credit cards

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

It’s not very common for mortgage lenders to offer cash back or some other sort of reward for taking out a mortgage.

Generally, you might get some sort of closing cost guarantee or some assurance that if they screw up, you’ll be compensated. Really, that’s just making you whole.

But Chase is looking to change that by offering a very healthy 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points (their own rewards currency) for those who apply for a mortgage (and close the sucker).

Update: They have lowered the bonus to 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points, but now offer a bonus across multiple different credit cards.

Chase Is Targeting Sapphire and Other Credit Card Customers

  • Get 75,000 UR points if you have Chase Sapphire Reserve
  • 50,000 UR points if you have Chase Sapphire Preferred
  • 25,000 UR points if you have Chase Sapphire (no fee version)
  • 25,000 UR points if you have Chase Freedom or Freedom Unlimited
  • 75,000 United Miles if you have Chase Mileage Plus Club
  • 50000 United Miles if you have Chase Mileage Plus Explorer

In order to be eligible for this rather handsome bonus, you need to be an existing Chase credit card customer with either the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

It has since been opened up to those with a Chase Sapphire (no fee version), a Freedom or Freedom Unlimited card, and those with Chase co-branded United credit cards.

Assuming you’ve got one of those, you need to take out a “new, residential first mortgage” with the bank. In other words, a purchase loan. You can’t just refinance your existing mortgage to snag the big bonus.

This appears to be a push to capture more purchase-money business, an emerging trend in the industry ever since mortgage rates began to increase and shrink the eligible pool of borrowers.

The loan application must also be submitted to Chase between March 19th and August 31st 2018, and as noted earlier, must actually fund and close.

Within 10 weeks of closing, Chase will deposit the bonus Ultimate Rewards to the primary cardholder’s account. In practice, they tend to credit these bonuses a lot quicker.

Is This Chase Mortgage Bonus a Good Deal?

  • It depends on how you value the UR points
  • And how low the rate and closing costs are with Chase
  • As opposed to using a different mortgage lender
  • That might offer a better rate/fee combination

Well, that all depends. Many value Ultimate Rewards points at nearly 2 cents apiece, which equates to $2,000. But their value is dependent on how they are used.

If you simply cash them in, which you’re more than welcome to do, you’ll only get as much as $750. Still, nothing to sneeze at.

Alternatively, if you use them for business class airfare, you might be able to get thousands of dollars in value out of them.

But then you have to ask yourself if acquiring frequent flyer miles is your goal when taking out a mortgage.

For me, if Chase happens to offer the best pricing and service, or close to it, the 75k bonus points could be enough to sway your decision.

On the other hand, if you can get a better mortgage rate elsewhere, with lower closing costs, the benefit of those points could evaporate quickly.

It should also be noted that the bonus might result in a 1099 (be taxed), whereas traditional credit card rewards aren’t taxed because they’re considered a rebate. That reduces the perceived benefit even more.

The good news is the mortgage market seems to be getting more competitive as lenders fight over less business. That sounds like a positive trend for prospective borrowers.

Chase has been working on revamping its mortgage business of late, promising a digital mortgage experience to keep up with the likes of SoFi and Quicken’s Rocket Mortgage.

They also recently announced the hiring of HGTV’s Property Brothers to promote their home loan lending business. It seems to be an attempt to make mortgages cool, or perhaps more appealing to Millennials, given the many new startups in the space.

As always, be sure to comparison shop before deciding on one lender to get perspective, otherwise you won’t know if you’re sitting on a good deal or a bad deal.

Read more: 10 Tips While Mortgage Rate Shopping

Source: thetruthaboutmortgage.com

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

If you’ve visited a Global Entry kiosk in the past two years, you may have gone through U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s new facial recognition process. It allows you to pass through Global Entry without scanning your passport or fingerprints.

