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

[LB002]

I am currently planning a trip to WDW in Nov/Dec. We are flying in the Friday after Thanksgiving and home the next Sunday.
We are staying at Copper Creek and Hard Rock Universal.

This trip is supposed to be to check out all the non Disney park Christmas things. Legoland, Seaworld, Universal, Gaylord Palms, and Night of a million lights(which they just announced is not happening)

I am currently stalking the DVC site to add a day. Every time I look I see a one bedroom ocean view at Aulani. Which makes me check Hawaiian airlines flights. About $3200 for the 4 of us. Out of points will spend much more than $3200 on all the tickets for Disney/Universal.

Just can’t decide. Disney/Universal or Aulani. ( we went to Disney last Dec. and Aulani in April)

I just feel like Hawaii was so relaxing. I see all of these videos of WDW being so busy, plus Genie+, no relaxing.

I do have some JetBlue points. Has anyone used them for Hawaiian airlines flights. If a flight is 50,000 miles with Hawaiian is it comparable in JetBlue points?

We've been converted to Aulani people after being hard core WDW. Our April WDW trip was just not relaxing and prices are crazy (I miss DVC APs). Our next trip will be Aulani!

 

[LB002]

Are MDD with Chase Sapphire cards still a thing? It's been 4+ years and I was going to apply again. Thanks!

 

[IFlossU]

In June I finally decided to splurge and book my family first class using AA miles to Maui for Thanksgiving. I was just notified our aircraft changed from an Airbus A321 to a Dreamliner 787-9. We went from standard domestic first class to lie flat business class.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Are MDD with Chase Sapphire cards still a thing? It's been 4+ years and I was going to apply again. Thanks!

Yes…just make sure it’s 4 years from when the bonus posted

 

[bbsearchlight]

Hi all. Quick credit card question, if I add someone as an authorized user on one of my credit cards, what address do they use for the billing address? Do they have to use my address, or can they use their address which is different?

 

[DogCat]

I am so sorry that happened to you and your family was so fortunate to all be home at the same time.

I hadn't felt ready to share this because it is still very traumatic for me, but I will now. A few months back I received a call from my young adult daughter, sobbing hysterically. Then a police officer gets on the phone and tells me she had been in an accident near Walmart, but that she was fine and could I come pick her up? I say of course and ask a few questions and then he asks me to speak with her again to just calm her down and let her know I'm on my way. She gets on the phone again crying and begging me to come get her. Then she whispers "They're not who they say they are, Mom. They're not police." The phone gets ripped away from her and then my nightmare starts. The guys says okay, we're not police, your daughter saw something she wasn't supposed to and now we have her. He's very anxious, saying he doesn't want to hurt her but he doesn't know what to do with her and can he trust that if I come get her I will make sure she doesn't turn them in? Anyway, I'm just not able to continue fully with the rest of the story, but know that for hours on end I was tortured like this.

Apparently this is known as a virtual kidnapping. It feels incredibly real in the moment. When someone sounds like your child, you will do anything, move any mountain, put yourself in any danger to make them safe. I am not an easily fooled person. I won't even let a salesperson sell me the thing I came to a store to buy. My guard is ALWAYS up. But I would swear it was my daughter on the phone. Anyways, the techniques they use are very sophisticated, whether it be IT techniques or psychological techniques. And the experience is very, very controlling. They don't allow you to put them on speaker and they constantly keep you busy, so that you don't have time to reach out for help or fact check etc. And you are so so fearful you'll do something wrong that will endanger your child. Anyways, it's really, really awful the ends people will go to for money.

I think I've heard a very simplified version of this, more like "your niece is calling from Europe and she lost her wallet" or whatever, and I always chalked it up to elderly people falling for these scams. I really had no idea how sophisticated they were. I have also heard a variation where when you post details about your upcoming vacations on social, they'll target your parents, etc that you've been kidnapped abroad.

Here's just one example https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...082690-8963-11e6-875e-2c1bfe943b66_story.html

I am so sorry this happened to you but THANK YOU for sharing it. It is absolutely terrifying to me. You have probably saved many people from a similar event. I had never heard of this before. More needs to be done to stop these criminals from spoofing phone numbers and caller IDs.

 

[570traveler]

My IHG free night certificate posted and I’d like to book a night on to the end of a 4 night stay I already have booked. What’s the best way to do this? I checked and the same room type is available. I’m hoping to be able to stay in the same room!

