I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 & 2024 (see first page for add'l details)

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Dh has a target offer that shows up on his Amex account for a Business Blue, 75K after $15K in 12 months. I know this card normally doesn't get much of a SUB at all so it's tempting just cause we could put some spend in there every few months when taking a break from other MSRs. The offer expires 8/31.

BUT, the plan was for him to apply for a SW Biz Premier on 9/4 for the elevated 120K SUB and chance at knocking out the next two years of SW CP with one card. I worry about the two application close together. His velocity with Chase has been good. Any advice?

 

[calypso726]

Daaannnnng! I paid I think $450 re-sale for upper bowl for Tampa, so this is wild! Worth every penny honestly, but Miami pricing is wild and that's more than my crew is willing to spend. We're out of Orlando, so even if we don't get anything beforehand, we may try a hail mary drive down there that day and hope we get lucky with last-minute "cheap" tix. I have to keep reminding myself that it's a year away and Tampa prices did fluctuate wildly between on-sale and show date.

If you’re semi local that’s a good plan. I plan to do the same for the days I did not get a ticket for. Just see what pops up closer to the date.

 

[lsutigers03]

Does anyone know how often Chase offers bonuses on Apple products when using points? I know they just did it in May but I wasn't sure if anyone here tracked things like that or knew of a website that did.

 

[Psychodisney]

I'd like to help my daughter with her first adult credit card.
She graduated college in May and starts Disney College Program next month. She has had a student Discover card which she pays fully and is a AU on one of my cards. Her credit score is very good.
She is frugal in some ways (Aldi groceries, thrift store clothes) but also likes good coffee, traveling, restaurants and quality skincare/makeup.
I think the Chase Freedom Unlimited or Freedom Flex but I don't know which to pick. She does not think she can meet the Sapphire SUB minimum spend. I could help with that, but I'm not sure of approval since her work history/income is summer jobs up to this point and she hasn't actually started at WDW.

Any suggestions for her?

Since she has had her own Discover, she should be good for either Freedom product. Since she probably won't have the spend to max out any 5x point categories, maybe I'd lean slightly to the Unlimited. But, Flex is a great product too. She can build up her UR balance with either card and get a Sapphire in the future and combine for free travel then.

 

[becauseimnew]

Speaking of buying a car, has anyone used Costco Auto buying program? Or recommend the best way to buy a new car? DH wants a new Toyota Camry but the with the options that he wants we'll probably need to have the car built.
Who are the car buying experts?

 

[Psychodisney]

Speaking of buying a car, has anyone used Costco Auto buying program? Or recommend the best way to buy a new car? DH wants a new Toyota Camry but the with the options that he wants we'll probably need to have the car built.
Who are the car buying experts?

I used Costco prepandemic. It was a nice way to eliminate some of the negotiations and get a price just over invoice. Not sure how great the discounts are now.
Our last new car purchase was early in the pandemic before prices and availability were an issue. Shopping online allowed us to get quotes from competing dealers(We are in Chicago area so lots of dealers to contact). Saved time and stress and I feel like we got a great price. We did this with Honda and VW.

 

[reliev]

Speaking of buying a car, has anyone used Costco Auto buying program? Or recommend the best way to buy a new car? DH wants a new Toyota Camry but the with the options that he wants we'll probably need to have the car built.
Who are the car buying experts?

what ive done in the past is I just email everyone including Costco and put them against each other been able to talk down 25% or more in the past not sure it works that way now though.
example dealer A says 35k
dealer B says 34000
dealer c says 32500 I go back to the dealer and say can you beat 32500? then rinse repeat I did this with 8 dealers for my wifes car it was fun to me still wasted too much time in the dealership but that's a story in itself.

 

[ambgoph]

Speaking of buying a car, has anyone used Costco Auto buying program? Or recommend the best way to buy a new car? DH wants a new Toyota Camry but the with the options that he wants we'll probably need to have the car built.
Who are the car buying experts?

I bought a new car last September when inventory was still low and negotiations were difficult. I contacted dealers online within a 50 mile radius and asked for the "out the door price" on the car. At that time, many dealers were pricing cars thousands over MSRP and adding options to inflate the price even more. I found a dealer who had the car in transit at a price I was willing to pay (more than I wanted to, but there was really no negotiating).

Costco is a great choice if you don't want to play the dealership game of getting multiple quotes.

