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

[amalone1013]

I've had really good success on eBay with an Esnipe. I bid what I'm willing to pay and forget it. I set my bid for 2 sec before the end of auction. I end up paying the lowest amount that will win the bid. I think I purchased $20 worth of bids in 2013. I have one 30 bids and not won 22. It takes all the emotion out of the bid so you don't get carried away. Also, others have no idea that the bid is in place.

I'll have to check that out. My biggest fear today was that I would be busy at work and not able to get on near the end of the auction.

 

[Lain]

 

[disneybirds]

I'm using this as proof I'm not crazy (well at least on this issue). I booked flights the other week. In the afternoon I priced out 4 different destinations, we picked one a few hours later, went to book the flights and every one was massively higher! I've managed to rebook one leg already to lower than the original price l found, just waiting on the other drop back. One destination was 22k RT, looked later that night it was 39k, looked the night I rebooked and I found a slightly different option for 11k RT And none of the flights were the "only 2 seats left" at this price either, they just all went up; and I tried mixing up the searches with incognito and different devices but got all the same results. This is the wildest swings I've seen from what I remember, especially in such a short time frame.

I also experienced a price increase on Delta this week, but not as bad as yours. I booked two tickets for 17.5K each so DH and I would get automatically upgraded to EC+. I immediately went back in to book two tickets for the girls and the price had gone up to 23K. I went ahead and purchased, then the next morning they were back down to 17.5K. Had to call in and change since I couldn't do it online. Wish Delta would allow you to upgrade more than 2 people, I purchase separate tickets and then call to link them every time!

 

[elgerber]

Wow, those AMEX 1099's just cost me $425.

 

[mmmears]

I get all that but the bank bonus has a real value to it right now where to me points and miles don't have a value until I actually do something with it and then that value can change wildly. 30k points at the Hyatt Vendome in Paris for a $700+ room great that same 30k points for a $500+ room in NY meh not as good. Or I could just redeem them for a gc, though I'm not actually sure Hyatt lets you do that. But the point is I can take the $100 out of the bank that I got from a bonus and spend it without thought because it's always going to be $100. Who says my 20k in DL miles is actually worth 200 bucks?

Totally agree. It's not real money until you can use it for something, and even then it's not usually a 1¢ redemption.

Amex did get a new CEO last year. I wonder if these schizophrenic tactics against bonuses and referrals are because of new leadership? Looks like I’m going to be walloped by a few thousand more on the 1099s.

Yikes. How many referrals do you have? This reminds me of the year we were smacked by having to pay a ton of AMT on something that ended up being sold for $10. Huge mess that took years to recover from.

All in one envelope, huh? This should be fun.

@amalone1013 @mmmears , I made a booking for Loews Royal Pacific to see if the amex offer will credit...I'll keep you updated!

Ooh! Yes, let us know what happens. If it works it's such a good deal. The only Loews I've ever stayed at is RPR (other than one in Monaco when I was still a kid traveling with my parents), so I don't know where it would be useful other than US.

 

[mmmears]

Wow, those AMEX 1099's just cost me $425.

OMG that's awful.

 

[Ngwira]

Scored VIP Passholder tickets to the MK on 2/26..our trip starts on 2/28...shall I extend our trip? LOL. Wish I would have booked with SW instead of Jetblue!

 

[LynnTH]

Need to go to churningmarketplace and request to be a member to the moderators via a message. Maybe my first request didn’t work but I sent another today and am in. I believe u need to send via desktop computer reddit page and not the app. I’m looking for a business mailer to stay under 5/24 and get my second AA business card after 95 days with the first. I signed up for Aa accounts using a business address it have not received any AA mailers. I think the business ones are hard to get hence needing to trade or pay for them.

Thanks. I just sent them a message.

 

[mmmears]

Yc was amazing!!!! We just checked into cbr and are not impressed. We asked to switch rooms because the first one smelt like smoke or mildew.

Happy you loved YC! Sad about CBR. I hope the new room is an improvement.

I know @wendow, @disneymagicgirl, @mmmears, etc. have discussed starter cards for their DDs, so maybe they can chime in with suggestions.

In our case, DD was over 18. The first card was a Visa through the credit union we use for our banking. The second was at least 2 years later, and was a CFU. Most of us here have found that CFU is a good second ccard, but I don't know of anyone who was approved for it as their first one. Also, DD had been an AU on our Amex Plat and Disney Visa for years before getting that first one (and I am guessing that it helped). I think the OP was saying they didn't want to let the child be an AU. For us it's a safety issue since DD is far away at school and that first Visa's limit of $500 wasn't going to be enough in a real emergency. I feel better with her having the AMEX for that reason.

 

[Haley R]

Happy you loved YC! Sad about CBR. I hope the new room is an improvement.



