I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

[StephPlum]

On the new Hyatt card offer - has anyone gotten the 10 elite nights they say come with the card this year? I got the normal 5. Wondering when the other 5 will post.

Also, does anyone know when the points back on a points stay show up in your account? I want to use those for the next mattress run but not sure how long it takes to show up.

 

[becauseimnew]

Is anyone else still on the fence about doing a Hyatt mattress run?

All the Hyatts in town are 5K points, plus the 25% back promotion, that make them 3,750/night.

I have the Hyatt card, so I already have 5 nights + 2 from a stay. I'm $3,000 away from the $5K bonus nights, so I'll have 9 nights total. That means I'll only need 11, but I would only do a 10 night mattress run before 2/28, I'm sure we'll eventually stay an extra before the end of the year. So I will be 37,500 points to get me to 29 nights. Ugh, why am I on the fence?

 

[becauseimnew]

On the new Hyatt card offer - has anyone gotten the 10 elite nights they say come with the card this year? I got the normal 5. Wondering when the other 5 will post.

Also, does anyone know when the points back on a points stay show up in your account? I want to use those for the next mattress run but not sure how long it takes to show up.

I've read that the extra 5 nights posts a few weeks later.
We had a stay on 12/20 (8K), the 2K back posted on 12/29.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

As for hotels, I try to be near Hyde Park Corner (personal preference). I've stayed at the Intercontinental, the Ritz, and the Berkeley (last two through FHR) but none are kind on the budget.

I do have points with Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton though not a ton. Do you prefer that location for transportation or another benefit?

Also, check the taxes because BA can be $$$$. We mostly fly AF to CDG in Biz, which is also nice.

Yes, I compared a BA flight, AA flight and AA on BA. The BA flights have taxes $1500-2000, the AA flight is $300. The prices on AA now are web specials, so I won't count on those prices but I can get an idea how they compare to other airlines and which products they have.

 

[mmmears]

I do have points with Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton though not a ton. Do you prefer that location for transportation or another benefit?

Yes, I compared a BA flight, AA flight and AA on BA. The BA flights have taxes $1500-2000, the AA flight is $300. The prices on AA now are web specials, so I won't count on those prices but I can get an idea how they compare to other airlines and which products they have.

I like the area. There is shopping nearby and we were able to walk to Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey. It's just where I've always stayed going back to my first trip there with my parents when I was a young teen, but I have several friends who also prefer to stay there if possible. There is a Hyatt in London, but I've always booked it with points then cancelled in favor of the preferred location.

VA has better fees and taxes than BA does. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that when we brought DD home from Europe in "upper class" when everything was shutting down. We had no time to research and it was really hard to even get a flight to the US, so we just booked what we could get. It was interesting to find out the fees were so much lower. In the past few years we have been flying AF to CDG to save on the taxes (and then just transfer to wherever in Europe we want to go). Also, BA charges money if you want to make a seat assignment (insane IMHO).

 

[wanderlust7]

Is anyone else still on the fence about doing a Hyatt mattress run?

All the Hyatts in town are 5K points, plus the 25% back promotion, that make them 3,750/night.

I have the Hyatt card, so I already have 5 nights + 2 from a stay. I'm $3,000 away from the $5K bonus nights, so I'll have 9 nights total. That means I'll only need 11, but I would only do a 10 night mattress run before 2/28, I'm sure we'll eventually stay an extra before the end of the year. So I will be 37,500 points to get me to 29 nights. Ugh, why am I on the fence?

What stays do you have planned while you have status? Would the benefits you'd get be worth the 37,500 points?

We don't have Hyatts that low around here. I couldn't convince myself to do it. Hoping to get there organically instead, doing stays I'd want to do anyways.

ETA: You get a category 1-4 free night for getting to 30 nights too. So you could factor that into your calculations. It expires in 180 days. So I wouldn't value it at 15k points, maybe 7500?

 

[wanderlust7]

Whew! Hi It's been a while. We were in the thick of covid craziness with our jobs and then in refi purgatory for the last 6 months, but happy to say we are back up and running with a shiny new 2.75% rate on our house and feeling more stable income-wise. I'm just going to go ahead and apologize up front for my dumb questions since I've been absent.

The CSR travel credit is every card year not every calendar year, right? Want to make sure I didn't lose out.

Is the CIU a decent choice for biz card right now? I remember some hubbub about biz applications being a bit harder to get approved right before my hiatus... anything I need to know?
***f/u to that: I don't get a SUB if I PC a CIP to a CIU right? Has to be a new card?

Who's pumped for (hopefully) more travel this year?

Have you seen Ted Lasso? It's my favorite show and there needs to be another season NOW.

CSR credit is card member year. You can use it for gas and groceries too for now.

No SUB for a PC. CIU is good if you can get approved and can meet the spend (75k for $7500). Approval is hit or miss. There's support too, but the link generation doesn't seem to be working recently.

 

[alryan]

Are these retention offers on the Blue Business Plus? I didn’t realize they’d offer for a no AF card. I got this card last year around this time. When should I call?

