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

[havaneselover]

So I finally feel like I got a deal from Uber Eats. They're running a 50% off up to $10 off today plus I think the fee is lower ($2.99 instead of $4.99). Five Guys for dinner for $1.52 after my uber credit!

 

[Haley R]

I got an email from Sam’s club this morning saying on August 3 members can buy a ticket to seaworld and get a free ticket to aquatica, if anyone is interested.

 

[nickle831]

Yea! I got the BOA email too for the double cash back bonus on the 3% categories. I'll be using that until P2 and I get our next round of CIP's. I've still got a week before P2 can apply for his 1st CIP, then I have to wait for him to get his card/account so he can refer me so I can start working on CIP2. Still just twiddling my thumbs in the corner, waiting.

Although I've had extra free time this summer I just got the email from our Girl Scout division that Nut sales/training is starting next week and since I'm the Nut Mom I'll be busy with all of that, so I'll have a good distraction.
Nut mom, ha, just one step from being the crazy cookie manager.

If anyone was curious, the troops get more money from nut sales then the cookie sales, so if you see any Girl Scouts this fall selling nuts they make awesome Christmas gifts. You can order online (more varieties on the website) and use Credit Cards!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Have you ever had any Serve/BlueBird cards before?

No, this was my first try .

The only thing I can think of is I did my SSN from memory (the card is in Florida) and I may have gotten a digit wrong. I am pretty sure I had it correct, but not 100% sure. Would that make a difference?

 

[Haley R]

I have transferred MR to to both Delta and JetBlue for flights.

See that’s why I’m not so sure about getting MRs. The only airline we regularly fly with is allegiant and that’s to go back and visit family. I’m pretty sure our only use for them would be to cash them out.

 

[calypso726]

Yes! As @calypso726 says, the only constant in this game is change. We're on a roller coaster and at the mercy of these cc companies. Playing this game smart and having a good strategy is key!

My favorite change story that happened to us was before Citi had 24 month language and during the time CVS allowed Vanilla card reloads with a credit card and before Bluebird started shut downs. Citi offered an Executive American Airlines card with a 100k bonus for $10,000 in spend. DH and I each got 2 of these cards about a month apart for each one. We had to make $40,000 spend in 3 - 4 months. We had about $5,000 left to do on my second card and about $5,000 on DH’s. We were at WDW in the parks and I was reading a blog VFTW has just posted giving everyone a heads up that CVS was going to stop allowing Vanilla reloads very soon. We literally left the park and drove to the closest CVS to finish up the spend.

@speedyfishy mentioned Bluebird shut downs. We went through 4 accounts getting shut down. It happens and the game always changes.

 

[Judique]

Check your Amex MR cards for 'spend $40 at US gas stations and get an additional 400 MR's'. You can do it 3 times. Expires Nov 1. My fill from empty is usually about $50, so I'll save it for trips. Could have used it this past week on the $2.42 gas I pumped.

 

[speedyfishy]

No, this was my first try .

The only thing I can think of is I did my SSN from memory (the card is in Florida) and I may have gotten a digit wrong. I am pretty sure I had it correct, but not 100% sure. Would that make a difference?

Yeah, the social needs to be correct. Maybe you got the digit wrong.

 

[trenty]

See that’s why I’m not so sure about getting MRs. The only airline we regularly fly with is allegiant and that’s to go back and visit family. I’m pretty sure our only use for them would be to cash them out.

That cash could be used for travel expenses.....I use my Discover It cash for travel-related expenses. Some of it goes to DVC dues. I am renting a car later this month - while I will use my CSP to pay for the car at the counter, when I pay that portion of my CSP, I will use Discover IT cash to cover it.
ETA: I have also used my Discover IT cash to pay for the AF on my CSP.

 

[Judique]

Really unhappy with UR/Chase right now. Please tell me if you think I’m being unreasonable or not. I made a car rental reservation through the UR portal on my CIP account for 31k UR pts, which equaled $382. I noticed when I did the online check in with Alamo it showed the $382 fee, which I thought was kind of strange but wasn’t sure if that was normal or not since this is my first UR car rental. I called Alamo, then UR and after about 40 minutes on the phone with them I was assured it was fine, they don’t pay Alamo until the day of pickup. I used my DH’s Arrival Plus to guarantee the reservation since he was the primary driver and needed the cc needed to match the driver. This was probably a mistake in hindsight.

When we picked up the car, it still showed the dollar amount, but I (stupidly) thought this was still ok since I verified the reservation number matched my UR reservation. Well, guess what. Got home and my DH’s card was charged $382. I called Chase UR, who contacted Alamo, who refused to reverse the charges. Spoke with a supervisor who spoke with someone different at Alamo, who also refused to refund the charges. UR rep offered to reimburse me the 31k UR points, plus 5k “courtesy” points for my time and effort (I’ve been on the phone with them at that point for over an hour, plus the 40 minutes pre-trip). I mentioned this did not seem right as when I go to cash out my UR points to pay the cash fee I shouldn’t have been charged, I’m out $70. She (supervisor) indicated 5k was the most she could offer, that I would need to get with the CIP customer service.

Fast forward to several calls with CIP customer service and the UR rep (same manager), 60 minutes later, and the most the CIP customer service rep will begrudgingly agree to put in a request for is 2,700 pts (so that I can cash out for the full $382). He was very reluctant to even put this request in, and he indicated that this probably won’t be approved. I feel like I’ve totally been screwed over because I now have to pay $382 (which I had reservations for less but wanted to not use any cash), and if I cash out the 31k points, it only equals $310. I can also cash out the 5k for another $50, but after 3 hours on the phone being bounced around, and not doing anything wrong on my end, I feel like I should get the 5k UR as a true courtesy on top of the 7k to cash out to pay the cash fee.

