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

[CookieandOatmeal]

Thanks everyone for the tips/advice so far. I think I'm going to take the plunge soon and get my first annual fee CC lol. The analogies that everyone has offered so far on annual fees has definitely made me see them in a different angle. Also, from all the reading I've done so far, it seems like the chase sapphire preferred might fit what I'm looking to do and I should be able to hit the SUB easily. Now just kind of wished I didn't already pay my DVC dues already haha. I'm going to wait until my request to join the Reddit group is approved and I can do a little more reading before I unfreeze my credit and apply.

 

[GBRforWDW]

You need to open more cards, ask lots of question and read some blogs.

I like to pencil in vacations a couple years ahead and then start looking for the right points/miles needed to make that trip as free as possible.

This year we opened 12 cards, took 5 vacations, spent 31 nights in hotels, purchased 19 RT tickets, spent $7,689 and paid $2,643 in credit card fees.

It is a lot to manage but totally doable, with lots of spreadsheets.

That's awesome. I definitely want to do more traveling over the next 10-20 years. Anything specific you look for when opening and closing cards, as far as rewards go? Are there any blogs you would recommend that you can share on here? I know posting links is a sticky situation sometimes.

 

[becauseimnew]

That's awesome. I definitely want to do more traveling over the next 10-20 years. Anything specific you look for when opening and closing cards, as far as rewards go? Are there any blogs you would recommend that you can share on here? I know posting links is a sticky situation sometimes.

Do you have your 2022 vacation destination? I would focus on earning miles/points for that.
for us it will be Hawaii, I know we’ll need Hyatt points for hotels, looking at United for flights. We are taking my parents so will need lots and lots of chase points. P2 and I need to stay under 4/24 to do that.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

WAIT! I just got here and there are 6 pages already?!?

 

[calypso726]

I think for some of our newer members/followers - it might be good to point out that many of us use points to reduce what we pay in cash and to make our cash stretch really far such as @calypso726 .

I have a 10K budget for vacationing, and most of the time I spend it all and then some. The 'then some' is when I supplement with free rooms or a cash back advantage.

I'm not going to ask @calypso726 what she budgets as I think that would be rude. But, it may be good to let people know that although many take a 'free' vacation, many others such as @calypso726 and @*WDW*Groupie* use this hobby to get a lot of things free or at a much reduced cost, in the thousands, while still spending their budget in addition. It's a huge way to maximize what you already have and get to do things that would not normally be in the grasp of many.

If I haven't said it clearly, what I'm saying is it's not always all free. But it's glorious to cut down a $40k trip to $10 to 20K. That puts it in the realm of possibility for many.

And I get to look at the penguins on the ice flows and totally enjoy!

Exactly! I’ve mentioned that my DVC dues alone are over $10,000 a year. Pre COVID we were doing an ABD and Disney cruise each year on top of being at the parks a few times a month most of the year. So add credit card annual fees to that as well.

This hobby pays for everything that isn’t in the budget or allows me to do what’s in the budget on a more luxury kind of experience. When we did the China ABD trip, that was in the budget. Flying first class in Singapore Suites with those double beds was not. This hobby paid for those flights. Taking a $53,000 vacation to Dubai and the Maldives was not in the budget. This hobby, my annual fee cards and $235 out of pocket paid for that trip.

My future 23 night Antarctica, South Georgia, Falkland Islands trip that will surpass the cost of the Dubai and Maldives trip won’t be in my budget. I have no intention of paying for that trip. This hobby will though. I love travel hacking

I love reading about your trips....looking forward to reading more in 2021 and onward

Thank you I’m looking forward to having some fun trips to share.

Happy birthday!

Thank you Happy New Year!

 

[GBRforWDW]

Do you have your 2022 vacation destination? I would focus on earning miles/points for that.
for us it will be Hawaii, I know we’ll need Hyatt points for hotels, looking at United for flights. We are taking my parents so will need lots and lots of chase points. P2 and I need to stay under 4/24 to do that.

My wife wants hawaii at some point in the next year and a half. I told her she can plan her 40th birthday trip for that, but she wants it sooner. Lol. We have enough Delta points to get 2 tickets there, but I feel like we're using too many points for that - nearly 50k per cheap ticket from our nearest hotels and the third ticket we'd need is 600. We could drive to Denver and pay out of pocket to southwest less than twice that for 3 tickets and still have the Delta points.