 

[wanderlust7]

Dh has a target offer that shows up on his Amex account for a Business Blue, 75K after $15K in 12 months. I know this card normally doesn't get much of a SUB at all so it's tempting just cause we could put some spend in there every few months when taking a break from other MSRs. The offer expires 8/31.

BUT, the plan was for him to apply for a SW Biz Premier on 9/4 for the elevated 120K SUB and chance at knocking out the next two years of SW CP with one card. I worry about the two application close together. His velocity with Chase has been good. Any advice?

No need to worry since Chase only cares about velocity with Chase. As an existing Amex customer, he probably wouldn't even get a hard pull.

 

[reliev]

I bought a new car last September when inventory was still low and negotiations were difficult. I contacted dealers online within a 50 mile radius and asked for the "out the door price" on the car. At that time, many dealers were pricing cars thousands over MSRP and adding options to inflate the price even more. I found a dealer who had the car in transit at a price I was willing to pay (more than I wanted to, but there was really no negotiating).

Costco is a great choice if you don't want to play the dealership game of getting multiple quotes.

yep forgot to mention i wanted an otd price also.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

No need to worry since Chase only cares about velocity with Chase. As an existing Amex customer, he probably wouldn't even get a hard pull.

I was hoping this would be the case!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

I'm like 97 pages behind but that's what happens when you decide to travel for 3 weeks, LOL.

I just paid my daughter's tuition. I was SHOCKED to find out if you don't pay w/in 3 days of registering they drop you from the class! I was expecting a bill first or something. Luckily all the classes were still there. I was also shocked to see her tuition was $2k, but there was an additional $1k in FEES! How can fees be 50% of what I'm paying for her classes? I was SHOCKED to see that there was no charge for using a CC! I used my Amex Surpass as I'm trying to hit the $15k spend and it's a lot harder this year! UGH. I think since GCs are almost always sold out, and liquidating the Staple VGC are so much more annoying than the OD ones for me, LOL. But I still have several months to get $4k of spend on that card. I might swap the kids braces to that card.

I have property taxes in Sept (I'll put on the AA Citi Biz I'm working on the MSR for), again in Jan. Also in Jan I'll have insurance AND I'll have tuition again. So I want to plan my next card. I just took the kids to Cancun and used 90k URs (transferred to Hyatt) so I wouldn't mind restocking. I'm thinking of closing my CIU and reopening a new one. What's the timeline on that? I'm sure you can have multiples. But I have 2 CICs, 1 CIP (I need to close when then AF hits) and the current CIU. I think I would time getting the CIU closer to Dec/Jan so I can maybe float some of the bills w/ the 0% (I have the money, but why not collect 5% as long as I can, LOL). But now looking at the timing of all those bills, might make more sense to finally go after the Amex Plat if there's a great offer and Triple Dip. When's the best time to plan the triple dip? I did it w/ the Hilton Aspire but that was back in 2019 and I don't remember my exact timing, LOL.

Okay back to page 382 I go, LOL.

 

[wanderlust7]

But now looking at the timing of all those bills, might make more sense to finally go after the Amex Plat if there's a great offer and Triple Dip. When's the best time to plan the triple dip? I did it w/ the Hilton Aspire but that was back in 2019 and I don't remember my exact timing, LOL.

December's worked well for me. It's a bit of a balancing act for how much time you get to use the credits in year 1 vs year 3. When the AF gets charged is a bit unpredictable too (or I just don't know the formula). I did one 12/2, AF charged 12/20, so I will only have until 1/19 in year 3 to use the credits. I'm not sure how much shorter from approval to AF can be.

For the personal plat, I feel the hotel credit is the trickiest. For year 1, you kind of have to lock in your travel plans since if you cancel the reservation in year 2 you can't reuse that credit. For year 3, obviously you can't reuse it after you've canceled the card. On the plus side, at least now you can change the date. Fairly recent change that I haven't tried myself since no more plats lol. Link

 

[ten6mom]

You've all got me thinking about Swan/Dolphin with the 5 night certificates...

How easy is it to find free night certificate availability there? I cannot think of any other reason I'd ever stay at a Marriot (other than for work, which I don't pay for anyway) but if it is easy to do, I would totally consider that offer right now!

 

[havaneselover]

Finally had enough Hilton points for five nights at the Hilton Tokyo. Still need to figure out a few nights for Disney. I do have a room in Osaka (one of the Miramus) but I may change that if I go the Chase Marriott with five nights offer.

