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

[Psychodisney]

I appear to have been Bonvoyed of sorts. I used Amex FHR to stay at the Dolphin in March. Today I received a folio email with charges for those two nights! Pending charge showing on my Plat. Of course, can’t speak to anyone at Dolphin. Just text or email and it‘s a holiday weekend. Called Amex. Nothing they can do while the charge is pending.
Nights were prepaid through Amex. I was charged in March for the incidentals. This is aggravating!

 

[AndreaDM]

So we pulled the trigger and booked JFK->FRA on Singapore for 144K miles r/t in business in Sept. I’m super excited, but now we have just over 2 months to plan everything lol. We’ve been to Germany before so really not looking to make that our homebase for the whole time, we will have about nine days and would like to explore a few other places maybe Amsterdam or Luxenberg, really open to anything. Does anyone have any experience or suggestions for a quick trip within a trip while we are there?

 

[DogCat]

I set up all my accounts for minimum autopay to help mitigate this issue. It avoids late fees and helps in those moments when things get crazy. I usually then go in and pay the balance in full once a month.

I do this too!! I always worried something will happen and I will miss payments especially with all those cards. This way I know I will never get a bad credit report or a late fee. I always go in and pay the balance before the due date but I need a back up to ease my anxiety lol.

As far as the different due dates….I only use my Chase cards and what I’ve done is change all the due dates to the same date each month

I read this advice from you awhile back and so I did it too - It changed my life for the better! Thanks btw

I PCd my CSR to a CFU yesterday. Today I was checking the Chase bonus site and entered in my now CFU info and it said it activated the 10x for Starbucks. Any idea if this resets the $500 limit? I'd done $55 already when the card was a CSR. Not that I need another $500 in reloads

What Starbucks offer is this? I don't remember anything about it.

I checked my Disney no fee card because of your post and got gas stations, grocery stores and home improvements up to $1500. I 'think' I had this last quarter. I buy most gas at Costco as well as most groceries and I already get 5% using my Lowes card at Lowes. So it's not likely I'll make the $1500 but a few extra points won't hurt, if I remember to use the card.

How do you maximize points/earnings on Costco gas? I never know what card to use there. I use my (CIC 5X UR) VGC or MCGC for my warehouse purchases but GCs don't work for gas.

 

[georgina]

What Starbucks offer is this? I don't remember anything about it.

How do you maximize points/earnings on Costco gas? I never know what card to use there. I use my (CIC 5X UR) VGC or MCGC for my warehouse purchases but GCs don't work for gas.

I go even farther - all my CC are set to pay the full balance on the due date. Chase is nice because any credits received before payment lower the statement balance, Amex doesn't do that.

If you go back about 5 pages, there is a link to check your Chase offers. I found the Starbucks offer on one of mine but I won a $75 Starbucks GC on their last online game so dont need it. I had the gas, grocery, and home improvement offer on my Marriott card.

The only way I have found to get cash back on Costco gas is the no-fee Citi Costco card - 4% on gas everywhere.

 

[miztressuz]

I know there's been some discussions with booking Aer Lingus flights with Avios. If there's anyone who has completed award flights, maybe you could tell me what I did wrong

I just got back from a quick trip to the UK with a weekend in Dublin. For reasons, we flew RT between England and Ireland on Aer Lingus (IATA code "EI" for brevity) . These were short, hour flights and I had a small amount of BA Avios that's just been sitting forever that I was happy to finally find a way to use.

Little background before my observations and Q's -
Flight to DUB in saver economy paid cash for. EI must have an award chart since my £0 flight was 4500 Avios + £31 tax, so for obvious reasons I chose to save the points and just paid the cash taxes.

The return, DUB to LHR, was the same 4500 Avios + $12 taxes. Since my Avios were in BA to start, and EI and BA code share, I priced it out on the BA site and found the same flight was 6100 Avios +cash + higher taxes. My recollection was it only discounted the flight about $50 so I spent the time to transfer the Avios to EI and book on the Avios.com site. (FYI the taxes code as "Professional Services" through the avios.com site so no travel category reimbursements/multipliers)

That part all went well and quick. What I didn't put together was that in the PDF doc that is your "ticket" it states that you can't manage the booking online. Did not occur to me that means you can't check-in online either! The EI website is also maddeningly unhelpful with this as it doesn't throw an error when looking up the reservation, it just spins infinitely. I tried to call to see if they can check-in that way but it was a busy weekend with long hold times and I gave up before being connected. (For flights within Europe you can check-in 48 hrs in advance, so I tried a couple times but ultimately just planned to get to the airport early and check-in there.) It wasn't bad, I ended up in the back of the plane but got an aisle seat and empty middle so it could have been worse. So does anyone know if they can do check-in for award flights over the phone?

