I love credit cards so much!

[Haley R]

Dh was approved for the personal Hilton Honors card so time to start racking up those points!

 

[calypso726]

I think the 40% off is only with the RMN deal right now, since that's what that about works out to. I've gotten $175 in gift cards for $105. Obviously YMMV as to whether it will credit, being able to take advantage of all those deals, stores, etc. I think generally if you're getting 10%, you're doing very well.

OK I'm doing the RMN deal too. I have round 2 pending so once it posts it should be $60 off of $150 in Disney GCs total so far.

Yeah I’m just doing RMN. $10 off a $25 card. I’m up to $275 in giftcards this month.

ETA: I guess 41% off because I’m using my Amex Biz to meet MSR and getting 1x MRs too lol

Ok cool beans. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something else I'm missing out on. I got really excited at the idea of getting nearly 40% off of our Japan ABD trip. I don't think I'll be able to swing that via RMN rebates though but I'll take every bit of savings I can get. Thanks!

We are going, too. We were hoping to overlap with @calypso and plane princess for another trip (we met on ABD Scotland and were also on the Norway cruise together), but we were locked into the summer months due to college schedules. We're on one of the July trips. We had been planning to go on our own, but were pretty blown away by the ABD itinerary. As Calypso said, I suspect they will start whittling away at the itinerary in future years, and the second set of summer trips they added were considerably more expensive than our opening day price. Sadly, it seems to be the ABD way. The trip Calypso, @Calfan, and I were on for Scotland was changed dramatically after we went. I will make sure to report back as well. We managed to score great airline seats already on miles (RT first on JAL and RT business on ANA via the Virgin deal with the AMEX 30% transfer deal).

Oh I was so wishing our trips would be at the same time next year. We couldn't swing the dates earlier due to how PTO is allotted and or accrued with our jobs. I totally agree, the Scotland trips where we met is still my all time favorite ABD. Oddly enough, the Norway cruise we were all on is tied for my favorite cruise of the 19 we have done with the Fantasy Maiden Voyage. The China ABD blew me away too. That was an awesome trip and I absolutely loved our guides, as always.

I think you know that Bruce developed the Scotland ABD. Did you know he is also the developer of the China and the Japan ABD? That alone tells me it will be great.

I used to be a huge ABD cheerleader, but after six completed trips with them, the rose has definitely come off the glasses We've had some great discussions about it over on the ABD board so I won't rehash here, but I've become very cautious and look at the itinerary very closely. Whether Japan turns out to be "worth it," remains to be seen. ABD Scotland and China both blew me away. ABD Baltic cruise add-on not so much. I'm hoping Japan is as good as it looks. I totally understand about needing to spread out the vacay spends. The trips are soooo pricey. I'm sure both Calypso and I will do trip reports so you'll have something to go off of

Yup, I'll be doing my usual day by day, play by play trip report and forgo sleep. I'll sleep enough when I'm dead

 

[mmmears]

That's awesome. I want to be a Disney TA, but I can't find anywhere that will take someone who only wants to do Disney.

I would love to do that, too.

 

[Haley R]

I would love to do that, too.

Me too! I just don’t really want to pay for the license that I need here to do it. Then I have to pay for the advertising and things to do it on my own

 

[amalone1013]

Theres a fire truck and an ambulance outside my Best Buy, I'm scared to go in

 

[wendow]

Me too! I just don’t really want to pay for the license that I need here to do it. Then I have to pay for the advertising and things to do it on my own

I'm not sure how the requirements differ from your state. My aunt is in TX and she pays $495 a year to be under a main agency (who issues her TA card and number). I don't know how much she has to pay them for each booking she does, but I don't think it's much at all.

She has never really advertised other than putting stuff out there on her FB page and putting business cards up at various places. When she first started out, she built her business by giving 50% of her commission back in OBC's or GC's (like for Disney). As her business has grown, she doesn't really have to do anything like that anymore. If she does a Disney booking, she'll get each of the kids a $25 GC or something like.

Anyway, I think advertising yourself doesn't have to cost a lot. It's just some upfront work. Right now, the economy is good and Disney is popular, so it could be a good time to dip your toes in!

 

[pinkxray]

@pinkxray , @KPK02090 , have you gotten your Citizens bonuses yet? Mine just posted 9/26, which is 63 days after my "DD" posted and matches the info @miztressuz gave us about the bonus timing. No fees yet either. I'm going to close it soon. Hope you both get yours as well!

