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

[leeniewdw]

At this point (again, it's 2023, so lots of time for things to unfold differently) I plan to use Avios points. I'll either get a Chase Aer Lingus card with a 100k Avios SUB or transfer the points from UR. If I go thru the Chase portal, it'll be way more expensive.

Aer Lingus offers very low points to get to Dublin or Shannon direct from certain East Coast cities. If traveling off peak, it's like 26k points round trip (you do have to pay taxes). Peak is like 40k round trip.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Can anyone chime in on some airfare thoughts/opinions?. First do you
think Europe airfare will go down next summer or buy now/as early as you can?

2nd. Most important flights to Spain from Southern California are crazy
expensive now for the summer. I'm thinking of booking a flight to New York
and then a seperate booking for Spain. Reason being Europe flights are much
cheaper from New York and I can get cheap airfare/points flying to NY first.
Maybe fly in night before?

Has anyone done this? Is it crazy? The pain would be exiting going to baggage
then checking in again. That would be annoying but I could save 1500-2k.
Just doing some pondering while I wait for fares to drop which they haven't lol

Positioning flights are pretty common. Often there's not a nonstop or direct flight from a local airport so there's no choice. But some do positioning flight to get on a better aircraft with lie flat seats or a shower. @calypso726 can probably elaborate on that.

 

[pinkxray]

I still have not been able to find a Playstation 5 for my son, anytime I find out one is going to be available it is always sold out before I can get it. if anyone has any tips let I would appreciate it. Thanks!

I asked the same question in Sept. Someone on here recommending the site by Matt Swider. He follows when the next release will be by which store. I guess you can sign up to get Twitter alerts, but I don’t have Twitter so I didn’t. I seriously stalked his website to see when there would be a drop.

I ended up being able to get one by getting the GameStop $20 member ship that gives you early access to buy them. About an hour before GameStop dropped them I saw a post on Matt’s site that they would release soon and was able to snatch one. The thing that stinks with that is I had to buy a bundle that came with a few games but it was worth it to me to pay out a little more to have it in hand.

Good luck! Target seems to have them online every other Friday around 7:45am est but they are snapped up like instantly. 2 times I had it in my cart it wasn’t quick enough to checkout. I’ve heard using PayPal helps bc it takes you off the site server but that didn’t help me.

 

[Babars_Wife]

If you have google pay there’s a very easy deal where you can receive 25$. It’s at the top of the main page, something about football. I sent 2 friends 1$, answered trivia, and then linked a bank account I opened for a bank account bonus. Took 10 minutes to do P2 and get 50$.

 

[disfanforlife]

I asked the same question in Sept. Someone on here recommending the site by Matt Swider. He follows when the next release will be by which store. I guess you can sign up to get Twitter alerts, but I don’t have Twitter so I didn’t. I seriously stalked his website to see when there would be a drop.

I ended up being able to get one by getting the GameStop $20 member ship that gives you early access to buy them. About an hour before GameStop dropped them I saw a post on Matt’s site that they would release soon and was able to snatch one. The thing that stinks with that is I had to buy a bundle that came with a few games but it was worth it to me to pay out a little more to have it in hand.

Good luck! Target seems to have them online every other Friday around 7:45am est but they are snapped up like instantly. 2 times I had it in my cart it wasn’t quick enough to checkout. I’ve heard using PayPal helps bc it takes you off the site server but that didn’t help me.

Thank you, I will need to stalk his website too since I don’t use Twitter. I also signed up for the GameStop membership but so far haven’t found one through there. Will need to keep checking!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Thank you, I will need to stalk his website too since I don’t use Twitter. I also signed up for the GameStop membership but so far haven’t found one through there. Will need to keep checking!

Twitter is not difficult, no reason not to sign up. I signed up to tweet at companies for customer service and to enter contests. Lol. You can use it just for those things. Just today I tweeted at Hilton to tell me how many FNCs I have since I don't want to call and hold.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Can anyone chime in on some airfare thoughts/opinions?. First do you
think Europe airfare will go down next summer or buy now/as early as you can?

2nd. Most important flights to Spain from Southern California are crazy
expensive now for the summer. I'm thinking of booking a flight to New York
and then a seperate booking for Spain. Reason being Europe flights are much
cheaper from New York and I can get cheap airfare/points flying to NY first.
Maybe fly in night before?

