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

[Lain]

So this may be a dumb question, but the Dell thing applies to a Plat Biz card that doesn't have the updated huge AF?

I'm having a hard time believing that AMEX will let us have this one after all the ^$(#&$*&*@&(@$ they've been pulling lately.

Yep. You’re locked into the old $450 AF this year and still get the Dell credit, $100 until end of June, another $100 from 7/1-12/31/19.

 

[mmmears]

Hahaha I was looking at that this morning. I could see going for a new camera. DH says I’m addicted to cameras. Whatevs. I was also looking at the headphones or a price match and discount on a new Smart TV since I think our living room one is dead. I haven’t watched tv on there in months and neither has DH so I’m not entirely certain LOL For the foreseeable future it can remain decorative.

Ooh. Good idea. I will look into this one since we have a tv that needs to be replaced.

All this talk of CoP... I never realized it but my mom told me when we were in NYC that the only other time she'd ever been to New York was when she was 5 years old for the World's Fair. That would have been when CoP was there! I'll have to tell her that when we go to Disney this year.

Aww. That's so neat! My parents lived in NY for one year, shortly after they were married, and they did get to go to the worlds fair. My mom says it was a long time ago but thinks they saw CoP. Knowing my parents they would have visited the Disney pavilion.

Is it terrible that I've been wanting to get a drone to take aerial photography?

Haha, no! Someone on our cruise posted their trip video on youtube and shared it with our group. They had really cool drone shots in Iceland and Scotland. He even said it was worth the hassle of getting in on and off the ship (DCL doesn't allow them to be used on the ship so they confiscate them) at each port just to get those shots.

I extended my girls' trip this summer...canceling my biz class flight from KRK to ORD on Austrian to fly like a peasant to KEF and spend a couple of nights in Iceland! I figured since I was in the neighborhood...

So I got back 92,000 United miles, am spending only 25,000 for my many legged journey to KEF (KRK-WAW-CPH-KEF) and then exhausted too many skymiles to get back home (and sadly, biz does not exist anymore on Delta from KEF to MSP, that's okay, I'm okay, I'll be okay...). But I am super excited to visit Iceland and maybe see a tiny bit of Copenhagen! It almost takes away the sting of the 1099 presents Amex is sending me!

I love this! And I'll say again that it's totally worth it to get 2 days in Iceland. So excited for you!

So cool, we will be island neighbors! I saw your post and your sweet UA redemption. Hope you can get your desired return flight as well!

You are so right about saving myself the stress...I would have been obsessively checking/calling each day to try to get the best redemption. I'm just happy we get to take this trip for pretty much free and we get to fly direct from our local airport. I hate making the drive to OAK/SFO, so this is so worth it!

I think the best redemption is the one that gets you where you want to go, when you want to go. It's not worth the stress trying to make something work when it just doesn't fit. Oh, and we love the GWR. I think you'll have a fantastic time there!

 

[mmmears]

Yep. You’re locked into the old $450 AF this year and still get the Dell credit, $100 until end of June, another $100 from 7/1-12/31/19.

Great! Because it's AMEX I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop...

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I would love to learn where to get started. We pay off our cards every month but charge less than $800 a month.
We haven’t applied for any cards in years.
I have been trying to read and learn.
I need to fly five people from IAD to Mco in September. (Free dining sucker here) One lap infant also.
We have only flown frontier. Would their card be ok or are there some others that you recommend. Southwest does not currently fly nonstop out of Washington. No way I’m gonna hold a baby for that long.

We have 2 rewards cards. One is points the other is cash 1% back and a ten percent bonus if deposited into a suntrust account.

I have been looking and trying to read. This thread is super fast moving. Any recommendations or places to read more. We have been more pay off in cash type people for a while. I do buy everything I can with my card and then pay it off.

I would love to earn enough to pay for most of our flights to Disney especially since we usually drive. I’d rather not with 4 impatient kids.

Thank you!!

We can give a lot of great tips! I’ll PM you about our reddit group where we keep a bunch of our best tips.

 

[Albort]

@Albort Just saving them for Tokyo in 2021!

ooooh, u could also save up MRs for that too! if u want to fly ANA J class! i think its cheaper via ANA than Virgin Atlantic!

Will Southwest ever go to Hawaii? Sigh... been waiting to book them for my June trip. Might end up just using AA.

i think @miztressuz posted something about FAA being paid by SW to get it passed.
something like that that.

 

[mmmears]

ooooh, u could also save up MRs for that too! if u want to fly ANA J class! i think its cheaper via ANA than Virgin Atlantic!

Asking because you know about Japan... Any idea about Australia/NZ? Everything I have read makes it sound nearly impossible. Debating where the next big trip will be (and how to save/earn points for it)... Europe, Japan, or Aus/NZ. I'm not worried about the first two, but the last one makes me wonder if it's even possible to get there in J or first and which points to stockpile. If you have any ideas I'd appreciate the info. This flight think might make it easier to eliminate one of the options.

