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

[SouthFayetteFan]

I made it home and I’m staying here!

This is what I say pretty much everyday when I make it home...from anywhere...regardless of the weather...LOL!

 

[elgerber]

I made it home and I’m staying here!

I made it home and I’m staying here!

Thank goodness!!! Stay cozy! My dd made it out of our street, but if they don't clear it, no way she is going to make it back tonight. It's so nasty, so much worse than they said this morning, or even at 11 am. They blew this one! My dh is going to take a couple of hours again, he is going to be beyond crabby.

 

[Chancery8]

Hi everyone! The last week and a half has been crazy busy for me, with the short trip to Disney for Festival of the Arts, DS’s school canceled for freezing weather, and then getting slammed at work. I tried to keep up here (couldn’t), then tried to skip the last 100 pages from last week (neurotic/OCD me couldn’t again…I had to read every post). Finally had a breather last night, so told DH I was getting some wine and going to read. He asked me what book….I told him it was about finance written by a guy in South Fayette….

FOA was awesome. Loved the shows/artwork/food. We had the deluxe dining plan for 2A, 2C, and it was an obscene amount of food. Did a bunch of signature restaurants, and we were allowed to use our credits to get an adult meal for the kids to split. This saved us a few credits at each meal and let us try out more of the amazing appetizers/entrees at each place. Then used all of the snacks and remaining credits at the festival booths…was able to try out just about every food item at the festival. The dining plan cost us $958, but I tallied up our receipts – we got $1700 in food! But we did also have to spend another $300 in tips at the signatures….

We at least charged all the tips to Amex Rose Gold and got the 20% dining credit back for it. I also checked and we finally got both $19 credits from the Chase Staples offer. Oh, and I sucked it up and called this morning for a retention offer for my SW Plus card. I have no idea why, but every time I need to call and talk to someone, I get super anxious and my heart starts racing, and I can barely put a coherent sentence together. It’s awful. I much prefer SM. I was given only a $35 credit, not $70…boo…but I still took it.

On other churning news…our fridge finally gave out so had to buy a new one. Between that, paying taxes, Disney dining plans for FOA and upcoming summer trip, and a Disney Cruise, we finished up MSR on all 3!!! cards that we just got in early Jan… Amex Rose Gold $2k, CIP $5k, WoH $6k….That was waaaay too much money spent waaaay too quickly….and yet, I have even more big purchases in the near future I need to make. AAGH…we are going to be soooooo broke….but we’ll be points rich.

So thinking about getting the SPG Amex (FOMO) or Chase Marriot card next for P2. Are they both $95 AF w/ 35k FN cert? Any reason to get the SPG w/ 75k SUB (besides being discontinued) over waiting for new Chase Bonvoy w/ 100k SUB? Or maybe the Barclay A+ card?

For me, I was going to go for my first CIP. I’ll need to lower CL though for sure (definitely have too much w/ Chase). Can I SM to do that? Someone mentioned earlier about having to wait until the change in CL posts to apply…how long is that? I need the new cards by 3/9….

 

[afan]

Not sure if it's the same for TaxAct, but for TurboTax you can pay first without filing yet.

I've never seen that option before but I may look into it. I've always paid when I got to the end and even if I stopped partway through it wouldn't have made me pay before I was done. I'm like @DisneyMandC and @wendow that I think I'll give them until next week and then do it on the 15th or 16th.

 

[speedyfishy]

theres no reports of it. I also confused WU with WM... haha.
I think MG is still good!

Is this not working at all WU's tho? cuz that will be problematic for me too. lol

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

For me, I was going to go for my first CIP. I’ll need to lower CL though for sure (definitely have too much w/ Chase). Can I SM to do that? Someone mentioned earlier about having to wait until the change in CL posts to apply…how long is that? I need the new cards by 3/9….

What is the % of your combined Chase CL vs. your stated income you'll put on the app?

As far as adjusting CL, you can either do that by calling via SM. It really depends on what your preference is. The theory is that you want your credit reports to reflect the lower limits, that may not be instant so you may want to adjust the CLs and then wait a couple weeks before applying to be safe.

 

[punkin]

So whom do I PM to get reddit access?

