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

[IFlossU]

Can anyone with an Aspire share how soon after their cardmember anniversary the FNC posted?

3 months from AF posting. Posted Feb1st. Received early in May.

 

[Happy_2_B]

Some Scattered Recap Thoughts from our trip to WDW last week - hopefully this benefits some of my friends here in their planning!

1. First and Foremost: For somebody who was accustomed to using FP+ to develop a detailed agenda each day, Genie+ introduced a level of stress that I did not anticipate. From having to be on the app at 6:59am to get that first slot, to having to purchase it each day (meaning either up at midnight, OR up earlier than 6:59am), to simply not knowing what time slot would be available as I moved through my day... this all created some stress to the planner like me. Disney has spent 6+ years teaching me that spontaneity was bad... book your dining 180 days out, book your rides 60 days out... now they want me to just unlearn all that? That was a challenge throughout the trip.

2. With all that said, Genie+ was an improvement for us vs. the standby only Disney we experienced back in January 2021. We purchased Genie+ on the following days at a cost or $63.92 for our family of 4: 11/1 DHS, 11/3 MK, 11/4 DHS, 11/5 MK. At times during each of those days (typically early in the day), I did regret the purchase thinking I may have wasted money... BUT by the end of each day I felt like I fully appreciate the value of having it!

3. Despite feeling that the value was there, it's still hard to let go of the frustration that This all used to be FREE! Our Genie+ and ILL expenses on this 6 day trip were $488.98. That is comprised of $255 in G+ costs and $233 in ILLs across 6 rides. It's hard to overlook the fact that I paid $39 PER RIDE on those 6, and we even saved some money there since my wife could not ride RotR or 7DMT due to her pregnancy. I think the better way for me to look at this is to say I spent roughly $122 a person for Genie+ upgrades on a 6 day trip. That just feels a lot better. Or I could break it down and say it was it was $81 a day for the 4 of us... again that feels like a much easier way to look at it.

4. It feels inevitable that Disney will look to increase the price of Genie+ and ILLs in the future. That said, I don't see any scenario where we would go to DHS or MK without it right now. I think I'm just going to need to add $500+ in Genie+/ILL expenses to our future trip expectations. Luckily, through my CC endeavors and discounted gift card efforts, it's really not a big deal to us. But I can see how this might affect other folks in a much greater way in their planning.

5. I sort of wish Disney would come out with a VIP Genie+. Ideally capped at some small number each day, perhaps for some exorbitant price ($100-$150 a person?) You could just use the LL at any ride at any time...

6. The number one issue I faced with ILLs was that they (at times) felt extremely oversold. We experienced this at FoP and FEA, where the ILL line stretched waaaay outside the attraction entrance. I should point out however, that those same LL lines at different times during the day had nobody outside the entrance. So... was this just bad luck/timing on my part? Perhaps we just hit those at a time where MANY people chose to use their ILL? In both instances this was shortly after lunch... so maybe an anecdotal observation is to attempt to avoid using an ILL after lunch time (1-2pm) as it creates a crunch of people trying to use ILLs. We did not experience anything like this at RotR however, where we walked into the preshow room both times with no resistance whatsoever (pun intended)!

7. NEVER take the Swan bus... walk to the Boardwalk or Yacht Club, you'll thank me later, LOL!

8. Rope Drop still has value. But I cannot comment on how much value it has IF you aren't a part of early entry... I'd imagine much less than before, although hitting secondary attractions and using G+ and ILLs for the major stuff will likely still make for a successful rope drop.

9. Early Entry has even MORE value. 8 and 9 sort of go together, but the sage old advice of showing up early apparently will never go out of style. No matter how many people it seems are crammed on to those bridges at MK, or waiting in the first attraction line at DHS, there are WAY more people still back in their hotel rooms getting ready to arrive at these parks shortly before lunchtime. My greatest regret on the trip is that we slept in on Animal Kingdom day, it made for a pretty terrible last day. And I'm CERTAIN that an early arrival would have changed our fate in some ways.

10. Character meet and greets are slowly coming back (or should I call them "sightings" now). The face characters (princesses) were fun and focusing more on chatting than taking pictures made for cool interactions! Mickey was very odd, the distance and his inability to speak just made for an awkward moment.

11. Disney Enchantment is a wonderful way to end your evening but it is sadly NOT anywhere near the caliber of Happily Ever After. Had this show followed Wishes, we would have marveled at how awesome it was. But HEA was pure perfection, and they simply couldn't do better than that...

