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

[amalone1013]

Maybe she is...the Outlander series and some children's books thrown in lol!

And Scuffy is great! Along with the Poky Little Puppy

I love the Poky Little Puppy

 

[bernina]

I feel like I shouldn’t mention how many books I’ve read this year...

Although I’ve been reading the outlander series and that’s seriously slowed down my track for the year

Not sure if you’re open to audio books but the narrator for Outlander is top notch (and I only reserve that phrase when I get stellar customer service from an airline via Twitter ). Davina Porter is awesome and does different voices (complete with Scottish and English accents) for all of the main characters.

 

[Haley R]

Woah - how do you know that @Haley R isn’t into reading children’s books? Way to judge somebody @wendow!!

Perhaps she’s a big “Scuffy” Fan!!!
View attachment 440068

I AM an elementary teacher so I occasionally read children’s books lol. I try not to count them towards my yearly goal though

 

[gottalovepluto]

...And I applied for a job! And have a list to keep tackling tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

YESSSSSS!!! Fingers definitely crossed for you!!!

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Maybe she is...the Outlander series and some children's books thrown in lol!

And Scuffy is great! Along with the Poky Little Puppy

I used to have to hide the Three Billy Goats Gruff from DD1. I got so tired of reading and doing the voices.

 

[Haley R]

Not sure if you’re open to audio books but the narrator for Outlander is top notch (and I only reserve that phrase when I get stellar customer service from an airline via Twitter ). Davina Porter is awesome and does different voices (complete with Scottish and English accents) for all of the main characters.

I’m not into audio books. I like to read the book myself. I get bored listening to someone else and end up not listening

 

[Haley R]

Reloaded our toll account, so now I've finally used up my VGCs from the last Safeway $10 off a variable card promo which was back in June

Now I'm just floating my $500 I picked up yesterday, $200 from yesterday from my Kroger, and the 2x$50s/2x$100s from that last coupon round... Hmm, that's still a lot

Also a $50 MCGC that will go towards the auto loan.

And I applied for a job! And have a list to keep tackling tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

I still never got that resume on my desk lol. I hope you get the job though! Good luck

 

[orangecuse]

@wendow how do you check the status? I haven’t gotten anything yet even saying I applied

 

[bernina]

I was looking for some places for a last minute trip over Columbus weekend. DD has that Friday off and I figured we could leave Thurs after school. After finding 0 availability at the nicer Universal Orlando resorts and even Hyatt Grand Cyprus being sold out I decided to look closer to home. I have a refundable room booked for 2 nights in Columbus, OH near the mall that has an American Girl store. We stopped there on our way home from Disney Hilton Head and surprised DD with early bday gifts. It was a pretty cool mall and I’ve always wanted to check out the Columbus Zoo. Not positive we’ll end up going but it’s fun to have something to look forward to.

We booked at the Hilton at Easton which has an indoor pool and is right at the mall. Looks pretty cool.

Bonus points for the Walmart within walking distance in case I need to load BB or get a few money orders

 

[wendow]

@wendow how do you check the status? I haven’t gotten anything yet even saying I applied

For the Barclay aviator biz? My dh has received nothing from them either.
https://www.barclaycardus.com/apply/cas/applications/search?PARTNERID=BUSINESS

 

[orangecuse]

For the Barclay aviator biz? My dh has received nothing from them either.
https://www.barclaycardus.com/apply/cas/applications/search?PARTNERID=BUSINESS

Denied. Hmmmm instant denial at 2/24?! Whatever Barclays. App’d P2 and its pending.

 

[wendow]

Denied. Hmmmm instant denial at 2/24?! Whatever Barclays. App’d P2 and its pending.

Sorry to hear that. They really are Barcray-cray! They approved me while at 6/24 having just gotten another Barclay card a month before but then deny my dh who has better stats

 

[MKTokyo]

My question is how do you guys have time to read books and keep up with this hobby!?! The last two years I read 50 books a year. This year....11.

I have only read 8 books for fun this year so far. It makes me sad. I love to read. But, I have to read too much for academic reasons right now & my wedding is in less than a month If not for "in transit reading" I would never really get to read at all, and some of my travel is due to churning, so... if anything, this hobby has helped me out with my reading

I will stay up all night to read The Queen of Nothing, though, and nobody can stop me.

