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

[atxbound]

Thoughts on buying tickets now for Disney cruise out of Rome next summer?
Miles or cash? I would book with miles on a heartbeat if the airline offered free redeposits. I would hesitate with cash because if your plans change, it's harder to get money back and not have it tied up in airline credit.
I say that as someone who booked tickets to Rome in Aug. 2020 for July 2021 arrival. I ended up canceling because there was too many travel restrictions. I would love to think it's different now but it's not looking too good

 

[tink1970]

DS finally has his schedule and now needs to read a book, takes notes and read 3 chapters in the next 3 weeks before his AP Human Geography class starts. They are going to have a test on the book 3 days after they return. How crazy! Are AP classes really like that? Oh, and they have to sign a contract. It’s just wild. I am pretty sure none of this happens at our public school.

LOL DD had to memorize EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY OF THE WORLD for a test within the first 2 days of AP Human Geography...in her freshman year in public school. Courses and how they're taught vary widely, definitely. She's a beast with geography questions when we play Jeopardy! for sure

(I do think it helped her make it past the written test for the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament but missed the live tryouts because she was in Spain-one of her Academic Team teammates did make it to the show though)

She had summer work in 5-7 subjects before each year of high school-definitely kept her out of trouble and prevented the brain drain. It was a hassle at times but in retrospect probably good for her.

As for credit, I wish DD's school understood IB credit more-all of her IB credits are just considered electives which is frustrating as heck since they were (unlike AP) cumulative-both her foreign languages covered 4+ years, as did English and history. That said, she left high school well rounded and well educated (and was the only one onboard her grad ABD trip who could converse with the French couple traveling with our group, outside of the guides and staff so there's that...).

 

[sinnika]

Quick question, can I use my credit for global entry for my son's application using my CSR card? I just applied for mine using my United quest card. Thanks

 

[IFlossU]

Quick question, can I use my credit for global entry for my son's application using my CSR card? I just applied for mine using my United quest card. Thanks

Yes

 

[chattadisser]

soooo can I ask this question here? (I know there are rules about certain subjects right now) SO I posted yesterday about my SWA issues...I ended up on Twitter,where eventually they got sorted properly (even the name switch snafu) but I'm going to be honest here, I haven't flown since Dec 2019.
And I keep reading about flight problems on pretty much every airline, this all is making me anxious. I'm seriously considering bailing on this Sept. trip to see our family(whom we miss so much). Due to the C***d concerns (have serious mask plans anyway etc etc)- the airline schedules constantly changing, the serious glitches in the changes (wrong airports,names etc) I'm just wondering....how do you all feel? IRL experiences? I know a lot of you keep on going, and I need to hear some good stuff..... As it is, I was hoping to do a dual family visit in Sept.- 2 different parts of the country in tandem, that's been scrapped. Now not sure if even 1 will happen. Any thoughts?

I'll put in my two cents here...we just got back from a trip to CO on Delta and had no problems. They didn't mess with our flight schedule but they did do an aircraft change that I wasn't aware of that changed our seats some. No a huge deal and we were fine. Now, we have flights in October with SW and November back on Delta that keep changing. For that I would say, stay on top of those as best you can. I've spent many an hour waiting on a call back from Delta. I am hoping that as things "get back to normal" they would finally get their schedules set.

Now as far as being comfortable, I felt fine. Everyone was compliant with the rules but I will say, the airports are as busy to me as they were the last time I had flown in January of 2020.

 

[tink1970]

I'll put in my two cents here...we just got back from a trip to CO on Delta and had no problems. They didn't mess with our flight schedule but they did do an aircraft change that I wasn't aware of that changed our seats some. No a huge deal and we were fine. Now, we have flights in October with SW and November back on Delta that keep changing. For that I would say, stay on top of those as best you can. I've spent many an hour waiting on a call back from Delta. I am hoping that as things "get back to normal" they would finally get their schedules set.

