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

[Lain]

And now you know WHY I booked it in the first place. First time there was in 2011 and I wanted to surprise my DD by staying there. I paid cash, but it was on an overnight layover on our way to Europe on points (first class) so it wasn't a total fail. Second time was when we were looking at colleges, and that one was booked through FHR. Now she says she doesn't even remember it.

FHR you say...?

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targ...-800-receive-16000-membership-rewards-points/

 

[mmmears]

FHR you say...?

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targ...-800-receive-16000-membership-rewards-points/

Yep. It was really nice because they gave us something like $100 for breakfast for two (and there were 3 of us) and at NYC prices in that hotel it was no problem spending it all. It was much more expensive the second time (was it the show?) but we stayed in "the towers" both times. The first one I booked, and the second trip I didn't pay for it but they gave it to me with the FHR upgrade thing. We rarely get upgraded even though they are supposed to upgrade you if possible. I kept looking for a good deal for our trip a few months ago but never found one, so we used the Hyatt points at the Park Hyatt (but knowing you, you already know that LOL).

 

[hsmamato2]

They have to have a standard room available to use a cert. Do you have a standard room points option? That's usually the easiest way to see if your cert will work. If not, and you think they have a standard room available for cash, you can try calling to book through their no blackout "guarantee". ( No actual guarantee you won't still get bonvoyed, but won't know until you try)

So... I thought I made this work....(sigh) I called in, got a helpful rep who booked the room I saw online using my free night....woohoo....not so fast..... I booked it for the day BEFORE I needed it (sigh) tried adjusting online,got the same 'no awards here' so I called back (thrre times) and no dice. (sigh,Bonvoyed) I'm guessing that the SAME room that they booked on the wrong date,and was still available,on the night I wanted, but it was Friday instead of a weeknight,which was what made it now unbookable via award nights. (sigh) When I inquired as to no blackout dates/ room is available online for cash, rep said that's just how it works.
Bleh. Oh well I found another place nearby that looks pretty nice for the night. Strange how it works now- I remember the old days when I saw it on Marriott,and could book on award b/c it was available on cash or whatever.

 

[disfanforlife]

Interesting I think there is a change in the winds with citi. I also just got denied. Had closed one citi biz but had biz #2 still open.

Oh no, that stinks! DH and I are both on our first. I’ll make sure to close each of ours before applying again. Won’t be able to do that until the end of September for us.

 

[bernina]

For those who may be on the fence about DVC (or have a SO that is), we had the exact concerns about being stuck with Disney. Two things tipped us (well mostly DH, I was always in but knew if he was in it actually did make some sense!):

1) crunching the numbers for the way we like to vacation at Disney. It’s not the cheapest way to vacation by far, but it is the cheapest for the way we choose to vacation there (always deluxe and at least 7 months in advance planning although I’ve gotten lucky twice with bookings within a few months, and should note only once was I not able to get a room and it’s for the less than 3 weeks out SWGE Preview).

2) the resale and rental markets. There is of course never a guarantee that it will remain how it is, but 27+ years in and they are still going strong. Even with new restrictions, resale contacts are in hot demand and go pretty quickly. Not ready to sell but need a few years off or want cash for a non Disney vacation? Point and confirmed reservation rentals are always snagged up if you offer a decent price ($15/pt is the average and can go up to $19 or $20+ for an in-demand resort/time). Don’t like to deal with people and contracts, several rental services exist that do all the dirty work and still pay quite well.

Bonus 3) Old Key West and Saratoga are almost always available a few months out (other than super peak times). We stayed at OKW for 5 nights and fell in love. I wasn’t sure how we’d like being so removed from the parks but it was so peaceful. I knew at that point that if I could only stay at our home (BRV) and OKW I’d be just fine. Sure I’d love to stay at all DVC resorts and probably will, but I’d be content with those two (we’ve been lucky to get AKL and HHI).

Sorry to ramble but I’ve felt the same as many of the folks on here and just wanted to share. I think similar things have been posted in the DVC PM but I wanted to share with our larger audience too.

And if you’re really interested in DVC ask @wendow to join the DVC focused PM.

 

[tink1970]

FHR you say...?

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targ...-800-receive-16000-membership-rewards-points/

Stop...I've done everything I could to get this on my personal/2 biz/ 3 AUs plats and...crickets...I'm hoping it will pop up in the next couple of days but I swear Amex knows I could use it.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Thanks for those stats @Andysol --I'm an outlier in about 3/4 of the categories. Over 50 females, unite

I’m in. Are we going to have snacks like the shunned corner?

