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

[speedyfishy]

I tried looking on reddit, but didn't see anything about PNC. We need a local bank just to deposit cash in from time to time. We don't need one right away, but it would be nice just in case. We used to always get cash from the band and not sure if that will be a thing down here or not. I noticed a PNC bank close by and have seen you guys talking about it before. Would this be a good local bank to go with?

I use them to deposit my money orders and they are fine. They also are offering a $300 bonus for opening a new account.

 

[MKTokyo]

New-to-me Amex Offer:

Spend $100+, get 500 Membership Rewards® Points. Up to 3x
Get 500 additional Membership Rewards points by using your enrolled Card to spend a minimum of $100+ in one or more eligible transactions in-store or online at U.S. Supermarket locations by 9/25/2019. Limit of 1,500 Membership Rewards points. See terms.

 

[Haley R]

I use them to deposit my money orders and they are fine. They also are offering a $300 bonus for opening a new account.

Do you think there's a better option than them? Dh said he doesn't want an account with Chase.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I think We had this discussion once before, but we also have an odyssey and a civil. Lol!

We used to have the same cars too...mine was the odyssey and his the civic. Actually, when we met we both had civics...then kids...

Now I have an MDX and he has a Tacoma. Definitely a Honda/Toyota family here.

 

[afan]

Is it too early for me to claim I was right and not that many people care about SWGE

Yes. Too many aps blacked out and some people may just be waiting til both rides are done. I would see how wdw does then we can judge a bit more. But I don't think we will fully know until it's all open.

 

[vanjust14]

Busy churning day for me! Besides the unexpected Aspire approval, got 3 new cards in the mail. Barclays Aviator Biz (employer+employee) and Citi AA Biz.

Got the Barclays cards activated, online account set up, and made $5 Amazon reloads on both. Charges went through. Whew~ Set up was wonky. Glad it's been mentioned before so I knew to expect it.

$50 AA GC purchased with the Citi AA Biz. So now I wait to see if it credits before I start working on MSR. Statement doesn't close for 25 days. Feels like an eternity, lol.

I know what you mean, I have 21 days to wait and see if my $50 GC credits!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

It says that page doesn't exist for me

me too

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Yes. Too many aps blacked out and some people may just be waiting til both rides are done. I would see how wdw does then we can judge a bit more. But I don't think we will fully know until it's all open.

So you think there will be a mad rush when the 2nd ride opens? Interesting theory, though seems more likely to me than mad rush for half of a new land. I expect AP holders to want to go when the are able to do so, because they are Disney fans, like myself, who are curious about everything Disney, and I'm sure some are SW people as well. I'm not curious about SW in the least, but I know it would be a fun experience for DS11 to go to a preview. I'm helping a friend plan their first WDW in Feb 2020 and she didn't even add the SW rides on her list of things she wants to see/ride. She represents the general public to me, though obviously a small sample size. I find it all very interesting to watch, but my comment was mostly in jest. Anyone know how the lines have been at the new Harry Potter ride after the initial opening. I'm super curious to compare that with SWGE as far as crowds.

 

[elgerber]

On the phone with AMEX again...forever, now this rep tells me my property tax and income tax payments did not count. I have been told by more than one rep that they do. I am just beyond ticked off now, and a supervisor is now looking it over.

Editing, that I just checked and the exact same property tax payee counted toward my BBP bonus in February.

 

[speedyfishy]

Do you think there's a better option than them? Dh said he doesn't want an account with Chase.

They aren’t my main bank. I use discover as my main bank, but I don’t really deal with cash. If I ever need cash I’ll get cash-back at the grocery store. I also use Chase but there aren’t a lot by me anymore. I feel like you should try out PNC and get the bonus. If you don’t like it you just got $300 each and you can try something else. Chase as a good bonus too so you could even try both and see what you like better?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

They aren’t my main bank. I use discover as my main bank, but I don’t really deal with cash. If I ever need cash I’ll get cash-back at the grocery store. I also use Chase but there aren’t a lot by me anymore. I feel like you should try out PNC and get the bonus. If you don’t like it you just got $300 each and you can try something else. Chase as a good bonus too so you could even try both and see what you like better?

I did this for First TN. Opened the account and got the bonus and use it for my almost nonexistent cash transactions. Every so often I sell something expensive and I want to put that few hundred bucks in the bank. My main bank is ally and all online.

 

[disfanforlife]

Did you sign up for the offer with a $200 or $250 AA statement credit? If you signed up for that one the credit is posting for GC purchases

No, he signed up for the 70,000 miles with $4000 MSR.

 

[striker1064]

Do you think there's a better option than them? Dh said he doesn't want an account with Chase.

PNC is kind of everywhere along the East Coast, I think. I agree with the sentiment of going for the bonus to see if you like them. If all you're doing is using them for cash I doubt it makes much of a difference. Other banks that have a strong presence on the East Coast are BB&T and Suntrust, although I don't know what will be local.

A credit union that's in the Allpoint network is also a great idea - read their disclosures to be sure, but it should be free ATM withdrawals from any Allpoint ATM (and there are a lot of those).

