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

[Judique]

I wrote earlier that I signed up for amex extended pay option for 10k points. They haven't posted yet and this morning I got another offer in my email for the same thing. Is there a problem?

Just sign up again and if they have you correct, you will probably get a 'you are already signed up for this offer' message.

 

[trenty]

I may cancel or PC my CSP before the AF hits next month. I have two questions:
1. Can I SM my DHs CSP to request a duplicate card (not AU)?

2. If I PC my CSP after the AF posts, will I get refunded when I PC or cancel?

 

[Lain]

DH is complaining about going to Hawaii over spring break. "I don't like Hawaii." Who doesn't like Hawaii??? "It's like going to California or Florida." WHAT???

Free airfare paid w UR points
Free hotel Marriott Cat 6 on Maui (because I rolled the dice on the travel package last year) - and I'm Platinum this year, the only time I'll ever be Platinum, maybe it's worth something maybe not

Meanwhile I'm looking at 7" of snow out there that I have to shovel and it's -4 outside.

Uhm, maybe Oahu, but not Maui. You'll have a relaxing time on Maui! And no snow!

 

[tink1970]

One of the rules of thumb for a successful approval of US Bank issued cards like the Club Carlson card is first placing a freeze on credit reporting from Sagestream (used to be IDA) and ARS (Advanced Resolution Systems). DH and I did this and we did it for my mom too and all three of us have the card. It involves sending a letter to each one with your information and requesting a freeze on the reporting.

Personally, I think it worth the hassle because this is one of my favorite AF cards that sits in a drawer. I absolutely love that we get 40,000 points each year and can let them pile up until we have need of them. I've used for for free stays in London, Dublin and Edinburgh over the years.

We currently have 2 nights this summer in Edinbrugh at the Radisson Collection Royal Mile in a premium room for 140,000 points. The room would be $770 for the two nights. After the 2 nights, we are heading to Inverness for one night at a Holiday Inn on points. Then the hotel options in Kirkwall, Lairg, Stornoway, Portreee, Tobermory and Lochgilphead were not bookable at the time I needed to book on any portal. I had to contact each hotel directly to get a room. So, I am happy to have those first three nights between Edingurgh and Inverness on points.

Ah, yes, I remember thinking there was no way I'd do that much work for a free night or two! I'm just too lazy!

Are y'all driving around my favorite country this summer? And will you use Arrival+ for cashback on the adorable BnBs/inns? Totally jealous-first year in 7 I won't be in Scotland!

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

They say no, no previous pop ups.

Ugh that’s even scarier because you had no idea you were on their radar!

Recently met the spend on both Hilton Biz and Aspire. 150k points from the Aspire posted the next day, but the Biz 125k hasn't posted yet. I'm not stressing yet, but I'm certainly raising an eyebrow and wondering if I've finally hit the Amex wall.

oh no!! No pop ups right? Keep us posted!

 

[GZanta77]

DH is complaining about going to Hawaii over spring break. "I don't like Hawaii." Who doesn't like Hawaii??? "It's like going to California or Florida." WHAT???
.

DW and DD have been trying to get me to book a trip to Hawaii for the last decade. It has just never been a place I am that bothered about - and seems an awful long trip from the east coast. Most folks I talk to rave about it as though it is some magical, mystical beach heaven but when I look at the places I can go to for the money and time it takes to get to Hawaii - just seems to be lots of better options in the world.

 

[DisneyMandC]

DW and DD have been trying to get me to book a trip to Hawaii for the last decade. It has just never been a place I am that bothered about - and seems an awful long trip from the east coast. Most folks I talk to rave about it as though it is some magical, mystical beach heaven but when I look at the places I can go to for the money and time it takes to get to Hawaii - just seems to be lots of better options in the world.

Contrary to @Lain's "maybe Oahu" comment above (haha), it sounds like you might actually enjoy Oahu. DH and I spent five days there and only sat on the beach one day. There was a ton to do there and I really enjoyed our trip.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

just saw yesterday one of the resale sites had dec use year about 4-5 25 pt blt contracts

Thanks, I'll go check them out.