 

[Alexle2007]

I would love to learn where to get started. We pay off our cards every month but charge less than $800 a month.
We haven’t applied for any cards in years.
I have been trying to read and learn.
I need to fly five people from IAD to Mco in September. (Free dining sucker here) One lap infant also.
We have only flown frontier. Would their card be ok or are there some others that you recommend. Southwest does not currently fly nonstop out of Washington. No way I’m gonna hold a baby for that long.

We have 2 rewards cards. One is points the other is cash 1% back and a ten percent bonus if deposited into a suntrust account.

I have been looking and trying to read. This thread is super fast moving. Any recommendations or places to read more. We have been more pay off in cash type people for a while. I do buy everything I can with my card and then pay it off.

I would love to earn enough to pay for most of our flights to Disney especially since we usually drive. I’d rather not with 4 impatient kids.

Thank you!!

Is DCA or BWI a possibility for you? Both have direct flights to MCO. DCA is more limited in their flights than BWI which is a SW hub. But SW has been running some terrific fares out of DCA to compete with JetBlue.

 

[speedyfishy]

@lyshia04

Is DCA or BWI a possibility for you? Both have direct flights to MCO. DCA is more limited in their flights than BWI which is a SW hub. But SW has been running some terrific fares out of DCA to compete with JetBlue.

Just wanted to say my DCA flight to MCO tomorrow cost 2,400 Southwest points one way.

Chase URs can be transferred to SW.

 

[amalone1013]

@lyshia04


Just wanted to say my DCA flight to MCO tomorrow cost 2,400 Southwest points one way.

Chase URs can be transferred to SW.

Jealous. Everything is like $230+ for February DEN to MCO while I'm trying to work out a weekend

 

[miztressuz]

ooooh, u could also save up MRs for that too! if u want to fly ANA J class! i think its cheaper via ANA than Virgin Atlantic!


i think @miztressuz posted something about FAA being paid by SW to get it passed.
something like that that.

As much as I don't mind being mistaken for @snugglebug with her very cute profile pic there, can't take credit for that update here -

Southwest Update

Southwest Hawaii flights should be in the air within 60 days. The company now hopes to sell tickets in February for flights starting the following month. There’s just one big caveat, that the government and its FAA remain open for business. Flights were to be cleared for takeoff this month (January) before the federal government shutdown prevented their obtaining final approval.

SWA Community Outreach Director Laura Nieto: “Our hope would be to be able to sell by the end of February and potentially fly in March.” (1/29/19)

The above shows just how fast and fluid the situation is for Southwest Hawaii flights. Last week’s comments before the reopening were as follows:

SWA COO Mike Van de Ven: The company has only a “reasonable chance” to start Hawaii flights this quarter due to the shutdown. A March start would only be possible in the event the shutdown ends in the next week (which it did). “Otherwise, it will actually be in the second quarter.” (1/24/19)

SWA CEO Gary Kelly: “Our remaining work is currently suspended until the government reopens and the FAA is allowed to resume normal certification activities…. We are anxious for the government to resolve this shutdown so we can bring low fares and a boost to Hawaii’s travel and tourism industry.” (1/24/19)

Beat of Hawaii’s take:
We remain hopeful that flights will start in time for spring break. Southwest had previously planned to be flying to the islands in time for the high-priced holiday season that just passed. That didn’t happen, which then brought them to starting in time for spring break (March). Then the shutdown occurred, throwing schedules into limbo.

Entering the market during a peak period such as March is highly desirable in terms of attaining somewhat higher airfares. Starting in an already low cost season (mid-April to early June) doesn’t really make a lot of sense economically.

Should anything goes wrong with the current plan to fly in March, whether it be a certification issue or related to the federal government, the next desirable time for Southwest to begin flights would be in June.
​

I also found this article: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/southwest-paid-for-faa-inspector-during-shutdown-2019-01-29
"Southwest Airlines Co. benefited from an unusual deal with federal aviation regulators during the recent partial government shutdown: The carrier agreed to cover the cost of briefly recalling a furloughed safety inspector to sign off on putting three new jets into service."

Sounds like they're trying to get into the air just as much as we want to them to be there.

 

[Albort]

Asking because you know about Japan... Any idea about Australia/NZ? Everything I have read makes it sound nearly impossible. Debating where the next big trip will be (and how to save/earn points for it)... Europe, Japan, or Aus/NZ. I'm not worried about the first two, but the last one makes me wonder if it's even possible to get there in J or first and which points to stockpile. If you have any ideas I'd appreciate the info. This flight think might make it easier to eliminate one of the options.

not too sure about Australia, Air New Zealand is pretty hard to get but not impossible. i see them here and there on UA.
Cash... esp black friday... they were like $700 for RT ticket. i think that would be the best way imo.

other options would be to fly to Asia(like cathay pacific) and then on to NZ/Australia, i havent really looked at those options yet though, but its a pretty wide open idea... so like maybe Japan then NZ/Aussie?

 

[Alexle2007]

@lyshia04


Just wanted to say my DCA flight to MCO tomorrow cost 2,400 Southwest points one way.

Chase URs can be transferred to SW.

Yeah, I wish we lived closer but we are already an hour from BWI and DH would not be pleased to have to drive to DC. (Especially with how awful traffic can be.)

