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

[VGCgroupie]

Has anyone booked airfare with AmEx or Chase? I need to book a flight from Singapore to Hong Kong (yes, HK Disney is on my agenda, of course!) -- open to any points redemptions (I checked AP and AA as well as points.me and nothing good available).

Anyhow, I could book direct with SA and earn miles (which would be pretty useless) OR book with AmEx / Chase and get 5X points (is it 5X still on the 'new' CSR or is it 8X?), which are much more valuable. BUT I don't want to be stuck if I need to cancel / make changes to the flights. I am looking at flexi fare which allows changes & cancellations, but I don't want a hassle dealing with a 3rd party if I need to do either.

Does anyone have any experience with booking AmEx or Chase flights?

I have used Amex to book Delta many times due the 35% rebate. I did cancel and change my flight once but I had purchased fully refundable tickets via Amex. I did do the cancel rebook via Amex not via Delta.

I have used Chase to book Hawaiian on a non refundable but changeable ticket, I did have to go through Chase for everything when I did cancel rebook.

I can say I preferred Amex over Chase.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Does anyone know if you get the standard cash back when you buy Amex Gift Cards via their website? Trying to decide if buying with the recent Amex offer is worth it. It may not be for me if you dont get the standard % back on the card

An update. Delta Amex did not earn standard miles when buying GC from Amex GC website.

Bonus update. DH did not previously get the Best Buy offer on his Amex but it did show up today!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

So is Chase just becoming jerks? I was told in another group to try and recon my 10/13 application. So. I called. Person 1 said I had 3 cards open. I told her while at the time of the app it was only 2 and now it's only 1. She then said, I only spent $16k on the cards. I told her I had a big spend coming up and she didn't care. So I HUCA. Rep #2 was grilling me. Asking when I started my business, how much my annual revenue is, how much profit. I told her $15k, but that I've been replacing equipment, so like $5k take home. Again I told her I have a big purchase coming up. She told me I've been put into a secondary review. Does this restart the 30 day app clock? Because at this point I'll just wait the 2 weeks. UGH. I've NEVER been a true Ink churner. I've had 1 CIP that I made a CIC, then back to a CIP then closed. I've had 2 CIC's, and 2 CIUs and one other CIP. Some might say that's a lot but that goes back to 2020. So considering the amount others have done, I'm pretty low key. I still have my OG CIC I opened back in 2021 even. I had some other business cards (IHG Biz) but that's it.

I'm kinda shock I'm getting more love from Amex than Chase. Not to mention the fact I have like 10 other banking account with Chase that go back to my birth (well the bank from my childhood was bought out, but it became Chase). My current checking account I opened my senior year of HS, LOL.

 

[Judique]

An update. Delta Amex did not earn standard miles when buying GC from Amex GC website.

Bonus update. DH did not previously get the Best Buy offer on his Amex but it did show up today!

Thanks! It didn't show for me but did on my DD's old AU card that she's had since age 13? I think it was.

A note - this year for DVC dues I'm not going to get 10% plus on all the thousands either. I will have a couple thousand nicely discounted and will trot off to Staples last minute with my 5% card and buy some $500 Dis gift cards for the remainder.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Thanks! It didn't show for me but did on my DD's old AU card that she's had since age 13? I think it was.

A note - this year for DVC dues I'm not going to get 10% plus on all the thousands either. I will have a couple thousand nicely discounted and will trot off to Staples last minute with my 5% card and buy some $500 Dis gift cards for the remainder.

That time of year has came up really quick and it doesnt help I keep going to Disney and using up my GC stash!

 

[Judique]

That time of year has came up really quick and it doesnt help I keep going to Disney and using up my GC stash!

I was there last week and tried to use my Visa gift cards, and other credit cards. I really didn't spend much other than 3 jackets (grandkids) and a hoodie and I had the annual pass 20% so barely hit $250 on those. No sit downs as I was eating at food & Wine mostly, plus coffee/biscotti for breakfast in my room. Last week most rides were a walkon or 15- 20 minutes for my stuff. Haven't seen it so dead in ages.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I was there last week and tried to use my Visa gift cards, and other credit cards. I really didn't spend much other than 3 jackets (grandkids) and a hoodie and I had the annual pass 20% so barely hit $250 on those. No sit downs as I was eating at food & Wine mostly, plus coffee/biscotti for breakfast in my room. Last week most rides were a walkon or 15- 20 minutes for my stuff. Haven't seen it so dead in ages.

Amazing.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

On the hunt for some new signups bonuses again!

Parents are very low on points and we will be exhausting our own supply during our travel intensive 2026.

My parents and I have $$$ property taxes coming up at the end of November; I need to buy my parents biz class tickets OOP to Asia for May 2026 asap (out of points and need best itinerary); and Mom needs cataract surgery in Jan and Feb 2026 and it is looking that she will need special lenses that insurance does not cover (up to $5k for each eye).

Dad got this offer in his email. I know that there is an offer of 250k out in the wild. However, every time I managed to pull up an elevated offer earlier this year, DH and I have gotten the dreaded pop-up. DH managed to get out of pop up jail immediately after by applying with a lower offer. Should Dad try for the elevated offer first, assuming I can even find one? Or is applying through a pre-approved offer safer and less stressful?