Mine actually posted yesterday but it only posted as $50. My direct deposit(which was an actual direct deposit from my paycheck) was June 26. I need to call tomorrow and see why it’s only $50. I’m glad I kept the mailing with the offer code I used.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

But had to post, with all the negative news lately finally some good news today. Disney just announced an extension of their Armed Forces Salute. With the news this past week of the ticketing changes and increased attendance next year for Star Wars there were some that thought that they would not renew. This is an amazing offer for those that can take advantage. $257 for a five day hopper! Hopefully Universal will also renew theirs and that will enable us to take 2-3 vacations next year! We haven't been to Disney since May 2017 and we are definitely missing it!

well deserved discount I'd say

 

[Lain]

Just got denial letter from Chase for CIC. I already have a CIP. Reasons are: "Insufficient business revenue" and "You already have the maximum amount of credit we can offer you."

Worth the call to recon?

Reduce your overall credit lines with Chase, then try again when your credit reports are updated.

I try to get our individual, total Chase CLs in the 30% of household income range reflected on our credit reports at least a month before applying for a new Chase card.

My wife's business has only $1.5k revenue. She's been approved for the CIP and CIU. She's never been denied for having insufficient business revenue. It seems the two denial reasons are related. Chase has already extended the maximum amount of credit relative to your business revenue. To some extent, the maximum amount of credit that Chase will offer you is also tied to your personal (or household) income; however, if your total CLs with Chase are around or over 50% of reported income, Chase is not going to give you more credit based on your personal income.

 

[kayteekt]

We live in Nashville and go to Gatlinburg a decent amount so I am pretty familiar with the Hilton brands there. My favorite was the HGI on the strip. It is only a few years old and walkable to everything in the main downtown area. There is a doubletree called Park Vista...gross. It feels old and dank in there. Unless it has had a major refurb since I was there last I'd say avoid. Too bad too, b/c the indoor pool area is nice. Even my DH who travels for work hates having to stay there, but sometimes he has to for a conference.
I believe they've built/rebuilt another one or two Hamptons since the recent fires. I may check that out for our next visit.

We ususally do a cabin at Gatlinburg, so I'm not too familiar with the hotels. But yep, that's the one i was thinking about, the Hilton Garden Inn. We've stayed one night at that double tree about 5 years ago. I agree wasn't great.

 

[mmmears]

Me too! I just don’t really want to pay for the license that I need here to do it. Then I have to pay for the advertising and things to do it on my own

Yeah, it's the advertising and drumming up business part that makes me run the other way. I know not every TA is like this, but it felt like 1/5 of our cruise was TAs and some were pretty aggressive at sneaking in things even when the mods (who were not TAs) kept saying no advertising. It was pretty obnoxious and is actually continuing now, even though the page is quiet. It really made me less interested. I know not all TAs do this, and my aunt certainly didn't, but those that do give TAs a bad name.

 

[Haley R]

Yeah, it's the advertising and drumming up business part that makes me run the other way. I know not every TA is like this, but it felt like 1/5 of our cruise was TAs and some were pretty aggressive at sneaking in things even when the mods (who were not TAs) kept saying no advertising. It was pretty obnoxious and is actually continuing now, even though the page is quiet. It really made me less interested. I know not all TAs do this, and my aunt certainly didn't, but those that do give TAs a bad name.

I really wish I could just join an agency. I’m not sure I want to set one up on my own.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

are there these kind of deals for disneyland? could not find anything? thankyou

I am sorry, but I know nothing about DL. I am pretty sure they deals for the parks don't cross. DL does their own.

 

[pillow]

weird sams club stuff today for me.... so a while back I tried to use the RMN sams club online order deal combined with my amex offer..... I bought a $50 sams gc plus a small filler. the filler item came, eventually the card came in the mail. I went to store to use it.... no dice. says not activated...(???) so I spent some fun time at the service desk, then on the phone with someone from the company so they could tell me I got the card,but it never got activated,so they sent it to me anyway (?!?!?) and apparently my card isn't charged..... I thought it was,so I had to come home and look...apparently the card was only charged 4.00 for the small item, RMN didn't give the cashback bc I didn't spend $50,and the amex offer isn't triggered because I haven't spent $50! ....And the charge is still pending on my acct...... you win some you lose some I guess... in other news I re-upped my staples and cvs today on RMN so that's #3 for those!

Welcome to Sam's Club gift card hell! What is supposed to happen is that when your gift card ships, you get an activation email from them. When your gift card arrives, you simply click within the email to activate. However, now apparently there is a glitch in their system where gift card orders are not being marked as "shipped." Therefore, the activation email never generates. So you end up with a gift card in your hands that you cannot activate. Also, since the order isn't marked as shipped, your credit card does not get charged.

