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

[pillow]

For those who did the Discover savings bonus, how long does it take the bonus to post once you hit the threshold?

 

[Haley R]

I wouldn't recommend staying close to the United Center. It's pretty far out from the main city (not that it's far, but there is nothing out there). We have stayed at the Drake, Allegro, Hyatt Regency, W in the Loop, Hotel Rafaello, Omni Suites, Hotel Godfrey, Hampton Inn on Illinois St., and the Embassy Suites on State St in River North. All were really great!

We are only going for the game so I think we want to be close to the United center. Otherwise we have to drive past it to our hotel which will take us even further out of our way

 

[Haley R]

Agree with this. We have stayed at that Embassy Suites twice. Love it. The area by the United Center made me very uncomfortable after dark when we were trying to get a cab from there a few years back.

I mean we’re gonna be there though for the game so no matter what we’ll be in that area

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Simply because he is 6' 8 and I am 5' tall. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't be thinking about throat punching him and it's the thought that counts right?

Well, I can think of a place to hit him you can easily reach, a little lower...

 

[Lain]

Interesting article by DoC about a Strange issue on AMEX rewards points, bonuses, and reimbursements from 1/31/19...

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/rewa...y-31st/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Not sure if this will affect anybody here but if you had any large purchases on 1/31 with AMEX you’ll want to familiarize yourself with this issue. Your points may be delayed...and you may have to follow up with AMEX on things.

Well, that's interesting because the qualifying transaction that should've put me over MSR on my BGR was dated 1/31 (although it posted with the backdated 1/31 on 2/4). No-pop-up-denial or delayed because of glitch? I don't know if I want to contact Amex to find out and have eyes on my account.

 

[Haley R]

I like the Marriott near the stadium in the medical district, a mile away. I like a bar called the Westend for dinner pregame and they have a shuttle to and from. Otherwise if there are things you will want to do down town I’d suggest just staying there.

Nope all we will be doing is the game. We’re just driving over for that and will wake up and drive home the next day. The game wasn’t cheap so we don’t want to do anything else while there. I did see the Marriott but I thought it looked strange. Since you’ve stayed there I’ll have to look into it.

Why is the parking everywhere like $50+?! We’ve never paid more than $15 to park at a hotel

ETA: dang never mind the Marriott is expensive

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I wouldn't recommend staying close to the United Center. It's pretty far out from the main city (not that it's far, but there is nothing out there). We have stayed at the Drake, Allegro, Hyatt Regency, W in the Loop, Hotel Rafaello, Omni Suites, Hotel Godfrey, Hampton Inn on Illinois St., and the Embassy Suites on State St in River North. All were really great!

@Haley R I agree. The area right around United Center is not the best. Across the expressway is better, Medical District and University area. Or as CoPLuv mentioned above.

 

[Haley R]

@Haley R I agree. The area right around United Center is not the best. Across the expressway is better, Medical District and University area. Or as CoPLuv mentioned above.

I’m looking at the Hampton inn downtown chicago west loop. It has really good reviews. Is that far enough away from the United center? Should we not take a lyft since it’s so sketchy?

 

[AmyAnne]

Well, that's interesting because the qualifying transaction that should've put me over MSR on my BGR was dated 1/31 (although it posted with the backdated 1/31 on 2/4). No-pop-up-denial or delayed because of glitch? I don't know if I want to contact Amex to find out and have eyes on my account.

I might wait a bit and see if AmEx manages to sort it out. With so many reports of issues, AmEx has to be aware that something went wrong.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I’m looking at the Hampton inn downtown chicago west loop. It has really good reviews. Is that far enough away from the United center? Should we not take a lyft since it’s so sketchy?

That area should be ok. It’s right near the train station so it’s always busy. After the game it will be a traffic nightmare. I haven’t done it but a regular cab might be easier than Uber/Lyft as they wait outside UC. Parking your own car at UC will be a pain and cost $25+

Have any URs or other points?
I see the Marriott or others 10k-15k URs for 4/1.

