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

[hsmamato2]

Need some cheap mobile phone plan recommendations. Since I retired, I lost my company discount at Verizon and that porting your phone to a new company hack discount ended. So my bill increased $40 a month - OUCH. We both qualify for senior (55+) discounts. We don't use a lot of data ~2GB a month between us. So I don't need unlimited. We're on iPhones. Thanks for any recommendations.

I like mint just fine, it's like 15-20 a month depending on your plan you choose- they do a 3 month trial pack,then you can decide. runs on t mobile towers. I pay upfront for a year now to keep the price down, I think I pay $20/month with 10gb data (I never run out either,and their minternational plan was cheap and seamless when I needed it too)

 

[VGCgroupie]

Need some cheap mobile phone plan recommendations. Since I retired, I lost my company discount at Verizon and that porting your phone to a new company hack discount ended. So my bill increased $40 a month - OUCH. We both qualify for senior (55+) discounts. We don't use a lot of data ~2GB a month between us. So I don't need unlimited. We're on iPhones. Thanks for any recommendations.

I’ve used Visible for years. It’s very cheap and always has been reliable for me. They use Verizon towers. The best part is you don’t have to have 4 lines to get a great price. It’s just me on the plan.

 

[disneylover81]

Would you try clicking around a bit to see if you see one? Since this card was approved on Nov 1, I think you should see one by now. I feel like I usually see one within a few days of the card showing up in my account. (Not that it will be due anytime soon)

I found the due date on the app, but couldn’t find it on my computer for some reason. It’s going to be due 12/21.

 

[wanderlust7]

We have never done a flight this long (New York to Singapore, 18+ hours), and I'm trying to get my ducks in a row before the booking window becomes available in about 2 weeks. Would you rather: depart JFK at 10:30pm, and arrive in Singapore at 5:30am? OR depart Newark at 9:35am, and arrive in Singapore at 5:15pm?

I see pros and cons to each. Arriving at 5:30am in a new country obviously is not ideal for checking into hotel, but I seem to think it'd be an easier flight to sleep on, since you're leaving so late in the evening. Also, we could arrive to JFK in the early afternoon, and depart the same day later that evening, with lounge access in between for dinner time, and no hotel needed. Leaving at 9:35am means we need to arrive the night before and stay in a hotel, however I think 5:15pm arrival in Singapore is easier for checking into hotel. Also we'd need to arrive super early to the airport to take advantage of lounge access in the morning pre-flight. But since the flight is almost entirely during the day, I would think you'd be awake for most of it/harder to sleep? We'll be in business class, so I do want to try and sleep/ rest up as much as possible.

For those that have done this flight, or just long haul flights in general, what are your thoughts? Which would you choose? Any pros/cons I'm missing that I should take into further consideration?

We had an 6 am arrival into Iceland before and then had to wait around for our Airbnb to be ready (which it was around 1 pm). After a long flight, I just want to settle in, rest, and freshen up. I really didn't like being "homeless" for that length of time right off a flight. In hindsight, I should have booked the night before. But if it was a hotel, I'd worry they'd still cancel the reservation even if I contacted them ahead of time.

We've done the night before hotel a few times. I don't really mind it. Departure day is always stressful for me with packing, tidying up the house, making sure the doors/windows are closed, etc. So it's like I get that part out of the way before the real departure. Once we repositioned to LAX and I used an FNC for the Waldorf Beverly Hills. That was a nice pre-vacation lol.

It's definitely personal preference, but I would rather have the evening arrival.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

Need some cheap mobile phone plan recommendations. Since I retired, I lost my company discount at Verizon and that porting your phone to a new company hack discount ended. So my bill increased $40 a month - OUCH. We both qualify for senior (55+) discounts. We don't use a lot of data ~2GB a month between us. So I don't need unlimited. We're on iPhones. Thanks for any recommendations.

AT&T prepaid. 1 line $30, 2 - $50, 3 - $70. We are on 4 lines at $80. Buy the airtime cards when they are on sale at Target and add to your account. For some reason if you have the amount preloaded no taxes get charged.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

We have never done a flight this long (New York to Singapore, 18+ hours), and I'm trying to get my ducks in a row before the booking window becomes available in about 2 weeks. Would you rather: depart JFK at 10:30pm, and arrive in Singapore at 5:30am? OR depart Newark at 9:35am, and arrive in Singapore at 5:15pm?

I see pros and cons to each. Arriving at 5:30am in a new country obviously is not ideal for checking into hotel, but I seem to think it'd be an easier flight to sleep on, since you're leaving so late in the evening. Also, we could arrive to JFK in the early afternoon, and depart the same day later that evening, with lounge access in between for dinner time, and no hotel needed. Leaving at 9:35am means we need to arrive the night before and stay in a hotel, however I think 5:15pm arrival in Singapore is easier for checking into hotel. Also we'd need to arrive super early to the airport to take advantage of lounge access in the morning pre-flight. But since the flight is almost entirely during the day, I would think you'd be awake for most of it/harder to sleep? We'll be in business class, so I do want to try and sleep/ rest up as much as possible.