Another thing that wasn't entirely clear was the baggage allotment. It's booked as a saver flight, but an award ticket evidently comes with a carry-on on the plane rather than a carry-on that gets checked into the hold. I wasted time trying to get a bag tag for my carry-on since the self check kept coming back with an error. When I finally get an agent he looked at the boarding pass and said I should carry it on.
(This "carry on" means you bring your 10kg bag on the plane
)

Now, the PDF did say clearly that I got a piece of checked baggage so I figured either way I could get a bag tag, but with that error coming up at self serve I suspect a full service agent may be advisable if checking a bag. Unless someone knows better? Would being able to check-in in advance have helped?

The website says for Transatlantic flights this 10kg carry-on bag is already included, so people booking the long haul this shouldn't be an issue. But if you're using EI within Europe then FYI, you don't check the 10kg bag.

 

[elgerber]

I go even farther - all my CC are set to pay the full balance on the due date. Chase is nice because any credits received before payment lower the statement balance, Amex doesn't do that.

If you go back about 5 pages, there is a link to check your Chase offers. I found the Starbucks offer on one of mine but I won a $75 Starbucks GC on their last online game so dont need it. I had the gas, grocery, and home improvement offer on my Marriott card.

The only way I have found to get cash back on Costco gas is the no-fee Citi Costco card - 4% on gas everywhere.

I do this also. I still pay them before the due date, but just in case...

 

[afan]

I do this also. I still pay them before the due date, but just in case...

I'm the crazy one that pays each week. But I get paid every Friday so it's just easier to go on and pay balances. I try and pay them to zero before the statement closes that way I never have to worry about it.

Also super frustrated, as I know most are, with Barclays site. One the statement cut june 17 and is due July 7 which just seems way too quick but I made a payment on the 17th and I can't figure out if that was accounted for and so the statement balance is what I owe or if with that payment and the other two I've made I'm good. I'll take a deep dive on Wed so I can make a payment if I need to cause I don't want any interest.

 

[Alexle2007]

For those who use SW for the AmEx airline credits, it looks if you first purchase a WGA for < $105 and then you change that to a WGA+ for $95, the entire amount becomes WGA+ and transferable.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Does anyone have tips for booking hotels with families of 5?

I've been looking at tropical destination options for us in the Fall and I'm getting frustrated with so many places requiring 2 rooms instead of giving us the option of a suite or an extra bed. I can see this option being ideal/necessary with teenagers, but my kids are still little. I don't want 2 rooms.

Any chance any of your kids are very little, like under 2? I know sometimes they don't count towards the room capacity limit. My only advice would be to narrow down some hotels you are interested in and then email them and see if they have any issue with your 3 young kids being in the same room with you. FWIW, on flyertalk the WA Los Cabos Pedregal thread, I often see people who bring their kids end up with super great upgrades into casitas. Worth trying!!

Did get a $350 loyalty credit on my Amex platinum biz.

Was this a retention offer? Or something else? Congrats, either way!

So we pulled the trigger and booked JFK->FRA on Singapore for 144K miles r/t in business in Sept. I’m super excited, but now we have just over 2 months to plan everything lol. We’ve been to Germany before so really not looking to make that our homebase for the whole time, we will have about nine days and would like to explore a few other places maybe Amsterdam or Luxenberg, really open to anything. Does anyone have any experience or suggestions for a quick trip within a trip while we are there?

My adult son is just wrapping up his Madrid/Barcelona/Amsterdam/Paris trip and they said their favorite city was Amsterdam. They said it's super walkable and quaint. They said the service was amazing and kind everywhere. Such beautiful pictures from the canals. I understand biking is wonderful here. The Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam (Hilton) gets rave reviews, but requires a lot of points. But if you are looking for a few nights splurge, might be worth it to burn or buy points. The Kimpton (IHG) in Amsterdam also gets good reviews. I also have a note (from my random notes of various potential trips ) that side trip to Utrecht- supposedly quaint and charming.

 

[wanderlust7]

Any chance any of your kids are very little, like under 2? I know sometimes they don't count towards the room capacity limit. My only advice would be to narrow down some hotels you are interested in and then email them and see if they have any issue with your 3 young kids being in the same room with you. FWIW, on flyertalk the WA Los Cabos Pedregal thread, I often see people who bring their kids end up with super great upgrades into casitas. Worth trying!!



Was this a retention offer? Or something else? Congrats, either way!


