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

[Lain]

Yes, except my kid is an adult. But they want the same $ for one room as 2, in a specific room that can hold 3. This one is overseas, so I'd rather not call the hotel directly, but it's ridiculous. I know it costs more for a 3rd person in a room, but not around $400/nt.

I'm aware that some international properties have a policy of charging extra persons fees for additional adults (and children older than 12?) beyond 2 persons, but I haven't experienced this personally beyond a glitch extending this fee to my kid. I don't think there is a Marriott-wide policy on extra person fees; it varies depending on the hotel. I don't know what your hotel's policy is. Is there something on the booking website or hotel's own site, or do you think this is part of Marriott's IT glitch? If the fee is policy, I guess it's up to you if you still want to stay there, pay the fee or put down only two adults and not declare DD as a guest. I'm not going to judge, because I also think an additional $400/night for a third person when the room sleeps 3 is pure BS.

 

[pillow]

Did everyone see there is now a public link for the Marriott $200 get $40 back offer? Worked out perfect for me as I was able to add it to DH's new Bonvoy Biz and will have a $300 charge for work in two weeks and so the $40 will be straight money in my pocket!

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/amex-offers-marriott-bonvoy-spend-200-get-40-back/

Thanks for posting! I was able to load to DH's Lux card, and it should stack with the $300 credit. Bonus!!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thank you. I have a CSR. I just checked my credit report. I've had it for 2 years 2 months.
I currently have 137,532 points. (I cashed out most of them for our flights last summer.) DH should earn 80,000 for his CIP. I should earn 105,000 for my CIP (and his sign up bonus). Should I sign up for another Chase card or wait?

The info on the AU on Amex is really helpful; I wish I would have known that a month ago! (Oh well, live and learn!)

We like our Hilton stays so I don't mind adding more Hilton points. Right now, I'm just accumulating as many URs as possible.

I’m going to second what @Lain said...we know the game is exciting but you probably want to take it slow. You risk burning yourself out, or you’ll start getting denied, or worst case you risk getting blacklisted/shutdown by issuers. If your plan is to play this game for 9-12 months or so and be done, then you can go and hit 2-3 cards a month. Unfortunately I don’t think our group will be able to give great advice there as I’d say 99% of us are slow to moderate churners (i.e. typically 3-8 cards a year per player)

If you want to be a moderate churner and you have high levels of spend, you’re going to need to find ways to generate everyday return without always opening new cards. I seem to recall you were using Plastiq to hit MSRs but I would question whether you want to continue to do that if you can just hit MSRs without it. Our ideal strategy for newer folks is to space out your Chase cards by 2-3 months and fill in Citi and Amex business cards in between.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

this is how I am now, after the kids are grown...I prefer snacking around the 'world' to all in at one table service place.....

yeeessss.....love snacking for meals at Epcot!!!

 

[mmmears]

I'm aware that some international properties have a policy of charging extra persons fees for additional adults (and children older than 12?) beyond 2 persons, but I haven't experienced this personally beyond a glitch extending this fee to my kid. I don't think there is a Marriott-wide policy on extra person fees; it varies depending on the hotel. I don't know what your hotel's policy is. Is there something on the booking website or hotel's own site, or do you think this is part of Marriott's IT glitch? If the fee is policy, I guess it's up to you if you still want to stay there, pay the fee or put down only two adults and not declare DD as a guest. I'm not going to judge, because I also think an additional $400/night for a third person when the room sleeps 3 is pure BS.

It isn't double the price if we pay in $$$, just in points. I do think it's "Bonvoyed" issue since it wasn't like this last time we looked. I'm ok with an upcharge, but it's about 50K pts a night upcharge, which makes no sense. I won't cheat and try to sneak her in, but this is crazy. We had this hotel booked last summer and it wasn't double to add her. Since I think it's a glitch I'm wondering if there is a work around. I can't book it yet anyway, since it's more than a year out, but want to get a room as soon as the dates open. Thanks for the advice.

 

[MrPTato]

DW is ready. We may be buying...

So is mine! She wants to use part of her bonus and get 150 pts.

 

[calypso726]

I have a question. How do you get a spouse on board that doesn't travel with you? My daughter will be going back to home schooling in three years and I want to take her on the ABD China trip but I don't want to sit in economy. I want to learn the secrets of the wise here to get those good airline seats (even business class would be wonderful) but spouse just likes to take our 5% and invest it "for retirement". I know he has a point but so does my butt.

I have an Amazon Chase card. Together we have a Bank of a America that get's 5%.

I believe @calypso726 pays for her ABD trips with Disney gift cards at 5xUR points. If you do that, with a Freedom during certain category spend or a CIC with 5x at office stores you could get a lot of points yourself. She is also the queen of getting good airline redemptions in first/business class seats. A lot of people here have reluctant player 2s. Though, I think a lot eventually see the light when redemptions start rolling in. Some never see the light. Some people here joke about signing up player 2 then telling them they got a card after the fact. I know it is all in good fun, but my sister found out the hard way her "loving" spouse was signing up for things in her name, so I personally don't even joke about it and would never suggest it. Good luck! What cards do you have already?

