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

[PolyRob]

Oh man, did I time my CIP #2 application wrong.

Approved 4/30, AF posted 5/1, still waiting for expedited UPS lol (should be here tomorrow)

 

[wendow]

The problem is that this is now the ONLY smoking section so for those waiting for a boat, you may have dozens of smoker friends there waiting with you (vs what used to be a much sparser smoker crowd since it was so out of the way/inconvenient).

When we were there a month ago, dh & I 'strolled'- something we never do with our kids in tow lol - down to DHS and then boated back. That smoking area was there, of course, but there was only one smoker. I held my breath and tried to get by as quickly as possible. With the parks pushing the smokers out, I'm envisioning quite a few smokers in this area and you will not be able to escape the smoke while you are standing in line waiting for the boat.
Do we know yet where the other smoking areas will be located outside the other parks?

 

[wendow]

We really just need a bank close by that we can get cash out of or deposit cash. Otherwise we will use Heritage bank for everything else. Do you think they would be okay for those purposes? If not, who do you suggest? Chase bank?

I do not like PNC at all. Website is sucky all around.

We bank at Chase. I find the app and website so easy to use. Not sure how plentiful they are down in FL but there is one on every corner here so it works well, though I rarely need to go in. But if I do, it's the same banker and same teller. It's like small town banking and they always go out of their way to help. Maybe not all locations are like that but I love mine and I never thought that about someplace like Chase.

 

[snugglebug]

Oye. Been "bonvoyed" enough tonight.

Front desk clerk was so monotone and flat I just wanted to get to my room, and she seemed to want to keep talking. Got upstairs and neither keycard worked. All three of us tried with no luck. I took them back down to get rekeyed, get back upstairs and they're not working. Like the crazy peeps that we are we just stood there and kept trying. My youngest finally got one to work. I don't know what was going on. Do you have to mobile checkin in order to use the mobile key? I don't see anything about that in my app, but the hotel description mentioned it.

The room is fine, we're at a Springhill Suites with that nifty pull out trundle. We decided we actually like that feature. Shower time. I like a hot, hot shower, it helps relax my head at night so I can fall asleep with a little less pain. The shower knob is loose, it keeps falling, but the shower stays on just not quite completely. Fine, I'll deal. Except it's COLD even though I have it set all the way to hot. It took me a bit to realize it's reversed.

ETA: And no sheets for the trundle. At least there was a blanket and dd brought a blanket from home that she covers with. It was nearly one by the time I was able to get her settled so I wasn't about to attempt getting sheets, too tired with a 5am wake up.

My future DIL is graduating Air Force BMT Friday. I'm so excited for her and I can't wait to find out her first duty station as that may play a part in next year's vacations. I'm thinking Disney in Nov or Dec, but I'd like to do something in the spring or summer and that might be visiting the girls. My son will be back in the states soon and near home so we won't be visiting him.

 

[calypso726]

Under 2 weeks from my first trip to Disneyland and California, I'm super excited about it. Things changed and now I'm spending almost two weeks traveling, which I'm breaking up in 3 "mini" trips.
1st is disneyland- staying at the 4 points sheraton anahiem booked 5 nights using 70,000 Marriott points (I actually have two rooms booked given the group who is going so grand total of 140,000 points for 10 nights)...hoping this is going to be a good choice. Bought the 3 day park tickets from the ticket promotion. Booked a rental car through costco and I keep checking to rebook when the cost goes down. I've been reading through the disneyland board and think I have a good handle on maxpass and hoping touring around the park. So far only have 1 lunch reservation to Blue Bayou, I need to look if there are anymore I'm interested in booking. I plan to do grocery/costco run after we fly in, and appears to be one north of disneyland so that will be convenient.
2nd San Diego-work portion of my trip, still hoping to visit the zoo and do some sight seeing.
3rd Pacific coast highway, all hotels booked using Marriott points on the way to San Fransisco. Only going to be me and my sister during this portion and the goal was to minimize out of pocket cost at least for hotels.

Sharing since it is slightly churning related. Finishing my CIP MSR, given my recent citi failure I'm just planning on optimizing my spend on my current cards as I likely wouldn't get the card in time. I'll plan to use my SPG LUX credit on the work hotels in san diego as those aren't booked on points and use my SPG LUX for the car rental insurance as the only other car with primary car rental insurance is my CIP. Any suggestions for my trip would be appreciated!

ETA: flights from southwest RR points and companion pass!