 

[Psychodisney]

I mean we’re gonna be there though for the game so no matter what we’ll be in that area

Not the best area of town! The immediate area is better than it used to be but....do yourself a favor and stay downtown, not by the UC.
As I’m typing this, I see that CyndiLouWho is advising you the same!

 

[Haley R]

That area should be ok. It’s right near the train station so it’s always busy. After the game it will be a traffic nightmare. I haven’t done it but a regular cab might be easier than Uber/Lyft as they wait outside UC. Parking your own car at UC will be a pain and cost $25+

Have any URs or other points?
I see the Marriott or others 10k-15k URs for 4/1.

Yeah we don’t want to park our own car so we might have to figure out a good way to get back to the hotel. This is outside our comfort zone because we usually go to St. Paul for games and it’s so much easier there.

We were gonna do Hilton to gather some more points but we may go through chase. We have like 13k URs left. Can you pay for parking with URs?

 

[afan]

Not the best area of town! The immediate area is better than it used to be but....do yourself a favor and stay downtown, not by the UC.
As I’m typing this, I see that CyndiLouWho is advising you the same!

Another idea since they'll be driving home the next day and only going in to go to the game would be to find something a bit out of town 30-45 min toward home. If the game starts at 7 or 730 you'll be done by 1030 so it's not a bad idea. Might make it easier and cheaper.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Yeah we don’t want to park our own car so we might have to figure out a good way to get back to the hotel. This is outside our comfort zone because we usually go to St. Paul for games and it’s so much easier there.

We were gonna do Hilton to gather some more points but we may go through chase. We have like 13k URs left. Can you pay for parking with URs?

Not sure if rates thru Chase portal include parking or anything. I’d leave your car at hotel and cab or Uber/Lyft to and from UC.

 

[Haley R]

Another idea since they'll be driving home the next day and only going in to go to the game would be to find something a bit out of town 30-45 min toward home. If the game starts at 7 or 730 you'll be done by 1030 so it's not a bad idea. Might make it easier and cheaper.

That’s a very good idea! The game starts at 7:30 so we could easily drive a little ways to cut some time on our way home. I’ll keep looking to see what we can find. I don’t really know the areas around there so idk what’s safe and what isn’t

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Well, that's interesting because the qualifying transaction that should've put me over MSR on my BGR was dated 1/31 (although it posted with the backdated 1/31 on 2/4). No-pop-up-denial or delayed because of glitch? I don't know if I want to contact Amex to find out and have eyes on my account.

How large was the transaction? If not a lot, maybe just keep spending to hit the MSR without including it (as much as that would pain me).

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

That’s a very good idea! The game starts at 7:30 so we could easily drive a little ways to cut some time on our way home. I’ll keep looking to see what we can find. I don’t really know the areas around there so idk what’s safe and what isn’t

If you get outside the city you might find a low category Marriott or Hyatt hotel. Transfer some URs and get it for free? When doing a stop-over stay outside of a major area, I've found some Cat 1 - 7,500 pt Marriott hotels that were going for $80-$100 cash. Park Free, Sleep Free, Breakfast Free - oh yeah!

 

[Lain]

How large was the transaction? If not a lot, maybe just keep spending to hit the MSR without including it (as much as that would pain me).

MSR period ended :-(

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

MSR period ended :-(

Woah...yeah, I probably keep quiet for a little bit and see if it works itself out.

 

[miztressuz]

Thanks for the heads up! I’m actually fairly confident in my numbers though. I don’t keep track of specific dates opened, but I do know the accounts I’ve opened and they’re all accounted for on CJ. I was wondering about the accuracy of the inquiries more than anything. I’ll keep that in mind for future though!

It's only looking at your TU report, so only inquires and accounts listed there will show. If you just look at the number of accounts they list in the last 24 months it's not counting closed accounts, which Chase will, and it might include non revolving accounts, which Chase won't. But if you hand count it's good enough.

For those who did the Discover savings bonus, how long does it take the bonus to post once you hit the threshold?

Next business day.