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

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

My experience with Chase with disputes hasn't been good. The denied legit charges on my Disney Visa in Europe due to suspected fraud, and then when there was actually a fraud charge from a hotel in Europe it took months to get it taken off. I'm not sure why I was using that card internationally since it has foreign transaction fees. It was our first trip overseas and I wasn't really into credit cards at that time. I can sympathize with you.

I guess I got lucky disputing w/ Chase. IHG got me to book a "vacation package" this summer. When they sold it to me, they told me I'd be staying on property. I googled the package and from what I read, (much like the Sheratons I had stayed at) people stayed on property. When I went to book the Myrtle Beach location, they told me I'd be staying at a Staybridge suites like 20 min from the beach. I called IHG first to dispute it. They claimed they would review the tape (from the call). I called Chase to start the process, and they managed to get the $249 back from IHG on my IHG Chase. The weird thing is IHG keeps calling me to book the package.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

I'm hoping you guys can help me. I'm no stranger to bargain hunting but I just never got into MS or CC flight points offers. My husband and I are planning a trip to Italy (basing out of Rome) in May 2020 and I am looking at flights. We live in Wilmington, NC and can fly out of Charlotte, Raleigh, Myrtle Beach or Charleston without too much extra time being added to the trip. Right now Expedia out of Raleigh seems my best bet. Is it even too late to play the points game? Id have to apply and meet the spend for whatever card. And what kind of trade off could I expect? If its too late to do or get a meaningful discount from playing the CC points game does anyone have a recommendation on where to buy tickets? Someone elsewhere suggested Googleflights and while they did give me different flight options their base prices were 30% more expensive than Expedia. Hoping for business class or better so that we can hopefully get some sleep on the flight. Also hoping for only one connection, preferably in the US so we only have to do customs once outbound. Thanks for any advice that can be offered.

Just waving hi! You're in my second home! I'm looking to buy a place in Atlantic Beach, Emerald Isle, or Topsail next year! I've flown into all of those tiny NC airports and love them

For your question, I know CLT is an AA hub. You might want to look into the Barlcay Biz or personal AA card as the spend is the easiest to hit, and it's a nice chunk of points.

 

[bernina]

Does anyone have experience taking the motherlode Junior from eBags on a spirit flight as your personal item? It wouldn’t be stuffed full, closer to the size of a regular backpack with just plane necessities.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Looks like almost 2 weeks to get in on this offer! I need to get my second Serve going. I can have both going, right? Or do I have to wait until one is shut down?

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/staples-no-purchase-fee-on-200-visa-gift-cards-11-3-11-16/

 

[havaneselover]

You know girl's soccer ranks higher in injuries! My daughter has played since she was 3 (12 seasons now). The first any only concussion she's had.....She got in gym class during "reindeer games". My son has played hockey since he was 3 ( 7 seasons now) and he broke his elbow at skateboard camp, and then his wrist when his sister stepped on it.

My point is injuries happen probably more often in life, LOL.

We had a 15 year old swimmer in our carpool quit swimming after a concussion. She hit her head on the wall. This is a kid whose been swimming year round for 8+ years.

But still as a football mom, it’s scary. But my son gets a lot out of playing.

 

[shmom]

I would take a look closely at the Expedia flights - for example if it is a Delta flight, it may be a KLM plane which has different classes of service then Delta. What I would do is use google flights - it is spot on the best way to put in flights. I also look for Rome out of Boston, NYC.. plus add all your surrounding airports. Doesn't American have a direct to Rome from Charlotte? I like Delta and I will only do Delta flights for the overnight portion - but that is personal preference. Another thing, price tickets into a hub like Dublin or AMS then you can catch a cheap flight from AMS to Rome. We are doing that in April.

 

[monkeydawn]

Just waving hi! You're in my second home! I'm looking to buy a place in Atlantic Beach, Emerald Isle, or Topsail next year! I've flown into all of those tiny NC airports and love them

For your question, I know CLT is an AA hub. You might want to look into the Barlcay Biz or personal AA card as the spend is the easiest to hit, and it's a nice chunk of points.

I love living here, weve been here 4 years now.

Thank you, I will look into those two cards.

I would take a look closely at the Expedia flights - for example if it is a Delta flight, it may be a KLM plane which has different classes of service then Delta. What I would do is use google flights - it is spot on the best way to put in flights. I also look for Rome out of Boston, NYC.. plus add all your surrounding airports. Doesn't American have a direct to Rome from Charlotte? I like Delta and I will only do Delta flights for the overnight portion - but that is personal preference. Another thing, price tickets into a hub like Dublin or AMS then you can catch a cheap flight from AMS to Rome. We are doing that in April.

