I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[gottalovepluto]

I used my CIP tonight (made a few returns so am using for non cat spend to make sure I pass msr) to order a copy of my dad's death certificate. I don't have one and want it for genealogy purposes.

Anyway I know we've talked about how to explain something as a biz expense (not sure how I would here) but what's the weirdest thing you've charged to a biz card?

Probably something innocuous like shampoo. But you gotta look good for clients right?

 

[gottalovepluto]

I've been wanting to lose 10 pounds for a few years. Well I'm down 4 due to my work stress. I have never been through anything like what I'm dealing with now and my emotions are all over the place--sad, scared, anxious, overwhelmed.

I'm so sorry. Hugs!! Hope we can be a happy place for you for a mental break from all that awfulness.

 

[afan]

Any Hyatt experts on here?

The Hyatt House we want to stay at only offers rooms that sleep 3 on award nights. Any way to get the larger rooms using Hyatt points?

Call and ask. I always book my points stays by calling the number on the back of my card. They are super nice and helpful.

 

[afan]

Probably something innocuous like shampoo. But you gotta look good for clients right?

That's not weird, normal biz card shopping for me since I put everything on it when meeting msr. Even my salon trips, because you do need to look good and it's a perk I offer myself

 

[gottalovepluto]

That's not weird, normal biz card shopping for me since I put everything on it when meeting msr. Even my salon trips, because you do need to look good and it's a perk I offer myself

I do love those employee perks

 

[gottalovepluto]

Well guys, I joined the pile of AA shutdowns today. Knew it was coming and booked backup flights a few weeks ago. On the bright side I have legit uses now for my Amex credits- seat selection fees and bag check fees here I come lol. It was a good ride!

 

[happ]

I’m back with another stupid question, lol. How long does it take to get the physical card after applying? The approval page said 7-10 days. Hoping it comes sooner coz I just found out I have a big dental expense next week which will more than cover my initial spend requirement.

I decided against going for the SW companion pass... we’re only traveling once more this year & twice next year. It just isn’t enough to try to make the spends needed. I will probably have the flights purchased for our trip later this year before I get the pass anyway. So it would only cover 2 trips next year. But I did just apply for my own personal card and those points will be plenty to cover next year’s trips.

Did you just apply today? If so, and if you already have a Chase account, log in and send them a secure message asking for the card to be expedited. I did that and had my SW card in two days. Or, you could call and ask them for the faster shipping.

 

[stitchfan18]

I feel like I've endured my first flat out churning fail since starting in August. I was looking for a hotel in downtown Kansas City for next week so we'd already be downtown for a possible Super Bowl parade. The only thing I could find was a Marriott, but it was right along the parade route from the Royals World series parade a few years ago, so I thought it would be the perfect location, and it looked like it was only 10,000 pts/ night. I quickly transferred UR points over from Chase since I didn't have Marriott points. After looking at the hotel again last night, I realized that the 10,000 wasn't a points redemption, but it was $10,000/ night Marriott points seem to have a pretty worthless redemption rate at places we frequently travel, so I imagine those will just sit in my Marriott account for awhile...

 

[schmass]

I've been wanting to lose 10 pounds for a few years. Well I'm down 4 due to my work stress. I have never been through anything like what I'm dealing with now and my emotions are all over the place--sad, scared, anxious, overwhelmed.

I'm really sorry to hear this. After 9.5 years at my job, I've had a horrible situation for the last four months. I have 3 days left there, and Friday afternoon can't come fast enough.

I don't know your situation, but please take care of yourself. No job is worth your health. Everything will be okay, even if it might not seem that way right now.

 

[WardFam]

Ok I decided to cancel my big 40th birthday trip that was supposed to be happening in March due to this Corona virus. We were flying into Shanghai and going to Shanghai Disneyland then traveling to Cambodia and Thailand. Shanghai Disney is closed indefinitely and everyone is giving refunds so I decided it is not the time to be traveling there! Now I need to plan somewhere else in March! I’m thinking possibly Central America. Maybe Nicaragua? Anyone have any somewhere they traveled in March that was amazing?

 

[gottalovepluto]

Ok I decided to cancel my big 40th birthday trip that was supposed to be happening in March due to this Corona virus. We were flying into Shanghai and going to Shanghai Disneyland then traveling to Cambodia and Thailand. Shanghai Disney is closed indefinitely and everyone is giving refunds so I decided it is not the time to be traveling there! Now I need to plan somewhere else in March! I’m thinking possibly Central America. Maybe Nicaragua? Anyone have any somewhere they traveled in March that was amazing?

I'd also ask on r/awardtravel if you have any currency stashes you're specifically looking to use.

 

[bernina]

Probably something innocuous like shampoo. But you gotta look good for clients right?

The strangest thing I've put on a biz card was probably Ancestry DNA test kits. Probably all sorts of red flags about my "biz" hiring practices

 

[gottalovepluto]

I'm really sorry to hear this. After 9.5 years at my job, I've had a horrible situation for the last four months. I have 3 days left there, and Friday afternoon can't come fast enough.

I don't know your situation, but please take care of yourself. No job is worth your health. Everything will be okay, even if it might not seem that way right now.

You might have already told us- do you have another job lined up or going unemployed/full-time job hunter route?

 

[schmass]

You might have already told us- do you have another job lined up or going unemployed/full-time job hunter route?

