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

[babyready]

Ok experienced travelers...... what works on the CSR TC? Does a ticket purchase thru UT work? I'm also needing to purchase Hershey park tix from their park website, does that trigger the TC? Thank you! I'd hate for it not to trigger the travel credit

Wait. Have things changed? I have definitely purchased Disney tickets from UT and had them code as travel. That was a few years ago, though. I know buying park tickets from Disney doesn't work but I thought third party sites often did? UT definitely did in the past.

Shoot, if things have changed I am going to have to rethink my Universal Ticket plan...

Any idea what they are coding as now?

OK, I was panicking but I am seeing articles from this year that still say you can purchase tickets from UT and wipe the cost out. Here is one from March this year: https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/disney-world-for-cheap-with-points/

They are talking about Disney but should apply to other tickets.

 

[lsutigers03]

I bought Disney tickets from UT towards the end of last year with the Citi Premier and they coded as travel and I got the 3x points. There's not a credit on that card but I don't see why it wouldn't code as travel on the CSR.

 

[happ]

nooooooooooooo

Maybe you can get the Hershey tickets through a travel agency?

 

[hsmamato2]

For those saying to book a refundable flight to trigger the CSR travel credit. Do you do this to get the credit and then cancel the flight for a refund?

I was wondering this..... if it gets canceled doesn't the TC get taken back?

 

[hsmamato2]

Maybe you can get the Hershey tickets through a travel agency?

do you think AAA would code?

 

[ten6mom]

Hello again!

I want to book one night at a Hyatt in Long Beach pre-cruise. I have Chase URs for it and while I technically have a Hyatt "membership," I've got no points or status with Hyatt.

I don't mind using the URs (the hotel is in the Chase portal) but before I book it through Chase Travel is there a better redemption option or no?

It would nice just not to have to spend cash for the night.

**EDITING TO ADD**

If the Hyatt site says a standard room on the night I am looking at is 12,000 points, could I just transfer 12,000 URs to my Hyatt account instead of the 27K URs it would take???

 

[jujubiee4]

Hello again!

I want to book one night at a Hyatt in Long Beach pre-cruise. I have Chase URs for it and while I technically have a Hyatt "membership," I've got no points or status with Hyatt.

I don't mind using the URs (the hotel is in the Chase portal) but before I book it through Chase Travel is there a better redemption option or no?

It would nice just not to have to spend cash for the night.

**EDITING TO ADD**

If the Hyatt site says a standard room on the night I am looking at is 12,000 points, could I just transfer 12,000 URs to my Hyatt account instead of the 27K URs it would take???

Yes transfer the points. That is what I always do. You can't transfer them back if you change your
mind but you won't lose them. They just stay on your Hyatt account.

 

[ten6mom]

Yes transfer the points. That is what I always do. You can't transfer them back if you change your
mind but you won't lose them. They just stay on your Hyatt account.

Thank you! Booked and for less than half the number of URs it would have otherwise "cost" me!

Transfer was instantaneous, BTW.

 

[lsutigers03]

I was wondering this..... if it gets canceled doesn't the TC get taken back?

I'm wondering this as well. My only experience with this was in April I booked a Magic Kingdom dessert party and it triggered the credit. My wife didn't like the date so I canceled the same day. For a little more than a month we had a -$300 balance because of the credit. I eventually found a better date and booked that but I am curious about what would have happened if I wouldn't have booked anything else to trigger the credit again.

 

[MouseOfCards]

I'm wondering this as well. My only experience with this was in April I booked a Magic Kingdom dessert party and it triggered the credit. My wife didn't like the date so I canceled the same day. For a little more than a month we had a -$300 balance because of the credit. I eventually found a better date and booked that but I am curious about what would have happened if I wouldn't have booked anything else to trigger the credit again.

This is very interesting. So a park ticket purchased direct from Disney does not code as travel, but a dessert party ticket does?

 

[mmmears]

Hello!

We are about to finish our 10,000 spend on Venture X (that went much too quickly!) and the next trip I am working toward is my dd's graduation trip to London/France. What points do you all like for flying/staying in Europe? We have done mostly URs and I like CapOne and I might be able to get a VentureX for myself (dh got the last one and the bonus is not as big now but that was the intro, so not sure it ever will be that good again).