For those that have done this flight, or just long haul flights in general, what are your thoughts? Which would you choose? Any pros/cons I'm missing that I should take into further consideration?

Take the flight leaving 10:30 pm. You will get some sleep.
And book a day use hotel. https://www.dayuse.sg/ There are other sites to find such a room, but this is just an example.

 

[StephPlum]

SAME HERE! Lost both my corp discount and the 'please don't port your phone' discount. My bill went up about $70! 3 lines (still have a DS on the plan) + 1 Apple Watch.

Am I correct that if we have Verizon specific phones that moving to something like Mint Mobile would require new phones?

edit: I just reviewed my bill pretty closely and it seems to be JUST the line "don't port" discount, plus I lost some of the autopay from checking account. It seems that this month's bill is higher than it will be next month, I think they added back in a pro-rated "don't port" discount. My bill will go back down $26 next month, but still over $40/month increase.

edit again lol: I just did "change plan" in Verizon and was able to re-select their newer plans (mine was named something like 5G-something and now it's Unlimited) and was able to select plans that were like 10-15 less per month per line. I even selected the lowest plan for my DH since he doesn't need the hotspot option). My monthly bill is back to the same price it was before the lost of the "port line" hack.

I tried looking at new plans but I'm on a really old grandfathered in plan (pre-5G). I have two lines and new plans are a lot more for just one line. I'm also a little salty that Verizon only has a senior plan in Florida. Like seniors don't live elsewhere

I looked at Mint Mobile and Consumer Cellular. Both have places to type in your phone IMEI to check compatibility. Mint Mobile was a YES and Consumer Cellular was a NO. We both have iphone 14s.

I use Total Wireless. Same Verizon towers and service, just put further down the list when at large events. I pay $100/month for four lines of unlimited. 99% of the time it's not an issue. My mother uses Consumer Cellular through AARP, it's plenty for her, but I don't know what she pays.

I'll check out Total Wireless. As I mentioned above for some reason Consumer Cellular won't accept my phone so that is out.

I like mint just fine, it's like 15-20 a month depending on your plan you choose- they do a 3 month trial pack,then you can decide. runs on t mobile towers. I pay upfront for a year now to keep the price down, I think I pay $20/month with 10gb data (I never run out either,and their minternational plan was cheap and seamless when I needed it too)

Mint seems the cheapest so far so good to see a positive review. Currently on a 4GB plan for 2 phones and we never use that much. If I am reading it right, the lowest plan would be 5GB per line. But even if 5GB for both it would be fine.

I was worried about international but saw that you can buy a pass.

I’ve used Visible for years. It’s very cheap and always has been reliable for me. They use Verizon towers. The best part is you don’t have to have 4 lines to get a great price. It’s just me on the plan.

Thanks I'll check this one out.

AT&T prepaid. 1 line $30, 2 - $50, 3 - $70. We are on 4 lines at $80. Buy the airtime cards when they are on sale at Target and add to your account. For some reason if you have the amount preloaded no taxes get charged.

That is similar to the T-Mobile price. Do you know if you can bring your own phone? I'll look at it.

to everyone who replied. Love this group!!

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

That is similar to the T-Mobile price. Do you know if you can bring your own phone? I'll look at it.

to everyone who replied. Love this group!!

Yes you can bring your own phone. Just check https://www.att.com/buy/prepaid-byod/ to make sure it’ll work on their network.

Just if you decide to go with Mint, if you ever decide to change be aware that porting out can be awful. They do not make it easy to get the port out details in the first place. And then port out details on one kid’s phone did not work. The other AT&T got to work after spending an hour on the phone.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

It’s the same A350 either route, so that doesn’t make any difference, but good point I hadn’t thought of (and did just check as a result)!

For the same reasons you mentioned, I also lean towards leaving JFK at night. My main hangup is with the arrival time at 5:30am. To adjust to local time, I feel like we would need to stay awake for the full day (how much sleep will we ideally get on the flight?), and we would need to find something to do before we can check into the hotel for like 8 hours (will we be miserably tired or find it hard to stay up once we arrive?). I know these are kinda rhetorical/different for every person kind of questions, I’m just thinking out loud here, lol.

