I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[amalone1013]

Ahhh one more AMEX Plat Uber credit question. Let's say I app for DH right now and he gets instant approval... Do I need to use a credit by the 31st or I lost out, since it's the end of the month? I'm thinking maybe I should just wait until the 1st for that reason, plus I will definitely be using an uber on the cruise trip next month anyways.

 

[Albort]

Ahhh one more AMEX Plat Uber credit question. Let's say I app for DH right now and he gets instant approval... Do I need to use a credit by the 31st or I lost out, since it's the end of the month? I'm thinking maybe I should just wait until the 1st for that reason, plus I will definitely be using an uber on the cruise trip next month anyways.

never heard of the uber trick? :]

 

[amalone1013]

never heard of the uber trick? :]

I feel like I read this but did not retain since it didn't pertain to me at the time...

 

[DisneyMandC]

And she was like, oh... and you could just see the wheels turning, because you guys all know we're not paying rack rate for the ILs cruise, but she doesn't, and just the fact that we did cover the whole thing (even among 3 kids + 3 spouses) as a gift and they're covering under $1k for aunt.

I've gotten this a couple times from people when I say we're taking our parents to WDW in September. I want to be like "it's cheaper for me to take them there than anywhere else." lol. I'm still on track to spend less than $2500 OOP for a trip worth over $8000.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I'm back from my epic three-week trip around the British Islands, Ireland, and (my bucket list) Faroe Islands--it was all amazing, and the Faroes were every bit as gorgeous as I anticipated.


It was also a great churning experience. I flew from SFO to LHR on miles in Virgin Upper Class and flew back on miles via British Air in First Class--jammies were provided on both so double yay! I've flown Virgin Upper Class a few times, and it's a great experience, but I *loved* my first class BA experience. I had a good plane and my seat was nice and private. I was so comfortable, I literally didn't want to wake up.


Sorry for the sideways pics below but you can see the set up:



The jammies and amenity bag are from Temperley (high end English brand) so very fancy



The food is the only thing that could really use improvement. Of course, I came back and tried to book my next trip in 1st and I didn't see any availability from SFO the entire calendar year. Bummer.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Just got an email that my airport will now start offering direct AA flights to JFK this November! That'll be great since I was planning to do a positioning flight to JFK for our flights to Tokyo next year. I just checked and there are web specials as low as 12k one way. Still cheaper to get to LGA with 5k one way, so I'll just have to look at the flight times closer to and decide our plans.

 

[BamaBoy]

Having a problem transferring URs from CIC to CSP account. Name is the same on both cards, but have tried several times over the last couple of weeks and keeping getting "an unexpected error has occurred" message. Some Google research says you may have to call Chase. Anyone had this happen? Thanks!

 

[mmmears]

If my dd were not desperately trying to get into the DCP starting in Jan 2020, I'd be declaring a Disney break. I am so over the money grabs from them. I love Disney. I grew up on it, going to the MK for the first time at 8yo, and for many years after. I've raised my kids on the brand. But I'm very aware these days of just how much it costs to take a family vacation there. It's mind blowing and I have NO idea how the average person affords it!

I loved DLR. I loved so many things about it but one of my favs was how you could stay offsite and be just as close (in some cases, closer) than onsite guests. There were plenty of things I didn't prefer about DLR but the same could be said for WDW. There is equal charm. I love the bubble of WDW but the cost to be in that bubble has become ridiculous!

I hope your DD gets it!!!! I feel the same way. I grew up on Disney stuff. My first movie was a Disney movie. My first big trip was to Disneyland (I was 2 - it took until my 20s to get to the MK). I like them both, but do want to be in the bubble. Luckily there are other places I can go and things I can see. The money grabs and the increasing (and often badly behaved) crowds are making it easier for me to walk away for a bit, but I'll always love the parks even if I don't go often.

The link for doc is still working for 75k.

Is his link any different from the general public one that Citi is posting online?

 

[platamama]

Has anyone heard of the BOA Travel Rewards for Students card? It looks like it is 1.5 earn rate, $250 (25,000 points) SUB for $1000 spend and no Foreign Transaction Fees. Is there any reason I should tell my DDs friend not to get this card? I have a feeling she will be a one and done with CCs so this seems like it should be a good option? Am I missing anything?

DH has the BoATR (not for Students), and while it's a fine card in his situation, I wouldn't recommend it as a one and done CC. In order to get 1cpp, you need to have travel expenses to redeem against, so it's not as flexible as a regular cash back card. This is a screenshot of his redemption choices:



You can see that if your DD's friend just used it as a cash back card, she would only get $.006/1pt value. With a 1.5 earning rate, that works out to $.009/$1 of spend.

