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

[Judique]

As a relatively new Virginia resident, I was excited to see a Total Wine & More offer on my Amex - spend $100, get $20 back. They carry my new favorite summer beer, Nordic Jam. Then I looked closer and it says spend $100 on WINE. Trying to decide if AmEx will be able to tell what I am buying, I know they can see GC some places. I don't remember what the receipts from that store look like.

There is also a $10 coupon in the smartsource insert that comes in the mail in the wad of sales flyers. It's for Winery Direct wines but can be used in store. I am going to try and combine it with the Amex offer which I also have.

 

[StephPlum]

DH's CSP just appeared on his login! Applied 6/27, sent in income verification 6/28, that took a long time. Will try a MDD, could totally use the extra 60K URs.

DH applied 6/29. Maybe there was a slowdown in that timeframe. Felt like forever.

 

[Albort]

I would think you will be fine. I can't think of any Amex offer restrictions like this that were enforced.

unless specifically stated in the T&C of the amex offer...

 

[havaneselover]

unless specifically stated in the T&C of the amex offer...

Even the T&C often say no gift cards and those always seem to trigger the credit (unless I'm misunderstanding you).

 

[georgina]

Even the T&C often say no gift cards and those always seem to trigger the credit (unless I'm misunderstanding you).

Wasn't there something about gift cards and level 3 data at Staples (or somewhere else, my memory is foggy)

 

[havaneselover]

Wasn't there something about gift cards and level 3 data at Staples (or somewhere else, my memory is foggy)

Maybe but it still seems to work.

 

[Jax1023]

You are so lucky! Nobody napped for me and my grands are the same.
And, on top of that, they will stay awake all evening, as late as 10, and then in the morning when I quietly try to get some coffee around 5-6, they follow me to the kitchen. Maybe they smell the coffee. Every kid is different.

I would loose mind! My kids are up early-6:30 is sleeping in. Most days 5:45-6. But I leave for work early and we had to leave for daycare by 6:40, so that’s part of it. But they go to bed at 7:30-8.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Hawaii/Ka’anapali update from this morning’s run....

7am is clearly the key time for the chair hogs to hop into action. I’d say 80% of the pool and beach chairs at Hyatt and Marriott were “taken” with towels and assorted belongings by then. Things were a bit better at the Hyatt Residence Club - I just looked out now, at 7:40am, and only maybe 25% of chairs are taken, if that (disclaimer - I can see all of HRC’s pool area, but only parts of Hyatt’s and Marriott’s, so maybe things are better there in areas I can’t see).

I mentioned that the beach is incredibly narrow in front of Hyatt, HRC and Marriott. Heading north from here, the first resort with a decently-wide beach is Ka’anapali Alii, which continues up to the Sheraton (it was hard to see the beach in front of the Sheraton from the running path). If you want a big chain resort with a nice, wide beach up here, Westin is the call, IMO (based SOLELY on the beach). I will say that, at several areas where the beaches were wider, the surf was MUCH rougher, with big (maybe 5-6’?) waves crashing right at the shoreline. May be a bit rough for those with little ones.

Today is our last day in Maui...tomorrow we head to Oahu and Hilton Hawaiian Village!

I'm really enjoying your updates! We're headed to Maui 2 weeks from today! GW first for 4 nights then 5 nights at HHV. I tried booking the Calypso based on your recommendation but they were booked I'm going to keep checking though in case they have cancellations.

 

[Tink113]

Hi I am looking for some advice on our next credit card/cards.
We have just bought a new home (in May) and making some big purchases - furniture, TV’s, etc.

Looking for a good card for our big purchases & a good everyday “default - we put everything on this” card.

We don’t do any air travel and very rarely stay at hotels.

I would like a great cash back card and/or option to pay towards our Fall 2022 Disney Cruise.


- 05/21 Costco Credit Card
- I don’t remember the date but before Christmas this past year or year before we got a Amazon store card.