Has anyone done this? Is it crazy? The pain would be exiting going to baggage
then checking in again. That would be annoying but I could save 1500-2k.
Just doing some pondering while I wait for fares to drop which they haven't lol

I assume you are paying cash or URs, but not transferring to travel partners. I've seen several alerts (I'm a huge fan of Scott's Cheap Flight alerts) for $500 round-trip in economy from the midwest to Spain, but most alerts have been through March. So I think it's too early yet to see fares drop for summer. Maybe sign up for Scott's free version- it'll give you an idea of fares and sale timing, even if not necessarily for Spain.

We all have different travel styles. For whatever reason, I have this mentality that the trip doesn't start until I get THERE. So I tend to try to have minimal stops along the way. If you fly from SoCal to the east coast and then east coast to Spain, would those both be non-stops? I could get behind that. Consider Chicago as well, as they have a few non-stops to Spain.

 

[mmmears]

Can anyone chime in on some airfare thoughts/opinions?. First do you
think Europe airfare will go down next summer or buy now/as early as you can?

2nd. Most important flights to Spain from Southern California are crazy
expensive now for the summer. I'm thinking of booking a flight to New York
and then a seperate booking for Spain. Reason being Europe flights are much
cheaper from New York and I can get cheap airfare/points flying to NY first.
Maybe fly in night before?

Has anyone done this? Is it crazy? The pain would be exiting going to baggage
then checking in again. That would be annoying but I could save 1500-2k.
Just doing some pondering while I wait for fares to drop which they haven't lol

We've done this. Got AA First to Europe though NY, so stopped over for a night instead of just changing planes and made a mini trip out of our one day there. If you are starting a cruise of a tour from Spain, just fly in a few days early in case something happens. It's very common to do this (our last few trips we had to change planes in CDG instead of JFK because it's really not possible to get directs to many places in Europe).

 

[disfanforlife]

Twitter is not difficult, no reason not to sign up. I signed up to tweet at companies for customer service and to enter contests. Lol. You can use it just for those things. Just today I tweeted at Hilton to tell me how many FNCs I have since I don't want to call and hold.

Ok thanks, I checked and I do have a Twitter, I just never use it. I’ll have to check to see how to get alerts for when he tweets one is in stock.

 

[trstno1]

Twitter is not difficult, no reason not to sign up. I signed up to tweet at companies for customer service and to enter contests. Lol. You can use it just for those things. Just today I tweeted at Hilton to tell me how many FNCs I have since I don't want to call and hold.

Ooh, I am totally going to do this! It's so hard to keep track of those FNC's.

 

[hsmamato2]

I have been doing drive up orders at Sam’s but they are almost always out of the 50 pk of chips. I might have to upgrade too!

Keep an eye on slickdeals/bradsdeals/hiptosave and the like...I see offers constantly that make the sams membership free....

 

[Albort]

I still have not been able to find a Playstation 5 for my son, anytime I find out one is going to be available it is always sold out before I can get it. if anyone has any tips let I would appreciate it. Thanks!

your best bet is to join the waitlist whenever sony has their own release. I think if u got PS+, u may get some priority. other than that, i would try joining Best Buy waitlist.
Target has their drop around 7am est, so if ur up that early, u can try but they arent easy to grab. avoid walmart. and good luck!

 

[calypso726]

Can anyone chime in on some airfare thoughts/opinions?. First do you
think Europe airfare will go down next summer or buy now/as early as you can?

2nd. Most important flights to Spain from Southern California are crazy
expensive now for the summer. I'm thinking of booking a flight to New York
and then a seperate booking for Spain. Reason being Europe flights are much
cheaper from New York and I can get cheap airfare/points flying to NY first.
Maybe fly in night before?

Has anyone done this? Is it crazy? The pain would be exiting going to baggage
then checking in again. That would be annoying but I could save 1500-2k.
Just doing some pondering while I wait for fares to drop which they haven't lol

Positioning flights are pretty common. Often there's not a nonstop or direct flight from a local airport so there's no choice. But some do positioning flight to get on a better aircraft with lie flat seats or a shower. @calypso726 can probably elaborate on that.

Unless things go sideways again, I doubt it. But if that happens, there may be no going anywhere for some folks.

My school of thought is book what I need and cross it off the list. Airlines have been pretty generous lately as far as free cancellations go. Therefore, if pricing on an award flight goes down significantly, then there is no reason I can't cancel and re-book a flight for better pricing.

Nope, not crazy in my opinion. I do it fairly often. The last couple of years pre-pandemic, if I was flying to London, award availability in first class was non existent from Miami but decent out of New York. More than once, I've flown to New York to catch a flight. When I do that, I prefer to book evening flights. One, because I will arrive in the morning and have a full day in London. Two, because I now have a full day somewhere else to explore before my flight. So, we will fly out after work, check into a hotel and spend the next morning through late afternoon in NYC. We leave our bags with the hotel while out and about. After some sightseeing, day tour, matinee show and good eats etc. we will pick up our bags, head to the airport and catch our flight. So, if I am going to that, then I will turn that travel day into an extra experiences day.

