I love credit cards so much!

[Lain]

I did already get approved. From what I had read, the concern seemed to be that in January 2019, the MB will be converted to something else, which everyone is assuming will be the regular Plat -- and at that point, you can't get the bonus for the regular Plat because you will already have it. Are there data points of people who have already been denied for the regular Plat bonus because of having the MB?

It seems the DPs are that personal Plat applications are getting auto-denied if you hold a MB Plat, so you wouldn’t even be able to open up a personal Plat to get its bonus (or have the bonus denied).

If you’ve never had a personal Plat, and want to get its bonus (and the MB Plat’s bonus), the recommendation has been to get approved for the personal Plat first, then apply for the MB Plat — notwithstanding the language on the MB Plat that says it’s offer is not valid for existing Platinum cardmembers, because DPs say this term is not being enforced.

 

[amalone1013]

Hmmm... or because Kroger has 4x fuel points going on, we could buy Disney GCs there for the expected spend for the trip, and fuel savings is 5-6%... gotta get the wedding gift gift card there anyways. So many choices!

 

[AmyAnne]

It seems the DPs are that personal Plat applications are getting auto-denied if you hold a MB Plat, so you wouldn’t even be able to open up a personal Plat to get its bonus (or have the bonus denied).

If you’ve never had a personal Plat, and want to get its bonus (and the MB Plat’s bonus), the recommendation has been to get approved for the personal Plat first, then apply for the MB Plat — notwithstanding the language on the MB Plat that says it’s offer is not valid for existing Platinum cardmembers, because DPs say this term is not being enforced.

I hardly ever read the reddit forums (except ours) so I don't know how reliable the posters are, but those references to "data points" seem pretty vague -- it's like someone knew someone who knew someone who knew someone . . . of course, it could turn out to be true that having the MB means getting auto-denied for the regular Plat. I guess I'll find out in October or so.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Hmmm... or because Kroger has 4x fuel points going on, we could buy Disney GCs there for the expected spend for the trip, and fuel savings is 5-6%... gotta get the wedding gift gift card there anyways. So many choices!

I picked up $100 worth earlier! So I'll get my 5% URs plus about $6.80 off when I fill up my tank since I'm the type of person that doesn't fill up until I'm on fumes.

I also noticed that my Kroger is now carrying Universal gift cards. I'm fairly certain that they did not carry them before since I had a coworker go to Universal in February and she had been looking for Universal gift cards to give them to someone else as a gift. I don't browse my Kroger gift card section that often, but I'm fairly certain they weren't there before. I wonder if they've started stocking them in preparation for spring breaks and summer. I'm thinking maybe I'll pick some of those up too since we'll definitely go in November.

 

[havaneselover]

I picked up $100 worth earlier! So I'll get my 5% URs plus about $6.80 off when I fill up my tank since I'm the type of person that doesn't fill up until I'm on fumes.

I also noticed that my Kroger is now carrying Universal gift cards. I'm fairly certain that they did not carry them before since I had a coworker go to Universal in February and she had been looking for Universal gift cards to give them to someone else as a gift. I don't browse my Kroger gift card section that often, but I'm fairly certain they weren't there before. I wonder if they've started stocking them in preparation for spring breaks and summer. I'm thinking maybe I'll pick some of those up too since we'll definitely go in November.

The Krogers I frequent in Richmond have been carrying UO gift cards for a while. We spent a week at UO last summer (wonderful trip) and used UR points for flights and hotels and bought gift cards at Kroger to cover food.

 

[DaveL]

Has anyone else been 'chosen as a select group' to join a Southwest panel for points?

 

[marsh0013]

Has anyone else been 'chosen as a select group' to join a Southwest panel for points?

Reading this just reminded me I saw an email but hadn't had a chdnce to check into it yet.

 

[Calfan]

Has anyone else been 'chosen as a select group' to join a Southwest panel for points?

I was. I deleted the email. I already do eRewards for United miles, and it drives me crazy enough.

 

[Mopedmom1]

Has anyone else been 'chosen as a select group' to join a Southwest panel for points?

My DH got that invite. I signed him up and started doing some surveys for him. I think out of 8 tries "he" qualified and finished one for 75 points. Several times i would get quite far into the survey and then not qualify. I spent quite a bit of time the last three days for very little payoff....YMMV

 

[DaveL]

Okay, Sounds legit then. I singed up and got 500pts. It had my RR# and current points in the email so figured it was legit but it linked to another site than SW so was not sure.

 

[GZanta77]

My DH got that invite. I signed him up and started doing some surveys for him. I think out of 8 tries "he" qualified and finished one for 75 points. Several times i would get quite far into the survey and then not qualify. I spent quite a bit of time the last three days for very little payoff....YMMV

That's why I finally gave up on e-rewards - it seemed like they wanted more and more information before deciding you were not eligible.

 

[Calfan]

That's why I finally gave up on e-rewards - it seemed like they wanted more and more information before deciding you were not eligible.

Or you click on a survey link in an email and the site asks you to answer a few questions to find a survey. Um, I want to do the survey you emailed about, not answer a bunch a questions to find a survey. When that happens, I just close the window. Next...

