I love credit cards so much!

[Judique]

Also I'm now noticing Hamilton is sold out a few days in advance at the Kennedy Center. I'm not sure if that's because of the holiday weekend or what, but it looks like I missed my chance to get cheap(er) tickets! Oh well, maybe the lottery will come through (haha).

Remember 'sold out' is not always sold out. You might get to the day of and find newly released seats.
We went over to Kennedy Center Friday night and saw Shear Madness. It was fun and a night out but I was busy envying the folks that were going into their Hamilton performance. I would also like to see it again. I did see seats for this past Saturday on Saturday - I was looking after having been to KC the night before and saw Orchestra for $349.

Edit: I bought our tickets for Shear Madness after my son called and asked if we wanted to meet him there. (I wanted to use them to up my msr). Son called me back after I sent him a copy of the confirmation email and says 'you bought tickets for tonight!'.

Duh - I was busy doing something else in the middle of all this and made an error. I called the box office and they immediately switched my tickets for the ones I wanted. So I guess Hamilton may get some refunds and changes as well.

 

[schmass]

For SW that makes sense..since once you get the CP you can cancel your reservation online and get the points back easily...if you book yourself with everyone else you’d have to call
No you can’t combine points and gift cards on the same reservation with SW....what you can do is book one way with points....then the other way with gift cards

Thank you! Okay, so maybe I'll buy the gc and then book the family using that plus the difference in cash one way, book their other flights with points, and book mine separately with points.

 

[afan]

Waiting for my lyft to the airport. SF was fun but 2 days is enough for me. Visiting the bay area is always fun but always reminds me why I left after I finished college.

I can't remember who it was, but I didn't have to pay anything extra for my Hyatt stay as expected. I did sign up for something awhile back with them that should get me a % of my points back. I'll have to figure that out at some point. I imagine it'll only be on the 1 night since the other was the anniversary cert.

I'll do a review in the hotel thread later but thia property is a good use of the cert since it's a cat 4 and the others in dt SF are cat 5. For straight points booking though I think one of the others would give you a better location depending on what you're here for.

 

[striker1064]

We went over to Kennedy Center Friday night and saw Shear Madness. It was fun and a night out but I was busy envying the folks that were going into their Hamilton performance.

Did you enjoy Shear Madness? I see that in the Express every Thursday and keep meaning to get tickets one of these days. I know it's no Hamilton but we like theater in general.

 

[Alexle2007]

No, they aren't. When we did the tour in February we got a $100 Disney GC + 3 anytime FPs each, but they were not usable on 6 rides - Flight of Passage, N'avi River, Peter Pan, Toy Story, Frozen, and Seven Dwarves if I'm recalling correctly.

Thanks! Now to decide whether I give up my Test Track FP and do the DVC and use my FP selections for the evening in AK. River Journey was available yesterday.

 

[Livelovedance]

Not sure what your use year is but it would have to be October, November or December to get 2017 points since we are still in those use years..all other months are in the 2018 use year.

Mine is September, so I just missed it oh well...

 

[hsmamato2]

I use my IT for most of my purchases right now since I am in my first year and they are matching my Cashback. I will be working on a MSR for another card soon and am kind of sad that IT will be ignored for a bit. I will still use it for the 5% categories even while working on the MSR.

this is how i currently feel,I've been using my MSR card of the moment instead of that sweet 10% back I could be getting at restaurants.... but I need to hit the MSR...

 

[MrPTato]

Thanks for the feedback. I have to figure out how to best approach this. I know Chase has the 5/24 rule. Do any other card providers have rules/limits about how many cards you open in a certain time period? I was going to open the Disney Premier first, then the Discover it, probably the same day or very soon after. I want to make sure I have the cards in hand in time. Would that affect my standing with Discover? Would it be bad to open a 3rd card around the same time if I don’t get a good enough limit? I don’t usually apply for cards like this so I’m not sure how it would work.