I would think the Discover It card Student Cash Back is a better pick. However, I would caution that her friend that even though there is no FTF on it, the acceptance of Discover is a lot less than VI/MC depending on what country they're visiting. Another consideration for a one and done card is the Citi Double Cash, but the big downside to that is the 3% FTF. How much foreign travel is she expecting to do?

Also, a pet peeve I have with BoA is that I can't link an external account to pay off my credit card bill.

 

[Mopedmom1]

Having a problem transferring URs from CIC to CSP account. Name is the same on both cards, but have tried several times over the last couple of weeks and keeping getting "an unexpected error has occurred" message. Some Google research says you may have to call Chase. Anyone had this happen? Thanks!

It happened to me a lot before I had more than one choice to transfer between. Before you call make sure you click on each card to highlight it; i.e. click on the area where it says CIC card#xxxx transfer from, and then click on the transfer to area that has the CSP card#xxxx. If that doesnt work try calling. Also, if you just added one of the cards you may need to wait 24 hours for it to activate.

 

[WVMomof3]

DH has the BoATR (not for Students), and while it's a fine card in his situation, I wouldn't recommend it as a one and done CC. In order to get 1cpp, you need to have travel expenses to redeem against, so it's not as flexible as a regular cash back card. This is a screenshot of his redemption choices:

View attachment 403893

You can see that if your DD's friend just used it as a cash back card, she would only get $.006/1pt value. With a 1.5 earning rate, that works out to $.009/$1 of spend.

I would think the Discover It card Student Cash Back is a better pick. However, I would caution that her friend that even though there are no FTF on it, the acceptance of Discover is a lot less than VI/MC depending on what country they're visiting. Another consideration for a one and done card is the Citi Double Cash, but the big downside to that is the 3% FTF. How much foreign travel is she expecting to do?

Also, a pet peeve I have with BoA is that I can't link an external account to pay off my credit card bill.

Thanks, I did see that it was 1 cent per point redemption for travel. Did not see the other options. I will tell her only to redeem for travel. That should not be a problem for her. She actually travels a lot. She has been spending several weeks in Ireland every summer for the last 3 or 4 years and usually adds a side trip before and/or after. She is the one that went to visit my DD in South Africa. She gets around. She has been using her mom's Disney Visa (Oy, I can not get my friend to change that!) and they all travel a ton as a family overseas so have been paying foreign fees and not even batting an eye. Same with their ATM card. Ughhhhhh Anywayyyyy, I think I can actually get her to get another one if needed down the line. I think she will be better than her mom. This seemed like a good option because it said Student, so I figured would be easier for her to get. My DD is in Montreal right now and is discovering why the Discover has no Foreign transaction fee, because no one takes it! lol

What do you mean by linking account to pay bill? You can not link your bank account to pay online? That would be a pain.

 

[CoP Luv]

It's been approximately 4 days and 600 pages ago that I last logged on, so clearly there is a lot of chatter about stuff that I haven't read. Thanks to @SouthFayetteFan and other experts for the News Page on Reddit, because that's AH-Mazing and I can get some of the big topics when I get a chance.

Now, I actually have big-potential-hopefully-will-happen travel plans down the road. And I probably can only make them happen if I can get the most of it done on points/miles.

Hopefully, we will be going to Australia/New Zealand late 2021 or early 2022 AND Paris in May/June 2023. So clearly I will need a lot of points to make this happen - 2 adults, business class or higher for long-haul flights is a must.

I'm not a newbie and have read enough to know about what is needed to help the experts with their answers.

Home Airport: ORD
I did a mock booking for all of the stops (Sydney, Christchurch, Melbourne, and back to ORD) and have seen that I can use United, AA, Quantas, or Emirites for any of the flight options.

For Paris, there is a non-stop flight on Delta or United/Lufthansa, or 1-stop on AA (either domestic or through LHR)

Here are our stats:
ME: CSR (1/17 - closed 3/19), Disney Visa (7/17), IHG (3/18) CIP (7/18) Amex Plat (11/18) - eligible for new CSR bonus 3/21, I have a "business" but no EIN
DH: CSR (3/18), Disney Visa (2/19) - reluctant P2 and wouldn't know about the NZ trip so I don't want to rely too much on him
I like to keep at least 3+ months inbetween apps.

URs: 105k between two CF's, CSR, and CIP, but all on the CSR.
MR: 106k and not really earning much right now
United: 25k-ish and earning mostly on MPX when I remember to use it
AA: probably a few thousand each and not earning currently

QUESTIONS!!!!

