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

[elgerber]

I was looking at it because when my daughter was brought into hospital in Colorado last year after the car accident, she was wearing a pair of diamond studs. One of the procedures involved removing all jewelry and someone took possession of her earrings. There were 4 patients - DD, Dsil and 2 grands and only 3 family members to help out, so she wasn't able to or maybe even conscious enough to give them to family. They were gone from her possessions later on and there was no accountability for them.

So I've been looking at studs and this caught my eye.

How are they all doing now?

 

[miztressuz]

Ok..... just verifying.... I found a cruise I'm going to try to convince Dh to take with me (I'll never understand reluctant travelers) it'a NCL... if I book from their site,I can then turn around,call chase UR,and transfer it via phone that easily,and use UR to pay it off? Nothing else I need to know to do this? Or should I call chase first to see if they can match the ncl site price first? my goal is to use UR for as much as possible here. thanks

The Chase cruise department can get you the price you see on NCL. There are only 2 reasons to book with NCL first
1. You want to pay part of the cost with a non UR earning CC
2. You want to delay spending your UR points

Do you want to do either of these things?

If you do then you would book with NCL, call Chase to get a travel agent and their info (verify you can pay with UR at final payment, if that's what you're looking for), then request that NCL release the booking to Chase using their form which requires a TA name and phone number. It's simple, just not as simple as transferring over the phone. My reservation was transferred same day I submitted the form. You have 30 days from initial booking to transfer.

If you don't, just call up Chase and book through them. Tell them the cruise you're looking at and verify the price. Should be the same, if not tell them what you see and they should be able to find that.

 

[Haley R]

@Haley R

You have to go into your Membership rewards to see whether you're targeted for the transfer bonus for HH

1) login to American Express
2) on the right there is your MR total and under that, a bar that says Explore Rewards-click on that
3) you're then on the MR page-the 5th tab over says "transfer points" with an arrow, click on that
4) there will be "featured" with a couple of offers (I currently have bonuses to transfer to Jet Blue and Flying Blue) and above it "View All"
5) all of the loyalty programs you have linked your account to will be listed, then under that airlines you've not linked and then hotels (my hilton has the 40% bonus). This is where you see your bonus for transfer, no under Amex Offers.


I know you feel that URs are the way to go and just playing with dates from MCO to LHR, if you're flying economy then you're correct. Having flown multiple, multiple times to the UK in business and first, if you think that's a good way to utilize points, I would respectfully disagree. MCO-LHR is going to be 1 stop on Virgin, Delta, Aer Lingus, American, British Air, TAP. MRs transfer (often with bonuses) to Virgin, Delta, British Air, and Aer Lingus. Taxes and fees to the UK are still high so factor those in when you're planning to pay for your trip.

I double checked and we don’t have the Hilton bonus on our Amex.

So here are my thoughts about why we want to do chase instead of Amex:
1. We’ve both gotten the pop up although that was only when we tried for Hilton cards. 2. We already have 400k URs and will likely have much more by the time we’re ready to book flights.
3. We only have 32k MRs and I’m not sure we would get nearly enough to book 3 business class seats by next summer.
4. If we transfer Amex to Hilton we can utilize our gold benefits. If we booked through chase we wouldn’t get that

Are you saying there’s no hope booking through chase or that hoping for nonstop is the issue?

I’m open to trying Amex but only if we have a real chance at getting enough points by next summer. Otherwise I’d like to stick with chase

 

[Haley R]

I had a bunch of MRs before I had any idea what to do with them. And then Delta offered the double mile vacation packages and I cashed out my MRs got some amazing savings on 2 separate vacations. 6k worth of travel expenses for 3k worth of MRs. It’s always smart to diversify your points if you want to play the game even if you don’t have a set in stone plan for them especially if the opportunity is there!

The problem is I’m not sure we would be able to get enough MRs by next summer to get 3 business class seats. We only have 32k, but we have 400k URs and should be getting quite a few more here soon. I also was thinking about getting the CSR for myself next year. I’m still open to trying Amex it just seems like a long shot to get that many points in such short of time. It also feels like our chase points would just be wasting away in our account when we could be using them instead

If you have any ideas I’m very open to them

 

[Limes96]

Sorry I haven't chimed in earlier.

As you may already know, Amex gives you 30 days from the fee posting (usually on the same day as the close of statement) to cancel your card and receive a full refund of the annual fee. You can "think over" your decision to cancel or not up until then, and in the meantime call a few times to see if the retention offer has changed. It may not, but it could. (I wouldn't procrastinate until the last day for anything.)

Retention offers are targeted and attached to your account. They’re generated by a computer that weighs things like your spend, years of membership, maybe what benefits you’ve used up, whether you got a retention offer last year (they're supposedly once every 13 months), and probably broader trends like how many cardmembers have been signing up for, keeping, or canceling their Platinums (or whatever else card) and how that's affecting monthly/quarterly targets. Offers can change periodically in response to these factors. You might not get anything when you first call in, but something might be offered if you call back in a week or just before you have to cancel.

