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

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I am considering a big trip to the Maldives in 2022 and am in the very, very early planning stages. I have never really booked airlines with points other than Southwest, so I am a novice. I really appreciate any expert assistance. @*WDW*Groupie* @calypso726 @TinkFan74

I would like to secure 6 one way business class tickets on Emirates, and I believe one of the better point options is through Alaska Air, by a hefty margin, and the taxes are so cheap through Alaska.
Alaska Air (6) x 82.5k + $29taxes= 495k + $174
Emirates (6) x 117k + $236taxes = 702k + $1416

1) Has anyone seen (6) business class tickets released on Alaska Air for Emirates? I have been watching but am not seeing new releases, and the most I can find for existing flights is 4.
2) I am a bit leery to put my eggs in Alaska’s bucket due to the OneWorld merger and uncertainty with whether that means Emirates would even be a partner. But I would expect I’d need to book this in the next 3-6 months, so that lessons the worry some. Thoughts?

I would plan to open some Alaska Air cards and buy points at a 60% bonus (I did the math and it makes sense to me) if I go that route. If I book straight through Emirates, I see lots of 6 seat award availability and it’s an easy transfer from URs.

I am thinking Qatar Airways booked through American for the other direction.
My easiest currencies are URs and MRs. I’ll take any advice I can get.

I am afraid that I am not able to help with Emirates, but I believe that @calypso726 will be able to.

If you want to book on Qatar, I'd suggest transferring your URs to British Air (this is what I did). I realize their taxes are high, but they release availability before American Air by several weeks. By the time that AA gets their points bookings up there aren't any seats on Qatar. You will need to practice, practice, practice to see when the airlines release seats (and the required points) and jump on them. You don't say which month in 2022, but if you were thinking of January through March you'd need to jump on the bookings now.

I don't know where you are located, but if I were in your place, but I'd likely be looking to book yourself to London on AA (less taxes), then from London to Male (on Qatar).

I don't know about 6 business class seats on Qatar, but if you are flying with kids, I'd consider putting them in economy or economy plus and flying with your partner in business class.

As far as hotels, Marriott usually releases their hotels around 12 months in advance, so you should be able to secure rooms without any issues. I gave up on the WA Maldives after I cancelled our second trip because they are notoriously hard to get on points. I'd be happy with the St. Regis Maldives or the Conrad. Then there's the brand new (hasn't even opened yet) Le Meredien and the JW Marriott, both of which look super nice.

 

[mfly]

Thanks. Now to try and find a Poly owner to rent points. Don't see many Poly Owners on the Rent/Trade board. But will see what happens. Looks like Poly has quite a few more Studios than at BWV too. Just not sure how many are Standard and how many are Lake View.

I’ve had good experiences renting from people in a handful of FB groups I’m part of. I’d be happy to share the names if you’re interested.

 

[wanderlust7]

Are the AMEX Biz cards (considering the Marriott biz card) like Chase biz cards in that they don’t count against your 5/24? Are they similarly “easy” to get like Chase biz cards (that is - my “business” of selling crap on Facebook and ebay is a sufficient business)? I got my most recent card (Chase United Quest - personal) on April 19. How long should I wait to apply for an AMEX biz card? Any other weird things to know before I apply? This would be my first AMEX card.

Since it's your first Amex card, you may be able to pull up the 125k plat offer with 10x grocery. Personal card, so it'll add to your 5/24. AF of $550 that you'll need to figure out how to recoup with the credits. But with the 40% transfer bonus to Bonvoy, you'd get 175k instead of 100k with the Bonvoy biz SUB. Same $5000 spend, but you get 6 months with the plat. Transfer bonus ends 6/15, but it tends to come around. Plat comes with gold status Bonvoy (same as the Bonvoy biz) and gold status Hilton. You wouldn't get elevated points for Bonvoy spend with the plat though.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Thanks. Now to try and find a Poly owner to rent points. Don't see many Poly Owners on the Rent/Trade board. But will see what happens. Looks like Poly has quite a few more Studios than at BWV too. Just not sure how many are Standard and how many are Lake View.

Not sure of the makeup of your group or how cozy you like to get, but the Poly studio sleeps 5 if you can use the drop-down wall bed. My 11 yo still sleeps there.

And the two bathrooms (well, 2 sinks, 2 showers) are awesome!

Plus the Poly is amazing in general.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I am afraid that I am not able to help with Emirates, but I believe that @calypso726 will be able to.

