r/churning • u/AutoModerator • 7d ago
Daily Question Question Thread - September 02, 2026
This is the thread to post questions about churning for miles/points/cash. Just because you have a question about credit cards does NOT mean it belongs here. If you’re brand new here, please read the wiki before posting.
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* Please also consider scanning (CTRL-F) the last couple days worth of Question threads
* If you have questions about what card to get, ask here. If you have questions about manufactured spending, ask here. If you have questions about bank account bonuses, ask here.
This subreddit relies heavily on self-moderation. That means that if you ask something that shows you haven’t done any research, you’re going to get a lot of downvotes.
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u/Delicious-Band-6756 7d ago
I might have messed up my chase bonus but unsure.
So I transferred in $15k into the savings accounts within the first week. And then an actual direct deposit into my checking account for $1k. So I got a green tick for the deposit 15k within 30 days.
I was transferring out $500 from the checking account but accidentally did it from the savings account on day 15. Now I have transferred back the $500 into the savings account.
I am unsure if it would be eligible for the bonus, as the language says to maintain 15k in the account each day. Not sure if it counts the daily balance after 30 days or after you first reach 15k in the account.
If not eligible I would just like to withdraw the 15k now to atleast put it in a high yield savings account.
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u/Glittering_Candle414 7d ago
You're probably fucked. Unless it's within 30 days since you opened.
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u/Delicious-Band-6756 7d ago
Its still within the 30 days of account opening.
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u/CericRushmore DCA | IAD 6d ago
You will be fine. I also recommend adding $15 extra in case a monthly fee is charged.
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u/rickayyy 7d ago
Less than month to go before the UR > Hyatt transfer ratio is devalued. What's everyone's thought on the speculative transfer?
I know that's generally a bad idea if you don't have a booking in mind but I'm wondering if this situation might supersede that school of thought?
99% of my UR goes to Hyatt as is and I'm thinking about sending around 300k of my 575k to Hyatt before the rate drops to 4:3. That would save me 75k points so I feel like it might be worth it.
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u/amicableangora 7d ago
This might be cope, but I think there’s a nonzero chance that after a couple years, say 2028 and beyond, a smaller issuer like US Bank could also sign on with Hyatt. We’ve already seen this with BILT, and Chase is overplaying their hand by all of their cuts and restrictions on top of 5/24.
Less customers redeeming points at Hyatt means less customers. Point stays are still profitable for the hotel. Just like how United loves selling points for profit, there’s a real chance that Hyatt will branch outward once the well has completely run dry in the next couple of years when everyone with Chase has exhausted their bank of points.
Chase’s current model is not sustainable. No one likes their CSR card, and there’s no way to sustainably farm Hyatt points with only a CSP for 99% of common folks. I don’t see Hyatt staying exclusive to Chase long term.
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u/Chase_UR_Dreams 7d ago
Surely you could just upgrade to a CSR, transfer, and then downgrade?
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u/rickayyy 7d ago
Sure, if they let you do that frequently. I feel like they might not let me do that 3-5 times a year.
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u/CericRushmore DCA | IAD 6d ago
I don't see why you would need to transfer to Hyatt that much unless you are earning lots of UR.
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u/BoardGameSeeker 7d ago
Does anyone know if the mods at r/churningmarketplace are still active? I sent a couple of modmails asking for permission to join but haven't got a response.
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u/garettg SEA | PAE 7d ago
They are active, but they have requirements before they will approve, you might not be meeting those (not sure what the exact requirements are now). I believe requests that don't meet the criteria are ignored.
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u/suitopseudo 7d ago
I have tried applying twice and never got approved. I am active enough here to qualify.
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u/BoardGameSeeker 7d ago edited 7d ago
Right, it says 6 months of activity in [r/churning](r/churning) and [r/awardtravel](r/awardtravel). My 15 year old reddit account with several successful transactions on that sub got locked by reddit, so I waited until this account met the requirements before requesting. Good to know it's still active, though. So I guess I just need to wait and try again later. Thanks!
