I love credit cards so much!

[CyndiLouWho]

depending on what state your in, u pull from the credit bureau that chase pulls. So say your california, they pull from experian. You get a report from Experian. Some states pull from Transunion. That you can pull a report or you can use credit karma. they will tell you ur inquires as well.

Actually I just counted our accounts. Lol. Old school. I now have a spreadsheet of all with CC, AF, sign up date, and cardholder (me or DH) so I can see at a glance who has how many. I also check credit reports for accuracy.

 

[Ngwira]

It is a better deal if it's free Signed up for Marriott card, 100k signup bonus. Transferring those points to SPG will get me 4 nights at WDW Dolphin. For Grand Canyon, looking to stay in Flagstaff one night, then inside the park. In Flagstaff there are a couple hotels, Doubletree & Hilton, for 30-40k points per night. Signing up for the Hilton CC will get me 80k points which should cover it. Also planning on taking the train to Grand Canyon from Williams, AZ which I'll probably try to use the travel credit on CSR for.

I can't wait to see it in less than a month. We're doing a day trip from Vegas instead of flying into Arizona, renting a car etc. Less time at the Canyon but at least we get to experience it.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I can't wait to see it in less than a month. We're doing a day trip from Vegas instead of flying into Arizona, renting a car etc. Less time at the Canyon but at least we get to experience it.

Are you driving from LV? How long?

The lodges inside the park, at the rim, book up a year in advance. Planning to make ressie's for June 2018 trip next week. But it looks so cool & I've never been, nor has DS obviously

 

[WVMomof3]

It is a better deal if it's free Signed up for Marriott card, 100k signup bonus. Transferring those points to SPG will get me 4 nights at WDW Dolphin. For Grand Canyon, looking to stay in Flagstaff one night, then inside the park. In Flagstaff there are a couple hotels, Doubletree & Hilton, for 30-40k points per night. Signing up for the Hilton CC will get me 80k points which should cover it. Also planning on taking the train to Grand Canyon from Williams, AZ which I'll probably try to use the travel credit on CSR for.

Not to derail this thread, but if you are planning on staying in the park and it sounds like you will have a car there is no need to take the train from Williams. I have not been there yet, but I have been reading trip advisor and all of the experts say do not ride the train. There is nothing to see from it. We will be there next week! Can't wait! We are driving from Vegas and staying 2 nights at Yavapai Lodge before continuing our circle through Utah for a total of 12 nights all together, mostly booked with UR points. I guess I lucked out with our GC lodging, I booked March 29 for our stay May 30th, just 2 months ahead.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Not to derail this thread, but if you are planning on staying in the park and it sounds like you will have a car there is no need to take the train from Williams. I have not been there yet, but I have been reading trip advisor and all of the experts say do not ride the train. There is nothing to see from it. We will be there next week! Can't wait! We are driving from Vegas and staying 2 nights at Yavapai Lodge before continuing our circle through Utah for a total of 12 nights all together, mostly booked with UR points. I guess I lucked out with our GC lodging, I booked March 29 for our stay May 30th, just 2 months ahead.

Right now there are a few days left in May 2018, but I think there are probably a lot of cancellations plus summer is likely a bit busier when kids are out of school. Will love to hear about your trip. We like the idea of the train for a few reasons: DS has always loved trains, less driving, no waiting in line to get into the park. We would leave our rental car in Williams as we wouldn't need it in the park.
The lodges we're looking at are in the village http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/lodging/el-tovar/

 

[Alice Sr.]

Can someone help with earning a SW companion pass? Do the sign up bonuses count towards the 110k needed to earn the pass? I'm thinking of having DH open the premier business card to earn 60,000 pts and a personal card to earn 40,000 pts. That would leave us just 6,000 pts needed since the minimum spend would be $4,000. That's the easy advice needed. I'm also wondering if these are the next cards we should be shooting for. I KNOW the usual advice is INK, CSR and CSP then CF maybe....DH got the INK business and CSR in April, I got the CSP. We are working on MS for the CSP right now(ink and CSP MS completed), and should be done by end of June which is why I'm considering our next steps. Why I'm considering the SW cards for CP: We live in New England and fly out of Hartford, Boston, Manchester and Providence and ALWAYS fly SW domestically and often to the Caribbean. Our tentative travel plans for 2018 and 2019 are Orlando x3, Hawaii, California, Grand Canyon and Europe in 2018. We will use the UR points earned from opening the INK, CSP and CSR for our international flights. For Hawaii and both Orlando trips we will use DVC points for hotels. We will likely use Air B&B for Europe. With this plan, hotels are not a major travel expense for us, but flights are, hence my thinking that the SW cards may be a better bet for us. We may use points for hotel stays in California and Grand canyon but have already earned more than 180,000 UR points with the 3 cards just opened. If DH gets the 2 SW cards, I can still get the other Chase cards that are recommended before the SW ones. If you can follow this you are a genius and I would appreciate any input in to our specific situation.