CBP has been rolling out this technology since 2021 to facilitate an even quicker experience for Global Entry users when passing through U.S. customs. Unlike the original kiosks, these use a facial scan to confirm your identity when you arrive at a customs hall kiosk; they also eliminate paper receipts that travelers previously used to show agents.

A trusted traveler program run by the U.S. government, Global Entry allows preapproved, low-risk travelers expedited clearance upon arrival to the U.S. from abroad through automated kiosks at nearly 80 airports.

How do these new facial recognition machines work?

“The new paperless biometric kiosks use facial comparison and leverages mobile officer technology by confirming traveler identity and making an admissibility decision without producing a receipt,” a CBP spokesperson said. “This process will continue to enable increasingly contactless processing and a reduced environmental footprint through the elimination of paper receipts.”

With this new screening capability, you approach the Global Entry kiosks as normal and pose for a photo that verifies your identity. In theory, this whole process should take less than 30 seconds.

Like other technology implemented recently — including the Transportation Security Administration’s new computed tomography X-ray systems — facial recognition kiosks are designed to be more efficient. They also remove physical contact points between agents and travelers while minimizing environmental impact.

The updated Global Entry technology is part of a broader CBP and TSA effort to implement more facial recognition software. The hope is that it will expedite the identity verification process, including upon arrival in the U.S. and when passing through TSA security.

These efforts align TSA with Clear, the private sector’s equivalent of TSA PreCheck.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

In addition to time saved, this is also good news for parents of children who have Global Entry, as fingerprints on kids — especially babies — aren’t necessarily fully developed. Prior to this new process, families with children who weren’t fingerprinted had to see an officer before entry, significantly slowing down the process.

This technology potentially eliminates these issues and allows those globe-trotting children (and their parents) to enter the U.S. without a fuss, as TPG’s director of content, Summer Hull, recently experienced in coming home from Canada with her kids. She said:

“When we went through preclearance in Vancouver, we encountered the new Global Entry facial recognition machines. Typically, with younger kids, it’s been next to impossible to actually get their photo and fingerprints to register correctly and therefore, you usually have to see the agent. Though the new machines were confusing at first, it quickly became a fantastic upgrade as all you need to do is tilt the camera down a bit to see the kids, and there’s no additional scanning. It was fantastically simple and made having Global Entry for the whole family feel more valuable than ever since we actually all got to really use it.”

Where they are now?

As of June 2023, 15 U.S. airports have facial recognition Global Entry kiosks, including Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Miami International Airport (MIA), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

Global Entry is available at a total of 77 airports in the U.S. and abroad, including all major airports and all Preclearance airports.

Ways to save money on Global Entry

For $100, travelers can reap the benefits of both a Global Entry and TSA PreCheck membership for five years.

Fortunately, many cobranded airline and hotel credit cards offer up to $100 in statement credit reimbursement for the application fees associated with Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. This credit is typically available every four to five years.

Some of the credit cards offering this benefit are:

See here for a complete list of credit cards that offer a discount for TSA PreCheck.

Bottom line

With summer travel in full swing, expedited entry following an international trip is welcome news for travelers. Global Entry kiosks speed up the process by using facial scanners to verify identities.

Related reading:

Source: thepointsguy.com

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

Love throwing down your credit card at dinner and regaling your friends with all the details of its perks?

Many credit card issuers have their own version of a referral program that allows current cardholders to recommend, or refer, a credit card to someone else. If the other person is approved for the recommended card, both parties stand to benefit, usually in the form of credit card points or cash.

Chase’s program — aptly named Refer-A-Friend — encompasses cash-back, travel, airline, hotel and business credit cards. Referring friends to one of Chase’s cards can be a pretty easy way to rack up thousands of extra rewards points without spending a dime. However, Chase imposes limits on the number of points or cash you can earn from referrals in a year, and a referral isn’t always the right move for all involved.

Here’s how Chase’s Refer-A-Friend program works.

How to Refer-A-Friend with Chase

The process of referring a friend to a Chase credit card is straightforward: You can send out the referral from Chase’s website or in the app.