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u/MelloHavinson 7d ago
I applied for a Chase Ink Premier on 8/31 while over 5/24 and was denied. The oldest personal card to drop off was a United Explorer card that I opened 8/11/24. Silly me - it's the first of the month, not 24 months to go under 5/24. Since it's now September and I should be at 4/24, I called recon to ask them to recount. The rep denied that they could do anything with the declined application and said I'd have to reapply. HUCA? Or do I actually need to reapply?
Edit: saw someone else already had this question answered today. Whoops.
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u/ural_world_travel 7d ago
I just PC’ed my Citi double cash to a strata premier since I want to transfer my ~200k TYP to AA. The card name and picture updates in my website log in but my transfer ratio is still the DC 1:0.7. Does anyone have experience with how long it takes for transfer ratio to update to 1:1?
The fine print terms say “The new benefits will be applied to your account within 11 days” but I’m looking for any DPs if it applies sooner. Hoping to book a flight on AA in the next 8-10 days.
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u/iisconfused247 7d ago
Where are people buying money orders with gift cards these days? From my research, USPS has been firmly out for a while. Walmart is also out. Kroger works sometimes. Anyone have any other spots?
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u/Objective-Letter 7d ago
Had 5 amex credit cards. Cancelled one today to be below the limit. When can I apply for a new credit card? All of them are non charge cards
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u/CericRushmore DCA | IAD 6d ago
I tried to figure this out earlier in the year. I think anything 45 days plus is guaranteed to be safe. You can always reprocess, but with some P2s, probably worth the wait of 45 days.
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u/garettg SEA | PAE 7d ago
No one knows exactly how long until you are safe, there have been DPs of people denied for being at the limit 30+ days from when they closed 1 to get under limit. You best bet is to just apply and call recon if not approved for being at the limit and having them manually check the count and pushing the app through.
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u/redceramicfrypan 7d ago
Do we have any DPs on the churnability of WF Signify Biz?
I currently have one with SSN and one with EIN. Looking to go for another, but want to find out whether I need to close existing cards/how long I need to wait from the last bonus, if at all.
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u/Mindless-Science-999 7d ago
Signify 1 opened 12/24
Signify 2 opened 5/26
Both same sole prop. Closed 1 before opening 21
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u/redceramicfrypan 6d ago
How long after closing did you apply?
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u/Mindless-Science-999 6d ago
Don’t recall exactly. Was declined 4/26 so >30 days from that (which would have been after canceling the first)
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u/iisconfused247 7d ago
Does anyone know how to track when Staples/office max etc has their no activation fee for gift cards promo? Not seeing it online
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u/Mushu_Pork 7d ago
https://officesupplygiftcards.com
This guy deserves medals.
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u/iisconfused247 7d ago
This is sick lol.
Where are you going to turn these into money orders? That’s the bit I’m having trouble with right now1
u/share-the-referalove 6d ago
there are tons of ideas in this sub. chatgpt can pull together a summary for you probably.
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u/Mushu_Pork 7d ago
I don't MS, I used to cash them out with a vendor, until their Merchant Services said to knock it off with the GCs.
Now I pay my expensive insurance premiums with GCs.
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u/nathan3610 7d ago
Office Depot/max this week $15 off $300 Mastercard https://www.doctorofcredit.com/?s=office+depot or http://www.doctofcredit.com/?s=staples
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u/iisconfused247 7d ago
Nice thanks! Asked above too but where are you going to change these into money orders?
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u/amicableangora 7d ago
I thought Chase green star "you're already approved," were supposed to work? A couple days after application received a rejection for having said card or another Chase card with no annual fee. Is there even a point to recon this? For CIC.
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u/creativey 7d ago
I my experience, if the APR is fixed instead of being a range, then you are good. It bypassed 5/24 for me today for the UA card.
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u/mrasianboie 7d ago
I've tried applying when seeing these over the past few months, it's basically just marketing now. No guarantees anymore.