Now as far as being comfortable, I felt fine. Everyone was compliant with the rules but I will say, the airports are as busy to me as they were the last time I had flown in January of 2020.

LOL, Delta was infamous for changing schedules Sat night/Sunday ams before 2020. I make it a habit of checking my flights one or twice a month and then just calling if I need to-2020 was quiet with the schedule changes so back to moving around is, ironically, back to normal in my experience.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

It's time for me to really figure out my next plan for a card. I'm $500 away on my CIU and should hit it probably this week/next.

Just talking it all out.....the CSR SUB is 60k, which is like $900. The CSP (assuming I have the CSR) is $1500. The IHG is 150k, which like 7-10 nights of hotels in NC (I use my IHG points for summer trips with the kids). So that is like $700-1000 in hotels. I won't get a chance to churn the card till April/May 2022 if I do the MDD.

AHHHH, I hate FOMO and deciding what to do next!!!!

ETA: well I think I just managed to "talk it out", LOL.....

I shouldn't be weighing 160 URs vs 150k IHG. The issue more is the possible loss of 50k URs vs losing 150k IHG.
If I just do the IHG now, I could do another Ink card at some point to make up "lost" URs. If I'm over 5/24, Ink cards are off the table too.

I could quell my FOMO by doing the IHG card now....waiting on the MDD (the 3 mos). If it's still awesome in 3 mos, go for it then....if it's lost it's luster, I could do another INK card first, then go for the MDD.

I can try to use the $300 Travel Credit immediately when my CSR resets in October (for me), then PC my CSR if the AF is $550. I have no plans for redeeming URs anytime soon needing the 1.5x.

So I could actually land more URs if I did the IHG, then an Ink (currently 75k), then the worst case scenario MDD (110k, the all time "low" recently). I'd come out 25k ahead and have the IHG card. Even if the INK drops to 50k, I come out even. I wouldn't be getting the INK URs if I did the MDD now, so it's not like I'm losing out on 75k right now plus the 160k.


So I guess it's time for me to cancel my IHG card so I can churn it. How long do you normally have to wait to churn a Chase card? Do I need to make sure I pay off the balance on the card before applying for it again? And since that CL is going to be gone, I don't need to lower my limit, right?

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

After two long years, I'm back under 5/24 and I just got approved for a new CIU! I read some old data points about Chase and Venmo on this board, but has anyone had recent success using Venmo to hit a MSR without it coding as a cash advance or otherwise being problematic?

I'd love to know this too! I know someone did it back a few months back. I guess my MDD dilemma isn't one if I can't count on using Venmo, LOL. Or I'll need a bunch of VGC sales, LOL.

 

[EACarlson]

And I keep reading about flight problems on pretty much every airline, this all is making me anxious. I'm seriously considering bailing on this Sept. trip to see our family(whom we miss so much). Due to the C***d concerns (have serious mask plans anyway etc etc)- the airline schedules constantly changing, the serious glitches in the changes (wrong airports,names etc) I'm just wondering....how do you all feel? IRL experiences? I know a lot of you keep on going, and I need to hear some good stuff..... As it is, I was hoping to do a dual family visit in Sept.- 2 different parts of the country in tandem, that's been scrapped. Now not sure if even 1 will happen. Any thoughts?

I've flown on 3 trips in the last year. Every airline has had their challenges, magnified by the lack of extra planes and pilots. I haven't had any issues and if it's for vacation I'd be much more apt to roll with it, pay attention to what changes are made to your flights and have backup plans ready when you call after they change them.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

All this talk about airlines changing and cancelling flights has made me nervous about my flight to Ottawa on Friday. It's a 1h10min flight and a 4 hour drive. We live 15-20 mins from the airport, so I'd leave here 90 or so mins before departure and grab a meal courtesy of my PP card (I get free valet parking with my AmEx Aeroplan Cdn card so don't have to worry about finding a spot in the garage). But if the flight is cancelled the next one out isn't for another 2 hours, which would mean driving would be faster. Man I suck at making decisions. If dd were coming I'd drive for sure, but 4 hours on my own, I'd rather fly, relax and read my book.