I’m not sure how it impacted our dues, but it didn’t bother me or impact my decision to purchase either way. I just saw it as an added benefit, and I’m hoping to get it again! I have no regrets buying direct, even though it’s cheaper to buy resale lol.

I would go with Chase first as they may give you the bigger credit line. Although Chase is a little less sensitive to inquires it seems than Discover. It seems, for me at least, and what I have read, that Discover will usually pull EQ and Chase could pull either TU or Ex...sometimes both.

Also, Both Chase and Discover won't know you have opened a new account until they start reporting. Some are slow to report like Amex that could take a couple months and Barclay, for example, reports before you even have the card in your hand.

 

[hsmamato2]

Are you serious? We’re connecting through OGG right now!

this is so cool..... I am SO excited about going in December...never been (and no nice seats either,but still excited)

 

[afan]

I seem to be on the lone flight out of term 1 this morning. Only 2 food options so I'm just eating the goldfish I brought. I was tempted to hang out by the delta lounge door and see if someone would take me in with them but figured that would probably be frowned upon.

Today was my fp day and I couldn't fall back asleep for the extra hour. I also need to stalk fp to try and get fop and sdd while my friend is with me. I got both later in the trip after she's left. Day 2 and 3 or 4 so hopefully at 30 days when people cancel. I was surprised to get 7d on the evening of our 1st day, really shows how things have shifted.

 

[hsmamato2]

We have used David's 4-5 times to rent DVC and it has been totally seamless each time. I'd rent from them again if we needed a DVC room (since we began this hobby we have been staying at Bonnet Creek so its been a few years since we've used Davids).

what points would translate into WBC?

 

[hsmamato2]

For SW that makes sense..since once you get the CP you can cancel your reservation online and get the points back easily...if you book yourself with everyone else you’d have to call
No you can’t combine points and gift cards on the same reservation with SW....what you can do is book one way with points....then the other way with gift cards

if you cancel swa with a gc payment how do you change or get the $ back? how does that work,like cash,a credit for one year?

 

[hsmamato2]

Happy Labor Day! Hope everyone is enjoying the day off!

In the midst of looking up stuff on Arizona for April last night, I thought I’d this. I’m planning to cancel my Marriott Biz when the AF posts next January, but I’d like to use my free night certificate in April. The free night is attached to my Marriott account, so no issue with canceling the card, right? I think it makes more sense to keep the SPG Biz now that I have that over the Marriott Biz. Someone tell me if I’m wrong!

wait you're planning AZ in April? I'm planning a short trip in April/May 2019 using points too! I want to visit the Page area since we've traveled thru twice and still haven't seen that! I'm thinking of flying into Vegas and driving over since that appears to be cheapest and most direct for me....

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Happy Labor Day! Hope everyone is enjoying the day off!

In the midst of looking up stuff on Arizona for April last night, I thought I’d this. I’m planning to cancel my Marriott Biz when the AF posts next January, but I’d like to use my free night certificate in April. The free night is attached to my Marriott account, so no issue with canceling the card, right? I think it makes more sense to keep the SPG Biz now that I have that over the Marriott Biz. Someone tell me if I’m wrong!

That’s right. I cancelled my card a couple months ago, the cert is still in my account. Make sure any cert you are using hasn’t expired by the time you need it. I’ve heard stories of the Marriot reps attaching alert to a res and then it expires before the actual res and the person is out of luck. They assumed if it was attached, it would work.

 

[AmyAnne]

You could just tell them you want the gift card...or I am happy to try to send you a link if you want to pm me.

Thanks -- sending you a pm.

 

[Judique]

Did you enjoy Shear Madness? I see that in the Express every Thursday and keep meaning to get tickets one of these days. I know it's no Hamilton but we like theater in general.

Yes. It was pretty good. I will say that if you get a chance to see 'Baby wants candy' for improv, it was a far better show for a mere $20. It's out of Chicago and was only here for 2 nights, but it tours and will probably come around again. I almost went to their second show, as they were hysterically funny.

