Airmiles Armchair Chatter

[dancin Disney style]

Thanks very much to you both for your replies! We are heading to Disney early May so I should probably get the rental booked. It's funny because the last time we flew to Orlando, I paid to rent a vehicle and we got to MCO so late due to a delayed flight that the company we rented from (I can't recall who at the moment) only had minivans left so that worked out quite well for us. I will definitely not cheap out on choosing the category of vehicle but I'm trying to figure out which to choose as the number of bags that they claim the vehicles accommodate doesn't always seem to jive with the size of the vehicle. There are only three of us travelling so as long as there is an option to fold down the back seat to accommodate more trunk room, I'm hoping we should be fine. Thanks again!!

Don't worry too much about what it says for luggage. With three people is it safe to say you will have 6 bags? If that were me I would book a compact and I would not be worried about 6 bags fitting in.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Email coupon from Rexall, not the best return but if you're planning to use the mega miles one it will stack. AND if you're over 55 you could clean up on Tuesday by creating a $50 transaction and then these steps

1. Mega miles coupon using $20 worth of cash miles
2. 20% discount on regular priced items
3. Get a $10 gift card back
4. Earn 80 miles from this email coupon
5. Earn 40 miles from the mega miles coupon
6. Only spend $30 which could be charged to your mastercard

spend 50 get 80 AM valid March 25th - 28th

 

[Disney Addicted]

Regarding the $5 off coupon and the scenario below -> do I need to spend $60 pre-tax or $65 pre-tax to use the $5 off coupon and receive the 180 miles? I've never tried to stack that many before. Is there a particular order to hand the coupons over?

I'm not sure if I'll do that or just do a Spend $25 get $5 off and use the MM 190 cash miles.

Spend $60 get 60 miles (L+G)
Spend $50 get 80 miles (coupon)
Spend 190 cash miles get 40 miles (MM coupon)
Spend $25 get $5 off (coupon)

 

[ottawamom]

It depends on the store and how they choose to deal with it. I've had it work both ways.

Thanks for the reminder @Donald - my hero . I was about to go out today and do the MM with DS account. If I come up with a few other items it will be a better return to wait and do it tomorrow.

Changed my mind. I'm going to do DS card today just spending the $20 needed for the MM coupon. I'll stack when I do next weeks shop using my card.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Regarding the $5 off coupon and the scenario below -> do I need to spend $60 pre-tax or $65 pre-tax to use the $5 off coupon and receive the 180 miles? I've never tried to stack that many before. Is there a particular order to hand the coupons over?

I'm not sure if I'll do that or just do a Spend $25 get $5 off and use the MM 190 cash miles.

Spend $60 get 60 miles (L+G)
Spend $50 get 80 miles (coupon)
Spend 190 cash miles get 40 miles (MM coupon)
Spend $25 get $5 off (coupon)

This is purely a case of YMMV and even varies from store to store within my own city!

• Store 1 -- I will only use the $5 coupon if I have no others to use since it negates EVERYTHING ELSE!
• Store 2 -- there are more teens working after 6 and they don't care or understand the POS and since i can't get there without multiple buses I only go when hubby's around and he has little or no patience for hassles, translates to Only when there are BIG offers on shelf!
• Store 3 -- they are GREAT but need to be careful with order of things scanning if i want them to all work!

This is the order i will ask things to be scanned when i have more than 1:

1. Airmiles card -- only use my actual card to be sure it works cause I'm anal with my miles
2. Promo Coupon for bonus miles if there are any (MM or StB)
3. Email Coupon threshold spend
4. EXTRA big coupon threshold spend from APP when there is one
5. Any manufacturer coupons i might have
6. Survey coupon for $5.00 off
7. Any gift cards I have

I do my best to make sure there is no line up when i tackle something this massively complicated and I tell the cashier up front that i have a lot of coupons and I want to make sure they work properly. I always, repeat ALWAYS, study my receipt before i even leave the till to make sure i got the miles I expected because it's easier to fix right at the time it happens instead of chasing them down later

ETA, i must admit that I'm paranoid that using that coupon might make my miles not work properly so i tend to use it for $5 worth of stuff i wouldn't normally get (hello cheesies)

 

[Donald - my hero]

Thanks very much to you both for your replies! We are heading to Disney early May so I should probably get the rental booked. It's funny because the last time we flew to Orlando, I paid to rent a vehicle and we got to MCO so late due to a delayed flight that the company we rented from (I can't recall who at the moment) only had minivans left so that worked out quite well for us. I will definitely not cheap out on choosing the category of vehicle but I'm trying to figure out which to choose as the number of bags that they claim the vehicles accommodate doesn't always seem to jive with the size of the vehicle. There are only three of us travelling so as long as there is an option to fold down the back seat to accommodate more trunk room, I'm hoping we should be fine. Thanks again!!

