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

[Calfan]

That's right! I remember reading that now. Are you trying to get first? I've been checking BA pretty frequently lately to look at JAL flights and I've seen decent award availability for first and business, so I'm hoping that holds out. I don't know what time the booking opens up on the east coast though, so I need to figure that out. I gave DH a range of dates and told him I was just planning to book whatever I can get in that timeframe with a positioning flight to JFK.



We booked our November trip last year right before the parking fees started, which worked out well since we were driving down. I abhor paying for parking, so as long as nonstop flights on Jetblue hold out from RIC, that's what I'll be doing.

There are 4 of us, so we are going for 2 in First and 2 in Business on the same flight. We are pretty flexible in terms of what airport we fly out of to Tokyo (e.g., SFO, SEA, LAX, etc.) since positioning flights are our reality from Boise.

 

[PolyRob]

Sams Club Platinum Pass update!

Got the AP at the discounted rate with an expired Sams club membership. "Will Call" e-mail came 15 minutes after placing the order. Tried to link in MDE app and it said it could not do it and I had to go online. Went online and linked in less than 60 seconds.

The pass is 100% transferrable and it says it expires "12/31/30" in MDE. I can also use it to book FP+ right now. I know because I have a resort reservation in anticipation for SWGE after her AP expires and its letting me confirm FP+ selections 30-60 days out.

SO excited! Good luck everyone!

 

[Lain]

I agree that it's just ridiculous these days, yet they are filling the parks. DH and I saw the last round as a sign that we should look elsewhere for our vacation fun and voted with our $$$. As you know there are lots of nice places to explore out there, and we are going to try to see a few of them. The parks will be there when we want to go back and by then there will be new things to see and do. I will say that I'm glad I'm not locked into Disney vacations at this point since the park tickets alone have gone up so much over the last 10 years.

I'm sorry if I sound negative, because I sometimes see this as a positive in that there are some great trips we've had that we never would have taken if we hadn't started to think that going to WDW or DL wasn't a great deal. And I am so so glad we took those trips.

THIS. My wife and I were Disneyland Signature AP holders for years, but when the price crossed over $1000 with the increases, we hit pause and decided not to renew. It's a lot of sunk cost that locks you into Disney vacations for the year because you need to get your money's worth out of that AP, when the world is big and full of other interesting places to see.

Round after round of price increases to "improve the guest experience" (*ahem* control crowds) haven't worked because the parks are fuller than ever. I know this is an unpopular sentiment, but if Disney really wanted to reduce crowding due to AP holders coming in for all they can eat, Disney would get rid of the monthly payment plan and require full payment up front. I'm sorry, but when I go on any other vacation, if I don't have the money to buy a plane ticket or pay a hotel at check-in, they're not going to let me fly or stay on a payment plan. SMH.

 

[DisneyMandC]

There are 4 of us, so we are going for 2 in First and 2 in Business on the same flight. We are pretty flexible in terms of what airport we fly out of to Tokyo (e.g., SFO, SEA, LAX, etc.) since positioning flights are our reality from Boise.

I'm in RIC and considered going to Dulles, but those flights mainly connect in London. I would rather just fly nonstop even if I spend a little extra to get to NYC first.

 

[mmmears]

THIS. My wife and I were Disneyland Signature AP holders for years, but when the price crossed over $1000 with the increases, we hit pause and decided not to renew. It's a lot of sunk cost that locks you into Disney vacations for the year because you need to get your money's worth out of that AP, when the world is big and full of other interesting places to see.

Round after round of price increases to "improve the guest experience" (*ahem* control crowds) haven't worked because the parks are fuller than ever. I know this is an unpopular sentiment, but if Disney really wanted to reduce crowding due to AP holders coming in for all they can eat, Disney would get rid of the monthly payment plan and require full payment up front. I'm sorry, but when I go on any other vacation, if I don't have the money to buy a plane ticket or pay a hotel at check-in, they're not going to let me fly or stay on a payment plan. SMH.

I agree. DL APs were so much lower when my DD was little so we bought them every few years. Our total for 3 people didn't even reach $1K. And the parks weren't super crowded. The crowded (with local AP holders) parks in LA are what made the WDW trips look so much better, despite the long and expensive flights. I'm glad we had our Disney fun but I don't want to feel locked into trying to make those park passes worth what they cost. I still love Disney and our last trip was with DCL but I'm also excited to see new things.

 

[wenpop]

Quick question.... My son is AU on my dh's American Express cards, Now he just got his first American Express card in his name, Should he make a seperate sign in for his account? Or use the one he already has?

 

[Alexle2007]

And my request to pay for my RCCL cruise on PIF date of 12/15/19 was approved! I can continue to look at my balance in the meantime

 

[Lain]

I would love to fly Air Canada. I check flights daily on United.com just to see what the saver award landscape looks like even though my dates aren’t available yet.

It’s going to be a struggle accumulating enough URs for the return flight back in business but I definitely have enough miles to fly out there. The question is do I pull the trigger on the inbound flight as soon as I see the fare I can afford. Then I just hope and cross my fingers that I will find a reasonable fare on the return once I do have the miles . My husband said he doesn’t want to fly all the way to Japan if it’s an economy so that could present a problem.

United's new dynamic award pricing for flights after November 2019 don't apply to their partners. So United's old award charts (including saver fares) still apply to flights operated by their partners (including Air Canada).