I've done a little research. I need enough points for two flights and several hotel nights. Maybe MRs for flexibility? I have never done MRs before but I got a pop-up the last time I tried to do an AMEX card, several months ago.

I will be eligible for a double dip later this year so need to stay under 5/24 but am currently only at 2/24.

Anyway, would love to hear what you all have done or what points have worked well for you in London and/or France. Thanks!

Both URs and MRs will work, and both will give you more flexibility than going after a particular airline's points. They both transfer to Flying Blue (so both work for KLM, Air France, and Virgin Atlantic), and they each transfer to a list of other partners. Where are you flying from? I think that can make a big difference in which airlines to target. We've used both MRs and URs for flights on AF, KLM, and VA over the last few years, since they all had non-stop flights from our local airport to Europe. Also, how many seats do you need on one flight? And what kind of seats are you looking for?

As for hotels, I think you have to start with saying how many people are traveling and how many rooms you want. It's uncommon to find rooms that sleep 4 over there (not impossible, but it's not like it is in the US). So a room for 2 is relatively easy, but more than that is a bit more complicated. I book rooms for 3 (harder than 2, but easier to find than rooms for 4) so I have a little bit of experience doing this. If you have a large family/group Air BnB might be a better option. Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton all have hotels in London and Paris, and you can use hotel points or transfer URs or MRs (which one depends on the hotel chain) to book rooms there.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

do you think AAA would code?

I have never used this tool but saw it referenced on r/churning. Award Wallet has a lookup tool for merchants which gives you an idea of what category it will code as with different cc issuers. https://awardwallet.com/merchants/UNDERCOVERTOURIST+COM

 

[chattadisser]

Question for those that have travelled internationally lately - ODD will be traveling to France and Switzerland later in the month as part of a school trip. She has an AmEx Gold as an auth user from my Platinum so she can use that for no foreign transaction fees. Will there be any issues with her using an AmEx in Europe? I know that there are some places that won't take AmEx here stateside mostly due to the fees but I'd hate to tell her to use it and then she have issues. She also has a card from Chase that could be used or we could make her an auth on another card if that would be better. Between DH and I we have most of the Chase cards out there.

Also, any recommendations on how to stay in touch with her while she's over there? Any apps to use? I don't need to speak to her that often but a text with pictures would be nice.

 

[happ]

do you think AAA would code?

I'm not sure. I just paid them my annual membership dues and shows automotive as the category.

 

[havaneselover]

Question for those that have travelled internationally lately - ODD will be traveling to France and Switzerland later in the month as part of a school trip. She has an AmEx Gold as an auth user from my Platinum so she can use that for no foreign transaction fees. Will there be any issues with her using an AmEx in Europe? I know that there are some places that won't take AmEx here stateside mostly due to the fees but I'd hate to tell her to use it and then she have issues. She also has a card from Chase that could be used or we could make her an auth on another card if that would be better. Between DH and I we have most of the Chase cards out there.

Also, any recommendations on how to stay in touch with her while she's over there? Any apps to use? I don't need to speak to her that often but a text with pictures would be nice.

I tried Airalo ($37 for a 30 day plan) but didn't set it up properly and it used my Verizon service on my work phone--yikes. You can find wifi at hotels and restaurants so that's one way to stay in touch and text photos.

And I didn't use Amex I used my csr exclusively with no issues. I think you might run into issues at smaller independent stores with Amex.

 

[afan]

Question for those that have travelled internationally lately - ODD will be traveling to France and Switzerland later in the month as part of a school trip. She has an AmEx Gold as an auth user from my Platinum so she can use that for no foreign transaction fees. Will there be any issues with her using an AmEx in Europe? I know that there are some places that won't take AmEx here stateside mostly due to the fees but I'd hate to tell her to use it and then she have issues. She also has a card from Chase that could be used or we could make her an auth on another card if that would be better. Between DH and I we have most of the Chase cards out there.

Also, any recommendations on how to stay in touch with her while she's over there? Any apps to use? I don't need to speak to her that often but a text with pictures would be nice.

I would make sure she had a visa with no fees as a backup. I think amex is way less common there than here though there are more places taking it in Europe.