 

[Chancery8]

Mini WDW Trip Report:
Saturday 1/26: (High = 60 degrees // Cloudy)

• Flight in was uneventful and on time (good for my wife!)
• Arriving at noon on a Saturday and DME was not exactly fun...it was busy and took longer than we were used to, but we were patient
• Room assignment was awesome with a great balcony view of the Boardwalk and could see the Eiffel Tower over in EPCOT.

Hmmm...you didn't happen to be on a SW flight out of PIT, did you? Our SW flight from PIT got into MCO around noon too. And we stayed at BWV. DME was crazy busy as you said. Would be funny if we had been on the same flight or DME to the boardwalk area.

I added this to the news thread so that anybody who isn't paying attention over the next few days doesn't miss the notification to update links

Is anybody else benefiting from that news thread? I know I shared that it helped me when I was away...It takes a minimal amount of effort to update so just wondering if it truly has value. Happy to hear any thoughts on it!

I think it's beneficial even though I still have this obsessive need to read every post...

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

So whom do I PM to get reddit access?

Just sent you a PM - I can get you setup

 

[Haley R]

This is what I say pretty much everyday when I make it home...from anywhere...regardless of the weather...LOL!

Lol I changed straight into my pjs when I got home. I’m so lazy

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Hmmm...you didn't happen to be on a SW flight out of PIT, did you? Our SW flight from PIT got into MCO around noon too. And we stayed at BWV. DME was crazy busy as you said. Would be funny if we had been on the same flight or DME to the boardwalk area.



I think it's beneficial even though I still have this obsessive need to read every post...

Yeah - we were on the PIT-MCO #2604 that landed around 12:45. Haha - that's funny, we probably were on the same bus then too! We did a bathroom stop and then headed straight to DME

 

[Haley R]

Thank goodness!!! Stay cozy! My dd made it out of our street, but if they don't clear it, no way she is going to make it back tonight. It's so nasty, so much worse than they said this morning, or even at 11 am. They blew this one! My dh is going to take a couple of hours again, he is going to be beyond crabby.

Our school had us show up because the snow didn’t start until around 9 and they’ve cancelled school before only for it to not snow at all. They missed all of last week so they’ll have lots of days to make up.

We live in a culdesac so our street rarely gets plowed and if it does they half a$$ it. Dh won’t be home until 4 or later I’m guessing. It stopped snowing but now it’s blowing

 

[Albort]

Is this not working at all WU's tho? cuz that will be problematic for me too. lol

ive always thought WU MOs never took *GCs... i guess billpay is different. Sounds like a small crackdown on Kroger.
Ill have to check, give me a day. lol

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Hi everyone! The last week and a half has been crazy busy for me, with the short trip to Disney for Festival of the Arts, DS’s school canceled for freezing weather, and then getting slammed at work. I tried to keep up here (couldn’t), then tried to skip the last 100 pages from last week (neurotic/OCD me couldn’t again…I had to read every post). Finally had a breather last night, so told DH I was getting some wine and going to read. He asked me what book….I told him it was about finance written by a guy in South Fayette….

FOA was awesome. Loved the shows/artwork/food. We had the deluxe dining plan for 2A, 2C, and it was an obscene amount of food. Did a bunch of signature restaurants, and we were allowed to use our credits to get an adult meal for the kids to split. This saved us a few credits at each meal and let us try out more of the amazing appetizers/entrees at each place. Then used all of the snacks and remaining credits at the festival booths…was able to try out just about every food item at the festival. The dining plan cost us $958, but I tallied up our receipts – we got $1700 in food! But we did also have to spend another $300 in tips at the signatures….

We at least charged all the tips to Amex Rose Gold and got the 20% dining credit back for it. I also checked and we finally got both $19 credits from the Chase Staples offer. Oh, and I sucked it up and called this morning for a retention offer for my SW Plus card. I have no idea why, but every time I need to call and talk to someone, I get super anxious and my heart starts racing, and I can barely put a coherent sentence together. It’s awful. I much prefer SM. I was given only a $35 credit, not $70…boo…but I still took it.

