I love credit cards so much! v5.0 - 2022 (see first page for add'l details)

[wanderlust7]

Looking for help on puzzling through this:

Need to book a last minute stay at a Marriott for the beginning next month. Would be $750 cash for the reduced wedding rate. Alternatively, it would cost me 60k Bonvoy points (30k/night).

I don’t have enough Bonvoy points to cover the stay - it’s a currency I haven’t invested in.

I have over 400k URs and 150k MRs. If I were to transfer one of those to Bonvoy, which would you recommend?

Alternatively, I’m open to opening a Bonvoy card (I’ve never had one, and I’m under 5/24 with no new cards in the past year). Are any of the Bonvoy cards once/lifetime? Is there any chance I could get the points in time for my stay if I meet the MSR immediately?

The Amex Bonvoy cards are once per lifetime. The Bonvoy cards have some convoluted rules, but in general once you pick the Amex or Chase track, you're locked out of the other for 24 months. With Chase, you get the points after statement close. If you get instant approval and a short first statement period, maybe(??) you can get the points in time? The Chase Boundless is at 100k for $3000 spend ($95 AF), which is not bad, though it's been higher in the past (maybe a pandemic thing). But a lot has to go right to get the points in time.

With Amex, usually you get the points a few days after the MSR charge posts. But both the biz and the Brilliant offers are low now (75k). 100k is the typical higher offer that comes and goes. If you wanted to get the Brilliant (AF $450), that comes with a $250 credit for Bonvoy charges that you can use right away to book a cash rate.

 

[sinnika]

We have been planning to go to Universal and WDW over Thanksgiving week, I’m thinking it will cost us about $5,000. Staying at SOG and military tickets for both parks. But with the crazy wait times I’m second guessing our plans. I started thinking about maybe going to Disneyland Paris. I think we can do 6 days in Paris for the $5,000.

Just got back from WDW one week ago and the lines were incredibly long! We had unseasonably hot weather and it could’ve been more crowded because of the princess races, but this was not an enjoyable trip for us overall. We normally stay at SOG but with our three-month-old grandson we decided to get an Airbnb. Spent very little time at the parks because of the heat and the crowds. Had an opportunity to go to DLP on December 21, 2021. Got a 1 day park hopper and saw everything we wanted to see and did numerous rides and dinner at Remy’s. It was very cold that day, but we were appropriately dressed so truly enjoyed the parks! The Christmas decorations as well as the Christmas market that was set up around Remy‘s restaurant is fabulous! I would suggest two days for Disneyland Paris and one 1/2 day for Downtown Disney, then maybe enjoy some of the Christmas markets in France! Highly recommend Colmar and Strasbourg. We travelled by train and I used UR points for hotels. We stayed at an Airbnb near DLP as well and visited Downtown Disney the evening we arrived to Paris.

 

[EACarlson]

Looking for help on puzzling through this:

Need to book a last minute stay at a Marriott for the beginning next month. Would be $750 cash for the reduced wedding rate. Alternatively, it would cost me 60k Bonvoy points (30k/night).

I don’t have enough Bonvoy points to cover the stay - it’s a currency I haven’t invested in.

I have over 400k URs and 150k MRs. If I were to transfer one of those to Bonvoy, which would you recommend?

Alternatively, I’m open to opening a Bonvoy card (I’ve never had one, and I’m under 5/24 with no new cards in the past year). Are any of the Bonvoy cards once/lifetime? Is there any chance I could get the points in time for my stay if I meet the MSR immediately?

I would transfer the MR. 1.25cpp is a pretty decent rate of return for Bonvoy. I personally would save UR for Hyatt.

 

[Judique]

Looking for help on puzzling through this:

Need to book a last minute stay at a Marriott for the beginning next month. Would be $750 cash for the reduced wedding rate. Alternatively, it would cost me 60k Bonvoy points (30k/night).

I don’t have enough Bonvoy points to cover the stay - it’s a currency I haven’t invested in.

I have over 400k URs and 150k MRs. If I were to transfer one of those to Bonvoy, which would you recommend?