I think that is all of my musings for today. Happy to answer any questions as things remain fresh from our trip.

Great info to have since we will be there in a couple of weeks. Was wondering how helpful G+ was in the MK and on what attractions. TIA

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Great info to have since we will be there in a couple of weeks. Was wondering how helpful G+ was in the MK and on what attractions. TIA

G+ was phenomenal at MK - definitely the best place to use it! With so many attractions available, it wasn't hard to consistently find a fairly soon return time for a nearby ride. We just tried to work through the park in order to not waste steps and mixed in SB lines with the LLs I could find.

 

[elgerber]

G+ was phenomenal at MK - definitely the best place to use it! With so many attractions available, it wasn't hard to consistently find a fairly soon return time for a nearby ride. We just tried to work through the park in order to not waste steps and mixed in SB lines with the LLs I could find.

We found it really useful for hopping too. We weren't going to buy it at AK, but then decided to hop to HS after, so it was really useful that day.

 

[wanderlust7]

Some Scattered Recap Thoughts from our trip to WDW last week - hopefully this benefits some of my friends here in their planning!

1. First and Foremost: For somebody who was accustomed to using FP+ to develop a detailed agenda each day, Genie+ introduced a level of stress that I did not anticipate. From having to be on the app at 6:59am to get that first slot, to having to purchase it each day (meaning either up at midnight, OR up earlier than 6:59am), to simply not knowing what time slot would be available as I moved through my day... this all created some stress to the planner like me. Disney has spent 6+ years teaching me that spontaneity was bad... book your dining 180 days out, book your rides 60 days out... now they want me to just unlearn all that? That was a challenge throughout the trip.

2. With all that said, Genie+ was an improvement for us vs. the standby only Disney we experienced back in January 2021. We purchased Genie+ on the following days at a cost or $63.92 for our family of 4: 11/1 DHS, 11/3 MK, 11/4 DHS, 11/5 MK. At times during each of those days (typically early in the day), I did regret the purchase thinking I may have wasted money... BUT by the end of each day I felt like I fully appreciate the value of having it!

3. Despite feeling that the value was there, it's still hard to let go of the frustration that This all used to be FREE! Our Genie+ and ILL expenses on this 6 day trip were $488.98. That is comprised of $255 in G+ costs and $233 in ILLs across 6 rides. It's hard to overlook the fact that I paid $39 PER RIDE on those 6, and we even saved some money there since my wife could not ride RotR or 7DMT due to her pregnancy. I think the better way for me to look at this is to say I spent roughly $122 a person for Genie+ upgrades on a 6 day trip. That just feels a lot better. Or I could break it down and say it was it was $81 a day for the 4 of us... again that feels like a much easier way to look at it.

4. It feels inevitable that Disney will look to increase the price of Genie+ and ILLs in the future. That said, I don't see any scenario where we would go to DHS or MK without it right now. I think I'm just going to need to add $500+ in Genie+/ILL expenses to our future trip expectations. Luckily, through my CC endeavors and discounted gift card efforts, it's really not a big deal to us. But I can see how this might affect other folks in a much greater way in their planning.

5. I sort of wish Disney would come out with a VIP Genie+. Ideally capped at some small number each day, perhaps for some exorbitant price ($100-$150 a person?) You could just use the LL at any ride at any time...

6. The number one issue I faced with ILLs was that they (at times) felt extremely oversold. We experienced this at FoP and FEA, where the ILL line stretched waaaay outside the attraction entrance. I should point out however, that those same LL lines at different times during the day had nobody outside the entrance. So... was this just bad luck/timing on my part? Perhaps we just hit those at a time where MANY people chose to use their ILL? In both instances this was shortly after lunch... so maybe an anecdotal observation is to attempt to avoid using an ILL after lunch time (1-2pm) as it creates a crunch of people trying to use ILLs. We did not experience anything like this at RotR however, where we walked into the preshow room both times with no resistance whatsoever (pun intended)!

7. NEVER take the Swan bus... walk to the Boardwalk or Yacht Club, you'll thank me later, LOL!

8. Rope Drop still has value. But I cannot comment on how much value it has IF you aren't a part of early entry... I'd imagine much less than before, although hitting secondary attractions and using G+ and ILLs for the major stuff will likely still make for a successful rope drop.

9. Early Entry has even MORE value. 8 and 9 sort of go together, but the sage old advice of showing up early apparently will never go out of style. No matter how many people it seems are crammed on to those bridges at MK, or waiting in the first attraction line at DHS, there are WAY more people still back in their hotel rooms getting ready to arrive at these parks shortly before lunchtime. My greatest regret on the trip is that we slept in on Animal Kingdom day, it made for a pretty terrible last day. And I'm CERTAIN that an early arrival would have changed our fate in some ways.

