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

[disfanforlife]

I have a CSR that I've held on to since I got it because it's more valuable to me than the CSP (that one I've had twice before). The net difference of $150 AF (only in the first year; after you start paying a CSP $95 AF then the CSR only costs $55 more) means that you would break even on the 1.5x vs 1.25x once you redeem at least 60,000 URs through the Chase travel portal. Plus you earn 3x on travel and dining instead of the CSP's 2x. Just on the extra 1UR on travel and dining, if you spent $15,000/year on those combined then you'd come out ahead on the CSR. There's some algebra involved if you want to figure out the break even with a combination of the two advantages that the CSR has.

Whenever possible, I try to time our flights so that we can get our meals at DEN's Timberline restaurant. At up to $84 a visit, that adds up quickly in the CSR's favor. Otherwise we're noshing at McDonald's in the airport and that just doesn't put me in the best mood.

But if you're mostly looking to transfer URs to the travel partners (or if you're constantly working on MSRs!), then CSP/CIP fit the bill just fine.

Last year I bought tickets to Hawaii through the Chase CSR travel portal, and saved 47000 URs over the CSP UR "price." Just that alone I figure offset 8 years of paying the CSR AF over the CSP AF.

I love hearing this! We don’t spend a lot on dining ( except at Disney) the rest of the year we don’t eat out a lot.
But I do want to go to California and Hawaii in the next couple of years. So saving on flights or booking with points would be great for us.

 

[elgerber]

That was my first thought as well.
I actually make homemade dog food for our dog now. It is better for them and it is made from all "people food."

Our dogs do not get table food. One of them does get frozen green beans in every meal, because she tends to get overweight, and they add bulk to her meal but keep her weight down. It was the vets suggestion.
When our last dog died of mouth cancer, we grilled her a small steak every night. It was the only thing that she would eat, because the cancer in the mouth made it so hard to eat. Nothing else was enticing enough. She was worth it, and she lived her last couple months eating like a princess. It was the least we could do for her at the point.
Other than that, no people food, and NEVER anything from the table.

 

[wendow]

Every one of our flights through Houston goes to Hobby, I've only been to the other once for a pick up.

Looks like Timberline won't be this trip We'll get there eventually though because Denver is on our to visit list, though I think he wants to drive. While I was able to modify every flight yesterday for no extra charge, I can't today.

BUT (here I go with my trip planning again)
My current set up is AUS to OAK (with a stop in HOU) for 9723 RR and the rental car is $338.36 / 22557 UR. We fly out of OAK on Sunday.

I can switch and fly to SJC non-stop for 6870 RR and grab a rental there and drop at OAK for 183.66 / 12244 UR. And we get there earlier so we can do more. Win win.

What do you think I'm about to do?! I haven't altered this trip nearly enough already I guess.

If only SW flew into IAH! I've flown into IAH many times but not since they opened their PP restaurants. My mom lives an hour north from IAH so sometimes we fly :blech: frontier so we don't have to cross Houston from Hobby.

 

[DisneyMandC]

With all the cat talk, I just had to share this picture of taking my dog and one my cats to the vet last year. My cat was not pleased and my dog was concerned

 

[mmmears]

I think the credit went up to $32pp but I could be wrong. It's been since last Nov we were able to use our PP at Timberline.

I'm so bummed at the loss of Amex plat PP at Timberline. We don't have a CSR anymore. My dh will be traveling some for his new job so I won't be surprised if he asks me to somehow get him another CSR lol!

It was $28 earlier this month when my DD and her friends went. They thought it was great, so yes the loss of the restaurants is definitely a negative when it comes to the Platinum card.

 

[Haley R]

With all the cat talk, I just had to share this picture of taking my dog and one my cats to the vet last year. My cat was not pleased and my dog was concerned View attachment 410249

I literally laughed out loud. That is such a cat thing to do

 

[vanjust14]

Disney is doing ticketed events... inside ticketed events now? #Insanity

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/d...fs3dVtTyOeoiNm9S_2f3JZTqmglk4Fji-JLSHKDuBmb1M

Ok, I know I'm totally going to be in the minority here and may even get shunned, but I attended the Tony's party at MVMCP and enjoyed it! First, I didn't just have a better parade spot, I had THE BEST parade spot front and center- in front of the tree looking down Main Street with no one in front of me. I have amazing pictures. Second, they serve alcohol. Third, the food was not as bad as I thought it would be, and we were thankful to have a warm place to sit since it was FREEZING. We were also able to go back after the parade for more drinks. I was glad we did it.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

If you are planning on doing park time at Epcot you can pay the parking and get reimbursed when you activate the AP - at least that's what it says in the tickets threads on Theme Parks and Attractions. I was actually reading it earlier today.