Do I need to unfreeze his credit before application?

Oh! Is it worth it to not go through his email link and have DH send Dad a referral link?

TIA!

 

[StephPlum]

Has anyone booked airfare with AmEx or Chase? I need to book a flight from Singapore to Hong Kong (yes, HK Disney is on my agenda, of course!) -- open to any points redemptions (I checked AP and AA as well as points.me and nothing good available).

Anyhow, I could book direct with SA and earn miles (which would be pretty useless) OR book with AmEx / Chase and get 5X points (is it 5X still on the 'new' CSR or is it 8X?), which are much more valuable. BUT I don't want to be stuck if I need to cancel / make changes to the flights. I am looking at flexi fare which allows changes & cancellations, but I don't want a hassle dealing with a 3rd party if I need to do either.

Does anyone have any experience with booking AmEx or Chase flights?

I’ve used Chase portal to book flights before. I just made sure it was refundable. I did two one ways and had to cancel one of them due to flight changes. I didn’t have any issues.

 

[calypso726]

So, are we all assuming we are never getting the support points? Anyone else get theirs this week? My link was used 10/1.

I have not gotten mine from 10/3 yet. However my previous one was 7/2 and I did not get the support points for that one until 8/26. So I am going to patiently wait a few more weeks before I send an SM.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Has anyone booked airfare with AmEx or Chase? I need to book a flight from Singapore to Hong Kong (yes, HK Disney is on my agenda, of course!) -- open to any points redemptions (I checked AP and AA as well as points.me and nothing good available).

Anyhow, I could book direct with SA and earn miles (which would be pretty useless) OR book with AmEx / Chase and get 5X points (is it 5X still on the 'new' CSR or is it 8X?), which are much more valuable. BUT I don't want to be stuck if I need to cancel / make changes to the flights. I am looking at flexi fare which allows changes & cancellations, but I don't want a hassle dealing with a 3rd party if I need to do either.

Does anyone have any experience with booking AmEx or Chase flights?

I helped my DD book her AA flight to Tokyo in May through the Chase portal for 1.25 (CSP).

Everyone in her friend group including her now fiance booked their AA reward tickets to Tokyo before her. By the time she had enough AA miles (like a week later), the reward tickets with a connection through ORD were no longer available. There were reward tickets through DTW instead, I think.

She wanted to be on the same flight as her then boyfriend. She had bunch of Chase URs that I helped her accumulate by helping with her MSR. She bought the ticket through the Chase portal entirely with points for the exact same itinerary.

No OOP was a big win. No problems with the flight, so we didn't have to deal with cancellations, changes, refunds, etc.

Good thing she had URs and made it on the trip because the boyfriend proposed in Japan. Lol.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

I just spent the last hour or so on chat with Delta.

I kept getting an error code and sent back to the Delta home page while trying to redeem for C+ tickets from MIA to LAX in August 2026. It was extremely FRUSTRATING!

I had enough miles for 2 C+ tickets with the Delta 15% discount but not without it. I had the chat with 2 reps (after the initial AI). The first rep had to route me to another dept because her quote didn't include the 15% discount.

The 2nd rep quoted me the miles for a regular economy ticket with an additional 15% discount. I tried to let her know that it should be more miles, as per the 1st rep's quote and my own search. I stated that I needed the C+ ticket. She said she did quote me the C+ and that mile requirements can change until ticketed.

I thanked her and said great! Book me!

It took a while waiting on chat for her to complete the booking, apply the discount, submit payment, and get everything worked out, and send out the email confirmations. But it was worth the time.

We are confirmed on C+ seats from MIA to LAX in August to go to DL! And I spent 11K less miles by having to chat with Delta because I was getting a system error trying to book it on my own.

I did the search again afterwards and the miles needed for economy and C+ were the same as when I originally searched. So, I saved over 5k miles per ticket! Got the C+ for the amount of the economy ticket!

 

[WaltsMartini]

Hi travel brain trust - anyone else traveling next week and concerned about flight cancellations? If so, what are you doing about it?

NYT reported this morning that United’s president stated they would not cancel flights from hub to hub but would reduce regional flights. We are scheduled to fly from Harrisburg, PA next week to LAX, connecting through ORD. Would we be crazy to cancel this ASAP and rebook with a flight leaving from Philly?

I’m afraid if I do that, and our Harrisburg flight isn’t cancelled, we’ll be adding a lot of time onto our trip for nothing; but if I do nothing and then the flight gets cancelled, I’m concerned I won’t be able to get a flight leaving from Philly if everyone else is also trying to rebook.

We are heading out to LAX for Disneyland and my kids have been looking forward to it for months (as am I) - trying to keep it in perspective that there are people who haven’t had paychecks for a month and this in comparison is frivolous!

