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

[hsmamato2]

For other UR options, there is the Freedom Unlimited, flat 1.5UR/$. It's the card I give my wife and tell her, "If it's not food, use this one." And the Chase Ink Preferred is always a favorite, it's one of the two cards I'm targeting for when I get under 5/24. The other is in the whole other ballgame of AMEX MR, the Blue Business Plus. 2MR/$ on the firsts $50,000. Should pair very nicely with one of the charge cards, which one depends on where your organic spend is.

I also have the Hilton Honors AMEX, but have a hard time using the points, I just can't bring myself to use 25,000 points for a Hilton Garden Inn or Hampton. I did get a very nice upgrade out of being a cardholder in Chicago. $1100/nt hotel suite for $150. I've been told that Hyatt is a better option, if they cover everywhere you travel to. Marriott has been horrible from what I've seen since the SPG merger was finalized. Have also heard some very good things about Omni if they are in the areas you travel to regularly.

IDK maybe I'm weird but my Hilton points were so easy to get I have o problem at all using them in large chunks...... I like the FU card for casual spending too....b/c I value an UR I can get into my stash!

 

[hsmamato2]

So I tried a Shack Shack burger for the first time this week, and I have to say I'm not a fan. Everything was very fresh. The leafy lettuce looked picture perfect. The sliced tomato were very juicy. The potato bun felt moist and warm. But the hamburger patty, which I always consider the whole point of a cheese/hamburger, was way too mushy. I prefer patties with a bit more substance and structure. Whatever meat they use for the patty was just too soft – juicy and fresh, but again too mushy.

I also tried their chicken sandwich. The chicken breast was thick, well battered and crispy, perfectly cooked, and juicy. Loved the taste of the pickles and the buttermilk herb mayo together. It felt very cool and fresh and was a nice balance to the fried chicken. It was messy though! The chicken and lettuce were sliding around between the bun and the sauce got all over the wrapper and my fingers. I'd say Shake Shack's chicken sandwich is better than Popeyes which I tried recently, but not better Bakesale Betty's in Oakland.

To bring it back on topic, I did use my Amex Gold $10 dining credit.

Shake Shack menu as far as I'm concerned..... Milkshake and Fries with the cheese sauce for dipping. That is all.

 

[hsmamato2]

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I hear you....I'm in the position of wishing I had "invested" more money into NE tix back when I could have, but didn't want to set aside so much money.... But I would have done what you've done,and stretched them out for twenty years if I had! As it is, I still have some entitlements to water parks on an old NE ticket I haven't yet used.... I can't bring myself to want that much right now from Disney. SInce my DH won't hear of DVC,it's not a consideration for me anyway. Enjoy your trips, it's rare to find a 'deal' like that nowadays!

quoting myself b/c I think it's hilarious to call a dvc purchase an investment..... and I know I've seen this argued (most entertaining) back and forth for years around these boards.... That said I fully 100% understand it's the only timeshare where it's still has some sell value after you use it for whatever amount of time you keep it....(Our fam had to sell a contract a few years back) I'm guessing if our fam had kept it, we would still be using it and having fun,but I don't miss it overall. except for @Judique plan. That I like.

 

[disfanforlife]

I hear you....I'm in the position of wishing I had "invested" more money into NE tix back when I could have, but didn't want to set aside so much money.... But I would have done what you've done,and stretched them out for twenty years if I had! As it is, I still have some entitlements to water parks on an old NE ticket I haven't yet used.... I can't bring myself to want that much right now from Disney. SInce my DH won't hear of DVC,it's not a consideration for me anyway. Enjoy your trips, it's rare to find a 'deal' like that nowadays!

Me too on that! I wish I bought more of the NE tix too, but they seems so expensive back then . Now it seems like it would have been a bargain. I do have a couple of them too. Plus a couple that are partially used. Yes, I am a bit of a ticket hoarder. Every time I heard tix prices were going up I bought an extra set......did that for a few years when we first bought in DVC. Been using them slowly for our kids. DH and I have Aps.

 

[happ]

I logged into Amex today and there was a message telling me that I'm pre-approved for the Gold card. Maybe I'm out of pop-up jail.

 

[Judique]

Oh the SS one! Every couple months I get that call so be prepared for it to be the norm. At first the voicemail did sound a bit threatening- and I feel bad for the people who fall for the scam- but at this point I just laugh. Yeah buddy, you go ahead and “shut down my social security number” good luck with that!

