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

[calypso726]

Oh, I forgot I only shared in our DVC PM group. I passed ROFR on a 100 point Grand Californian contract a few weeks ago? I paid a ridiculous $199 a point because SO didn’t let me negotiate but it will pay for itself.

Confession: I'm a little jelly but absolutely thrilled for you on the VGC contract. I'm still sitting on the fence about adding on again and VGC is where I'd want.

 

[Alexle2007]

Yes, February, but no not anywhere near Cairns, unfortunately --just Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmania and lots of places in NZ. DH and I agreed we really couldn't be gone from the dogs longer than 3 weeks (and we're missing DD's first college Spring Break so there's already some drama).

Ah, you are going in the opposite direction we did. We did Sydney, Brisbane (the Gold Coast along with Coffs Harbour also), Cairns and the Daintree Rainforest when we went for our honeymoon. I can’t wait to take DS in the next couple of years. It’s just figuring out when since I really don’t want to go during their winter again. (We were there in July and Sydney was a bit a cool but the wine country outside Sydney was down right cold and we checked out of our hotel early because the room was freezing!)

 

[speedyfishy]

Confession: I'm a little jelly but absolutely thrilled for you on the VGC contract. I'm still sitting on the fence about adding on again and VGC is where I'd want.

Do it lol!! I’ll trade you my VGC contract for all of yours lol

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

@ten6mom is off to a fantastic start as a churner

 

[mmmears]

Quoting myself in hopes of more opinions

I know, that AF is just so high. Bleh. I'm trying to weigh the positives against the AF.

My questions today--

1. Should dh PC his CSP to a CF or a CFU? I know the math on opening one of those cards points to the CF. Do you think it's the same with a PC? He'll only carry two cards at the most.
2. What AMEX would be best for him to start with? I haven't checked in a couple months to see if we can pull up a 100K Plat offer for him. If it isn't there, would you start at the 75K incognito offer (assuming it's available)? If that's not available, is another personal AMEX better? He will not go for a business card at this time.
3. CIP2 or CIC for me? We are currently 40K UR from being able to book everything we can on points for Australia Sept/Oct. Or should I use the AA biz mailer or email code I have? I don't know if I want to further diversify our points yet because I don't know what we'll be doing in 2021.

Thanks for taking a second (or first) look I'll need to get dh's new card soon for a big ol' United airlines spend.

I totally agree on the AF being high, especially since Amex makes it so hard to get the travel credits out, unlike the CSR card. It would get your DH into the lounge, though. If you can pull the 100K offer I think it's worth it. 75 isn't awful either. I agree with the PP about the Gold being the next best thing. That card makes it so easy for me to get points since it gives 4x on groceries and dining. I use it more than my plat these days.

Very true. DH and I saw a noticeable drop in our disposable income with kid #1 and then a significant drop with kid #2. Daycare is our #1 expense, ahead of an incredibly high rent in the bay area already. But of course, we wouldn't change a thing.

Yep, everything costs more here. A friend is looking to relocate in Atlanta and just came back waxing poetically about the price of gasoline and even food items at the Whole Foods there. Activities are more here, as is private school. We've just rounded the corner on all of it and even without college tuition and all the rest we don't feel any richer. I think the HCOL just makes it tough. This points game is awesome because otherwise I know we couldn't travel even half as much as we are doing now.

DH would rather eat tacos with me at home than go to Timberline alone

#truelove

That's so sweet! True love, indeed!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

A couple people on Reddit seem to have gotten them as well. How... odd. I concur with @SouthFayetteFan my first thought was maybe a misclasification of the tax year of bonus/es received in Dec/Jan. I really don’t know what else it could be at this point- unless you see even a small typo on your 1099? But that wouldn’t require re-filing your taxes... If they’re charging the value of URs a ton more people ought to be getting the letter in the next couple days.