 

[wanderlust7]

Haha, no! Someone on our cruise posted their trip video on youtube and shared it with our group. They had really cool drone shots in Iceland and Scotland. He even said it was worth the hassle of getting in on and off the ship (DCL doesn't allow them to be used on the ship so they confiscate them) at each port just to get those shots.

My DH has a drone that he keeps wanting to take on trips. But I keep giving him push back. Last big trip to Europe was mostly cities, so I said I didn't think it was a good idea. But our last stop was a medieval village in Spain and he saw someone flying one. He gave me this look .

Next big trip will be to Iceland and Scotland, so I will "approve" him, lol. Looking forward to some amazing shots. But at the same time, worried about stink eye. They seem to get a bad rap (at least from what people say online).

 

[kmc8826]

My sweet DH made a big churning step just now! I applied for him for the World of Hyatt card on January 15. (Had emailed offer). It has been pending ever since. They did do a credit check on the 18th but that was the only change. I had told him to please answer the phone if a number called he didn't recognize and he has been doing that and therefore fielding the robot calls of "your warranty has expired" but Chase has never called.

Tuesday we got a letter in the mail for fraud/needing more information. I was planning on doing our usual of me dialing the number and putting him on but it has not been working out since we both work and Chase on Eastern time. In the letter they said they would close the application if did not hear back in a week. So I asked him just now to please please please call the number on the letter on the counter and he did!
We are approved for the Hyatt credit card.

He is less than thrilled but I am. 24,000 credit limit which is crazy. I actually would have liked to have heard the conversation of him on with Chase. Them doing the "you are approved speech" and him with his refrain lately of "whatever." In fairness we are trying to save money right now and stop enabling each other spend/credit card wise. Our dynamic this past year has been me: "we have a new card need to spend $10,000 on in 3 months." Him: "Okay! I will jump online right now and get started!" I did tell him that it was a Visa and the required spend was only like $1000 in 6 months.

 

[WVMomof3]

Yeah, I wish we lived closer but we are already an hour from BWI and DH would not be pleased to have to drive to DC. (Especially with how awful traffic can be.)

We are 1.5 hrs to closest airport (PIT) and 3 hours from Dulles and BWI. Have used both to save money. I figure what's another 1.5 hrs, though DH likes to plan for "whatifs" so it is usually 3 hours more. lol I was worried about DDs flight from Dulles a couple weeks ago because it can be an awful drive in the winter but as it turned out we were better off heading east to DC than north to Pittsburgh that day. Really wish we lived closer to an airport.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I had the 10% offer on my Biz Plat too, so I'd like to find a way to use it and the $100 statement credit! My AF will come due sometime this summer. I'm pretty sure I am not going to keep it, barring a radical retention offer. Keep us posted on your retention offer efforts.

I definitely will. Some people have been getting great offers. They will probably give me nada lol

 

[Lain]

Asking because you know about Japan... Any idea about Australia/NZ? Everything I have read makes it sound nearly impossible. Debating where the next big trip will be (and how to save/earn points for it)... Europe, Japan, or Aus/NZ. I'm not worried about the first two, but the last one makes me wonder if it's even possible to get there in J or first and which points to stockpile. If you have any ideas I'd appreciate the info. This flight think might make it easier to eliminate one of the options.

I think @LuckyMamaInDE and @Alexle2007 are planning trips to Australia, and @tink1970 and @usakiwi may be looking into it?

@calypso726 posted some ideas in the old thread, which you might've seen: https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-3148#post-60007858

 

[mmmears]

not too sure about Australia, Air New Zealand is pretty hard to get but not impossible. i see them here and there on UA.
Cash... esp black friday... they were like $700 for RT ticket. i think that would be the best way imo.

other options would be to fly to Asia(like cathay pacific) and then on to NZ/Australia, i havent really looked at those options yet though, but its a pretty wide open idea... so like maybe Japan then NZ/Aussie?

I did think about it but read it takes even more miles. And then the time thing. Can't do it all in one trip. Maybe I'll have to take that one off the table for now. We have way more MRs than URs, too, not that that seems to matter since this one is hard to book. I see AA and Qantas fly there from SFO and LAX, but I never see people saying they were able to book seats.

 

[mmmears]

I think @LuckyMamaInDE and @Alexle2007 are planning trips to Australia, and @tink1970 may be looking into it?

@calypso726 posted some ideas in the old thread, which you might've seen: https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-3148#post-60007858

I'm been flagging all those posts. But I keep reading the issue is seat availability, even if the awards are theoretically possible to get. That's a flight I'm not willing to take in coach (I've done it before, but that was when coach seats were not as tight as they are now).

 

[Alexle2007]

I think @LuckyMamaInDE and @Alexle2007 are planning trips to Australia, and @tink1970 may be looking into it?

@calypso726 posted some ideas in the old thread, which you might've seen: https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-3148#post-60007858

You are absolutely correct on my account. Pretty sure there is no way I want to fly from MD to CA to Japan (or anywhere in Asia) to SYD. MD to CA to SYD is already a very long way.