 

[Judique]

The ongoing 'no visa $200 cards' at Staples has turned into the no '$200 MasterCard's' at Staples. Yesterday was the earliest I could easily get by the store. They had 1 card. I bought it and moved on. Meanwhile I noticed that there were a few of the Visa 200's tucked behind other cards. Maybe a dozen or so. Of course they weren't fee free this week.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Hi travel brain trust - anyone else traveling next week and concerned about flight cancellations? If so, what are you doing about it?

NYT reported this morning that United’s president stated they would not cancel flights from hub to hub but would reduce regional flights. We are scheduled to fly from Harrisburg, PA next week to LAX, connecting through ORD. Would we be crazy to cancel this ASAP and rebook with a flight leaving from Philly?

I’m afraid if I do that, and our Harrisburg flight isn’t cancelled, we’ll be adding a lot of time onto our trip for nothing; but if I do nothing and then the flight gets cancelled, I’m concerned I won’t be able to get a flight leaving from Philly if everyone else is also trying to rebook.

We are heading out to LAX for Disneyland and my kids have been looking forward to it for months (as am I) - trying to keep it in perspective that there are people who haven’t had paychecks for a month and this in comparison is frivolous!

How about booking the direct flight and keeping the old flight to cover bases? I often have backup flights anyway because we've been left stranded before (mostly by AA).

 

[hsmamato2]

The ongoing 'no visa $200 cards' at Staples has turned into the no '$200 MasterCard's' at Staples. Yesterday was the earliest I could easily get by the store. They had 1 card. I bought it and moved on. Meanwhile I noticed that there were a few of the Visa 200's tucked behind other cards. Maybe a dozen or so. Of course they weren't fee free this week.

there are straight up no $200 value mc or visa at my store at all anymore-just a bunch of variable loads- also no Amazon GC last time I looked too....something is def. up

 

[Psychodisney]

Hi travel brain trust - anyone else traveling next week and concerned about flight cancellations? If so, what are you doing about it?

NYT reported this morning that United’s president stated they would not cancel flights from hub to hub but would reduce regional flights. We are scheduled to fly from Harrisburg, PA next week to LAX, connecting through ORD. Would we be crazy to cancel this ASAP and rebook with a flight leaving from Philly?

I’m afraid if I do that, and our Harrisburg flight isn’t cancelled, we’ll be adding a lot of time onto our trip for nothing; but if I do nothing and then the flight gets cancelled, I’m concerned I won’t be able to get a flight leaving from Philly if everyone else is also trying to rebook.

We are heading out to LAX for Disneyland and my kids have been looking forward to it for months (as am I) - trying to keep it in perspective that there are people who haven’t had paychecks for a month and this in comparison is frivolous!

I am flying to ORD next week on AA. Tempted to look at a backup flight to MKE just in case. That would be a huge inconvenience but I do need to get back to Chicago.

 

[babyready]

I am so frustrated with Alaska Airlines. I started collecting Alaska/Hawaiian cards because everyone seemed to find these points valuable, especially for booking partner airlines on international flights. But they have been a huge bust for me.

First, I attempted for weeks to book a flight to Ireland for my daughter and husband next summer and just kept getting the error "We're sorry, we aren't able to confirm space on these partner flights, try changing dates, cities, etc." It was an AA flight. I called and they were just like, "yeah, we don't have control over the partner awards, sorry". Tried different dates, flight times, etc. Nope. So I kept waiting and then just gave up and was able to scrape together some AA miles.

Then, I lost all access to my account during the transition to Atmos. Could not get through to them with wait times around 2-3 hours. Missed callbacks. Finally after FOUR HOURS on hold yesterday they were able to get me in. Great.

Was going to use these points for a trip to New York next month. AA flights. Same error. On every flight that day. I'm going to lose it. Of course, it doesn't tell you until you hit purchase if it is going to work. It isn't like you can play around with it and try different things. And it is recommending different days and cities. Uh, no. I need THIS day in THIS city!!!

Are partner flights EVER available through Alaska? Because I am starting to feel like they are not.

According to Google, phantom availability is an issue. I wish I had realized how big of an issue because now I have all these Atmos awards that I can't even use!

Ugh. Sorry for the rant. I just need to get it out and warn anyone else counting on Atmos points for partner airline bookings. There is no guarantee that what the site says is available is actually available!

 

[DaveL]

Welcome back….Doctor of Credit also has information on getting the CP…not sure if it would answer your question though.

Thanks! DoC answered my question. I remember with the CSP/CSR DD it was a shhh topic was not sure if the SW one was now-a-day with being gone so long.

Was going to go for the SW CP but just wanted to know if you could still do the Biz/Personal combo for the CP. Looks like that still works. I do recall the Biz needed to go first due to the 30day no app rule. Any other gotcha's?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Thanks! DoC answered my question. I remember with the CSP/CSR DD it was a shhh topic was not sure if the SW one was now-a-day with being gone so long.

Was going to go for the SW CP but just wanted to know if you could still do the Biz/Personal combo for the CP. Looks like that still works. I do recall the Biz needed to go first due to the 30day no app rule. Any other gotcha's?

Yes the business/personal combo works, I have never applied for 2 cards on the same day so can’t help with that.
Chase has gotten stingy with business approvals for some if they have more than 1 or 2 chase business cards open.