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

[amalone1013]

Have you done the $10 off $100+ VGC deal at Safeway yet? I picked up 2x $500 variable load VGCs yesterday for $495.95 each. Unfortunately, the first try triggered a fraud alert on my CF so I used my Amex Gold. Cleared up the fraud alert, went over to next Safeway and bought another on my CF.

I haven't decided if I want to do a $100 card or a variable load on this yet...

And if I didn’t need more reasons to Barclays... just had two fraudulent charges on my Priceline card which is my default card when not meeting MSR. No Mr. CSR, I did not spend $56 at Burger King and $74 at Del Taco in California as I sit here calling you from Michigan. When I asked if they could expedite the replacement he said sure, for a $15 fee. Thanks but no thanks. Just updated all my auto pays to a MSR card. Oh Barclays....

Ugh. When I had fraudulent charges on my Arrival a couple years ago, they expedited the replacement without asking and no fee. That seems weird to me to want to charge for this scenario.

 

[bernina]

I haven't decided if I want to do a $100 card or a variable load on this yet...

Ugh. When I had fraudulent charges on my Arrival a couple years ago, they expedited the replacement without asking and no fee. That seems weird to me to want to charge for this scenario.

I know! All I can think is because Priceline has no fee so it’s not a premium card. When we’re not meeting MSR I put $2k/mo on there so they get plenty of swipe fees from me. But if they want to miss out on a month or two of my auto bill pays, who am I to stop them.

 

[amalone1013]

I know! All I can think is because Priceline has no fee so it’s not a premium card. When we’re not meeting MSR I put $2k/mo on there so they get plenty of swipe fees from me. But if they want to miss out on a month or two of my auto bill pays, who am I to stop them.

Companies are weird. Mine was the old no fee Arrival at the time.

 

[tink1970]

Very short May recap...

DH's CiP finally approved (okay, we waited for his 1 April to fall off then I reapplied and didn't mess it up) and it "miraculously" came (...he still is befuddled about how that happened, bless his heart!). In true slow churner style that @mmmears and @LuckyMamaInDE would appreciate (and his impatient wife does not!), he's 26% done with the MSR.

I am struggling to avoid FOMO and get under 5/24 (if I don't succumb, 12/1/19 will be my CIP application date). So I took an Amex Offer upgrade (gold biz to plat biz) and I'm working on that 10k MSR. Insurance/flood bills just came in and will knock off 58% of that in one fell swoop.

Boring month but sometimes I just have to slow down and stay the course!

also ...Friday was convocation for DD and yesterday was high school graduation so we've had a lot of craziness at our house...family is now gone so I can return to note taking and scheming full time

 

[Lain]

• How many people will be in your travel party? Just me and my husband

• Do you have a spouse or some other partner who is willing to sign up for credit cards and work on bonuses too? I doubt he'd be willing to, unfortunately

• Would you and any partner be willing to open up business credit cards? If I were qualified to get one, sure. Him- I doubt it.

Ok, follow up question. Would your husband be willing to sit back in economy while you fly business or first class?

Just kidding! Many of us have or had reluctant spouses coming into this hobby. Some come around, and some never do. Since we're dealing with money and financial issues, it's important your spouse feels comfortable about this. Getting credit cards, many many credit cards, will not wreck your credit score as long as you treat credit like debit or cash. Spend only what you can pay off every month, and pay off your credit card bills every month! Any interest fees of penalties will negate the savings you get from earning points, and may be symptomatic that you're in over your head. Most credit card applications will result in a hard pull or inquiry of your credit report(s). This will typically result in a ding of a few points. Opening a new credit card will also ding your credit score a few points. But these dings are temporary and your score should go back within a month or two. This is because, usually, when you open a new credit card, it results in a new credit line that increases the amount of credit available to you and therefore lowers your percentage of credit utilization. Most of us have seen our credit scores actually go up over the long term since starting this hobby.