 

[platamama]

DS finally has his schedule and now needs to read a book, takes notes and read 3 chapters in the next 3 weeks before his AP Human Geography class starts. They are going to have a test on the book 3 days after they return. How crazy! Are AP classes really like that? Oh, and they have to sign a contract. It’s just wild. I am pretty sure none of this happens at our public school.

DD had to take a test in pre-IB English on the first day of 9th grade, in public school, for the assigned summer reading. She also took AP Human Geography, AP Government, and AP Stats in 9th grade. Since her school condenses AP Human Geo and AP Gov into a semester each, those classes went at a breakneck pace. She'll be completing HS with 5 AP classes and an IB Diploma. I don't expect she'll get much if any credit for those in college since it depends on what school she ends up going to, and if they only count for elective credits then it's pretty much a nothingburger. At our in-state flagship she'd almost be a sophomore based on test scores she already has (and still has senior year coming up) but for the schools she's most interested in she may get zero credits because that's how they handle it. It's kind of ironic that the most competitive schools will require course rigor for admission but then not give any credit for those classes... I guess that's how they make money?

Each AP test costs $95 and IB test costs $125 for us. @havaneselover that's amazing that your district covers the full cost!

It's interesting how credit varies college by college, and what the alternative options during high school are. DD has a friend who participates in the our HS extracurriculars but doesn't attend anymore as a student; rather she takes community college courses and will graduate from a different high school. Both that girl and her brother are brilliant; the brother went off to GA Tech when he was 16. She'll graduate at 16 and may have enough credits to enter as a college junior (depending on the school of course).

 

[ctinct]

This is highly dependent on what type of college you want to get into because to get into the top tier schools you need the strength of schedule the APs give you just to be admitted even if the classes may not end up counting. Though I really don't know how the dual enrollment with a community college would figure into it. I really dislike College Board and the whole AP model. I paid a boat load (all that money by check because not until DS very last year did our school allow us to pay with Credit Card!) to them with 3 kids that took over 40 AP classes combined but I really don't think they would have ended up at their schools without the classes. And you do have to get at least a 4 and sometimes a 5 to get credit. Oldest DD went to local state university so all of hers credited. She could have graduated in 3 years easily but instead did a semester and a summer abroad and got 2 degrees. Middle DD although the classes show as "credit" they don't necessarily count. Like she started as a Biochem major and although got a 5 in both AP Bio and Chem they were required to take the on campus class. I think as a different major they would have counted as a science credit. She did breeze through them since she had already had all the material. Same with Calculus. She got a 5 in that and got credit for Calc 1 and 2 but was required to take an on campus math class so had to take Calc 3. Her school has been the most restrictive on all the credits being useful but they have helped because even with changing her major she is still able to double major because of the ones that did credit. So far DS's seem to be counting for him. He as also able to start with Calc 3 and was able to skip his Physics lecture and just take the lab. I was really hoping he would try to graduate in 3 years and save me some $$$ but he is also looking to double major and a minor. Darn it. lol The problem with taking so many AP classes though is that a lot of them are history/sociology type classes and you don't really need all those credits anyway. Like Human Geo for example, it is kind of a waste of an AP class to me because who really is going to take a Human Geo class in college anyway.

Exact same experience. High schools want you to take a lot of APs because it looks good for them. And I think they do help you to get in , but we also found that my daughter had to retake college level science and writing courses. (Health science major/writing minor.) Then she had a couple in other departments that they counted as “credit”, I think, but didn’t fulfill any other actual requirements, so kind of frustrating in the end.

 

[Judique]

I picked up a $100 Disney gift card at Best Buy yesterday, using a 10% offer on my DD's authorized user card.