Like @CyndiLouWho mentioned, I will also position to catch a specific plane. We wanted to fly on Emirates in first on our way to Dubai but only some of their planes have the onboard shower. To catch that specific plane, we had to position to Houston from Miami. We spent the entire day in Houston before the flight. Fortunately, friends we had met on the Iceland Disney cruise offered to take the day off, pick us up, go sightseeing and hang out. So, I didn't have to plan a day trip myself that time. Disney friends are the best!

 

[calypso726]

We all have different travel styles. For whatever reason, I have this mentality that the trip doesn't start until I get THERE. So I tend to try to have minimal stops along the way. If you fly from SoCal to the east coast and then east coast to Spain, would those both be non-stops? I could get behind that. Consider Chicago as well, as they have a few non-stops to Spain.

Excellent point. Never thought of it that way. For me the trip starts when I arrive at the airport. Therefore, I want priority check in, breeze through security, and a lounge to relax in before the flight. Once I'm on the plane, I want (ok PlanePrincess wants, but now me too LOL) lie flat seats so I can choose to sleep, read or watch movies comfortably with dining and beverage service.

 

[mhautz]

Just signed up for a SW card to get a Companion Pass, but now I’m thinking how about one for P2 as well? If I refer her before the 12/7 offer expiration, are the 20,000 referral points going to apply to 2021 or 2022 (assuming after 12/7 I still have another statement)? $24,000 in spending is doable before our August trip, but only if I have to manufacture 13,000 points on one account.

 

[Judique]

Amex was busy last night and fixed my credits that they have been neglecting since September. I had called in late September about my $20 restaurant credit for Aug and Sept, and they gave me a courtesy credit for August, saying my restaurant wasn't a restaurant, but since I had been a customer since forever, I had a credit posted immediately. But September credit did not post until last night. It posted along with my November credit, meaning I now have a negative balance on the account. October's credit had posted in a timely manner in October.

There was also a Shoprite offer, of 20% up to $20, or $20 off $100 in other words. I've had numerous Shoprite offers but the timing is always bad. Maybe I'll get this one done.

I've also got $750 in 3 best buy 10% offers sitting on 3 accounts that I have to spend soon. That will take a little chunk off my DVC dues.

And a new wine company for me - Prisoner wine company. They must really think I'm a lush.

 

[Judique]

In other news, DD is going to Ecuador after our TG trip for a few days. She has a friend there.

I've been saying over the years that the Galapagos are/were on my wish list. That inspired her to book a flight to the Galapagos from whatever airport she's arriving at, meeting her friend at, and they will fly together to the islands.

Meanwhile I was welcome to travel as well, but it's just not in me right now. So, I told her to activate the camera on arrival and send me continuous pictures. She will be on the islands for 3 nights so I'm looking forward to it.

She also booked a short Disney cruise over the Easter holidays with a few nights at Bay Lake Tower afterwards. I'm planning on being there.

I don't have all the point redemption details, but some of this is definitely points related.

 

[ski_mom]

Just signed up for a SW card to get a Companion Pass, but now I’m thinking how about one for P2 as well? If I refer her before the 12/7 offer expiration, are the 20,000 referral points going to apply to 2021 or 2022 (assuming after 12/7 I still have another statement)? $24,000 in spending is doable before our August trip, but only if I have to manufacture 13,000 points on one account.

I referred DH for the SW biz card and I received the 20,000 points before he even used the card, so in my experience, the points post quickly.

 

[becauseimnew]

Just signed up for a SW card to get a Companion Pass, but now I’m thinking how about one for P2 as well? If I refer her before the 12/7 offer expiration, are the 20,000 referral points going to apply to 2021 or 2022 (assuming after 12/7 I still have another statement)? $24,000 in spending is doable before our August trip, but only if I have to manufacture 13,000 points on one account.

if they go pending after your December statement you should get them in 2022… when does your statement close?
I will use DH’s link on 12/1 as his statement closes on 12/3, so he will get my support points on 1/3/22

 

[mhautz]

if they go pending after your December statement you should get them in 2022… when does your statement close?
I will use DH’s link on 12/1 as his statement closes on 12/3, so he will get my support points on 1/3/22

My statement closes 12/09. I take your comment to mean they would not apply to RR until a month later? On the spend side, I’m not even touching my card until next year to play it safe (we’re finishing our MSR on P2 Sapphire anyway and got until 2/9 to get $2000).