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

[Haley R]

@Haley R my advice is the shift spending on AMEX to get out of pop up jail. Then start to look at cards (id focus on biz) that would get you more MRs

Do you think there’s any chance we would have enough MRs by next summer to book 3 business class seats?

 

[mhartman09]

Received all the gift cards from the BJs deal. Those 3pk $50 were hard to scratch off. All entered into DGC site and combined 100 emails later.

Next time try peeling instead of scratching. It's much easier in my opinion. I use one card to pull up the edge of the silver covering, then either pull it up or use the card to roll it off.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

So scary I’m glad he’s ok!! What kind of car was DH driving? I wouldn’t worry too much about him suing doesn’t sound like he’d have much of a case.

My dh likes his cars -- cars and business class seats are one area where he freely spends money. Having said that he was driving his precious baby, a Jaguar XJ sedan with long wheel base. That car is built like a tank. I think the paralegal is very lucky dh wasn't driving my Toronto vehicle - a full size 7 tonne SUV -- that would've been very, very bad for his small Acura sedan.

 

[wanderlust7]

Just did the same with my order....I found it easy to peeling off the strip

I used to peel off too, so much easier. That is until I accidentally peeled off part of the number on an Uber one. Was freaking out a little until I googled up the solution - scratch off the torn piece. Maybe Disney ones don't have this problem, but now I'm scared to peel!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I used to peel off too, so much easier. That is until I accidentally peeled off part of the number on an Uber one. Was freaking out a little until I googled up the solution - scratch off the torn piece. Maybe Disney ones don't have this problem, but now I'm scared to peel!

I just peeled the strip off of 25 Disney GCs....thankfully no issues......ordered my kids some Uber GCs as stocking stuffers.....will warn them about that Christmas morning

 

[Lain]

Do you think there’s any chance we would have enough MRs by next summer to book 3 business class seats?

I’ve earned over 500k MR YTD, mostly from SUBs, organic spend, Amex Offers, and just a few cross-supportals — so yeah, totally possible.

Amex has so many different MR earning cards, and their SUBs can be extremely generous if you pay attention to applying for only the highest and best offers. In 2-Player mode, you can earn a lot of additional MR from supportal bonuses by cross-supporting each other to new cards. New cards mean lots of spend, so hopefully that’ll keep the pop ups at bay. If you want to stick to biz cards, there’s the Biz Green (25k MR SUB via supportal, $3k MSR, 3 months, $0 AF first year), Biz Gold (tiered 75k MR SUB via supportal, $10k MSR, 3 months, $295 AF not waived), the call-in Biz Plat (100k MR SUB, but no supportal, $10k MSR, 3 months, $595 AF not waived), and the BBP (15k MR via supportal, $5k MSR, 3 months, $0 AF). I believe you (or DH) recently opened a BBP — that card is currently generating supportals worth 15k MR (max 55k MR/year) + whatever SUB the other player gets from the card they’re applying for. The catch is many of Amex’s cards with big SUBs have AFs, so you need to be able to justify the SUB, credits and benefits, and your planned redemption (e.g., your $11k seats) vs. the cost of the AFs; and big MSRs, and MSing an Amex MSR is a bit more difficult and probably requires you to, um, increase your grocery spend. And unlike URs, you can’t combine MR points into one account, so DH would have his stash and you would have your stash.

 

[havaneselover]

Maybe already mentioned but I had a new to me Amex offer on my Rose Gold for $5 off $25 at Grub Hub. Guess I'm going back to Chick Fil A!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I’ve earned over 500k MR YTD, mostly from SUBs, organic spend, Amex Offers, and just a few cross-supportals — so yeah, totally possible.

Amex has so many different MR earning cards, and their SUBs can be extremely generous if you pay attention to applying for only the highest and best offers. In 2-Player mode, you can earn a lot of additional MR from supportal bonuses by cross-supporting each other to new cards. New cards mean lots of spend, so hopefully that’ll keep the pop ups at bay. If you want to stick to biz cards, there’s the Biz Green (25k MR SUB via supportal, $3k MSR, 3 months, $0 AF first year), Biz Gold (tiered 75k MR SUB via supportal, $10k MSR, 3 months, $295 AF not waived), the call-in Biz Plat (100k MR SUB, but no supportal, $10k MSR, 3 months, $595 AF not waived), and the BBP (15k MR via supportal, $5k MSR, 3 months, $0 AF). I believe you (or DH) recently opened a BBP — that card is currently generating supportals worth 15k MR (max 55k MR/year) + whatever SUB the other player gets from the card they’re applying for. The catch is many of Amex’s cards with big SUBs have AFs, so you need to be able to justify the SUB, credits and benefits, and your planned redemption (e.g., your $11k seats) vs. the cost of the AFs; and big MSRs, and MSing an Amex MSR is a bit more difficult and probably requires you to, um, increase your grocery spend. And unlike URs, you can’t combine MR points into one account, so DH would have his stash and you would have your stash.

