I love credit cards so much! v7.0 - 2025 (see first page for add'l details)

[spacerangerqueen]

A new SW Biz would do it, for sure. But one "support" and an organic spend would also do it. Or even strategic spend through the portal.

I wish I had someone to use my support link because that would be ideal. Then I'd just put my car insurance and some gas on there and call it a day. Maybe I'll throw my link out on my FB and see if I get any bites (I don't even know what the current SUB is so it may not be worth it for whoever signs up) I will need another SUB soon and not sure what I want to do next so the SW Biz isn't a terrible idea. I'm just trying to minimize my AFs this year and paying for two SW cards isn't off to a great start lol.

 

[VGCgroupie]

deleted to to me losing it. . I thought Sam’s didn’t take discover anymore

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

You should still be able to cancel the SW card and get the annual fee refunded if it’s not 30 days from when your statement closed with the fee.

Glad you posted! I always thought it was 30 days from fee date, not 30 days from statement date. We're trying to decide if we pay the $149 on my SW Priority for this year or if Hubby will get some amount of retention on his, but his anniversary is a month behind me. Now that I know my clock doesn't start running until statement date, that should give me enough time to play this all out.

 

[djmeredith]

You should still be able to cancel the SW card and get the annual fee refunded if it’s not 30 days from when your statement closed with the fee.

Thank you for posting this! I was able to close the card and get the annual fee refunded.

Glad you posted! I always thought it was 30 days from fee date, not 30 days from statement date. We're trying to decide if we pay the $149 on my SW Priority for this year or if Hubby will get some amount of retention on his, but his anniversary is a month behind me. Now that I know my clock doesn't start running until statement date, that should give me enough time to play this all out.

I thought the same thing about 30 days from the date it posted. Glad Palhockeymomof2 educated us!

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

I’m starting to think about our 20th anniversary (in 2028), and would love to do a safari. I know many here have, so I thought I’d ask the brain trust. I think our top two choices are either Masai Mara in Kenya, or Serengeti in Tanzania. Any suggestions on either? Places to stay? Can this be travel hacked with points, or should we expect to pay OOP for everything with this type of trip? I’m really just in the very beginning stages to think about this, and start accumulating points in whatever currency necessary, if that’s a possibility, so I can have everything in place to book in 2027 for a 2028 trip. Also, thoughts on airlines and departure points? I read it may be better to position to London, then onto Africa. And I see the main international airports are pretty far from the parks… do we have to take a bush plane (assuming that’s $$$), or is bus/private transfer an option? Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[djmeredith]

You can book a safari in Kenya or Tanzania with Marriott Bonvoy pts and they currently offer book 4 nts on pts and get the 5th free (must be all pts, no FNCs). In Kenya, they have a JW Marriott and a Ritz. In Tanzania, they recently opened Mapito Safari Camp. The Mapito location includes all park fees (currently $200 per person per day high season), private safari vehicles, retractable tent roofs for stargazing at night, and night game drives. The JW and Mapito appear to be very similar other than those differences. The Mapito currently requires less pts, but not a significant difference. You can transit from arrival city to the camp via ground or air depending on where you go. You have plenty of time to amass pts so you should be able to find availability from U.S. on several airlines if you book flights when they open. I am having trouble finding biz class seats, but that is because I started planning less than a year out. There are a trip report and several comments about safari planning over the past few months if you want to do a search.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

You can book a safari in Kenya or Tanzania with Marriott Bonvoy pts and they currently offer book 4 nts on pts and get the 5th free (must be all pts, no FNCs). In Kenya, they have a JW Marriott and a Ritz. In Tanzania, they recently opened Mapito Safari Camp. The Mapito location includes all park fees (currently $200 per person per day high season), private safari vehicles, retractable tent roofs for stargazing at night, and night game drives. The JW and Mapito appear to be very similar other than those differences. The Mapito currently requires less pts, but not a significant difference. You can transit from arrival city to the camp via ground or air depending on where you go. You have plenty of time to amass pts so you should be able to find availability from U.S. on several airlines if you book flights when they open. I am having trouble finding biz class seats, but that is because I started planning less than a year out. There are a trip report and several comments about safari planning over the past few months if you want to do a search.

Awesome, thanks for the great recs! This gives me a good starting point. Off to do more research and to search this sub to see all the past info posted!