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

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Almost knocked out the whole spend on dh's shiny new CIP

 

[hsmamato2]

@Albort I did a Yellowstone trip a few years back....but this was before I was really into the 'game' for super cheap trips..... It's the coolest place ever in the whole world IMHO.... I kept our costs lower by using SWA points to fly (had to fly into SLC and then drive but whatever....(I made the mistake of flying in as early as possible,then accidentally driving up the 'long way' to get to our first nights tents.....it was a LOOOONNGGG day)
So we stayed in a combo of super basic cabins and cabin tents,b/c I really values being right IN the parks we were exploring. So flew in, 2 nights in a tent cabin in Teton Natl. Park, then up to Yellowstone itself. B/c it's based on a large circle road, we 'stayed' our way around that road to better see the major areas. Less driving each day to see the sites around each stop.
Our main activity was hiking around. So 2 Nights in Teton camp tent cabin,then drove up to Old Faithful area,stayed 2-3 nights in the basic cabins out beside the hotel(camp bathrooms) This was my favorite stop.... we could step outside the cabin to watch Old Faithful,walk over to the hotel to eat,walk the main boardwalks etc whenever we felt like it (so cool) and wander off with morning coffee in hand behind the cabins to a wild stream and soak in the beauty.(and watch the bison hang out nearby)
Then we drove up to Mammoth Valley(?) stayed one night in the vintage hotel,took in the sites. Then off to The Canyon area,stayed a couple more nights in a rustic cabin area. Then one night out in West Yellowstone to prepare for the 5 hour drive back to SLC the next morning. (the much quicker route back)
Each area of Yellowstone is unique,with it's own weather systems! We got everything from 98 heat (and no a/c!) to Snowflakes falling on our heads one morning,and this was early June.
I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.

 

[cajunmommy]

Do you have a CSP or CIP? Those 2 cards are worth 1.25x when booking through the Ultimate Rewards portal.

What are you trying to use them for?

Some things I will be using mine for in the next year include car rental, hotel nights (not Hyatt--transfering points for that), activities in Rome, etc.

Are you finding good options for Rome? That's one of my redemption possibilities.

 

[hsmamato2]

If you end up having to PIF at the time of transfer then making the deposit first at the cruise line is unnecessary - unless you're just trying to push out PIF for another few weeks, depending on the transfer policy. I think most are 30 days. Even if you have a prepaid deposit cert (like a future cruise certificate or a placeholder cert), they should be able to apply it, your UR's and any remaining cash at the time of booking. So you have options. If you have all the UR's you need to pay for the cruise in full I'd just call Chase and let them book it.

As @Mopedmom1 does PIF at that point isn't terrible, you're only paying a few weeks early, and I'd be ok with that. But when I booked I was 15-16 months out since we wanted a specific location within our stateroom category and they were filling up. That was so not in my budget right then Which is why I think the PIF at booking/time of transfer is ridiculous but it's "free" or heavily discounted so I guess we kinda put up with it for now? I hope whenever Chase finishes monkeying with the travel sites we get something more normal out of it. They really did (probably still do and I'm just cranky) have the Ultimate points program for flexibility so goofy stuff like this makes no sense to keep customers coming back.

AH I see you answered my question before I saw this.... IDK why but I'm still getting out of order notifications....thanks!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Those of you who have made estimated tax payments online with a credit card....which service did you ?

Never had to make any, but received a distribution from my moms FPA...a portion is taxable....elected to not have any taxes withheld...so I could put them towards a MSR.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Hyatt experts.... will I have any issue with my upcoming night at MCO Hyatt? It's on points from DH's acct- I added in notes that I will be checking in..... should I worry? maybe call ahead?

Those of you who have made estimated tax payments online with a credit card....which service did you ?

Never had to make any, but received a distribution from my moms FPA...a portion is taxable....elected to not have any taxes withheld...so I could put them towards a MSR.

I used Pay1040 a couple years ago. No issues.

 

[cajunmommy]

Ok So I am not sure what the problem is but I had to call to "verify" this CIP and the automated system had to transfer me to someone else, who had to transfer me AGAIN, to someone who basically asked all the "security verification" questions all over again! Anyone else experienced this? Is this normal for a business card or did I screw something up somewhere?

We had the exact same experience! My P2 was annoyed, especially since he had to refer to his "CFO" for al the answers.

 

[havaneselover]

I used Pay1040 a couple years ago. No issues.

I also used pay1040 dot com. First time paying quarterly taxes. Fees were the lowest. Knocked out CIP minimum spend in one swipe.

 

[Alexle2007]

so..... which is the recommended method..... book a cruise thru say,costco,and then call in and transfer,paying the bulk using UR- or Just finding a cruise I like, and calling to use UR for the whole cruise?

Hmmmm....can you transfer Costco (which is a travel agent) to another travel agency? I think it depends how you want to fund your cruise. I booked directly with RCCL since I wanted to use my Arrival + points to erase the deposit. And then I am transferring to Chase to pay the balance with URs. If you wanted to pay entirely with URs then you would book directly with Chase.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I also used pay1040 dot com. First time paying quarterly taxes. Fees were the lowest. Knocked out CIP minimum spend in one swipe.