Since you went on the waitlist prior to the price increase, I’d ask your guide if they would let you purchase at the old price...you’ve got nothing to lose by asking

You're right, I will ask when I get up the courage to call back today. A few others on the DVC forums have mentioned they used to do this, but when I spoke with my guide right before the increase he didn't mention this as being a possibility, although I didn't specifically ask either.

Don't forget that you can also factor in the 24 one time use points that are allowed to be purchased. I've bought like one or two points to complete a reservation at 7 months. The flexibility allows a lot of variations.

If you are after BCV, you might not let it get away. The resale contracts are going for $135- $145 depending on whether they are stripped or not and they are big contracts - very few small ones. Depending on whether you are in it for the life of the contract or for 5-10 years, you will probably get the value out of it. Those rooms are always going to book and usually close to rack. You don't see a lot of people coming on and saying, 'I got BCV for 1/2 price, 40% off, etc.' It's just a resort that holds its value, more so than Beach Club itself.

Although I have BCV points, I am not a serious BCV fan. I prefer BW, BLT, and AK at Disney World. There's not a whole lot of difference in the value of BLT points you can still get a room at 17-20 points. Poly is a tad more expensive. For me, if money is the bottom line, I'd calculate each option out to the penny as to what I'd actually get for the number of points I'd buy.

The big reality is that maintenance fees are the real determining factor in what costs the most. Buying in is a one time cost. Maintenance is an every year cost. Plus they go up. New resorts always show lower cost in the first couple of years and then they start going up. BCV has held its own in this respect - combined with lower point values for the rooms, and reasonable maintenance costs, it is a winner - for me. I'm happy with 2042. But if I were 20 years younger I might want 2056 or 2061.

Thanks for the feedback! I like BCV, but mainly the reason I wanted to add on there is just the ability to stretch my points further since I already own there. We're staying there this June with the littles (DD5 and DS7), and this is actually their first time there. We've stayed at BLT, Poly, and WL for our last DVC visits, for proximity to MK and also just availability/points. Poly's probably my favorite for the extra bathroom, pool, and ability to walk to TTC, oh and I also enjoy Capn Cook's. But man, those rooms are high! BLT I love walking to BLT, and the rooms are reasonable (especially the std view, which are hard to get), but the pools kinda boring. Never stayed at GF, although I'd love to sometime.

I calculated if I did add on the 34 points for the $220/point, plus maintenance fees, the two nights would be costing me $276/night for 23 years. I should check out Poly/BLT resales and see what the cost/night is on those. I'm 39 now so 2042 will hopefully be around the time I'll be retiring (63), so it'd be nice to not have my contract expire then too. So many things to consider!

 

[hsmamato2]

DH is complaining about going to Hawaii over spring break. "I don't like Hawaii." Who doesn't like Hawaii??? "It's like going to California or Florida." WHAT???

Free airfare paid w UR points
Free hotel Marriott Cat 6 on Maui (because I rolled the dice on the travel package last year) - and I'm Platinum this year, the only time I'll ever be Platinum, maybe it's worth something maybe not

Meanwhile I'm looking at 7" of snow out there that I have to shovel and it's -4 outside.

omg..... Maui is so perfect.....

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

.

 

[hsmamato2]

DW and DD have been trying to get me to book a trip to Hawaii for the last decade. It has just never been a place I am that bothered about - and seems an awful long trip from the east coast. Most folks I talk to rave about it as though it is some magical, mystical beach heaven but when I look at the places I can go to for the money and time it takes to get to Hawaii - just seems to be lots of better options in the world.

that was my mistaken thinking until we visited Maui in December....yes it was long but it was SO worth it.... I'd do it again in a heartbeat..... it was like every imaginary wonderful experience at WDW except it was real..... I loved it so much.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

DW and DD have been trying to get me to book a trip to Hawaii for the last decade. It has just never been a place I am that bothered about - and seems an awful long trip from the east coast. Most folks I talk to rave about it as though it is some magical, mystical beach heaven but when I look at the places I can go to for the money and time it takes to get to Hawaii - just seems to be lots of better options in the world.