1. Does anyone have a bookmarked guide on MR that they really like? I have been reading a little bit on MR over the last few months, but now need to get serious on how best to utilize them for travel. I'm not asking for anyone to do research for me, but more if anyone already has something in their notes they are willing to share.
2. DH got the Amex Plat 100k offer. This might be the next card I have him go for since I think we can make spend with Insurance renewals and annual church contributions coming up. Again, will need to decide how MRs can get us to our destinations. This expires in mid-June.
3. Who has been to Australia/NZ on points? What have you done to make it happen? I have time and have heeded enough of @calypso726 's advice to know where you are going 2+ years in advance so you can get the points/miles by the time 1 year comes around to book at the best rates.
4. What cards should I focus on to get the most United or Quantas miles? Any other strategies for this? United goes to both locations so I might focus on this carrier, but open to any and all other ideas too.

Thanks and thanks and thanks and thanks!!!!!

 

[mmmears]

So, first BIG churning trip airline booking was a mixture of success and failure.

The good news- the 4 of us are going to Austria and Portugal for the dates I wanted next spring. We have nonstops for the long-hauls, and are flying in/out of the same airport stateside (which I didn't think was going to be possible originally, so that's a bonus). It cost 420k in United/UR points plus a little less than $500 in fees. I priced out our itinerary using $ instead of points, and it would be about $2k per ticket if I paid cash (all economy) and about $8k for the mix of economy and business that I actually got!

The not-so-good news is that I wasn't able to get business on the way over (flying right before Easter, not terribly surprising), so no lie-flat seats on the red-eye. The intra-Europe flights I was able to do business for all 4 of us, which is nice because I wasn't able to get direct flights, so it will be nice to be in business on those 2 flights. On the long-haul back, I was only able to get 2 business seats, the other 2 are in economy. It showed 4 business seats available, but I had to book on 2 separate itineraries (because I was using both my account and P2's account), and once one set was booked, the other 2 disappeared (even though I was booking simultaneously online with an agent on the phone). That was kind of a bummer. My sweet DH says he doesn't care at all about sitting in economy (like a peasant) with one of the kids while I ride in style up front. We will probably have the kids take turns sitting with each parent - its a loooooong flight. I will keep checking - maybe those 2 award seats will show up and I can make the change for a fee.

So it wasn't a total slam-dunk, but we are still going to 2 cities in Europe over spring break for $125 per person.

Wow! It sounds like you did really well. Do keep checking for those seats. Our first trip to Europe on miles was on AA, but I could only get 2 seats in first, so I put sad DH in business (because I wasn't going to leave my middle school girl all alone) and I kept checking and eventually they opened up a couple more seats and I was able to move him. I hope the same happens for you.

@Calfan @calypso726 and/or anyone else who is better at the airline redemption thing than I am - is it possible for me to purchase seat assignments for my award flights? The flights I booked with United points are on Austrian, Lufthansa and TAP Portugal, so I wasn't able to choose seats. I'd be willing to pay to pick seats so that we can all sit together (or at least sit 2 and 2) on the long haul flights.

I'm not as experienced as those posters, but I do think there should be some way to do it. Last summer AF let us pick without issue, but BA made us pay (far, far too much) to pick our seats. I'd check online with the airline or call them.

My dh had another interview this morning with the same company he was trying to get hired with a year ago. They asked him to present at their conference this past March and then they opened up a couple new positions and then things started falling into place and now I’m freaking out nervous I want change but I don’t want change, iykwim. Should know something by Friday.

I totally know what you mean. I get both excited and worried when DH says he wants to look around. I hope he gets a great offer!

 

[Haley R]

Having a problem transferring URs from CIC to CSP account. Name is the same on both cards, but have tried several times over the last couple of weeks and keeping getting "an unexpected error has occurred" message. Some Google research says you may have to call Chase. Anyone had this happen? Thanks!

Just SM them saying where you want the points moved to and they will do it manually for you

 

[WVMomof3]

It's been approximately 4 days and 600 pages ago that I last logged on, so clearly there is a lot of chatter about stuff that I haven't read. Thanks to @SouthFayetteFan and other experts for the News Page on Reddit, because that's AH-Mazing and I can get some of the big topics when I get a chance.

Now, I actually have big-potential-hopefully-will-happen travel plans down the road. And I probably can only make them happen if I can get the most of it done on points/miles.

Hopefully, we will be going to Australia/New Zealand late 2021 or early 2022 AND Paris in May/June 2023. So clearly I will need a lot of points to make this happen - 2 adults, business class or higher for long-haul flights is a must.

I'm not a newbie and have read enough to know about what is needed to help the experts with their answers.

