Instant Reaction to "We're Screwed" by Jake Mercure

Shoutout to ‪@jakemercure‬ for inspiration for this video!!!
Here's my rambling reply -- I talk about how we just need to take advantage of the moment in the points and miles / credit card space.

[@DugrozReports]

Link to Jake's Video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/homXh42YotZphZosi=UNpsNsM6Wyeikt0b

[@jakemercure]

Im glad others feel the same way as me. Thanks for making this Dugroz!

[@DugrozReports]

Thanks for the inspiration, @Jake!!!! Hang in there, don't rage cancel all your cards!!!! 😆

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

Sign up bonuses are the way to go and as long as you’re applying within all the bank rules and not overdoing it with the frequency of applications, I don’t see a problem with that strategy

[@DugrozReports]

Thanks Jacob!!!! Agree fully!!!!

[@qcman2000]

Very true Doug. Unless you have a card like the USBAR & use the mobile wallet for the vast majority of your spend, you’re unlikely to get a ton of points on one category if you spend an average or below average amount of money. SUBS are way more valuable, though I’d assume in Jake’s dark scenario CC companies would have to reduce SUBS as well bc of the drop in revenue. Great video 👍🏽.

[@DugrozReports]

Thanks so much, QC man!!!! Let's hope for no dark apocalypse scenario. :)

[@CreditOneSux]

Agreed! SUBS are the way! Analysis paralysis is a real thing playing this CC game we play! 😅

[@DugrozReports]

Thanks so much AAron!!! I appreciate you watching and commenting!

[@LibrarywithMrsRose]

This is the way.

[@jimmyjames6492]

💯 SUBs are the way to go! Thanks for the info + video!

[@DugrozReports]

Thanks Jimmy! Appreciate you stopping by! What sub are you working on right now or have you recently finished?

[@Ryan31310]

I'm already blowing through all sign up bonuses :D

[@DugrozReports]

Thanks Ryan! How blown through are we talking? Like you’ve done all the major banks? Are you starting to turn to small regional credit unions five states away? 😄

[@Ryan31310]

@@DugrozReports Poor wording on my part, I meant I'm always going for signup bonuses can't remember the last time i stressed over the category

[@DugrozReports]

@@Ryan31310 ah, gotcha 🤓🔥

[@MillisConstruction]

I’m kinda on the side where I run everything except flights (those go on the platinum) through my hotel cards and I don’t have any desire to open a bunch of cards so I optimize which card has the higher catagory points for the purchase, gas etc. but I’m running 60-90k through each hotel card I have every single year so the point creation to me is worth quite a bit.

[@DugrozReports]

Thanks Millis!!! I am always quick and happy to acknowledge that. What works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another. Based on the username, and the comments about your hotel cards, I am guessing you have small business expenses that you run through cards quite a bit more than someone like me with a regular 9 to 5 W-2 job. 😊🤓🤓🚜 Safe assumption?

[@jpknowledge8852]

The big stuff is most important, but the multipliers make a difference. Now I'm not saying to sweat every single purchase, but if you can bring in 70-100k points a year by hitting multiplers(groceries, gas dinning), this may not be enough points for an entire trip, but it is enough for a business class flight or a handful of nights at a hotel and that is valuable.

[@DugrozReports]

Thanks JP! As with many things in life and the credit card game, there’s a giant gray area. Like you said, I’m not gonna sweat the small stuff. I’m not sure it’s worth keeping open a $95 annual fee card to make an extra 7000 points a year. On the other hand, if it can bring in 70 to 100,000 points for me? Yeah I’m good with that. 😊😊😊🥳🥳🥳 Thanks so much for stopping by to support my channel. I really appreciate it!

[@docsays]

Ya for low to average spenders the multipliers arent huge issues. But for heavy spenders or those who don’t plan to continually open new cards the category multipliers become important.

[@DugrozReports]

Gosh!!!! (Napoleon Dynamite voice). Yes, that's my Dr. Jekyl / Mr. Hyde thing. I don't like to open a lot of new cards, but I know as an average spender I kind of "need to" to win the game.