If you want to book on Qatar, I'd suggest transferring your URs to British Air (this is what I did). I realize their taxes are high, but they release availability before American Air by several weeks. By the time that AA gets their points bookings up there aren't any seats on Qatar. You will need to practice, practice, practice to see when the airlines release seats (and the required points) and jump on them. You don't say which month in 2022, but if you were thinking of January through March you'd need to jump on the bookings now.

I don't know where you are located, but if I were in your place, but I'd likely be looking to book yourself to London on AA (less taxes), then from London to Male (on Qatar).

I don't know about 6 business class seats on Qatar, but if you are flying with kids, I'd consider putting them in economy or economy plus and flying with your partner in business class.

As far as hotels, Marriott usually releases their hotels around 12 months in advance, so you should be able to secure rooms without any issues. I gave up on the WA Maldives after I cancelled our second trip because they are notoriously hard to get on points. I'd be happy with the St. Regis Maldives or the Conrad. Then there's the brand new (hasn't even opened yet) Le Meredien and the JW Marriott, both of which look super nice.

Great advice here. We were thinking summer of 2022, a college grad trip! Maybe July/Aug. Perhaps too wet?

I was thinking we could stick the four kids in economy (ages 7-23) or if we could get 4 in business, kind of rotate the splurge. Meaning each kid could get an opportunity in business class either on the outbound or the return.

The Meridien is a great point redemption so that’s the goal.

I am not even fully sure why I feel the need to travel halfway around the world for an island vacation. Maybe the points bloggers have talked it up so much? Sigh.

 

[Judique]

Does anyone see their Marriott certs with a new expiration yet? It was set to go in place today I believe. Mine have not changed and I'm just checking because I wasn't sure if they were eligible. I can't remember when I got them.

I forget what was eligible. But the two I have expiring 8/1/2021 are two that would have expired in October and November of 2020. That was their 2nd extension. The first was to Dec 31 2020.

 

[smallsy]

Ok, I'm officially done with chase for 2021. Got my 3rd rejection for CIU in 6 months. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, maybe I'm on some kind of list now. I'll be back to 0/24 at the end of the month so I may try a personal Amex in June. But I could really actually use a business card right now. Ugh. Guess I'll pick back up next year. You'd think after almost a year of laying low it would actually be easier but nope.

 

[wanderlust7]

Ok, I'm officially done with chase for 2021. Got my 3rd rejection for CIU in 6 months. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, maybe I'm on some kind of list now. I'll be back to 0/24 at the end of the month so I may try a personal Amex in June. But I could really actually use a business card right now. Ugh. Guess I'll pick back up next year. You'd think after almost a year of laying low it would actually be easier but nope.

What's the rejection reason? Have you ever tried recon?

 

[smallsy]

What's the rejection reason? Have you ever tried recon?

different reasons each time, first time was business too new, second time was Business type, and TBD for this one. I'm a little hesitant to call recon because I'm not sure what they'll ask. I'm so mad though I almost went to cancel my old CIP.

 

[wanderlust7]

different reasons each time, first time was business too new, second time was Business type, and TBD for this one. I'm a little hesitant to call recon because I'm not sure what they'll ask. I'm so mad though I almost went to cancel my old CIP.

What was the business type? Real estate still seems iffy. Some people are able to get approved by calling recon and offering to shift credit from another business card. Here's a good list of some potential questions:

https://www.uponarriving.com/chase-business-recon

 

[georgina]

Does anyone see their Marriott certs with a new expiration yet? It was set to go in place today I believe. Mine have not changed and I'm just checking because I wasn't sure if they were eligible. I can't remember when I got them.

I forget what was eligible. But the two I have expiring 8/1/2021 are two that would have expired in October and November of 2020. That was their 2nd extension. The first was to Dec 31 2020.

I just called (6 PM) and was told they are doing it today so try tonight or probably tomorrow. I got mine May 2020 and want to use it in Oct.

 

[smallsy]

What was the business type? Real estate still seems iffy. Some people are able to get approved by calling recon and offering to shift credit from another business card. Here's a good list of some potential questions:

https://www.uponarriving.com/chase-business-recon

I'm a dietitian and do nutrition/wellness coaching. There isn't a good category for it, so last time I had listed it as basically "other > other personal services" and thought maybe that was the issue. So this time I tried looking under healthcare, but there still wasn't anything close enough so I chose "other personal services > diet and weight loss center".

 

[ten6mom]

Whew, managed to meet MSR on the CIC. I paid as far ahead as I could on some smaller bills (like $200 ahead, twice, on the $30 a month gas bill) and used it for EVERYTHING.