This is the third time this has happened to me. I am a slow learner apparently . . . you'd think I would stop buying gift cards from Sam's - lol.

I would suggest you try an online "chat" with Sam's. They should be able to request card activation from the gift card department. Or wait it out. I think eventually the order will go to "shipped" in their system. I've "chatted" with Sam's twice now about my most recent order. It still isn't activated. Sigh.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I took about 2hrs to get home last night, ping ponging around to my deals. It normally takes 30-45mins. Hit Home Depot, then Best Buy. Couldn't get DHs card linked to Chase Pay in time to do one on each of ours, so I just did mine. Checked with DH that Home Depot was showing as pending before I continued. Then hit Kohl's, Walgreens, and Staples. Then I told DH we could go eat at the local restaurant on the RR dining network instead of going to buy a gift card. Everything shows as pending except Kohl's, where I bought socks so I'll keep the receipt in case it doesn't show up.

• Tues: Did HD/Walgreens/Staples for myself, bought $100 in Disney GCs and will get $30 from RMN and $5 from AMEX
• Last Night: Did HD/Walgreens for DH, bought $50 in Disney GCs and will get $20 from RMN; Did Staples for DH, bought $100 in Petco gift cards and will get $10 from RMN and $10 from AMEX; Did Chase Pay for myself at BB with swagbucks, another $100 Disney GC; should get $10 from RMN for Kohl's (and earned $5 in Kohl's cash - it's $5 for spending $25 right now)
• Tonight: Trying Chase Pay/BB twice, once for each of us, more Disney GCs I think; also will swing by that restaurant and get a gift card, and hope I get the RR dining sign up bonus, if not, not the end of the world.

I decided to get Petco gift cards at Staples because it's time for more dog food. They only had $25 Petco gift cards so when I got to the register the guy was like, are you doing a giveaway? Oh yes, these are raffle prizes for my business... I just told him that it's time to buy dog food and my credit card gives me extra points here. Anyways, tonight I will order dog food for ILs...

Thanks for reminding me to order my dog’s food from the vet. $80 a case and they don’t even take AMEX for my MSR.
And don’t you work for a dog food company?

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I can't believe half the flights for the Easter week are sold out already. Especially the timeframes I was looking for. I called this morning trying to see if I can get a better deal over phone (couldn't) and the agent said that doesn't mean they will stay sold out and they can't release how many tickets are left on particular flights, such as if you want to see if a certain flight has 5 tickets left for all 5 family members going.

Anyway, I was really disappointed in how little was available! I am trying to book to Orlando during Easter, probably not the best idea. The points per flight are just not that great either, ranging 10k - 21k. I thought booking right when flights released would get the best point deals. I did end up using our points, but don't have anything much to spare! I do plan to keep checking back as this agent was not so nicely insistent that it doesn't mean they will stay sold out. I don't know though, Easter and MCO?

I booked the last week in March at 6 am the day they released. Our nonstop flights were 12-14k each way. I check every couple days and they have only gone up. 25-35k each way now. I’ll keep watching but not confident they will go down

 

[MrPTato]

Theres a fire truck and an ambulance outside my Best Buy, I'm scared to go in

If you didn't injure yourself and you are not on fire...go in! Don't miss out on the deals!

 

[Alice Sr.]

I’m a big believer in diversifying your points. It gives you options in picking your airlines and hotels, paying with points as a cash booking or transferring points for award seats and stays.

As already mentioned, MRs are particularly good for transfers to their airline partners, and there are a lot of great international carriers. Amex also runs MR transfer bonus promos frequently, and you can expect transfer bonuses to most of the major airlines for several weeks every year. There also seems to be a lot more "sweet spot" airline redemptions with MR points. However, MR is sorely lacking in hotel transfer partners. They have three: Hilton, SPG/Marriott, and Choice hotels, and not one offers particularly good value (I think MR to Hilton is something like 1 MR:2 HH!). Paying with points on the Amex Travel portal can be a lot harder to understand than on the UR travel portal. MR are worth 1 cent per point toward airfare, but only about 0.75-0.85 cents per point for hotels, vacations or cruises packages, and car rentals. But if you have a Biz Plat, and pay with points for airfare on your selected airline in any class, or any other airline in business or first class, you'll be rebated 35% of your points back (getting you 1.54 cent per point value). MRs are worth only 0.6 cent per point as a statement credit, but if you get a Charles Schwab Platinum card then you can cash out at 1.25 cent per point.