I'd have no issue arriving at 5:30am with the caveat that I would book a room for the night before. I have done this with my trip to Singapore in January. Ds and I land at 7:30am -- I booked the Conrad Centennial for the night before. I e-mailed them that we would be arriving the next morning (I have the name of the person that responded and took a pic of the e-mail just in case); I also also spoke to the FDM when I was there in October to make sure that notes were on file for both rooms.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Ok....I'm thinking about the purchase timing- if I bought something in the black Friday sale dates range (maybe before Dec), would the purchase sit on acct and I could use TC on the 20th,or does it have to be after the reset?

It would need to be after the reset to use the new $300 credit

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Who wants to play guess the best bonus??

My four years are up, so I can app into a Sapphire, but not loving the current offer. I'm not in a rush on this one, but don't have a Chase travel points transfer card until I open this.

Meanwhile, also looking at a SW CP for 25-26, but the business card offer isn't where I'd like it, either. Definitely going to app the SW before year end as I want it in place before 1/1, but giving it some time.

Who thinks that one/both of these cards is going to get something better for year end? Am I just being silly or do we think patience will pay off here? Part of me just want to get an app in because I know I'll have year and spend and want to get it somewhere, but both offers are just Meh right now.

 

[wanderlust7]

Who wants to play guess the best bonus??

My four years are up, so I can app into a Sapphire, but not loving the current offer. I'm not in a rush on this one, but don't have a Chase travel points transfer card until I open this.

Meanwhile, also looking at a SW CP for 25-26, but the business card offer isn't where I'd like it, either. Definitely going to app the SW before year end as I want it in place before 1/1, but giving it some time.

Who thinks that one/both of these cards is going to get something better for year end? Am I just being silly or do we think patience will pay off here? Part of me just want to get an app in because I know I'll have year and spend and want to get it somewhere, but both offers are just Meh right now.

The SW biz offers are the usual ones. Are you hoping for the 120k/$15k spend to come back? That just ended in Sept, so it might not come back so soon.

You can see historical patterns here, though it's not always that updated. Link

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

The SW biz offers are the usual ones. Are you hoping for the 120k/$15k spend to come back? That just ended in Sept, so it might not come back so soon.

You can see historical patterns here, though it's not always that updated. Link

I think the 120k coming back this soon seems like a stretch.

I guess my issue is that I usually wait and app based on elevated bonuses: the elevated offers are generally what temp me to officially pull the trigger.

So, despite not having an MSR leading into December, I keep hesitating at only apping for a regular bonus.

 

[hsmamato2]

It would need to be after the reset to use the new $300 credit

thanks,I figured that...that's ok I will have another purchase to make after it resets,shouldn't be difficult!

 

[hsmamato2]

Yes you can bring your own phone. Just check https://www.att.com/buy/prepaid-byod/ to make sure it’ll work on their network.

Just if you decide to go with Mint, if you ever decide to change be aware that porting out can be awful. They do not make it easy to get the port out details in the first place. And then port out details on one kid’s phone did not work. The other AT&T got to work after spending an hour on the phone.

it's not just them,trust me. All these companies try to make it hard to port out, when I was porting out of usmobile over to mint it was giant hassle to get all the info.

 

[calypso726]

We have never done a flight this long (New York to Singapore, 18+ hours), and I'm trying to get my ducks in a row before the booking window becomes available in about 2 weeks. Would you rather: depart JFK at 10:30pm, and arrive in Singapore at 5:30am? OR depart Newark at 9:35am, and arrive in Singapore at 5:15pm?

I see pros and cons to each. Arriving at 5:30am in a new country obviously is not ideal for checking into hotel, but I seem to think it'd be an easier flight to sleep on, since you're leaving so late in the evening. Also, we could arrive to JFK in the early afternoon, and depart the same day later that evening, with lounge access in between for dinner time, and no hotel needed. Leaving at 9:35am means we need to arrive the night before and stay in a hotel, however I think 5:15pm arrival in Singapore is easier for checking into hotel. Also we'd need to arrive super early to the airport to take advantage of lounge access in the morning pre-flight. But since the flight is almost entirely during the day, I would think you'd be awake for most of it/harder to sleep? We'll be in business class, so I do want to try and sleep/ rest up as much as possible.

For those that have done this flight, or just long haul flights in general, what are your thoughts? Which would you choose? Any pros/cons I'm missing that I should take into further consideration?