Correct, retention on Blue Business Plus. I also was pleasantly surprised to hear that they were offering retention offers on a no AF card. Seems kind of crazy, but AmEx has been good lately. I did both mine and DH's via chat during the day. They were both around 11 or 12 months since opening. I specifically just asked if there were any retention offers on my account. I think one asked questions like was I thinking about canceling etc, but one was super easy and quick. On both accounts I got a $50 statement credit that posted within a few days and a $100 statement credit with $2K in spend in 3 months.

 

[georgina]

Anyone knowledgeable about rental cars and 25 year olds with no personal car insurance? West coast DD and a couple of friends are thinking about renting a place in Hawaii for a month to work from. One friend has a car and insurance in CA, could she be a secondary driver without any insurance of her own? I don't think the liability on her renters insurance would cover a car accident. Looks like she could buy some from the rental company but it's pricey. My idea was to just not be a driver, but that didn't go over so well.

 

[StephPlum]

Is anyone else still on the fence about doing a Hyatt mattress run?

All the Hyatts in town are 5K points, plus the 25% back promotion, that make them 3,750/night.

I have the Hyatt card, so I already have 5 nights + 2 from a stay. I'm $3,000 away from the $5K bonus nights, so I'll have 9 nights total. That means I'll only need 11, but I would only do a 10 night mattress run before 2/28, I'm sure we'll eventually stay an extra before the end of the year. So I will be 37,500 points to get me to 29 nights. Ugh, why am I on the fence?

I am not on the fence; I jumped over it! Discoverist status will be good until Feb 2023. I haven't been able to travel in 2020 so I think I'll be doing extra in the next 2 years. If it was only through 2022, it wouldn't look as appealing.

 

[wanderlust7]

On the subject of Hyatt, does everyone know about the Brand Explorer award? Stay at 5 different Hyatt brands and get a category 1-4 free night. I think it's such a fun award. They currently have 18 brands, so max you can get is 3 nights. You don't need to get 5 within a year or any time frame. But you can only "collect" a brand once. As I'm plotting my organic path to Globalist, I'm keeping this in mind too.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Anyone knowledgeable about rental cars and 25 year olds with no personal car insurance? West coast DD and a couple of friends are thinking about renting a place in Hawaii for a month to work from. One friend has a car and insurance in CA, could she be a secondary driver without any insurance of her own? I don't think the liability on her renters insurance would cover a car accident. Looks like she could buy some from the rental company but it's pricey. My idea was to just not be a driver, but that didn't go over so well.

This is a confusing situation. Does only one of the girls drive a car and have valid insurance right now? Are they asking the other two girls who do not have valid insurance to be additional drivers while there?

Why, if they don't drive now, is it a problem while in hawaii for a month? I'd tell em to Uber or stay near public transit. If they're going there to work, then most of their time will be inside at home anyway.

 

[platamama]

Is anyone else still on the fence about doing a Hyatt mattress run?

All the Hyatts in town are 5K points, plus the 25% back promotion, that make them 3,750/night.

I have the Hyatt card, so I already have 5 nights + 2 from a stay. I'm $3,000 away from the $5K bonus nights, so I'll have 9 nights total. That means I'll only need 11, but I would only do a 10 night mattress run before 2/28, I'm sure we'll eventually stay an extra before the end of the year. So I will be 37,500 points to get me to 29 nights. Ugh, why am I on the fence?

I have no answers, but I'm right there commiserating with you, except my nearest 5K Hyatt is 2 hours away, so I'm looking at paying cash. I'm trying to rationalize getting to 50 nights for the two suite upgrades, and I have to question if I really want to spend the money on it? OTOH, I did just get stimulus money...LOL I'm doing all the math, and I would essentially be paying ~$30/elite night credit to reach the 50 night milestone. Those suites though, they sure would be nice.

 

[platamama]

On the subject of Hyatt, does everyone know about the Brand Explorer award? Stay at 5 different Hyatt brands and get a category 1-4 free night. I think it's such a fun award. They currently have 18 brands, so max you can get is 3 nights. You don't need to do it within a year or any time frame. But you can only "collect" a brand once. As I'm plotting my organic path to Globalist, I'm keeping this in mind too.

Is that Cat1-4 night only good for 180 days though? Something to consider the timing of if you want to use two FNCs for one stay.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I have no answers, but I'm right there commiserating with you, except my nearest 5K Hyatt is 2 hours away, so I'm looking at paying cash. I'm trying to rationalize getting to 50 nights for the two suite upgrades, and I have to question if I really want to spend the money on it? OTOH, I did just get stimulus money...LOL I'm doing all the math, and I would essentially be paying ~$30/elite night credit to reach the 50 night milestone. Those suites though, they sure would be nice.