Thank you for your advice on the Expedia flights, I am aware of the different service level. Honestly I am only concerned with the level on the longer flight and I did verify that wed have the lay flat seats on those.

The reason we arent looking to book non final destination flights is we dont have the extra time to add on to our trip to make those flights a less worrisome option. I am concerned that if the flights arent connected and the first flight is delayed causing us to miss a later flight then we would be out of luck. Its too stressful for me to consider without being able to leave an extra day in there to make sure that isnt an issue.

There is a direct to Rome from CLT but it was crazy expensive last I checked. It was more than half cheaper to go RDU-CLT-FCO, which I found weird.

 

[Alexle2007]

Does anyone have experience taking the motherlode Junior from eBags on a spirit flight as your personal item? It wouldn’t be stuffed full, closer to the size of a regular backpack with just plane necessities.

I feel like @disneymagicgirl or @amalone1013 has done this.

 

[amcc]

It’s embarrassing how little experience I have flying domestically (we usually drive). I’m booking flights to NYC as a Christmas gift for the family. We will be staying near Columbus Circle. Of NWR and LGA, which is preferable? I see that LGA has no lounges but I don’t think that will be the final deciding point - traffic, getting there (transit connections or Uber) and ease of security are more important. The flight is on a Sunday around 5 pm if that makes a difference.

 

[hsmamato2]

Someone probably already mentioned but according to doc you can convert your Ebates account to earning MRs. Not sure the pros/cons.

is this better than cashback?

 

[DisneyMandC]

My experience with Chase with disputes hasn't been good. The denied legit charges on my Disney Visa in Europe due to suspected fraud, and then when there was actually a fraud charge from a hotel in Europe it took months to get it taken off. I'm not sure why I was using that card internationally since it has foreign transaction fees. It was our first trip overseas and I wasn't really into credit cards at that time. I can sympathize with you.

@DaveL My experience with disputing a charge with Chase also has been poor. I had to dispute a charge a couple of years ago. The company (Budget rental cars) was very much in the wrong (super long story so won't detail that) but we rented the car through Priceline. It took MONTHS of me sending Chase documentation and calling them constantly. They initially reversed the charge but in the end, sided with Priceline/Budget. I was so furious I could have chewed up nails and spit out a barbed wire fence. It took everything in me not to cancel every Chase card we have. I do hope yours ends better.

Wow that's so weird. I've disputed two things with Chase before and had no problems. Just disputed a third thing yesterday with the girl that never sent us the saddle pad. The $175 is already back on my account. I'll be really interested to see if she has any response to Chase about why she didn't issue my refund. Fortunately I have everything in writing for the entire transaction with her on Facebook Messenger, so it would be pretty hard to get around. And I also have no problem putting her very successful (so far) business on blast on Facebook if need be.

Thoughts on a MVMCP...we *were* planning to go on Dec 15. We've only been to one party, ever, and that was a MVMCP back in 2014. I keep reading how busy the parties are and people are done with them and don't feel it's worth it. I'm so torn over what to do. My mom and stepdad are joining us on this trip. They've not been to wdw in 8-9 years and I talked my mom into doing the party. She's so excited about the parade and seeing the park decorated at night. There are parties 3 of our 4 nights there and I think the one night there is no party at MK is our Epcot night since dd is singing in the CP. I just don't know what to do. If it is going to be totally crazy, I need to talk my mom in a different direction but I know she will be disappointed. As will my kids. As will dh & I....

I think if you all want to do MVMCP that much then you should definitely do it! I really have enjoyed the parades and fireworks at both of the parties I've done, I just personally can't justify it for us going forward. If DH was telling me how much he loved the parties and wanted to do them though, then I would definitely be more inclined to keep paying for it.

FYI: Staples: No Purchase Fee On $200 Visa Gift Cards (11/3-11/16)

Wow, two weeks? Wish my Staples was closer... wonder how many times I can get over there.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I was very casually looking at new GMC Acadia's to possibly replace my Jeep which older daughter has been driving. Just starting a search and my searches are usually pretty detailed. I've looked at hybrids in the past but although Toyota is a great vehicle, our family has only owned one in all my life and that was a free one a neighbor was sending for scrap (a family member fixed it up and used it for 3 years). The Prius just never appealed.

The dealer had this one sitting up front and I asked 'what's that' casually. Took a look inside and left it be. Later on took DD up to look with me and we both liked all the features. Took it for a test drive and got a good price well below blue book, nada, etc and then just paid cash. Easier than messing with financing and I would have wanted to pay it off right away anyway. I didn't tell him how I was going to pay until he committed to a price, but I did ask how much on a credit card. I put the first $5K on a 2 % cash back card to get the cash back. Would have put the whole car on the card but they would only go 5K.

