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

[3 DD love princesses]

Taking a page out of @wendow 's book and booked a triple split stay for October! I never thought I"d like all the moving but moving twice recently wasn't too bad. Hoping 3 times won't be too much but Copper Creek studio just opened up for a night during my week so I grabbed it! Staying 5 nights AKV Jambo Savanna View, 1 night Copper Creek , and 2 nights Saratoga Springs standard. Now to try and snag a Storybook dining ressie for that night!

This weekend I'll be at Universal compliments of AA miles. Staying at Portofino 1 night club level, and Sapphire Falls 1 night. Flying out ( SW with CP of course) Friday morning at 5:30 AM, and returning Midnight on Sunday. Using APs that expire in August. DD3 is not coming with so DH and I will be riding everything we can, lol. Planning dinner one night at one of our faves, Bubba Gump with the discounted Landry's GC I purchased a while back.

We do multiple split stays. We have done 14 day trips where we change rooms each night. One thing that I’ve done on our trips is put a days worth of clothes for all of us on one side of suitcase and the other side is another day’s worth. We do take carry on sizes suitcases. So 7 suitcases for a 14 day trip. I just write down what suitcase and side for which day if they are wearing a specific outfit that day for characters.

Buy Swagbucks is back!
https://www.swagbucks.com/buy-sb
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/swagbucks-buy-swagbucks-for-facevalue-e-g-buy-20-worth-for-20/This time at face value (and only the 2,000 SB/$20 denomination), so not as good as last time.

Still could be an easy way to generate some spend or liquidate some (registered) VGC/MCGC cards...

Wish I could it’s not available for my Acct or DH and of course we both need it to fill the outside of the swago board.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

So went to staples today and they would only sell one per customer. I had the girls with me so I got 4. Well apparently kids aren’t considered customers. They each had two school supply items and a mc gc. They wouldn’t let the kids checkout. I was not a happy mom considering they each had their own card to pay. Hoping to stop by a different store later today since we are going up the road.

 

[PolyRob]

So went to staples today and they would only sell one per customer. I had the girls with me so I got 4. Well apparently kids aren’t considered customers. They each had two school supply items and a mc gc. They wouldn’t let the kids checkout. I was not a happy mom considering they each had their own card to pay. Hoping to stop by a different store later today since we are going up the road.

So rude, especially when they have cards with their names on them!! Totally a different customer. I hate store employees on a power trip

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

My Visa arrived at the bank today (was supposed to arrive yesterday). Since it was a day late CS reversed the $25.00 expedited delivery charge.

Now to pay my hydro bill. Once I have completed this the MSR will be half met! Will buy groceries online this weekend (I have a promo code for free delivery and a $50.00 bonus bbq bundle with my first order)! Will have gas bill coming soon, which should be around $250.00. I should get there relatively quickly. Then I'll have the MSR for the bonbon Marriott card (also $2,000.00).

I'm already eyeing another AmEx Cdn card -- I read that AmEx gives out business cards up here like they do in the US. Just have to make sure the MSR is low. I'm thinking of the Marriott bus card (will be sure to get a new rewards number assigned to me).

 

[happ]

I decided to close my Delta Gold Biz since it is no longer makes sense for me to keep it. I tried for a retention offer, but was denied. I wasn't expecting one since I got one last year and I'm currently in pop-up jail. It will be interesting to see if closing this card changes anything. I do feel a little bad closing it. That's always my initial reaction when I close cards. I always feel bad about it. So silly.

 

[Lain]

@tink1970 - I want to apologize if I offended you too in any way with my earlier comment about TPG being out of touch, with the implication being because he travels the way he does. I know you travel well, and as I’ve said your travels have inspired me and made their way onto my bucket list. I don’t mean to suggest in any way you’re out of touch.