• Do you have a business or any side gigs (e.g., selling stuff online, selling crafts or baked goods, babysitting, pet sitting or dog walking, tutoring, consulting, independent contracting, driving for a ride share, etc.) that might qualify you for a business credit card? If not, did you have one in the past or could you say you have any plans to start one? Aside from a nebulous plan to eventually list a few random items on eBay as I purge the stuff in my house this summer, I would have to say "no." No past businesses.

• Would you and any partner be willing to open up business credit cards? If I were qualified to get one, sure. Him- I doubt it.

As @wendow mentioned above, some credit card issuers are more flexible with what qualifies as a "business" and therefore their business credit cards than others. Chase, Amex, and Citi are all pretty relaxed in approving business card applications. Many of us sell items on eBay to varying degrees. Some are just clearing the house or selling their kid's last season clothing, others have full fledged reselling businesses. You definitely qualify! If you can generate some revenue (gross sales, not profit) from this, go ahead and use that to apply for a business card. If your revenue is zero or a little low, you can project your revenue for the year based on what you expect to get for all your items. And if you need help filling out a credit card application, personal or business, let us know and we'll walk you through it!

• Would you be interested in joining DISchurners, our private Reddit group, where we share more in depth tips, links to credit card offers, and recap the news and discussion to help you keep up with this fast moving thread? I don't know anything about Reddit but I should be able to figure it out... right? I'd love to join if I can.

You'll need to sign up for a reddit account. Once you've got a username, PM me, @SouthFayetteFan, or @Albort and we'll get you invited to DISchurners!

 

[wintotty]

But that's what I like about Animal Kingdom... elephants and giraffes!

AK is my favorite park as of now...........especially with Pandora.

 

[amcc]

Barclays has me tearing my hair out - their website SUCKS.
I regularly check it and it opens to my account summary, last 4 digits. I’ve been keeping track of spend and I thought I was - few $$ off from meeting MSR. I get a call a few days ago from 1-866-469-5975. Googling led to “fraud impersonating Barclays” etc. Today I get it again, pick up, and it’s Barclays. Girl tells me an amount I’m past due, willingly gives me her extension and I go online to check my account.

Turns out all my charges are under a different account - a company account that you have to hunt for on the site and that has a random 4 last digits! What is that? And yes, that one has me over the $1k credit limit, has a $15 min payment, and the balance is just as she says! We had paid last month as shown on my account page which obviously was wrong.

Now to call and figure out why are two accounts set up and hope I get the SUB (will this mess affect me receiving it - ugh)??? And put that Barclay away to never see the light of day.

 

[nhgirl]

My daughter went to WDW with her school choir in Feb. She was able to do all the parks and Universal. Prior to that she had no interest in AK and she had only been to MK and EP. Yesterday I asked her which park was her favorite and she said AK. Now I want to go to AK too.

 

[wintotty]

I applied for Barclay AA Biz on Sunday, and went pending. Got the E-mail with "status check" website information, but when I go there, it says they can't find my application..... is this normal?

We are sorry, no applications within the last 90 days match the information entered.
Please verify your Last Name, Last 4 digits of Social Security Number, Zip Code and
Email Address as entered at the time of application and try again or contact customer service at 1-877-523-0478.

 

[elgerber]

.

 

[amalone1013]

I applied for Barclay AA Biz on Sunday, and went pending. Got the E-mail with "status check" website information, but when I go there, it says they can't find my application..... is this normal?

We are sorry, no applications within the last 90 days match the information entered.
Please verify your Last Name, Last 4 digits of Social Security Number, Zip Code and
Email Address as entered at the time of application and try again or contact customer service at 1-877-523-0478.

