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

[wendow]

We're taking them to see Star Wars this week, lol. I definitely avoid profanity at all costs, I don't need my kids hearing that. I also wouldn't want to watch something that would cause a lot of fear or sadness because they have such big hearts and I could see a really sad story keeping them up at night or something like that.

See, this surprises me. My dd's said the new Star Wars would be too intense for their brothers so we told the boys they'd have to wait. I'm seeing it tomorrow though so I'll pay attention to that. We aren't letting the boys watch the Mandalorian though either. My 11yo is really sensitive to scary stuff.

 

[platamama]

A few questions for people using Serve:

1. Has anyone had any issues using the Serve website to pay a mortgage or other bill? I just submitted our mortgage payment, which I can't do online directly through the mortgage company--I get charged a fee even to debit from my checking account. I know most people just transfer the $ from Serve to their bank accounts but it actually would be helpful if this (submitting the payment through Serve) really works.

2. Does anyone have a Bluebird account in addition to/instead of a Serve account? It seems that the Bluebird works just like Serve except that it can only be loaded at Walmart. Anything else notably different?

Do you have online access to your mortgage information, so that you can see when the payment posts to your mortgage? Or at least a phone number to call to find out balances, last payment, info like that? I've made a test payment of $100 to my mortgage company in the past with Serve, and it ended up being applied toward principal. I was fine with that since I was just testing their system to make sure they received payment, so I didn't have any issues. But you should check with your mortgage company and when they receive the funds, make sure that they are applying the funds toward your mortgage payment and not just your principal. I've been using Plastiq for mortgage recently, but even with sending mortgage payments through Plastiq, I've sometimes seen it applied toward principal only and I've had to call to have it reversed and reapplied toward the mortgage payment. I use Serve and Bluebird all the time to pay cc bills.

I have a Bluebird, and manage DH's Serve account, and since I only use WM anyway the two services are the same as far as I'm concerned.

@AmyAnne ETA: Except for the fee!! I make sure to drain the green Serve account down to zero before the fee hits. Bluebird doesn’t have a fee.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

See, this surprises me. My dd's said the new Star Wars would be too intense for their brothers so we told the boys they'd have to wait. I'm seeing it tomorrow though so I'll pay attention to that. We aren't letting the boys watch the Mandalorian though either. My 11yo is really sensitive to scary stuff.

For some reason my girls do really well with the Star Wars universe. Perhaps it's because they are able to really separate the fantasy from reality. I honestly can't explain it.

Oddly enough, my younger daughter is terrified of the monkey in Toy Story 3 and we can't watch that or she gets nightmares. Go figure...a 6 year old who has watched every Star Wars move without issue can't watch TS3... They can be very strange sometimes...

My worry about Togo would probably be related to some sort of animal related violence - like if it was at all like some of the scenes in White Fang where animals are fighting or attacking humans. I could see that getting in their heads.

 

[apollodi]

DH's Hilton biz bonus posted! He applied when the bonus was 130k points plus free night, got a pop-up. Then, he applied for the BBC and was approved, no popup. I applied for him for the Hilton Biz again about a week later, on the last day of the free night bonus, and he got approved without a pop-up. I was never sure that bonus was going to arrive but it did! Weirdly, his free weekend night arrived the same day as the bonus points, a couple days after meeting spend. My weekend night took weeks.

 

[PaintsWithAllTheColors]

People all talking about $2.19 gas. Meanwhile in the land of gas taxes here in PA I think we’re still at $2.90

lol.... today we drove by gas at 3.25 and DH nearly cried that he had just filled up. It’s been over $4 for a while here in So Cal

 

[PaintsWithAllTheColors]

Thoughts on Togo for my girls? (9 and 6)... Good movie, too sad, anything inappropriate...??

SO GOOODDDD!!! definitely had me tearing up but not overly tragic, definitely not inappropriate, and a wonderful movie. I’ve been talking nonstop about it since we watched a few nights ago

 

[apollodi]

I'm thinking I need to buy poptarts. DS is down another six pounds in 12 days (down 33 pounds since school started). The problem is I'll probably eat them.

My DD3 is much younger than your DS, but I'm also in this position. She's very light for her height, and the doctor just said we have to bring her weight up. She was helping me make cookies today and I gave her some chunks of butter to eat. One of my dough recipes doesn't use eggs, so I tried giving her some cookie dough. She wouldn't eat it! She doesn't like poptarts either. I guess we'll stick with butter on everything.

 

[Alexle2007]

Thanks for the review. We go to Universal in February. No express pass for us so I'm hoping it's the same as when you were there and the weekdays won't be bad. Saved your post for all the food info, thanks!

We’ll be there also Valentine’s Day/President’s Day weekend. I still have to book a room though. I keep hoping for AP rates to appear but right now prices are so high.

 

[pinkxray]

Has anyone flown Southwest lately? Is there an increased bonus if you sign up for any SW cards in flight?

 

[Alexle2007]

Has anyone flown Southwest lately? Is there an increased bonus if you sign up for any SW cards in flight?

I have a flight tomorrow that I can check on. (We flew on the 18th and I didn’t look to be honest.)

 

[pinkxray]

I have a flight tomorrow that I can check on. (We flew on the 18th and I didn’t look to be honest.)

Thank you! We are flying in 2 weeks and I would love another SW card.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Has anyone flown Southwest lately? Is there an increased bonus if you sign up for any SW cards in flight?