My parking was reimbursed when I activated my AP and brought in my parking receipt

 

[wendow]

I love hearing this! We don’t spend a lot on dining ( except at Disney) the rest of the year we don’t eat out a lot.
But I do want to go to California and Hawaii in the next couple of years. So saving on flights or booking with points would be great for us.

Just keep in mind that you don't need a CSR to transfer to travel partners. United and SW are both 1:1 transfers from any of the premium cards.
Our lack of dining out was a huge deciding factor for me with not keeping the CSR. We just don't eat out enough (or pay for travel expenses) to make even the $150 (offset by travel credit AF) make sense.
It's a great card for the bonus but then you really need to crunch your numbers. Like I said earlier, we will get one again (I'll probably PC one of our cards back to it) when we need it for a 1.5x redemption, cause depending on the cost of your vacation, it really can make a huge difference. But we haven't done a redemption that pricey since WDW 2017. I got great value out of it then and planned to keep that going but Chase pulled all things Disney

 

[Haley R]

Ok, I know I'm totally going to be in the minority here and may even get shunned, but I attended the Tony's party at MVMCP and enjoyed it! First, I didn't just have a better parade spot, I had THE BEST parade spot front and center- in front of the tree looking down Main Street with no one in front of me. I have amazing pictures. Second, they serve alcohol. Third, the food was not as bad as I thought it would be, and we were thankful to have a warm place to sit since it was FREEZING. We were also able to go back after the parade for more drinks. I was glad we did it.

We paid for the dessert party last year during MNSSHP when it included the parade viewing and it was worth the money for the parade viewing alone. The dessert party itself kind of sucked

 

[havaneselover]

We are planning on using our PP benefit tomorrow at STL when we fly out. They have a Pasta House that qualifies. I've cancelled my CSR, so we only have one PP now, but if I'm following this right, we get the $28 credit for 3 people? For some reason, I was thinking we only got it for 2 people, but if it's 3, it'll probably cover the 4 of us that are going on this flight.

My coworker ate there a few weeks ago and was very underwhelmed. We’d eaten at the pp restaurant in cle in April and that was good so he was really disappointed.

 

[wendow]

It was $28 earlier this month when my DD and her friends went. They thought it was great, so yes the loss of the restaurants is definitely a negative when it comes to the Platinum card.

I really thought it had increased but maybe that is a different card I'm thinking of. Do we get more from Amex plat membership?? @Lain Do you know?

ETA: A quick google tells me the amount from the CSR is anywhere from $27-$32 lol. Chase's site says $27. I have no idea but it's a nice amount and covers a lot of food (at least at Timberline).

 

[snugglebug]

HNL has a Priority Pass Lounge...

https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-2397#post-59715334

Shh! I'm trying to ignore that unless I can find a way to get him (or a kid) a PP in the next month. Even if I was able to use both of my PPs to get guests in, I'm assuming that's only 5 so someone will be left out. I have sort of considered adding him as AU to my CSR because I think AUs get PP as well, but I don't think it's worth a */24 slot for him anyway. Now, my son it might be doable. He has no interest in even getting his own card, just using mine.

 

[Haley R]

My parking was reimbursed when I activated my AP and brought in my parking receipt

I seriously can’t decide what to do. I’d love to go ride the mountains at mk but it would probably be less stressful to go to Epcot.

 

[calypso726]

I don’t have CSR or CSP yet, but would like to in the future. I have a question, why cancel the CSR if you can get the $300 travel credit each year? Wouldn’t it be better it keep it and be able to use the 1.5 for redeeming URs? I feel like I am missing something and am still reading and soaking in knowledge so when I get ready and am able to apply I’ll have a good plan in place.

Hmmm, it's been a while since I've written a why I love my CSR card and don't care that's it has a $450 AF because it saves me money post.

This would be different for each person depending on their travel style. I use enough URs at 1.5 and spend enough in travel categories earning 3x that it makes sense to keep it. Some don't and they will PC to a CSP or keep a CIP for the .0125 value in UR points on the off chance they may use the UR portal.

After the travel credit the CSR is a $150 card and the difference between keeping that one or a CSP/CIP with a $95 AF is $55. So you want to be certain that if you are able to use the travel credit each year, your earning or redeeming on the card covers that $55 difference.

There are a few approaches to figuring this out for yourself. But here is how I do it.

You want to have a general idea of what dollar amount you plan to redeem from the UR travel portal throughout the year. How many points do you need if you are redeeming that dollar amount at .0125 vs .015.

Let's say I plan to redeem about $1500 a year in the travel portal. I need 100,000 UR points with a CSR vs 120,000 with a CSP/CIP. That 20,000 difference in points is $250 with a CSP/CIP in the UR portal. Keeping a CSP/CIP over a CSR is going to actually cost me nearly $200 a year. Nope. Not doing it. So for me, there's no way I'd get rid of the card.

