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

[pinkxray]

I got a new 10% back at Shopdisney on one of my Chase cards today!

 

[Haley R]

3 Amazon shop with points offers on DoC today. Got the Discover one to work for DH and the Amex one to work for both of us.

Also, an e-mailed Instacart/Hilton offer. 2 months of Express free and 3750 Hilton points. I don't use Instacart anymore, but seems like some easy Hilton points. I was able to add the unique promo code to my existing account. Then I went in and canceled my membership, which is really just turning off auto renewal since it doesn't cancel until the 2 months is up.

Thanks! We got the Amex one to work

 

[miztressuz]

Have you already added them? I guess so since you know the discount amount. Weird that both offers are on one card and overlap. I would buy $250 GC and a $440 GC at the same time and take screenshots of the offers just in case you need to call.

It can happen with the Chase offers. Haven't heard it happening in a while but I thought it triggered the first expiring first. Or the first added, first. They seemed to go in an order. They don't stack like AmEx. But it's been a few years since I saw the DPs so I'm fuzzy.

Congratulations on your stash!

Your CIP comes with the ability to transfer to partners, but not the CIU, CIC, or Freedom. You do not need a Marriott cc to do it. You just need the loyalty account number and the name needs to match your Chase account.

It may not be the best value to transfer Chase UR to Marriott though, unless you're just topping off. Swan and Dolphin costs 50k Bonvoy points regular rate and 60k if your dates go up to peak (40k non-peak, but that's a lot rarer). UR usually transfer 1:1, though there's a 50% transfer bonus now. Let's say the dates you want are 50k, then it would cost about 33.3k UR. If you had a Chase Sapphire Reserve, you could book it through the travel portal at a 1.5 cent per point rate. So that 33.3k UR would be worth $500. I think cash rates usually are lower than that? Bonvoy award redemptions come with 5th night free, so you'll need to factor that in too.

There are some great bonuses on the Bonvoy cards now. Expires soon on 11/3. The Amex Bonvoy business card is at 125k with 2 free night certificates up to 50k. That could be 4 nights at the S&D on one bonus.

I didn't think any of the Swolphins are available to actually book on the Chase travel portal. They seem to come up in the search but if you try to select a room there's a message that it's unavailable. I thought they were still part of the great Disney ban. I think you would have to creatively PYB to get that value for those hotels specifically still. Unless I just have bad luck?

For those who opened the Kabbage acct, do you have to have 5 transactions using your PIN or just 5 transactions using the card?
I just got my card and reloaded Dunkin 5 times for $2 each.
Now, I’m wondering if those count since I don’t need the pin?

Doesn't need to use the PIN. There are DPs of getting the bonus with just Amazon reloads.

 

[Herding_Cats]

*sigh*

Anyone ever had a terrible time cancelling a rental car booked with URs?
TLDR: I have 2 rental cars booked because I wasn't able to cancel one through the chase portal, and they've been working on it since Thursday and can't figure out how to cancel it for us on their end. And I have about 30k URs tied up in a rental car that I don't need.

I've been stalking rental car rates for our Marathon Weekend trip and had originally booked a car (so we would have SOMETHING for sure, given the current rental car situation) with the plan to keep looking and cancel/rebook when I found a better rate. A few months went by and I found a MUCH better rate on a truck, so I booked that and cancelled the car with no issues. Then a week ago an even BETTER rate came out so I booked yet another rental car, but when I tried to cancel the truck it gave me an error screen and said I had to call to cancel. So I called on Thursday. And they said because my name wasn't on the card we had booked with that DH had to call (which was annoying because I had called and changed flights the day before, but whatever....it's his card in his name so I get that they have rules.) So then DH called and proceeded to spend FOUR HOURS on the phone with customer service and they can't figure out how to cancel it. They insisted that he HAD to stay on the line for them to look at how to cancel it until at some point they decided that they could just call him back once they got it figure out. They called back Thursday night to say they were still working on it, and that was the last we heard.

We still have 2 rental cars booked. The points still haven't been refunded. Anyone had this happen before? Any idea how long we should expect it to take to get this sorted out?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Thanks again. I was able to see both card options and DH was instantly approved for 1st card.

Congrats

 

[hsmamato2]

I know you can with Hyatt. No experience with IHG.

thank you

 

[becauseimnew]

*sigh*

Anyone ever had a terrible time cancelling a rental car booked with URs?
TLDR: I have 2 rental cars booked because I wasn't able to cancel one through the chase portal, and they've been working on it since Thursday and can't figure out how to cancel it for us on their end. And I have about 30k URs tied up in a rental car that I don't need.

I've been stalking rental car rates for our Marathon Weekend trip and had originally booked a car (so we would have SOMETHING for sure, given the current rental car situation) with the plan to keep looking and cancel/rebook when I found a better rate. A few months went by and I found a MUCH better rate on a truck, so I booked that and cancelled the car with no issues. Then a week ago an even BETTER rate came out so I booked yet another rental car, but when I tried to cancel the truck it gave me an error screen and said I had to call to cancel. So I called on Thursday. And they said because my name wasn't on the card we had booked with that DH had to call (which was annoying because I had called and changed flights the day before, but whatever....it's his card in his name so I get that they have rules.) So then DH called and proceeded to spend FOUR HOURS on the phone with customer service and they can't figure out how to cancel it. They insisted that he HAD to stay on the line for them to look at how to cancel it until at some point they decided that they could just call him back once they got it figure out. They called back Thursday night to say they were still working on it, and that was the last we heard.

