I love credit cards so much!

[SouthFayetteFan]

. . . and just want to add . . . was having so much fun I totally forgot to check-in for my SW flight home! 3 hours later when I finally remembered, I was assigned a boarding number of C42, so naturally none of us got to sit together. I both love Southwest and hate Southwest!

I'm going to have to face the reality of EB check-in a few years from now. Our younger daughter will turn 7 in 2020...and my wife would totally be upset if we didn't sit together, lol!

It's also hilarious that I think spending $164.80 ($5.60*8 + $15*8) for our family of 4 is an insane cost for roundtrip flights (I'm so out of touch of paying for flights, lol!)

 

[trenty]

I'm going to have to face the reality of EB check-in a few years from now. Our younger daughter will turn 7 in 2020...and my wife would totally be upset if we didn't sit together, lol!

It's also hilarious that I think spending $164.80 ($5.60*8 + $15*8) for our family of 4 is an insane cost for roundtrip flights (I'm so out of touch of paying for flights, lol!)

When I check in at exactly the 24 hr mark I always get a late A or an early B and have never been separated from my family.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

When I check in at exactly the 24 hr mark I always get a late A or an early B and have never been separated from my family.

I absolutely know that to be true ...I also wouldn't ever chance it once our family boarding priority goes away - as @pillow said, if you forget you could get severely punished. My wife already hates flying and I force her to do it 3-4 times a year...if we were impacted in that way she would never fly Southwest again ...

I'm just going to accept at least 3x the EB checkin price as a cost of flying once she turns 7.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

When I check in at exactly the 24 hr mark I always get a late A or an early B and have never been separated from my family.

Me too. Well mostly Bs now, but we family board anyways.

 

[GusGus16]

I absolutely know that to be true ...I also wouldn't ever chance it once our family boarding priority goes away - as @pillow said, if you forget you could get severely punished. My wife already hates flying and I force her to do it 3-4 times a year...if we were impacted in that way she would never fly Southwest again ...

I'm just going to accept at least 3x the EB checkin price as a cost of flying once she turns 7.

That is the best plan, the non-stop Southwest flights to Orlando (from Chicago/Milwaukee) and vice versa, almost always sell out now (Southwest used to service more daily non-stop flights and then you could get lucky with a partially full flight), and even if you check in exactly at 24hrs, typically we are in mid-end B's, with family boarding makes it almost impossible to sit together, would always recommend EB if it is essential to sit together!

 

[elgerber]

I am going to very interested to see if double dipping is going to work on the SW cards. And if they are going to keep the 40k bonus on the others, now that they will have 70k on the new one. Both would be enough for the CP (unless they change that too), but didn't they have as high as 60k on the other cards at one point last year for a lower fee than the "premium" card?

 

[Alexle2007]

I am going to very interested to see if double dipping is going to work on the SW cards. And if they are going to keep the 40k bonus on the others, now that they will have 70k on the new one. Both would be enough for the CP (unless they change that too), but didn't they have as high as 60k on the other cards at one point last year for a lower fee than the "premium" card?

They did indeed for the Plus and Premium. I took advantage of them in early Sept for CP for 2018-19

 

[spacerangerqueen]

Chiming in to agree. CIP is the card for you! Some come here not comfortable with getting biz card and slowly warm to the idea. I love that you already are thinking that direction! Once you get the CIP and knock out the spend, you can continue adding other biz cards from Amex to keep things slow with Chase.

Sorry your dh isn't wanting to play along. He may come around though once he realizes how far these points can go for free travel. A lot of us had to convince spouses to get onboard

I initially wasn't interested in business cards, but reading all the posts here made me more comfortable with the idea. Now I am excited about all the points I can earn so I am willing to try for one!

You can product change to the CF if you like. What card would you be changing from? the CSP? If you got the CIP, you'd have the same redemption rate using UR's and you can transfer points from the CF to the CIP. You would lose the extra 1x on dining that you have using the CSP.

I get 2x on dining with my JetBlue so that wouldn't be a terrible loss. I'll also probably go for the CSR when I can.

CIP if you can handle $5k spend for 80,000 UR does have $95 annual fee, if not the CIC has a $3k spend for 50,000 UR no af and 5% back at office stores (gift cards!).

We hit the $4k for the CSP quicker than I thought so I think $5k is totally doable. 5x on gift cards is great too though!

Looking over the reddit group now.

 

[Calfan]

Ok. Reading all these posts about SW and seating is kind of making me feel like an a**hole, lol. It’s moot now since I no longer have it, but (due to commuting back and forth from the Bay Area to Boise before we moved) I was A-list for much of 2016 and all of 2017. I’d just get on before my husband and kids and save seats. I’ve probably done this a dozen or more times without any issue.