In our case, DD was over 18. The first card was a Visa through the credit union we use for our banking. The second was at least 2 years later, and was a CFU. Most of us here have found that CFU is a good second ccard, but I don't know of anyone who was approved for it as their first one. Also, DD had been an AU on our Amex Plat and Disney Visa for years before getting that first one (and I am guessing that it helped). I think the OP was saying they didn't want to let the child be an AU. For us it's a safety issue since DD is far away at school and that first Visa's limit of $500 wasn't going to be enough in a real emergency. I feel better with her having the AMEX for that reason.

We definitely won’t ever do a deluxe and a moderate/value after again

 

[Mopedmom1]

We definitely won’t ever do a deluxe and a moderate/value after again

Me neither, it is such a letdown! Hopefully the new room was an improvement in the olfactory department.

 

[Haley R]

Me neither, it is such a letdown! Hopefully the new room was an improvement in the olfactory department.

Smells better but these rooms are so gross with all of the brown carpet and walls. The sidewalks also all have fences all around them from construction which I didn’t know coming in. I thought most of the construction was done at cbr except the gondola and DVC resort

 

[afan]

Wow, those AMEX 1099's just cost me $425.

I read the DoC post about the 1099's and what's being discussed on reddit. It said some are considering accounting for the AF since if you didn't have the AF you can't get the referral, which is also why some don't think it should be taxable because again you can't have one without the other.

I don't want to wait until March to do my taxes but I'll at least give it a little while to all shake out.

 

[elgerber]

I read the DoC post about the 1099's and what's being discussed on reddit. It said some are considering accounting for the AF since if you didn't have the AF you can't get the referral, which is also why some don't think it should be taxable because again you can't have one without the other.

I don't want to wait until March to do my taxes but I'll at least give it a little while to all shake out.

I never do mine until April, it takes till late March to get all my forms from Fidelity anyway. Can you keep us posted as to how it's panning out?

 

[DisneyMandC]

I can't believe how this day turned out. Just booked six tickets for round trip direct flights from RIC to MCO for 56,xxx points and $67.20 in fees!!!

 

[wendow]

@Lain sorry if you responded to me the other day -- I need a credit card for dd. Chase said that she has to be 18 to have her own, so I will have to add a card and add her as an authorized user. I was thinking of the Chase Freedom or Freedom Unlimited. Thoughts?

Here's what I have -- though I think you may already know :

• CSR: October 2016
• CIP (business): July or August 2018
• Chase Hyatt: July 2018
  
• AmEx Hilton Aspire: December 2018
• AmEx Hilton (Business): January, 2019

I think this puts me at 2/24 (if I count the CIP as a business card). I need to be careful how I fill my slots!

I need to cap her spending at $500.00 / month so hoping Chase will issue a card with a nice low limit for her.

As an aside, if my referral bonus posts (I referred myself to the Hilton Business card) I should be just 22,000 points shy of being ready to book the Conrad Maldives for 4 nights (plus 1 free night) in April, 2020 !

If your dd is under 18, the best you can do is to add her as an AU'er and that is something I really recommend so that when she is 18, she is eligible for her first card. My dd was an AU'er on my card but didn't really use the card much (other than for gas which we agreed to pay for). She used a debit attached to her checking account. My dd was added as an AU'er from when she was 16, and got her first card right after she turned 18yo. Her first card was a Discover IT followed 6 mos later by a CFU.

I would suggest putting your dd on you Hyatt card maybe?? Is there an AF to add her? That seems like your best bet. I wouldn't lower any of my CL's down to $500, especially if she will be using all of that credit. I'd consider getting her a bank account of her own and using a debit card for her expenses. You can put limits on those so that she cannot go over the $500.

 

[afan]

I never do mine until April, it takes till late March to get all my forms from Fidelity anyway. Can you keep us posted as to how it's panning out?

I'm only following what's here, I don't go onto r/churning hardly ever. So unless there's something here or on twitter I won't see it.

 

[elgerber]

I'm only following what's here, I don't go onto r/churning hardly ever. So unless there's something here or on twitter I won't see it.

Gotcha. I don't understand Reddit at all LOL, so hopefully some people here will keep us up to date!

 

[wendow]

Smells better but these rooms are so gross with all of the brown carpet and walls. The sidewalks also all have fences all around them from construction which I didn’t know coming in. I thought most of the construction was done at cbr except the gondola and DVC resort

This is worrying me. We are booked there for the end of March and after staying in a construction zone before...the poly...I do not want that again! I thought cbr was pretty much done as well. May have to rethink our plans

 

[wendow]

Me neither, it is such a letdown! Hopefully the new room was an improvement in the olfactory department.

Our last trip we went from 5 nights at BC to 4 nights at CS. The whole time at BC, I kept noticing that the room felt a little tired and furnishings were in need of an update. Then we moved to CS where the rooms were brand spanking new. That room really put BC to shame. But that is about the only time that has happened! Normally, I get bummed if we stay deluxe first and then move to a mod. We've only done it a couple times when it really did just work best for the rest of our plans.