I could sock drawer the CSR after getting the travel credit each year and it will still be worth keeping because of how many points I earn with other UR cards. The Freedom at 5x rotating categories, Ink Plus at office supply stores for 5x, CFU any time a merchant doesn't take my Amex BBP. Those UR points get transferred to the CSR account and redeemed through the travel portal. The CSR doesn't even need to be in wallet and keeping it costs less than PCing it because of how much I redeem through the UR portal at 1.5.

Hope this helps

 

[vanjust14]

We paid for the dessert party last year during MNSSHP when it included the parade viewing and it was worth the money for the parade viewing alone. The dessert party itself kind of sucked

Yeah, I like not having to fight for a parade spot. Did you get both fireworks and parade viewing? That's pretty great if you did! I've never done a dessert party.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

HNL has a Priority Pass Lounge...

https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-2397#post-59715334

I’m beginning to think we might need to upgrade DHs CF back to a CSR before our HI trip in Dec. We have a stop in DEN on the way out and can maybe take advantage of HNL PP lounge on the way home

 

[disfanforlife]

He didn't even know what a lounge was until I took him to Costa Rica and then said "follow me" lol That is the only lounge he's been in and it wasn't the good one because I got them confused.



Every one of our flights through Houston goes to Hobby, I've only been to the other once for a pick up.

Looks like Timberline won't be this trip We'll get there eventually though because Denver is on our to visit list, though I think he wants to drive. While I was able to modify every flight yesterday for no extra charge, I can't today.

BUT (here I go with my trip planning again)
My current set up is AUS to OAK (with a stop in HOU) for 9723 RR and the rental car is $338.36 / 22557 UR. We fly out of OAK on Sunday.

I can switch and fly to SJC non-stop for 6870 RR and grab a rental there and drop at OAK for 183.66 / 12244 UR. And we get there earlier so we can do more. Win win.

What do you think I'm about to do?! I haven't altered this trip nearly enough already I guess.



I have a CSR and I'm keeping mine, but I want to downgrade his to Freedom. I just can't, even with the credit, pay for both fees when I put all URs in my acct anyway.

Hmmm, it's been a while since I've written a why I love my CSR card and don't care that's it has a $450 AF post because it saves me money post.

This would be different for each person depending on their travel style. I use enough URs at 1.5 and spend enough in travel categories earning 3x that it makes sense to keep it. Some don't and they will PC to a CSP or keep a CIP for the .0125 value in UR points on the off chance they may use the UR portal.

After the travel credit the CSR is a $150 card and the difference between keeping that one or a CSP/CIP with a $95 AF is $55. So you want to be certain that if you are able to use the travel credit each year, your earning or redeeming on the card covers that $55 difference.

There are a few approaches to figuring this out for yourself. But here is how I do it.

You want to have a general idea of what dollar amount you plan to redeem from the UR travel portal throughout the year. How many points do you need if you are redeeming that dollar amount at .0125 vs .015.

Let's say I plan to redeem about $1500 a year in the travel portal. I need 100,000 UR points with a CSR vs 120,000 with a CSP/CIP. That 20,000 difference in points is $250 with a CSP/CIP in the UR portal. Keeping a CSP/CIP over a CSR is going to actually cost me nearly $200 a year. Nope. Not doing it. So for me, there's no way I'd get rid of the card.

I could sock drawer the CSR after getting the travel credit each year and it will still be worth keeping because of how many points I earn with other UR cards. The Freedom at 5x rotating categories, Ink Plus at office supply stores for 5x, CFU any time a merchant doesn't take my Amex BBP. Those UR points get transferred to the CSR account and redeemed through the travel portal. The CSR doesn't even need to be in wallet and keeping it costs less than PCing it because of how much I redeem through the UR portal at 1.5.

Hope this helps

Absolutely it helps! Thank you, I appreciate you explaining all of that to me.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Should we just pretend we have an adr in the boardwalk area/say we’re getting ice cream

We say going in to eat...it’s usually around12-1 so not at park opening

 

[speedyfishy]

Ok, I know I'm totally going to be in the minority here and may even get shunned, but I attended the Tony's party at MVMCP and enjoyed it! First, I didn't just have a better parade spot, I had THE BEST parade spot front and center- in front of the tree looking down Main Street with no one in front of me. I have amazing pictures. Second, they serve alcohol. Third, the food was not as bad as I thought it would be, and we were thankful to have a warm place to sit since it was FREEZING. We were also able to go back after the parade for more drinks. I was glad we did it.

We paid for the dessert party last year during MNSSHP when it included the parade viewing and it was worth the money for the parade viewing alone. The dessert party itself kind of sucked

I want to do this but SO refuses to eat at places that have food out like buffets where people can just go up and take food. We have done cape May and chef mickeys but he doesn’t eat. (We only do this when we are on the dining plan so it doesn’t bother me as much lol) we are also doing 1900 park fare with his family in December and he won’t eat then either but it will be fun to be with the family.