Yes, I was actually planning to get this card but then the Citi Strata Elite came along. Now I'm not sure because I also just got a CIC so that might be a lot of credit checks and SUBs
I hope by then we know what's happening with SW CP so I can decide whether to do another Ink for me on top of DH's. But yeah, my velocity has been good this year, hadn't applied for a Chase card since last November
Absolutely not nostalgia.
DH was approved in March at 4/24 & 2/12. He also got the personal card 5 months prior to that.
Have you tried any of the other Serve-like cards? I also have a Bluebird account but have not used it since they added a fee for using it at Wal-Mart. I seem to recall discussion of OneDot (or maybe GreenDot) and NetSpend either here years ago or maybe a different board.Applied for one and was not approved ….will have to see if there are other things I can find or just as Elisa said “let it go” and earn whatever points I can the old fashioned way through .actual spend
Just hate to now have to limit our trips to see the grandchildren
i went to ac website. no LOT flights showed up
I'll look again. they have a friday nght jfk to warsaw non stop coming up on chase and amex portals.
I am also in the process of divorcing SWA. I got 2 AA cards earlier this year, and I have found the AA miles very valuable. They've already come in clutch 3 times for last minute bookings at very good rates. I often see 6K flts. That being said, I just got the United Quest because I thought that would give me more options as I leave SWA.So I can say this here bc it's rambling...I'm looking at all the cc's for airlines right now, and I have no loyalty ATM. I'm coming off my SWA loyalty (can't app for their cc anyway right now) with just a few thousand points to use up and then who knows? Starting to get into AA,but they have no direct flights to MCO for me,and I know I'll be wanting those in future....but I love AA in general now that I've tried it.... I have a few leftover Jetblue points from some trips a few years back,and considering the new (very good) offers I'm seeing to use for Florida flights in the future (what kind of upside down world is this where JB flights are coming up cheaper than SWA?) It's really hard to make a decision about next cc,anyone else having this problem? Prob overall AA is more valuable to me I guess....
If you need the card sooner, you can expedite. I was approved over the weekend and got mine today.
You're welcome! Yes, I have and it is fantastic for points or cash! I couldn't find any info on camera rentals on their website, so I would absolutely be sure they have that or make arrangements to rent one and bring it with you. IMHO that is a must for what may be a once in a lifetime trip. If you are like me and don't know how to use a proper camera and lens, keep it on auto and make sure the lens is a 100-500. That will handle 95% of your pictures. I see they have night game drives and for those one would need to adjust the camera beyond auto for low light.
Park fees included is a huge money saver! Ours were $200 per person per day. Having your own private safari vehicle without an additional cost is also outstanding. I see the website states that 4 of the big 5 roam the area. I would ask if they take you to the area where the rhinos frequent if the Big 5 is on your list.
Now, the reasons that I personally am unlikely to book Mapito have nothing to do with the resort and what I think they will offer or anything like that. It is a fantastic deal and I am sure well worth the points or cash. I discovered a new irrational fear as we got closer to our trip with regards to lions. The population of lions is higher in Tanzania than Masai Mara. The layout of the lodge camp is a non starter for me. At night, one must be escorted back to the lodge for safety reasons. Hyenas, lions etc. I was in lodge 20 at JWMM and that was way too long of a walk or golf cart ride after dinner which left my anxiety about nocturnal wildlife shooting through the roof. All 15 of the tents at Mapito would require that long walk/golf cart ride. I'm just not doing that again. I've already spoken with the staff at JWMM and was assured that if/when we come again, we could make arrangements so that I will be in the tent right next to the restaurant. I explain this for anyone considering this type of an amazing experience that may also have trepidation or is downright panic stricken over the wildlife. Don't get me wrong, I would absolutely do the trip again despite my fear. I just now know the steps that I need to take to be sure I am able to mitigate them at a manageable level. For me that is a tent right next to the restaurant, a very experienced guide and a private vehicle so I can request we do not go anywhere near any lions at all. Hope this helps
Super helpful info. I have a lot of fears... this particular one I am probably too ignorant about to have fully developed it yet, so
I have a few funny stories from our brief stay in Zambia (2 or 3 nights, can’t remember). I had a killer migraine late on our first afternoon and tried to power through, sadly to no avail — was violently ill in full view of the diners in the restaurant. The guard walking us back to our cabin had no clue what to do, I just said walk with us as fast as possible (I was a combo of mortified and needed a bed asap / didn’t care). Got back to cabin, got into pajamas and went directly to bed. Dd called out to me about a giant spider in the bathroom, I told her she was on her own. She was also incredibly worried about me — she’d never seen me sick before. I had to reassure me it was a migraine and I’d be fine by the morning. Ugh.
I have not researched any of the other Serve like cards, the 3 family dollars were so convenient, the Walmart by me is not and the times I have gone there is very chaotic……
DH and I both have the old Select card, and the newer Premier card, so two personal cards each. With those we get the 4th night free, we get 10% refund on points bookings (old Select benefit), and 4 FNC per year. I hardly ever use the United travel bank, but the Free Night Certs we have always found good value for, especially since you can top them off over 40k points. I will keep my old Select card ($49 AF) as long as I possibly can, since a FNC for that amount is a steal. For the $99 AF on the Premier, we think more carefully about where we're going to use the cert, but it's typically been for properties that are around $200-250/night otherwise, so to us it's a good value. Plus the footprint of IHG is a bit better than Hyatt, so we can find hotels in random places sometimes when there is no Hyatt in sight. There was only 1 year that I can recall that we weren't going to use one of the FNC, but I reached out and they gave me points for the expiring cert, so I was happy with that. Every other year, I have plans for the FNC before I even get them. If anything, my problem is that I want the Biz card for us both also! lol
FWIW I can tell you my tracker from citi says 100k I still havent got the card yet.