I'd start with math. Let's say you want to earn enough Virgin Atlantic miles to book two ANA award flights in business class. Depending on where you are flying from in the US you'd need 95k per person for the flights. So that is 190,000 miles. Chase Ultimate Rewards points can transfer to Virgin 1:1. The CIP card has a 80k bonus for $5,000 spend and the CSP has a 60k bonus for $4,000 spend. If you each got these 2 cards you would have 298,000 UR points for spending $18,000 over time that you were going to spend anyhow. The UR points are actually enough to cover the seats for first class, not just business.

They are worth $3,726 in the UR travel portal if for some reason you chose to redeem them for travel purchases instead of transferring to an airline to book the flights.

If you chose to redeem them for a statement credit at the lowest value of 1 cent pp then those points would get you $2,980.

A business class ticket on ANA is about $8,400 per person from JFK to HKG. First class is $19,400 per person.

Now lets take the same $18,000 in spending at 5% cash back and you get $900. $900 can't get you an economy ticket much less business or first class. You can't buy travel related purchases for the same amount as you could with the points you could have earned. Heck, you actually just lost over $2,000 that you could have taken as a statement credit, the lowest value on the points, by not making the MSR on these 4 cards and choosing to get 5% cash back instead.

If math does not work then I would suggest health concerns. Sitting upright and cramped in one position for 8 - 10 hours poses the greatest risk for blood clots to form during travel. Your flight is likely to be 15 hours or more. When you are in a business or first class seat then you are able to change your position from sitting to laying flat and every other angle in between.

I hope this helps

 

[Lain]

It isn't double the price if we pay in $$$, just in points. I do think it's "Bonvoyed" issue since it wasn't like this last time we looked. I'm ok with an upcharge, but it's about 50K pts a night upcharge, which makes no sense. I won't cheat and try to sneak her in, but this is crazy. We had this hotel booked last summer and it wasn't double to add her. Since I think it's a glitch I'm wondering if there is a work around. I can't book it yet anyway, since it's more than a year out, but want to get a room as soon as the dates open. Thanks for the advice.

I'm going to post a TPG link.

Marriott Website Adding Large Surcharges for Children on Some Award Bookings - TPG

Again, this applies to extra person fees that are being charged for kids under 12, which shouldn't be charged but for a glitch. And your case involves DD who is an adult.

Anyway, from the article: "I spoke with Marriott Rewards customer service and the representative was able to remove the charges by going into a legacy back-end system from pre-August 2018 to remove two of the guests. The agent explained that very few people in the company still have access to the system. I asked if I could keep the children on the reservation but state their ages, and she said it wasn’t possible and she would just remove them."

So it seems you'd either have to call the hotel or Marriott to confirm the hotel's policy on a third adult in the room. If the hotel's policy is not to charge a fee, but the Marriott reservation system is charging the fee, the only workaround seems to be for a Marriott rep to go in there and just remove the extra guest. In which case, you could've just made the reservation for two guests in the first place, which is what the Marriott rep actually suggested in the article.

 

[Lain]

So is mine! She wants to use part of her bonus and get 150 pts.

Didn't your DW just buy you a car...?

 

[mmmears]

I'm going to post a TPG link.

Marriott Website Adding Large Surcharges for Children on Some Award Bookings - TPG

Again, this applies to extra person fees that are being charged for kids under 12, which shouldn't be charged but for a glitch. And your case involves DD who is an adult.

Anyway, from the article: "I spoke with Marriott Rewards customer service and the representative was able to remove the charges by going into a legacy back-end system from pre-August 2018 to remove two of the guests. The agent explained that very few people in the company still have access to the system. I asked if I could keep the children on the reservation but state their ages, and she said it wasn’t possible and she would just remove them."

So it seems you'd either have to call the hotel or Marriott to confirm the hotel's policy on a third adult in the room. If the hotel's policy is not to charge a fee, but the Marriott reservation system is charging the fee, the only workaround seems to be for a Marriott rep to go in there and just remove the extra guest. In which case, you could've just made the reservation for two guests in the first place, which is what the Marriott rep actually suggested in the article.

Thank you so much. I'll even forgive you for posting a TPG link. I can see that it's possible for cash, and we are honest people and would be fine paying some sort of cash fee to add her onto a points booking if needed. I won't just sneak her in, but an upcharge would need to make sense. And $500/nt for a 50K room just doesn't make sense to me. We have a few months to figure it out since they aren't booking past March 2020 right now, but I really do need to get the room for points (the cruise we booked is kind of expensive). I really appreciate your advice.

 

[MrPTato]

Didn't your DW just buy you a car...?

Now she wants to buy "herself" something. Also wants to get in before the next price increase. I would like to see it in person when we go back...but the location is gonna be nice and it has a full 50 years. We bought Poly when it first came out. I like the thought of BW/BC but I also like the longer contract "to get your money's worth." Would probably do two 75 pt. contracts to gift to the girls down the road if they want it.