Alternatively, I’m open to opening a Bonvoy card (I’ve never had one, and I’m under 5/24 with no new cards in the past year). Are any of the Bonvoy cards once/lifetime? Is there any chance I could get the points in time for my stay if I meet the MSR immediately?

As far as opening a card, for a room you need in roughly 3 weeks, I doubt you would get the points in time, even meeting spend in one transaction. On top of that points rooms could disappear.

I'd probably transfer my UR's to combine with the Bonvoy points - assuming points rooms are actually still available.

You didn't tell us how many Bonvoy points you need to get to 60K. These can also be purchased.

You would be getting significant value for 30K points with either transfer, considering the cost of $750 for the nights, so I wouldn't sweat whichever you use.

 

[becauseimnew]

Just got back from WDW one week ago and the lines were incredibly long! We had unseasonably hot weather and it could’ve been more crowded because of the princess races, but this was not an enjoyable trip for us overall. We normally stay at SOG but with our three-month-old grandson we decided to get an Airbnb. Spent very little time at the parks because of the heat and the crowds. Had an opportunity to go to DLP on December 21, 2021. Got a 1 day park hopper and saw everything we wanted to see and did numerous rides and dinner at Remy’s. It was very cold that day, but we were appropriately dressed so truly enjoyed the parks! The Christmas decorations as well as the Christmas market that was set up around Remy‘s restaurant is fabulous! I would suggest two days for Disneyland Paris and one 1/2 day for Downtown Disney, then maybe enjoy some of the Christmas markets in France! Highly recommend Colmar and Strasbourg. We travelled by train and I used UR points for hotels. We stayed at an Airbnb near DLP as well and visited Downtown Disney the evening we arrived to Paris.

Thank you for the recommendations. I’m going to try to come up with a plan soon to see how much we would spend in Paris vs Orlando. I have some Flying Blue miles that will expire in January, so this would be perfect.

I’m also Hyatt Globalist this year so would like to stay at some more Hyatts this year.

 

[tink89]

No… the CIP is also available but the MSR is $15k for 100,000 URs… might be better for you and P2 to each get a CIC/CIU.
I think one of the United cards business card has 150k miles and high MSR.
I just remembered, Capital One Sparks has a $3,000 SUB with $50k spend in 6 months.

thanks i think ill look into the CIC or CIU

 

[sinnika]

Thank you for the recommendations. I’m going to try to come up with a plan soon to see how much we would spend in Paris vs Orlando. I have some Flying Blue miles that will expire in January, so this would be perfect.

I’m also Hyatt Globalist this year so would like to stay at some more Hyatts this year.

If you’re interested in more details, I did a few posts with pictures of our trip to DLP and the Christmas markets in Strasburg and Colmar. I posted them December 22 and 23rd 2021.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Booking my first Hyatt. I thought I saw that you all will recheck to see if points drop. Is it common for the points to change? I know that's true with Marriott properties, for example.

 

[afan]

Booking my first Hyatt. I thought I saw that you all will recheck to see if points drop. Is it common for the points to change? I know that's true with Marriott properties, for example.

They won't change for Hyatt. They have set awards, though they do have high and low seasons. Hilton has variable points pricing, which is what I've been mentioning checking and rebooking

 

[reliev]

Thank you for the recommendations. I’m going to try to come up with a plan soon to see how much we would spend in Paris vs Orlando. I have some Flying Blue miles that will expire in January, so this would be perfect.

I’m also Hyatt Globalist this year so would like to stay at some more Hyatts this year.

I stayed at the Hyatt Madeline I would recommend that on cash vs points. The park Hyatt was amazing too but i didn't think it was worth 4x the cash amount. I just came back from there last weekend amazing food everywhere

 

[becauseimnew]

I stayed at the Hyatt Madeline I would recommend that on cash vs points. The park Hyatt was amazing too but i didn't think it was worth 4x the cash amount. I just came back from there last weekend amazing food everywhere

I'm actually looking at staying at the Hyatt Regency Etoile, since the standard Suites sleep 4. The Madline is 688 Euro/night vs the 24,000 points for the stand suite at the Regency.