Yes, that's the one and my first. Also included was 'initiate lawsuit against you if you don't call back immediately'. They used 'suspend my SS number'.

I'm not even drawing SS yet.

 

[Judique]

So I tried a Shack Shack burger for the first time this week, and I have to say I'm not a fan. Everything was very fresh. The leafy lettuce looked picture perfect. The sliced tomato were very juicy. The potato bun felt moist and warm. But the hamburger patty, which I always consider the whole point of a cheese/hamburger, was way too mushy. I prefer patties with a bit more substance and structure. Whatever meat they use for the patty was just too soft – juicy and fresh, but again too mushy.

I also tried their chicken sandwich. The chicken breast was thick, well battered and crispy, perfectly cooked, and juicy. Loved the taste of the pickles and the buttermilk herb mayo together. It felt very cool and fresh and was a nice balance to the fried chicken. It was messy though! The chicken and lettuce were sliding around between the bun and the sauce got all over the wrapper and my fingers. I'd say Shake Shack's chicken sandwich is better than Popeyes which I tried recently, but not better Bakesale Betty's in Oakland.

To bring it back on topic, I did use my Amex Gold $10 dining credit.

Love that you brought this up! I'm going to use my credit today. Thought I had but when I checked my account, I'd used September but not October. And I'm going for the chicken sandwich. The closest one to me is at the MGM Casino at National Harbor, but I won't be giving them any money as I've worn out my budget this month already. I've had the burger and I was able to eat half of their smallest and I liked it okay. I actually think my favorite burgers are the ones I cook to order at home, and seasoned the way I prefer.

Double checked my Amex statements as they close mid month on the 15th, which makes it a little more difficult to just look and see if I've had my monthly credit.

 

[ten6mom]

I'm so glad everyone on here is savvy (as I would expect this group to be) about phone scams, be it "suspending your social security number" or others. We get a LOT of phone calls at work reporting these calls and I'm grateful we do and that most folks seem to realize it's fishy and don't give any information.

Please please be sure to tell your friends and family (especially the older ones, at whom these mostly seem to be directed) never to give any information to anyone who calls them!

Oh, and the police won't tell you they're coming to arrest you on warrants, either!

In spending news, I need to have my TPMS checked and possibly old sensors replaced. The car is 12 years old and they're getting all wonky. But it will be at least another 2 weeks before I may have a new card to spend on. Ahhhhh the frustrations of credit card bonuses!

 

[Judique]

SS never calls like that, is my understanding. Any communication will come via mail.

Exactly. Same with IRS. Unless you are in contact with them over a resolution - I've had real calls but this was years ago and initiated by me to begin with.

 

[Lain]

For all of you whose Chase applications are pending this weekend, I leave you with this:

Enjoy the weekend and check back Monday morning. Overnight approvals happen.

 

[Lain]

And for those with reluctant spouses...

 

[bernina]

For all of you whose Chase applications are pending this weekend, I leave you with this:

Enjoy the weekend and check back Monday morning. Overnight approvals happen.

This is me waiting on CIP approval from Friday application!! LOVE this!

 

[Judique]

I hear you....I'm in the position of wishing I had "invested" more money into NE tix back when I could have, but didn't want to set aside so much money.... But I would have done what you've done,and stretched them out for twenty years if I had! As it is, I still have some entitlements to water parks on an old NE ticket I haven't yet used.... I can't bring myself to want that much right now from Disney. SInce my DH won't hear of DVC,it's not a consideration for me anyway. Enjoy your trips, it's rare to find a 'deal' like that nowadays!

Thanks! I was in a good position at the time to grab some tickets. So happy I did that. Both DVC and tickets were/are not an investment, but they have proven to be a good hedge against inflation and I guess if I sold and pocketed more money than I initially paid, I could probably stretch the truth a bit by calling it an investment. However, most people don't talk as much about the dues, just the selling price.

The people making out are the people who've bought contracts just to rent out, so much so that DVC has been known to send out warning letters. I got one for renting one year - I was warned because my contracts were bought under the cast member discount. I only rented the one year because I had to cancel my trip, but I had maybe 4 or 5 people doing small point trips. They mentioned in the letter that Disney doesn't take kindly to people putting themselves in competition with the company. And renting is not prohibited until you exceed something like 20 rentals and start looking commercial. So I was very surprised to get the letter. Around the same time, the DIS tightened up on their rental board guidelines.