On other churning news…our fridge finally gave out so had to buy a new one. Between that, paying taxes, Disney dining plans for FOA and upcoming summer trip, and a Disney Cruise, we finished up MSR on all 3!!! cards that we just got in early Jan… Amex Rose Gold $2k, CIP $5k, WoH $6k….That was waaaay too much money spent waaaay too quickly….and yet, I have even more big purchases in the near future I need to make. AAGH…we are going to be soooooo broke….but we’ll be points rich.

So thinking about getting the SPG Amex (FOMO) or Chase Marriot card next for P2. Are they both $95 AF w/ 35k FN cert? Any reason to get the SPG w/ 75k SUB (besides being discontinued) over waiting for new Chase Bonvoy w/ 100k SUB? Or maybe the Barclay A+ card?

For me, I was going to go for my first CIP. I’ll need to lower CL though for sure (definitely have too much w/ Chase). Can I SM to do that? Someone mentioned earlier about having to wait until the change in CL posts to apply…how long is that? I need the new cards by 3/9….

Sounds like you had an amazing trip...and made good use of the dining plan
I only received a $35 credit when I for a retention offer on the SW plus as well..maybe that’s the standard offer

If your CLs are close to 50% of your income, it’s best to lower them to increase your chance of auto approval...although auto approval is more common on the personal cards than businesses ones

 

[palhockeymomof2]

So whom do I PM to get reddit access?

You can pm @SouthFayetteFan, @Lain or @Albort for info...

 

[Chancery8]

What is the % of your combined Chase CL vs. your stated income you'll put on the app?

As far as adjusting CL, you can either do that by calling via SM. It really depends on what your preference is. The theory is that you want your credit reports to reflect the lower limits, that may not be instant so you may want to adjust the CLs and then wait a couple weeks before applying to be safe.

So it has to hit my credit report? Blah. I thought it just had to be reflected on my account when I logged in.

Chase won't extend anymore credit to me...I've got over $78k w/ them, mostly due to the same day double dip on the SW personal cards I did last year. When I opened my CSR and WoH, I had to call in both times and get them to reallocate CLs.

 

[PolyRob]

What a crazy day! I had to DO work at work this whole morning/afternoon! The nerve!

At least its done and I am all caught up.

Here to mention I got an e-mail from Citi that it increased the CL on my first ever CC by $4,500. I guess Citi is jealous I have been giving Chase so much love recently.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

So it has to hit my credit report? Blah. I thought it just had to be reflected on my account when I logged in.

Chase won't extend anymore credit to me...I've got over $78k w/ them, mostly due to the same day double dip on the SW personal cards I did last year. When I opened my CSR and WoH, I had to call in both times and get them to reallocate CLs.

I guess our "theory" is it has to hit your credit report. That might not be true, but for those of us looking for instant approvals we typically try to play it as safe as possible. I keep the majority of my Chase cards at a $500 or $1,000 CL (the cards I don't use) and then still keep a few cards with larger limits in case I have to play the move credit game. I do try to keep the total CL around $30k or so though.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

@disneymagicgirl

I also edited my response to add this discussion of a carrying forward a negative balance:
https://support.youneedabudget.com/t/x1j0w7/carrying-a-negative-balance

Thank you both. I read them but am still so confused. It was sooo easy in YNAB4. I just want my red arrow back! I suppose I will keep doing trial and error.

I added this to the news thread so that anybody who isn't paying attention over the next few days doesn't miss the notification to update links

Is anybody else benefiting from that news thread? I know I shared that it helped me when I was away...It takes a minimal amount of effort to update so just wondering if it truly has value. Happy to hear any thoughts on it!

I have referenced it to catch up over the last 2 weeks....between my trip and all the puking at my house, I just yesterday got back to reading this thread.

Anyone try to use Best Buy rewards for gc recently? Have some to use but rather not make a trip if it’s not working anymore.

I ordered one online last night when I saw @Lain 's post about it possibly going away. So far so good on that order.

ETA: Just got the "order has shipped" text....so still working.

 

[platamama]

ive always thought WU MOs never took *GCs... i guess billpay is different. Sounds like a small crackdown on Kroger.
Ill have to check, give me a day. lol

I was able to use fixed $200 gc for WU mo recently at a Kroger in the next town over. But I guess that might be over based on the sign I saw this morning in my local store. I haven't tried billpay at Kroger though, I've only done WM billpay.