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

[Alexle2007]

It turns out my presale code was for noon - (legacy tiers). Anyway, I just got in, there were like 3 rows of presale left, all in the back at $285 each. All the tickets down front were reserved for the meet and greet at 2k a head. I will look at the general on sale this Friday but this one might be a no go for me. I have better seats in Vegas for cheaper. These prices are nuts!

The theatre at National Harbor is probably smaller than in Lad Vegas so less tickets to sell = increase in price.

 

[Disneyonmymind]

My parents also received precheck free most times they flew in the past few years. They looked into it and apparently a lot of people their age get it. Apparently they hated not having it the few times they didn't receive it (they fly out of MCO several times a year) that they paid to have it for real awhile back. I didn't realize they had done that until my mom talked about driving to the airport for their appointment. Could have coached them on how to get it for free!

So how would they get precheck for free?

 

[Ngwira]

Anyone use the lounges at EWR? We are flying out of Newark on Thursday and have never been to the lounges there. Looks like there are 3 PP lounges- Art and Lounge, Virgin Atlantic and the Maple Leaf lounge. Also any news on the Centurion at JFK? We are flying out of JFK in April and hoping it's open by then.

 

[AmyAnne]

So how would they get precheck for free?

It just randomly shows up on some people's boarding passes. I think the belief is that people who fit a certain non-dangerous demographic (like older) are more likely to get it.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thank you mystery person who clicked my CSP support link! If it was you, please send me a PM so I can personally thank you

It does still appear like Chase support points (for the UR cards) go pending mostly on Tuesdays but I've seen them post at different times of day on different cards so perhaps checking on a Wednesday morning (if you're expecting any) is the best course of action.

 

[elgerber]

Anyone familiar with St. Louis and have any hotel area recommendations?

 

[wed100105]

So there’s two threads you might want to look at on DISchurners:

How the gravy train works:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DISchurner...oo_choooall_aboard_the_graavy_train_i_cringe/ (for better formatting click on the “CLICK HERE” link on that page)

How we are using it for hotels:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DISchurners/comments/ai6lq0/dischurners_walt_disney_world_tips/ Find the AA section in those comments

Since you are starting out in the game and under 5/24 - you may want to shy away from using slots in personal Citi cards though. You may find that Chase cards and URs are your better bet. You can still pursue AA biz cards though. Both Citi and Barclays issue one and so with 2 players you can actually get 4 cards and 200k+ AA miles without affecting that 5/24 status.

I have a ton of UR's. I can't use them for onsight at DL though, right?

At DW is a different ballgame for us. I typically have no trouble getting a week through RCI with our Wyndham exchange. It does have to be a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday week long stay though. This year we're going to POP because we're flying and our flight deal was Tuesday-Tuesday.

 

[wed100105]

Anyone familiar with St. Louis and have any hotel area recommendations?

I love St. Louis. What attractions are you planning on visiting? I typically stay at Hilton properties. It depends why you are in town. I typically stay at Hilton properties with a government rate, but I have had lots of success using BBB and bidding on Hotwire or Priceline as well. Will you have a car?

 

[Lain]

I have a ton of UR's. I can't use them for onsight at DL though, right?

At DW is a different ballgame for us. I typically have no trouble getting a week through RCI with our Wyndham exchange. It does have to be a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday week long stay though. This year we're going to POP because we're flying and our flight deal was Tuesday-Tuesday.

No, there’s no easy way to redeem URs for an on-site stay at DLR. There are only three Disney-owned hotels onsite, and none of them are on the Chase UR portal. Your option is then to cash out your UR at 1 cpp to cover your stay onsite, or better buy Disney Gift Cards at a discount and cash out UR to reimburse the GC costs.

But since DLR is so compact, and there are lots of hotel options nearby (within walking distance), you can still use the UR portal to book many of the chain hotels and smaller motels at 1.5 cpp through the CSR. Many also find transferring UR to Hyatt at 1:1 to book an award stay at the Hyatt House on the corner of Harbor and Katella to be an excellent value (although this redemption will be getting more expensive soon with Hyatt’s recent category changes).

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Anyone familiar with St. Louis and have any hotel area recommendations?

I used to go there for business and stay at the Renaissance. It's now called the Marriott St. Louis Grand and it's a cat 5 if you're doing it on points. I don't have a lot more to say than that thought, it was a nice hotel, lol.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I have a ton of UR's. I can't use them for onsight at DL though, right?

At DW is a different ballgame for us. I typically have no trouble getting a week through RCI with our Wyndham exchange. It does have to be a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday week long stay though. This year we're going to POP because we're flying and our flight deal was Tuesday-Tuesday.

Correct - can't use them through the portal for on-site. Can always cash out though to cover expenses.

My only comment there was to think twice before you burn potential Chase slots on Citi personal cards AA Miles for hotels is "all the rage" here right now, but I'd personally much rather get a CIP, CIC, CIU tri-fecta than chase the AA miles. (I think many would agree there).

 

[Happy814]

I've been super busy at work, so I haven't had much time to post. But I wanted to jump in and share a churning success story.

FIL is leaning into retirement this year. On NYE, DH surprised him by telling him they were going on a trip together. My BILs decided to tag along too.

They elected to spend 3 nights in Vegas, and also drove out to see the Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, and Death Valley. FIL had only flown once before, and had never been to that part of the country.

Thanks to tips gleaned from this thread and other threads on the DIS, we were able to make this trip happen. DH and FIL's way was mostly paid with points. They flew Southwest there and back and stayed at The Mirage. It was cheaper to rent a car through Priceline and reimburse myself with URs than it was to book through the portal.

I wanted to say thanks to everyone - this is such a great group!