As @SouthFayetteFan put it in an earlier comment, TPG makes it seem like anyone can travel the way he does by just opening credit cards and maximizing bonus category spend. It’s not quite as easy as he makes it out to be. I do also wonder whether TPG even opens up new cards anymore. I doubt even 100k points bonuses matter to someone like TPG. When TPG launched his vlog, he showed off his MR points balance, sitting at something like 2 million MR, and he earns about 17-18 million MR/year. That’s just one points currency! He suggests that it’s all travel, dining, and advertising spend — millions of dollars worth every year — and he highlights the Biz Gold (4x MR on advertising), CIP (3x UR on advertising), and iirc CSR (3x UR on dining and travel) and Capital One card (10x Hotels .com). Most of his readers probably do not have anywhere close to those levels of spend in those categories to generate the tens of millions of points that fund his and his bloggers’ travels. I really don’t think TPG or his bloggers are going after the 40k Delta signup bonuses they’re shilling

We’re fortunate enough to have a decent income, and unfortunately we live in a high cost of living area, so I’ve opened and spent a lot with Amex. I’m coming up on almost two years since my last big MR redemption, but I’m only at about 800k MR. I know that’s a lot to some people, but I’ve played the game more aggressively than most with new cards and high spend, but my points are a drop in the bucket for someone like TPG.

What I mean is TPG’s circumstances are so dramatically different from most of his readership and people in this hobby, including you and me, that — affiliate relationship rules about what bloggers can disclose and incentives that influence what they want to share aside — I think the overall editorial voice of TPG seems to forget or ignore that.

 

[amalone1013]

I just got a recognition card and gift card at work for 'going the extra mile'

 

[georgina]

DH is feeling very special. He is booked Biz Select with SW tonight and on checkin he got A1 (I think an A1-15 boarding position is included with Biz Select, for those who don't fly SW)

I am more excited that he will earn 6100 RRs...

My DD spent 2 years in grad school in a different city that her DH was. They flew back and forth so much they both got A List Preferred, which gives early check in and priority TSA lanes for screening. Son-in-law really enjoyed that!

 

[vanjust14]

We do multiple split stays. We have done 14 day trips where we change rooms each night. One thing that I’ve done on our trips is put a days worth of clothes for all of us on one side of suitcase and the other side is another day’s worth. We do take carry on sizes suitcases. So 7 suitcases for a 14 day trip. I just write down what suitcase and side for which day if they are wearing a specific outfit that day for characters.


Wish I could it’s not available for my Acct or DH and of course we both need it to fill the outside of the swago board.

Ok well if you can change 14 times I'm sure I can handle 3, haha! Do you travel by plane with all those suitcases? I could do something similar with packing cubes I suppose...just hate bringing a lot of suitcases on a plane.

 

[vanjust14]

Hmmm I am torn. I was seriously considering opening a PNC Virtual Wallet and keeping it for the interest rates, but maybe I should do this. OR maybe I should do both

Both! I did PNC last year and kept it for the interest rates. I'm actually using it as my main bank currently. I'm planning on doing the BOA one now.

 

[tink1970]

@tink1970 - I want to apologize if I offended you too in any way with my earlier comment about TPG being out of touch, with the implication being because he travels the way he does. I know you travel well, and as I’ve said your travels have inspired me and made their way onto my bucket list. I don’t mean to suggest in any way you’re out of touch

Oh no need to apologize, I was just super excited I was mentioned! I had sort of a Sally Field "they like me, they really like me" moment, tbh.

 

[amalone1013]

My DD spent 2 years in grad school in a different city that her DH was. They flew back and forth so much they both got A List Preferred, which gives early check in and priority TSA lanes for screening. Son-in-law really enjoyed that!

DH will be 10k RRs away from A List Preferred after tonight. Work tends to book him on Anyway or Biz fares last minute I'm excited that he earns extra points on all those flights now (25% for A list, Preferred is 100%) plus gets an early boarding number so that means when we go somewhere my SW Priority upgrades go twice as far as we only upgrade my ticket.

 

[mmmears]

As someone who is in this thread specifically to book premium airfare abroad plus some crazy expensive hotels all with points, I'll chime in and say that I understand it's not the same as TPG since I'm lucky if I can go every year or every few years on these kinds of vacations. I'm so thankful for the advice of those who are taking the kind of trips I dream about, so please keep helping us, @calypso726 , @tink1970 , @Andysol and so many of the rest of you. I couldn't take these trips without everyone in this group - you all have helped me so, so much!

Also, I realized when trying to help a friend that these J and First class trips don't make sense for most large families (she needs 6 tickets abroad) so it doesn't just come down to how much money you can spend but also how many people you need to pay for and often the time of year you need to travel. I love the diversity in this group.