It was tough- no MS and no WDW this time to help out (although we did do a VRBO for the first couple days in June, so that will be nice).

Now to lay off for awhile.

I also just requested a refund on my Backstreet Boys tickets that were originally supposed to be last fall, but then got rescheduled to June 2021 (at an OUTDOOR pavilion in PHOENIX!!!) and then just got rescheduled to June 2022 (at the same OUTDOOR pavilion)- That'll be going back on an Amex that, thankfully, I still have open.. but Amex is not going to be happy with me!

 

[AmyAnne]

If extended warranties have any value for you, the Citi cards extend the original manufacturer's warranty 24 months. Amex and Chase only do 12 months extended warranty.

Good point, but I never think about that when making purchases. I would have to use the card on the purchase to get that benefit !

This is a good point about the additional warranty, although I also rarely remember when making purchases. The only time I can recall using the Costco card because of the warranty was when one of my kids was buying a new TV from Costco, so we did put it on the Costco card. I'm planning to replace my desktop computer soon, probably also from Costco, so maybe I should keep the card at least until then.

Do I need to still have the card if I ever need to use the extended warranty, or is it enough that I used it for the purchase?

I'm also curious what other purchases people here have used a Citi card for because of the extended warranty (and how did that work out, if you needed to use it)?

 

[NewbieMom]

Ok, I'm officially done with chase for 2021. Got my 3rd rejection for CIU in 6 months. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, maybe I'm on some kind of list now. I'll be back to 0/24 at the end of the month so I may try a personal Amex in June. But I could really actually use a business card right now. Ugh. Guess I'll pick back up next year. You'd think after almost a year of laying low it would actually be easier but nope.

Same here, except I used retail sales (I have ebay/consignment sales). First time denied Oct 2020, then late Feb/Mar, and most recently last week. Same reasons as yours, business too new, insufficient business credit report, and business structure. You could try calling recon and see what they say. I did twice, the person I got was less than helpful basically saying there's nothing they can do.

 

[wanderlust7]

This is a good point about the additional warranty, although I also rarely remember when making purchases. The only time I can recall using the Costco card because of the warranty was when one of my kids was buying a new TV from Costco, so we did put it on the Costco card. I'm planning to replace my desktop computer soon, probably also from Costco, so maybe I should keep the card at least until then.

Do I need to still have the card if I ever need to use the extended warranty, or is it enough that I used it for the purchase?

I'm also curious what other purchases people here have used a Citi card for because of the extended warranty (and how did that work out, if you needed to use it)?

We always put appliances on the Costco card. It pains me, but we do it for the just in case. Haven't had to test it out though (luckily).

I used to think you still need to have the card to file a claim, but I think it depends on the terms. The Costco Citibank has this, so sounds like you don't need to still have the card.

"These benefits do not apply if Your card privileges have been cancelled. However, benefits will still apply for any benefit You were eligible for prior to the date that Your account is suspended or cancelled, subject to the terms and conditions of coverage."

 

[palhockeymomof2]

different reasons each time, first time was business too new, second time was Business type, and TBD for this one. I'm a little hesitant to call recon because I'm not sure what they'll ask. I'm so mad though I almost went to cancel my old CIP.

Ugh so sorry they keep denying you the card....if you do call maybe offer to reallocate CL from the CIP.. saying you want to keep track of different types of expenses on separate cards

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

So looking to Rent DVC Points for next May. So want to have an owner lined up so this can be booked in June., There will be 5 of us going for sure (possibly 6). Normally we stay at BWV and love the area. So, was looking at BWV 2 Bedroom Unit. (which is actually a 1 Bedroom and Studio). Always wanted to stay at Poly and found a video and really like that the studios have 2 bathrooms. So, we could do 2 Studios.

I don't know how may Studios Poly has. Trying to figure out what would be easier to get at the 11th month mark. BWV Standard View 2 Bedroom or Poly Studio Standard View (2 of them).

We own at both Poly and BLT. For May, it shouldn't be too hard to grab two studios at Poly especially if you are looking at SV since that's what most of them are. 11 month isn't hard to grab studios at Poly for the most part unless you're looking at the first two weeks of Dec.

 

[Hoosier John]

Hey, the links are populating and not just spinning now!

 

[wanderlust7]

New Hilton offers. Additional 50k points for spending total $10k in 6 months. Might be worth doing on the Surpass and biz if you want the 15k spend free night anyways.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/incr...s-of-up-to-200000-points-referrals-available/