 

[Arcades]

Booking my first Hyatt. I thought I saw that you all will recheck to see if points drop. Is it common for the points to change? I know that's true with Marriott properties, for example.

Yes, it's common for Hyatt to update categories once a year (usually in March). This year the change will go into effect on March 22nd. If you lock in a rate that increases, you won't be charged the difference. If the rate drops, you should be refunded the difference, though I'm not sure how long that takes on Hyatt's end (so I would just wait until March 22nd if it's a new booking).

 

[AndreaDM]

I have a WWYD question. We are flying to St. Thomas at the end of the month on United. I booked with points, economy, had enough to cover 2 r/t flights. Now I see a great price for Business class for the flight down, it's roughly the same number of points that 2 economy tickets were, or cash price of $516. I'm flirting with canceling our seats, rebooking one Biz class with points and paying for the other one. Would be a nice treat. We're flying Cleveland to DC (one hour), then to ST. Thomas from there which is just over 4 hours. Worth it to spend $516 to upgrade for that short amount of time?

 

[Shannon G]

As I posted a couple of weeks ago, I'm looking for a new bonus before I pay my taxes. I decided to apply for the Chase IHG card over the weekend, and did not get instant approval. Keeping my fingers crossed that it gets approved. If it does not, I may call the reconsideration line, but I have never done that before. I do have other Chase cards, so I am hoping that if needed they will move my credit limit between cards in order to allow it. I also have a Chase Slate that I only use if there is a good Chase offer attached to it, so I'd be perfectly content to cancel that one if that would help.

 

[becauseimnew]

I bought Adobe Creative Cloud 1 year subscription on Dell.com for $79.99 it is clearly a prices error. I received the digital key with in minutes. Hopefully Dell won't try to charge me the regular price later.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I have a WWYD question. We are flying to St. Thomas at the end of the month on United. I booked with points, economy, had enough to cover 2 r/t flights. Now I see a great price for Business class for the flight down, it's roughly the same number of points that 2 economy tickets were, or cash price of $516. I'm flirting with canceling our seats, rebooking one Biz class with points and paying for the other one. Would be a nice treat. We're flying Cleveland to DC (one hour), then to ST. Thomas from there which is just over 4 hours. Worth it to spend $516 to upgrade for that short amount of time?

I keep finding myself in a position where I find a great points deal or fare, don't book it and then regret it later. And sometimes end up paying more later because I didn't pull the trigger. If it's in your head, I say do it. Treat yourself!!

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

As I posted a couple of weeks ago, I'm looking for a new bonus before I pay my taxes. I decided to apply for the Chase IHG card over the weekend, and did not get instant approval. Keeping my fingers crossed that it gets approved. If it does not, I may call the reconsideration line, but I have never done that before. I do have other Chase cards, so I am hoping that if needed they will move my credit limit between cards in order to allow it. I also have a Chase Slate that I only use if there is a good Chase offer attached to it, so I'd be perfectly content to cancel that one if that would help.

If it were me, I would just give them a ring now and see if there's anything they need to move the application around. It may be adjusting credit limits, or identity verification. I haven't needed to call often, but when I have, they are easy to talk to- not necessarily overly friendly, just a fact based conversation.

 

[trstno1]

I bought Adobe Creative Cloud 1 year subscription on Dell.com for $79.99 it is clearly a prices error. I received the digital key with in minutes. Hopefully Dell won't try to charge me the regular price later.

Still available. Do you know if you can add it to existing account, or do you need to create a new account?

 

[reliev]

I'm actually looking at staying at the Hyatt Regency Etoile, since the standard Suites sleep 4. The Madline is 688 Euro/night vs the 24,000 points for the stand suite at the Regency.

oof when i went it was 300 dollars a night if if i wasn't in the cancelation period with a penalty i would have booked the room with cash vs points I got upgraded to at park hyatt was retailing for 2600 euros probably the best upgrade i ever got from a 30k base twin room

 

[becauseimnew]

Still available. Do you know if you can add it to existing account, or do you need to create a new account?

I added it to my current account, but I only had the Photography Cloud package