Hmm, I could go for the Biz Gold (I don't want the high AF on the platinum). I have to pay off dd's grad trip in late February and will be looking for another MSR. Might wait until the new year to apply. Have recently been putting a significant amount of spend on AmEx cards, so hopefully won't be in pop-up jail. Is there any way to tell in advance of applying w/o a bureau hit?

 

[Haley R]

I’ve earned over 500k MR YTD, mostly from SUBs, organic spend, Amex Offers, and just a few cross-supportals — so yeah, totally possible.

Amex has so many different MR earning cards, and their SUBs can be extremely generous if you pay attention to applying for only the highest and best offers. In 2-Player mode, you can earn a lot of additional MR from supportal bonuses by cross-supporting each other to new cards. New cards mean lots of spend, so hopefully that’ll keep the pop ups at bay. If you want to stick to biz cards, there’s the Biz Green (25k MR SUB via supportal, $3k MSR, 3 months, $0 AF first year), Biz Gold (tiered 75k MR SUB via supportal, $10k MSR, 3 months, $295 AF not waived), the call-in Biz Plat (100k MR SUB, but no supportal, $10k MSR, 3 months, $595 AF not waived), and the BBP (15k MR via supportal, $5k MSR, 3 months, $0 AF). I believe you (or DH) recently opened a BBP — that card is currently generating supportals worth 15k MR (max 55k MR/year) + whatever SUB the other player gets from the card they’re applying for. The catch is many of Amex’s cards with big SUBs have AFs, so you need to be able to justify the SUB, credits and benefits, and your planned redemption (e.g., your $11k seats) vs. the cost of the AFs; and big MSRs, and MSing an Amex MSR is a bit more difficult and probably requires you to, um, increase your grocery spend. And unlike URs, you can’t combine MR points into one account, so DH would have his stash and you would have your stash.

It’s so hard to shift our thinking from chase. We love being able to pool our points together. I’m not sure we would be comfortable with a $10k MSR. That seems really high. We both have BBPs and I did get the 15k for supporting Dh. We’re working on his MSR right now. My plans were to get a CIP in December when I’m able then get a CSR after that. We would have roughly 7 months to get MRs to book flights next year

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

It’s so hard to shift our thinking from chase. We love being able to pool our points together. I’m not sure we would be comfortable with a $10k MSR. That seems really high. We both have BBPs and I did get the 15k for supporting Dh. We’re working on his MSR right now. My plans were to get a CIP in December when I’m able then get a CSR after that. We would have roughly 7 months to get MRs to book flights next year

Lain gave great advice. Two player mode and referral links you could accumulate a lot of MRs but you have to be kind of aggressive and do a fair amount of spending. Doesn’t sound like it’d be your cup of tea which is totally fine. Stick with what works. You’ll just have to adjust vacations and use accordingly - nothing wrong with that!!

 

[Lain]

Hmm, I could go for the Biz Gold (I don't want the high AF on the platinum). I have to pay off dd's grad trip in late February and will be looking for another MSR. Might wait until the new year to apply. Have recently been putting a significant amount of spend on AmEx cards, so hopefully won't be in pop-up jail. Is there any way to tell in advance of applying w/o a bureau hit?

As I understand it, Amex runs a check of your bonus eligibility based on your “history” and whether you have or ever had the product before (“lifetime language”) when you press “submit.” But if you get a pop up for either reason, it asks if you still want to proceed with your application despite not being eligible for the bonus. If you decide not to proceed, Amex will cancel the app and won’t pull your credit report. If you don’t get a pop up, your app is submitted and 99.9% you’ll be approved.

However, Amex very rarely conducts a hard pull on a new app if you’re already a cardmember anyway.