So, just a few minutes ago I got around to applying it to my DVC dues. Noticed the gray plastic over the number was all raised up all around the edge.

So, now was worried that the card was possibly drained. Applied it anyway and it credited the $100.

I then carefully peeled back the plastic exposing all the numbers. It came off very easily.

This is the first card I had seen like that. Usually I make a mess scratching off the gray stuff.

And, usually I apply the cards to my account as soon as I get them home. That card made me nervous.

 

[Psychodisney]

I can't believe how many of dd's friends went to schools where they basically ended up with no credit for AP/IB (Michigan, Brown, NYU). DD is lucky that GA Tech is pretty generous.

I think it depends a lot on what the intended major is. For my DD at Michigan, she was able to use about 4 (one per year for prerequisites). Really added no value.

 

[Psychodisney]

soooo can I ask this question here? (I know there are rules about certain subjects right now) SO I posted yesterday about my SWA issues...I ended up on Twitter,where eventually they got sorted properly (even the name switch snafu) but I'm going to be honest here, I haven't flown since Dec 2019.
And I keep reading about flight problems on pretty much every airline, this all is making me anxious. I'm seriously considering bailing on this Sept. trip to see our family(whom we miss so much). Due to the C***d concerns (have serious mask plans anyway etc etc)- the airline schedules constantly changing, the serious glitches in the changes (wrong airports,names etc) I'm just wondering....how do you all feel? IRL experiences? I know a lot of you keep on going, and I need to hear some good stuff..... As it is, I was hoping to do a dual family visit in Sept.- 2 different parts of the country in tandem, that's been scrapped. Now not sure if even 1 will happen. Any thoughts?

We have had minor changes. We’ve traveled a lot to RSW through the pandemic. Not happy with overall what is going on in FL but the travel end of it has been pretty smooth on SW. We flew AA last weekend and found that compliance with masks was not all that great. Compliance on SW has been better.

 

[Arcades]

I shouldn't be weighing 160k URs vs 150k IHG. The issue more is the possible loss of 50k URs vs losing 150k IHG.
If I just do the IHG now, I could do another Ink card at some point to make up "lost" URs. If I'm over 5/24, Ink cards are off the table too.

So I guess it's time for me to cancel my IHG card so I can churn it. How long do you normally have to wait to churn a Chase card? Do I need to make sure I pay off the balance on the card before applying for it again? And since that CL is going to be gone, I don't need to lower my limit, right?

How are you factoring in a "loss" of 150k IHG? IHG will always have a baseline offer of around 80-100k points (at least recently). So, it's really a measurement of an anticipated drop of CSP's bonus offer vs. IHG's bonus offer. I would guess CSP goes back to 60k at some point and I would take 40k UR over 50-80k IHG for the simple reason that Hyatt is still based on categories and not dynamic pricing and you can get some really good value there. Additionally, you can cash out UR at 1.5 cpp (Pay Yourself Back) on the UR that you cannot do with IHG if you change travel plans.

As for your bolded question, recent data points suggest 4 days between closing a card and reapplying online. I would make certain it has a zero balance when you close it out. No need to lower limit for auto approval purposes, but you might want to move that credit to another card if you want to have the ability to shift credit on a recon call.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

As for your bolded question, recent data points suggest 4 days between closing a card and reapplying online. I would make certain it has a zero balance when you close it out. No need to lower limit for auto approval purposes, but you might want to move that credit to another card if you want to have the ability to shift credit on a recon call.

I am probably not up to date on this, but I understood if you canceled a Chase card the rule of thumb was to wait 30 days for it to clear the system. I understood 4 days wait only applied to product changes. I was stung by this once upon a time with a Southwest card.
Are there recent DPs indicating otherwise?

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

We just got back from our Hawaii trip on Saturday morning and wanted to share some thoughts since I learned so much from others on this thread and because this trip was all possible due to churning! Flights (on AA), hotels, and rental car all paid for with points.

