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

[DisneyMandC]

Wow, surprised to see the 80k URs for my CIP2 pending already! My final charges for MSR didn’t post until Monday afternoon and I’ve already got the bonus showing as pending! Our Disney trip is paid (30 days!!) so I’ll be saving these points for Hawaii most likely.

 

[spacerangerqueen]

We’ve just never had to buy trip insurance before but I think maybe we will for this. On that website it gives you different companies. Are they all pretty good or just some of them?

Zika is still around even though it seems like we don’t hear about it much. Dh was thinking the same thing that it shouldn’t be much worse than here in Florida.

Maybe we’ll see you at Epcot! I wanted to eat at chefs but Dh said no

I'm pretty sure they are all reputable companies. I always compare their ratings as well as their offerings before I choose.

I haven't been to Chefs in probably over a decade. My parents used to go every trip (many times while I was at work haha) I'm excited to go again.

 

[trenty]

Got an email from Chase - no more Chase Pay as of early 2020. I never use it anyway - unless it is a CF5x category....

ETA - more info here - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/j...-alone-chase-pay-app-in-early-2020-2019-08-21

 

[disfanforlife]

If you get to the point where you're looking to transfer UR>VS to book partner awards on Hawaiian, you should check how many UR points the same flight on Hawaiian costs on the UR Portal using your highest redemption card (CIP/CSP/CSR). A $550 R/T economy flight would cost only 36,667 UR on the CSR (1.5x redemption) or 44,000 UR on the CSP/CIP (1.25x redemption), compared to the 40,000 UR you'd have to transfer to VS for the 40,000 miles needed to book R/T awards on Hawaiian, subject to availability.

And as I mentioned, keep stalking fares. Sign up for Google Flight and Hopper alerts for price drops. A price drop should also reflect on the UR Portal, which will lower your points cost. Since you're pushing up against spring break, prices will tend to be a little higher, but I think $550 from the West Coast is still on the higher side. Flying in and out midweek should get you some lower prices.

Is it easier to book through chase rather than transferring to VS ? Since I haven’t done either I have no idea. In recent years I have only flown on SW ( points mainly) and JetBlue ( cash).

 

[GZanta77]

Is it easier to book through chase rather than transferring to VS ? Since I haven’t done either I have no idea. In recent years I have only flown on SW ( points mainly) and JetBlue ( cash).

I would say it is easier to book through chase and as @Lain mentioned - it can also be cheaper. You can check prices on expedia if you don't wan't to login to Chase travel - they are usually the same. Sometimes expedia has special rates that can be even lower than the airline/hotel official website.

 

[FloridaNative8]

Shoot yeah we didn’t buy trip insurance. You think we should? I thought the hurricane chances were way down in November. Oops. Who did you get your trip insurance from?

I’ll look into park n cruise. Maybe we’ll do that.

Should we be worried about Zika going to the eastern Caribbean?

We've done Park n Cruise twice before and loved them! For the longer cruises it saves quite a bit of money.

Can you get trip insurance after full payment has been made? *IF* there is a hurricane that late, Disney will do whatever they can to make the cruise happen, but they can change the ports (this happened to us, although it was a while after the hurricane and it was switched because the Eastern Caribbean islands weren't ready for ships).

 

[Lain]

Is it easier to book through chase rather than transferring to VS ? Since I haven’t done either I have no idea. In recent years I have only flown on SW ( points mainly) and JetBlue ( cash).

Yes. Booking through the UR Portal is like booking through Expedia, since the UR portal runs on the Expedia platform. You pay for your flights or hotels with UR as if they were cash, but with a redemption bonus (that you’ll see reflected as lower points costs) depending on what card you’re redeeming from (CSR/CSP/CIP).

VS doesn’t publish partner awards availability, so you need to call them up and work with an agent to find a flight that works for you. When you’re ready to book the award, you could put the seats on hold or just hold the phone, then you’d need to go into your Chase account and transfer the necessary amount of UR to your VS account to book.

Again, if you have Southwest RR points and the CP, that’s another way to go. I love the feeling of flying Hawaiian, but I’m going to guess using RR points and your companion flying free is going to be a lot cheaper.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I really think that is the best way to sail on DCL. People keep saying "you have to do this or that or the other thing" and then there's no time to rest, relax, and do a few of the included things like watch the shows, enjoy the soft serve, play trivia. Down time on the ship is the best, though. I try not to over plan the cruises. I hope you have a great time!

I agree but I do have to do Palo every trip. It is just so delicious and we aren't impressed by the food in the main dining room, so we tend to do Palo more than once.
Our bill at the end is generally about $2k, but that incl tips, alcohol, nursery, palo, bingo, gift shops, popcorn refills...
We don't usually do the spa, except I think DH did get a massage once.