2) Secondly we'll want to know a little bit about you. Specifically - what you spend, and what you want to earn!

we spend around $3,000 or more in utilities, gas, grocery’s, restaurants, misc spending (lots at Amazon and Costco)

We sometimes pay off the card and sometime carry the balance.

We don’t fly , we drive if we go on vacation. We rarely stay at a hotel other than something like great wolf lodge. If we do stay at a hotel, I like Westin or Marriott. Again, that’s probably been 5 times in the last 10 years.
Goals: upcoming Cruise & Cash Back to pay-off a mortgage or student loans.

We are about to buy about $2K worth of closet organization from IKEA, Considering a couch & TV from Costco, and I need bedding from Pottery Barn.
I may or may not have a PB credit card. I know I did years ago. Not sure if they cancel those.
The above purchases I have cash to pay off whatever card they go on.

Current Cards we have:
Costco citi (I think)
Amazon store card
Target Red Card
Bank of America Credit Card
Disney credit card Visa
Upromise master card
I think that’s it.

the Amazon card and Costco card have a balance. The others do not.
Thanks!

 

[Albort]

Wasn't there something about gift cards and level 3 data at Staples (or somewhere else, my memory is foggy)

Maybe but it still seems to work.

majority of the time, it should still work. but just prepping you for the worst... :]

 

[Laurawill]

Hi I am looking for some advice on our next credit card/cards.
We have just bought a new home (in May) and making some big purchases - furniture, TV’s, etc.

Looking for a good card for our big purchases & a good everyday “default - we put everything on this” card.

We don’t do any air travel and very rarely stay at hotels.

I would like a great cash back card and/or option to pay towards our Fall 2022 Disney Cruise.


- 05/21 Costco Credit Card
- I don’t remember the date but before Christmas this past year or year before we got a Amazon store card.


2) Secondly we'll want to know a little bit about you. Specifically - what you spend, and what you want to earn!

we spend around $3,000 or more in utilities, gas, grocery’s, restaurants, misc spending (lots at Amazon and Costco)

We sometimes pay off the card and sometime carry the balance.

We don’t fly ✈, we drive if we go on vacation. We rarely stay at a hotel other than something like great wolf lodge. If we do stay at a hotel, I like Westin or Marriott. Again, that’s probably been 5 times in the last 10 years.
Goals: upcoming Cruise & Cash Back to pay-off a mortgage or student loans.

We are about to buy about $2K worth of closet organization from IKEA, Considering a couch & TV from Costco, and I need bedding from Pottery Barn.
I may or may not have a PB credit card. I know I did years ago. Not sure if they cancel those.
The above purchases I have cash to pay off whatever card they go on.

Current Cards we have:
Costco citi (I think)
Amazon store card
Target Red Card
Bank of America Credit Card
Disney credit card Visa
Upromise master card
I think that’s it.

the Amazon card and Costco card have a balance. The others do not.
Thanks!

With carrying a balance it makes the math hard to see if you can get ahead with SUB's and rewards. The Chase Sapphire Preferred is currently offering a great SUB of 100,000 UR that could then be cashed out at 1.25cpp if used for pay yourself back for grocery store purchases (ie purchasing Disney Gift Cards to use toward paying off cruise if it is a Disney Cruise), though that offer is currently only through the end of September. This card does have a great SUB right now and since you don't use hotel/airline rewards often it could be a good option since you have the flexibility for pay yourself back to the other categories.

Chase Freedom Unlimited currently has no interest for the first 15 months, which could be helpful if you aren't able to pay off the balance right away for the upcoming purchases. It is offering $200 cash back for sign up bonus with a $500 spend.

If you are looking for a card to transfer to, the Citi Double Cash Back is currently offering no interest on balance transfers for up to 18 months with a 3% fee to transfer.

 

[StephPlum]

DS was approved for CSP as well! Glad to get him started on his churning journey.

 

[amalone1013]

Looking for a recommendation for a one night pre-cruise hotel for Miami. I’m betting someone here can help me out with suggestions on what I can get with my hotel points. I have Marriott, ihg, and Hilton.