I don’t actually remember saying this - but I might have thought it. You’re now agreeing with my thoughts in my brain... this just got creepy in a fun way

 

[mmmears]

Ah, you are going in the opposite direction we did. We did Sydney, Brisbane (the Gold Coast along with Coffs Harbour also), Cairns and the Daintree Rainforest when we went for our honeymoon. I can’t wait to take DS in the next couple of years. It’s just figuring out when since I really don’t want to go during their winter again. (We were there in July and Sydney was a bit a cool but the wine country outside Sydney was down right cold and we checked out of our hotel early because the room was freezing!)

We did Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Cairns (day trips to the reef and also to the Daintree Rainforest which was amazing) and NZ, but it was our winter, their summer. Sydney was sometimes warm sometimes hot but beautiful, NZ was not really all that warm, and Cairns was pretty hot and humid. We were in Sydney for xmas, NYE, and Boxing Day. I'd love to go back some day!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

@calypso726 - you can’t fangirl at your mentions when you’re the one that everybody is “fangirling” over in the first place!! LOL!

 

[Alexle2007]

We did Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Cairns (day trips to the reef and also to the Daintree Rainforest which was amazing) and NZ, but it was our winter, their summer. Sydney was sometimes warm sometimes hot but beautiful, NZ was not really all that warm, and Cairns was pretty hot and humid. We were in Sydney for xmas, NYE, and Boxing Day. I'd love to go back some day!

We did the Great Barrier Reef out of the Cairns area up in Port Douglass. It was absolutely amazing! We would probably end up going around that same time as you did since DS has 2 1/2 weeks off for Christmas break so we wouldn’t need to extend that much longer. The only other option is really Aug and I don’t think the weather would be that much better than July.

Our shuttle driver was telling us about how the harbor pretty much got destroyed when they had to make the harbor deep enough for the foreign naval ships during one of WWs. It was kind of sad.

 

[amcc]

Question about the Amex Plat airline credit. I designated AA as my airline. I will use $120 on checking 2 suitcases to Europe. My flight has a layover in Charlotte and all the legs are on one itinerary. Please bear with my dumb questions - I've flown alot internationally but I've never had a stop on my way - Miami has great direct flights out of here. Will I pay for the luggage in Miami or in Charlotte?

Then, on the way back, we have a 5 hr stop in LHR. First leg is BA then back home on a codeshare with AA planes. Is there any way I can get the Amex credit to cover the luggage on the way back? Am I correct in thinking that I would purchase luggage in Munich and it would be through BA? Can I change my Amex airline to BA easily? If not, I guess I will spend $80 on booze and headphones

OAN, one of the best parts of this group (and disboards) is that they are sort of "crowd sourced" so when any of you give advice, the receiver of that advice has a whole army of people who are vetting that advice based on their own knowledge and experience. That provides HUGE comfort but at the same time, every one of us has to come into this hobby with the knowledge that there is risk - risk of running up debt, risk of 1099, risk of changing rules, etc...and no one is responsible for the risk "I" choose to assume. The advice is invaluable, kindly and generously given, and hugely entertaining in between . So THANK YOU to anyone who helps others.

 

[Psychodisney]

Did anyone other than me get an email from Plastiq asking for a completed W9 “to continue providing a payout on referral activity going forward”?
The only person I ever referred was DH last year.
So now Plastiq is going to 1099 the bonus FFD?

 

[wed100105]

As @SouthFayetteFan mentioned, there are still ways to extract the cash value of the Amex airline fee credit on paid flights, particularly if you have Southwest, Delta, or JetBlue selected as your airline. I'll be putting an entry into the refreshed News & Discussion thread sometime today.

Where can I find this information? TIA

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Did anyone other than me get an email from Plastiq asking for a completed W9 “to continue providing a payout on referral activity going forward”?
The only person I ever referred was DH last year.
So now Plastiq is going to 1099 the bonus FFD?

That seems ridiculous...their referrals only have value in waiving their fees. Seems like a discount... plus, to eclipse the $600 threshold you’d have to exceed 23 referrals in a year. I wonder if it’s just an extra layer of verifying people...

 

[afan]

Question about the Amex Plat airline credit. I designated AA as my airline. I will use $120 on checking 2 suitcases to Europe. My flight has a layover in Charlotte and all the legs are on one itinerary. Please bear with my dumb questions - I've flown alot internationally but I've never had a stop on my way - Miami has great direct flights out of here. Will I pay for the luggage in Miami or in Charlotte?