I am going to watch the Veronica Mars episodes on Hulu this weekend. Kristen Bell was all for the VM reboot so I would assume if they wanted her voice for GG that she would be all for it! It is so nice when you see people eager to reprise earlier roles before they really hit their fame.

I started watching VM last weekend. Quickly found its way too adult to watch while DS is awake. Which during the summer is pretty much the same times I’m awake.

Barclays biz cards seem so YMMV. @bernina and @marsh0013 had their cards frozen with requests for business documentation, but others got the JetBlue and Aviator (AA) biz cards, met their MSRs and got their SUBs just fine without any of that mess. I think fortunately for @bernina and @marsh0013, neither of them put any or much spend on their cards before they were frozen.

If you don't mind the hard pull, it might be worth just trying for the card. The MSR is relatively low at only $1k and a purchase on an employee card for 75k AA miles. You might have no problems at all. If you do get a request for documentation, just request to close it right away instead of messing around with trying to get it reactivated. Since it's a biz card, it won't hit your credit report anyway and the only ding would be from the inquiry.

DH and I both managed to get one though after all the talk here, I was afraid mine wouldn’t work. I managed to get the bonus and add DS for the employee bonus.

Im bringing them everywhere lol. Well hopefully I have laid back easy going kids lol

One can always hope.

 

[kmc8826]

@Lain I agree with all of the above. My DH pretty much felt the same way as your wife but I think he finally just realized that I was right...we have gone long enough that it really did make sense. He jokes that we went on a walk and I was arguing a case to him pointing out everything...except like getting the cards he ultimately really did not care and trusted me. Buying in has been the best decision; again just wish I did it in 2005 when we took our first trip there as a married couple!

@bernina makes the excellent point that it is how you know you like to vacation. That is what matters. If for some reason it changes you can look at selling then. Even with my direct purchase of OKW last year I sold it at a slight gain...DVC while a timeshare is not your typical timeshare. And I agree if you don’t do direct (you know for those sweet credit card points) you should look for a subsidized Aulani. I have a friend that has one of those he bought last year and it really is the BEST deal.

Oh and as far as availability by stalking I have now managed to get at 5 months AKV one bedroom savanna view for 5 nights during second week of December. I guess it is not as easy as just booking what you want when you want but it is doable to book less than 7 months out at busy times.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

I’m in. Are we going to have snacks like the shunned corner?

Ooooh snacks are an excellent idea! I'd bring a good IPA or some tequila, but I'm not drinking this month Dry July, yippee. So I'll contribute a homemade non-dairy peach ice cream

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Ooooh snacks are an excellent idea! I'd bring a good IPA or some tequila, but I'm not drinking this month Dry July, yippee. So I'll contribute a homemade non-dairy peach ice cream

It’s almost August. Just sayin.

 

[calypso726]

Still playing catch up on the tread here

I've heard of this hotel thread... some jerk that runs it hasn't updated the index in ages...

sorry guys...I promise I'll get around to it eventually! I do love looking at that thread though and thinking about the places I could go!

Our group here is definitely not the norm among churners. I think the majority of our group here is outliers. Are we the island of misfit churners? Maybe...but we are WAY BETTER than any other churning group I participate in

Yup outlier here according to the stats @Andysol posted. Well it's the only group I participate in. I lurk on some of the others from time to time. I love our little island of misfit churners

Ahem... 1.2 million bonbon points And I have used like 210k of them this year so HAHA!

Well ya got me beat on BonBlah points. 1.2 million would be a lot of Al Maha trips That's a nice haul. Well done!

Love Actually, The Holiday, Miracle on 34th Street (with Richard Attenborough), It’s a Wonderful Life.

Christmas in July! Because the real one is still too far away.

I have 3 Christmas movies I must watch every year. Love Actually, When Harry Met Sally and Die Hard.