[@CesarJoel]

Intro offers is the way! Keep up the great work Doug!🫵

[@DugrozReports]

No doubt. Thanks Cesar!!!!

[@krs1905]

I’m on the Ink Train until it goes off the track. The Bilt statuses make their card much more interesting to me with their bonus transfers and I’m a home owner.

[@DugrozReports]

Thanks Keith!!! Yes, Choo-choo on the Inks! I've had 4 so far, Mrs is on her 1st. Could you clarify how you make BILT work since you're a homeowner?

[@krs1905]

@@DugrozReports interesting to me as I don’t have it yet but might want to get it. Restaurant card for 3x and 1x on basic spend. If you have silver you get 100% more, Gold you get 125% more, and Platinum you get 150% more. If I was Platinum then I’d get 7.5% back on everyday restaurant spend and non-multiplier spend (1x) would get me 2.5x - that’s when you do their transfer offer on Rent Day. It’s AeroPlan today. If you do purchases on Rent day then you double the reward points that you earn on the first of the month. Lots of moving parts in this but if can hit their spending statuses then their Rent Day transfer offers make this card something to think about. One Mile At A Time has a good Bilt article with some of this info.

[@krs1905]

@@DugrozReports are you canceling your Ink Cards so you can reapply? I have two Ink Preferreds

[@DugrozReports]

@@krs1905 it seems like Chase is more concerned with your overall credit limit than with the number of cards. I started with an ink, preferred, and then product change that to an ink unlimited. Then I applied for another income Limited. Cancel that, then got an in cash. I think at some point a product changed one of my ink, unlimited to a cash, then canceled it. Bottom line is I never had more than 3 any given time.

[@krs1905]

@@DugrozReports I think my reply to your question disappeared - it was pretty detailed. Can it be recovered?

[@paulfelkner6749]

This is not new, I always pay my mechanic in cash for a decent discount, better than points. One area that is being overlooked is cash statement credits for registering and using a card at a particular vendor, say McDonalds or Macys - yeah normally it is a small amount like $2 - $7 dollars but I recently got one for a tire store of 10 percent up to $50. Well I spent $900 and used two different Chase cards and got the $90 total statement as well as the points from the $900 purchase plus now I'm keeping that money at five percent for two months.

[@DugrozReports]

Hi Paul! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch and comment. I really appreciate it. Yep, cash discounts are nothing new under the sun. I don’t really think “we are screwed”… Maybe some minor tweaks we all need to roll and adjust with. I once had a Chase offer for something like 20% off at a car repair place that I used that was a nice offer!

[@21socc]

Not working on signup bonus but I use the amex business gold for gas and groceries. Also working on surpass 15k spend. My main transfer partner for Amex is Hilton. So it comes down to 8x with the 1:2 transfer rate amex provides or 6x if I just use my surpass. In the example you use of 10k in spend in this case it would 20k point difference. Is it worth not using the amex business gold to achieve the 15k faster since the end reward is a free night? How valuable is that 20k point difference? This video definitely has me rethinking what's important 🤔

[@DugrozReports]

Thanks for watching and commenting, Richard!!! I agree, these topics trigger some deep thought! I'm not 100% sure on your dilemma. But can you clarify one thing -- do you actually get a grocery modifier on the business Gold????

[@DugrozReports]

I'm going to try to do the math, assuming you spend $15K on "something" that counts as 4x on the business gold ... that would be 60K Amex points. If you wait until a transfer bonus at 30% extra, that would x-fer to Hilton at 1 to 2.6. So That's 156,000 Hilton points. On the other hand, if you put all of that on the Surpass, it's 90,000 Hilton points and a FNC. The point difference being 66,000. Would you rather have a FNC, or an extra 66K Hilton points? Depending on how you use the FNC, those two values are pretty close.

[@21socc]

@@DugrozReports Sorry I misspoke gas and dining are my 4x categories.

[@DugrozReports]

On a related note, I often find when doing this kind of math that the value ends up being very similar when considering different paths to the same goal. It's like the Banks know! .... Please come back and let us all know what you decide!

[@DugrozReports]

@@21socc Me too!!!