Then, on the way back, we have a 5 hr stop in LHR. First leg is BA then back home on a codeshare with AA planes. Is there any way I can get the Amex credit to cover the luggage on the way back? Am I correct in thinking that I would purchase luggage in Munich and it would be through BA? Can I change my Amex airline to BA easily? If not, I guess I will spend $80 on booze and headphones

OAN, one of the best parts of this group (and disboards) is that they are sort of "crowd sourced" so when any of you give advice, the receiver of that advice has a whole army of people who are vetting that advice based on their own knowledge and experience. That provides HUGE comfort but at the same time, every one of us has to come into this hobby with the knowledge that there is risk - risk of running up debt, risk of 1099, risk of changing rules, etc...and no one is responsible for the risk "I" choose to assume. The advice is invaluable, kindly and generously given, and hugely entertaining in between . So THANK YOU to anyone who helps others.

If you are booked all the way through you pay your baggage fee at the start, so Miami and Munich to your destination, it's the beauty of a codeshare flight or flying the same airline all the way through. It's no different than flying domestic with a plane change.

 

[Lain]

 

[wendow]

At timberline. Love this benefit! Sad we’re losing this on Amex. Really making me consider PC’ing something to a CSR!

 

[platamama]

Question about the Amex Plat airline credit. I designated AA as my airline. I will use $120 on checking 2 suitcases to Europe. My flight has a layover in Charlotte and all the legs are on one itinerary. Please bear with my dumb questions - I've flown alot internationally but I've never had a stop on my way - Miami has great direct flights out of here. Will I pay for the luggage in Miami or in Charlotte?

Then, on the way back, we have a 5 hr stop in LHR. First leg is BA then back home on a codeshare with AA planes. Is there any way I can get the Amex credit to cover the luggage on the way back? Am I correct in thinking that I would purchase luggage in Munich and it would be through BA? Can I change my Amex airline to BA easily? If not, I guess I will spend $80 on booze and headphones

OAN, one of the best parts of this group (and disboards) is that they are sort of "crowd sourced" so when any of you give advice, the receiver of that advice has a whole army of people who are vetting that advice based on their own knowledge and experience. That provides HUGE comfort but at the same time, every one of us has to come into this hobby with the knowledge that there is risk - risk of running up debt, risk of 1099, risk of changing rules, etc...and no one is responsible for the risk "I" choose to assume. The advice is invaluable, kindly and generously given, and hugely entertaining in between . So THANK YOU to anyone who helps others.

International Main Cabin flights on AA to Europe include 1 checked bag per ticket (Basic Economy does charge $60 for the 1st bag). You would pay for luggage in Miami and it will be checked all the way through to your destination (as long as your layover in CLT doesn't exceed 12 hours).

I'm afraid that you won't be able to change your Plat airline credit until 2020 if you've already used part of the credit. If you haven't used it, and want to switch it to BA then that might be possible with a phone call or chat. Yes, you'd purchase luggage in MUC and if your ticket says BA then the charge will be to BA. International flights on BA also include 1 checked bag per ticket.

Also, if you are flying business or first or have status, you may get more complimentary checked bags.

If you are traveling in the next couple of months, you should be aware that the BA pilots are planning on striking. Today made it official. That would be something to keep a close eye on.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

.

 

[ten6mom]

And now I'm gonna faint!!

Seriously though, thank you. I am trying hard! I am CERTAINLY spending lots of money! Eeek! Just being careful not to overextend myself.

I have permission to TRY for a P2 but in all honesty he's not optimistic about the chances of his getting approved for anything due to his credit/spending habits. As soon as I am close to finishing the MSR on that CitiAA, we will try and see what happens.

Oh, and thanks to all upthread who talked about the Equifax data breach thing. I had heard about it but never really did anything. It says both my husband and I were affected, so I filled out the "form" for both of us. No time spent repairing or working on it, so I guess I just sit and wait now?

 

[Lain]

Where can I find this information? TIA

DISchurners.