To navigate from the website:

  1. Go to https://creditcards.chase.com/refer-a-friend. 

  2. Select the “Refer friends now” button for the card that you’d like to recommend.

  3. When prompted, enter your last name, zip code, and the last four digits of your own credit card. 

  4. Copy the unique URL, and send it to your friend by email, text or social media. 

To navigate from the app:

  1. Log in and select the account for the card that you want to refer. 

  2. Select “Refer a friend.”

  3. Copy the unique URL, and send it to your friend by email, text or social media.

What to consider when you’re referring

As with many things in life, just because you can — doesn’t mean you should. When each successful referral results in a windfall of credit card points, it can be tempting to hand out referral links like candy on Halloween, but there are a few considerations to keep in mind.

Is the card a good fit for your friend?

Consider whether the card fits the other person’s lifestyle. For example, if your friend isn’t a frequent traveler, a Southwest card may not make sense. Suggesting a flashy new rewards card may be the wrong move when it comes to friends who are struggling with credit card debt, too.

There are limits

The maximum amount you can earn in referrals is limited per card you hold: The more Chase cards in your wallet, the more potential referral bonuses you can earn. These limits reset each calendar year. Here’s what’s offered as of June 2023.

Chase credit cards with Refer-A-Friend bonuses

  • Any Disney Visa card. (100 Disney Rewards Dollars for each approved friend up to 500 Rewards Dollars per year.)

  • Any Chase Ink card. (40,000 points for each approved business up to 200,000 points per year.)

A bonus isn’t a sure thing

It sounds simple enough, but you won’t get the referral bonus if your friend doesn’t apply for the card using your link. Even if you’ve taken the time to patiently explain all the ins and outs of the card’s rewards, if your friend forgets and applies on the Chase website instead of your link, you won’t get the credit. You also won’t earn a referral bonus if your friend’s application isn’t approved, or if you’ve reached the referral limits already.

You may have to pay taxes

In most cases, the rewards you earn from your credit card aren’t taxable — they’re viewed as rebates on spending, not as income. But rewards earned from referral bonuses are treated differently. The credit card issuer may issue a 1099 for the cash value of any rewards you earned for referrals.

How to apply with a Refer-A-Friend link

The process to apply for a card using a referral link is simple. But before you do, quickly compare credit card offers to make sure you’re actually getting the best deal. The value of sign-up bonuses can vary, so check Chase’s website and others like NerdWallet to see how the referral offer stacks up.

Then, if you decide to apply for the card using the referral, you’ll just need to visit the link that your friend sent you. If you’re approved, you may receive a response within minutes of submission. However, it can take up to a couple of weeks to get the physical card in the mail.

Source: nerdwallet.com

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

The Offer

Check your emails for the following offer on U.S. Bank credit cards (and possibly Elan as well):

  • Earn an extra 500 bonus points by spending at least $50 on Amazon.com with your U.S. Bank Altitude Card. Available now through July 14, 2023.

Our Verdict

Nice little bonus for spend you might be doing anyway. They seem to have coincided it with Prime Day, we’ve added this deal to our main Prime Day 2023 post as well.

Hat tip to reader Ali

Source: doctorofcredit.com

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

Planning travel can be a daunting maze. Guidebooks, by their nature, send all readers to the same destinations. And web searches can yield an unhelpful mess of content.

Yet some tech-savvy travelers are finding success using artificial intelligence chatbots like ChatGPT and Bard to inspire and plan their vacations, treating these services like free, on-demand travel agents.

“I liked the idea of ChatGPT because it gives you a very clear list,” says Alpa Patel, an avid traveler based out of New York City.

Patel has been planning a family trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, for the summer. After getting frustrated with the cookie-cutter travel websites served up by Google, she had an idea: Why not ask ChatGPT for some advice?

“I started with the best places to stay and it gave me a list of neighborhoods, along with the best hotels. I actually picked my hotel through that list,” Patel says.