Retention offers on the Platinum have typically been a range from 15k MR/$2k spend/3 months, 20k MR/$3k spend/3 months, 30k MR/$4k spend/3 months, to the legendary 50k MR no spend required. There's usually a statement credit offer alongside these MR offers, but many people prefer the MR offers because they value the points more. You can ask if they have an offer in points, or statement credit if you prefer.

I doubt the reps have very much influence over the offers you get. If you get any pushback, they’re just trying to psych you into keeping the card without giving you anything for it. Expect them to talk about the card benefits, ask why you have so many other cards, why did you get this card anyway, be prepared with some good responses to these talking points, but be insistent and ask if there are any offers for you to keep the card that’ll help you make your decision to keep or cancel. They have to read you whatever offers are available on their screen.

You can tell the rep to cancel the card on the same phone call, but again you have 30 days from the date of the AF posting to cancel so you might want to take your time to "think about it." If the offer doesn't make sense to you and you've still got time, call back to see if you get a different offer. If the offer is still no good, you can cancel on the phone or even on chat. (You can always cancel an Amex card over chat, but you need to call in to get a retention offer because that can't be done over chat).

If you close your Platinum without another Amex MR-earning card, you lose all your MR points immediately. If you have another Amex MR-earning card, you can close your Platinum card without worrying about redeeming or transferring out your MR points. MR points are automatically pooled into your MR account, and as long as you have an MR-earning card open then your points stay alive. A lot of us have a no fee MR card like the BBP to keep our MR points active.

Thank you so much!

 

[reliev]

Just wanted to give you all a quick update.

As some of you know, on Oct 30 I was diagnosed with a rare stage 2 liver cancer. Surgery was recommended as well as meeting with the transplant team about a possible transplant if surgery failed. I have had every test possible in the last few weeks.
However, when my case was present to the tumor board at the major hospital the pathologist didn’t agree with the findings of the biopsy. I’ve been waiting on pins and needles and finally heard back after they redid the pathology.
pathology came back as not cancer. I still have a benign tumor that I will need to have a procedure to stop blood flow to stop growth but no surgery and no transplant.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers during this tough time. I will be closely monitored and still need to have the procedure but my surgeon said to enjoy the holidays and we will worry about all that in a few weeks.

He also said go to Disney! Enjoy your trip!

glad to hear it congrats!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Some of you may recall that my dh travels a lot of business. He just texted me this morning that he was involved in a serious car accident on Saturday. A paralegal talking on his phone, driving in the far right lane (dh was in the far left lane going the same direction) decided to suddenly make a u-turn, cut across 3 lanes and dh drove into him (obviously couldn't avoid him). Dh said his car cut right through the unibody at the wheel well of the other vehicle (2019 Acura small sedan). Thankfully dh seems to be okay, but his car (he's in Toronto) doesn't look great. The road was closed for 4 hours because the paralegal who drove into him was unconscious and apparently there was blood all over his car. I wish dh had told me sooner and maybe by phone. He sent me a video of the scene with the firefighters and police cars everywhere. Thanks for listening -- it's weighing heavily on my mind because it could've been so much worse if dh wasn't driving such a safe, well-made vehicle. Trying to work but finding it hard to concentrate.

 

[Haley R]

Some of you may recall that my dh travels a lot of business. He just texted me this morning that he was involved in a serious car accident on Saturday. A paralegal talking on his phone, driving in the far right lane (dh was in the far left lane going the same direction) decided to suddenly make a u-turn, cut across 3 lanes and dh drove into him (obviously couldn't avoid him). Dh said his car cut right through the unibody at the wheel well of the other vehicle (2019 Acura small sedan). Thankfully dh seems to be okay, but his car (he's in Toronto) doesn't look great. The road was closed for 4 hours because the paralegal who drove into him was unconscious and apparently there was blood all over his car. I wish dh had told me sooner and maybe by phone. He sent me a video of the scene with the firefighters and police cars everywhere. Thanks for listening -- it's weighing heavily on my mind because it could've been so much worse if dh wasn't driving such a safe, well-made vehicle. Trying to work but finding it hard to concentrate.

Wow I’m very sorry this happened to your Dh. I’m glad he’s okay and I hope the other guy is too. Let us know how things go

 

[gottalovepluto]

So, this may be an unpopular opinion, but I don't actually think he is terrible. I know Eisner did a ton for Disney (GF ), but he didn't do great with opening parks ("Euro"-DL and DCA) and he totally botched Figment! He also caused some serious tension with Pixar. Iger is basically "Mr. Acquisition" and we are finally getting a ton of new stuff. Even if it is catch-up, I am grateful.

A dissenting opinion? We do not allow those here. Groupthink ONLY! Downvote, downvote, downvote!

*looks for downvote button*

*remembers this isn’t r/churning*

 

[reliev]

heads up for delta flyers too 10% off deal on 500 and 1000 dollars at costco if I didnt have a ton of amex points id jump on this.