10. Character meet and greets are slowly coming back (or should I call them "sightings" now). The face characters (princesses) were fun and focusing more on chatting than taking pictures made for cool interactions! Mickey was very odd, the distance and his inability to speak just made for an awkward moment.

11. Disney Enchantment is a wonderful way to end your evening but it is sadly NOT anywhere near the caliber of Happily Ever After. Had this show followed Wishes, we would have marveled at how awesome it was. But HEA was pure perfection, and they simply couldn't do better than that...

I think that is all of my musings for today. Happy to answer any questions as things remain fresh from our trip.

We have a trip planned, so thank you for this. Wondering if you had access to extended evening hours and how was it?

$81/day or ~$20/person/day - that sounds a little better? The per ride cost is definitely harder to swallow!

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Some Scattered Recap Thoughts from our trip to WDW last week - hopefully this benefits some of my friends here in their planning!

1. First and Foremost: For somebody who was accustomed to using FP+ to develop a detailed agenda each day, Genie+ introduced a level of stress that I did not anticipate. From having to be on the app at 6:59am to get that first slot, to having to purchase it each day (meaning either up at midnight, OR up earlier than 6:59am), to simply not knowing what time slot would be available as I moved through my day... this all created some stress to the planner like me. Disney has spent 6+ years teaching me that spontaneity was bad... book your dining 180 days out, book your rides 60 days out... now they want me to just unlearn all that? That was a challenge throughout the trip.

2. With all that said, Genie+ was an improvement for us vs. the standby only Disney we experienced back in January 2021. We purchased Genie+ on the following days at a cost or $63.92 for our family of 4: 11/1 DHS, 11/3 MK, 11/4 DHS, 11/5 MK. At times during each of those days (typically early in the day), I did regret the purchase thinking I may have wasted money... BUT by the end of each day I felt like I fully appreciate the value of having it!

3. Despite feeling that the value was there, it's still hard to let go of the frustration that This all used to be FREE! Our Genie+ and ILL expenses on this 6 day trip were $488.98. That is comprised of $255 in G+ costs and $233 in ILLs across 6 rides. It's hard to overlook the fact that I paid $39 PER RIDE on those 6, and we even saved some money there since my wife could not ride RotR or 7DMT due to her pregnancy. I think the better way for me to look at this is to say I spent roughly $122 a person for Genie+ upgrades on a 6 day trip. That just feels a lot better. Or I could break it down and say it was it was $81 a day for the 4 of us... again that feels like a much easier way to look at it.

4. It feels inevitable that Disney will look to increase the price of Genie+ and ILLs in the future. That said, I don't see any scenario where we would go to DHS or MK without it right now. I think I'm just going to need to add $500+ in Genie+/ILL expenses to our future trip expectations. Luckily, through my CC endeavors and discounted gift card efforts, it's really not a big deal to us. But I can see how this might affect other folks in a much greater way in their planning.

5. I sort of wish Disney would come out with a VIP Genie+. Ideally capped at some small number each day, perhaps for some exorbitant price ($100-$150 a person?) You could just use the LL at any ride at any time...

6. The number one issue I faced with ILLs was that they (at times) felt extremely oversold. We experienced this at FoP and FEA, where the ILL line stretched waaaay outside the attraction entrance. I should point out however, that those same LL lines at different times during the day had nobody outside the entrance. So... was this just bad luck/timing on my part? Perhaps we just hit those at a time where MANY people chose to use their ILL? In both instances this was shortly after lunch... so maybe an anecdotal observation is to attempt to avoid using an ILL after lunch time (1-2pm) as it creates a crunch of people trying to use ILLs. We did not experience anything like this at RotR however, where we walked into the preshow room both times with no resistance whatsoever (pun intended)!

7. NEVER take the Swan bus... walk to the Boardwalk or Yacht Club, you'll thank me later, LOL!

8. Rope Drop still has value. But I cannot comment on how much value it has IF you aren't a part of early entry... I'd imagine much less than before, although hitting secondary attractions and using G+ and ILLs for the major stuff will likely still make for a successful rope drop.

9. Early Entry has even MORE value. 8 and 9 sort of go together, but the sage old advice of showing up early apparently will never go out of style. No matter how many people it seems are crammed on to those bridges at MK, or waiting in the first attraction line at DHS, there are WAY more people still back in their hotel rooms getting ready to arrive at these parks shortly before lunchtime. My greatest regret on the trip is that we slept in on Animal Kingdom day, it made for a pretty terrible last day. And I'm CERTAIN that an early arrival would have changed our fate in some ways.