 

[elgerber]

My IHG free night certificate posted and I’d like to book a night on to the end of a 4 night stay I already have booked. What’s the best way to do this? I checked and the same room type is available. I’m hoping to be able to stay in the same room!

you have too book separately, but I have never had to move. I either e-mail or call the hotel and they have always taken care of me.

 

[570traveler]

you have too book separately, but I have never had to move. I either e-mail or call the hotel and they have always taken care of me.

Thanks! I’ll book online and call to let them know

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Okay international travelers, a question....since we land in Dublin at 5am (which will be like midnight for us), we're thinking we'd like to go crash in a hotel for a few hours, then hit the ground running. I was talking to my cousin at our family reunion who's done Ireland 4 times. She said the most dangerous thing about driving on the other side of the road is doing it after landing on no sleep, LOL. I'm assuming it's best to book a room for the night before 3/14 and perhaps just contact the hotel and tell them we'll be checking in at 5am, right? I'm thinking of getting 3-4 hours of sleep and then starting the day would work best for us.

TLDR - is it better to do a MDD, or another Chase Biz card. I'd be over 5/24 until 8/2023 if I MDD. (for my ramblings below).

Next question - since I can't get the Delta Amex Plat Biz, it's time to figure out my next card. I have had the MDD on the back burner for awhile.....I do have taxes coming up to help the $8k MSR and I'm sure a slew of OD/Staples VGC offers I could MS. Plus I might have $10k in braces soon, LOL. Normally I do the payment plan but I might just pay it all upfront to get the spend while I'm in the 3 mos timeframe. Once I do the MDD I'll be over 5/24 until 8/2023. So I wonder if it's smarter right now do another CIU or CIC. I have 1 of each (CIC, CIU, CIP) now that I upgraded CIC #2 to a CIP. But I guess the next question is, since I just upgraded the CIC to a CIP, do I need to wait to apply for any chase cards right now?

I guess I'm just trying to figure out if I block myself out of Chase till 8/2023 (or longer) or if I keep doing Biz cards instead and wait till my /24 drops lower. Right now the only other Chase card on my radar would be churning my IHG cards in 2023. I have all 3. The Traveler and Premier can be churned in 2023, but I know that will no require cancelling both and only churning 1. I got the Traveler 1/2021 and the Premier (#2) 8/2021. So I guess the plan of attack would be to cancel both in Jan 2023, then sign up for the Traveler in Feb. Have that a year, cancel it and do the Premier (#3) in March 2024. But of course none of that even matters if I'm over 5/24. And I guess if Marriott did ANOTHER 5 FNC, maybe I'd cancel my card and try to churn that. But I'm not worried about that, LOL.

Or do I try to apply for an Amex Gold Biz and see if I can make Amex Biz pop ups happy? The only downfall of Amex is I can't pay my taxes with them, and I can't buy VGCs to pay them either.

The AF for my Aspire just posted, and I'm trying to decide what to do. Can I downgrade to the Surpass or no fee card for now and then upgrade back to the Aspire if/when it makes sense? This card started as a Surpass and then I upgraded it if that matters. I got the sub for the Surpass but not the no fee card previously,
so if I did that I would want to go ahead and apply for that for the sub before downgrading, correct? We don't have any plans to stay at Hilton anytime soon, but I'd like to keep my options open in the future, and not get on Amex's bad side.

I would get the free card first. I was so happy to jump on the free card back in March when the SUB came w/ a FNC! Now I've had all 4 Hilton cards and I'm hoping for some upgrade offers to keep the points coming, LOL. I might upgrade to an Aspire to keep diamond after that finally expires in 2023. It'll depend on the travel my BF and I keep doing.

Thank you so much!! Grands got picked up after 9 last night, so I can go today. I really appreciate the info. I originally was expecting to have them until late this afternoon.

Will the variable load work with the $15 off $300? Does anyone know? I haven't been following Office Depot that much so not up on all the details.

I may check out the Annapolis store when I'm in the area sometime, and if so I will post here.

I get the everywhere cards as the fee is only $4.95. I load them w/ $200/ea. And then MS them at WM. Everyday cards aren't as tricky as the $200 VGC are. So I can MS them a lot faster.

It's not...and frowned up, ESPECIALLY internationally. Depending on the flight, they discourage people from economy, comfort plus, etc moving that close up to the front of the plane (* exception is perhaps premium select in Delta using biz bathrooms-there was some confusion on my last flight about which ones they're supposed to use). I'm not sure if it's for security reasons or what but "going through the curtain" is definitely a no go.

Fingers crossed then that we can upgrade her somehow. I need to check daily.....slacking on that. But it's only been 1 day, LOL.