 

[calypso726]

On a completely separate note, Dh and I have pretty much decided we'd like to fly to London instead of doing a Norwegian cruise. We would spend some time in London and then take the train to Edinburgh and do some things in Scotland. Our goal is summer 2021 (so baby will be a little over a year old). If possible, we would like to get nonstop flights from MCO in business class by using Chase points. I would like to get a seat for the baby so 3 seats next to each other would be best. We have lots of time to plan so I'm curious which airlines might be our best options. What do some of you think that have been before? Also, what could we expect points wise per person?

There are several options but may wind up incurring huge taxes and fees. BA is one of those with huge taxes and fees. United is easy and incurs less taxes and fees. However now that they have moved to dynamic pricing may require far more points. AA on their own metal is fairly reasonable and has multiple methods to accrue miles. Virgin Atlantic has high taxes and fees but not as bad as BA. using VS to fly Delta metal is also an option if you can find award space. If you are flexible and can book RT you can transfer MR to ANA or UR to Singapore Kris Flyer and use them to fly star alliance partners. Hope this helps.

 

[alryan]

Just checked Cardmatch for DH and Capitol One Venture came up as Pre-Qualified. Does this really mean anything? And if it does would it mean a greater chance of approval through the link there or same chance of success of approval through a support link?

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Some of you may recall that my dh travels a lot of business. He just texted me this morning that he was involved in a serious car accident on Saturday. A paralegal talking on his phone, driving in the far right lane (dh was in the far left lane going the same direction) decided to suddenly make a u-turn, cut across 3 lanes and dh drove into him (obviously couldn't avoid him). Dh said his car cut right through the unibody at the wheel well of the other vehicle (2019 Acura small sedan). Thankfully dh seems to be okay, but his car (he's in Toronto) doesn't look great. The road was closed for 4 hours because the paralegal who drove into him was unconscious and apparently there was blood all over his car. I wish dh had told me sooner and maybe by phone. He sent me a video of the scene with the firefighters and police cars everywhere. Thanks for listening -- it's weighing heavily on my mind because it could've been so much worse if dh wasn't driving such a safe, well-made vehicle. Trying to work but finding it hard to concentrate.

I’m so sorry this happened and so glad he is ok. Another reminder to be sure our loved ones know how special they are to us.

 

[alryan]

Some of you may recall that my dh travels a lot of business. He just texted me this morning that he was involved in a serious car accident on Saturday. A paralegal talking on his phone, driving in the far right lane (dh was in the far left lane going the same direction) decided to suddenly make a u-turn, cut across 3 lanes and dh drove into him (obviously couldn't avoid him). Dh said his car cut right through the unibody at the wheel well of the other vehicle (2019 Acura small sedan). Thankfully dh seems to be okay, but his car (he's in Toronto) doesn't look great. The road was closed for 4 hours because the paralegal who drove into him was unconscious and apparently there was blood all over his car. I wish dh had told me sooner and maybe by phone. He sent me a video of the scene with the firefighters and police cars everywhere. Thanks for listening -- it's weighing heavily on my mind because it could've been so much worse if dh wasn't driving such a safe, well-made vehicle. Trying to work but finding it hard to concentrate.

How scary, glad your DH is okay.

 

[Judique]

How are they all doing now?

Great! Thanks for asking.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Wow I’m very sorry this happened to your Dh. I’m glad he’s okay and I hope the other guy is too. Let us know how things go

Thank you. Dh thinks he's invincible, but he's not young like he used to be (he's 6 years older than me) and I worry about him. It's scary thinking about what could have happened; I try not to let my mind go there, but it wanders.

 

[tink1970]

Sorry you weren’t targeted

I haven’t seen any nonstop flights from MCO- LHR but both Virgin, AF/KLM, BA, Iberia and American do nonstop to LGW.

With the amount of URs you have and will likely earn more, I agree with your using them, although they can be pricey redemptions. I think my point was MRs can be very helpful for award flights which are discounted via the Amex transfer bonus (I flew from Dublin to Orlando for 37,500 MRs in business) and diversification is good.That’s all!

 

[tink1970]

@*WDW*Groupie* so sorry to hear that! Hugs and hoping he’s okay.

 

[tink1970]

@Judique - I’m sorry your DD lost her earrings but honestly in a four person mva with critically injured patients I can only imagine the chaos and perhaps (trying to believe the best of humanity), they got lost in that chaos. I don’t know if you’ve seen a trauma bay after the patient is stabilized and moved on but they can look like a tornado hit. Just a thought...

 

[wanderlust7]

FYI Raise is offering 12% back in Raise Cash when you buy Carnival or Royal Caribbean gift cards directly from Raise at face value today only.

*Raise Cash is a currency that can be redeemed on any Raise purchase. $1 of Raise Cash equals $1 of spending power on our website and mobile app.

Carnival is already sold out! Oh well, guess I'll just have to be happy with 10% off with Allstate Rewards. RCCL still available, but their GC seem trickier. This one says can't be used with TAs or third parties.