10. Character meet and greets are slowly coming back (or should I call them "sightings" now). The face characters (princesses) were fun and focusing more on chatting than taking pictures made for cool interactions! Mickey was very odd, the distance and his inability to speak just made for an awkward moment.

11. Disney Enchantment is a wonderful way to end your evening but it is sadly NOT anywhere near the caliber of Happily Ever After. Had this show followed Wishes, we would have marveled at how awesome it was. But HEA was pure perfection, and they simply couldn't do better than that...

I think that is all of my musings for today. Happy to answer any questions as things remain fresh from our trip.

We are heading there Saturday, so thanks for all these tips!
I'm trying to justify Genie+ to DH for a day or two, telling him we already save all this money with gift card deals, getting the cheapest FL resident pass, etc. Given that we're doing a Holiday party at MK and also have Wed night of extra hours there, plus extra hours at EPCOT on Mon... where is it best to use Genie+ if we're only getting it for one day? I'm thinking DHS or AK, but prob best DHS. I also thought of doing half day at DHS and then AK, but I've heard that there are slim pickings on Genie+ by the pm. Does that seem right?

 

[becauseimnew]

I posted a question in DisChurners.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

We have a trip planned, so thank you for this. Wondering if you had access to extended evening hours and how was it?

$81/day or ~$20/person/day - that sounds a little better? The per ride cost is definitely harder to swallow!

We had access to deluxe evening hours since we were staying at the swan. But we did not use them. I’ve read good things about them but we are rope drop people, so staying out late at the parks was not for us. Plus we had already done like 18 attractions that day at MK I believe. so we were pretty happy with what we had gotten done.

 

[elgerber]

We had access to deluxe evening hours since we were staying at the swan. But we did not use them. I’ve read good things about them but we are rope drop people, so staying out late at the parks was not for us. Plus we had already done like 18 attractions that day at MK I believe. so we were pretty happy with what we had gotten done.

We did use both. They were great at MK. We got tons of rides. Epcot, can go either way. Not as many rides, so not quite as useful, but we did it anyway.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

We are heading there Saturday, so thanks for all these tips!
I'm trying to justify Genie+ to DH for a day or two, telling him we already save all this money with gift card deals, getting the cheapest FL resident pass, etc. Given that we're doing a Holiday party at MK and also have Wed night of extra hours there, plus extra hours at EPCOT on Mon... where is it best to use Genie+ if we're only getting it for one day? I'm thinking DHS or AK, but prob best DHS. I also thought of doing half day at DHS and then AK, but I've heard that there are slim pickings on Genie+ by the pm. Does that seem right?

You can get on the App and look at what return times are available right now if you want. I definitely did some scouting ahead of our trip to get a feel for what things might look like. I would definitely use it at DHS given those two selections. You want to be on right at 7am to grab a SDD - they go QUICK! But you should find decent availability for ToT, RnR, Star Tours, TSMM, and Saucers throughout the day. MFSR is the other one that goes quick but that's EASY to hit at Rope Drop (especially if you're doing early entry). Paying for RotR was a great value to me... skipping 100+ minutes of line, and that let us to do MMRR and MFSR at rope drop.

 

[elgerber]

You can get on the App and look at what return times are available right now if you want. I definitely did some scouting ahead of our trip to get a feel for what things might look like. I would definitely use it at DHS given those two selections. You want to be on right at 7am to grab a SDD - they go QUICK! But you should find decent availability for ToT, RnR, Star Tours, TSMM, and Saucers throughout the day. MFSR is the other one that goes quick but that's EASY to hit at Rope Drop (especially if you're doing early entry). Paying for RotR was a great value to me... skipping 100+ minutes of line, and that let us to do MMRR and MFSR at rope drop.

Agreed, we paid for ROTR 3 times! Worth every penny everytime. That line is absurd!!
We did RnR and ToT at early entry, and then went right over to MFSR from there, and had a nice short line.

 

[jujubiee4]

That's great! We really enjoyed Barcelona. This was before I got into churning, so we stayed at a serviced apartment called BCNGotic. Loved it. They mailed me a little souvenir every year for 2 years after our stay. ❤ Then we moved...so not sure if they continued.