If anyone’s still with me (sorry, this is super long!), do you think I’m wrong? My DH feels like we should just be happy we got the 31k+5k back (which trust me, I’m very grateful to not be out the UR’s and the money both), but I still feel like I’m out $70. It’s especially upsetting since I went to the trouble before we even left to verify the reservation was ok. What do you guys think? I’m just so frustrated right now!

I'm just wondering if you would have had more success reversing the $382 charge later through the credit card process since you already paid through UR's? I obviously don't know and I realize it would be a risk.

 

[cajunmommy]

As long as you don't have to go through security again you should be fine. Now if it's the return and you have to go through customs I'm not sure it would be. CLT really isn't that busy or that big. It's an AA hub but everything else is pretty much serving those that live there. SeaTac is way more busy than CLT to me. And I used to fly right before and after xmas between the two when I lived in NC.

Airline's will also only offer valid legal connections, granted things have to be close to on time for them to work but I've had a valid connection in ATL that was about 55 min and it was tight but that airport is much bigger and busier.

Thanks! It's all on a single ticket, outbound not return, carry-on only, so security or customs/ passsport check should not be an issue.
I said the same thing to DH regarding them only offering valid connections, but the Connection Time alert attached to our ticket info coupled with @calypso726's recent 6 hour Uber story, got me to worrying.

55 min connection in ATL would've made me nervous too!!

 

[nickle831]

I have started a spreadsheet to track Disney gift cards bought/earned and how much I saved on them. I'm not sure how to set it up though. Does anyone have a sheet for something like that to track that they can share?
My categories are: Store bought from//Gift Card face value//Out of Pocket Spent//Reward Money used//OOP amount saved//Payment used

I feel like it's missing something or it's I'm not categorizing well.
For example I bought a GC from Staples for 51.99, I spent 51.99, but I got back $10 from Amex
So It looks like this Staples /$50/ $51.99 /$10/ $10/ Amex

I also want to add the percentage saved on that GC as a category. What formula do I use?

Maybe I'm overthinking it?

 

[platamama]

Tried to close a citi AA biz through chat and told they can 'only close a business account with a business concierge' CS rep and that you have to call. No other option. Will try again tomorrow through chat.

I got this twice through chat. I assume it might be due to my extended fraud alert on my credit so I called turned out they offered a retention bonus - first offered $99 credit if spent $1000 in 3 months. Said no and then they offered 7500 miles for that spend. Not interesting if you just want to close so you can get a new one.

I saw a short discussion on reddit saying that you can’t close via chat if there’s a retention offer on your account, and @StephPlum ’s post supports that theory.

No, this was my first try .

The only thing I can think of is I did my SSN from memory (the card is in Florida) and I may have gotten a digit wrong. I am pretty sure I had it correct, but not 100% sure. Would that make a difference?

Ah, are you in Canada? I believe the Serve product can only be used in the US. Even if you got a VPN and changed your location to within the US to obtain the card, you wouldn’t be able to load them anywhere. And the VGCs are also only good for use in the US. I need to check on the fine print on this. Ok, for eligibility you need to reside in the US, so if you put down your FL address, the card would ship there.


But, for sure if your SSN was off, that would make a difference.

 

[hsmamato2]

"Churny the Bear"? New 'I cc's' thread mascot?@SouthFayetteFan good reminders as usual....

 

[nickle831]

"Churny the Bear"? New 'I cc's' thread mascot?@SouthFayetteFan good reminders as usual....

I cracked up at "Only you can prevent pop ups!"

Sorry everyone I guess I'm super chatty today, but I have another question.
My staples credit posted on my Amex statement, and it is still showing it as an added offer, so that means I can do the deal again? It would fall off if it only had a 1 time use? Does it show somewhere how many times an offer can be used?
TIA

 

[Alexle2007]

.

 

[hsmamato2]

My favorite change story that happened to us was before Citi had 24 month language and during the time CVS allowed Vanilla card reloads with a credit card and before Bluebird started shut downs. Citi offered an Executive American Airlines card with a 100k bonus for $10,000 in spend. DH and I each got 2 of these cards about a month apart for each one. We had to make $40,000 spend in 3 - 4 months. We had about $5,000 left to do on my second card and about $5,000 on DH’s. We were at WDW in the parks and I was reading a blog VFTW has just posted giving everyone a heads up that CVS was going to stop allowing Vanilla reloads very soon. We literally left the park and drive to the closest CVS to finish up the spend.

@speedyfishy mentioned Bluebird shut downs. We went through 4 accounts getting shut down. It happens and the game always changes.

I remember those days...... I have no heart for MS in it's current state.... things used to be so easy lol. I'll leave it up to you experts now and keep my game small.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Something to monitor - a post in r/CreditCards says a CSP/CSR MDD led to their Chase shutdown... There could be more to this but for those considering a MDD, it might give you reason for pause.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/comments/ckruxh

 

[Judique]

The World of Hyatt mobile app has been redesigned, and Hyatt is running a promotion that lets you earn 500 Bonus Points for each qualifying stay at participating hotels through 9/30/19 booked on the new app. No registration required.

https://world.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/rewards/mobile.html

Thanks @Lain - I'm going back to my Hyatt by the beach in late September. Just finished checking for prices to go along with my Amex offer. This adds a nice bit of value as the 500 points are worth a bit more than $15 to me for next summer.

 

[platamama]

That is incorrect according to my personal DP. When I closed my AA Biz via chat last month, the CR said during chat that I had a retention offer and was I interested. I said no thanks, I just wanted to close it. And that’s what he went on and did- closed it.

Glad it worked for you. Trying to find patterns with Citi is turning out to be futile. Also, one month is a long time in Citi world these days.