But, dealers lie. The salesman said the car had been on the lot 17 days. I saw it on the internet and it had '18 views in 7 days'. So he says to me, 'we just got this in. Only had it three days. These fly off the lot.' I guess he wanted me to feel like I was hopping on a deal. I think I got a deal, but the real deal is to pay a fair price and get a good product that performs. This was a corporate fleet car according to Carfax. Since it's rather small and small mileage, I can see it sitting in a corner while the corporate people drove the bigger offerings - just my imagination, but I'll take what they cast off. It was never a lease and only had the one corporate owner.

Haven't decided if I'll drive it to Florida. One of my friends had to drop off the trip, so there are just two of us. I am kind of liking the idea of 40+ MPG and cutting my fuel costs to a third.
And I've looked at all the options on the Kia website and haven't found remote start yet on the new ones. (I could have missed it.) Next will be to get out the manual. The key fob doesn't say start and the car has push button so I don't know what's going on. This was an option on my 'want' list so I'm really curious.

Not sure if yours is the same, but my SUV is controlled by an app (which is how I remote start -- you can also set the temp you want the car to be at when you get into the vehicle). The app has a lot of information -- I can also lock the doors, see mileage, where my car is, if it's locked, how much gas is in the tank, the routes I've driven, etc. Dd's is the same (controlled from the app).

 

[DisneyMandC]

It’s embarrassing how little experience I have flying domestically (we usually drive). I’m booking flights to NYC as a Christmas gift for the family. We will be staying near Columbus Circle. Of NWR and LGA, which is preferable? I see that LGA has no lounges but I don’t think that will be the final deciding point - traffic, getting there (transit connections or Uber) and ease of security are more important. The flight is on a Sunday around 5 pm if that makes a difference.

I've flown in to both and found distance/traffic to be comparable for both. I flew into LGA and then Ubered to downtown, and flew into EWR another time and Ubered to Time Square. Both ran me around $50. I sat in more traffic coming from LGA, but that was only because we were in prime morning rush hour time on a weekday. I feel like there might be a bunch of construction going around on LGA though, so maybe look into that? I don't keep up with any of that, but I thought I recalled someone saying that.

 

[hsmamato2]

So good news - I'm feeling substantially better! I dealt with a painful headache today but NOT related to my previous sinus issue so I'm good to go now! Still having a busy week at work so I've been quiet. (3 Loan closings in one week...things are going well on that front)

Saturday...We are headed to Universal!!!

My wife is having a good week so far. She was a little upset this evening but took her medicine and was able to get through packing and even spoke about how she's excited to ride E.T.

Of course I'm also REALLY excited about the FUTURE ROCK STAR SUITE that I had shared with you all earlier this year! So...I've been quiet, probably will be busy at work and quiet the next couple of days...and then headed to Orlando, lol! You'll have to carry on with out me, LOL!

Oh - other exciting news, WPIAL Football Playoffs start Friday! Another Strong season for my SF Lions (9-1) and I'm attending my 52nd consecutive game on Friday. (Yeah...we planned to fly out Saturday around the football game Friday). Also on that note, my parents are staying in FL and heading to Disney on Tues-Fri but flying back Friday around lunchtime to hopefully make a 2nd round playoff game... (we better win Friday!!)

can't wait to hear your UNI TR! have fun!

 

[hsmamato2]

So good news - I'm feeling substantially better! I dealt with a painful headache today but NOT related to my previous sinus issue so I'm good to go now! Still having a busy week at work so I've been quiet. (3 Loan closings in one week...things are going well on that front)

Saturday...We are headed to Universal!!!

My wife is having a good week so far. She was a little upset this evening but took her medicine and was able to get through packing and even spoke about how she's excited to ride E.T.

Of course I'm also REALLY excited about the FUTURE ROCK STAR SUITE that I had shared with you all earlier this year! So...I've been quiet, probably will be busy at work and quiet the next couple of days...and then headed to Orlando, lol! You'll have to carry on with out me, LOL!

Oh - other exciting news, WPIAL Football Playoffs start Friday! Another Strong season for my SF Lions (9-1) and I'm attending my 52nd consecutive game on Friday. (Yeah...we planned to fly out Saturday around the football game Friday). Also on that note, my parents are staying in FL and heading to Disney on Tues-Fri but flying back Friday around lunchtime to hopefully make a 2nd round playoff game... (we better win Friday!!)

can't wait to hear your UNI TR! have fun!

