I love credit cards so much!

[calypso726]

We don’t haha. Usually it’s just @calypso726 in this thread showing us showers and beds in the sky!

Did someone ask for beds in the sky?

 

[Alexle2007]

Now you're giving me ideas...

Our mortgage company is also Chase, but I thought it might a hassle (and usually I'm the one who doesn't mind the extra step to jump through lol) to deal with, so elected to just leave it. Now, I think I'm going to give them a call and maybe even ask about removing escrow entirely so I can pay the sizable tax bills on my own (after I call our county to ensure they take CCs; or I guess I could use Plastiq potentially despite the CIP nerf).

We didn’t establish an escrow when we refinanced a few years ago. Best decision. Our prior mortgage company wouldn’t pay the tax bill early (until I made an issue of it) and then we would end up paying more than we needed if they would have paid by the end of July instead of holding the payment. Plus it’s easier to shop for new homeowner’s like we are now since our current insurance is going up $200.

 

[jhoannam]

Approval Dance Party!!
DH and I were both approved for the MC Barclay Aviator Biz. At this point we have more miles/points than vacation time.

 

[calypso726]

Trying to adjust long term plans. Saving towards China in 2021-2022. Was thinking AA since we have those miles, easy cards to churn. However, AA is discontinuing all non stops from ORD. I would prefer Biz class, but nonstop is a priority especially in a 13 hr flight. I have very bad luck with connecting when leaving out or ORD.

In looking at Award hacker, UA currency seems more useful. Or am I not understanding? Would likely be flying in to PEK and back from PVG. Suggestions for which miles to collect for 3 people? Tagging @calypso726 and @Albort since I know you have experience to Asia.

I would suggest doing like @calypso726 does and make sure to have more than a couple options. Just because AA stopped their non stops now doesn't mean that they won't add them back in 3 years or that United won't stop them. The same for other airlines. I think it's easier to count on domestic non stops not changing. I just read that United has stopped daily flights to Sydney from LAX and somewhere else and changed it to 4 or 5 times a week because they can't compete. The same can happen to any airline or someone new comes in on that route. A low down the list option may be a positioning flight with an overnight at a hotel.

Hi, just back from the Ritz Sarasota and catching up here. Just doing a quick search on Google flights and I see that there seem to be a lot of UA flights out of ORD-PEK depending on when you are looking for the flight. Now that said, I'm all about having multiple plans. Searching on UA the saver awards in business were with connections at 70-80K miles on way. Non stops were at 175K miles one way. With that alone, UA would not be on my radar. What would be on my radar is lots of airlines leaving out of the same region going to the same region. This would give me multiple options. I'd be looking at positioning in either LAX and visiting DLR for a day or JFK and catching a show the day before and going PEK from there. As for collecting miles, I"d be collecting AA miles because they are easy to collect and there are multiple options to use for Asia. However, I'd also be beefing up the UR points in case I need to transfer to UA or Virgin Atlantic. Hope this helps.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Now you're giving me ideas...

Our mortgage company is also Chase, but I thought it might a hassle (and usually I'm the one who doesn't mind the extra step to jump through lol) to deal with, so elected to just leave it. Now, I think I'm going to give them a call and maybe even ask about removing escrow entirely so I can pay the sizable tax bills on my own (after I call our county to ensure they take CCs; or I guess I could use Plastiq potentially despite the CIP nerf).

I just got our escrow analysis, so I called and the rep checked to make sure our mortgage was eligible then came back and said yes. She put in the request and said it should be 2-3 days (I called yesterday-Saturday) They will send an updated escrow analysis and refund check. They can keep the taxes because I don’t want to pay 2.5-3% on our tax bill. For our rental property I did, but our personal home taxes are 6x as much.

 

[calypso726]

Good news: I figured out what we can dress up as for MNSSHP

Bad news: I want to order some stuff on Amazon on it but don't have enough credit on the account, and I don't want to order until I can stop at Lowes/Staples and buy gift cards at 10% off...

#churnerproblems?