Since I am now retired, I have to make an effort to get out more. I've gone from 'can't wait to get off work and get home' to 'can't wait to get out of the house'. So, I'm watching for all and any shows in the area that I might enjoy.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I just realized my plan is greatly dependent on getting a good credit limit when I apply for the Discover it. I have a good credit score and pay my bills in full on time. The only potential problem I see is the fact that this will be my first Discover card.

I want to apply for the Discover it cash back and the Disney premier. My plan is to put less on the Disney (6 months 0%) and more on the Discover (14 months 0%), and take advantage of having more time to pay it off. I’ll probably get a decent limit on the Disney card because of my history with Chase. Would my nonexistent Discover history mean a credit limit that is too low for my plans? Should I apply for one first over the other? Does any of that make any difference?

Discover can be kind of stingy. I have had a Discover Card for 31 years, the CL is 14k. My credit score >800. When I applied for a new Discover Card last December, they gave me a 5k CL. In contrast, Chase gave me 20k on my Disney Visa.

 

[miztressuz]

Discover can be across the board when it comes to initial starting limits when you are new to them. If you have decent credit, which it seems like you do, then you should have no issues getting a decent SL. It does depend on income, FICO, and other credit factors. They are good about SP credit increases as well. Discover seems to like transactors where you use your card often. If you don't get a decent limit for your needs, use it well and try again in 90 days.

I'll just echo this @Livelovedance . If you have good income and good credit you should get a CL in line roughly with some of your highest CL's. I don't think they're overly generous but for me they gave in my higher ranges for this last card. I found with them they don't volunteer CL increases. Every limit increase I got I had to ask for, but it's easy to do once you have some history with them. Also since you'll have a specific purchase, you could call to ask for a temporary (or permanent) increase for that purchase if you're close.

Thanks for the feedback. I have to figure out how to best approach this. I know Chase has the 5/24 rule. Do any other card providers have rules/limits about how many cards you open in a certain time period? I was going to open the Disney Premier first, then the Discover it, probably the same day or very soon after. I want to make sure I have the cards in hand in time. Would that affect my standing with Discover? Would it be bad to open a 3rd card around the same time if I don’t get a good enough limit? I don’t usually apply for cards like this so I’m not sure how it would work.

Should be fine with Discover. If you do both on the same day the only thing changes on your report is an inquiry. And depending on where you are they are probably pulling from different reports. It'll just effect you later with Chase as they'll both now be counted in your 5/24 count once they show up on your CR. 3rd card may depend on the card issuer, some are inquiry sensitive and not just account sensitive. Have to think about what that card may be and do some research for backup plans. But most likely you'll be ok with it. Someone on Reddit got 5 or 6 cards applied for on the same day recently, so it still happens. Your score may take a little dip from the inquires but that would bounce back, what will probably affect it more is your utilization ratio once you make the purchases and carry the balance.

 

[afan]

Discover can be kind of stingy. I have had a Discover Card for 31 years, the CL is 14k. My credit score >800. When I applied for a new Discover Card last December, they gave me a 5k CL. In contrast, Chase gave me 20k on my Disney Visa.

Discover is my oldest card, 21 years, and it isn't my highest CL. I know my aviator is highest cause they like to raise it but I think disc is around 10k. I don't know how often I update income.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I'm also trying to get my strategy ready for when I can book my SW flights for May. My plan is to have DH get the CP for 2019-2020. If I will be his companion, does it make sense to book DH, DS, and DD with points on one reservation, and then myself with points on another? Also, I could buy a SW gift card with my Amex Plat travel credit, would it make sense to use the giftcard for the reservation with my family members? Can I combine points and gc with SW?

Thats what I did for our March flights. I booked DD3 on her own ressie and will call to switch her to my companion when I get the pass and get the points refunded. At least I am holding her a seat in the meantime.