I've been known to pull up the rental car site and study what vehicles they consider to be included within each category and then pull up the actual website from the auto company to study the features of each "potential car" The numbers of bags you see on each site make no sense like you mentioned (kinda like Disney math .. ) For us it's imperative that there is a trunk of some kind since hubby needs to bring a work laptop with us wherever we go and most compacts/economy cars don't have the "trunk" area covered with anything -- hatchbacks & jeeps might be nice to drive but not if you need things hidden!!

You could also look at the website for each rental agency to see which one lets you pick your car within each category at MCO then you get sent to a "lane" and just get into whichever car you want!

 

[Disney Addicted]

This is purely a case of YMMV and even varies from store to store within my own city!

• Store 1 -- I will only use the $5 coupon if I have no others to use since it negates EVERYTHING ELSE!
• Store 2 -- there are more teens working after 6 and they don't care or understand the POS and since i can't get there without multiple buses I only go when hubby's around and he has little or no patience for hassles, translates to Only when there are BIG offers on shelf!
• Store 3 -- they are GREAT but need to be careful with order of things scanning if i want them to all work!

This is the order i will ask things to be scanned when i have more than 1:

1. Airmiles card -- only use my actual card to be sure it works cause I'm anal with my miles
2. Promo Coupon for bonus miles if there are any (MM or StB)
3. Email Coupon threshold spend
4. EXTRA big coupon threshold spend from APP when there is one
5. Any manufacturer coupons i might have
6. Survey coupon for $5.00 off
7. Any gift cards I have

I do my best to make sure there is no line up when i tackle something this massively complicated and I tell the cashier up front that i have a lot of coupons and I want to make sure they work properly. I always, repeat ALWAYS, study my receipt before i even leave the till to make sure i got the miles I expected because it's easier to fix right at the time it happens instead of chasing them down later

ETA, i must admit that I'm paranoid that using that coupon might make my miles not work properly so i tend to use it for $5 worth of stuff i wouldn't normally get (hello cheesies)

I have decided I do not want to spend $40 OOP at Rexall's right now so my first scenario I won't worry about then. It sounds complicated and I don't really want to risk not getting the miles. I may try stacking multiple coupons (if available) during the April 1-7 Rexall Spend $40 get 20 only if I need that MM coupon for my daughter. I ended up signing my daughter up for an Air Miles card a couple of days ago when I realized I could get her at least 1,200 miles during the MM bonus. Maybe 1,800 if I get the maximum Sobey's gift cards on her collector number.

I appreciate the time you took to explain this to me!!

So, I'll grab $25-$27 worth tomorrow at Rexall's; use the $5 coupon to have $20-$22 pre-tax; then apply the 190 cash miles to get $20 off and end up paying $0-$2 PLUS tax OOP. That should work, right?

 

[tinkerone]

So, I'll grab $25-$27 worth tomorrow at Rexall's; use the $5 coupon to have $20-$22 pre-tax; then apply the 190 cash miles to get $20 off and end up paying $0-$2 PLUS tax OOP. That should work, right?

Worked for me today. I spent $27.46 before tax, used the $5 coupon and the 190 AM's. Cost me $6.03. That was for one card, the other card didn't go so smoothly although the coupons did stack.
BTW the 40 AM's do not show on the receipt.

 

[Donald - my hero]

As pointed out by @tinkerone .. don't forget the miles for redeeming your cash miles at Rexall will NOT show on your receipt -- never have, just make sure you see the coupon code on your receipt and that you get the email confirming that you redeemed cash miles and you're good to go! Staple a copy of the coupon to your receipt for follow-up purposes

 

[Donald - my hero]

I have three IGA’s within a short drive from my house. My experience with redeeming airmiles at IGA is that they cannot do it by simply entering the number. They need the physical card OR the cashier needs to have a hand scanner (newer or upgraded store) and use that to scan the digital card off the phone. Only one of the three IGA’s around me is equipped to do that.

Personally i WANT them to require my actual card to redeem miles .. it's too easy for someone to just recite your account number and have those miles gone. Someone posted a picture of a receipt on the MM thread the other day and it showed the full account number not just the final 4 digits meaning it's too easy for people to have access to anyone's account. Am i paranoid? Perhaps, very likely actually but my miles are hard-earned and i want to be sure that they stay secure.

 

[Newcastle]

Don't worry too much about what it says for luggage. With three people is it safe to say you will have 6 bags? If that were me I would book a compact and I would not be worried about 6 bags fitting in.

Thanks dancin Disney style! We will have three large bags, a medium-sized bag (to bring souvenirs back in ) and three carry-ons so we can always cram stuff in the back seat if necessary. I did a test run with my DD's Hyundai Elantra and I think we will definitely need back seats that fold down but I don't know of many newer cars that don't have this option.

