Free flights to orlando, 4 free nights swalphin, free $800 disney gift card +MORE

[blackacex2]

If you and your spouse are down to work some deals and want to save big $$$ on your upcoming disney trip, here you go.

Starwood Amex- Personal (husband) 10,000 points= Free night at swalphin
Starwood Amex- Business (husband) 10,000 points= Free night at swalphin

Starwood Amex- Personal (wife)- 10,000 points= Free night at swalphin
Starwood Amex- Business (wife)- 10,000 points= Free night at swalphin

Chase sapphire rewards- (husband)- 40,000 points= $400 target card=$400 disney gift card **must spend $3,000 in first 3 months**
Chase sapphire rewards- (wife)- 40,000 points= $400 target card=$400 disney gift card **must spend $3,000 in first 3 months**

Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa (husband)- 25,000 points= round trip flight
Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa (wife)- 25,000 points= round trip flight

Southwest Business Rewards Visa (husband)- 25,000 points= Weekly rental car
Southwest Business Rewards Visa (wife)- 25,000 points= $250 gift card etc.

All these card have NO annual fee for the first year, except for the southwest cards which have a $69 annual fee. You get your sign up bonus points after first purchase, with the exception of chase sapphire which requires 3k spending in 3 months.

You do NOT need to have a business to sign up for the business card, and they are a separate product meaning you are eligible for business reward sign up bonuses even if you recently received a bonus from the personal card.

Now, I'm NOT recommending you and your spouse sign up for 5 credit cards at once. However, if you are planning a trip a year or two out, and have a good credit score you can easily secure all of these bonuses without harming your credit score. I've signed up for all these deals, as has my wife, and our credit score has gotten about 10% - 20% BETTER.

These credit card companies want to give all this stuff away you better believe you are a fool not to take it. The cards with annual fees typically give you enough points on your card member anniversary to make up for the fee, but if you want to cancel the card there is no harm in doing that as long as you go about it properly.

I haven't paid for flights or a rental car in 4 years- and all because of these sign up bonuses!

One final tip- sometimes the swalphin allows you to combine 4,000 starwood points and $60 cash for a night- with 40,000 points you could stay 10 nights at $60 per night there. It's rare to see more than 4-5 nights available for that promotion consecutively, however.

I'll do another post soon about how to become a travel agent in about 4 hours and for less than $150 in application fees, allowing you to get 50-75% off a 7 night stay at any disney resort every calendar year (including aulani, Hilton Head Island, Vero Beach etc.), along with magic your way with park hopper and water parks+more tickets for 6 days for $180. You'll need to know or get in touch with an agency that will allow you to work for them as an independent contractor, but that's not all that difficult.

Happy savings!

 

[Massillon Dad]

regarding what a great deal credit card sign-up bonuses can be! gotta love em! Keep in mind though, that usually these are for people with good/great credit & often when you acquire a new card your credit rating takes a slight temporary hit. P.S._ Southwest occassionally offers 50K bonus sign up as in NOW (check another post on this page for link). But regarding the "independent contractor" travel agent idea: this has been around for years, and many hotels are "on to it",as I've occasionally heard stories they do not honor the awesome discounts to the "inde" as they do the traditional travel agent. What experiences have you had regarding this? P.S.: the 10K starwood points would get you a standard room @ SWAN with maybe a $260 value...but if you shop around the same # Starwood points might get you a $400 value room elsewhere in USA or even a $700 room in Aruba

 

[blackacex2]

regarding what a great deal credit card sign-up bonuses can be! gotta love em! Keep in mind though, that usually these are for people with good/great credit & often when you acquire a new card your credit rating takes a slight temporary hit. P.S._ Southwest occassionally offers 50K bonus sign up as in NOW (check another post on this page for link). But regarding the "independent contractor" travel agent idea: this has been around for years, and many hotels are "on to it",as I've occasionally heard stories they do not honor the awesome discounts to the "inde" as they do the traditional travel agent. What experiences have you had regarding this? P.S.: the 10K starwood points would get you a standard room @ SWAN with maybe a $260 value...but if you shop around the same # Starwood points might get you a $400 value room elsewhere in USA or even a $700 room in Aruba

People should jump on that southwest deal! It's fantastic. Disney will offer discounts to any travel agent with the proper ID card from IATA or CLIA, I'm not sure about other non-Disney resorts but I have not run into any issues with FAM travel because I have proper credentials and am actively selling.

 

[nonstopdisneymom]

Would love to hear more about the travel agent. I am legitimately thinking that would be my perfect career anyway!! I love talking to people about traveling and especially love finding great deals!

 

[minnie10]

I am nearing retirement in the field of education and am considering a new career in the travel agency field. Please post details.