I've done the night flight out of JFK in the Singapore Suites and would do it again in a heart beat. I find it easier to go to sleep on the plane around the time I'd be sleeping anyhow. I would likely book a room for the night before I arrive so that I have a place to nap and rest if I need to. I'd just let the hotel know I'd be checking in the following morning very early.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Thanks to @FreeDiningFanatic @GZanta77 @hsmamato2 @wanderlust7 @Twilghtsprkle @calypso726 for helping us make an educated decision on the Singapore flight!! After discussing with my DH all of the valid concerns, experiences, and opinions you guys have had, we came to the conclusion that the overnight flight is more suited to us, and at the advice of ya'll, we'll probably book a hotel for the night before in Singapore so we have somewhere to land with our stuff and freshen up upon early morning arrival!
The recommendations and travel experience we have on this board is truly invaluable! I really appreciate all the help

I know this is a super popular award route, so now comes the tough part.. to try and secure 2 seats in J for the dates we want, at Saver rates! We are throwing around two departure dates: November 28 or 29, 2025 (which is Thanksgiving weekend), or the following weekend, either December 5th or 6th. We'll be on this trip for 2 weeks, so we'd come back around Dec 13 or 20, respectively. Do you guys think it's a problem traveling Thanksgiving weekend? It's been over 10 years since I've flown specifically around Thanksgiving. Should we wait and travel in December instead, for less headache? Is Dec 20 too close to Xmas that it's also going to be a headache returning to the US? Also, I wonder if there will even be saver rates on these dates at all. I've been watching the calendar for next November, and some dates don't have any saver availability at all. It looks like the EWR morning route has more availability where that is concerned.

 

[calypso726]

Thanks to @FreeDiningFanatic @GZanta77 @hsmamato2 @wanderlust7 @Twilghtsprkle @calypso726 for helping us make an educated decision on the Singapore flight!! After discussing with my DH all of the valid concerns, experiences, and opinions you guys have had, we came to the conclusion that the overnight flight is more suited to us, and at the advice of ya'll, we'll probably book a hotel for the night before in Singapore so we have somewhere to land with our stuff and freshen up upon early morning arrival!
The recommendations and travel experience we have on this board is truly invaluable! I really appreciate all the help

I know this is a super popular award route, so now comes the tough part.. to try and secure 2 seats in J for the dates we want, at Saver rates! We are throwing around two departure dates: November 28 or 29, 2025 (which is Thanksgiving weekend), or the following weekend, either December 5th or 6th. We'll be on this trip for 2 weeks, so we'd come back around Dec 13 or 20, respectively. Do you guys think it's a problem traveling Thanksgiving weekend? It's been over 10 years since I've flown specifically around Thanksgiving. Should we wait and travel in December instead, for less headache? Is Dec 20 too close to Xmas that it's also going to be a headache returning to the US? Also, I wonder if there will even be saver rates on these dates at all. I've been watching the calendar for next November, and some dates don't have any saver availability at all. It looks like the EWR morning route has more availability where that is concerned.

Glad to hear it helped

I personally don't think traveling around Thanksgiving is an issue. Before we started doing our annual, both sides of the family trip to WDW for Thanksgiving, it was my go to time of year for a getaway. The year we went back to Iceland to see it in the winter was during Thanksgiving and I am pretty sure I did a mini trip report on one of the previous I love credit card threads way back when, 2017 maybe, for that.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I found the due date on the app, but couldn’t find it on my computer for some reason. It’s going to be due 12/21.

Your closing date will be 21-28* days prior, so somewhere between November 23 and November 30. If I recall, you are trying to earn CP for 2025-26, so you won't want to complete your MSR until after your December statement closing date.

*The experts here can probably chime in with an exact date.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Thanks to @FreeDiningFanatic @GZanta77 @hsmamato2 @wanderlust7 @Twilghtsprkle @calypso726 for helping us make an educated decision on the Singapore flight!! After discussing with my DH all of the valid concerns, experiences, and opinions you guys have had, we came to the conclusion that the overnight flight is more suited to us, and at the advice of ya'll, we'll probably book a hotel for the night before in Singapore so we have somewhere to land with our stuff and freshen up upon early morning arrival!
The recommendations and travel experience we have on this board is truly invaluable! I really appreciate all the help

I know this is a super popular award route, so now comes the tough part.. to try and secure 2 seats in J for the dates we want, at Saver rates! We are throwing around two departure dates: November 28 or 29, 2025 (which is Thanksgiving weekend), or the following weekend, either December 5th or 6th. We'll be on this trip for 2 weeks, so we'd come back around Dec 13 or 20, respectively. Do you guys think it's a problem traveling Thanksgiving weekend? It's been over 10 years since I've flown specifically around Thanksgiving. Should we wait and travel in December instead, for less headache? Is Dec 20 too close to Xmas that it's also going to be a headache returning to the US? Also, I wonder if there will even be saver rates on these dates at all. I've been watching the calendar for next November, and some dates don't have any saver availability at all. It looks like the EWR morning route has more availability where that is concerned.

Agreed, I don't think Thanksgiving matters. I think Dec 20 is early for domestic Christmas travel but I can't speak to international. That date gives me more pause. I'd personally shoot for the Nov 28/29 because that gives you a second chance at the following weekend if you aren't able to secure that first set of dates.