I’m at 815k. And that’s after I did (3) 7 night Flight and hotel packages last year. Unfortunately, that’s as high as it’ll ever be again because even staying at a Marriott for cash (work), I usually put it on a CSR as I value 3 UR > 6 Bonvoy. But it’s kind of a wash, which is ridiculous for a hotel card at the chain the hotel is. Whereas Hyatt @ 4x or Hilton Aspire at 14x are the clear choice while staying at those. RIP SPG cards

Bonvoy points are one of the few currencies I would actually consider not burning, only because they are so much harder to get than other currencies and I don’t believe it will be devalued further for a while. Then again... Marriott seems to have no limit when it comes to screwing their members, so maybe just burn them as quick as you can.

I agree with you on that. I wouldn't think twice about using the Aspire to pay for Hilton charges. Hopefully next year I can start playing with Hyatt.

I'm definitely not willing to sacrifice 3 UR for 6 BonBlah points. I keep the Brilliant and the Business card because I do value the free nights. I redeem them easily for a value that is greater than the AF and could always use some more. I did put the business card back in the wallet and use it for gas at 4x. It's my way of keeping Amex happy by spending on the card every month and slowly building up more points to use for a future Al Maha stay. I'm about 7,000 points shy for a 5 night stay. By the time I'm ready to go back, those will be in the bag.

 

[wendow]

Wait, what? @wendow bought into DVC? When did this happen?!




When DW and I got married in the spring of 2012, we did a mini-moon at Aulani. It had just opened the summer before so it was brand new, and we did a DVC tour. Oh man, I remember having that same conversation with DW that we didn't want to be locked into Disney vacations, who knows where we'll want to travel in the next few years, and what about kids. Seven years later, we're still going to the Disney parks and staying at Aulani over the holidays going on 4 years. I'm sure the points would've been a heck of a lot cheaper 7 years ago, even direct.

@speedyfishy is right!! We took the dvc plunge as well. And I couldn’t be happier and more relieved. I’ve been asking dh since 2011 for dvc only to be met with arguments about the cost, not having the money and being locked into Disney vacations. Welp, we could have paid for our contract many years ago and I don’t see an end to Disney vacations on the horizon.

 

[disfanforlife]

@Lain I agree with all of the above. My DH pretty much felt the same way as your wife but I think he finally just realized that I was right...we have gone long enough that it really did make sense. He jokes that we went on a walk and I was arguing a case to him pointing out everything...except like getting the cards he ultimately really did not care and trusted me. Buying in has been the best decision; again just wish I did it in 2005 when we took our first trip there as a married couple!

That’s what happened with us. After me talking and trying to convince DH he eventually just said I trust you, you’ve done the research. The only regret we ever had was not doing it sooner and not buying more points than we have.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

It might depend on the car rental company? I know I reserved a car at Alamo through Costco, put DH as primary driver and me as the free 2nd driver, but when we went to pick it up and I whipped out my CSR they said they had to change the rental agreement to be me as the primary driver to match the name on the credit card. So they did, and the rental car ended up getting hit (other driver's fault, I had parked and wasn't even in the car), but I'm still waiting to hear how that all shakes out. I have started a claim with Chase's Card Benefit Services in case Alamo decides to come after me.

I have done chat with Costco, they gave me the Costco code which I can now enter at Alamo and the second driver is included. I can pay with my CC and have 2nd driver. This won’t work when I’m using UR as there is nowhere to enter the code.

 

[Haley R]

That’s what happened with us. After me talking and trying to convince DH he eventually just said I trust you, you’ve done the research. The only regret we ever had was not doing it sooner and not buying more points than we have.

The thing with us is neither of us actually want it that bad.

 

[wendow]

It’s also funny to me that my dh fought me for 8 years about dvc and then all of a sudden, something I said clicked and he literally turns to me and says, “why didn’t we do this before?”

 

[disfanforlife]

The thing with us is neither of us actually want it that bad.

Well, then, you have your answer. It’s not right for everyone. If I lived in Florida I might not want it either. I live in NY.

 

[punkin]

Finally got DH to call Chase and lower his available credit in anticipation of a CIT app next month.

 

[mefordis]

My sister is taking a 2 week vacation out west. I am booking some of her hotels through the Marriott app, and paying for them. Do you think I'll get Elite night credit for those hotel stays? I book them, then call the hotel and add her name. She checks in with her family and it goes on my credit card.

What do you guys think?

 

[wendow]

Well, then, you have your answer. It’s not right for everyone. If I lived in Florida I might not want it either. I live in NY.

I actually think owning dvc in Florida would be awesome. Being able to take advantage of all the one and two nights I see available would be amazing. We’re too far and need more planning to take advantage as much.