 

[Mopedmom1]

That's why I finally gave up on e-rewards - it seemed like they wanted more and more information before deciding you were not eligible.

Yeah, but at least you earn 25 "cents" on the effort. Lol!

 

[mom2elal]

This is funny. I literally just downgraded my Hilton card from the Ascend to the regular one, like two weeks ago, and there is an offer showing up in my list for 75k points to upgrade, lol. Do you think they really mean it? I'm not going to do it; I'm afraid that they would consider that "gaming", but it's interesting.

 

[ski_mom]

I think your plan sounds fine.

I haven't used the rail pass in Europe at all, so I can't say anything based on experience. But the most informative site I've seen about rail travel is at www.seat61.com and I've used that guy's information when planning a simple train itinerary. Take this with a large grain of salt since I haven't used a Eurail pass, but my impression is that it really only makes sense if you're going to be using many trains in many countries (like your daughter is doing). Seems to me that Hamburg-Paris-London is pretty straightforward.

Thank you, I will definitely have to check out that website! And that was my understanding as well, that we would be better off just buying specific tickets.

So I haven't traveled by train in Europe in a while, but in 2010 I traveled Geneva-Florence-Siena-Venice-Vienna-Prague mostly by train. seat61.com has great information and I'm pretty sure that's the site I used to do all my planning for my last big trip. I've also ridden the Eurostar between Paris and London many times. It gets confusing because there are local trains within one country (say a train between Frankfurt and Hamburg), international trains (the Eurostar, between the UK and France), and trains that travel between different European countries that are covered under the Schengen agreement (so you are technically crossing between countries but there's no passport check or anything. Germany and France are both Schengen countries).

You will want to book 2 one-way tickets on the Eurostar train between London and Paris for yourself and your husband. You will also need to purchase one-way tickets between Hamburg and Paris for yourself and your husband which you can do through the German Railways website. Your daughter will need to carefully double-check the terms of the Eurail pass she has bought, but as long as travel between Germany and France is covered she should be able to accompany you and your husband on the same train without purchasing an extra ticket. She'll need to double-check which fare class she can travel in as well to make sure you can all travel together in the same compartment on the train - it's likely her Eurail pass does not include first-class travel. If her ticket isn't covered by her Eurail pass (if for example she purchased a one-country pass that only covers a certain number of travel days within a single country), then you can just get a one-way ticket for her like you said. Looking at the Eurail pass website it looks like a pass would be expensive and not at all what you and your husband need - just get the one-way tickets you need and you'll be all set.

Sounds like a fun trip! I love Paris and have spent a lot of time there so let me know if you want any itinerary suggestions

thanks - what you've said makes a lot of sense and is kind of what I was thinking we might need. I definitely didn't understand where to book the tickets from, etc. It's more complicated that I originally imagined.

I would also love your itinerary suggestions - we are going in just a few weeks and I haven't had time to plan much of anything! We will be in Paris for 5 nights and London for 3 nights.

You can either post your suggestions here or pm me if it's too off topic. Thanks!

 

[gottalovepluto]

This is funny. I literally just downgraded my Hilton card from the Ascend to the regular one, like two weeks ago, and there is an offer showing up in my list for 75k points to upgrade, lol. Do you think they really mean it? I'm not going to do it; I'm afraid that they would consider that "gaming", but it's interesting.

What does the fine print say? Are you technically eligible out of curiosity?

 

[Albort]

heh, MR and UR transfers to Alaska!!??

 

[Lain]

Yay. Finally approved for the Amex MB Platinum after pending for almost 2 days. With what’s left on DW’s SPG Biz, that’s a little under $7k MSR in the next 2-3 months.

 

[calypso726]

heh, MR and UR transfers to Alaska!!??

Wait! What? Where did you see that? Was that an April Fool's joke?

 

[eeyoresmom]

Mathing out my trip budget...I'm playing around with that dining plan calculator now, but please someone double check me (English was always my strongest subject!):

- The Disney dining plan, at $75/pp, is approx. $150/night for two adults. For five nights, that's a total cost of $750, or 75,000 points if redeeming at a 1:1 ratio through the UR Cruise & Tours department as part of a package.
- BUT, if I have the CSR, I can redeem points at a rate of 1.5 cents per point. So for five nights on the regular Disney Dining plan I would need 50,000 points. Yes?
- If my math is accurate, would that make the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan (right now at a cost of $116 pp/night) worth purchasing for two adults? I'd really like to try Tiffins, California Grill, and Le Cellier on our next trip, and we do each enjoy a drink or two with dinner

Normally I would NEVER consider purchasing a dining plan as I value flexibility and it really doesn't seem like a good value if you're paying cash, but if I have some extra points lying around I'd love to get our food at Disney paid for courtesy of Chase.

Thanks for helping me procrastinate on packing!

Rookie question but how do you book a Disney package with UR's? I already have a pass holder with dining package booked but I'd like to see how paying with UR's compare. I've never seen the option to add dining through the UR site.