I used Pay1040 a couple years ago. No issues.

Thanks...

 

[Haley R]

Hmmm I will show him some photos and see what he thinks. The premium economy on JAL looks ok but he may really want the ability to lie down flat to sleep as he has a lot of trouble sleeping anywhere except in a bed. We shall see which one wins out!

I would never pass up the ability to lay flat like that. It’s gonna be so hard to come back on ANA and switch to a southwest flight

 

[Haley R]

Yes it should drop off in a day or two, mine always have.

Please let us know, I have wondered about that app also!

Agreed, I was hesitant going in, that it would be too much hype. The first act was good, but the 2nd act blew me away!

They changed it a bit so now you have to pay for it to save your passport info longer than 4 hours which is dumb. You used to be able to scan your passport too instead of entering it all in but now that’s on the premium app as well

 

[WVMomof3]

Shoot, can't quote a quote. This was for @lmhall2000

It might help us if you tell us what you want the points to do for you. It looks like you have some United certs to use. Does that mean you have airfare covered and looking for lodging? Do you have a Player 2 that is willing to open cards? Are you looking to open many cards for the sign up bonuses or are you looking for one card? Do you have anything that would qualify as a business (many things qualify) and are you open to business cards? I too am looking to bring my 3 college age kids next year to Europe and have not gotten very far at all. I think I need Air B&Bs instead of hotels and not sure the best way to go about it. But if you know what you are wanting the points to cover, we may be able to help better.

 

[WVMomof3]

please if u can. were looking into flying into SLC and checking SLC out as well. The Lake also sounds pretty interesting.
Yeah, i looked at all the rooms inside the park and they are all booked... sadly, im someone who has a hard time planning very far in advanced as idk where my plans are then. I thought me planning 2 weeks ahead was plenty! haha. I think i will have to figure out logistics and basically find hotel rooms on each side of Yellowstone to make the best of it. Im assuming i should stay west of the park more since it seems like a lot of the things to see are there. East side seems kinda dead, North maybe a hotel for a day, but focus would probably be in south west area of yellowstone.
also probably gonna stop at Grand Teton NP for a day as well.
any flaws in my ideology?

blah, i keep wanting to type yosemite instead of yellowstone lol.

When are you looking? I am still seeing availability in the park. Did you check the calendars on the Xanterra site? Might depend on the bed arrangement you need.

https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/

 

[hsmamato2]

So how do I get 1.25 percent from my UR points? I was hoping to use them for our trip. This is harder than I thought it would be.

Honestly? In your situation,being new to this and feeling overwhelmed,I'd recommend transferring your 80k UR to SWA asap. then go to your SWA acct and buy the rest of the ppoints you'd need to book (use your CSP to purchase) then it's a fairly simple straighforward path for you. Sometimes the best deal is the simplest deal (to save headaches IMHO)
Doing those things should take less than 1/2 hour and you'll be set and booked!

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

When are you looking? I am still seeing availability in the park. Did you check the calendars on the Xanterra site? Might depend on the bed arrangement you need.

https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/

Plus, availability changes day-to-day with Xanterra, like with other national park lodging concessionaires. I check every day, sometimes twice a day, when I am trying to piece together a stay in a park.

 

[gottalovepluto]

NLL DL Gold personal bonus posted 6/2! First time trying one of these NLL offers, glad I didn't get caught up in the Amex system failing to track spend issues of Mar-Apr with this card. In case anyone here is wondering the system for sure tracked my spend from 4/28, maybe from 4/26. Rest of spend was in May.

 

[amalone1013]

so..... which is the recommended method..... book a cruise thru say,costco,and then call in and transfer,paying the bulk using UR- or Just finding a cruise I like, and calling to use UR for the whole cruise?

I'm not sure about that. I've never booked with URs before. Just once straight through Disney and once through Costco. I'd think @Alexle2007 has it right, either direct with Chase to use all URs or book with cruise line and transfer. I'd think booking Costco then transferring, if allowed, would remove Costco benefits like the cash card you'd get.

 

[happ]

Those of you who have made estimated tax payments online with a credit card....which service did you ?

Never had to make any, but received a distribution from my moms FPA...a portion is taxable....elected to not have any taxes withheld...so I could put them towards a MSR.

I've used pay1040 several times.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Are you finding good options for Rome? That's one of my redemption possibilities.

I am! There are a lot of hotels available. In fact, the small hotel we chose (using TripAdvisor reviews) is on the portal, but we got a better deal booking directly with the hotel. We wanted to stay within the historic center so that we'd be able to walk everywhere should we choose to do so.

As you can imagine, there are a zillion tours offered through many, many providers--Colosseum, Vatican, catacombs, food tours, cooking experiences, you name it. I cross-referenced provider names with ratings/references from Rick Steves' books and forum and from TripAdvisor reviews and that forum. I also used the book and those sites to decide what exactly we'd need a tour for vs on our own

We're definitely going to book a food tour and a Vatican tour through the portal and maybe a Colosseum/Forum tour (will try to book directly through coopculture .it first). We only have 6 full days to tour.