I love credit cards so much!

[kmc8826]

Why not buy gas gift cards for 5x UR?

Can you use gift cards at the pump? I have just assumed no and haven't investigated more. As much as I love accumulating the UR's I would not want to hassle with going inside to pay especially when I have the girls in the car and/or am running late. I guess I should look into it...

 

[pillow]

Can you use gift cards at the pump? I have just assumed no and haven't investigated more. As much as I love accumulating the UR's I would not want to hassle with going inside to pay especially when I have the girls in the car and/or am running late. I guess I should look into it...

Yes - we use gift cards at the pump. Very easy.

 

[Lain]

Can you use gift cards at the pump? I have just assumed no and haven't investigated more. As much as I love accumulating the UR's I would not want to hassle with going inside to pay especially when I have the girls in the car and/or am running late. I guess I should look into it...

Yeah, I do it all the time with Shell, Chevron, and Exxon. Just swipe or insert the gift card at the pump like a credit card. The pump will go as long as there’s a balance on the card. You run out, the pump cuts off. You have a remaining balance? It’s printed on your receipt.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

That would be an excuse to stay at the Fairmont airport! You roll out of bed and walk downstairs to the airport. The price is generally insane but we somehow found a cheap (relatively speaking) prepaid rate on the concierge floor for the night before we flew home (back in 2015). We had breakfast and dinner in the lounge. Spoiled us rotten. Wonderful!

If all else fails, I’ll consider that. I have over 50k Hyatt points saved just for this. Hyatt Regency Vancouver is 12.5k per night, 17k Club level. Not accepting award bookings on my dates Marriotts are all cat 7 or 8, SPG 12k points per night which would burn thru all my Marriott/SPG points. We’re staying 2 nights pre- cruise, 1 night post cruise. . Plan A and B are failing.

ETA: @pillow what did you do from the time you got off the boat until check in at the hotel? I’d like to do more sightseeing but can’t imagine dragging the luggage. Otherwise a trip to the airport/hotel then back to Vancouver?

 

[Judique]

That’s how I look at it.

I’m going to go for the CIC for DW. She’s sitting pretty at 2/24, 1 Chase biz card from 10/17, total credit extended at <30% income. DW should be good to go, but I’m trying to push out her application since I’ve still got 2 Amex MSRs to balance.

But... for another 50k?! I’m going to try put in an app too. I already have 2 Chase biz cards, a CIP from 6/17, a Marriott Biz from 2/18, and will be going for the CIC at a little more than 3 months since my last Chase biz card. (Didn’t @speedyfishy ’s SO get the CIP and CIC in back-to-back months?) I’ve seen DPs of people getting 3 Chase biz cards, so I’ve got a shot. I have real biz income, but I’ve never formalized my businesses. I’ve reduced my personal credit line but I’m waiting for the lowered limit to get updated on my credit reports in the next few days before applying. Meanwhile I’m trying to get the CIC app in before my 2 Amex personal cards report so I look like I’m still just 2/24.

Worst that can happen is I’ll get hit with a hard pull for nothing. If I miss out on the CIC, maybe I’ll try for the CIU (hopefully at 50k) down the line when I close one of my biz cards.

A Man with a Plan. Good luck @Lain !

 

[pillow]

If all else fails, I’ll consider that. I have over 50k Hyatt points saved just for this. Hyatt Regency Vancouver is 12.5k per night, 17k Club level. Not accepting award bookings on my dates Marriotts are all cat 7 or 8, SPG 12k points per night which would burn thru all my Marriott/SPG points. We’re staying 2 nights pre- cruise, 1 night post cruise. . Plan A and B are failing.

Do you have UR points? That might be an option, but I think you're too early to get the good prices. I think most cash prices right now will be high. Vancouver is such an expensive city!

Are you married to the idea of staying in Vancouver pre-cruise? We drove to Whistler and loved it - drive was gorgeous. You may not get a great points redemption doing that, but cash prices will be cheap at that time.

 

[DaveL]

My wife is 3/24 with 2 cards falling off in June and 1 in July...She got a CIP on 4/11/18 and I'M CONSIDERING her going for a CIC before 5/20...I don't think you're crazy at all

So I did it... 30 day message, Argh the waiting game again... Anyhow TAG you're it!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Do you have UR points? That might be an option, but I think you're too early to get the good prices. I think most cash prices right now will be high. Vancouver is such an expensive city!

Are you married to the idea of staying in Vancouver pre-cruise? We drove to Whistler and loved it - drive was gorgeous. You may not get a great points redemption doing that, but cash prices will be cheap at that time.

I have UR points but will be using those to book excursions. Flying in to Vancouver and it’s a city we’ve wanted to visit (one of the reasons to take a cruise from there instead of Seattle) Really want to visit Vancouver Chinatown also. We have friends we may be able to meet up with, they live just south of Vancouver.

 

[afan]

I have over 50k Hyatt points saved just for this. Hyatt Regency Vancouver is 12.5k per night, 17k Club level. Not accepting award bookings on my dates

Are they blacked out or just not taking rez yet? And who told you? My understanding was generally that as long as there's availability they should book it.

 

[DisneyMandC]

So I did it... 30 day message, Argh the waiting game again... Anyhow TAG you're it!

I'm forever getting the 30 day message. Never been auto approved for Chase!!


It's a (non)-spendy night around here. Just booked DH and I two tickets to Tulsa for this August. Used his ticket credit he had on his account to book his ticket for free, and he had enough points to pay for my ticket- $720 in flights for $11 taxes and fees for my ticket! Four nights in a Marriott are booked for 30,000 points. DH is currently booking our rental car from Hertz which we'll only pay $37 for. This trip is very pricey for us with horse expenses so these savings are soooo helpful for us as everything else will need to be paid in cash.