I have a similar path. I opened SW bus and personal (offer was 60k + 50K) and was just awarded the CP Monday. I booked our WDW for Dec trip (BWV GV) for 9; 6 on points (117k) 1 with 2 gift cards I had since last summer, 1 as a companion and 1 free (under two). The gift cards covered the cash portion of the point booking also. In my mind this saved me about $2300. I am really happy how easy this all was. It was my 1st goal so happy to see it achieved (with tons of help from this thread!). We have a lot of fun plans for the CP card this and next year. We are going to Aulani (GV OV) in early 2019 and I am 1/2 way to free r/t tickets for all 9 on that trip (on United). My path has been CSR (100k), SW bus & personal (60k+50k), and United (70k), my next card will likely be CIP (hopefully I can get the targeted 100k offer but I would still apply for the 80k). I use DVC a lot so I'm not that enthusiastic about hotel cards either. My DD and I went to the Grand Canyon a few years ago and traded DVC for a 1 bedroom in Scottsdale which we used as a base camp, we flew on SW into Phoenix our 2nd free bag was our camping gear. We hit Sedona and Red Rock Slide on the way to the Canyon, camped on the rim, spent one night in Flagg (hotel) and camped one night in Payson on the way back. We had an awesome time, seeing the stars (nighttime not movie lol) at the GC is one of the most amazing experiences I have had.

Haven't decided on an itinerary for Grand Canyon yet but we would likely stay just 2 nights. I'm new to this but I think personally we would get the most benefit using cc rewards for flights as we use our dvc, Air B&B and Priceline for hotels. For those that do use the rewards for hotels, what are the actual prices in comparison to bargain shopping? For example, we paid $89 a night for a 1 bedroom Air B&B in central Paris last fall and usually pay around $100 per night for a 4 star hotel in other locations. Is using rewards usually a better value than those examples? We travel very often so there is no way that cc rewards will cover the entire cost of our trips. For us, I think there's lots more wheeling and dealing that can be done for accommodations, that's why my plan is to use the rewards for the less flexible costs of the flights.

I used to use Priceline quite a bit but I think I was stuck in a sub-par room one too many times so have not used them in awhile. Thanks for mentioning your Air B&B Paris experience. I am beginning to dream about Europe and that will be good to look into.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Right now there are a few days left in May 2018, but I think there are probably a lot of cancellations plus summer is likely a bit busier when kids are out of school. Will love to hear about your trip. We like the idea of the train for a few reasons: DS has always loved trains, less driving, no waiting in line to get into the park. We would leave our rental car in Williams as we wouldn't need it in the park.
The lodges we're looking at are in the village http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/lodging/el-tovar/

I would say that a car is useful inside the park. We didn't really wait in line to enter the park, but we entered later in the evening since we had started driving around noon from Las Vegas. We stayed at Yavapai Lodge for two nights. We used our car quite a bit inside the park during our stay. We took the car from the lodge to the visitor center. And from the visitor center to the desert view watchtower, which is far away but I highly recommend. To see the sights along the rim, we took a guided bike tour that started at Hermit's Rest and then was all downhill biking back to the Visitor's Center. There are buses within the park, but they were very crowded and didn't seem to run that efficiently to be honest. I considered the train too when I was originally making plans, but it just didn't end up making a lot of sense to us and I am really glad we took the car.