I'll chime in with suggestions on DLR from the perspective of a frequent visitor to WDW and yearly-ish visitor to DLR. Some of the highlights I think a first time visitor should not miss are Paint the Night Parade. The song has become a theme song for our squad LOL I don't like parades as a rule but this one and Boo to You during MNSSHP are exceptions for me. World of Color shouldn't be missed. We usually get a dinner package but they also have a dessert party and FP as options over waiting to get a good spot. Fantasmic is different than WDW and has FP options. PoC and HM are different from WDW's and must do's whenever we go. Kudos on getting reservations at Blue Bayou, that is also a favorite. Looks like an awesome trip!

 

[DisneyMandC]

I'll chime in with suggestions on DLR from the perspective of a frequent visitor to WDW and yearly-ish visitor to DLR. Some of the highlights I think a first time visitor should not miss are Paint the Night Parade. The song has become a theme song for our squad LOL I don't like parades as a rule but this one and Boo to You during MNSSHP are exceptions for me. World of Color shouldn't be missed. We usually get a dinner package but they also have a dessert party and FP as options over waiting to get a good spot. Fantasmic is different than WDW and has FP options. PoC and HM are different from WDW's and must do's whenever we go. Kudos on getting reservations at Blue Bayou, that is also a favorite. Looks like an awesome trip!

I second Paint the Night. LOVE the parade and the song is so catchy! We also did a Blue Bayou lunch on our first visit and it was great. We ate lunch at Lamplighter’s Lounge (I think that’s what it’s called?) in DCA last trip and that was really good.

 

[striker1064]

Our IHG $49 AFs posted yesterday. Guess I'm calling to cancel those. End of an era. We've had them for 4 years now. Also DW's SW Biz $99 AF posted, I'll see if I can get a retention.

@striker1064 I went to GoDisneyPremier.com for the upgrade

Thanks for this. Yeah, still shows $50 for me. I'll keep checking here and there.

I really liked Suntrust when I was in NC and the only reason I switched is because they aren't out west. You might also look for a credit union, you might be able to find one with interest on checking. Mine does interest on balances up to 500 and since it's just a holding acct you probably wouldn't have more than that in it anyway. Just a thought.

One interesting thing about churning bank bonuses is I've learned which banks I might be interested in doing actual business with at some point in the future, and which ones I wouldn't consider. Suntrust was one of the few I won't consider because their website is just so bad. I had to keep the account open 6 months, and in that time I lost count of how often the website was just plain down. However, I will say I had one nearby so I used them for the rare cash deposit, and the in-branch experience was good. No problems with ATM/debit either.

 

[kandb]

Congrats on the approval....I have been putting 3 months between Chase applications
You can pool your points now .I transfer all points earned to my CSR monthly no need to wait a year

I have the chase Disney rewards cc and my husband has the Chase Freedom Unlimited. Do you know if we could both transfer them over to his Chase cc?

 

[have2getaway]

DH was approved for CIP! Can’t wait for 80,000 UR’s!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I have the chase Disney rewards cc and my husband has the Chase Freedom Unlimited. Do you know if we could both transfer them over to his Chase cc?

No you can’t combine Disney rewards with Chase URs...only cards that earn URs..(CIP, CIC, CIU, CF, CFU, CSR, CSP)....can be combined

 

[palhockeymomof2]

DH was approved for CIP! Can’t wait for 80,000 UR’s!

Congrats

 

[striker1064]

Udpate on Southwest Biz: No spend since December 2018, very little during that month, total spend since opening card ~$3,600. Chase rep offered $100 statement credit on the spot to keep it open, which I accepted. That was easy, and a free 6,000 anniversary SW points to boot.

 

[Tikitoi]

A little off topic. Sort of. But I got a $100 Amazon gc from my employer, just for signing up for a health app.

Was wondering if I can buy a Disney gc with it.

 

[1st*toright]

I've been in a weird space, just quietly reading along. DH had an MRI today. It should be read tomorrow. Hopefully everything is okay. This is from his recent ER visit and a CT scan that showed a little something abnormal. I am taking a vacation day Friday. I'm pretty mentally fried right now.

Conversation Starter:

Is anyone else already actively working on 2021 vacation plans? I've already got my 2020 locked in with a Disney cruise and a trip to WDW for food and wine. I've got 2021 pretty narrowed down too.

I can't talk about this in real life - people would think I was insane planning trips that far in advance. But I can't be the only one, right?

Once I'm under 5/24, I'll be actively racking up URs again and I plan on using them for either Greece or Norway.

I hope your DH's MRI comes back with good news, and that you get to rest up tomorrow!

I'm not thinking 2021 yet, but my 2020 trip has been in the works for 2 years (should be able to book flights next week!) Once I get the one for 2020 booked (will take a little while - I don't have quite all the hotel points I need yet), I will mentally move on to figuring out the next big trip. Kind of like the need for MSR - the need to have a big redemption in the works.