 

[Haley R]

Lain gave great advice. Two player mode and referral links you could accumulate a lot of MRs but you have to be kind of aggressive and do a fair amount of spending. Doesn’t sound like it’d be your cup of tea which is totally fine. Stick with what works. You’ll just have to adjust vacations and use accordingly - nothing wrong with that!!

I think we’ll plan on doing premium economy instead of business. We were spoiled with business to Japan but we honestly don’t need business class and we might not get a lot of sleep anyway like a PP mentioned depending on how the baby does. I love hearing everyone’s thoughts though and it makes me realize we should be branching out besides chase. We were just enjoying the Cippy cup while we still could. We also had no idea where we wanted to go and our original plan was a cruise and using URs.

 

[mamathompson]

SW CP question. When can I complete my MSR? Do I need to wait until after Jan 1? I thought there was something about after December billing statement. I thought $10,000 in MSR for the two cards was a stretch but DH had some reimbursed business expenses and is close to his $5000.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

As I understand it, Amex runs a check of your bonus eligibility based on your “history” and whether you have or ever had the product before (“lifetime language”) when you press “submit.” But if you get a pop up for either reason, it asks if you still want to proceed with your application despite not being eligible for the bonus. If you decide not to proceed, Amex will cancel the app and won’t pull your credit report. If you don’t get a pop up, your app is submitted and 99.9% you’ll be approved.

However, Amex very rarely conducts a hard pull on a new app if you’re already a cardmember anyway.

I had the gold (was denied the pink gold bonus so never signed up), but never the biz gold. So I should be okay. I will apply in early January. I have dh's holiday party Embassy Suites stays spend going on my Aspire (deposit was already put through), do somewhat regular spend on my Bonvoy personal and just put our property taxes on the Hilton business. My cleaning service and Netflix are on the Bonvoy business. Hope this will satisfy AmEx.

 

[DaveL]

Ohhhhh I really hope I have the easy peel ones! I will start with the $500s from the CF x5 and try to use one of them to peel the rest

The $500's were super easy! Came off all nice a clean.

Next time try peeling instead of scratching. It's much easier in my opinion. I use one card to pull up the edge of the silver covering, then either pull it up or use the card to roll it off.

Now you all tell me!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

SW CP question. When can I complete my MSR? Do I need to wait until after Jan 1? I thought there was something about after December billing statement. I thought $10,000 in MSR for the two cards was a stretch but DH had some reimbursed business expenses and is close to his $5000.

Once your December stmt closes is fine. Before that is not good! Some people do like to wait until Jan 1 out of paranoia... but it isn’t necessary.

Also, make sure to not get too close before that Dec stmt closes. You don’t want to inadvertently have the pts awarded and screw up your whole plan. I’d leave a health buffer if possibly and then hit it after you’re sure the Dec statement has posted/closed.

 

[happ]

I'm so excited and have to share it somewhere where people will understand and keep my secret! I think for DD's 12th birthday in February, we're going to have a Mother-Daughter trip to WDW. The plan is to fly down on Frontier Thursday and return on Sunday afternoon. I don't plan on buying park tickets but have been strongly considering (99% sure) that we'll buy Disney After Dark tickets for Friday night. I hope to return as a family this summer, and I want to keep my military ticket options for that trip.

Is it still possible to get good deals for WDW hotels on Priceline? I want to use Magical Express and possibly the dining plan.

Otherwise, I could use our timeshare points and rent a car or use my HHonors points or free certificates.

I thought you couldn't add the dining plan with 3rd party bookings like Priceline.

 

[chattadisser]

Oh they're crazy expensive in London and more so for "family rooms." That said, I've found Marriott and HIlton both at least HAVE rooms for four, whereas a lot of other properties do not. Another thought would be a B&B with a "family room" although often they have 3. Europe as a whole is not quite as family friendly IN HOTELS as we are accustomed to here, in my experience.

I have found this difficulty when trying to book family rooms in London as well. Which lead me to the question --- everyone in Europe seems to have way more vacation/holiday time than Americans, so how do they find places to stay with their families?? Do they all just use AirBnB's or B&B's?

 

[tink1970]

Do they all just use AirBnB's or B&B's?

I would think air BnB, B&Bs, small inns, caravans (motor homes), are all reasonable suppositions. Or maybe having to have 2 rooms is the "norm" for them? It's an interesting question!

 

[wed100105]

I thought you couldn't add the dining plan with 3rd party bookings like Priceline.

I am not sure. I’d love to find out. I’ll do more searching as soon as I can!