HAHA! This is me wanting to buy board shorts from Amazon for the Hawaii trip next week. Or should I say, what's left of Hawaii Now I will be torn between 10% off and meeting MSR on the Lux card. Sheesh!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Hi, just back from the Ritz Sarasota and catching up here. Just doing a quick search on Google flights and I see that there seem to be a lot of UA flights out of ORD-PEK depending on when you are looking for the flight. Now that said, I'm all about having multiple plans. Searching on UA the saver awards in business were with connections at 70-80K miles on way. Non stops were at 175K miles one way. With that alone, UA would not be on my radar. What would be on my radar is lots of airlines leaving out of the same region going to the same region. This would give me multiple options. I'd be looking at positioning in either LAX and visiting DLR for a day or JFK and catching a show the day before and going PEK from there. As for collecting miles, I"d be collecting AA miles because they are easy to collect and there are multiple options to use for Asia. However, I'd also be beefing up the UR points in case I need to transfer to UA or Virgin Atlantic. Hope this helps.

My concern with positioning flights is adding an extra day each way then having to spend less time “on vacation” because I’m spending 4 days traveling. Two weeks is my max vacation, so that would put us at only 10 days in country which would mean skipping Disney.

 

[Dugette]

I haven’t been keeping up on this thread lately, but figured I’d pop in here anyway to reiterate the theme: I love credit cards so much! Currently enjoying free WiFi (flex perks credit card perk!) on our flight home from 9 nights in California. All 3 of us are flying free with free bags, thanks to AmEx Delta cards and bonus Skymiles. We all had TSA pre-check because we all got free Global Entry through credit cards. We ate a lovely meal for free at LAX thanks to Priority Pass with the CSR. Our rental car had most cost covered due to the $300 CSR annual travel credit. We spent two nights free in LA with our Hilton points. Then spent 4 nights free at the Best Western Park Place Inn for the Disneyland portion of our trip, using UR points. Disneyland tickets and food were all paid for with Disney Gift Cards purchased with discounts. Then we had a night in the mountains free with UR points. Last two nights we paid a small amount for, as we were attending a “weekend wedding” at a campground - no points to cover that, haha. And I love that we still have a nice amount of UR points, skymiles (Delta hub here), Hilton points, and free Hyatt and Hilton nights left for future travels. Such a great hobby this is! (And this is on the heels of our trip to France in June where we got most travel things free too!)

 

[AmyAnne]

My concern with positioning flights is adding an extra day each way then having to spend less time “on vacation” because I’m spending 4 days traveling. Two weeks is my max vacation, so that would put us at only 10 days in country which would mean skipping Disney.

I have been to China four times in the past 10 years (it's where 2 of my kids did study abroad programs and summer internships). My longest trip was 7 days and I will say that it felt long (unlike Taiwan where we spent 10 days and it felt really short). Are you going with a tour group or travelling on your own? Also, what time of year are you looking at?

 

[tink1970]

I think I'm going to give them a call and maybe even ask about removing escrow entirely so I can pay the sizable tax bills on my own (after I call our county to ensure they take CCs; or I guess I could use Plastiq potentially despite the CIP nerf

Thanks to MSRs I am always excited when taxes/insurance/property taxes come along. Sounds weird but might as well earn something for the pain of taxes and insurance, to my mind. SPG Lux will be property taxes ...thank you very much Escambia County, I appreciate the 100,000 Marriott points

 

[amalone1013]

HAHA! This is me wanting to buy board shorts from Amazon for the Hawaii trip next week. Or should I say, what's left of Hawaii Now I will be torn between 10% off and meeting MSR on the Lux card. Sheesh!

Dont worry, I stopped on my way home and got gift cards, and ordered 8 skirts and 6 shirts to try. Surely some combination of them will be right i haven't been this excited about q Halloween costume since I dressed up as Kesha in college.... but now I'm remembering I was going to order another swimsuit and I didnt buy enough for that

 

[calypso726]

My concern with positioning flights is adding an extra day each way then having to spend less time “on vacation” because I’m spending 4 days traveling. Two weeks is my max vacation, so that would put us at only 10 days in country which would mean skipping Disney.

Gotcha! Well, one of the things I will do when trying to not take extra time off at work is fly out after work whether it is for positioning or a quick trip. Right now, I can't take any extra days off at work but am still going to fly to DC to see Hamilton. Since I can't take off that Friday and neither can DH, we are flying out Friday evening after work.