ETA: Sorry for the huge pic!

 

[elgerber]

[QUOTE="w.

 

[amalone1013]

So how would they get precheck for free?

My guess is CC benefit. spacerangerqueen may have extras to share, like we've got 3 benefits total but only two of us... (and inlaws each have CSRs too right now)

 

[amalone1013]

Ok, one more precheck question. Is it typically that if the lead goes has it everyone booked on that reservation has it? I was just thinking maybe I would offer our other credit to my cousin, he travels to Denver for work a lot and they also have at least one vacation planned this summer, so if he is the lead person would his wife also get it?

 

[mmmears]

But at least it forces them to try new things. Some of the books my daughter was forced to read, she actually enjoyed even if she didnt think she would. Now shes an English major!

That's true, and I didn't mind them giving her new things to read, in fact it was great. But it was sad to see her no longer reading books for pleasure. Now I know she reads online book summaries instead, and then if a book sounds really good she will get it, but I think most of this stuff is non-fiction. Nice to know you have an English major - despite her love for books my DD's first love has always been science. Along with the fiction books she loved non-fiction science and history ones too.

College textbooks are a scam. Dh was actually able to find quite a few of ours as free PDFs, but I'm the type of person who needs a physical book to highlight when I'm studying

My DD will do the same. She says almost all of hers can be found online for free. When she can't find them, she's been known to borrow from friends who have already taken that course. We have told her that we see text books as part of tuition and she should go ahead and order them and we will pay for them, but she's determined not to. Frankly it saves us a ton of money, since those STEM books can run around $300 each online (with a discount).

Mine, too. Now it's work work work for her and she cannot remember the last "fun" book she read, which is sad. Even worse, all the books I've bought for her for school amazon thinks I have interest in and keeps recommending crazy stuff I'd never read. No thanks, I want an escape from reality, not a treatise on Central America/politics/other boring stuff. Keep it light and fluffy amazon

Yeah, it really is sad to see them drop reading for pleasure. LOL on Amazon!

Anyone use the lounges at EWR? We are flying out of Newark on Thursday and have never been to the lounges there. Looks like there are 3 PP lounges- Art and Lounge, Virgin Atlantic and the Maple Leaf lounge. Also any news on the Centurion at JFK? We are flying out of JFK in April and hoping it's open by then.

I didn't realize it could open so soon. Do you know where it will be located? I haven't been to JFK in years but we are headed there in May on Jet Blue and would love it if there was a lounge. With such a large airport I'm guessing it will not be convenient though.

 

[Eeyore2142]

Anyone use the lounges at EWR? We are flying out of Newark on Thursday and have never been to the lounges there. Looks like there are 3 PP lounges- Art and Lounge, Virgin Atlantic and the Maple Leaf lounge. Also any news on the Centurion at JFK? We are flying out of JFK in April and hoping it's open by then.

I have used the Maple Leaf Lounge. It was really nice. Only issue was it was before security. It really wasn't a big deal though.

 

[alryan]

Regarding this question, when using UR to pay for a cruise you have to use all the points you want to use all at once, at first payment. If you book directly with Chase then first payment is due at deposit and you'd have to use all the points you want to at that time. You could try to book directly with RCCL and then transfer it to Chase but I'm not sure if they still allow a transfer without payment. They changed the phone tree system and I couldn't figure out how to dial a direct extension when I made payment on our cruise the other week, so I'm not sure if you can get in contact with the agents that allowed payment later like we could before. Some agents when accepting a transfer required that all your UR be used at the time of the transfer - IIRC the one agent called our DISer up when it was transferred to take the payment right then - other agents followed that path that it wasn't due until final payment so you could transfer and then pay later. I got one of those but I haven't been able to contact him since (tried one email with no response and then I can't get to his extension). He is still listed as the TA on the reservation but the agent that answered the queue didn't seem inclined to transfer me to him and just said they could make my payment. It worked for me, but feels like a little more HUCA may be involved than before to get it setup. Once you get it setup doing a payment later seems to work fine still.

Thank you. I think maybe I'll just wait until June and book then. I'd like to make it as hassle free as possible

 

[Mopedmom1]

Regarding this question, when using UR to pay for a cruise you have to use all the points you want to use all at once, at first payment. If you book directly with Chase then first payment is due at deposit and you'd have to use all the points you want to at that time. You could try to book directly with RCCL and then transfer it to Chase but I'm not sure if they still allow a transfer without payment. They changed the phone tree system and I couldn't figure out how to dial a direct extension when I made payment on our cruise the other week, so I'm not sure if you can get in contact with the agents that allowed payment later like we could before. Some agents when accepting a transfer required that all your UR be used at the time of the transfer - IIRC the one agent called our DISer up when it was transferred to take the payment right then - other agents followed that path that it wasn't due until final payment so you could transfer and then pay later. I got one of those but I haven't been able to contact him since (tried one email with no response and then I can't get to his extension). He is still listed as the TA on the reservation but the agent that answered the queue didn't seem inclined to transfer me to him and just said they could make my payment. It worked for me, but feels like a little more HUCA may be involved than before to get it setup. Once you get it setup doing a payment later seems to work fine still.

@miztressuz - was it you who bought $500 obc on NCL and paid with AMEX to get the $150 credit? Did it work? We sail in 17 days and would like to take advantage of this if it works.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Ok, one more precheck question. Is it typically that if the lead goes has it everyone booked on that reservation has it? I was just thinking maybe I would offer our other credit to my cousin, he travels to Denver for work a lot and they also have at least one vacation planned this summer, so if he is the lead person would his wife also get it?

DH is precheck and I've always gotten it too when he books our tickets together. I don't know that we've ever tried it with more than one other person on the reservation though.