GE really doesn't speed up your bag retrieval...iirc in June it took about 35-40 min to get our bags in BOS after a flight from CDG. If you're connecting then you'll have to recheck the bag and then get from terminal C (I believe) to terminal A which is either a decent walk or a shuttle (and if you get on the one that goes to all terminals, subway station, etc it can be quite a long ride-there are several shuttles and it can be confusing). I'd definitely give myself a decent cushion of time.

Don't forget if you're renting a car to check if it's an automatic or standard-a lot of cars are still standard and automatics usually cost more. Oh, and make sure you know what kind of fuel the car takes after you arrive-some take diesel and you don't want to put the incorrect fuel in the tank! Finally, parking in Dublin is a challenge so you might consider renting a car after your stay in Dublin.

From what I read, we actually clear customs in DUB before we even travel. So we'll just be waiting on the bags to recheck. Maybe we can pull off carry ons only. I'll have to see. My biggest worry is shoes, and souvenirs, lol.

And yes, I'm making sure it's an automatic. Our plan is to leave Dublin as soon as we land. But I might want to get a quick nap at a hotel. But thanks for the tip. I guess I can plan on returning the car a day earlier too, since the last night will be in Dublin. Or at least if it makes it cheaper/less hassle.

 

[tink1970]

You do clear customs in DUB which is nice but sadly no guarantee your bags in BOS will be off expediently. If you can do carry on only, that will really speed things up. Sadly there's no big motivation for baggage handlers to be quick about offloading for Aer Lingus-the one and only time I flew J with them and landed in Orlando, I had to wait an hour for my bags (and this was in October at 11 pm so not a super busy time, sadly). That said, you could get lucky in BOS and have efficient baggage arrival...you never know!

 

[IFlossU]

since we land in Dublin at 5am (which will be like midnight for us), we're thinking we'd like to go crash in a hotel for a few hours, then hit the ground running.

This is risky. For me I’ve found it best just to power through and stay awake. You’ll be exhausted, but super excited that first day, which helps combat the exhaustion. You may end up going to bed earlier in the evening, but at least you’re starting to get on the correct time zone. I would be afraid if I took a morning nap I wouldn’t want to get up, and then make myself even more exhausted. Every time I land in Europe I’m all of the sudden wide awake with excitement. Yes, I’m starting to fade by late afternoon, but I can usually make it until about 9pm before I completely crash. Then I wake up the next morning feeling great. Only one way to find out what works for you

 

[IFlossU]

TLDR - is it better to do a MDD, or another Chase Biz card. I'd be over 5/24 until 8/2023 if I MDD. (for my ramblings below).

It sounds like you have quite a bit of spend coming up. If you do a MDD and lock yourself out of Chase for a year, and you’re still in pop up jail, what are your other options for maximizing your spend? I’d be hesitant to lock myself out of Ink cards if I were in pop up jail, but URs are extremely valuable to me.

ETA: FWIW I only did a MDD because I’m in 2P mode. DH is way under 5/24. I don’t think if I was 1P I would want to lock myself out of Chase especially since you MS. Food for thought.

 

[havaneselover]

This is risky. For me I’ve found it best just to power through and stay awake. You’ll be exhausted, but super excited that first day, which helps combat the exhaustion. You may end up going to bed earlier in the evening, but at least you’re starting to get on the correct time zone. I would be afraid if I took a morning nap I wouldn’t want to get up, and then make myself even more exhausted. Every time I land in Europe I’m all of the sudden wide awake with excitement. Yes, I’m starting to fade by late afternoon, but I can usually make it until about 9pm before I completely crash. Then I wake up the next morning feeling great. Only one way to find out what works for you

I'm in your camp. When we flew to Barcelona in May, we left DC around 6PM and arrived at 8 AM. We pushed through the day (sightseeing and dinner around 6:30 PM) and went to bed around 8 or 9. Woke up and were basically on the right schedule. Had we taken a nap, I think it would have taken longer to get adjusted. The first day is tough but from there on out, you should be good.

 

[LB002]

Yes…just make sure it’s 4 years from when the bonus posted

Thanks. I have my application date but will double check the bonus!

 

[StephPlum]

When do Cap1 bonus's hit? when you make min spend or when the next statement closes?

 

[DogCat]

Are MDD with Chase Sapphire cards still a thing? It's been 4+ years and I was going to apply again. Thanks!

