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

[palhockeymomof2]

CIP question: I know there’s a benefit for cell phone protection/replacement, but what are the qualifications? Do you have to buy the phone with the card, pay the bill with your card, or both?

I’m pretty sure you just have to pay the bill with the card

 

[Haley R]

I remember using that rule in school

It actually works pretty well. Most kids don’t even realize the book is too hard for them.

 

[wanderlust7]

Just ordered UberEats on desktop. I made sure the use $15 credit toggle was on. But the credit didn't show up on checkout and I see the full amount pending. Will it show up later or did it not work? Only did this once before, can't remember what it looked like last time.

Answering my own question, lol. The credit showed up on the final receipt after delivery. Whew.

Last day to use my AmEx Uber credit for the month. Stacked with the 16% off to more than cover the delivery fee. Plus had the $10 credit for spending at least $15 on DH's Blue Cash (also last day).

 

[GlamMistress]

I’m really off topic today. Does anyone know if you can buy a full dvc contract direct from Disney with Disney giftcards. I have been getting giftcards at around 20% off that would really help with the cost lol.

No. You can pay dues with giftcards but to buy a contract from Disney you either need to pay cash, use a credit card or finance. (Don't finance).

 

[striker1064]

I’m really off topic today. Does anyone know if you can buy a full dvc contract direct from Disney with Disney giftcards. I have been getting giftcards at around 20% off that would really help with the cost lol.

Nope. Dues only, but that does help because the dues will far outpace the buy-in over the life of the contract.

 

[WVMomof3]

Really dumb AA questions- I have only half been paying attention to this. I am looking into it to actually use for flying. My plan right now is to collect both United and AA miles thinking I can use one to get us all to Europe and the other to get us home. Seems easier to collect enough of both with CC SUB's instead of trying to just get one program points. Any reason not to do this? I see dummy booking is getting me 40,000 miles, $200 statement credit, AF waived, i think this is what people have been using lately and asking for match. So my dumb question is, if there is a higher offer, where is it and why can we not just go for that??

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Really dumb AA questions- I have only half been paying attention to this. I am looking into it to actually use for flying. My plan right now is to collect both United and AA miles thinking I can use one to get us all to Europe and the other to get us home. Seems easier to collect enough of both with CC SUB's instead of trying to just get one program points. Any reason not to do this? I see dummy booking is getting me 40,000 miles, $200 statement credit, AF waived, i think this is what people have been using lately and asking for match. So my dumb question is, if there is a higher offer, where is it and why can we not just go for that??

The 40k offer comes with a lower MSR and the statement credit which can either be used as intended or created an opportunity to sell the gift card for actual cash. Combine that with a 20k match and it’s actually a much better offer then the higher normal public offer (which requires $3k MSR to get the first 50k miles and $10k MSR to get the full 60k).

 

[GlamMistress]

Really dumb AA questions- I have only half been paying attention to this. I am looking into it to actually use for flying. My plan right now is to collect both United and AA miles thinking I can use one to get us all to Europe and the other to get us home. Seems easier to collect enough of both with CC SUB's instead of trying to just get one program points. Any reason not to do this? I see dummy booking is getting me 40,000 miles, $200 statement credit, AF waived, i think this is what people have been using lately and asking for match. So my dumb question is, if there is a higher offer, where is it and why can we not just go for that??

Just remember a lot of people on here are only looking at the Citi business American card now. There are slightly different bonuses between biz and personal. Just to add on to what @SouthFayetteFan just replied.

 

[speedyfishy]

No. You can pay dues with giftcards but to buy a contract from Disney you either need to pay cash, use a credit card or finance. (Don't finance).

Nope. Dues only, but that does help because the dues will far outpace the buy-in over the life of the contract.

Thanks! We will be doing resale then. I want the membership card, but resale is way cheaper. Plus, we love the poly. Our guide at Disneyland in August stepped out and was like well we actually have a poly contract we can sell you today after saying it wasn’t available lol but resale is so much cheaper.

 

[Lain]

We stayed at the Sheraton Tokyo Bay and was able to charge our Disney park tickets to the room. So the Marriott credits might work for that (if you didn't want to use it for room rates). This was almost 3 years ago, so I don't know if anything's changed.

When deciding cards, I like to calculate out first year value. Though it sounds like you wouldn't be getting a bonus for the CSR? Makes the comparison a little harder, lol. But CapOne would be $500 + $100 GE = $600 value. Bonvoy Brilliance using @Lain suggestion downgrading after 1 year for prorated AF but double dip on Marriott credit AND get the 50k room certificate - would be 100k SUB using 0.7 cpp ($700) + ($300 x2 credit) + $100 GE + $150 conservative estimate for room value - $450 AF - $155 prorated AF = $945. You may want to adjust the $300 depending on if you feel you get the full value from it.

ETA: the Brilliance first year value is actually higher due to the referral bonus. 20k Bonvoy points if you refer from the Bonvoy Biz. Or 15k MR if you have a Plat, 20k MR if you have Gold Biz, 10k other MR cards IIRC.

I hate to be Marriott’s Bonvoy branding police, but

 

[GlamMistress]

Thanks! We will be doing resale then. I want the membership card, but resale is way cheaper. Plus, we love the poly. Our guide at Disneyland in August stepped out and was like well we actually have a poly contract we can sell you today after saying it wasn’t available lol but resale is so much cheaper.

Resale you can pay cash or finance. I've read some people being able to put their deposit on a credit card but I was not given that option. I sent a check for the deposit and then had to do a cashier's check for the balance.

You can always buy 75 poly direct and get resale too. If you do that, it would probably be easier to get resale first because you'll need to match your use year.

I keep going back and forth over the membership card myself. It probably really isn't necessary. I kind of want it but I have a big problem with the direct price of DVC.