 

[miztressuz]

I tried looking on reddit, but didn't see anything about PNC. We need a local bank just to deposit cash in from time to time. We don't need one right away, but it would be nice just in case. We used to always get cash from the band and not sure if that will be a thing down here or not. I noticed a PNC bank close by and have seen you guys talking about it before. Would this be a good local bank to go with?

They're a bank, nothing any better or worse than any other bank IMO. The only thing to be aware of is how to avoid the fees. Their lowest tier checking account has a $500 min balance or $500 in direct deposits monthly to avoid the $7 monthly fee. Now, you may be able to fake the DD's but have to decide if it's worth the hassle to keep or move money there every month just for ATM access? Unless you plan to make it your everyday account and your HYC basically becomes one of your savings accounts?

Hubby's had an account for a long time, it works fine. I used them for a while when I did the bank bonus, and again, it seemed fine but you know, nothing earth shattering that I changed banks for it. It gets discussed here a lot because of the $200 or $300 bank bonus you can get from it. If you do decide to open a PNC account, look into that and see if you can go for the higher account for the bonus and then just downgrade to the one you want after the bonus hits. Easy peasy.

 

[GZanta77]

On the phone with AMEX again...forever, now this rep tells me my property tax and income tax payments did not count. I have been told by more than one rep that they do. I am just beyond ticked off now, and a supervisor is now looking it over.

Editing, that I just checked and the exact same property tax payee counted toward my BBP bonus in February.

I have also been told 3 times that my IRS payment did count - each time they spent about 10 minutes checking with a supervisor.

 

[elgerber]

I have also been told 3 times that my IRS payment did count - each time they spent about 10 minutes checking with a supervisor.

Maybe finally some progress. the Supervisor just looked over everything, and said they absolutely do count. Also they counted as eligible purchases for the regular 1 mile per dollar, so they are indeed eligible. She is going to talk to some advocacy department and get them to credit the miles (well supposedly). She is out Thurs/Fri so she is going to call me back Monday. I also got her name and extension. This better be the light at the end of my tunnel LOL!

 

[PolyRob]

privateinternetaccess dot com is outstanding.

Last year I got a 3 yr plan to NordVPN, and went through topcashback (NordVPN is now at 60% cash back) and it cost ~$57 after cash back. I've seen it reviewed favorably by CNET.

Thank you both! I really want something for public Wi-Fi when traveling. I can usually get away with just my data plan, but if I need to go onto the Wi-Fi I want to be safe.
I will look at both and probably sign-up for one today!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

If you had the choice to do the BRAND NEW csr tower in mid July for $155 a night or any number of deluxe resorts (even upgraded views) for under $200/night, which would you do?
I know I'm guaranteed a nice room at the new tower and it is neat to try new places, but I am a deluxe resort person (bus system, I'm looking at you).
I am squeezing a trip in last minute to see DD one more time on her DCP (moves home 8/1 ) and there are REALLY good CM rates out. The deluxe resorts are at a super high discount % so are the better deal.

 

[elgerber]

If you had the choice to do the BRAND NEW csr tower in mid July for $155 a night or any number of deluxe resorts (even upgraded views) for under $200/night, which would you do?
I know I'm guaranteed a nice room at the new tower and it is neat to try new places, but I am a deluxe resort person (bus system, I'm looking at you).
I am squeezing a trip in last minute to see DD one more time on her DCP (moves home 8/1 ) and there are REALLY good CM rates out. The deluxe resorts are at a super high discount % so are the better deal.

I would be inclined to try the new tower, just to be one of the first and check out the new building. But I guess it depends on which deluxe you are looking at for alternatives.

 

[mamathompson]

Oddly enough, for as expensive as they are, I found DCL the easiest to discount due to the discounted gift cards. For the last one I worked Swagbucks to earn extra "free" money (just took time) and used the sales and whatnot to discount what we did buy. I'll have to check the sheet but I thought we hit at least 30% on that one. I probably wouldn't recommend Swagbucks at the moment because it's not as easy to earn quickly right now but any type of program like that would help.
Best strategy is usually opening day pricing. There is such high demand for DCL, prices really don't go down as a rule. There's always exceptions but very rarely. If a sailing isn't selling as well as they like they do put out specials, but they aren't usually better than opening day, but can be close. Sometimes you get last minute pricing but it doesn't happen for every sailing so it's a gamble if you have limited dates. That's the *GT rates people talk about.

This article hits the highlights of IGT/OGT/VGT rates. They guarantee you'll get a stateroom in at least that class you book but it could be anything within that class. Just ignore point #3 and don't limit yourself to Target for point #4
https://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-crui...money-on-your-disney-cruise-line-vacation.htm

We would need to pick a a sailing based on a specific date. We are trying to plan the trip over my sons birthday, so waiting is probably not a great idea for our situation. I guess I didn't realize the cruises needed booked so early. I need to look into if it's even feasible for us to drop that kind of money for just half of the planned trip. Thanks!