Yeah, they have a different link. It will say at the top you're checking a business card.

https://www.barclaycardus.com/apply/cas/applications/search?PARTNERID=BUSINESS

 

[wanderlust7]

I'm back to say thank you for sharing sharing all of your wonderful advice and to ask for more. I followed this thread and the previous one regularly until a few months ago when work got too busy to keep up. Now I only get to check the "news" thread regularly.
I have a large group airline purchase (about 10k and will be reimbursed) coming up and I want to make the best use of the opportunity. Future travel plans include a work conference in Disney, Europe with my 2 teen boys (tickets already covered with AA miles) but still need hotels and trains, and hopefully a ski weekend and Universal in 2020. Preferred airport is PHL sometimes BWI. P2 and I are both 4/24 with cards falling off every month or 2. I'd love to get a 2nd CIP if that is still possible, no EIN. I also considered PCing my CSP to CSR for the higher redemption rate (currently have about 170K) and lounge access for the Europe trip. Other things on my wishlist include Hyatt and SW personal and Biz at the end of the year for CP. Maybe some MRs? Feeling left out in that game.
Here's the history:
Me - CSP 4/17, SW 6/17, CIP 9/17, Marriott 11/17, Aviator Red 11/17, SPG Biz 2/18, Delta Biz 4/18, Citi AA Biz 5/18, Marriott Biz 8/18, Barclay AA Biz 10/18, A+ 1/19
P2 - CSP 6/17 (PC'd to CF), Barclay AA Red 11/17, CIP 6/18, SPG Biz 10/18, Barclay AA Biz, CIC 2/19, Savor 3/19, A+ 5/19
TIA!!

You and P2 both look good for another CIP. If you can split up that 10k charge, each get CIPs and refer each other. Boom - 230k URs, easy!

 

[1st*toright]

Back to shopping for a moment - not sure if anyone likes Universal Standard clothing, but I have an offer to send 3 people a free tshirt (you pay $5 shipping). I love their t-shirts - they are really high quality and I wear them under suits and sweaters for work. They are also crazy expensive. I can't post a link - you have to email it to people. If you're interested - pm me your email address and I will enter it on the US site - then you'll be sent a link with the offer code. It only works for people who have never ordered from them before (unfortunately!) I get $25 for each person that uses the offer (and they will put you on their mailing list).

I'm wearing my new Rothy's today - they are as great as advertised

 

[vanjust14]

I go to WDW for 4 days and come back to the DIS being completely different! Yikes, have to get used to this.

@wendow , @Duck143 , I wanted to let you know that Tony Hinds (well, he sent a different driver this time, John) charged me $70 to go from MCO to the Swan this weekend. Uber is definitely cheaper. As a matter of fact, on the way back we ended up just sending our luggage through DME and skipping the ride to swim at Grand Floridian a little longer and took an UberX with carseat to MCO. It cost $45 with tip.

My first night of my trip was at the Swan and I was not impressed. We arrived early and the room was not ready, which I expected. I was upgraded to a balcony room for being Gold. They took my phone number and said they would text me once the room was ready. We left our luggage at Bell Services and was told once our room was ready we would have to retrieve it ourselves. We spent the morning/early afternoon at the pool. Around 2:00 we checked to see if the room was ready and it wasn't but was assured we would receive a text. We had plans at Epcot so we had to get ready in the lobby bathroom and headed for EPCOT around 3:30. I checked my phone all evening and never received a text about a room. After Illuminations on the walk back to the hotel through Boardwalk I called the hotel to complain and ask why I never received a text. The gentleman told me it was because I didn't do mobile checkin. He put me on hold but I reached the front desk before he even came back on the line. I spoke to a woman at the front desk that didn't know why I never received a text, gave us our keys, and sent us on our way. I refused to get my own bags at this point with a sleeping child so they reluctantly brought them up for us. We checked out early next morning so the upgrade to balcony was no use to us. I would probably not stay here again. In Disney, I'm staying at Disney. Grand Floridian was so wonderful, accommodating and friendly. Loved every minute of it!

