downgrade or Convert to these Credit Cards

This post is a combination of my recommendations and the recommendations from readers.  Thank you for contributing to this post.  The big question is, why should you downgrade or convert a credit card instead of closing it outright?

Pros of downgrading or converting a credit card:

  • Downgrading/converting your credit card lengthens the average age of your credit card accounts and improves your credit score (learn more about your credit score here).
  • Downgrading/converting your credit card keeps your credit utilization ratio lower, which is good for your credit score (see link above).
  • Downgrading/converting your credit card keeps your miles/points from expiring or being forfeited back to the credit card company.
  • Downgrading/converting your credit card results in no hard pull of your credit report.
  • Downgrading/converting your credit card is sometimes easier than outright applying.
  • Downgrading/converting your credit card makes it possible to get the same credit card multiple times (like 2 Chase Freedom or Bank of America Better Balance Reward cards).
  • Downgrading/converting your credit card may result in a sign up bonus on the new card (sometimes not, see cons below).

Cons of downgrading or converting a credit card:

  • Downgrading/converting your credit card may result in not get a sign up bonus for the new credit card.
  • Downgrading/converting your credit card may take a long time for the conversion process (Citi takes 60+ days).
  • Downgrading/converting your credit card may cause you to have “too much available credit” and may make it harder to be approved for future credit cards (mostly Barclays, but you can do recon calls to reverse their decision).
  • Downgrading/converting your credit card may interfere with the “churnability” of the credit card.

To read the full article, please click here.  Gotta go watch the Little League World Series now.

TWG is Flying to Cabo this Weekend on Southwest Airlines

SWA MEX

TWG is Flying to Cabo this Weekend on Southwest Airlines

Buenos noches amigas! (No need for Google translate) Good evening friends, I am taking a really early or really late spring break trip to Cabo this weekend.  As far as I know, Southwest only flies non-stop to Cabo from Orange County, CA (SNA) and Denver (DEN).  I got a good deal on my flight and it only cost 11,400 SWA miles and $85.48 in taxes/fees (Mexico apparently has much higher taxes than the US).

SWA to SJD Route Map

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Random News: OC Meetup Saturday Night, Citi Thank You Points, Chime Staples Offer, Frontier $39 Flights, AMEX Offers for Bed, Bath, & Beyond and Verizon FiOS

meetup

Random News: OC Meetup Saturday Night, Citi Thank You Points, Chime Staples Offer, Frontier $39 Flights, AMEX Offers for Bed, Bath, & Beyond and Verizon FiOS

Some quick random news stories before I head out to Buffalo Wild Wings…

Just a reminder, I am holding another OC Meetup at the Tustin District In-N-Out this weekend.  I believe Travel-Summary will be joining me and maybe some LA bloggers who want to come down to the OC *hint, hint*

I have some very good tips and tricks to share, so good that Marathon Man would not approve if I shared them online.  Please let me know if you can/will try to make it to dinner.

  • When: 6PM – 8PM on Saturday, August 9
  • Where: In-N-Out at the Tustin District: 2895 Park Ave, The District, Tustin, CA 92782 (map)
  • Why: Talk miles and points with me and other locals (possibly share some secrets too)

In-N-Out Address

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Weekend TWG Homework Assignment: What are the Best Credit Cards for Downgrades or Conversions?

Which Credit Card

Weekend TWG Homework Assignment: What are the Best Credit Cards for Downgrades or Conversions?

Good evening everyone, TGI (Thank Grant It’s) Thursday.  I will be flying up to San Francisco Friday night and coming home early Monday morning from Oakland.  I will not be blogging this weekend, but I will bring my phone so I can respond to emails and blog comments.  Since the collective knowledge of TWG readers is far superior than just my knowledge, I need your help.  I am working on compiling a page on best credit cards for downgrades or conversions.  For every annual fee credit card from a bank, there is a related no annual fee credit card.

Do you remember that kid in school who always asked the teacher if there was any homework due next week when the teacher clearly forgot to assign any?  Well, you can all thank Dan P for the suggestion (link):

I think a blog post about all the “good downgrading cards” would be great. Include the BoA Better Balance Rewards and the Citizens Bank Green$ense (pays you $0.25 per transaction, up to $20 per month; great for purchases under $5) in addition to other cards. Although other than those two I haven’t found any really useful, zero annual fee cards.

Steven got the ball rolling with this comment:

Best practice is to convert the Alaska card to a Better Balance card which will award $100 a year for minimal spending. I have 6 of them. :)

Followed by Jivepicnic’s comment:

I only have one Better Balance Card, so I have some work to do to catch up to Steven! I purchase an Amazon eGC for $0.50 each month, so I spend $6 per year to get $100. Actually for me it’s $120 because you get a $5 bonus per quarter if you have a BofA checking account as well.

Clearly, I have been living under a rock since I was unaware of this card until a few days ago.  I have closed several Bank of American credit card in the last 2 years to avoid the annual fee, when I could have earned $100 a year for keeping a credit card open (link).

BofA Better Balance Rewards

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Random News: 3 Retention Calls, 2,931 Southwest Airlines Miles, and 50% Companion Tickets on Hawaiian Airlines to Beijing

Which Credit Card

Random News: 3 Retention Calls, 2,931 Southwest Airlines Miles, and 50% Companion Tickets on Hawaiian Airlines to Beijing

Good evening everyone, here are some random news stories from today.  This morning, I helped my parents with their retention calls.  The only call worth listening to is the first one since my dad was able to get a $95 statement credit and a spending challenge on his Citi American Airlines Platinum MasterCard.  My dad used this card a fair amount during the last 12 months so I wasn’t that surprised with the generous retention offer.  Download Link

The only reason I told him to keep the credit card open is the 10% rebate on the redeemed miles.  For example, 2 one way business class flights to Europe cost 100,000 AA miles, shortly after booking the award flight, 10,000 AA miles are rebated and credit back to his AA account.  In essence, you are paying $95 for 10,000 AA miles each year if you max out this credit card benefit.

MT AA Balance

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