 

[WVMomof3]

Right now there are a few days left in May 2018, but I think there are probably a lot of cancellations plus summer is likely a bit busier when kids are out of school. Will love to hear about your trip. We like the idea of the train for a few reasons: DS has always loved trains, less driving, no waiting in line to get into the park. We would leave our rental car in Williams as we wouldn't need it in the park.
The lodges we're looking at are in the village http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/lodging/el-tovar/

I would say that a car is useful inside the park. We didn't really wait in line to enter the park, but we entered later in the evening since we had started driving around noon from Las Vegas. We stayed at Yavapai Lodge for two nights. We used our car quite a bit inside the park during our stay. We took the car from the lodge to the visitor center. And from the visitor center to the desert view watchtower, which is far away but I highly recommend. To see the sights along the rim, we took a guided bike tour that started at Hermit's Rest and then was all downhill Wibiking back to the Visitor's Center. There are buses within the park, but they were very crowded and didn't seem to run that efficiently to be honest. I considered the train too when I was originally making plans, but it just didn't end up making a lot of sense to us and I am really glad we took the car.

Yes, the shuttle will not take you to any of the sites along DesertView drive, and from my understanding, those are not to be missed. Though, I guess it depends on how long you have to spend in the park. Will report back in 2 weeks how my trip went!

 

[gottalovepluto]

We're putting our UR points to good use! (I planned on using them for airfare for our FL trip but Delta threw a monkey wrench in those plans - let it go gottalovepluto, let it go...) The versatility of these points is turning out to be a godsend. Instead of airfare we're using the points on Kennedy Space Center tickets, a few nights at a couple hotels, a car rental and even a Universal ticket. I think I'm crushing on Chase

 

[eeyoresmom]

Thanks for your input @Alice Sr. It's always good to hear from others who are in a similar situation. It's really difficult at the beginning to be confident you are following the best advice for your own situation. We all have different travel goals and there is no way the advice is " one size fits all" Much better to know what trip you are planning for, how you are getting there, where you are willing to stay, etc.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I would say that a car is useful inside the park. We didn't really wait in line to enter the park, but we entered later in the evening since we had started driving around noon from Las Vegas. We stayed at Yavapai Lodge for two nights. We used our car quite a bit inside the park during our stay. We took the car from the lodge to the visitor center. And from the visitor center to the desert view watchtower, which is far away but I highly recommend. To see the sights along the rim, we took a guided bike tour that started at Hermit's Rest and then was all downhill biking back to the Visitor's Center. There are buses within the park, but they were very crowded and didn't seem to run that efficiently to be honest. I considered the train too when I was originally making plans, but it just didn't end up making a lot of sense to us and I am really glad we took the car.

Sounds fabulous! However, I cannot ride a bike and not sure how long DS would be able to ride in the heat.

 

[Nick6300]

For those planning a Vegas trip this summer, check your Amex offers.

Amex offer for Las Vegas hotels: Spend $300 between now and 6/30 at MGM hotels and get a $60 statement credit: ARIA®, Vdara® Hotel & Spa, Bellagio®, MGM Grand® Las Vegas, The Signature at MGM Grand®, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, DELANO LAS VEGAS, and Mirage®. Reservations must be made directly through MGM Resorts International (or properties listed above), by phone, by individual property websites, or through mlife.com, and mobile app.

You seem to really know your CC's, so if you or others can offer tips please: We only fly once/yr., and usually it's to WDW, occasionally LA. We have a Delta locally (flight prices are typically $500 more (and poor times) than SWA that is 3 hrs away - we've been driving to Midway). Thinking about either driving from IL to FL or getting a card for free flights. But also want to think longer term too if there is a card(s) that fit.

Not entirely sure we comply with the 5/24 Chase rule right now. But tempted to try a SW card for free flights w/ bonus. But the card doesn't seem worth it to keep LT for someone who flies once/yr. Do we instead shoot for a Saphire and if yes, is it worthwhile for us infreq. travelers to keep it.
Currently keep
1. BOA travel rewards = 2.75% on all purchases with my BOA/Merrill accts, just a simple travel stmt credit redemption.
2. BOA cash rewards for the 3.75% on groceries with my accts.
3. Sams Club card for 5% gas, 3% travel/dining
4. Barclay Arrival Plus 1.5% on all, 5% redemption bonus. Probably cancel because of the AF of $95 as we've used up the bonus.

Wife has the Sams, a Chase Disney, Cap One, Barclay that gets the same rewards as Arrival Plus but no AF., Wells Fargo card w/ no AF $200 bonus, 1.5% on purchases, $600 phone ins. with bill pay. We keep these and mainly flip cards for the bonus and don't usually keep cards to the AF.