 

[kmc8826]

I've been browsing this thread for the past few weeks trying to absorb everything!
We have always been a charge everything and pay the bill in full family, but always just used our Disney card.

In January I applied for the CSP and we've met the spend on that. Last month I referred my DH to the jetblue card earning myself a referral bonus of 5000 trueblue points and after 1k spend he has earned 40000 trueblue points. I love JetBlue and have had their card since 2007 and just downgraded mine to the no fee version since DH now has the $99 one.

I am currently at 2/24 since I added myself as an AU on DH's JetBlue card. All my other cards are many years old (been a Disney card holder since Day One)

DH has no interest in anymore credit cards so I am on my own. I want more though! I really want a Freedom for the 5% quarterly categories, but not sure if that is my best next move.

My next travel goal is a trip to Disneyland in October for my son's 4th birthday. We usually fly JetBlue or Southwest. I only have about 2700 southwest points currently, and will have about 60k in jetblue once our points post.

What should be my next card? I occasionally sell on ebay so I'm willing to try for a "business" card.

I think you should focus on UR’s and the CIP is a solid plan. The reddit thread has the information on turning UR points into awesome Disney money. If you do go for the CIP just prepared you might have to talk to someone about your history and your business.

Yes, I'm 3 weeks in and about half way done . DS's college deposit definitely helped. My plan is for a CIP next as long as I can figure out how to do the MSR. I also really want a SPG. I would be able to use it near DS's college for when I'm there for the night and use the rewards at Swan. With the merger, I really don't know if I should get one or not. And I really want a CF for the 5x categories. So many cards...

Once I'm done with the MSR, it seems like I'll be better off using my Disney Premier for 2% back on groceries rather than the CSP.

I still love my Disney Premier for groceries and gas if it isn’t a bonus category somewhere else. (I know everyone on here thinks that’s crazy but it is a decent card since the other ones I could open for those categories are down on the list of priorities right now). One nice thing about the CIP is that since it is a Visa it is a lot easier to use everywhere then an Amex. Apparently I spend way too much at Costco since I had put a $1000 down toward my CIP minimum spend before I even realized it.

 

[KSR0330]

Well...they have clearly established a 1:3 transfer to Marriott so they aren’t going away at least in that respect. They have also released details that both Amex and Chase will offer Marriott/SPG cards of some sort.

It’s possible that the SPG personal and SPG business cards as they currently exist will stop accepting applications at some point. Typically doctor of credit has seemed to figure out and release that info in advance so people can sneak in last minute applications. No guarantees though...and yes I realize I just typed A LOT of words to basically say nothing LOL!

going away yes... SPG will be gone... To where will SPG go? guess is Starriott styled points. How soon? no one knows. What else we know? nothing...
what else u should know? cookies are delicious.

This is the thought that keeps me up at night and shapes my nightmares.

It figures that this is the card I've been most excited about getting!

 

[WVMomof3]

When I check in at exactly the 24 hr mark I always get a late A or an early B and have never been separated from my family.

Our last fights from Pit to Ft Meyer, I checked in on the dot, 24 hours and we were C7 and C8. I thought there would be no chance for us, but we actually did get to sit together. We were very near the back, but we actually had a couple choices. On the way back, we were B50 and B51, and we were no where near each other. Only middle seats left.

 

[KSR0330]

I still love my Disney Premier for groceries and gas if it isn’t a bonus category somewhere else. (I know everyone on here thinks that’s crazy but it is a decent card since the other ones I could open for those categories are down on the list of priorities right now). One nice thing about the CIP is that since it is a Visa it is a lot easier to use everywhere then an Amex. Apparently I spend way too much at Costco since I had put a $1000 down toward my CIP minimum spend before I even realized it.[/QUOTE]

It was my every day card until I came here and started with my CSP. Since our November trip I've earned about $200 in rewards dollars. I think that's pretty good!

 

[AmyAnne]

Our last fights from Pit to Ft Meyer, I checked in on the dot, 24 hours and we were C7 and C8. I thought there would be no chance for us, but we actually did get to sit together. We were very near the back, but we actually had a couple choices. On the way back, we were B50 and B51, and we were no where near each other. Only middle seats left.

It definitely depends on how many people are still on the plane. Someplace like MCO, not many people are likely to be continuing on the next segment. But I've been on SW flights where about a quarter of the seats are occupied by people who were there on the incoming flight.

 

[SBWB48]

I initially wasn't interested in business cards, but reading all the posts here made me more comfortable with the idea. Now I am excited about all the points I can earn so I am willing to try for one!



I get 2x on dining with my JetBlue so that wouldn't be a terrible loss. I'll also probably go for the CSR when I can.



We hit the $4k for the CSP quicker than I thought so I think $5k is totally doable. 5x on gift cards is great too though!

Looking over the reddit group now.