We flew on the 13th..... the bonus was 50k on the plus and priority in flight

 

[wendow]

Has anyone flown Southwest lately? Is there an increased bonus if you sign up for any SW cards in flight?

I just flew dec 12 and 16. The plus card was a 50k/2k offer. You can apply online or request the link by email. I had some friends wanting that offer so i forwarded the email to them. The link can only be opened a few times so seems Chase is cracking down of the sharing of inflight offers.

 

[happ]

Oh Boy...I just did a thing...

Cashed out another $5,000 URs. I don't plan to STOP earning URs... but given the recent issues with AA, I'm also not about to be sitting on any URs anymore either!! That brings me down to 45k left (although I'll be back up to 200k soon enough). I think I'll keep a balance of 50k or so and every time that I have 100k extra I'll cash out $1,000 going forward. (Just my plan, not advising others to follow suit...the fact that I don't really have a 1.5x use for URs and have a plethora of SW points makes this a workable solution for me).

Oh and to relate this to MSR Sunday, I'm just about done with the spend on a Chase Biz card for me (paid off my Disney trip in full today!) and waiting on a Chase Biz card to arrive for my wife this week. That'll be our focus for the next few months then.

I've also been considering cashing out URs given the AA situation. Keeping a large stockpile is making me a little nervous. I wish interest rates were better, so I could cash out and put the funds somewhere earning more than 2%.

 

[Judique]

Finished up the MSR on my last card yesterday and was approved for an Amex Biz gold card today! I'll be meeting the MSR with DVC dues when it arrives. Also used an Amex offer on my BBP at Staples to get 2500 MR for $100. When I got my receipt I saw that it had a coupon for $10 off $20 or more on my next purchase. Turned right around and picked up some cable organizers I was eyeing while in the store but used my Ink+ so I could get 5x. That was an unexpected bonus. I also had an Amex offer on the BBP for Total Wine for $100 and get 2,000 MR so I did some shopping there.

I have a few Total Wine offers and maybe one bottle left in my basement (my wine cellar, lol). Need to go see if I can find a few bottles and restock. These come in handy as gifts and the occasional time I open a bottle at home.

 

[calypso726]

I have the offer on a few cards. I purchased a bottle of wine as a gift but that didn’t put me up to the $100. So, I picked up a bottle of Port to share for the family Christmas Eve dinner.

 

[calypso726]

For my Seinfeld DISchurner fans:

 

[bernina]

My DD3 is much younger than your DS, but I'm also in this position. She's very light for her height, and the doctor just said we have to bring her weight up. She was helping me make cookies today and I gave her some chunks of butter to eat. One of my dough recipes doesn't use eggs, so I tried giving her some cookie dough. She wouldn't eat it! She doesn't like poptarts either. I guess we'll stick with butter on everything.

Will she drink whole milk chocolate milk? DD doesn't eat a ton (her weight is fine but she's on the light side) but we found she will down a full glass of chocolate milk (has to be Tru Moo brand for her). The calcium is good for her and the way she eats the extra calories and fat probably are too.

 

[Judique]

Oh Boy...I just did a thing...

Cashed out another $5,000 URs. I don't plan to STOP earning URs... but given the recent issues with AA, I'm also not about to be sitting on any URs anymore either!! That brings me down to 45k left (although I'll be back up to 200k soon enough). I think I'll keep a balance of 50k or so and every time that I have 100k extra I'll cash out $1,000 going forward. (Just my plan, not advising others to follow suit...the fact that I don't really have a 1.5x use for URs and have a plethora of SW points makes this a workable solution for me).

Oh and to relate this to MSR Sunday, I'm just about done with the spend on a Chase Biz card for me (paid off my Disney trip in full today!) and waiting on a Chase Biz card to arrive for my wife this week. That'll be our focus for the next few months then.

I think you did the right thing for you.
I've also cashed out and did a deposit into an account. Not for the same reason - I don't see Navy Fed coming after me for my 3rd account in 29 years - but I had $1000 in there and those points (2% cash card) don't grow, plus there are no other values that I can see that are better than the cash.

Probably should do the small stash of UR's that I have also, but that's a little bit different. Since I'm over 5/24 and do have a transfer use for these points on a 1:1 basis to Hyatt, where they have a much higher value for me, I think I'll wait until I get a card I can transfer with even though it's going to be many months down the road. I want to build my Hyatt stash to a point where I can easily take 3-4 nights at a time. Been managing this with the free night and some paid nights and spend for the last 2 years, but my stash is low, although I have a free trip booked for this summer I'm trying to look and plan forward.

As far as MSR's. my one Chase black/green star card has long ago been finished and I was declined for the Amex Hilton Biz. I need to get under 5/24 - obsessed with that - so I'm staying away. Focusing my relatively small spend on offers - 5X for Hyatt - already maxed that but feel each Hyatt point is worth 3 cents to me right now so continue to spend on that card except for specials like the $300 Best Buy offer I'm going to do today.

 

[bernina]

I don't think too many folks use this "perk" since it's lost a lot of its value but Amex Biz Plat WeWork benefit has been extended through Dec 2020.

Details here:
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/amex...paign=Feed:+DoctorOfCredit+(Doctor+Of+Credit)
Signup Here:
https://www.wework.com/businessplatinum