My dad's assessment was that it was fun but more like a one-time trip for him. He said he actually preferred our beach trip in Captiva Florida to Hawaii (but Captiva IS our Mystical Beach Heaven )

 

[GZanta77]

Disney World 2019 Trip Cost Summary:
(i.e. how crazy can @SouthFayetteFan get with tracking trip costs and spreadsheets...)

FLIGHTS
$ 1,063.92 // "raw" cost of 4 round trip flights PIT-MCO
- $ 10.83 // Gifted LUV voucher from @palhockeymomof2 (thanks so much!)
- $ 240.03 // Flight credits from a cash flight re-booked (from another trip)
- $ 436.20 // 29,775 SW RR points redeemed
- $ 254.78 // Companion Pass used on 1 round trip flight
$ 122.08 // TOTAL FLIGHT COSTS

DISNEY ROOM & TICKETS
$ 4,215.40 // 4 nights Yacht Club & 3 Nights Contemporary (rack rates)
- $ 920.73 // Disney Room Only Discounts (35%& 10% respectively)
$ 1,767.92 // 8 day base tickets (2a, 2c)
$ 5.57 // Random Disney "package cost" (yeah it costs more for a pkg than room+tix separate)
- $ 50.00 // Travel Agent Gift Card offer
$ 5,018.16 // TOTAL DISNEY ROOM & TICKET COSTS

DINING & OTHER
$ 827.74 // Dining Plan for 4 nights
$ 87.14 // Table Service Tips
$ 207.66 // OOP Food Costs (non dining plan days)
$ 272.57 // Souven'ears
$ 44.07 // Airport Food Costs
$ 1,439.18 // TOTAL DINING & OTHER

So with NO discounts whatsoever, we booked a trip that cost $8,491.99. After factoring in the Disney discounts and Southwest discounts/points we're down to $6,579.42. Now let's get that covered...

ADDITIONAL SAVINGS
$ 6,579.42 // Starting Cost
- $ 1,450.00 // Disney Visa Rewards (support clicks from DoC and r/churning)
- $ 40.00 // DVC Phone Tour gift card
- $ 125.00 // Disney GCs received as gifts
- $ 1,125.00 // Citi Prestige Cash Back from signup/base points/and travel credits
- $ 300.00 // CSR Travel Credit applied to this trip
- $ 533.20 // AMEX BCP upgrade bonus and cash back
- $ 566.42 // Gift Card Gas Savings applied to this trip
$ 2,439.80 // TOTAL REMAINING COST TO COVER

So if I cash out 243,980 URs this is a FREE trip in my book! Churning wins the day again - $8,500 trip for FREE

EDIT: This formatting looked a lot better but apparently the DIS ignores extra spaces so my decimals don't line up...BOOOOO!!!

Pretty sure you forgot to factor in the 'cost' of all those 1099's you just got for those URs.

 

[GZanta77]

My dad's assessment was that it was fun but more like a one-time trip for him. He said he actually preferred our beach trip in Captiva Florida to Hawaii (but Captiva IS our Mystical Beach Heaven )

that was my mistaken thinking until we visited Maui in December....yes it was long but it was SO worth it.... I'd do it again in a heartbeat..... it was like every imaginary wonderful experience at WDW except it was real..... I loved it so much.

I don't doubt I would enjoy it - just not high on my wishlist. That said, I suspect we might find ourselves making the trip in 2020 or 21.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Pretty sure you forgot to factor in the 'cost' of all those 1099's you just got for those URs.

LOL Yeah - unfortunately I don't have a good plan to account for those yet. In a perfect world I'd attribute that additional tax burden into my travel expenses for the year but at some point I'm turning my family finances into accounting like a large corporation would.

 

[wanderlust7]

Disney World 2019 Trip Cost Summary:
(i.e. how crazy can @SouthFayetteFan get with tracking trip costs and spreadsheets...)

