I love credit cards so much!

[miztressuz]

That's how I needed to hear it! Thank you! But did you get the points?

Knew you were going to ask that

I did BUT I'm one of those weirdos where my anniversary date and my annual fee aren't in the same time period. However, I would received my points before I cancelled if I wasn't an oddball. My anniversary date is mid month (like the statement) so if I were normal, my anniversary would have been, say, July 15, my AF would post 8/1, my points would show up in my SW account on my Aug statement ~ 8/15, then I would have cancelled 8/30 and still not owe anything on the payment due date 9/7.

My actual anniversary was months ago, but I did a product change with my SW card so it threw off the AF by many months. But my points always post to my SW account the statement closing that has my anniversary. Oh I'm actually the 10th I think, (that would make more sense with the payment date of the 7th) 12/10 is my date, my SW points show up on 1/11 usually; so if I had been normal my AF would have been 1/1 and I'd have done this a while ago.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I just used the wrong cc at sams. AND it was a $285 rx charge. Shoot me.

At least it went towards msr I guess.

 

[Sarah_B]

Anyone have a good trip report blog about churning for a Safari? I tried searching r/churning but didn't get enough nitty gritties.

 

[Calfan]

Tagging @Calfan, @Albort, @Lain, @calypso726, @gottalovepluto (sorry if I left any Int'l flight experts out)...

Can you guys give @DrFacilier some advice on how to start to figure out these flights...

I know the airline transfer partners are:

• United MileagePlus Miles
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• British Airway Avios
• Air France Flying Blue
• Singapore KrisFlyer
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Iberia Plus
• Aer Lingus AerClub

BUT as you might imagine...I don't know anything about any of these other than Southwest, HAHAHA!

Sorry to be slow to respond, @DrFacilier. Work has been busy today and I just now got caught up here. Sounds like you've gotten lots of good advice. Almost all of our international flights have been booked with United miles. My experience has usually been that if you can find Saver awards on United (by searching the United site; you will be able to view the most options if you are logged in to your MileagePlus account and if you hold one of the co-branded United cards and that card is associated with your MP account), then you are better off transferring URs to United and booking with the miles. But if you can't find Saver awards on United, it will likely cost fewer points/miles to book using URs (assuming 1.5 cents per UR). I did this for our flights to/from Peru this past summer. I had no luck finding Saver awards on United, and it took fewer UR to book our United flights than it would have cost in United miles for a Standard award. I can't verify that it works the same for other airlines, but in each case, before booking I would run the numbers to compare how many miles it would take to book the flights you find versus how many UR it would take.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thanks to everyone who chimed in about my next card. Here's what I'm thinking: So if I am not going to have enough UR's to book our Spain airfare in June, should I just go with the CSP and upgrade to the CSR in the future? I should have enough points to book lodging for that trip but not nearly enough for flights.

Keep in mind that you would need to wait a year before upgrading to CSR (if you apply for CSP). Otherwise, either card now is a fine plan.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

wow, thank you. never thought of the pressure. I will have some gum on hand. my kiddos are 10,7,4. oldest is my daughter and 2 boys.

Maybe some new, never before seen toys to entertain them on the flight. Gum is a great idea. My son,9, also hates the pressure, but also the noise. He was better as a baby/small child. Lol. Now he uses EarPlanes plus a set of headphones, the big ones, not ear buds. He says the gum doesn’t help but he never chews gum other than flights, so doesn’t really like it. If you have a tablet, load it with some favorite movies and a few new games too.

Have fun! It will be a great surprise!

 

[Albort]

I just used the wrong cc at sams. AND it was a $285 rx charge. Shoot me.

At least it went towards msr I guess.

we dont shoot ppl here, just shun ppl... :]

Anyone have a good trip report blog about churning for a Safari? I tried searching r/churning but didn't get enough nitty gritties.

im a big fan of One Mile at a Time blog for trip reports... is that what your looking for?

 

[CyndiLouWho]

For GE, how easy it it to get appointments together? We can do Pre-check locally but to get GE we'd have to go to Atlanta which isn't a huge deal, I just wouldn't want to make the trip 2-3X's to get the whole family through. If I can't get appointments together then we'd just do pre-check as we don't have any concrete plans for overseas trips.

But I do have them in my head so I figured why not get GE????

In Chicago, we were able to get 2 appointments same day/time for DH and DS but scheduled a few weeks ago for January when DS is off school. So a long lead time. Of course I applied a week after them and still waiting for my approval to schedule an interview. Was hoping for the same day but it’s not looking good the longer I wait.

 

[miztressuz]

Marriott's sweepstakes finally launched: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/marr...ober-4th-29-ways-to-stay-points-stays-prizes/

I played for both of us and we each got the 50 pt win (generously valued at $0.45. at least they're honest)

Won't actually get the points until "8-10 weeks" after the sweepstakes ends Nov 8.

There's 6 memory cards to match up showcasing properties then they ask you a question about the brand after each match. I tried it in Firefox first and don't know if it's a FF thing or just an odd glitch but I didn't get any images, so I guessed and managed to match 3 pairs in 4 tries. Did the other round in Edge and the pictures showed up fine, but giggles and kicks tried the same sequence at it matched, so 3/3 2nd time around

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Yep it would be 3 1/2 ish to get to Minneapolis and I think that is our closest one. I’m thinking we may just bite the bullet and stand in the possible 2 hour line. That’s what phones are for right?

