I had a weird glitch happen last night while redeeming against a travel purchase on the app.
The redemption took an extra 10% of the billed points, left me with negative points before the 10% travel points rebate. The net showed points left just as if I hadn’t received travel points at all. So for a moment, I thought maybe my account had lost that rebate.
Oddly though, the redemption confirmation email showed the corrected / expected point total remaining, including the rebate. And today, the web site also shows the correct total.
So if you see yourself shorted on points after a redemption via the app, don’t panic.
A cardholder would be stupid to churn this card. The long-term benefits significantly outweigh any short-term gains. There are better targets for churning particularly when sign-up bonuses are considered.
To be clear, they weren’t “churning the card”, as in signing up for a bonus then closing and repeating. (Indeed one could not, as this flavor of card hasn’t been available for signups for years).
What they were doing is “churning ON this card”, i.e. using MS techniques to inflate spend and capture outsize rewards. IME Barclays is actually fairly tolerant of heavy legit spend, but not of MS or “MS-looking” patterns.
That said, ITA with your assessment that risking a card like this seems penny-wise and pound-foolish, especially since it’s lasted this long.
Yeah, I should have made my post clearer . Regardless, yes, the risk of losing the grandfathered version of this card due to MS abuse isn’t one I’d advise anyone to take.
I understand the first part. I guess it’s pretty obvious and easy to understand and your explanation is good and detailed.
I do not understand the second part, and I REALLY want to avoid doing anything which could jeopardize my card. Regardless, I’ll take a shot, here:
Are you saying, DaveHanson, it is imprudent to spend more each month than the amount of one’s credit line (whatever that is)?
ETA
OK, I just went out onto the net and looked up “churning” of credit cards. The various sites seem to agree the term refers to applying for many credit cards in order to harvest the bonuses. I have not done that because I fear the impact on my credit score. However:
I do recycle my credit line by paying off charges really early and then charging more stuff. This in an effort to garner as much in rewards (not bonuses) as I can. Is this stupid? Should I stop doing this?
My experience on this is too limited to be very meaningful, and it surely is not at all reliable by itself. Still, what little experience I have agrees with what you wrote. And this is pivotal stuff. Loss of my Priceline card would cost me many thousands of dollars each year.
Much more by good luck than good management, I have operated my Priceline card (on a monthly spending basis) within its credit line boundaries . . . which are quite generous. Plan going forward will be to expand those boundaries, if possible, rather than to spend and replenish.
Not at all. At least not if you mean what I think you mean. A surcharge for payment made via credit card, in order for the school to cover the interchange fee (i.e., the transaction fee) it will incur because of your use of your card, is not manufactured spending. It is, instead, just an effort by the school to come out even after they pay the interchange fee.
By way of example:
Assume the tuition owed is $1000. If you pay with your credit card it could easily cost the school $20, plus a small fixed fee, to accept your payment in that manner. They want their thousands bucks, not $980. So they hit you with that “credit card fee” to make up the difference.
Payment of tuition is a real purchase. Tuition is a real expense.
Conventional MS is, instead, the “purchase” via credit card of things which easily and quickly can be converted into cash. The MSer makes money by collecting credit card rewards on the “purchase” while not incurring any real expense.
Weird issue on a PL rental car booking today. Happened early this morning, and again just now…chats and calls this morning never fixed it.
Grabbed an Express Deal for rental cars at ogg November 18-21 for $27 / night, $170 total. But each time, it was rejected with “negotiation on hold” error…as if I’d submitted a NYOP bid and it was too low.
Has anyone else seen anything like that before, or proved able to get it resolved?
Yes, I saw this exact same issue ten years ago. I believe it is due to the estimated total being too low due to all the extra cramed taxes and fees on the actual rental. The system can’t change you estimated total, so the booking fails.
Yes, some sort of adjustment it appears. I guess we will have to wait for the next statement to close, but I don’t know if we will know the reason. Maybe it is those missing 10% bonus redemptions.
I think that’s a good guess, rasheed. I did some math, and it isn’t correlating to other obvious amounts. The points I was credited seem reasonable for the amount I was shorted.
My cycle closes tonight, will report back if there’s anything interesting on the statement.
. Regardless, yes, the risk of losing the grandfathered version of this card due to MS abuse isn’t one I’d advise anyone to take.