FLIGHTS
$ 1,063.92 // "raw" cost of 4 round trip flights PIT-MCO
- $ 10.83 // Gifted LUV voucher from @palhockeymomof2 (thanks so much!)
- $ 240.03 // Flight credits from a cash flight re-booked (from another trip)
- $ 436.20 // 29,775 SW RR points redeemed
- $ 254.78 // Companion Pass used on 1 round trip flight
$ 122.08 // TOTAL FLIGHT COSTS

DISNEY ROOM & TICKETS
$ 4,215.40 // 4 nights Yacht Club & 3 Nights Contemporary (rack rates)
- $ 920.73 // Disney Room Only Discounts (35%& 10% respectively)
$ 1,767.92 // 8 day base tickets (2a, 2c)
$ 5.57 // Random Disney "package cost" (yeah it costs more for a pkg than room+tix separate)
- $ 50.00 // Travel Agent Gift Card offer
$ 5,018.16 // TOTAL DISNEY ROOM & TICKET COSTS

DINING & OTHER
$ 827.74 // Dining Plan for 4 nights
$ 87.14 // Table Service Tips
$ 207.66 // OOP Food Costs (non dining plan days)
$ 272.57 // Souven'ears
$ 44.07 // Airport Food Costs
$ 1,439.18 // TOTAL DINING & OTHER

So with NO discounts whatsoever, we booked a trip that cost $8,491.99. After factoring in the Disney discounts and Southwest discounts/points we're down to $6,579.42. Now let's get that covered...

ADDITIONAL SAVINGS
$ 6,579.42 // Starting Cost
- $ 1,450.00 // Disney Visa Rewards (support clicks from DoC and r/churning)
- $ 40.00 // DVC Phone Tour gift card
- $ 125.00 // Disney GCs received as gifts
- $ 1,125.00 // Citi Prestige Cash Back from signup/base points/and travel credits
- $ 300.00 // CSR Travel Credit applied to this trip
- $ 533.20 // AMEX BCP upgrade bonus and cash back
- $ 566.42 // Gift Card Gas Savings applied to this trip
$ 2,439.80 // TOTAL REMAINING COST TO COVER

So if I cash out 243,980 URs this is a FREE trip in my book! Churning wins the day again - $8,500 trip for FREE

EDIT: This formatting looked a lot better but apparently the DIS ignores extra spaces so my decimals don't line up...BOOOOO!!!

Awesome! A tiny, tiny quibble. Why do you count the travel credits as savings? I think of them covering the AF.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

My dad's assessment was that it was fun but more like a one-time trip for him. He said he actually preferred our beach trip in Captiva Florida to Hawaii (but Captiva IS our Mystical Beach Heaven )

Captiva is one of the places we are interested in going to...is there a certain resort you usually stay at ?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Awesome! A tiny, tiny quibble. Why do you count the travel credits as savings? I think of them covering the AF.

The AF was paid in 2017 so I included the cost of that in another trip. (I show that cost as covered by something else). Since it crossed years it was easier to just do it that way

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Captiva is one of the places we are interested in going to...is there a certain resort you usually stay at ?

We rent a house that's walk-able to the ocean, there's a resort at the end of the island but that's not really our thing. There's also Tween Waters Inn (hotel/resort complex).

Also - I could wax poetically about how amazing that trip is for us each year!

 

[jhoannam]

DH is complaining about going to Hawaii over spring break. "I don't like Hawaii." Who doesn't like Hawaii??? "It's like going to California or Florida." WHAT???

Free airfare paid w UR points
Free hotel Marriott Cat 6 on Maui (because I rolled the dice on the travel package last year) - and I'm Platinum this year, the only time I'll ever be Platinum, maybe it's worth something maybe not

Meanwhile I'm looking at 7" of snow out there that I have to shovel and it's -4 outside.

DH traveled to Hawaii a lot when he has in the Navy, he doesn’t like Hawaii either. I have to remind him that going to Hawaii with his buddies isn’t the same as a family vacation. And if he really dislikes it he can stay back.