 

[afan]

Barclays has me tearing my hair out - their website SUCKS.
I regularly check it and it opens to my account summary, last 4 digits. I’ve been keeping track of spend and I thought I was - few $$ off from meeting MSR. I get a call a few days ago from 1-866-469-5975. Googling led to “fraud impersonating Barclays” etc. Today I get it again, pick up, and it’s Barclays. Girl tells me an amount I’m past due, willingly gives me her extension and I go online to check my account.

Turns out all my charges are under a different account - a company account that you have to hunt for on the site and that has a random 4 last digits! What is that? And yes, that one has me over the $1k credit limit, has a $15 min payment, and the balance is just as she says! We had paid last month as shown on my account page which obviously was wrong.

Now to call and figure out why are two accounts set up and hope I get the SUB (will this mess affect me receiving it - ugh)??? And put that Barclay away to never see the light of day.

That's how BofA has their biz cards but it's not hidden. When you only have one card though it's super annoying and confusing. I always felt like I was paying them more than I actually spent. I guess if you had more than one emp card it would be useful but I think I'd still pull my hair out. One of the biggest reasons I'll cancel when the af hits.

 

[Duck143]

I go to WDW for 4 days and come back to the DIS being completely different! Yikes, have to get used to this.

@wendow , @Duck143 , I wanted to let you know that Tony Hinds (well, he sent a different driver this time, John) charged me $70 to go from MCO to the Swan this weekend. Uber is definitely cheaper. As a matter of fact, on the way back we ended up just sending our luggage through DME and skipping the ride to swim at Grand Floridian a little longer and took an UberX with carseat to MCO. It cost $45 with tip.

My first night of my trip was at the Swan and I was not impressed. We arrived early and the room was not ready, which I expected. I was upgraded to a balcony room for being Gold. They took my phone number and said they would text me once the room was ready. We left our luggage at Bell Services and was told once our room was ready we would have to retrieve it ourselves. We spent the morning/early afternoon at the pool. Around 2:00 we checked to see if the room was ready and it wasn't but was assured we would receive a text. We had plans at Epcot so we had to get ready in the lobby bathroom and headed for EPCOT around 3:30. I checked my phone all evening and never received a text about a room. After Illuminations on the walk back to the hotel through Boardwalk I called the hotel to complain and ask why I never received a text. The gentleman told me it was because I didn't do mobile checkin. He put me on hold but I reached the front desk before he even came back on the line. I spoke to a woman at the front desk that didn't know why I never received a text, gave us our keys, and sent us on our way. I refused to get my own bags at this point with a sleeping child so they reluctantly brought them up for us. We checked out early next morning so the upgrade to balcony was no use to us. I would probably not stay here again. In Disney, I'm staying at Disney. Grand Floridian was so wonderful, accommodating and friendly. Loved every minute of it!

Thank you for the update on Tony!
I'm glad you had a wonderful trip and sorry about the Swan. We had that happen at YC where we waited for hours for our room to be ready and get a text notification.

 

[amcc]

That's how BofA has their biz cards but it's not hidden. When you only have one card though it's super annoying and confusing. I always felt like I was paying them more than I actually spent. I guess if you had more than one emp card it would be useful but I think I'd still pull my hair out. One of the biggest reasons I'll cancel when the af hits.

Does it do that even if you don’t have an employee card? This card is just me. I hope the payment goes to my card - the company card where the charges are showing has another 4 digits that aren’t my card. Will call at lunch and see what they say.

 

[Lain]

That is the best part of this group!!! Love the off topic chats! And of course all the great advice.

❤

 

[elgerber]

.

 

[punkin]

I applied for Barclay AA Biz on Sunday, and went pending. Got the E-mail with "status check" website information, but when I go there, it says they can't find my application..... is this normal?

We are sorry, no applications within the last 90 days match the information entered.
Please verify your Last Name, Last 4 digits of Social Security Number, Zip Code and
Email Address as entered at the time of application and try again or contact customer service at 1-877-523-0478.

Just happened to me a few weeks ago. Then out of the blue I got an approval email.