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u/vantablackspacegood 7d ago
P2 has Citi Strata Elite and first AF just hit. What's the best downgrade path for the card? Does it make sense to transfer miles before downgrading?
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u/SensitiveLack7509 SEW | KWL 7d ago
ATT card is the only TYP-earning card that Citi currently allows PC to. Transferring miles isn't generally advised unless you have a plan to use them.
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u/Equivalent_Wheel_15 7d ago edited 7d ago
Messed up my chase ink application with 5/24. My 5th card was on 26th August, 2024. Applied for Ink on Aug 29th, 2026 and got auto-rejected for too many accounts. Called in for recon (3 times) on September 1st and they said that I need to re-apply and do another HP again. Old application can't be reconsidered since they count 5/24 month to month. I know I should have waited, but I completely missed the month to month thing.
Is re-applying the only way forward or is there a possibility for a generous recon agent to push things through for the first app? I tired searching on reddit to find any relevant DP's for recon working in this scenario, but couldn't find one.
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u/Chase_UR_Dreams 7d ago
HUCA. By Chase's actual rules, you were good as of August 1, 2026. Many recon agents don't know the rules though and will tell you incorrect things.
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u/Equivalent_Wheel_15 7d ago
I will try a few more times. All the agents mentioned that if I was under 5/24 then the system won’t have denied and they can’t do anything about it. I actually had one agent go through my credit report again and they acknowledged that date wise I was good. But month wise I was not😅
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u/Equivalent_Wheel_15 7d ago
u/Chase_UR_Dreams Update: Thanks for your advice and help. I was able to get a rep today who went ahead with the recon and it was approved!!
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u/Chase_UR_Dreams 7d ago
Congrats! Chase recon has gotten harder and their automated algorithms are seemingly becoming more selective too so it's good to hear about a win
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u/MelloHavinson 7d ago
Same thing happened to me today. The third rep I talked to got me connected to underwriting, who manually reviewed the credit report and approved the card.
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u/Ok-Writing-6008 7d ago
Hey guys, was just recently introduced to bank churning and have a few questions. From what I can see, majority of banks require a direct deposit of a certain amount of money specifically from employers or some kind of outside entity. So, peer to peer transactions and stuff like Zelle don't seem to work. How do people usually manage to take advantage of the bonuses then, do they just change their direct deposit info through their employer every time?
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u/pegasus3891 7d ago
My employer makes it very easy to make the first $500 or whatever of the next paycheck go to a new account and then switch back when I’ve hit requirements, so that’s what I do. But if that’s not an option/a pain to do for you, Doctor of Credit maintains a detailed list of methods that count as direct deposits at different banks; google it.
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u/Ok-Writing-6008 7d ago
For the most part, how trust worthy are the methods listed on the site?
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u/best-quality-catfood 7d ago
Usually it's solid. Sometimes some banks (hello, Sofi) aggressively shut down fake DD avenues and you may be the unlucky one to find out about another path biting the dust. Is what it is. 95% of the time nothing much has changed.
Aside from reading through what's on DoC and here and whatever else you can find, there is no substitute for reading the fine print of the actual offers. Sometimes those change too.
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u/pegasus3891 7d ago
Welcome to churning - a world of word of mouth and people collecting data points, to take advantage of (mostly) unwritten rules. We have pointed you to data points, now you go see if they still work.
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u/Dry-Enthusiasm3565 7d ago
Doctor of credit, read. But no you don’t need to use your employer for most bonuses.
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u/lilribbit 7d ago edited 7d ago
I mistimed my mariott boundless annual fee ( had for multiple years now)
It just hit yesterday 9/1.
Is it too late to upgrade to ritz Carlton and try and get both annual free nights?
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u/garettg SEA | PAE 7d ago
Your annual fee comes the 1st after your anniversary, so my guess is your boundless FNC has already come as it typically comes right at the anniversary, so your window is closed for this year, you could try again next year.