Funny enough, it's something @SouthFayetteFan, @Albort, and I have discussed in terms of what and how much information to put out there. This is, obviously, a public site, and we keep most of the discussion here because many of you are also here for other Disney-related interests and planning. For the most part, we don't discuss things that aren't already on r/churning, FT, or the major blogs. This thread moves so fast, and there's so much content generated and regurgitated daily in the churnosphere, it'll be hard to keep up without devoting a lot of time stalking these various channels. I know because I've been trying to highlight important pieces of information daily on the News & Discussion thread to make it easier for fellow DISchurners to follow along. But I guess you could say these bloggers (and RATs for that matter) get paid to stalk these channels for useful information to exploit and/or kill. With that in mind, we have been moving more sensitive information exclusively to DISchurners.

Tin foil hat moment for me, because I know just how easy it is to find this thread since I'm the one who found it at the top of a Google search when looking for good MR flight redemptions. It would be ridiculously easy to create an account and post and get into the reddit group. Yeah, I worry too much.

Still have not received the staples Amex credit. Had both offers ($5 back on $25 and 10k MR back on $40) added to my BBP. Bought one $50 Disney gc. Neither offer posted but both are gone from the card. Is that weird? To have the offers disappear but not credit?

Purchase posted 7/18.

I didn't get the Staples deal, but at first I forgot that part and was worried they knew we used the deals for GCs, but DD did get it, and the $10 back is showing in her account today. We did the spend on Saturday.

no congrat emails?

DD didn't get one, but probably because we're not sure where those Gold AU emails are going (to DH's? to one of DD's many?) so I can't say this is a reliable DP.

 

[Andysol]

As someone who is in this thread specifically to book premium airfare abroad plus some crazy expensive hotels all with points, I'll chime in and say that I understand it's not the same as TPG since I'm lucky if I can go every year or every few years on these kinds of vacations. I'm so thankful for the advice of those who are taking the kind of trips I dream about, so please keep helping us, @calypso726 , @tink1970 , @Andysol and so many of the rest of you. I couldn't take these trips without everyone in this group - you all have helped me so, so much!

You’ve put me in way too high of company there. I’m simply a bystander. But thanks for the nod.

This entire thread is really great. It truly is an awesome community. None of the BS that plagues everywhere else and just genuine people caring and helping one another live a more fulfilling life. Something to be said about that.

 

[Ngwira]

Oh speaking of Amtrak cards, does anyone else have the Amtrak World card (the one with the $79 annual fee)? Or is it just me?

I forgot about it, but when I opened the account I noticed I got 2 free companion coupons instead of just one. The one-year anniversary just came this week, and I got another 2 free companion coupons. It's only supposed to be one at account opening and one at renewal, so I have no idea what's happening here (but I'm not complaining). It also comes with 1 upgrade coupon at account opening and 1 upgrade coupon each anniversary, and those correctly posted.

I'll check my account although I closed my card a few months ago.

 

[Lain]

I was just super excited I was mentioned! I had sort of a Sally Field "they like me, they really like me" moment, tbh.

Everyone, be sure to tag @tink1970 more often!

 

[smmco]

I’ve never read tpg and thought I could travel like he does- it took me 2 seconds to figure out his income is 100 times more then mine,
I have found his reviews on the cards helpful. I enjoy reading his blogs.I agree though he’s a little out of touch with middle class.

 

[wendow]

Ds8 and I are flying overnight to FLL tonight. Were supposed to leave at 11:20 but now we’re delayed until 12:36am Seriously wondering why I booked this flight!!!

 

[kmc8826]

@speedyfishy and @SouthFayetteFan and @tink1970 (just because I know she would like to be tagged) and anyone else who has done the experian data breach form...did you have to upload documents? I started it but it said to claim time you may need submit documents and I bailed. My DH qualifies but I don’t...but something is better than nothing.

 

[kmc8826]

Ds8 and I are flying overnight to FLL tonight. Were supposed to leave at 11:20 but now we’re delayed until 12:36am Seriously wondering why I booked this flight!!!

I am so sorry. At least you are not at the airport!

I have a friend in real life who was delayed on Delta for a morning flight that was supposed to leave at 9:20 am and did not end up leaving after multiple delays until 7:30 pm. Delta sent her 7,500 miles. I told her to call and ask for more. I feel bad because she just signed up for the Delta Gold on my referral but now she is not so much a fan...