Set your preferences

Although Patel enjoyed the simplicity of these responses, she quickly found another reason why AI chatbots like ChatGPT can be useful for travel planning: customization.

Google was giving her endless recommendations for the Scottish Highlands, but Patel’s younger son gets carsick, so she didn’t think it would be feasible for him to spend hours in a car to get there. She found ChatGPT was able to give her reasonable alternatives.

“I very specifically asked, ‘What are good day trips when you have a child who suffers from car sickness?’ It came up with some ideas that you could go to by train,” she says.

Steven Kreimendahl, co-founder of the blog Travel to Blank, was planning a trip to Japan in the spring with his wife and mother-in-law and used ChatGPT’s personalized recommendations to consider the group’s different travel styles.

“My wife and I love traveling all day, while my mother-in-law prefers a slower form of travel,” Kreimendahl says. “I gave ChatGPT as much detail as possible and let it run with that.”

This approach differs from traditional ways of researching travel ideas. It requires some creativity on the traveler’s part to identify their niche interests, such as 1950s architecture in New York City or the best tonkotsu ramen in the Ginza neighborhood of Tokyo. Rather than simply reading a list of ideas, trip planning with AI chatbots involves feeding it the preferences that matter to you.

“The more information it has, the better response you’ll get,” Kreimendahl says.

Push back and verify

Unlike real travel experts, artificial intelligence models can’t get their feelings hurt. That means it’s OK to shoot down ideas you don’t like — in fact, it’s encouraged.

While web search results essentially reset with every new query, the language models powering chatbots can carry on long conversations, remembering and responding to questions and feedback throughout.

“Sometimes it’s really broad, like, ‘just relax for the day,’” Kreimendahl says, citing ChatGPT’s recommendation for a multiday itinerary. “Don’t be afraid to dig in deeper and ask for more specific requests.”

And while these models are great at generating ideas and answering simple questions, nothing they say should be taken as, well, true. ChatGPT, for example, is based on historical information up to 2021, so you can’t expect it to provide the latest details, which you might find with a search engine like Google. The chatbot may recommend a restaurant that closed during the pandemic or a train line that isn’t running on your travel dates.

For example, Kreimendahl was visiting Japan at the end of cherry blossom season, and ChatGPT didn’t know when or where these blooms were actually happening.

Get inspired

AI chatbots like ChatGPT might seem like technological wizards, but they’re still quite limited in what they can do. Don’t expect them to know current flight prices to Dubai or book a reservation at a restaurant it recommends.

However, some travel companies are working on integrating AI chatbots with the booking process. Expedia recently introduced an integration with ChatGPT that saves its recommendations in the Expedia app.

“Any hotels recommended in the conversation powered by ChatGPT will automatically save to a new ‘trip’ in the app that travelers can go back to when they’re ready to shop and book their trip, adding on flights, activities, cars, etc.,” said Rajesh Naidu, senior vice president and chief architect at Expedia Group, in an email.

These integrations are in their early days, so travelers will still have to do the actual booking legwork. But the fun of using AI chatbots lies in the ideas they can generate and the collaborative approach they foster.

“It’s the ideation stage,” Patel says. “It’s giving me the inspiration for what to look deeper into.”

This article was written by NerdWallet and was originally published by The Associated Press.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2023, including those best for:

Source: nerdwallet.com

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

Citi has announced a refresh to the Citi Diamond Preferred card, changes are as follows:

  • Citi Easy Deals has been rebranded and is now called My Deals and is available on Citi Mobile App and Citi Online
  • New card cart (see below)
  • Savings spotlight feature. Shows you how much you’ve saved from ‘My Deals’ and interest rate promotions

Overall this is a surface level change at best, but it does indicate they plan to keep the diamond preferred around. Citi easy deals (now my deals) can be great so it’s worth holding onto the card for that. Hopefully this means we are one step closer to the Citi Strata.

Source: doctorofcredit.com