My adult son is just wrapping up his Madrid/Barcelona/Amsterdam/Paris trip and they said their favorite city was Amsterdam. They said it's super walkable and quaint. They said the service was amazing and kind everywhere. Such beautiful pictures from the canals. I understand biking is wonderful here. The Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam (Hilton) gets rave reviews, but requires a lot of points. But if you are looking for a few nights splurge, might be worth it to burn or buy points. The Kimpton (IHG) in Amsterdam also gets good reviews. I also have a note (from my random notes of various potential trips ) that side trip to Utrecht- supposedly quaint and charming.

That's great to hear about Amsterdam! I've been as a child, but don't remember much. I grabbed KLM flights to AMS in biz at the low miles rate, but leaves a couple days earlier than I intended. Glad I grabbed it though because I never saw the specific day I wanted at the low rate. So I'll have a few extra days to play with.

I'm excited to get the KLM miniature delft houses they give out lol. I just found out that they contain gin! I hope that doesn't mean they don't give them to kids.

 

[amcc]

So we pulled the trigger and booked JFK->FRA on Singapore for 144K miles r/t in business in Sept. I’m super excited, but now we have just over 2 months to plan everything lol. We’ve been to Germany before so really not looking to make that our homebase for the whole time, we will have about nine days and would like to explore a few other places maybe Amsterdam or Luxenberg, really open to anything. Does anyone have any experience or suggestions for a quick trip within a trip while we are there?

Add in Bruges in Belgium to Amsterdam and Luxembourg and that’s a beautiful trip. I love Belgium.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

That's great to hear about Amsterdam! I've been as a child, but don't remember much. I grabbed KLM flights to AMS in biz at the low miles rate, but leaves a couple days earlier than I intended. Glad I grabbed it though because I never saw the specific day I wanted at the low rate. So I'll have a few extra days to play with.

I'm excited to get the KLM miniature delft houses they give out lol. I just found out that they contain gin! I hope that doesn't mean they don't give them to kids.

Hey, I just learned they contained gin in the past few days as well! I thought they were just houses! I hope the kids get theirs as well. We are RT in biz class, so 8 houses could make a really cute Christmas display or something!

We fly on KLM connecting in AMS over Thanksgiving, and am also really looking forward to the delft houses and the AMS lounge. AMS is having meltdowns lately and KLM has been offering flight changes at no charge (for a limited close in period). My son was able to rebook his 1-stop flight on KLM to nonstop on AF for no charge. I only mention this bc these operational issues may persist for quite some time and so you may be able to shuffle your flights if it continues. But a few days in Amsterdam sounds lovely!

 

[disneylover81]

I need to buy WDW park tickets for our Sept trip. Just bought DVC direct in May so this is our first time not having an actual WDW vacation “package”. I want to maximize on earning Cash Back/Points and just save as much money as possible with the cards that I have and get the best bang for my buck. I’ve been trying to research this topic on here all day, but haven’t quite found the answer I’m needing. Sorry, I don’t have all of the abbreviations figured out yet so I will spell it all out. I am also not interested in getting a new credit card. I just got the CSP card in May and that’s what I used to purchase my DVC ownership and have already earned my SUB, which was awesome!!

Here are the cards that I already have and am considering making this purchase with:
* Chase Disney (regular not premier)
* Chase Freedom
* Chase Freedom Unlimited
* Chase Sapphire Preferred

Apparently, I love Chase !

I need to purchase 4 adult tickets. This will just be a short trip. Probably want 4 day tickets with Park Hopper, but no water park option. Around $2200 total.

From what I have read on this thread, buying park tickets will not code as travel, but as entertainment. From my calculations this is what I’m coming up with. The 5% bonus (up to $1500 purchase) on the Chase Freedom card this quarter lists Disney World as entertainment so I assume that includes buying tickets, but that only earns $75 max cash back, plus $7 for the overage, $82 total. My Disney visa only earns 1% on all purchases, so $22. CFU earns 1.5%, so $33. I’m so very new to the CSP so I’m not sure what this purchase would earn. I’m also not against buying Disney gift cards at Kroger or Sam’s club on any of these cards if it earns me more. I saw where some people recommended buying tickets from websites like Undercover Tourist, but I’m not sure how that will code on any of my cards or if it’s a good alternative to purchasing directly from Disney.

I think I’ve covered everything I know so far. I’m sure there is tons of advice that y’all can give me to make this best savings scenario for me !! I appreciate it.

 

[iujen94]

I’m on vacation and so far behind on this thread…just learned today that Disney is on the “select live entertainment” list for the CFF’s 5x this quarter. Have there already been discussions as to what Disney expenses might trigger the 5x?

(Link to full website: https://creditcards.chase.com/freedom-credit-cards/merchants)

 

[havaneselover]

Was this a retention offer? Or something else? Congrats, either way!