 

[hsmamato2]

interesting OP....but it seems to me you're shortchanging yourself with these bonus deals.... you should def. do some reading at millionmilesecrets,thepointsguy,etc.
for instance the best deal out there right now(for me) is SWA visa companion pass with 110k points..... it's not too hard to hit that level if you work it right That = a year plus of free flights....
ANd I personally think the starwood cash and points deals are WAY better that straight up free nights,as you could stay for many more days,as a pp posted.(I haven't yet done the starwood deal,as there are better options for me than that card right now)
Also, when using SWA points,I couldn't find a decent deal to use for a rental car,it was financially smarter to pay oop for the car and use those points for flights(and in my case a free ticket to Universal)
Those Chase points can be transferred to different reward programs,like hotels,and airline partners,for (you guessed it) more free flights and nights!
(of course,all these things carry one big caveat, NEVER try this unless you can spend the minimum required amount,without finance charges,to get those bonuses. If you can't do that, you will end up losing $$$)

 

[hsmamato2]

Starwood Amex- Business (wife)- 10,000 points= Free night at swalphin

Chase sapphire rewards- (husband)- 40,000 points= $400 target card=$400 disney gift card **must spend $3,000 in first 3 months**
Chase sapphire rewards- (wife)- 40,000 points= $400 target card=$400 disney gift card **must spend $3,000 in first 3 months**

Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa (husband)- 25,000 points= round trip flight
Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa (wife)- 25,000 points= round trip flight

Southwest Business Rewards Visa (husband)- 25,000 points= Weekly rental car
Southwest Business Rewards Visa (wife)- 25,000 points= $250 gift card etc.

You could always take that 80,000 Chase points and redeem for much more travel value thru their portal,or turn them into SWA points and fly more flights...especially if you transfer them into ONE of your accounts,which you can both book from, the points are good as long as you have an active account......I was just reading that the UR portal has the BEST car rental deals available.....

 

[Pooh2]

Good deals!
Hoping to snag a sign up bonus on Amtrak, so far they are only offering 12,000. Last year, I saw 32,000 points. Should have jumped on it then!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

YIKES you mean in the first three months of having the Chase card we would have to rack up $6,000 in credit card debt.

 

[tlkgt76]

Would love to hear more about the travel agent. I am legitimately thinking that would be my perfect career anyway!! I love talking to people about traveling and especially love finding great deals!

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking! I've got a good career now which probably pays more than a travel agent, but I'd love to have something as a backup plan or something I can start part-time after retirement.

 

[hsmamato2]

YIKES you mean in the first three months of having the Chase card we would have to rack up $6,000 in credit card debt.

NO! You must NEVER do this by racking up debt! You can only accomplish this by spending that amount,and paying it ALL off before the due date,so no charges= no debt. Otherwise it is a VERY BAD IDEA.
NO DEBT. That's why this doesn't work for a lot of people.

 

[indimom]

OP, since you seem to have the low down on these deals, could you please look over my question (I posted a new thread about Amex rewards) and let me know how this works???
Thanks so much!!!!

 

[indimom]

And, thank you very much!! Sometimes I need these things dumbed down for me. lol.

 

[mdsoccermom]

People should jump on that southwest deal! It's fantastic. Disney will offer discounts to any travel agent with the proper ID card from IATA or CLIA, I'm not sure about other non-Disney resorts but I have not run into any issues with FAM travel because I have proper credentials and am actively selling.

For people looking at this and thinking they want to be a TA for the perks, keep in mind that you have to earn your IATAN card (different from an IATA number), and earning that card has selling and earning requirements as you are expected to work for your benefits. For a new agent, it is not easy to achieve. Disney also now requires you to provide a copy af your completion certificate from the College of Disney Knowledge. You also need to keep your training up to date to obtain any benefits.

Basically, become a TA if you are interested in working hard for your clients, and not so you can get a free ticket.

 

[nchulka]

YIKES you mean in the first three months of having the Chase card we would have to rack up $6,000 in credit card debt.

No, not at all!!! What you do is during those 3 months you put every purchase you would normally pay cash or debit card for on the card. You keep track just like you are paying cash and they pay if OFF when the bill comes. Use the card for gas, groceries, everything. I've been doing this for years, and have never paid one dime in interest. I've saved tons in sign up bonuses and cash back

 

[tlkgt76]

For people looking at this and thinking they want to be a TA for the perks, keep in mind that you have to earn your IATAN card (different from an IATA number), and earning that card has selling and earning requirements as you are expected to work for your benefits. For a new agent, it is not easy to achieve. Disney also now requires you to provide a copy af your completion certificate from the College of Disney Knowledge. You also need to keep your training up to date to obtain any benefits.

Basically, become a TA if you are interested in working hard for your clients, and not so you can get a free ticket.

I would love to earn my certification someday. I'm looking into something that I can do part time after retirement someday and any travel perks would just be bonuses. As Disney travel agents, is a degree (above and beyond the certification) required? I've found with their IT department that even though I have a decade of hands on IT development experience and above average reviews from my supervisors, I will not be hired without a degree.

 

[mdsoccermom]

I would love to earn my certification someday. I'm looking into something that I can do part time after retirement someday and any travel perks would just be bonuses. As Disney travel agents, is a degree (above and beyond the certification) required? I've found with their IT department that even though I have a decade of hands on IT development experience and above average reviews from my supervisors, I will not be hired without a degree.

No, there is no degree requirement, nor is there a uniform travel agent certification. The College of Disney Knowledge doesn't make you a travel agent. You need to be one and have an IATA number before taking the course.

 

[tlkgt76]

No, there is no degree requirement, nor is there a uniform travel agent certification. The College of Disney Knowledge doesn't make you a travel agent. You need to be one and have an IATA number before taking the course.

OK, great. Thanks for the info!!!

 

[DawnM]

I did the Sapphire deal last year and got $400 in cash and/or payment directly to the card. I did it first and then Dh did it, so we did get $800, but 3 months apart from one another.

I assume you can only do this once?

Dawn

 

[lhook]

I don't see the target gift cards in the utimate rewards with chase sapphire. How did you get that?

Thanks for any insight,
Leslie