Thank you! We are so excited and also have no idea what to expect with it being our first cruise. Dh told me he’s gonna bring some of his books he bought at the library sale. I was shocked because he doesn’t ever want to read. I think he’s really planning on sitting and relaxing which he needs so it should be fun

on our HAL cruise my favorite spot was the crows nest....it was a huge room on the top/forward part of the ship,all windows for views,games to borrow and a giant LIBRARYYYY (i'm such a nerd that was my joy that week) I wasn't expecting that! IDK what ships have those tho since I only did it once.

 

[Explore]

@Judique - congrats on the new car! There must be something in the air. My mom (who has never purchased a new car in her life) bought a 2020 Prius Prime this week. She, too, is a little overwhelmed with all the new stuff, but I am sure it will be no time and you both will have it all figured out!

 

[Psychodisney]

I had some good (for me) AMEX offers this morning. Verizon Wireless! (Finally) $100 of $500. Levis, Dry Goods, Shutterfly and Von Maur.

 

[LB002]

Well I am back from my mini fall MNSSHP trip split between Contemporary and Beach Club and finally caught up with life and the DIS. I had a great time and the post Disney depression is setting in pretty hard. Knowing I already have two other trips planned in the near future helps a bit, but I still miss it!

Besides 10/23, it was VERY hot. I only had bad rain 1 day in Epcot. Sadly I was nowhere near any shelter and got drenched. I prevailed, but ended up skipping Epcot Forever. Wasn’t too upset based on some reports. I will have to see it in December.

This trip was also my first time visiting Batuu and experiencing MFSR since flights were crazy for AP previews. I had a great time! I also built an R2 droid. Sadly the R3 head I wanted was out of stock, but I got some accessories for my R2 and he is pretty cool. Got 2 Spira cards and the backpacks just arrived as I was building. They went up in price and I skipped the purchase since I won’t be carrying him back and forth to WDW. EEMH were AMAZING and will be greatly missed in future trips. I plan on attempting RotR during regular EMH in December. I will have to see how it works out.

MNSSHP was fun, BUT REALLY CROWDED. I’ve been to sold out parties before, but the crowds were larger than regular MK day admission. My night was sold out, but it was ok because the other parties had some pretty bad rain while I was down there. I had a relaxed itinerary and still got great spots for the fireworks and parade so I was happy. Also got a ton of candy that I checked in my FREE bag (Thanks JetBlue biz card )

Now the most important part… the food. I had cancelled Il Mulino ADRs so many times because it just didn’t work out. It was absolutely delicious. I ended up getting 3 full courses because I was so hungry and I do not regret it at all. The prices were also extremely affordable compared to other places in WDW. I even added it into my next trip. I also loved all my snacks/desserts, but the standouts were some favorites like the num num cookie, fried wontons at Y&Y, colossal pretzel in Pandora, and Sleepy Hollow waffle and new items like the Arendelle aqua cone, pepperoni spring rolls, and pumpkin spice milkshake. I also got temporary B&C, but it was just sad in comparison to what it should be. I recognized some regulars working the temporary location and they expressed how unhappy they were with the closure. Apparently the construction started weeks after the doors closed ☹

Walking through MCO with two laptops (YES, you heard me… two) in my “personal item” made me realize I need to get a new backpack for flying. I no longer want to physically wear one. I need something that sits nicely on my carry-on. Too bad the Amex Ebags offer is gone and I don’t have a Chase one. Considering the "Professional Flight Laptop Backpack:" https://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/professional-flight-laptop-backpack/348313 I know the Motherlode series is popular, but I didn’t see straps for it to sit on my suitcase?

Sounds like a great trip!

The motherload bags are intended more as a primary packing bag, but the professional backpack line as a personal item/laptop bag. They have the sleeve to go over the suitcase handle.

I've been eyeing the professional slim backpack. Even though its less elegant, it makes more sense for me, personally, to use a daypack that will double as an every day bag on our trip as my personal item. If I was still traveling for work often, I would have already jumped on the professional slim.

 

[Haley R]

They also have a second outlet by where they take pictures above the atrium on Deck 4.

We’ll have to keep our eye out for it. We’ll be on deck 9.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

It’s embarrassing how little experience I have flying domestically (we usually drive). I’m booking flights to NYC as a Christmas gift for the family. We will be staying near Columbus Circle. Of NWR and LGA, which is preferable? I see that LGA has no lounges but I don’t think that will be the final deciding point - traffic, getting there (transit connections or Uber) and ease of security are more important. The flight is on a Sunday around 5 pm if that makes a difference.

My sister used to live in NYC and now is in NJ. AVOID LGA LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!! Almost every single flight I've had out of there has been cancelled. I would say Newark! The hassle of getting there is well worth the headache you'll save.