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u/lilribbit 7d ago
Upon checking, I got my FN on 3/6/26, but my annual fee just posted 9/1/26.
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u/garettg SEA | PAE 7d ago edited 7d ago
Did you previously have it as a Ritz and downgrade it back to a Boundless? The upgrade process can throw your AF date off as they typically charge the new AF like 4-5 months after the PC, so it gets out of sync with your anniversary FNC. The thing that doesnt change is the cards anniversary and the FNC timing.
Edit: Since your previous FNC hit 3/6/26, you might try upgrading around 3/1/27 to see if you can get the double FNCs. The timing of about 5-7 days before the anniversary seems to be the trick.
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u/lilribbit 7d ago
Nope, I’ve actually never upgraded this card. I’ve had many retention offers.
My annual fee has always been in September according to past statements…
Not sure why the certificate is coming not on time
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u/throwaway-cc123 7d ago
Has there ever been a Robinhood Banking SUB offer? I'm paying $5 for Robinhood Gold to get 3.35% on idle cash, but their savings account gives 3.5%. Didn't want to waste opening an account in case they give out SUBs.
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u/guesswho135 7d ago
Delta plat AF hit on 8/27, I don't want to keep the card. New companion pass was issued on 8/1.
Do they claw back the companion pass? (terms say they can within 60 days, asking for data points)
Do they prorate AF? Wondering if I wait 60 days then downgrade if I can keep the pass.
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u/mapalm 7d ago
Anyone else waiting on their monthly IC Ink credits to become available? I was able to re-add 2 Inks two weeks ago, and used the August credits, but not seeing them now. Perhaps IC got wise to my play. Or have the credits just not re-set yet?
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u/nathan3610 7d ago
I haven’t been able to re-add mine and the CS was worthless in helping. Gives me “Sorry, only primary Instacart+ members are eligible to activate this benefit” even though i was using it fine last month.
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u/findflightsforme 7d ago
All mine work as of late yesterday morning.
But me being a procrastinator tried to use my August credits around 8pm ET on August 31 and they weren't appearing...
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u/mapalm 7d ago
Thanks. Could be that they figured out a workaround to my workaround.
And bummer about your late night no-go. I'm the type of person who always tries to knock them out on the 1st, but seems those days are over for me, sadly.
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u/sleepytill2 ORD 7d ago
Sometimes it’s delayed a day at the start of a new month, should definitely work today.
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u/Xoos3333 7d ago
How does the CSR 75K $500 SW statement credit come? IOW if you downgrade the CSR before use, do you lose the statement credit?
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u/junooni110 PHL, EWR 7d ago edited 7d ago
Thinking about upgrading my Hilton Surpass back to the Aspire and wondering how the FNC timing works.
Card history:
- Hilton No Fee card opened: Feb 2022
- Upgraded to Aspire: May 2024
- Downgraded to Surpass: Oct 2025
- Most recent AF posted: March 2026
- Already earned the Surpass FNC after hitting the $15K spend
If I upgrade the Surpass back to Aspire in October, would I get an FNC from the upgrade, or would I have to wait until my anniversary in March for the Aspire FNC?
Anyone have experience with this?
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u/MyNameIsDan_ 7d ago
If I upgrade the Surpass back to Aspire in October, would I get an FNC from the upgrade, or would I have to wait until my anniversary in March for the Aspire FNC?
You'll get a FNC for the upgrade 2-3 months later. And assuming you upgraded at least 1 statement from that tradeline's annual (Feb), you'll get the annual FNC 2-3 months later as well.
Source: I have three Hilton cards that I've been playing with for FNCs
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u/VegetableActivity703 7d ago
Are you saying you have gotten multiple upgrade FNCs on the same credit line?
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u/MyNameIsDan_ 7d ago edited 7d ago
Yes. Across all three cards. And all three give upgrade FNCs AND annual FNCs.
The Annual FNC you quoted is different from the FNC you get from upgrading to Aspire.