We still have 2 rental cars booked. The points still haven't been refunded. Anyone had this happen before? Any idea how long we should expect it to take to get this sorted out?

Oh wow, that’s crazy. You can contact them via chat, they are quick to respond.

 

[leeniewdw]

Retirement will definitely give you more time to learn the hobby, adopt and adapt strategies for your situation. It will also give you more flexibility to jump on opportunities when they arise and not be constrained to specific dates. We all play the game differently and there really isn't a wrong way to churn. Personally, I don't get too bogged down on the value/return I get for my points. Granted, I do seek the highest value, but it's not like I would have spent real money on it instead of points in those situations for the most part. With that in mind, I'll share a real world example.

[snip]

I never did bother to add up the value of each point. What for? I was never going to actually spend $57k to do this trip.

Wow -- thanks for that!

So during this accumulation/strategy execution period, can I presume you were working on other trips that weren't quite so elaborate? And one other question. For the positioning flights, that was a separate itinerary correct? Is that risky due to possibility of travel delays?

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Sigh, got the "we'll let you know" message when applying for my first SW Business card. Will call in the morning.

Called recon and after waiting for review... approved! No questions asked. Had them expedite it, too

Thanks to @Arcades for their tips on business card apps! CP step 1 - CHECK!

 

[havaneselover]

CSR Annual Fee just hit. $550 is steep. Actually tempted to cancel. It's been four years since I've had a Saphire bonus and I'm at 2/24 but want to apply for a SW card soon.

 

[wanderlust7]

I didn't think any of the Swolphins are available to actually book on the Chase travel portal. They seem to come up in the search but if you try to select a room there's a message that it's unavailable. I thought they were still part of the great Disney ban. I think you would have to creatively PYB to get that value for those hotels specifically still. Unless I just have bad luck?

You’re right, that completely slipped my mind!

 

[Killer Fish]

Has anyone stayed at the Mountain Lake Lodge (aka Dirty Dancing Hotel)? If so thoughts?

I think I am going to plan a trip there for player 2s 40th birthday. She booked Iron Man's cabin from Avengers Endgame for my 40th so it really put some pressure on me.

 

[GlamMistress]

Delta biz gold fee hit. Chatted to cancel but asked for offers first. No offers, no attempt at retention. Canceled for now. Can always get another Delta card if needed.

Getting ready to swing by Shop Disney for "everything ships free" day. I don't think I need anything but might as well scan in advance of Christmas...

 

[Killer Fish]

CSR Annual Fee just hit. $550 is steep. Actually tempted to cancel. It's been four years since I've had a Saphire bonus and I'm at 2/24 but want to apply for a SW card soon.

Mine hit as well. Just need to remember it is really only a $250 fee after the $300 credit. With all of the redemptions I have done for PYB I will definitely keep it going.

 

[Arcades]

CSR Annual Fee just hit. $550 is steep. Actually tempted to cancel. It's been four years since I've had a Saphire bonus and I'm at 2/24 but want to apply for a SW card soon.

I recommend downgrading to a Freedom Flex or Unlimited, rather than canceling. If Chase adds any promotions for the CSR in the future that you want (such as adding groceries back to PYB), you can re-upgrade to it without taking a 5/24 hit. As an added benefit, you can "double dip" the $300 travel credit on your "new" CSR to wipe out the annual fee (you can also use this if you just want to hold the CSR again for its travel insurance and redemption benefits).

 

[leeniewdw]

With the upgrade options.... If I upgrade from CSP to CSR, do my already accumulated points suddenly become worth 1.5 in the UR travel portal?

 

[IFlossU]

With the upgrade options.... If I upgrade from CSP to CSR, do my already accumulated points suddenly become worth 1.5 in the UR travel portal?

Yes

 

[Psychodisney]

CSR Annual Fee just hit. $550 is steep. Actually tempted to cancel. It's been four years since I've had a Saphire bonus and I'm at 2/24 but want to apply for a SW card soon.

Mine hit today too. Reminding myself about the $300 travel credit and the travel insurance and the 3x points. It's a keeper for me. I did change DH's to a CFF and he got a new CSP.

 

[wanderlust7]

CSR Annual Fee just hit. $550 is steep. Actually tempted to cancel. It's been four years since I've had a Saphire bonus and I'm at 2/24 but want to apply for a SW card soon.

I used up the travel credit and downgraded to a CSP. Have flights booked on the card, so thought having the trip delay is nice, though at 12 hours instead of CSR's 6 hours. Downgraded within 30 days of the AF, total amount was refunded the next day. The CSP AF hasn't charged yet.

I have no plans to use the portal or PYB, so that made the decision easier. Also not eligible for a Sapphire bonus for another year. Once I am, will downgrade to a Flex or Unlimited.

 

[mhautz]

Sorry if this is addressed somewhere, but if you already have a Freedom and Freedom Unlimited, do you still have options to “downgrade” a Sapphire?