Home Airport: ORD
I did a mock booking for all of the stops (Sydney, Christchurch, Melbourne, and back to ORD) and have seen that I can use United, AA, Quantas, or Emirites for any of the flight options.

For Paris, there is a non-stop flight on Delta or United/Lufthansa, or 1-stop on AA (either domestic or through LHR)

Here are our stats:
ME: CSR (1/17 - closed 3/19), Disney Visa (7/17), IHG (3/18) CIP (7/18) Amex Plat (11/18) - eligible for new CSR bonus 3/21, I have a "business" but no EIN
DH: CSR (3/18), Disney Visa (2/19) - reluctant P2 and wouldn't know about the NZ trip so I don't want to rely too much on him
I like to keep at least 3+ months inbetween apps.

URs: 105k between two CF's, CSR, and CIP, but all on the CSR.
MR: 106k and not really earning much right now
United: 25k-ish and earning mostly on MPX when I remember to use it
AA: probably a few thousand each and not earning currently

QUESTIONS!!!!

1. Does anyone have a bookmarked guide on MR that they really like? I have been reading a little bit on MR over the last few months, but now need to get serious on how best to utilize them for travel. I'm not asking for anyone to do research for me, but more if anyone already has something in their notes they are willing to share.
2. DH got the Amex Plat 100k offer. This might be the next card I have him go for since I think we can make spend with Insurance renewals and annual church contributions coming up. Again, will need to decide how MRs can get us to our destinations. This expires in mid-June.
3. Who has been to Australia/NZ on points? What have you done to make it happen? I have time and have heeded enough of @calypso726 's advice to know where you are going 2+ years in advance so you can get the points/miles by the time 1 year comes around to book at the best rates.
4. What cards should I focus on to get the most United or Quantas miles? Any other strategies for this? United goes to both locations so I might focus on this carrier, but open to any and all other ideas too.

Thanks and thanks and thanks and thanks!!!!!

Since UR transfers to United I think you need the CIPpy cup! Go for CIP #2 now (self refer) rinse and repeat in 3 months. Even better if you can get DH to also go for one - or 2 or 3. I have zero experience with MR and overseas travel for that matter, lol. So that is all I have to offer.

 

[WVMomof3]

Look at @Haley R posting all the way from Japan!

 

[mmmears]

At this point, I just put a card into DH's wallet and tell him to use whatever card is in the front slot Sometimes he's able to differentiate them. This morning he said "I have an American Airlines card in my wallet, should I use that?" Nope, give me that because I'm going to finish MSR on it today lol.

DH keeps asking me what to use, but when I offer to put little labels on them like others here do he looks so sad, like I was threatening him with the cone of shame or something.

might be posted already but :'(

https://viewfromthewing.boardingare...ill-no-longer-give-airport-restaurant-credit/

Boo. Really boo.

LOL the other day DH pulled out the wrong card. I said umm it's the other one. He huffed and said they all look the same. So I put a big colorful owl sticker on the one he is supposed to be using right now.

See my post above. I bet if I threatened him with a big animal sticker he'd feel even worse.

 

[Haley R]

Ah, the reply button quotes you automatically. That's cool... I struggled with the quote function before. Like it so far. Except I can't figure out how to tag people now.. they don't show up like they used to. Wondering if Haley is in Japan now and Palhockeymom? is having fun in Orlando.

Just type the @ symbol and start typing the username, find the person you want to tag and select.

Good memory! @Haley R was on her way to LAX this weekend, then on to Japan (and is probably there already). @palhockeymomof2 was also making her way down to Orlando.

@Haley R is in Japan now! She posted her IG on her trip report thread way down the boards in the Tokyo DL forum. I've been following along Latest pix from early this am were of the food from the ANA flight 🍽

Yep we’re in Japan now! I’ve been posting on my trip report if you’re interested. I don’t want to double post and put it all on here too. Our Instagram is “wuztravelin”. I’ve posted some stuff on there too. It’s been great so far! We’re just trying to get used to the time difference. We woke up at 4 am Japan time this morning.

 

[Haley R]

Look at @Haley R posting all the way from Japan!

Lol at 5:47 in the morning

 

[3 DD love princesses]

I hope your DD gets it!!!! I feel the same way. I grew up on Disney stuff. My first movie was a Disney movie. My first big trip was to Disneyland (I was 2 - it took until my 20s to get to the MK). I like them both, but do want to be in the bubble. Luckily there are other places I can go and things I can see. The money grabs and the increasing (and often badly behaved) crowds are making it easier for me to walk away for a bit, but I'll always love the parks even if I don't go often.



Is his link any different from the general public one that Citi is posting online?

Public was 70k his link was 75k.