 

[Judique]

Yes, you can buy an extra Gold AP and hold the voucher indefinitely. Technically If you add it to MDE it says that it expires in 2030 but that is because that is the furthest out date in the system ( at least that is what I was told). I had some in my MDE like that before I used them. I also have more stashed away ( physical cards) for future use that I bought while I was on property. I haven’t added them to my MDE because I have a current AP and didn’t want to have any more APs on there at the same time. But that is just me, I know other people have multiple passes stored on their profiles.

I have the ap's on the MDE but not my 10 day no expiry tickets. I've got to figure out how to keep the originals from being used. maybe buying on property and using it before adding to MDE? I could care less about fast passes - usually I look at them the night before I go to a park, if I want to ride Buzz or Toy story or the safari.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

For all of you whose Chase applications are pending this weekend, I leave you with this:

Enjoy the weekend and check back Monday morning. Overnight approvals happen.

 

[Judique]

I'm so glad everyone on here is savvy (as I would expect this group to be) about phone scams, be it "suspending your social security number" or others. We get a LOT of phone calls at work reporting these calls and I'm grateful we do and that most folks seem to realize it's fishy and don't give any information.

Please please be sure to tell your friends and family (especially the older ones, at whom these mostly seem to be directed) never to give any information to anyone who calls them!

Oh, and the police won't tell you they're coming to arrest you on warrants, either!

In spending news, I need to have my TPMS checked and possibly old sensors replaced. The car is 12 years old and they're getting all wonky. But it will be at least another 2 weeks before I may have a new card to spend on. Ahhhhh the frustrations of credit card bonuses!

Costco replaces these and for a much more reasonable cost then I was quoted at Good Year.

 

[ten6mom]

Costco replaces these and for a much more reasonable cost then I was quoted at Good Year.

They're about $82 each plus minimum 1 hour (to run the diagnostic) labor at the dealership, plus of course whatever labor time to actually replace. Discount Tire (do they have those near you?) is $60 each, installed.

The nice thing is, there is a brand new Discount Tire less than 3 miles from my house! I am on the far south end of town so it's nice to have a business near me!

 

[Judique]

They're about $82 each plus minimum 1 hour (to run the diagnostic) labor at the dealership, plus of course whatever labor time to actually replace. Discount Tire (do they have those near you?) is $60 each, installed.

The nice thing is, there is a brand new Discount Tire less than 3 miles from my house! I am on the far south end of town so it's nice to have a business near me!

The price may depend on the tire - I truly don't know - but local Costco's price was in the low $40ties. And, you will possibly need 5, as the spare needs to work also. On my jeep (2009) I had one blow out the side of the tire. I had the tires replaced and had them install the old style stems and ditched the TPM's. This was before an even newer law then the one that gave us the Tire Pressure monitoring system came into effect where the repair centers are required now by law to replace defective sensors, and cannot bypass with old style stems. I think this particular safety system is bogus. Light comes on - on your dash - who runs to replace it unless the tire is flat? Usually temperature change will lower tire pressure and the light comes on. Put air in, light may or may not go off. Light always on -could be a bad spare sensor, but you don't know and your system won't work until you fix it. Costs too much extra money.

 

[WVMomof3]

The price may depend on the tire - I truly don't know - but local Costco's price was in the low $40ties. And, you will possibly need 5, as the spare needs to work also. On my jeep (2009) I had one blow out the side of the tire. I had the tires replaced and had them install the old style stems and ditched the TPM's. This was before an even newer law then the one that gave us the Tire Pressure monitoring system came into effect where the repair centers are required now by law to replace defective sensors, and cannot bypass with old style stems. I think this particular safety system is bogus. Light comes on - on your dash - who runs to replace it unless the tire is flat? Usually temperature change will lower tire pressure and the light comes on. Put air in, light may or may not go off. Light always on -could be a bad spare sensor, but you don't know and your system won't work until you fix it. Costs too much extra money.

My Tpms light has been on for about 6 years. I took it to dealer and they claimed they fixed it. By putting air in the tires. I was so mad. At that time it randomly came on and off. I told them that would not fix it and they didn’t listen to me and said well the lights off so it is good. On drive home light came back on. I brought it in about a year later for something else completely and they tell me do you know your tpms light is on. No #%&! Still did not fix it then either. So I gave up on it. I hate my local dealer with a passion.

 

[striker1064]

You can still trick nYNAB but you’d have to create a dummy entry with today’s date or earlier in order to have that money available for future month budgeting.