And on top of that, I booked our MVMCP tickets for November 8 on Disney gift cards I earned for free!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

So I did it... 30 day message, Argh the waiting game again... Anyhow TAG you're it!

Haha. I’m going to wait until 5/19. I’m still not 30 days out from that CIP app yet

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Are they blacked out or just not taking rez yet? And who told you? My understanding was generally that as long as there's availability they should book it.

For Hyatt? Maybe I should call. They open booking 394 days ahead. So I’ve been stalking for weeks. My dates are May 25-27. Can book May 23 or May 18-20 which is the weekend before. Booking is open thru June 9 just not my dates.

 

[GusGus16]

Just caught up with the thread from today. 1 player mode here as well. Interested to see how the whole marriott/spg plays out especially flights & nights packages, at this point I won't have enough points to purchase one, which may not be a bad thing as I likely would not be able to use the certificate to the fullest. My Marriott card's annual fee will be due soon, and I plan to likely upgrade it, right now I only have a 10,000 point offer-hoping that they will increase it if I call and ask and also hoping it won't prolong my 24 month for another bonus.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I was on the Chase small business site tonight. The Ink Business Cash (CIC) Card is featured prominently and has a bright yellow banner saying NEW OFFER! next to the $500 bonus offer.

IF you can go for the bonus before 5/20 I definitely still would BUT the marketing on the site certainly doesn’t seem congruent with a card that will soon be eliminated...I’m mildly optimistic that this card (and offer) will remain beyond 5/20 but I could be completely wrong, lol.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

This is definitely an unknown. As you all know, I am very optimistic, but I also am realistic...

• Is it POSSIBLE that Marriott would just take an OLD 7-night Category7 certificate and let it apply to the NEW Category7 - it seems like yes it is possible
• Is it LIKELY...maybe not. If you have an OLD 7night Category 7 cert...that would have worked on properties that are 35,000 points per night. Now suddenly they're going to let you use it on properties that are 60,000 points per night (and the nicest most expensive properties in the Marriott/SPG/Ritz lineup at that)...hmmmm
• The realistic me assumes that there will be some conversion done where your OLD Cat7 cert will become a NEW Cat5 cert (keeping the 35,000 points the same). Marriott is nice but are they suddenly going to almost double the value of your certificate...maybe not
• Now...MAYBE if you had an OLD Cat6 Cert (currently 30k per night) they would give you a NEW cat5 cert (35k points) since there is NO 30k / night category in the NEW chart...
• They could also do the same for OLD Cat8 and OLD Cat9 certs and give those folks NEW Cat6 certs...
• They also could make much worse decisions than what I've detailed above that we won't speak of...
• Obviously this is all speculation on my part

For those that have existing certificates I would love if this somehow worked out in your favor I just wouldn't go into this 100% EXPECTING to game the system.

Geeze, between the unknowns with starriott and the unknown with SWA Hawaiian flights I basically know nothing.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

DS11 has his shadow day at a private school to attend 7th grade there in the fall, assuming he likes it. We'll then have $20k+ in tuition a year to cover if that happens. Guess I better make sure they accept CCs first since I'd hate to be ponying up over $100k in 5 years with no return.

You could always use plastiq/CIP.

My dd’s University of TN tuition/room/board is only slightly higher than his 7th grade. Ouch.

 

[afan]

For Hyatt? Maybe I should call. They open booking 394 days ahead. So I’ve been stalking for weeks. My dates are May 25-27. Can book May 23 or May 18-20 which is the weekend before. Booking is open thru June 9 just not my dates.

I would call the number on the back of your hyatt card, that's the only way you'll know for sure. I would have done that as soon as May dates were available, but I also couldn't figure out how to book my two free nights from the sign up online, it doesn't seem very user friendly and the people I've spoken with are always super nice and helpful.

ETA - I searched cash booking for those dates and then clicked on show points and got this - Unfortunately, this hotel is not accepting World of Hyatt points or award during those dates. Explore our other rates or modify your search.

I still think it's worth calling to see if there's anything they can do because their site says no blackout dates. Here's a blog post about it as well - http://www.godsavethepoints.com/2017/02/02/hack-unlock-hyatt-blackout-dates-using-points/ Standard nights are available so what he says should hold true.

 

[amalone1013]

You guys are giving me serious fear of missing out over the CIC! And I had just worked out today that maybe the CIP was my next best move for my situation, even though I think the 5x on gift cards would be great too.... now I'm indesicive again

 

[Alexle2007]

You could always use plastiq/CIP.

My dd’s University of TN tuition/room/board is only slightly higher than his 7th grade. Ouch.

And this is the cheaper option. The majority of private schools are over $30k a year. DS is doing summer camp at one and it is a gorgeous campus with an aquatic facility that easily rivals any university facility. When we pulled up last year for Chess camp, he thought we were on a college campus.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I would call the number on the back of your hyatt card, that's the only way you'll know for sure. I would have done that as soon as May dates were available, but I also couldn't figure out how to book my two free nights from the sign up online, it doesn't seem very user friendly and the people I've spoken with are always super nice and helpful.

ETA - I searched cash booking for those dates and then clicked on show points and got this - Unfortunately, this hotel is not accepting World of Hyatt points or award during those dates. Explore our other rates or modify your search.

I still think it's worth calling to see if there's anything they can do because their site says no blackout dates. Here's a blog post about it as well - http://www.godsavethepoints.com/2017/02/02/hack-unlock-hyatt-blackout-dates-using-points/ Standard nights are available so what he says should hold true.

Yes. I can book cash, just not awards. I will call, though it is just about my least favorite thing