 

[mmmears]

Not sure if you’re open to audio books but the narrator for Outlander is top notch (and I only reserve that phrase when I get stellar customer service from an airline via Twitter ). Davina Porter is awesome and does different voices (complete with Scottish and English accents) for all of the main characters.

Totally agree. I'm listening to these right now and she's a great reader. I'm also a fan of the Harry Potter series on audio (even though I've read the actual books tons of times). I like audio books since I can listen when I'm doing other things (walking, working out, etc.) and I can get some "reading" in that way. I spend lots of screen time reading here and also reading travel books and my eyes get tired.

 

[ten6mom]

Burgers: I have both In n Out and Five Guys here. I don't love In n Out but the one time I had Five Guys, the fries were incredibly greasy so I don't need to go back.

Smashburger is my favorite! Do you all have Smashburger where you are?? Try it!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

From the producers who brought you Churning Shower Thoughts by SouthFayetteFan comes another edition of the spectacular series: A Fireside Chat with SouthFayetteFan...on the topic of MANUFACTURED SPEND (MS)

So for this chat, you first should have a basic knowledge of what MS is. I recommend this thread on r/churning which gives a definition and explanation. It may not be 100% up to date but will give you a good intro.

So I should probably start out by saying that I do not MS except in a very limited fashion. Now you might be saying, why does some guy who doesn't MS want to write about it. Well, I understand MS, and I know how to MS, I just choose not to MS. In many churning circles, those that MS look down on those that do not. Apparently we are lesser churners (to them). I feel my points balances say otherwise, but I feel it's worth pointing that out. Luckily here in our group and on DISchurners we DO NOT judge others and so we have some people who MS and some how don't and we all coexist in harmony because we're awesome like that.

Why make this post now?
Well, there has been a LOT of activity recently on the main thread and on our DISchurners MS Discussion Thread about MS in general. It seems that there could be some misconceptions out there about MS and there certainly can be a sense of FOMO about it so I felt it was a subject worth tackling tonight...

Why might you want to MS and/or find MS beneficial?

• To hit a large MSR that your organic spend otherwise wouldn't allow for: If you are unsure how to hit a $5k MSR, MS can be a godsend! That said, there are other strategies to shift spend without increasing your everyday spend levels so you may wish to examine those first.
• To earn points on cards with category bonuses: If you're able to earn 2x MRs or 5x URs, this will more than offset any expense of MSing and leave you with valuable points to help reach your goals faster!
• To hit your MSR so that your organic spend can be put to better use on category bonuses: Somewhat of a combination of the two points above with a little wrinkle/twist.
• To achieve some sort of special card benefit: Some cards offer a free night or some level of status if you hit so much spend in a year. If you can offset your MSing costs with the base points this becomes a "free" benefit to you through MS.
• To appease a certain RAT: You want spend? I'll show you spend! Out Darned Popup!
• And there may be other reasons that I may have left out...

This all sounds great...Where do I get started?
Not so fast there friend...You see, MS sounds great, but there's a lot more to it:

• If you are having no issues hitting your MSRs organically BUT you don't have any of the good "category bonus" cards yet...your MS strategy may be dead before it begins...
• Let me state that differently: If you hit your MSR in 4 weeks...what are you going to do for the next 8 weeks while you wait for the time to pass? Go back to earning 1% back on everyday purchases? So thus, if you can't increase your pacing and you don't have any "MS worthy" cards, the timing may not be right for you.
• Many people who MS have been playing the game aggressively for 6 months to a year (or much more). They have developed a portfolio of cards that include some of the "MS Golden Goose" cards. What they're doing sounds sexy, because it is, but you don't have those cards, so you can't replicate what they do.
• So then you're faced with continuing to pursue the large bonus cards that you've been doing or mix in a "MS Golden Goose" which may not fit with your current strategy but would open up the world of MS to you. These aren't easy questions and as such, they don't come with easy answers.