Hiatt points or any hotel points would be good. We've never been, so don't know the best island to go to or place to stay.

 

[DaveL]

WAIT! I just got here and there are 6 pages already?!?

Just wait until the evening crew jumps online.

 

[Albort]

Just wait until the evening crew jumps online.

haha, i never thought of disboard users like that before...

 

[Hoosier John]

@Minnie368, yes, as @alryan thought, I was applying for the personal Amex Platinum (from last year's thread).

 

[Hoosier John]

Any suggestions for things to do in Key West (not Disney's Old Key West)?
Thanks in advance

 

[Hoosier John]

Just love that new thread feel. Thanks SFF and all of you!
Have a happy, healthy, adventurous, and wealthy new year!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thanks everyone for the tips/advice so far. I think I'm going to take the plunge soon and get my first annual fee CC lol. The analogies that everyone has offered so far on annual fees has definitely made me see them in a different angle. Also, from all the reading I've done so far, it seems like the chase sapphire preferred might fit what I'm looking to do and I should be able to hit the SUB easily. Now just kind of wished I didn't already pay my DVC dues already haha. I'm going to wait until my request to join the Reddit group is approved and I can do a little more reading before I unfreeze my credit and apply.

You're all set for DISchurners. Sorry about the delay, I was building some IKEA furniture today

 

[CyndiLouWho]

All caught up now. Had a craptastic day at work, super busy with the bonus of finding out an office mate has covid.

These threads had a page one with tons of info?

Are you one of those guys who never reads directions? That was my BIL trying to set up Xbox on Christmas.

Happy New Year everyone!

Here's to hoping that we can get back to traveling in 2021! I have a trip planned in December to Vienna, Prague, Budapest and Amsterdam (Amsterdam is solely to use my Hilton FNCs at the amazing WA!). I really, really, really hope that I am vaccinated by that time.

I just wanna go to Disneyland! Re-booked for June with
Hope everyone has a great NYE and a fantastic New Year! We need a good one!
Happy early birthday to @calypso726 !
And thanks to @SouthFayetteFan for his work here.

ETA: My little bit of Disney sunshine arrived today in the form of a Dole Whip candle! Mmm.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

My wife wants hawaii at some point in the next year and a half. I told her she can plan her 40th birthday trip for that, but she wants it sooner. Lol. We have enough Delta points to get 2 tickets there, but I feel like we're using too many points for that - nearly 50k per cheap ticket from our nearest hotels and the third ticket we'd need is 600. We could drive to Denver and pay out of pocket to southwest less than twice that for 3 tickets and still have the Delta points.

Hiatt points or any hotel points would be good. We've never been, so don't know the best island to go to or place to stay.

Don't let her read @calypso726 trip reports or your wife will be wanting Antarctica or Dubai. Follow along here and you will hear of some fabulous redemptions from our peeps here.

 

[GZanta77]

Any suggestions for things to do in Key West (not Disney's Old Key West)?
Thanks in advance

can't help, but also interested in replies. Now that JetBlue have started direct service from BOS, Key West has moved up a few places on my list of places to go.

 

[IFlossU]

Thanks everyone for the tips/advice so far. I think I'm going to take the plunge soon and get my first annual fee CC lol. The analogies that everyone has offered so far on annual fees has definitely made me see them in a different angle. Also, from all the reading I've done so far, it seems like the chase sapphire preferred might fit what I'm looking to do and I should be able to hit the SUB easily. Now just kind of wished I didn't already pay my DVC dues already haha. I'm going to wait until my request to join the Reddit group is approved and I can do a little more reading before I unfreeze my credit and apply.

I’m relatively new here too. When I first started reading along I had 1 card with an annual fee. My $69 Southwest card. I was fully in the no AF camp simply because I didn’t know how to get the value out of a card with an AF. As I started following along here and really taking a dive into miles and points I became much more comfortable getting cards with AF’s. I now understand how to maximize their value, and when to cancel or product change if the value is gone for me. The biggest favor I’ve done for my family is following along with this thread and looking into cards and deals that are mentioned. Then determining if the value is there for us. There’s a great group of people here that know how to save money, and are very willing to share their knowledge so others can save too.