When I gave my notice, I had nothing lined up, but I accepted an offer last week! I'm taking a few weeks off and will start towards the end of February when I get back from vacation. I'm super excited about my new job, and in hindsight I'm glad that my work situation got so bad that it prompted me to start looking for other opportunities. I was pretty comfortable where I was, but I truly think this next step is going to be better for me. I just wish that I haven't been quite so miserable for so long. 3 more days...3 more days...

 

[gottalovepluto]

When I gave my notice, I had nothing lined up, but I accepted an offer last week! I'm taking a few weeks off and will start towards the end of February when I get back from vacation. I'm super excited about my new job, and in hindsight I'm glad that my work situation got so bad that it prompted me to start looking for other opportunities. I was pretty comfortable where I was, but I truly think this next step is going to be better for me. I just wish that I haven't been quite so miserable for so long. 3 more days...3 more days...

That's awesome! Especially since you'll get the chance for a mental break between them, sounds like you quite need that!

 

[Judique]

Well guys, I joined the pile of AA shutdowns today. Knew it was coming and booked backup flights a few weeks ago. On the bright side I have legit uses now for my Amex credits- seat selection fees and bag check fees here I come lol. It was a good ride!

Did you get any use out of the points prior to the shutdown? I don't mean the flights you had to back up for. Eventually I will be able to get a couple of AA cards and will probably cash them out. Right now laying low until my personal card count drops off the radar.

 

[calypso726]

Ok I decided to cancel my big 40th birthday trip that was supposed to be happening in March due to this Corona virus. We were flying into Shanghai and going to Shanghai Disneyland then traveling to Cambodia and Thailand. Shanghai Disney is closed indefinitely and everyone is giving refunds so I decided it is not the time to be traveling there! Now I need to plan somewhere else in March! I’m thinking possibly Central America. Maybe Nicaragua? Anyone have any somewhere they traveled in March that was amazing?

Last year in March we did a trip to Dubai and stayed at the Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa. It was an amazing full board resort stay that also included 2 daily activities. We are going back again later this year. After a few days at the Al Maha we went to the Maldives and used Hilton points to stay in over-water bunglaows at the Conrad Ranglai. The weather was great at both locations. Our accommodation, food and service were amazing at both loctions and we did everything with points and miles.

 

[smallsy]

Ok this may be a dumb question but at what point would you consider your reward points “safe?” One year? Two?

 

[striker1064]

Ok this may be a dumb question but at what point would you consider your reward points “safe?” One year? Two?

This would depend on the points.

Amex MR? Never. Their recent adverse actions demonstrate their pettiness knows no bounds.

Chase UR? Probably also never, but we don't really have DPs of Chase clawing back. But as Amex shows, it could happen any time.

For any other hotel or airline, they seem relatively safe - for all of Amex's clawbacks, they seem very hesitant in going after third party points.

Now, if a hotel or airline takes a turn like AA, then it doesn't matter, and it's truly never safe.

 

[miztressuz]

First time SW CP questions:
1) Does my CP person need the card that they mailed to me at any time? What's the purpose?
2) I get the click and save emails but the deals are never even close to $59 when I check the surrounding airports. Where are all the good deals (besides loophole change time)?
3) Do the deals come out when they release the next wave of flights?

1) Technically I think you're supposed to present the actual companion pass with the ticket, or something. Says somewhere on the pass or in the terms that you're supposed to carry it with you on companion flights. In practice? No one asks. At least, I've never heard of anyone being asked. I've only used it once so far so I don't have extensive experience, but at no point did anyone even notice or mention about it being a companion ticket and seemed even less inclined to care about the card.

Ah, I was curious about where I read that and found it in the Companion Pass program terms on the SW website (emphasis mine):
"The Member and the Companion must check in together and, if asked, present the Companion Pass card at the Southwest Ticket Counter, Skycap podium, or Departure Gate in order for the Companion to travel. "

I brought it with us because at that point what was one more card to carry?

2) I haven't had a $59 fare in a while. I miss them. Last great deal was $44 PHL-MCO in Dec 2015, I think we booked that in Nov. (It was an unplanned last minute trip to see the last Holiday Lights show once we saw how cheap flights were).
For us the $59 fares were short hop, non-stops. I'm not sure where they are now but not out of PHL that I've seen.

3) Deals pop up at various times. If you're flying during a peak period or peak day/time then it's usually better to book it earlier rather than later. Weekends are usually more pricey than Tue-Thu, so when I booked our Seattle flight for Friday I grabbed it on schedule open and it never went below that price. I think the 737Max grounding has affected the pricing since there's the same (or more) demand for less seats

I’m back with another stupid question, lol. How long does it take to get the physical card after applying? The approval page said 7-10 days. Hoping it comes sooner coz I just found out I have a big dental expense next week which will more than cover my initial spend requirement.

I decided against going for the SW companion pass... we’re only traveling once more this year & twice next year. It just isn’t enough to try to make the spends needed. I will probably have the flights purchased for our trip later this year before I get the pass anyway. So it would only cover 2 trips next year. But I did just apply for my own personal card and those points will be plenty to cover next year’s trips.

I assume you're talking a Chase card. For me it's been 7 days, except for once where is was longer due to a manufacturing delay. If I'm approved on a Friday, card arrives next Friday usually. Some of that will depend on the postal service. The CSR is automatically expedited and should arrive in about 2 days. For the other cards if you need it sooner you can request to be expedited and should get it about 2 days after that. For partner cards (SW, Marriott, Hyatt, etc) you may not be able to get it expedited until after it goes through the partner verification which can take a couple days itself.