The suite night upgrades are a great perk, but be aware that there is a list of excluded properties, one of which is the PH Sydney, which I will be staying at in March, 2022. Full list of excluded properties:

Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa, Park Hyatt Sydney, Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills, Hyatt Regency Kyoto, Hyatt Regency Wichita, Hyatt Paris Madeleine, Hyatt Herald Square New York, Hyatt Key West Resort and Spa, Hyatt City of Dreams Manila, Hyatt Centric South Beach Miami, Spirit Ridge at NK’MIP Resort, Hyatt Rosemont, Hyatt Regency Suites Atlanta Northwest, Hyatt Regency Lisle near Naperville, Hyatt Regency John Wayne Airport Newport Beach, Thompson Seattle, Chicago Athletic Association, The Talbott, Hotel Revival Baltimore, Hotel Avatar, Hotel del Sol, Waterfront Hotel, Park South, The Laurel Inn, Hotel Kabuki, 50 Bowery, Alila Manggis, Studios at Alila Sminyak, Alila Villas Uluwatu, Ventana Campground, or Destination Residences or Hyatt Place hotels or resorts.

I didn't end up doing a mattress run, though I still have time if I change my mind. The three biggest factors that made me cancel the booking that I had were:

1. the PH Vienna didn't have any base rooms for points next December (I did not want to use 40,000 points for a suite and the cash rate is way more than I want to spend)
2. the PH Sydney being excluded from the suite night upgrades
3. I have Platinum with Marriott and Diamond with Hilton, both of provide me with free breakfast and will provide me with a suite upgrade (if available when I check-in)

 

[wanderlust7]

Is that Cat1-4 night only good for 180 days though? Something to consider the timing of if you want to use two FNCs for one stay.

The FNC for the milestone award is good for 180 days, but the Brand Explorer one is good for a year. Very confusing making it different!

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

If anyone else is having trouble keeping all the offers/points straight on their various credit cards, this helped me. It's not perfect as the charts don't include offers (you have to read to end for those), but it helps. https://frequentmiler.com/covid-credit-card-enhancements-ultimate-guide/

 

[afan]

On the subject of Hyatt, does everyone know about the Brand Explorer award? Stay at 5 different Hyatt brands and get a category 1-4 free night. I think it's such a fun award. They currently have 18 brands, so max you can get is 3 nights. You don't need to get 5 within a year or any time frame. But you can only "collect" a brand once. As I'm plotting my organic path to Globalist, I'm keeping this in mind too.

I'm 2 away and will hit it in Japan/china in sept if all still happens. The bummer is Tokyo station hotel isn't in any of those groupings so it won't check a brand off. But I decided to move from shdl to a hyatt on the bund for the last night since I'll be touring the city. I think that one will start my 2nd group of 5.

 

[softballpooh]

I have no answers, but I'm right there commiserating with you, except my nearest 5K Hyatt is 2 hours away, so I'm looking at paying cash. I'm trying to rationalize getting to 50 nights for the two suite upgrades, and I have to question if I really want to spend the money on it? OTOH, I did just get stimulus money...LOL I'm doing all the math, and I would essentially be paying ~$30/elite night credit to reach the 50 night milestone. Those suites though, they sure would be nice.

I'm likely paying cash for my runs as well, but my rationalization was to consider it as a part of my annual fee for this card for '21, '22, and '23 since Globalist status carries through that far. My CSR AF is $550 so if I treat this one the same way, then I'm paying the fee in advance to get the stays while they are doubling the benefit. Plus, I know I wouldn't be able to likely achieve it without the current promotion which weighed into my thought process as well. And now that I have it, I'll definitely consider other ways to be sure I put it to good use.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

1/4/2021 - DISchurners Announcement #1 - Chase, Amex & Misc Support Link THREAD REFRESH

It's time for everybody's favorite event...the semi-annual refresh of the SUPPORT Link Threads.
As a reminder - ANYBODY is welcome to share their support links in these threads. The instructions are at the top of each one.

For those that have previously posted, the easiest way to move them over is:
1) Go to your OLD comment in the OLD thread (you'll see the old threads listed near the bottom of the DISchurners feed)
2) Click EDIT
3) COPY the entire comment text in the edit box
4) PASTE the comment text as a NEW comment in the NEW thread (you'll find the new threads near the top of the feed)
5) CHECK all links to make sure they are active and working and make sure that your description of the offer matches the actual offer!
You do NOT need to delete your old comment when done, you can just leave it in that thread.

This process will help you not have to re-do all your formatting.
Side Note: It is best to access DISchurners in old reddit. (https://old.reddit.com/r/DISchurners/)

Side Note 2: I would also advise that you check to make sure that all of your links are accurate and working!!

I will post reminders for this over the next week or so and will then remove the old threads with only the new threads remaining.

One more general reminder, reddit flags many support links as spam. I then go in and manually approve them. I will keep an eye on that as we conduct the refresh and approve them all as quickly as possible!

I will be putting out a few announcements this evening as I work through a thread refresh. A reddit thread locks after 6 months and if we want to continue the discussion, a new one is created. To draw attention to some of the various topics we have available on DISchurners, I will do these as a series of announcements tonight.