Tomorrow they begin taking down 21 trees (and grinding the stumps) in my backyard. I guess I should enjoy the peace and quiet today. Trying to stay busy with my dad (not a great situation) and DS who is very slowly adjusting to being away from home. I miss him like crazy but he's also driving me insane.

 

[wanderlust7]

You've all got me thinking about Swan/Dolphin with the 5 night certificates...

How easy is it to find free night certificate availability there? I cannot think of any other reason I'd ever stay at a Marriot (other than for work, which I don't pay for anyway) but if it is easy to do, I would totally consider that offer right now!

Depends on when you'd want to go. You can do a flexible date search for 1 night and click through the calendar to get an idea. If you have Marriott points, then you can do up to 65k (50k+up to 15k top off), but if not then only up to 50k.

Keep in mind that Marriott awards have dynamic pricing, so the points needed can go up or down.

 

[ten6mom]

Depends on when you'd want to go. You can do a flexible date search for 1 night and click through the calendar to get an idea. If you have Marriott points, then you can do up to 65k (50k+up to 15k top off), but if not then only up to 50k.

Keep in mind that Marriott awards have dynamic pricing, so the points needed can go up or down.

Thank you....

So I am clear, if the offer is for 5 Free Night Certs up to 50K points a night, then that means if I find 5 consecutive nights that are 50K points or less per night, then I can use a free night certificate on them, correct? (I have zero Marriot experience).

 

[georgina]

Thank you....

So I am clear, if the offer is for 5 Free Night Certs up to 50K points a night, then that means if I find 5 consecutive nights that are 50K points or less per night, then I can use a free night certificate on them, correct? (I have zero Marriot experience).

Yes, we have done exactly that. Stayed 5 nights at the Swan on the 50K FNC. Like I posted before, we did a Sunday-Friday stay, as sometimes weekend nights cost more points.

 

[ten6mom]

Well I applied.... it hurts me that I didn't get instantly approved.

It did occur to me afterwards that my Marriot account is associated with a different email address than my Chase account. I hope that isn't a problem. Yikes.

edited to add: Chase "Fraud Prevention" just called (luckily I was able to Google the number while my phone was still ringing) to make sure I applied and to ask for proof of who I am. That's weird to me because I have had personal cards with Chase for at least 10 years! They are emailing me a link so that I can send them a copy of my DL.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I am thinking about taking just a carry-on to the Maldives and Scandinavia in September. Part of my plan is buying a few pieces of Merino wool clothing (2 t-shirts, tank top, l/s t-shirt and active-wear l/s for hiking). Does anyone have any pieces? What is the truth about needing to wash? I'm not a sweaty person, but when I workout I do sweat (a lot lol) and I anticipate hiking in Norway will be strenuous. Will it be possible to wear the same t-shirts for several days w/o washing?

Also for those that take carry-on only, how do you do the workout sneakers? I need to take my hiking shoes, so that is what I will wear on the plane. I'll also need sneakers for working out, flip flops for the beach and casual shoes for everyday. That's a lot of shoes! Any shoes that are good for running and also look decent with jeans? Plus I'll be collecting 4 pairs of pajamas (2 first class emirates flights and 1 first and 1 Q-Suite flight with Qatar), but I will be taking a collapsible ABD duffle with me for things that I collect along the way (ahem, amenity kits and pajamas lol).

I think you can absolutely do this. I'm just back from a 9 day trip to Iceland, and I wore my Smartwool Classic Thermal merino wool crew baselayer as a top just about every single day. It doesn't really even look like a baselayer, more like a fitted sweater. I was very active and it did keep me too warm on some of the more streuous activities, like a canyon hike where we used a chain to scale up and down the sidewalls of the canyon. I can't comment on the odor part, as it turns out I had COVID and couldn't smell anything.

For sneakers, I think you can pull double duty with a pair of All-Birds. I like the Tree Skippers if you want super tiny and casual, but I also have the Mizzles if you want water repellant. Granted, I'm not a runner or anything, so can't say how they'd perform to that type of exercise.

Compression bags are a must. I used Tripped Travel Gear because I like Tim and Finn's you-tube channel and like to support their work.

Also for this trip I bought sample size travel jars for my cosmetics, like moisturizer, etc. That saved a ton of space.

In addition to your carry-on, for a personal item, I had the Away Everywhere bag and returned it. I actually really like this Target bag because it packs like a suitcase, but is also a backpack and has a trolley sleeve. There's a 35 and 45L option.

ETA: Smartwool isn't cheap but I did shop around and got my base layer top for about $71 on a site called Backcountry.