Yes, retention.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Does anyone have tips for booking hotels with families of 5?

I've been looking at tropical destination options for us in the Fall and I'm getting frustrated with so many places requiring 2 rooms instead of giving us the option of a suite or an extra bed. I can see this option being ideal/necessary with teenagers, but my kids are still little. I don't want 2 rooms.

Not sure it's really a tip, but more commiserating. I hate trying to book for my family of five. Tons of search engines don't allow you to go that high, or you end up with a couple of overpriced results!

Once I have a general idea of location, I start going to individual hotel websites to see if they have 5 person rooms. That usually works better for me than trying to use an aggregated search.

 

[Psychodisney]

I need to buy WDW park tickets for our Sept trip. Just bought DVC direct in May so this is our first time not having an actual WDW vacation “package”. I want to maximize on earning Cash Back/Points and just save as much money as possible with the cards that I have and get the best bang for my buck. I’ve been trying to research this topic on here all day, but haven’t quite found the answer I’m needing. Sorry, I don’t have all of the abbreviations figured out yet so I will spell it all out. I am also not interested in getting a new credit card. I just got the CSP card in May and that’s what I used to purchase my DVC ownership and have already earned my SUB, which was awesome!!

Here are the cards that I already have and am considering making this purchase with:
* Chase Disney (regular not premier)
* Chase Freedom
* Chase Freedom Unlimited
* Chase Sapphire Preferred

Apparently, I love Chase !

I need to purchase 4 adult tickets. This will just be a short trip. Probably want 4 day tickets with Park Hopper, but no water park option. Around $2200 total.

From what I have read on this thread, buying park tickets will not code as travel, but as entertainment. From my calculations this is what I’m coming up with. The 5% bonus (up to $1500 purchase) on the Chase Freedom card this quarter lists Disney World as entertainment so I assume that includes buying tickets, but that only earns $75 max cash back, plus $7 for the overage, $82 total. My Disney visa only earns 1% on all purchases, so $22. CFU earns 1.5%, so $33. I’m so very new to the CSP so I’m not sure what this purchase would earn. I’m also not against buying Disney gift cards at Kroger or Sam’s club on any of these cards if it earns me more. I saw where some people recommended buying tickets from websites like Undercover Tourist, but I’m not sure how that will code on any of my cards or if it’s a good alternative to purchasing directly from Disney.

I think I’ve covered everything I know so far. I’m sure there is tons of advice that y’all can give me to make this best savings scenario for me !! I appreciate it.

You’re thoughts are excellent. I would check the prices on UT. (I’ve bought tickets through them for years). They will code as travel on CSP. See what the discount + the 2 UR points come out to. See if that beats the 5x points with CF.

 

[disneylover81]

You’re thoughts are excellent. I would check the prices on UT. (I’ve bought tickets through them for years). They will code as travel on CSP. See what the discount + the 2 UR points come out to. See if that beats the 5x points with CF.

Thank you.

 

[smallsy]

Any chance any of your kids are very little, like under 2? I know sometimes they don't count towards the room capacity limit. My only advice would be to narrow down some hotels you are interested in and then email them and see if they have any issue with your 3 young kids being in the same room with you. FWIW, on flyertalk the WA Los Cabos Pedregal thread, I often see people who bring their kids end up with super great upgrades into casitas. Worth trying!!

No, they're elementary age: 9, 7, 7

Not sure it's really a tip, but more commiserating. I hate trying to book for my family of five. Tons of search engines don't allow you to go that high, or you end up with a couple of overpriced results!

Once I have a general idea of location, I start going to individual hotel websites to see if they have 5 person rooms. That usually works better for me than trying to use an aggregated search.

It's so frustrating! It's one of the reasons we prefer using AirBnB, despite the issues they've caused. I appreciate that Disney at least has options for the Murphy beds and whatnot to accommodate us.

 

[platamama]

For those who use SW for the AmEx airline credits, it looks if you first purchase a WGA for < $105 and then you change that to a WGA+ for $95, the entire amount becomes WGA+ and transferable.

And to add to that, if you have travel funds expiring by 12/31/22, since SW is allowing a free 6 month extension on those (you have to call in), you could use a combination of the Amex airline credits and expiring funds to buy a WGA+ fare to make those funds transferable. The upside is you could do this to accumulate a larger fare that is transferable; the downside is that it will only be extended six months from the original expiration date. But if you have lots of Amex airline credits and an existing ticket that's expiring before 12/31, you could build up a chest of transferable credit using both 2022 and 2023 Amex credits. Depending on travel plans for the early part of next year, that might be helpful.