Greece sounds amazing, and I've never been to Norway, but love Sweden. Happy planning.

For Marriott, it should pop up in my Marriott account in the activity page. I've been checking there every other day for the last couple weeks. I see nothing like that in the AmEx dashboard for Marriott. They give me a Redeem Points button that just opens up the Marriott activity page... that shows me no certificate ​

Yeah, the 8+ weeks thing is out of control. I get that people were snagging the cert and cancelling the card, but if my 35k cert can't be used for the Cat 5 hotel I want because peak pricing kicks in before I get my cert, I'm going to be seriously annoyed.

 

[speedyfishy]

A little off topic. Sort of. But I got a $100 Amazon gc from my employer, just for signing up for a health app.

Was wondering if I can buy a Disney gc with it.

Amazon doesn’t sell Disney but Amazon GCs can be used to buy other giftcards. They have a lot of grocery stores.

 

[Natgridenergy]

Fee free $200 Visa Gift Cards at Staples next week
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/staples-no-purchase-fee-on-200-visa-gift-cards-5-5-5-11/

 

[Haley R]

I really liked Suntrust when I was in NC and the only reason I switched is because they aren't out west. You might also look for a credit union, you might be able to find one with interest on checking. Mine does interest on balances up to 500 and since it's just a holding acct you probably wouldn't have more than that in it anyway. Just a thought.

My only experience with PNC was with the refi on my house and it wasn't a good experience, though I don't know how much of that was the bank vs the guy we were dealing with that may have just been a broker and not a bank emp. They've been fine in the roughly 8 years they've held my mortgage though. But I HATE their website. I don't even know if I can still get on it or how. It was bad so I just use bill pay through my bank. It makes BofA look good and it's awful.

We’ll look into some credit unions. We really only get cash from playing in the band which won’t be happening after we move. It’s just nice to have a bank nearby in case we want to get cash out or deposit some. I absolutely love our Heritage account. We still get $70/month in interest which is awesome and they refund you $8/month on ATM fees

 

[Haley R]

I do not like PNC at all. Website is sucky all around.

We bank at Chase. I find the app and website so easy to use. Not sure how plentiful they are down in FL but there is one on every corner here so it works well, though I rarely need to go in. But if I do, it's the same banker and same teller. It's like small town banking and they always go out of their way to help. Maybe not all locations are like that but I love mine and I never thought that about someplace like Chase.

We’ve seen tons of Chase banks so that’s probably what we’ll go with.

 

[miztressuz]

We really just need a bank close by that we can get cash out of or deposit cash. Otherwise we will use Heritage bank for everything else. Do you think they would be okay for those purposes? If not, who do you suggest? Chase bank?

I don't think PNC has a free checking option, the lowest requirement I remember is having a $500 minimum balance to avoid monthly fees, or having $500 direct deposited monthly to avoid fees (or holding great gobs of money with them in linked accounts) If all you want it for is quick access to deposit cash, I'd look into a bank that may have a free option. As for cash withdrawal, doesn't your Heritage bank reimburse ATM fees? You could use any ATM if so. But the rare cash deposit does get tricky.

Do PNC for the bank bonus though

Edit: Oh, Chase has similar requirements. But also do them for the bank bonus though, hehe.

 

[apollodi]

That's not a bad idea, plus I could use my Aspire card to buy Southwest gift cards and use the airline credit for one of the tickets. Southwest has several nonstop flights out of STL, which would be helpful for us. I will continue to stalk Allegiant's website (in incognito mode), too. I had heard that Allegiant's best prices were right away, but I'm hoping with 3 days of flights 12/24, 12/25, and 12/26 that prices will drop significantly. I'm not sure the return flight will be good savings though. There are only a few that first week of January returning to our home airport.

Ideally, I think we're willing to pay around $300 per person round trip out of our home airport. Allegiant has really generous military baggage and seat assignment policies as well, which would work to our advantage on this particular trip. I'll keep looking. I really apprecaite the help with Southwest. It's good to have an Ace in the hole.

Fellow Allegiant stalker here. I am always watching the Indianapolis to Savannah route during the summer to visit family. My experience has been that Allegiant drops prices substantially about 30-60 days before the flight. My problem is that I hate waiting that long to book flights. For example, the IND-SAV flight I have booked for this summer has dropped about $15 per person, each leg, since I booked it last month. Boo. I don't know if this pattern will hold true for holiday travel, but don't give up hope.

Ok, off to pack now. We leave for WDW on Saturday!!! After that, straight on to Barcelona for me and DH while the kids visit grandparents for the week.