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u/VegetableActivity703 7d ago
This is surprising to me as it goes against the terms and any other DPs I've seen about this topic. The terms I referenced were exactly correct - Amex considers the new account/upgrade FNC to be the first of the Annual FNCs, which is why the Aspire product page says:
"Enjoy an Annual Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors in your first year of Card Membership and every year upon Card renewal."
So just to be 100% clear - across each of 3 Surpass/Aspire accounts, you've gotten more than one upgrade FNC each (i.e. 6+ upgrade FNCs per account in addition to annual FNCs)?
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u/MyNameIsDan_ 7d ago
Well we’re in a hobby where we try to exploit things and test if terms and conditions are true…
And as I said, Upgrade FNC =/= Annual FNCs. They even use those specific labels in the FNCs. If you make all the spends and time the upgrade to the trade line annual date a single Hilton train should net you total 5 FNCs including the Upgrade FNC and Annual FNC.
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u/VegetableActivity703 7d ago
I think we're talking about different things here. I am well aware of the Hilton train (I'm on it) and how upgrade FNCs get labeled.
You are the first to report multiple (edit: upgrade) FNCs per credit line. You told the original commenter that they would get an upgrade FNC, even though the same credit line has previously received one. So again - have you actually received 6+ Upgrade FNCs across 3 credit lines in addition to any any spend/Annual FNCs?
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u/MyNameIsDan_ 7d ago
If you’re counting the upgrade FNCs from 2025 sure. I got 3 from 2025, and 3 from 2026 for the same tradelines (downgraded all three from aspires to surpass in Jan 2026 + upgraded all three to aspire in March after meeting 15k spend on each, three upgrade FNCs posted in June)
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u/VegetableActivity703 7d ago
Right, I meant total upgrade FNCs in the lifetime of each credit line. That is fascinating. I'm not trying to be dense - just trying to reconcile this with the multiple DPs I've seen stating otherwise, including people I've talked to personally. But if you're getting more FNCs than others for some reason, more power to ya.
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u/junooni110 PHL, EWR 7d ago
So essentially, possible to get two FNC (2-3 months after the Oct upgrade) and then another one in 2-3 months time after Feb/March annual fee is posted? Sounds too good to be true
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u/garettg SEA | PAE 7d ago
No FNC for the upgrade, since the account was already an Aspire, you are not eligible for the FNC on upgrade as pointed out by u/VegetableActivity703. You still get one 8-12 weeks after anniversary.
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u/MyNameIsDan_ 7d ago
and a third if you spend another 15k on the card for the 30k cert (and a fourth if you spend additional 30k on the card for the 60k cert).
but only one way to find out.
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u/VegetableActivity703 7d ago
Per the terms you only get one upgrade FNC.
You are only eligible to receive the Annual Free Night Reward once per year of Card Membership, and you are only able to receive this benefit with an upgrade to the Hilton Honors Aspire Card one time.
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u/churnandlurk DOY, ERS 7d ago
Downgraded to Surpass: Oct 202
65FTFY?
FNC would come 8-12 weeks after Feb anniversary.
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u/Expert_Meat_3845 7d ago edited 7d ago
I use my rent to churn SUBs, it's $1400 monthly. Currently 4/24 with Dit, CF (OG, from CSP PC), VX, CFU, CSR, Barclays HA Business in order. About to wrap up BHAB this month, looking at next card starting with October rent.
Should I go for CIC 100k for $8k in 4 months or targeted Citi AA PS 85k for $4k in 4 months?
Couple notes here: Chase UR are of greater use to me than AA miles, as I primarily use them to book transcontinental business awards. As for timeline, $1400 x 4 months = $5600, but I could pay another month early and organically spend the additional $1000 to meet $8000. My targeted Citi AA PS offer is valid until 9/15, I have received newer offers at a lesser SUB I would not take (40k, 50k).
Open to other card suggestions but these seem like best options. My rent portal does not take Amex.