 

[miztressuz]

If anyone is interested, the Sams Platinum pass is $865.99 before tax and $924.78 after tax.
Compared to Disney at $1,119 before tax and $1,191.75 after tax.

The renewal was $808 and change for me, and will now be $1,012.98 for my family. A difference between a new Platinum pass at Sams and discounted renewal of $88.2 per person. If I use Disney gift cards that were more than 10% off, the renewal is "cheaper," but the new pass will actually provide flexibility. I can reset the start date of my sister's and mother's pass. They would get more life out of it. Decisions...

I am glad I have an expired Sams membership. It still lets me log-in and make it to checkout. I wonder if I can actually purchase without a membership?! If I have to pay that also decreases the savings.

Sams Club Platinum Pass update!

Got the AP at the discounted rate with an expired Sams club membership. "Will Call" e-mail came 15 minutes after placing the order. Tried to link in MDE app and it said it could not do it and I had to go online. Went online and linked in less than 60 seconds.

The pass is 100% transferrable and it says it expires "12/31/30" in MDE. I can also use it to book FP+ right now. I know because I have a resort reservation in anticipation for SWGE after her AP expires and its letting me confirm FP+ selections 30-60 days out.

SO excited! Good luck everyone!

So I had your earlier quote queued up and then but I would have thought you'd get hit with the 10% non member fee. But I see you didn't?!? That's pretty sweet. I tried buying a Sam's GC from a non-member account and it added 10% on to it. I thought gone were the days of random things working without an active membership. Good to know there's still the occasional blip

 

[Limes96]

Anyone know...Do annual passes bought at Sam’s earn anything through any shopping portals?

 

[Haley R]

Well bit the bullet and bought the platinum passes through sam’s. It was still cheaper than the Florida resident price which is astounding to me. I wish we could have put that towards an MSR but we just don’t have one right now. Luckily we just mobile deposited the money from selling our house so I guess that covers it?

 

[Lain]

So I received confirmation from Amex that my 15K MR bonus posted for referring DH to BBP last week.

Still nothing on DH referring me to Delta Gold 2 weeks ago. Is this something to just wait and see on? I plan to close his Platinum when the fee is due next month.

I'm inclined to think there's a glitch affecting either Delta cards or transactions in early June. I don't know how comfortable you are about contacting Amex about a referral from your husband, when what they'll say is probably that they'll "open an investigation." If the missing points are part of a broader glitch, Amex will probably credit you the points when they get it fixed. It'll just show up in DH's account. If the card is closed... I'm not sure if they'll still deposit the points into his MR account or, and I've seen people mention this, Amex will send DH a check.

 

[elgerber]

Anyone know...Do annual passes bought at Sam’s earn anything through any shopping portals?

Rakutan said 1.5 but we shall see if it actually credits.

 

[wendow]

Sams Club Platinum Pass update!

Got the AP at the discounted rate with an expired Sams club membership. "Will Call" e-mail came 15 minutes after placing the order. Tried to link in MDE app and it said it could not do it and I had to go online. Went online and linked in less than 60 seconds.

The pass is 100% transferrable and it says it expires "12/31/30" in MDE. I can also use it to book FP+ right now. I know because I have a resort reservation in anticipation for SWGE after her AP expires and its letting me confirm FP+ selections 30-60 days out.

SO excited! Good luck everyone!

Where do you go on Sam's website to buy?

 

[miztressuz]

Quick question.... My son is AU on my dh's American Express cards, Now he just got his first American Express card in his name, Should he make a seperate sign in for his account? Or use the one he already has?

At this point it doesn't matter, he can do whatever is convenient for him. In the past when AmEx offers could be added per online account, then it'd make sense to keep cards separate. Now that they worked it out where it follows your personal details regardless, it's just a convenience factor.

 

[Alexle2007]

@WVMomof3 Any bacon at the Sheraton lounge breakfast? DS will be a camper if there is

 

[Lain]

Quoting myself. If I submit a Plastiq payment to my HELOC for 10k on my CFU that gets 1.5 UR's, I will get 15,225 UR's for $150 which is $0.00985 per point. Used for travel, they turn into 22,837 UR's on my CSR. Worth it? Am I missing something?

ETA, forgot about the whole chase personal card cash advance thing. This may not work as planned.

Effective 6/1/18 Plastiq announced some changes to using personal Visa credit cards, and many personal Visa cards will be treated as a cash advance, while some personal Visa cards will limit you to 20% of your credit limit. The following cards will not be affected:

• Capital One personal VISA credit card
• Visa business, corporate, debit, and prepaid cards
• American Express*, Mastercard, Discover & JCB cards

Cards that are affected can be found listed here: https://plastiq.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005215254

Cash advance issues aside, the issue that I see is you're trying to pay a HELOC via Plastiq using a Visa. Plastiq treats HELOCs like a mortgage, and Plastiq doesn't allow use of Visas to pay either. Do you have a MC that you could use?

 

[wenpop]

At this point it doesn't matter, he can do whatever is convenient for him. In the past when AmEx offers could be added per online account, then it'd make sense to keep cards separate. Now that they worked it out where it follows your personal details regardless, it's just a convenience factor.

thank you very much!!

 

[Judique]

A hoagie? Or a hero? For the record, both of those are wrong. If it comes on long French bread, it's a po'boy.

Grinder!

@Natgridenergy chimed in earlier with it.

 

[Haley R]

Linked our annual passes and just got on the road for Florida. Moving company was supposed to come 2-2:30 and surprise surprise they weren’t there. Guy who bought our house is there waiting for them