I'm in a similar position for the Scotland trip. Since I had to position out of JFK, I chose an evening flight at 8 pm that would get me into LHR to connect to Edinburgh the following day upon arrival with enough time to get through border security. DH and I are part of the registered traveler program in the UK but we are traveling with my mom and she isn't so no fastpass through border control when we arrive. My option to get to JFK was to either fly out of Miami the night before after work, or the same day as the JFK flight. I found an early morning flight at 7 am with plenty of subsequent flights we could take should something go awry that day and decided to book that one instead of leaving the night before. If nothing goes amiss, we will spend the day in New York before our flight to the UK. Spacing out that connection gives me plenty of breathing room if something goes wrong or an extra adventure if everything goes right.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I have been to China four times in the past 10 years (it's where 2 of my kids did study abroad programs and summer internships). My longest trip was 7 days and I will say that it felt long (unlike Taiwan where we spent 10 days and it felt really short). Are you going with a tour group or travelling on your own? Also, what time of year are you looking at?

DS was adopted from China and there are groups that tour multiple cities, including the child’s home city. No idea if these same tours will exist when we are ready but that is our hope. Most are about 10 days. Hoping to add a bit, for some touring on our own. FWIW, our first trip was 17 days.

 

[calypso726]

We don’t haha. Usually it’s just @calypso726 in this thread showing us showers and beds in the sky!

I just realized you also asked for showers in the sky. Ok, need some time on that one. I am currently working on DH's over-water bungalow trip to the Maldives and combining it with a stop over in Dubai. I'm shooting for flights on Emirates or Etihad. If all goes well, I will post pictures of the shower in the sky next Thanksgiving. If all does not go as planned then it will be sometime in 2020.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

So remember me, newbie to churning with a reluctant P2, gathering UR for a trip to Australia in Oct/Nov 2020? With a Chase plan all figured out?

Dh has decided that next year (fall) he and I should go to Europe for a vacation Which is super-cool with me but omg

His two choices as of right now-----a Med cruise going to Venice and Athens (at a minimum) (I'd book through Costco) OR a Rick Steves tour through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland bc mountains and hiking

So do I stray from my Chase plan of CIP;SW CP;CIC or CSP/CSR dd over the next year (dh plan: CF referral and asdfhklomgidklol) OR start hitting MR or AA for the Europe flights?

Regardless of cruise vs tour, we'd need airfare plus a night or two before the cruise or tour begins. While we are at the wonderful position of being able to afford to pay actual money for these trips, I'd like to keep our oop as low as possible so we can take more trips.

Thoughts?

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Gotcha! Well, one of the things I will do when trying to not take extra time off at work is fly out after work whether it is for positioning or a quick trip. Right now, I can't take any extra days off at work but am still going to fly to DC to see Hamilton. Since I can't take off that Friday and neither can DH, we are flying out Friday evening after work.

I'm in a similar position for the Scotland trip. Since I had to position out of JFK, I chose an evening flight at 8 pm that would get me into LHR to connect to Edinburgh the following day upon arrival with enough time to get through border security. DH and I are part of the registered traveler program in the UK but we are traveling with my mom and she isn't so no fastpass through border control when we arrive. My option to get to JFK was to either fly out of Miami the night before after work, or the same day as the JFK flight. I found an early morning flight at 7 am with plenty of subsequent flights we could take should something go awry that day and decided to book that one instead of leaving the night before. If nothing goes amiss, we will spend the day in New York before our flight to the UK. Spacing out that connection gives me plenty of breathing room if something goes wrong or an extra adventure if everything goes right.

In anticipation of this, I am working on getting us all enrolled in GE. Still collecting AA miles (instant approval for DH for Barclay AA Biz tonight and I’m finishing spend for CitiBiz AA) and will collect URs as always, although those spend easily everywhere. Lol. Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[Haley R]

I guess my Hilton question got lost already. This thread moves so fast. Should Dh and I consider a Hilton card if we want to stay at Hilton Tokyo bay? We won’t use it for much else.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I just realized you also asked for showers in the sky. Ok, need some time on that one. I am currently working on DH's over-water bungalow trip to the Maldives and combining it with a stop over in Dubai. I'm shooting for flights on Emirates or Etihad. If all goes well, I will post pictures of the shower in the sky next Thanksgiving. If all does not go as planned then it will be sometime in 2020.

You don’t actually need to be in the pictures with the shower. I want to keep the thread “G” Rated!!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I guess my Hilton question got lost already. This thread moves so fast. Should Dh and I consider a Hilton card if we want to stay at Hilton Tokyo bay? We won’t use it for much else.

How many nights will you stay at this hotel? Do you know approximately what the cash cost and points cost are per night?

 

[WVMomof3]

Just looked into canceling my escrow and my insurance was just paid last month and taxes not due until February of next year. Wish I would have looked 2 months ago, could have used that spend!