If you don't want to pay, use FB messenger over Wi-Fi. It's what I use with my mom when out of the country. Only reason I'm friends with her on fb and I don't follow her cause I don't want to see the nonsense memes and stuff she shares. Good cause you can use it for calls too, reg or video which I sometimes do out shopping if I need her to see something.

 

[mmmears]

Question for those that have travelled internationally lately - ODD will be traveling to France and Switzerland later in the month as part of a school trip. She has an AmEx Gold as an auth user from my Platinum so she can use that for no foreign transaction fees. Will there be any issues with her using an AmEx in Europe? I know that there are some places that won't take AmEx here stateside mostly due to the fees but I'd hate to tell her to use it and then she have issues. She also has a card from Chase that could be used or we could make her an auth on another card if that would be better. Between DH and I we have most of the Chase cards out there.

Also, any recommendations on how to stay in touch with her while she's over there? Any apps to use? I don't need to speak to her that often but a text with pictures would be nice.

My data is 2 years old (thanks, pandemic ) but DD was living in Europe in early 2020 and absolutely had issues using her Amex plat at a lot of places. She ended up getting a Visa with no FTF because so many places wouldn't accept Amex. Now, when we went to visit her as tourists we didn't notice it as much since the hotel and quite a few of the restaurants we went to accepted Amex, but as someone living there she felt it really wasn't adequate.

 

[Calfan]

Question for those that have travelled internationally lately - ODD will be traveling to France and Switzerland later in the month as part of a school trip. She has an AmEx Gold as an auth user from my Platinum so she can use that for no foreign transaction fees. Will there be any issues with her using an AmEx in Europe? I know that there are some places that won't take AmEx here stateside mostly due to the fees but I'd hate to tell her to use it and then she have issues. She also has a card from Chase that could be used or we could make her an auth on another card if that would be better. Between DH and I we have most of the Chase cards out there.

Also, any recommendations on how to stay in touch with her while she's over there? Any apps to use? I don't need to speak to her that often but a text with pictures would be nice.

Different area, but we find very limited acceptance of Amex at restaurants and merchants in Scotland.

 

[chattadisser]

I tried Airalo ($37 for a 30 day plan) but didn't set it up properly and it used my Verizon service on my work phone--yikes. You can find wifi at hotels and restaurants so that's one way to stay in touch and text photos.

And I didn't use Amex I used my csr exclusively with no issues. I think you might run into issues at smaller independent stores with Amex.

I would make sure she had a visa with no fees as a backup. I think amex is way less common there than here though there are more places taking it in Europe.

If you don't want to pay, use FB messenger over Wi-Fi. It's what I use with my mom when out of the country. Only reason I'm friends with her on fb and I don't follow her cause I don't want to see the nonsense memes and stuff she shares. Good cause you can use it for calls too, reg or video which I sometimes do out shopping if I need her to see something.

My data is 2 years old (thanks, pandemic ) but DD was living in Europe in early 2020 and absolutely had issues using her Amex plat at a lot of places. She ended up getting a Visa with no FTF because so many places wouldn't accept Amex. Now, when we went to visit her as tourists we didn't notice it as much since the hotel and quite a few of the restaurants we went to accepted Amex, but as someone living there she felt it really wasn't adequate.

Different area, but we find very limited acceptance of Amex at restaurants and merchants in Scotland.

Thank you all! I think we will just make sure she has a Visa w/o fees so she can use either one, depending on where she is at and what they will take.

 

[Judique]

Question for those that have travelled internationally lately - ODD will be traveling to France and Switzerland later in the month as part of a school trip. She has an AmEx Gold as an auth user from my Platinum so she can use that for no foreign transaction fees. Will there be any issues with her using an AmEx in Europe? I know that there are some places that won't take AmEx here stateside mostly due to the fees but I'd hate to tell her to use it and then she have issues. She also has a card from Chase that could be used or we could make her an auth on another card if that would be better. Between DH and I we have most of the Chase cards out there.

Also, any recommendations on how to stay in touch with her while she's over there? Any apps to use? I don't need to speak to her that often but a text with pictures would be nice.

We use WhatsApp over wifi for free. Text, pictures and videos, plus you can do group chats as well. We've used it while older DD travels and I have the granddaughters. It works very well.

Both parties to the call need to download it from the store.