CIC would get you 5x on gift cards at office supply stores and on gyft (checking out through PayPal), but CIP would only get you 3x on gift cards from gyft; CIP is only 1x at office supply stores. Wanted to make sure that helps you make a decision

 

[CyndiLouWho]

We are expecting this to be under 5/24 (sorry #1) and also require you to not currently hold a SW personal card (sorry #2) and not have earned a signup bonus in the past 24 months on any SW personal card (potential sorry #3)

Yeah this is all what I fear. DH is under 5/24 but got a SW card/bonus less than a year ago. The $150 AF is ok with me, although I’d see more people biting if it gave a credit of some sort.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I'm going to have to face the reality of EB check-in a few years from now. Our younger daughter will turn 7 in 2020...and my wife would totally be upset if we didn't sit together, lol!

It's also hilarious that I think spending $164.80 ($5.60*8 + $15*8) for our family of 4 is an insane cost for roundtrip flights (I'm so out of touch of paying for flights, lol!)

My DS is 9 and they still let us do family boarding. They are not that strict. Our last flight I cheated and paid EB x1 I boarded and set my carryon in the aisle seat and waited for DS And DH to board. I know saving seats is not “fair” but on SW no one is paying extra for a special seat so I don’t feel too guilty. Besides I can’t put my carryon in overhead myself anyway so I’d be waiting for someone else to help me or block the aisle.

 

[Albort]

CIC would get you 5x on gift cards at office supply stores and on gyft (checking out through PayPal), but CIP would only get you 3x on gift cards from gyft; CIP is only 1x at office supply stores. Wanted to make sure that helps you make a decision

dont forget, OD/OM has the $300 VGC with $15 off. basically waive the fee. great way to pay off bills that u normally get 1x on, but at 5x!

My DS is 9 and they still let us do family boarding. They are not that strict. Our last flight I cheated and paid EB x1 I boarded and set my carryon in the aisle seat and waited for DS And DH to board. I know saving seats is not “fair” but on SW no one is paying extra for a special seat so I don’t feel too guilty. Besides I can’t put my carryon in overhead myself anyway so I’d be waiting for someone else to help me or block the aisle.

heh, i had this one flight, this one lady was trying to put her bag overhead. with no flight attendants there, i guess she thought she can do it. It fell on my head. :\ i was in the middle seat. it was a good 20-30lbs bag too.

 

[disneybirds]

This is a great point. AND we've recently discussed how having multiple freedom's is awesome - the easiest way to get multiple freedoms is to apply for one, then downgrade a CSP, CSR later. In 2 player mode you can actually end up with a CFU and 6 Freedoms pretty easily:
P1: CF, CFU (keep as CFU), CSP (downgrade to CF), CSR (keep as CSR)
P2: CF, CFU (PC to CF), CSP (downgrade to CF), CSR (downgrade to CF)
Boom! 6 Freedoms, a CSR and a CFU, haha!

Love this detail! I have been out of the loop for spring break visiting the mouse and trying to catch up. I have decided to get a CIP for my DH. I will probably PC my CSP to a CFU and apply for a CF. Thanks!!

 

[Ava]

Just spent my afternoon changing our June vacation plans from Mexico to Punta Cana since DH decided Mexico is too risky right now. The bad news the flight required more points and taxes. Luckily, I had SW points available since we fly them nonstop from BWI. The good news the resort is a $1000 less so it totally offset the bad news.

Where are you staying in Punta Cana? I'm looking at beach vacation options for us for next February break. I think we've settled on Grand Cayman but DR looks interesting too.

You all will probably appreciate this. As mentioned above, I've been looking at beach resorts for a trip next February. For two years in a row I've said 'next year we're going somewhere warm on Feb break' but I haven't followed through on it yet. Now that I'm more into points/miles, I'm determined to make it happen for 2019. One of the blogs I read, MommyPoints, sold me on the idea of Grand Cayman so I booked a points reservation at the Marriott there even though I don't have nearly enough points in my account, lol. (LOVE this about Marriott Rewards & hope they keep the feature when they fully merge with Starwood.)

So, this morning I jump onto Google Flights to see what flight options are from NYC to Grand Cayman or Bahamas (which is my 2nd choice). And all the options were terrible layovers or astronomical prices for President's Week. My dream of a Feb beach vacation died a little bit in that moment. So we go about our day, and then later it hits me. Neither Southwest nor Jet Blue were showing up on Google because their schedules haven't been released that far out yet! Jet Blue flies direct from here to pretty much every Caribbean island you can think of, and Southwest could get us there with a connection in Ft. Lauderdale. The dream is back alive!

Now I just need to hoard UR points like crazy since I was planning to use them to buy flights to London for next summer, and will probably need to buy JetBlue flights to Grand Cayman with them too if we actually commit to this trip, unless I can quickly get a bunch of JB points. I have about 15,000 right now, which might get me a single one-way ticket.