I also have this question!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Is there anything you can do w/ a VGC that has $.25 on it? I can't load it on Amazon, LOL. I just took all my cards that had a lovely $2 balance (left after $99 WM loads), and put them into my Amazon account. It'll be interesting to see if my Staples has any cards on Sunday. Since I know I can easily load when I'm in NC, I might just go crazy if I can. I'm torn, I have about $5300 more to spend before December to hit my FNC on my Hilton Surpass.....But I have about $4700 to spend on my CIU by 8/31. Maybe I can get SUPER lucky at my Staples and score a few thousand this week....then I can split them between the 2 cards, and load them here and there, then go on a blitz loading them in NC, LOL.

Is it my imagination or does the CSP look better than CSR? I think i might close my CSR and switch over
to Platinum. I'm not paying for both. It is so hard! I have had my CSR since they launched it. It
feels like a family member. lol

This is EXACTLY how I feel! I feel like I'm breaking up w/ them, LOL.

 

[Limes96]

I'm local, so I've never stayed in these hotes, but the Intercontinental (IHG) is very nice and very close to the port. You can walk over to Bayside from there which has restaurants and shops. A little further on Brickell Ave. is a JW Marriott and an Aloft (called Brickell but off Brickell). Both of these are very near the shopping/dining/entertainment centers - Brickell City Center and Mary Brickell Village plus there are many places to eat around there. Its a high rise area, upscale although some pockets have more lively street life than others. The Conrad (HIlton) is on Brickell as well, a beautiful building. Brickell is funny. It's the financial headquarters on the water for dozens of companies and banks from all over the world. It also has thousands of condos with both types of uses in expensive high rises. I find that the residential buildings are a little too far from the street to create a good pedestrian environment - although it has improved significantly and culturally people seem to be willing to walk more. Sorry, my city planning nerd has come out.

The JW, Intercontinental, and Conrad may have water views.

I ended up getting the Hampton Inn Brickell since it looked like it had decent reviews and the points cost was less than others in the area. Any idea if that one has any major problems? Says the shuttle to the port is $8. @amalone1013

 

[elgerber]

when did the Delta pers plat become a metal card? I have had this card a couple of times before and it's been a normal card. This one came in a big fancy box, with all these colorful cards for each benefit and it's metal LOL.

 

[Psychodisney]

Is there anything you can do w/ a VGC that has $.25 on it? I can't load it on Amazon, LOL. I just took all my cards that had a lovely $2 balance (left after $99 WM loads), and put them into my Amazon account. It'll be interesting to see if my Staples has any cards on Sunday. Since I know I can easily load when I'm in NC, I might just go crazy if I can. I'm torn, I have about $5300 more to spend before December to hit my FNC on my Hilton Surpass.....But I have about $4700 to spend on my CIU by 8/31. Maybe I can get SUPER lucky at my Staples and score a few thousand this week....then I can split them between the 2 cards, and load them here and there, then go on a blitz loading them in NC, LOL.


This is EXACTLY how I feel! I feel like I'm breaking up w/ them, LOL.

You can auto drain that 25 cents at Costco or Target!

 

[becauseimnew]

Is it my imagination or does the CSP look better than CSR? I think i might close my CSR and switch over
to Platinum. I'm not paying for both. It is so hard! I have had my CSR since they launched it. It
feels like a family member. lol

No way would I trade the CSR for a Platinum. I would trade my Plat for the CSP.

 

[jujubiee4]

No way would I trade the CSR for a Platinum. I would trade my Plat for the CSP.

I have had the CSP already and i dont want to downgrade without a bonus. I rather transfer to one of the
freedom cards then apply for the CSP at a later date for the points.

 

[GlamMistress]

Thinking of jumping on the 80,000 Citi Premier offer. I really need to sit down and figure out our Greece trip next year. We are cruising Virgin. At minimum I know I could use the SUB for $800 back on the cruise via statement credit.
Was also thinking of flying Virgin from the east coast to Europe. Nice sweet spots there.

There's a lot of good bonuses out there now and I am torn.