We stayed 4 nights at the Grand Wailea, arriving on Thursday evening in Maui using my DH’s FNC from his Hilton Aspire, and 3 nights on HH points from his SUB and some from mine also (I had the Surpass and the Hilton biz). The resort was beautiful! The room wasn’t particularly special (except the space in the bathroom was really nice, and the separate tub/shower came in handy too), but the grounds were gorgeous and the pool was awesome. It’s very spread out though, and I thought the layout was a bit confusing until we get used to it. We got daily housekeeping, and with my DH’s diamond status (due to the Aspire) we got $50/day food credit. From my understanding they calculated it in total, and we could use the credit at any location onsite. We got food from Café Kula a couple of nights because we just liked to relax and eat in the room. There was self-parking available, which we used and I believe it was $39/night (from looking online I thought only valet was available for $49/night). Parking was convenient and easy to get in and out of. As I mentioned the pool was very nice, but the slides are only open until 4, and at night there is pretty much no one there. During the day the pool area is very busy though.

This was our first time on Maui and overall we liked it. My DH and I had only been to Oahu previously, and it was a lot different. Very few chain restaurants (from what we could find anyways), not as much shopping as Oahu, and just much less commercial. We did the road to Hana on our first full day, and wish I had planned it on another day (we didn’t have much choice because of the reservation I had for Wai’anapanapa State Park (black sand beach)). We had a 7-10 am ressie at the black sand beach, which was almost at the end of the road, so we kind of did it in reverse. I thought it` was fun and really loved the scenery, but my kids (DS10 and DD8) got tired or being in the car, especially after traveling so much the day before, and my DS got a bit carsick towards the end too. We really liked the black sand beach though, and the views from the top were gorgeous! I wish we’d had more time there. We left the hotel at 5:30 am or 6 am and didn’t get there until around 9 am. We also saw the O’heo Gulch (Seven Sacred Pools) but didn’t get to swim in the water at the bottom. I wanted to do the hike to the bamboo forest but my kiddos were pretty much done at that point so we didn’t make it. We did also walked through a cave and had lunch at a food truck area and got some yummy banana bread! Saw several beautiful waterfalls as we were driving by, and got some good pictures!

The other days in Maui we mostly relaxed, we spent most of one day at the pool and also at the beach near our hotel. There was some pretty good snorkeling near the shore/rocky area between GW and the Wailea Beach Resort (I think that’s the name) where I saw a sea turtle swimming. That was so exciting! Luckily I had my camera with me and got a good pic. We had pictures done with the onsite photographer at GW (free 45 minute session, each individual picture was I think either $70 or $90, but we got the least expensive package that included 20 digital pictures). Overall were pretty happy with them but I did wish we had done more pictures on the beach instead of all around the resort. I should have spoken up and asked to go ahead and go down to the beach sooner for the pics. Also, we scheduled the session at 5:15, I really wish we had done them about an hour later to catch the gorgeous sunset.

Overall I enjoyed Maui but thought some parts were not as pretty as I expected (mostly referring to the drive from the airport to the GW, which we also drove the same way on the way to Hana and back). I felt like it was more of a locals island and due to some signs/graffiti we felt a little bit unwelcome as tourists. But everyone we spoke to or were around were very friendly so not sure if there’s just certain people there who feel that way? It was just a bit different from when we’d been previously and had felt extremely welcomed. Maui also felt hotter to me than Oahu, not sure if that’s true or just what it felt like.

Oh, we also went on a drive and saw the turtle beach (can’t remember the name, the one on the way back from Hana) which was really neat! We got some great pics but be aware there is a stone wall you’re not supposed to go past to see them (we didn’t, just zoomed in to get the pics).