 

[wanderlust7]

I hate to be Marriott’s Bonvoy branding police, but

OOOOOOOOOPS!!!

Fixed it.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I was starting to worry that there was something weird for my GE app because it's taking twice as long to get approved for an interview. Whenever this kind of thing takes longer than I expect I always worry it has something to do with an unsavory family member having my SSN Good thing I've been logging in every day to check too, because today I am conditionally approved! Though I did not get an email. The other semi-good news is when I checked yesterday the soonest DEN appt was July, and today it is early May. Hopefully I will have luck like I did with DHs app; I plan on carrying my passport with me to work Or plan that trip to Vegas. OR even more of a reason to schedule the F&G trip, MCO has lots of time slots for the second half of April

I never got emails from GE, not for any of our 3 apps. Except the emails encouraging interviews on return from an international rip. my conditional approval took like 6 weeks. DH and DS took 2 days.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Well I found this fun article from last year about murders in Huntsville:
https://www.google.com/amp/www.waaytv.com/templates/AMP?contentID=494188101

Don’t look until DH has a job offer. There are good and bad areas to every locale. Once he has an offer you can take a look to see if there is suitable housing. Otherwise you risk disappointment and finding the “perfect” house just to have your heart broken.

 

[Lain]

Today I just applied for the Hilton no fee card which begins the first steps on my path to get a second Aspire card via upgrade offers. 100K Hilton points for $1,000 MSR is easy enough. Instant approval! This of course means I've put off getting under 5/24 for a while longer. Since I've decided I need to go back to Japan in 2022 as a budget friendly trip for the TDL/TDS expansion I will need the second Aspire card in place. I will ask DH to apply for one too. Today I also finally hopped on the grAAvy train but am sticking to business cards and just got an instant approval. I will need those AA miles to book JAL flights to Japan. So 2 instant approvals in one day.

This works? I have had a no fee Hilton for awhile now, as does DH, and have never gotten an upgrade offer :-(.

Did you get an upgrade offer for the AmEx Hilton? I have the no-fee AmEx Hilton and also the Aspire. I'd be interested in upgrading the no-fee but so far as I have noticed, I have never gotten an upgrade offer. Any ideas about how I could get AmEx to give me an offer to upgrade the no-fee card?

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targ...-when-upgrading-your-hilton-ascend-to-aspire/

It wouldn't hurt to call and ask if you are eligible for one. I've never had the no fee card, so I figured I'd pick it up. I had the Ascend when it was a Surpass card and am not eligible for that bonus unless it is via upgrade. I already have an Aspire, so my only way to get an additional bonus is via upgrade to a second card. Honestly, I'd pick up a second Aspire card for no bonus because it works into my long terms plans. But if there is a chance I could get an upgrade then I will start working on it now.

My understanding is that you need to be targeted for the offer and that you may get an email or it may appear on your offers page.

Disclaimer that I’ve never played with Hilton upgrade offers, but I do pick up the chatter on Reddit.

I think the conventional wisdom on r/churning is that it takes at least a year after opening a new card to get offers to upgrade it, and you won’t get an offer to upgrade to the Aspire if you already have the Aspire, so @calypso726 may need to downgrade her Aspire to something else in about a year if she’s hoping for an upgrade offer on the no fee card, then once that’s upgraded she can upgrade her original Aspire back if she wants to have 2 Aspires.

See: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/b62lzq/question_thread_march_27_2019/ejhwd5m

And check out this guy who takes the Hilton upgrade offers for the points, then downgrades his card back to the no fee card after a few months and waits for another upgrade offer to come along like clockwork:

https://www.removeddit.com/r/churning/comments/b599t0/discussion_thread_march_25_2019/ejccp6d/

For general information: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/b1d282/question_thread_march_15_2019/eimlt1r/

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/azeaxx/question_thread_march_10_2019/ei81ls4/

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/ayb0qe/question_thread_march_07_2019/ei1npfv/

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I’m other words, I should get thyself over to the dress shop because I need. Wonder how I can sell this need to my dh?

I saw cute ones at the Disney Warehouse on Friday. Not Spaceship Earth though.

 

[wanderlust7]

You’re right! I was looking at one of the Hilton cards at the same time I was typing this.



Oh that’s interesting on the Sheraton Tokyo bay. We’re definitely planning on going to Tokyo Disney. I’m leaning towards the Brilliant (I agree, dumb name) and a Venture Card right now. Thanks for the help!

CapOne approval can be unpredictable, so I'm a little hesitant to recommend. That said, I'm finding the eraser easy to use. It worked for our Iceland Glacier Lagoon tour.

The Venture does have transfer partners, most at a 2:1.5 transfer rate. I have no idea if this is a good redemption, but Cathay Pacific would probably get you to Japan via Hong Kong, maybe you want to fit in HKDL.

 

[Disneyonmymind]

Has anyone used their Hilton Biz Card Gold Status free breakfast benefit for the whole family? Does it work for everyone in the room or does it only apply to the card holder?

 

[Lain]

Did anyone see that Steakhouse 55 got rid of the 24 layer chocolate cake? That was SOs favorite dessert ever.

W. T. F.?! That dessert is what Steakhouse 55 is KNOWN FOR! Moreso than their eponymous steak. Disney has done Disney Parks Blog posts about it, a video about it, it’s all over social media. What are they thinking???

 

[Lain]

I’m really off topic today. Does anyone know if you can buy a full dvc contract direct from Disney with Disney giftcards. I have been getting giftcards at around 20% off that would really help with the cost lol.

No, but you can put the contract on credit cards and you can use Disney Gift Cards to pay annual dues.

ETA: Ha! Finally caught up to @GlamMistress ’s answer!