 

[Newcastle]

I've been known to pull up the rental car site and study what vehicles they consider to be included within each category and then pull up the actual website from the auto company to study the features of each "potential car" The numbers of bags you see on each site make no sense like you mentioned (kinda like Disney math .. )

This made me smile as that is exactly what I have been doing to try to figure out which type of model might make the most sense in terms of luggage capacity. I think that's a great suggestion to choose an agency that lets you choose your car. When paying out-of-pocket, I usually choose an agency that offers that service but I don't think that Budget does (I could be wrong) and that is the company I am thinking of going with given that they require the fewest miles and they currently offer bonus AMs when you book using your AMs. I suppose I'll just have to roll the dice and see what happens when we pick up the car. I'm sure we can get creative in how we load up the car . Thanks Donald!

 

[bababear_50]

???? Anyone hoping for a

this Friday?
Yes yes I know it's early in the week but a girl can hope right?lol.

Hugs
Mel

 

[montrealdisneylovers]

Personally i WANT them to require my actual card to redeem miles .. it's too easy for someone to just recite your account number and have those miles gone. Someone posted a picture of a receipt on the MM thread the other day and it showed the full account number not just the final 4 digits meaning it's too easy for people to have access to anyone's account. Am i paranoid? Perhaps, very likely actually but my miles are hard-earned and i want to be sure that they stay secure.

I absolutely agree with you. They should require the physical card OR the digital card. The problem is that the digital card won’t work if they don’t have a hand scanner.

If you forget that you left your card in your other jacket pocket (sloppy I know!) and only realize it when you are at the cash ready to redeem your miles for the MegaMiles hunt, it can be very frustrating when the store does not have a hand scanner.

 

[Disney Addicted]

Worked for me today. I spent $27.46 before tax, used the $5 coupon and the 190 AM's. Cost me $6.03. That was for one card, the other card didn't go so smoothly although the coupons did stack.
BTW the 40 AM's do not show on the receipt.

Awesome!

 

[ottawamom]

???? Anyone hoping for a

this Friday?
Yes yes I know it's early in the week but a girl can hope right?lol.

Hugs
Mel

Not this week for me. Next week would be perfect. I have finished my running around with Mega Miles now. Just need to do Metro (Apr 11) and Rexall (Apr 1) and I will have 3 cards completed. I need a little break from Airmiles hunting for a few days.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Thanks dancin Disney style! We will have three large bags, a medium-sized bag (to bring souvenirs back in ) and three carry-ons so we can always cram stuff in the back seat if necessary. I did a test run with my DD's Hyundai Elantra and I think we will definitely need back seats that fold down but I don't know of many newer cars that don't have this option.

When you fold the seat down you actually lose space. You would be better off to have two people sit in the back and push the front passenger seat back then use that seat for luggage. Unless you have 30” luggage, which the airline will charge for oversized anyway, you would be able to get a carryon on the floor and stack two large bags on the seat. Also remember that you can ride with a carryon on your lap or maybe at your feet....the ride is short so for most people it’s not a problem.

Seven bags seems like an awful lot. Our last trip we were just two of us (and my DD is a MAJOR over packer) we stayed 10 days and had one large checked bag, two carryons and a backpack.

 

[Newcastle]

When you fold the seat down you actually lose space. You would be better off to have two people sit in the back and push the front passenger seat back then use that seat for luggage. Unless you have 30” luggage, which the airline will charge for oversized anyway, you would be able to get a carryon on the floor and stack two large bags on the seat. Also remember that you can ride with a carryon on your lap or maybe at your feet....the ride is short so for most people it’s not a problem.

Seven bags seems like an awful lot. Our last trip we were just two of us (and my DD is a MAJOR over packer) we stayed 10 days and had one large checked bag, two carryons and a backpack.

That's a really good idea about the front passenger seat...thanks! Our larger pieces of luggage are on the smaller size compared to 30" luggage so it's essentially one bag for each of us (and the extra one for souvenirs) and our carry-ons are actually bags/backpacks as opposed to luggage so we could probably squish and squeeze those to fit a little easier. I actually haven't started packing yet so we may very well be able to get away with fewer bags but I'd just like to be prepared as I have some over packers in my family as well . Thanks again for the tip!!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Someone posted on FB that it’s Blue Friday at IGA this week.

 

[dancin Disney style]

gotta love the AM Facebook group. There is a new post from someone that shopped at Foodland and the cashier didn't tell her to use the MM coupon....so now it doesn't count and she's mad.

Sorry...It's not very nice for me to think that's funny but it falls into the category of 'entitlement' for me.