WAIT! I just got here and there are 6 pages already?!?

Makes me smile, this thread has been quiet for a long time. Hopefully 2021 will help breathe life back into the points and miles hobby

 

[Princess Michele]

Hi, I am joining in to get advice on a new credit card. I looked into your thread a year ago and again now. I have researched off and on the benefits and process of opening new cards for the bonus and perks and want to take advantage for a 2022 trip.

New Cards
7/19 Barclay's Wyndham Rewards Visa

We try to only have a few cards and keep the balance either paid off or low. The only cards we have are Navy Visa, Chase Disney Visa, and Barclay's Wyndham Rewards Visa. We have never had any AmEx or other Chase cards. We had a Discover card well over 20 years ago.

What amount of spend would you put on a card monthly? $2,100.00

Do you currently payoff your CCs in full every month or do you carry any balances/pay any interest? Try to pay off in full every month. Sometimes we carry over a balance from a trip or large purchase.

What airport(s) do you typically fly out of? We usually drive. If we fly we usually fly out of BWI.

Do you have a preference of Frequent Flyer program? We do not have a preference. We currently have Southwest Rewards accounts because that is who we have flown on the most recently. If another program is better for a future trip we would not be against using it.

Does SOUTHWEST Airline service your airport? Yes.

Do you have a Hotel Rewards program preference? We prefer Marriott but can use other hotels. We are a family of 5 and Marriott seemed to be the best fit for 5 people. Now that our kids are reaching adulthood this may not be as important.

Do you currently have travel points or miles in any program? Southwest Rewards points and Marriott points. Not sure what the amounts are currently.

What at your specific goals for churning credit cards? Cash back to lower cost of Alaskan Cruisetour. Free or discounted airfare for cruise.

When do you plan to take these trips? June 2022

Who does your travel party consist of? Me, DH, Adult Daughter, Adult Son, Son-15, my mother.

We have booked an Alaskan Cruisetour with Princess Cruise lines. I have not looked into airlines yet so I do not know what cards would be the best for airfare. I am looking into which would be the best card to provide the most cashback or other rewards to lower the cost of our trip. I am not familiar with points cards to know how they work or if they would be beneficial for this trip. In researching cards and what we would spend it seems that either the Discover it, or Chase Freedom would be the best choice. Since I had a Discover card previously I am not sure if I would be eligible for the double cashback in the first year. We do have an account at BOA and could have Gold Preferred status if that would be the best card. I was looking at their Alaskan Airlines card as a possibility for the airfare.

We live in a rural area and are 45-60 minutes from malls and big box stores. We do not belong to Sam's, Costco, or BJ's but my mom has memberships if we want to try to get the additional cashback with a card that has quarterly options. We do not have many restaurants near us so we do not eat out often. We also do not have much in the way of food delivery options apart from Papa John's or Domino's so some of the rewards from cards may not be usable.

I am sorry my post is so long. Please let me know if anything is not clear or if more information is needed. Thank you for helping me with this decision.

 

[Judique]

Any suggestions for things to do in Key West (not Disney's Old Key West)?
Thanks in advance

Eat, drink, and watch the sunset from Mallory Square. Walk in Hemingway's steps while reading the Old Man and The Sea as you drift off to sleep. Take a boat ride out to the Fort. Smell the flowers and revel in the fact that it's a gentle breeze and not a snow storm.

I've only been there once back in the late 80ties and we could barely afford to smell the flowers back then, so I'm probably not your best guide. But I know what I would do.

 

[calypso726]

Don't let her read @calypso726 trip reports or your wife will be wanting Antarctica or Dubai. Follow along here and you will hear of some fabulous redemptions from our peeps here.

Surely a trip to London for the weekend just to see a play isn’t unreasonable if it’s all on points

 

[3 DD love princesses]

@WendiDarling AMEX treats Cash Back and MR separately. The everyday card is similar to the BCE that gives out MR.
@Judique I tried to check my account at Navy Fed yesterday and the whole system was down, then it wouldn't accept fingerprints or passcodes, I had to use Username/Password. They emailed me yesterday afternoon to tell me my "stimulus" was scheduled to be deposited on New Years Day. So I guess my wife's Feb WDW trip will be paid for on Monday.

They are having a lot of trouble especially with the app still