 

[trstno1]

I went a little crazy and opened AmEx business Platinum, Gold, and Green, in 8/2018, and now it hurts my head trying to figure out what to do this year now that annual fees are coming due. (I opened the Gold first, then the Green with a nice self-referral bonus, both before I learned I was eligible for the 100K Platinum bonus.) My Gold is the old Business Gold Rewards with the $175 annual fee. I have the 50K/$10K/5mo upgrade offer available on both my Gold and Green Cards.

To keep the RAT happy, I think my best move here is to upgrade the Gold to Platinum and downgrade the Platinum to Green. I could cancel my current Green card now, or I could cancel both Green cards a year from now when their next annual fee hits. Any words of wisdom from you AmEx experts?

 

[1st*toright]

Our new TV from Dell is on its way - according to DH its only an "OK" TV, nothing special, but it is 15 years newer than the one we've been using (which is a gigantic box thing, not a flat screen). With our 3 platinum credits, plus Amex offers on two of the cards, 2% back from ebates, the net cost is something like $16.

Yes, I realize we are in for huge AFs also on those three cards, but one of them is getting downgraded to a green just as soon as the dell credit comes through, and the other two are still in their first year (one we got the full SUB, the other was an upgrade from a green for an upgrade bonus).

I would probably have gone for the Nintendo Switch consoles (as advised by my esteemed colleagues here on the board) but the ~$300 version disappeared from the Dell site (replaced by a fancy one for $450), and I need to downgrade one of my Plats asap so I couldn't wait for it to reappear.

So new TV it is!

 

[Lain]

I went a little crazy and opened AmEx business Platinum, Gold, and Green, in 8/2018, and now it hurts my head trying to figure out what to do this year now that annual fees are coming due. (I opened the Gold first, then the Green with a nice self-referral bonus, both before I learned I was eligible for the 100K Platinum bonus.) My Gold is the old Business Gold Rewards with the $175 annual fee. I have the 50K/$10K/5mo upgrade offer available on both my Gold and Green Cards.

To keep the RAT happy, I think my best move here is to upgrade the Gold to Platinum and downgrade the Platinum to Green. I could cancel my current Green card now, or I could cancel both Green cards a year from now when their next annual fee hits. Any words of wisdom from you AmEx experts?

Our new TV from Dell is on its way - according to DH its only an "OK" TV, nothing special, but it is 15 years newer than the one we've been using (which is a gigantic box thing, not a flat screen). With our 3 platinum credits, plus Amex offers on two of the cards, 2% back from ebates, the net cost is something like $16.

Yes, I realize we are in for huge AFs also on those three cards, but one of them is getting downgraded to a green just as soon as the dell credit comes through, and the other two are still in their first year (one we got the full SUB, the other was an upgrade from a green for an upgrade bonus).

I would probably have gone for the Nintendo Switch consoles (as advised by my esteemed colleagues here on the board) but the ~$300 version disappeared from the Dell site (replaced by a fancy one for $450), and I need to downgrade one of my Plats asap so I couldn't wait for it to reappear.

So new TV it is!

Just to chime in with you folks who went crazy on the Amex biz charge cards last year.

I already took the 50k MR upgrade offer on the Biz Green and upgraded it to a Biz Plat. I was trying to avoid paying too much of a prorated AF and had a bit of a churning fail in calculating it. I should have upgraded sooner, to take advantage of the Jan-June Dell credit that would've helped to offset the prorated AF; or later, after the Biz Green AF posted, then upgrade to the Biz Plat for the higher AF. Instead, I missed out on the Jan-June Dell credit and got hit with a $97.80 prorated AF.

I'll be closing my original Biz Plat next month.

My Biz Gold comes up on a year in November, with the AF hitting some time after that. If the 50k MR upgrade offer is still around in November/December, I'm planning to upgrade the Biz Gold to another Biz Plat to triple dip the $200 airline fee credit (even though it's not as easy as buying GCs anymore), this year's July-Dec $100 Dell credit, next year's two $100 Dell credits, and Jan-June 2021's $100 Dell credit.

I don't know if closures matter so much as maintaining (preferably high levels of) spend on the cards you have.

 

[miztressuz]

I could have sworn I read somewhere that Barclay actually wants to see high utilization on their cards when you apply for another. Am I imagining I read that? Wondering since I’m contemplating applying for the Barclay AA biz card, but my utilization is quite high on my A+ right now since I used it through Plastiq for a tuition payment. Not sure whether to pay it down first or not.

They want to see you are using the credit they already gave you before giving you more. So I don't think it necessarily needs to be very high, but more than just a Netflix subscription. Haven't seen much about too much utilization, but assuming you don't look like a risk - where you're running it up and not paying it off and then want more - I don't think it hurts.

A timely post, DoC updated a post today that speaks to Barclays approvals -
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/how-...ave-with-each-credit-card-issuer/#Barclaycard

 

[Artygal90]

DH CIP#1 = Approved!!!