Chase's UR system is easy to understand. All their UR-earning cards get you 1 cent per point as a cash redemption, but the Freedom cards get you 1 cent per point towards all travel on the UR portal, the CSP and CIP get you 1.25 cent per point towards all travel on the UR portal, and the CSR gets you 1.5 cent per point towards travel on the UR portal. A lot of times, particularly if I haven't stalked saver fares early enough, I'll find booking travel with UR points on the portal (as a revenue booking) to be a better value than transferring points to an airline frequent flyer program for award seats. Chase also has a good number of airline transfer partners, and URs transfer to United and Southwest, which aren't on MR. However, I don't think I've ever seen UR offer any transfer bonus promotions like MR and TYP. I think everyone's favorite UR hotel transfer partner is Hyatt, which offers really good value. Although both MR and UR transfer to SPG/Marriott, most people value 1 UR and MR > 1 Marriott point.

I can't say much about Citi TYP. I have one TYP-earning card, my second oldest, which I use once a year to keep it active. TYPs are hard to earn! Chase has a lot of UR earning cards, and Amex has a lot of MR earning cards, and their rules make these cards pretty easy to get to build up your UR and MR stashes with signup bonuses and bonus categories. Citi’s TYP cards, I think, have much stricter velocity limits. I think I redeemed my paltry stash of TYPs once for an Amazon gift card. D'oh!

The other major flexible point currency is Marriott points. When Marriott absorbed the SPG program, they left SPG's airline transfer program mostly intact, and the major difference is you have to multiple 1 old Starpoint by 3, so Marriott points transfer to most of their airline programs at 3:1, with a 5,000 miles bonus when you transfer 60,000 Marriott points. So every 60,000 Marriott points transferred will in most cases get you 25,000 airline miles. Marriott’s air and hotel travel packages used to be a good value, but were nerfed with the merger. However, you can still find good redemption value for Marriott points at their hotels, particularly before peak pricing and new Cat. 8 kick in next year.

Ok have cut and pasted this to my archives, but have a couple questions . Would the BA 40% and the Plat Biz be stackable? Will there be other transfer (like United) discounts this fall? Also, I am so confused about the SPG I got during the 35K bonus offer. At the time I thought it was a very good deal, but it seems like the market crashed or there was a crazy correction... Are my 42K SPG points worth the equivalent of 14K MR's or 126K? Lastly, I know I have this info saved but can't find it, and not heading over to Reddit this week, is Chase Marriott 5/24 or no? Thanks!!

 

[Albort]

Please, please school me here and explain how you are getting 40% or even close to it. I always go for 5x UR but when I can get 10% off or better then I switch. Thanks in advance.

hehe, get to know a cast member well... they get 50%... :]

@Albort for chase pay bb deal did did you do launch Samsung pay from chase pay? Or just open Samsung pay? My card is already linked and I see the chase pay logo over it in Samsung pay

I pulled samsung pay via chase pay. im not sure if it works just going straight Chase Pay. i never tested that.

Just got denial letter from Chase for CIC. I already have a CIP. Reasons are: "Insufficient business revenue" and "You already have the maximum amount of credit we can offer you."

Worth the call to recon?

Reduce your overall credit lines with Chase, then try again when your credit reports are updated.

I try to get our individual, total Chase CLs in the 30% of household income range reflected on our credit reports at least a month before applying for a new Chase card.

My wife's business has only $1.5k revenue. She's been approved for the CIP and CIU. She's never been denied for having insufficient business revenue. It seems the two denial reasons are related. Chase has already extended the maximum amount of credit relative to your business revenue. To some extent, the maximum amount of credit that Chase will offer you is also tied to your personal (or household) income; however, if your total CLs with Chase are around or over 50% of reported income, Chase is not going to give you more credit based on your personal income.

If chase has given her the maximum amount of credit, couldnt @Natgridenergy call recon and shift credit over from her CIP?

 

[disneedee]

I've never booked with points, this is my first time. I'm trying to get a hang of buying air with points! I'm glad to know I can book it and refund it later, kind of nervous about points and doing that. I went ahead and booked, and then will watch for price/point drops and really hope something drops! But, I feel like I had to lock in now because we aren't flexible on dates, and really times, too, so I didn't want to miss anything! I wonder if MCO in particular for spring break is just difficult depending on of course where home base is.

be careful on the booking and cancelling. this works with southwest but not so well with other airlines.