 

[Psychodisney]

It isn't double the price if we pay in $$$, just in points. I do think it's "Bonvoyed" issue since it wasn't like this last time we looked. I'm ok with an upcharge, but it's about 50K pts a night upcharge, which makes no sense. I won't cheat and try to sneak her in, but this is crazy. We had this hotel booked last summer and it wasn't double to add her. Since I think it's a glitch I'm wondering if there is a work around. I can't book it yet anyway, since it's more than a year out, but want to get a room as soon as the dates open. Thanks for the advice.

I have a Marriott reservation this weekend on points (Marco Island JW ). I booked the room with 2 people in the room. Interestingly, on the Bonvoy website, my reservation says 4 adults. I called the resort today to check on this and put in a request for a king room. I was told that the occupancy of all of their rooms have occupancy of 4, so it defaults to 4 when you have a points reservation.
I’d say book for 2 and see what the reservation shows on the website tomorrow.

 

[mmmears]

I have a Marriott reservation this weekend on points (Marco Island JW ). I booked the room with 2 people in the room. Interestingly, on the Bonvoy website, my reservation says 4 adults. I called the resort today to check on this and put in a request for a king room. I was told that the occupancy of all of their rooms have occupancy of 4, so it defaults to 4 when you have a points reservation.
I’d say book for 2 and see what the reservation shows on the website tomorrow.

Thanks. I'll definitely try to book it as soon as those dates are released and hope for the best.

 

[afan]

Thank you so much. I'll even forgive you for posting a TPG link. I can see that it's possible for cash, and we are honest people and would be fine paying some sort of cash fee to add her onto a points booking if needed. I won't just sneak her in, but an upcharge would need to make sense. And $500/nt for a 50K room just doesn't make sense to me. We have a few months to figure it out since they aren't booking past March 2020 right now, but I really do need to get the room for points (the cruise we booked is kind of expensive). I really appreciate your advice.

Can you look on the hotel's site and find an email? Or see if that property has a facebook page or twitter account you can ask? Some properties have their own page.

 

[Haley R]

I just added another 7,000 points to our Hilton Tokyo Bay stay. I love that I can just chat with them online and they do it in about 30 seconds. It's really nice to be able to add points to easily. I will say.....the chat helper told me I have a lovely name.....which I found a little off-putting, but you know whatever.

An update on my Harry Potter backpack situation. Pottery Barn got back to me on Twitter and said I had two orders and they were both still on back order. I responded back saying we never received any confirmation of the first order so that's why we ordered a second one (and still haven't received any kind of confirmation for that one either). I asked if we could cancel the second order. She also said the backpack is expected to ship out Mid-April which is funny because the first time I ordered it said Mid-March and this second one I ordered said March 30. I'm not sure what's going on, but I was hoping to take this backpack to Japan. If it doesn't come in time for that trip I'll be canceling the order and just not fooling with it. Kind of weird that they have it on back order when it's a last sale item. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

 

[NewbieMom]

Tonight's Shower Thoughts - grAAvy Train tips and thoughts:

• If you're on the BIZ only train...the fastest you can go is a new card every 90 days (recommended to wait 95 to be safe). I believe most people will cancel each card in the 60-90 day period before reapplying (that's my method). THUS - you want to meet spend on those cards quickly! If you don't hit the MSR in the first 2 statements, you can't cancel until the 3rd statement closes which could complicate your timeline.

Thanks for your tips and thoughts. Do you think it's possible to not close the 1st card but proceed to apply for 2nd at the 90-95 day mark? I'm thinking of the scenario where MSR isn't met by the 2nd statement, and I don't want to delay the timeline (knowing I could catch up on the spend in the following cycle).

 

[Lain]

I can’t help but think the new titanium Apple Card won’t hold up very well cosmetically. I had an Apple PowerBook G4 in college that was made out of titanium, before Apple shifted to building their notebooks out of aluminum because of these issues. The titanium was incredibly flimsy and the paint chipped and flaked from just light use and transport. I’m just imagining what the daily wear and tear of swiping and dipping will do to the Apple Card’s shiny white paint job.

 

[vanjust14]

Did everyone see there is now a public link for the Marriott $200 get $40 back offer? Worked out perfect for me as I was able to add it to DH's new Bonvoy Biz and will have a $300 charge for work in two weeks and so the $40 will be straight money in my pocket!

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/amex-offers-marriott-bonvoy-spend-200-get-40-back/

ETA: Was able to go in and add it to both DH's Bonvoy Biz and mine.

Ughhhhh. I already added the offer to my Everyday. I wanted it on my Brilliant I just upgraded to so I could stack it with the $300 credit. #bonvoyed

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

Ughhhhh. I already added the offer to my Everyday. I wanted it on my Brilliant I just upgraded to so I could stack it with the $300 credit. #bonvoyed

Me too. Added it to DH and my BCP. Totally bonvoyed! We are staying at a residence inn on points so I doubt we will meet the spend anyways

 

[vanjust14]

Me too. Added it to DH and my BCP. Totally bonvoyed! We are staying at a residence inn on points so I doubt we will meet the spend anyways

Yeah, I most likely won't use it on my Everyday either, but at least with the $300 credit on the Brilliant I could have purchased a gc at the front desk. Oh well.