It's pretty easy to get around. We took the metro, you can get a T10 ticket for 10 rides that can be shared between people. Took the bus a couple times. Taxi to Park Guell, from the airport, and to port. We regretted not pre-booking transportation leaving the port because the taxi line was long.

I just looked it up and it has great reviews. Did you feel safe? Thank you for your help.

 

[jujubiee4]

Neve been but am going in May with my dd. We're staying at Cotton House--I had Marriott points and I like the location and it seemed to be a good points value for me. And I am slightly nervous because a male colleague and his husband went to Barcelona may 6 or 7 years ago and they had big issues with Gypsies and thieves.

Thank you for the suggestion. Im nervous also because my husband and I won't be there. Just the
kids with the grandparents. Honestly I feel better if they just arrive and get on the boat. However they
think it is silly to go to Spain and not look around 2 or 3 days which I see that point also.

 

[LynnTH]

Okay wait....on the $300 CSR Travel Credit....My AF posted 11/1. When I log into my Chase acct it says this .... " Got it! You received your $300 Annual Travel Credit this year Next year's $300 Annual Travel Credit will begin after your statement closing date in 12/2021"

So don't cancel the card yet? But will I be able to get the $300 credit and still cancel in time? It looks like my statement will close on Nov 16th. So do I wait for the reset 12/1, spend right away, and then cancel when my Nov bill is due in Dec.

DH's fee just reset also. Showing statement close date of 11/27. When I look under his Travel Credit it says it will be able to be used after the November Statement . So, I should be able to use right away after 11/27. I did notice though that even though the $550 fee is showing up (and is the only thing on the card), it is showing payment not due yet. So, wondering if that will happen after the statement closes. I will use the credit right away - wait until it credits and then close the card. He has the CSP also that I am keeping open to be able to transfer out of.

 

[wanderlust7]

I just looked it up and it has great reviews. Did you feel safe? Thank you for your help.

Absolutely! There's a locked door to enter the building and it's on a pedestrian street. There's a metro station a couple minutes walk away and a small market for groceries nearby. Super clean and we found the location very convenient. I think the office is limited hours, but we didn't need anything and only met them for check-in.

I was really worried about theft and was rather paranoid on the metro. Had my travel purse with the locking hook and would always have my hand on it. But it was totally fine and we felt very safe in Barcelona.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

DH's fee just reset also. Showing statement close date of 11/27. When I look under his Travel Credit it says it will be able to be used after the November Statement . So, I should be able to use right away after 11/27. I did notice though that even though the $550 fee is showing up (and is the only thing on the card), it is showing payment not due yet. So, wondering if that will happen after the statement closes. I will use the credit right away - wait until it credits and then close the card. He has the CSP also that I am keeping open to be able to transfer out of.

Were you an OG 2016 CSR person? Because appears 2016 CSR peeps might renew calendar year, not card year.

 

[LynnTH]

Were you an OG 2016 CSR person? Because appears 2016 CSR peeps might renew calendar year, not card year.

Yes - But that card was cancelled. This was a new card got last year. So, just coming up on the 1 year mark.

 

[Oscar Madison]

Here's the guide to benefits:
https://www.chasebenefits.com/sapphirereserve2
The definition of immediate family varies depending on the coverage you're looking at. Some sections say specifically that you don't need to be traveling together while other sections don't say anything about it. It's covered if you use UR. BUT @platamama brought up a good point before that if you only use UR, then if you needed to file a claim, you wouldn't have the travel charge on your statement to prove it. So paying a small amount in cash seems like a good idea.

I always forget to sign my cards these days (too many new cards ). Never had a problem with it until I used an unsigned one in Europe. Maybe there's more scrutiny since it's not true chip and pin like they have.

Thank you...this really helps!

 

[jujubiee4]

Absolutely! There's a locked door to enter the building and it's on a pedestrian street. There's a metro station a couple minutes walk away and a small market for groceries nearby. Super clean and we found the location very convenient. I think the office is limited hours, but we didn't need anything and only met them for check-in.

I was really worried about theft and was rather paranoid on the metro. Had my travel purse with the locking hook and would always have my hand on it. But it was totally fine and we felt very safe in Barcelona.

If you have a link for where to purchase this I would appreciate it. I never heard of it and would like
to get for my daughters. thank you

 

[snugglebug]

Amex Plat retention: 40K for $3K spend in 3 months.

I took it, I'm hooked on those Uber credits and I will make use of Saks and Digital Entertainment. My quick search showed maybe a few here took a $4K spend. But sheesh, this chat rep is going on and on and on about everything about this card. I just want the offer. Resy and Equinox are of no use to me.