Good luck to you. I am probably going to try this later this year so let us all know how it goes for you!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

You do clear customs in DUB which is nice but sadly no guarantee your bags in BOS will be off expediently. If you can do carry on only, that will really speed things up. Sadly there's no big motivation for baggage handlers to be quick about offloading for Aer Lingus-the one and only time I flew J with them and landed in Orlando, I had to wait an hour for my bags (and this was in October at 11 pm so not a super busy time, sadly). That said, you could get lucky in BOS and have efficient baggage arrival...you never know!

I guess my back up is leaving my baggage there and non-revving back at some point to get it, LOL. Or make the BF pick up a trip through BOS right after and grab it, LOL. I'm thinking of maybe trying to get us to do 3 carry ons and 1 checked bag. So if it gets stuck it's only 1. And we only have to wait for 1 bag.

This is risky. For me I’ve found it best just to power through and stay awake. You’ll be exhausted, but super excited that first day, which helps combat the exhaustion. You may end up going to bed earlier in the evening, but at least you’re starting to get on the correct time zone. I would be afraid if I took a morning nap I wouldn’t want to get up, and then make myself even more exhausted. Every time I land in Europe I’m all of the sudden wide awake with excitement. Yes, I’m starting to fade by late afternoon, but I can usually make it until about 9pm before I completely crash. Then I wake up the next morning feeling great. Only one way to find out what works for you

My worry is, day 1 we're going to be driving bout 3 hours to where we're going to tour/stay. So I have to get from DUB to there on no real sleep. If we were just walking around, etc....then I wouldn't be as worried.

It sounds like you have quite a bit of spend coming up. If you do a MDD and lock yourself out of Chase for a year, and you’re still in pop up jail, what are your other options for maximizing your spend? I’d be hesitant to lock myself out of Ink cards if I were in pop up jail, but URs are extremely valuable to me.

ETA: FWIW I only did a MDD because I’m in 2P mode. DH is way under 5/24. I don’t think if I was 1P I would want to lock myself out of Chase especially since you MS. Food for thought.

I appreciate this food for thought as it was things I didn't think about. My other list of cards I want would be to churn the Barclay AA Biz, which I currently have. And DPs vary on if the SUB is 24 mos after cancel or prior SUB. The Barclay AA personal (which I cancelled last year). I think I can churn a Citi AA Biz in Oct (I got a SUB for #1 in 10/18, tried for 2 in 6/19 and didn't get it). Citi AA personal are on the list too. If I got an Amex upgrades on the Hilton I'd probably take them.

Sadly any other personal cards obv add to my 5/24. So maybe it is best to keep doing INKs for now. My PP pass from my CSR seems to still be active. Plus I have 10 w/ my Surpass if not. My CIP has the rental insurance (thanks to my photography biz, I can almost always make a trip "business" related, LOL). So there is no "need" for a CSR. The CSP doesn't really serve a purpose outside of getting URs since I can make the CIP car insurance work for most trips, LOL.

I think you sold me on trying another INK. I'll be able to go for the Citi Biz, maybe the Barclay Biz (I'll probably cancel when the AF posts in Nov, since I won't have any AA trips upcoming, for free luggage). I can then go for the IHG in 2023, etc. So I guess I could wait around for another elevated CSP and/or CSR offer too. I'll know more of what we are doing w/ braces on Tuesday, so I guess I will apply after that, LOL. In Oct I hit 3/24 too. So I could even go for a personal card, which means Amex might be an option (FT suggested I'm in Biz popup hell, LOL and I could just do the Amex Delta Plat personal then).

 

[IFlossU]

I think you sold me on trying another INK. I'll be able to go for the Citi Biz, maybe the Barclay Biz (I'll probably cancel when the AF posts in Nov, since I won't have any AA trips upcoming, for free luggage). I can then go for the IHG in 2023, etc. So I guess I could wait around for another elevated CSP and/or CSR offer too. I'll know more of what we are doing w/ braces on Tuesday, so I guess I will apply after that, LOL. In Oct I hit 3/24 too. So I could even go for a personal card, which means Amex might be an option (FT suggested I'm in Biz popup hell, LOL and I could just do the Amex Delta Plat personal then).

This sounds like a good plan. I didn’t want to MDD and bust pass 5/24 until it really made sense. I wanted to hit Amex pretty hard, and fortunately I’ve managed to stay out of pop up hell. I’m going to apply for an Aviator Biz in a couple of weeks. I’m waiting a full year since I closed my last one. Just trying to improve my odds of being approved since DPs are all over the place.

 

[atxbound]

Hi all. Quick credit card question, if I add someone as an authorized user on one of my credit cards, what address do they use for the billing address? Do they have to use my address, or can they use their address which is differen

your address