 

[amalone1013]

Just got a notice I'm getting mailed a $3k check from insurance for my hail damage... plus my $500 deductible... then I got into a minor fender bender the other day, where the other driver was at fault...

Hello, SW CP!

I need a staples button...

Maybe not the recommended route, but I'll take it. Now what will I do with all of the wedding spending I was planning to put on these cards?

ETA: Just kidding, can't get in my preferred shop too soon. Back to plan A with the wedding spending. But that still means that come July/August, I will have a $3500 payment to make to the shop... I feel like an addict

 

[gottalovepluto]

...Not entirely sure we comply with the 5/24 Chase rule right now...

You can find out for sure by checking your credit report, they say when accounts were applied for. Also, check your wife's credit report, maybe one of you is 5/24 while the other isn't so that is the person who should apply for the chase card you end up picking.

 

[Nick6300]

I think I have 4 and wife 5 but don't know if I did auth. cards too. I did think of trying to get a credit report this am... went to Transunion and didn't see where you get it for free (just the 19.99 report). I called a Chase Branch and they didn't see any prequalify cards for me, but I also don't have accts. Wife has a Freedom (forget to mention) and I think she can look up tonight if she has any card offers to maybe see if she'd qualify. Chase employee said the Saphire never appears in the pre-qualify though, and doesn't mean that you wouldn't be approved. Saw a listing that excluded Disney cards from the 5/24 rule but SWA and Saphire cards had the rule. Guess it might be easier to just take the small hit and apply for one once I decide which.

BTW, have you seen anything on F&W concert listings yet. Seem to remember it came like in June. But I hear of leaked schedules already. We're only hitting it on the 1st day of F&W 8/31.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I think I have 4 and wife 5 but don't know if I did auth. cards too. I did think of trying to get a credit report this am... went to Transunion and didn't see where you get it for free (just the 19.99 report). I called a Chase Branch and they didn't see any prequalify cards for me, but I also don't have accts. Wife has a Freedom (forget to mention) and I think she can look up tonight if she has any card offers to maybe see if she'd qualify. Chase employee said the Saphire never appears in the pre-qualify though, and doesn't mean that you wouldn't be approved. Saw a listing that excluded Disney cards from the 5/24 rule but SWA and Saphire cards had the rule. Guess it might be easier to just take the small hit and apply for one once I decide which.

BTW, have you seen anything on F&W concert listings yet. Seem to remember it came like in June. But I hear of leaked schedules already. We're only hitting it on the 1st day of F&W 8/31.

Annualcreditreport.com
It will show cards you are only AU on. Pulled DHs last week after he was denied Chase Sapphire & forgot he was AU on 2 of my cards. Cancelled his AU privileges & he was approved

 

[Nick6300]

Thanks for credit reports link. I knew the AU's count towards the Chase 5/24, and I've heard that closed accounts still count too. But you canceled the AU's for DH and was approved. Maybe AU closures aren't treated the same as newer credit cards that were closed (but opened within 24mo's), or did you have to talk to a rep to ask not consider the AU's to get approval.

 

[peel]

Thanks for credit reports link. I knew the AU's count towards the Chase 5/24, and I've heard that closed accounts still count too. But you canceled the AU's for DH and was approved. Maybe AU closures aren't treated the same as newer credit cards that were closed (but opened within 24mo's), or did you have to talk to a rep to ask not consider the AU's to get approval.

I've also seen quite a few data points that they'll ignore AU cards if you call recon after being denied due to 5/24. The automated system can't distinguish between primary cardholders and AUs, but a CSR can take AU into account.

 

[Nick6300]

I've also seen quite a few data points that they'll ignore AU cards if you call recon after being denied due to 5/24. The automated system can't distinguish between primary cardholders and AUs, but a CSR can take AU into account.

It looks like I'm at 5 plus some AU's. Seen a site that said that 5 may or may not pass. But even if I don't get a Chase card for this Aug trip (have a card falling off 24 mo's on 7/25), still sounds like they may be better than the Amex/Citi rewards without 5/24. So you have to go through and get denied first online and then call. Thanks.

 

[peel]

So you have to go through and get denied first online and then call. Thanks.

For personal cards, if you get a pending approval notification when applying, you can call right away and talk to a real person. It's suggested not to do that for business apps though, unless you have a real business and not "a business".