We flew to Oahu on Monday and the transfer seemed to pretty much take up the whole day (we did get in a little beach/pool time that morning), with having to re-pack, return the rental car, drive to the airport, check in, etc. The Maui airport was definitely a little dated IMO and there was a small food court area but the table/chairs were unavailable (I’m assuming due to covid) so be prepared to try to find a place to eat. Not sure if the island-hopping is worth the time or not, I kind of wish we had just stuck to one island, but on the other hand liked visiting both so I guess I’m torn on whether visiting multiple islands is the best use of time or not. One thing to note is that I booked through American but flew on Hawaiian Airlines from OGG to HNL, and I did have to pay the baggage fees on HA (luckily with my HA member # I only paid $35 instead of $50 for our two checked bags). On American our bags were free due to my Citi biz AA card.

Oahu is like a whole different world, at least HHV is! So huge and so many shops/buildings/people! We were upgraded to a full ocean view instead of a partial, which was nice. We stayed in the Diamond tower, which did have a pretty good ocean view. The pools there were fine, just not near as nice/big as GW. They have 2 kind of bigger slides, but one is only open 11-2, the other from 2-5 (I think). Be prepared that there is pretty much a line for everything there, food, check-in, etc. They also run out of pool towels frequently. You can only use the $30/day food credit at certain locations, which they tell you about at check-in. It is a per-day amount, though, not total. For the relatively low points costs and the 5th night free, I think it’s a good value to stay there, but next time I really want to try Aulani.

We did a 3 hour dolphin boat excursion that was the highlight of the trip for all of us! We saw several spinner dolphins off the side of the boat, including some babies jumping out of the water! We also got to snorkel and see another sea turtle and some pretty fish/reef areas. It was a small boat with only about 12-15 passengers and 2 guides who were really awesome! Really glad we got to do that. I’m also glad it was only 3 hours, I think for our age kids it was about perfect.

We did a few scenic drivers around the island and to the North shore. We tried to get a dole whip from the Dole plantation but the line was super long and we decided not to wait. We did get one from a CBD store in Honolulu though

I almost forgot, Thursday night there was a tsunami watch that totally freaked out this Kansas girl! It was triggered by an underwater 8.2 earthquake in Alaska. Luckily the watch was cancelled after a few tense hours. We were actually watching a local channel with a reporter filming on location at the HHV beach! The watch ended up being cancelled though.

For anyone going soon I would say make sure to get your reservations early, and if there’s dining you really want, try to make those early too. With our kids (at least DD) being a very picky eater, and neither my DH or myself being big fish eaters there wasn’t a ton of restaurants that we were dying to go to. I would have liked to go to the Monkeypod happy hour, but we just never made it. Overall I really wanted this to be a relaxing vacation without a lot of time constraints and that’s what it mostly was. My DD8 is not overly anxious to go back anytime soon, and I think I’m good for a while too. Maybe in 2-3 more years we’ll go again. My kids both say they prefer WDW so that makes me happy

If anyone has any questions please let me know! Sorry to write a novel but hopefully this is helpful for anyone thinking about visiting Hawaii soon!


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Love the trip report! Great family pics.
Um, a tsunami watch is WAY out of my comfort zone. I would be totally freaking out. Glad you all were safe!

 

[LynnTH]

After two long years, I'm back under 5/24 and I just got approved for a new CIU! I read some old data points about Chase and Venmo on this board, but has anyone had recent success using Venmo to hit a MSR without it coding as a cash advance or otherwise being problematic?

Just finished up MSR on CIP yesterday by Venmoing my DD. Today shows points as pending. So as of right now still working...

 

[WVMomof3]

DD internship this summer was remote. A couple weeks ago they decided to fly them all out to be in person for the end. For most of them it was just a few days but her department was going to be there for over 2 weeks. She just called me to tell me they are sending them home a week early because of rising numbers. Ughhhh. I hope this isn’t a sign of what’s to come for fall again. I guess this ties in with the earlier question of are you worried about upcoming travel.