 

[Limes96]

They want to see you are using the credit they already gave you before giving you more. So I don't think it necessarily needs to be very high, but more than just a Netflix subscription. Haven't seen much about too much utilization, but assuming you don't look like a risk - where you're running it up and not paying it off and then want more - I don't think it hurts.

A timely post, DoC updated a post today that speaks to Barclays approvals -
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/how-...ave-with-each-credit-card-issuer/#Barclaycard

Thanks, I followed this DoC post this morning to more Barclays info and read that it’s difficult to get a second Barclays card within 6 months. I got my A+ the end of April this year. I have been using it a lot. With the 2% back, it’s my best non category card right now. I may pay it down some, wait until beginning of September, then apply. Do they update your TU credit score weekly? Last time I looked at credit karma it seemed like I noticed it very frequently updated.

 

[1st*toright]

Just to chime in with you folks who went crazy on the Amex biz charge cards last year.

I already took the 50k MR upgrade offer on the Biz Green and upgraded it to a Biz Plat. I was trying to avoid paying too much of a prorated AF and had a bit of a churning fail in calculating it. I should have upgraded sooner, to take advantage of the Jan-June Dell credit that would've helped to offset the prorated AF; or later, after the Biz Green AF posted, then upgrade to the Biz Plat for the higher AF. Instead, I missed out on the Jan-June Dell credit and got hit with a $97.80 prorated AF.

I'll be closing my original Biz Plat next month.

My Biz Gold comes up on a year in November, with the AF hitting some time after that. If the 50k MR upgrade offer is still around in November/December, I'm planning to upgrade the Biz Gold to another Biz Plat to triple dip the $200 airline fee credit (even though it's not as easy as buying GCs anymore), this year's July-Dec $100 Dell credit, next year's two $100 Dell credits, and Jan-June 2021's $100 Dell credit.

I don't know if closures matter so much as maintaining (preferably high levels of) spend on the cards you have.

I didn't go too crazy- I don't have a gold, just the green (now upgraded to plat) and the original plat. I figure its worth the $95 fee on the green to see if I can upgrade that one later to a plat, so I'm not closing any yet. And P2 has a Biz Plat (which we may downgrade to a green when the AF hits - although he has become something of an airport lounge aficionado, so it might be hard to get him to give that up). I am, however, contemplating adding a Gold to the mix, in which case I might close the green at some point (and see how long I can upgrade/downgrade between gold and plat, like you).

I did upgrade in time to use the Jan-June Dell credit and did use the $200 airline credit on both plats in this calendar year, so my net AF isn't looking too terrible at the moment.

 

[disfanforlife]

Yes. Booking through the UR Portal is like booking through Expedia, since the UR portal runs on the Expedia platform. You pay for your flights or hotels with UR as if they were cash, but with a redemption bonus (that you’ll see reflected as lower points costs) depending on what card you’re redeeming from (CSR/CSP/CIP).

VS doesn’t publish partner awards availability, so you need to call them up and work with an agent to find a flight that works for you. When you’re ready to book the award, you could put the seats on hold or just hold the phone, then you’d need to go into your Chase account and transfer the necessary amount of UR to your VS account to book.

Again, if you have Southwest RR points and the CP, that’s another way to go. I love the feeling of flying Hawaiian, but I’m going to guess using RR points and your companion flying free is going to be a lot cheaper.

Currently we have one CIP (P2)- I am planning to apply for my first one in October . No CSR or CSP. Definitely will look into using our SW points and CP too. Thanks again for more information. I appreciate having all of these tips. The last ten years the only place we have flown is Albany to Orlando. So I’m really a novice on other areas and airlines. I have traveled other places but it’s been many years and didn’t use any points or anything like that back then.

 

[NewbieMom]

Congrats!

No one asked about our credit card applications but our most recent one was mid-February and we applied for our loan in mid-April. Our loan officer and realtor advised us not to apply for any new lines of credit while house hunting or while under contract. There was also a document we had to sign at closing saying that we had not taken out any new debt between our loan application and closing. When I asked our loan officer when we could apply for a new card for a signup bonus she said the day after closing was fine, although we may need to provide a letter of explanation at some point later if the loan gets sold.

I submitted my DH's application for his first CIP this morning (closed yesterday afternoon) and am patiently waiting for it to be approved. I might make him call since we have several big purchases to make and need to get started sooner rather than later!

Congratulations on your new home! No word from our realtor yet.

Thanks, I'll definitely lay off the apps until we close then.

 

[Alexle2007]

I love how responsive SW is to DMs on Twitter! I must have forgotten to change the middle name on my mom’s SW return ticket so her boarding pass had mine, oops! I sent a DM to SW, they asked for a photo of her license, quickly made the change and all is well!

 

[elgerber]

Do upgrade offers on the Biz Greens show up in the offers area, or are they found somewhere else?

 

[wendow]

Can’t remember who suggested I email SW about our flight problems getting home. But thank you for suggesting it!! I did so yesterday got a response today that they are sending us 6 $100 LUV vouchers