Aside from obtaining the right cards, you also need to understand the risks of MS:

• Some of the methods are scrutinized by employees out in the wild. You aren't doing anything wrong, but you may feel like it at times.
• You CANNOT get in deeper than you can float. Don't get stuck with Thousands in gift cards with no liquidation method.
• There are minor risks of fraud on gift cards or losing something which could cost you at best "time" while you fix it and at worst money (which would stink).
• MS takes time. Time to procure the resources, time to research, time to complete the necessary transactions, etc. Can it be lucrative - YES! But it isn't typically as easy as placing an online order.
• Some issuers don't like it. They may scrutinize your activity and that may not feel good. At worst they could shut down your accounts but you have to get to a pretty large level to worry about that.
• You have to have thick skin and realize that others may not want to lead you by the hand in this. Most people have spent time perfecting their methods and want to protect them. You also need to abide by the churner's code and NEVER call the bank and NEVER burn the location (i.e. don't ask questions, don't abuse employees, etc.)
• Also be aware that MS strategies will change and evolve. Avenues to liquidate will get shutdown so you need to be able to change and adapt with the times.

So why don't you MS @SouthFayetteFan??
Well that's a great question and I'm glad you asked...

• First off, I'm not against MS and I don't dislike MS - I just choose not to do it.
• I churn because it's my hobby, and I enjoy my hobby. I personally don't enjoy MS, so I'm not going to do something I don't enjoy. If your hobby was fishing but you hated this one lake - would you fish on that lake - or would you fish on the lakes you enjoy? Enough said...
• So if I was going to MS, it would be "work" to me. I have 2 kids and I devote a ton of time to family and I'm just not interested in spending my time at Staples and Walmarts. I don't judge those that want to, it's just not for me at this time.
• I'm also in a sales role where if I produce more I can make more. If I wanted to work harder, I'd just go work harder at my day job.
• Despite being a "FIRE chase" I can run 80%+ of all our expenses through cards and can still meet 6-8 MSRs a year on that alone. That's enough for me...

So if I want to MS, what should I do? How should I get started?
I recommend you reach out to others on the thread who you know are MSing. Chat with them about strategies but make sure they understand what cards you have and your upcoming goals. This should probably occur on our MS thread on DISchurners or in a PM. We try to keep from broadcasting some of these strategies out in the open. Make sure you aren't MSing for nothing - and if you're early in the game, you might need to call an audible and grab a card that can help your MSing goals and then resume the strategy you've laid out.

In Summary - MS can be a very lucrative add-on to your churning strategy. However, it's not for everybody AND the timing may not be right for you. Don't just MS due to FOMO and make sure it truly is adding value to your overall churning strategy!

 

[PolyRob]

https://onemileatatime.com/united-premium-plus-domestic/

Thank you! I doubt I will ever have premier status with United, but those seats look awfully nice! I plan on booking the 787-10 for the trip because of those nice Polaris seats

I noticed earlier today that on the day we're flying home (aug 30), both of these are currently showing available on points. 40k for the 8am and 80k for the 9am. Very weird since it's beyond the 11 month mark, and nothing else shows up.

I definitely want the business class on the 9am flight home. Hoping when it's available on the Chase portal, it's available at the $659 price.

I ended up booking us out on Aug 20 at 11am for $659 through the portal so about 43,900 pts each. Could have taken the 7am ish flight on the 787-10 for the same amount, but without giving my husband details, we decided the 11am flight worked better. So we don't have to get up at a crazy early hour. And I didn't want to tell him we could sleep on the plane since he doesn't know we'll be in lie flat seats . He has a hard time sleeping so he may not have been able to anyway.

I too noticed the 787-10 flights seems to be earlier, but I may force my family to deal with it for the "experience." LOL

Glad you were able to get one flight cheaper than transferring points and will also earn the miles and have the CSR insurance!

 

[PolyRob]

• To appease a certain RAT: You want spend? I'll show you spend! Out Darned Popup!

Did you just make a Macbeth reference?

 

[PolyRob]

I think I need to take myself to the shun corner based on these next two comments...

I am not a huge burger fan. I've been to Five Guys a total of 2 times (too greasy for me), and I have never never been to In-N-Out burger.

I have also read 0 books this past year, and the year prior... and the year prior to that.

 

[ten6mom]

I hadn't thought of the reading thing... I used to read avidly (although I do re-read the same books over and over if I love them) and with school (therefore having a computer in front of me all the time... even at the table where I used to read) and now this thread/reddit, I definitely have not been reading at all. It's sad, really.

Also I despise e-readers but books are so cumbersome to haul around, so even on the rare times I have "down time" during travel, I tend not to read.