Unless you 1) get a new cc that has GE credit and 2) you make a quick trip to Mall of America to put some spend on that card. Lol.

 

[platamama]

Thanks to everyone who chimed in about my next card. Here's what I'm thinking: So if I am not going to have enough UR's to book our Spain airfare in June, should I just go with the CSP and upgrade to the CSR in the future? I should have enough points to book lodging for that trip but not nearly enough for flights.

Depending on what you plan on spending on travel and dining out, it might make sense to get the CSR to start since it earns an extra UR for those categories compared to the CSP (3x vs 2x). The spend would be pretty high to break even, but it would depend on your individual circumstances.

Say the 1st year you're spending $150 in AF ($450-$300 in travel credit for CSR; waived AF for CSP). If you foresee spending $15,000+ combined on your travel and dining out before a potential upgrade, then you would come out ahead with the CSR vs the CSP. If less than $15,000 then the CSP for Year One makes sense.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Do we need to actually pay the fee if the points post? I understand it would be refunded, but would it be possible to just cancel or will it be impossible to cancel with the charge on the account?

You can cancel even after the fee posts and they’ll refund it. For Amex, my mom accidentally paid the AF, cancelled the card and they just deposited the money back in her checking account.

 

[pillow]

Anyone have a good trip report blog about churning for a Safari? I tried searching r/churning but didn't get enough nitty gritties.

This is a fun read, even if its not specifically what you're looking for . . .

https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/2017/02/24/protea-hotel-kruger-gate-by-marriott/

 

[speedyfishy]

Marriott's sweepstakes finally launched: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/marr...ober-4th-29-ways-to-stay-points-stays-prizes/

I played for both of us and we each got the 50 pt win (generously valued at $0.45. at least they're honest)

Won't actually get the points until "8-10 weeks" after the sweepstakes ends Nov 8.

There's 6 memory cards to match up showcasing properties then they ask you a question about the brand after each match. I tried it in Firefox first and don't know if it's a FF thing or just an odd glitch but I didn't get any images, so I guessed and managed to match 3 pairs in 4 tries. Did the other round in Edge and the pictures showed up fine, but giggles and kicks tried the same sequence at it matched, so 3/3 2nd time around

I got the same low bonus twice too. Lol

 

[chattadisser]

Marriott's sweepstakes finally launched: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/marr...ober-4th-29-ways-to-stay-points-stays-prizes/

I played for both of us and we each got the 50 pt win (generously valued at $0.45. at least they're honest)

Won't actually get the points until "8-10 weeks" after the sweepstakes ends Nov 8.

There's 6 memory cards to match up showcasing properties then they ask you a question about the brand after each match. I tried it in Firefox first and don't know if it's a FF thing or just an odd glitch but I didn't get any images, so I guessed and managed to match 3 pairs in 4 tries. Did the other round in Edge and the pictures showed up fine, but giggles and kicks tried the same sequence at it matched, so 3/3 2nd time around

Ugh! I played and got nothing!!

 

[Lain]

Anyone have a good trip report blog about churning for a Safari? I tried searching r/churning but didn't get enough nitty gritties.

Try r/awardtravel instead.

 

[chattadisser]

In Chicago, we were able to get 2 appointments same day/time for DH and DS but scheduled a few weeks ago for January when DS is off school. So a long lead time. Of course I applied a week after them and still waiting for my approval to schedule an interview. Was hoping for the same day but it’s not looking good the longer I wait.

Thanks, that was my fear. I think we'll most likely get the local pre-check. At least that will speed us up on the majority of our trips.

 

[chattadisser]

Ugh! I played and got nothing!!

Quoting myself, I actually got 50 points. Nothing showed up on the Marriott screen but I have an email stating that I got 50 points. At least its something....

I was feeling like the loser at the party!!!

 

[Lain]

Marriott's sweepstakes finally launched: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/marr...ober-4th-29-ways-to-stay-points-stays-prizes/

I played for both of us and we each got the 50 pt win (generously valued at $0.45. at least they're honest)

Won't actually get the points until "8-10 weeks" after the sweepstakes ends Nov 8.

There's 6 memory cards to match up showcasing properties then they ask you a question about the brand after each match. I tried it in Firefox first and don't know if it's a FF thing or just an odd glitch but I didn't get any images, so I guessed and managed to match 3 pairs in 4 tries. Did the other round in Edge and the pictures showed up fine, but giggles and kicks tried the same sequence at it matched, so 3/3 2nd time around

If you haven't merged your Marriott and SPG accounts yet, you can play once on each account per day. We haven't merged my wife's accounts yet and she was able to play twice today.

Answering the questions right or wrong seems to have no bearing on how many points you'll win. I guessed wrong on my first try, got 50 points; answered right on my wife's first try, 50 points; answered right on my wife's second try, 500 points.

 

[jhoannam]

Yep it would be 3 1/2 ish to get to Minneapolis and I think that is our closest one. I’m thinking we may just bite the bullet and stand in the possible 2 hour line. That’s what phones are for right?

Our closest one is 4 hours away, but we just happen to be going to St. Louis next weekend, which is 6 hours away, so I went ahead and made the appointment there.