I love credit cards so much!

[gottalovepluto]

Thanks, I think I am looking at 40,000 UA points each way or $1600 round trip. So it seems the UA points are better, right? Brain frazzled. Though I guess I need to look if other airlines come up cheaper on the portal. Just looking through Kayak I didn't see anything cheaper.

I think of UA points as URs (because that’s what I transfer when I need UA miles). So $1600 or 80k UR? I’d pick 80k UR because 80k UR = $1200 to me with my CSR.

 

[kmc8826]

I had $1500 in Plastiq fee free that expired middle of November. Used the Mastercard October deal last month (funds posted this morning). Now the fee free dollars say they expire in 90 days. Is that how it works? If you get new fee free dollars it resets the clock for all of them? I will make a payment now if some will expire otherwise I will wait.

Also, for those with the Arrival Plus how long did it take for bonus to post once spend was met?

 

[calypso726]

As always I am in awe of how you work those points. And I am looking forward to any trip stuff you care to share. That ABD Japan tour looks really, really amazing!

Not sure if this was supposed to be directed at me or at WVMomof3. But if it was meant for me , guessing due to the ABD Japan mention, then, thank you I'm always happy to share, so feel free to ask anything. The itinerary does look pretty amazing and we are very excited about that trip. The timing for the bonus just happened to work well for what we had coming up so that was nice!

 

[Calfan]

I am familiar with Southwest where you can use your own points to book someone else a ticket. Is this the same with all airlines? Specifically looking at United, I think.

I know there were several people heading to South Africa soon. Any tips you can give me on booking a ticket. Quickly. Would love to use points if I can, but only with what I already have because I need to book soon. I have URs so not much choice, I think. And for economy because my 20 year old does not need to know about other ways to travel until it is on her own dime.

While I am asking questions, I know there were also parents who had kids study abroad, any tips for that? Money, phones, how not to panic when they are a half world away for so long, etc...

LOL! The past 5 years my DD has just done summer trips overseas in Scotland, Italy/Germany and Spain. To communicate she would use Skype and What's App ("it's used everywhere") for calling and texting; for money I would send a couple of credit cards and some pounds/Euro (if she were for longer period I would have sent a debit card though), and not worrying...well, if she wasn't texting I knew she was having a good time so I used no news is good news philosophy. I believe one of the Cali ladies (either calfan or californiagirl09 [they travel together so I get them interchanged] has a DD in England studying) so hopefully she'll chime in.

ETA- Funny story, one summer when she was in Scotland, someone broke into her dorm room and stole her money. She would offer to run errands to the Tesco right before lights out for anyone wanting late night snacks and she'd keep the change. This is how she got by with very little cash. I asked her why she didn't use her credit card and "you said that was for emergencies, Mom." Not sure what an emergency is if it isn't being away from home with your money stolen, but I was proud of her initiative!

Also, it helps to know who is in charge of the program where they are studying and good contact numbers just in case-for your peace of mind. Then take a deep breath and know that you've done what you could do in raising an independent person. Good luck

tink1970, your post made me smile because it’s just so true. And wouldn’t you know i’m at WDW this very moment with CaliforniaGirl09. Her Apple photos thinks I’m a membe of her family, lol (not sure my DH and kids find it as amusing, as they get left out of these race weekend trips to WDW since my kids can’t miss the school days). But to get to the point, it’s CaliforniaGirl’s daughter who is at university in England. (But, of course, my dd who is a jr in high school has ambitions of her own of going to university in Scotland or England.)

 

[mmmears]

Not sure if this was supposed to be directed at me or at WVMomof3. But if it was meant for me , guessing due to the ABD Japan mention, then, thank you I'm always happy to share, so feel free to ask anything. The itinerary does look pretty amazing and we are very excited about that trip. The timing for the bonus just happened to work well for what we had coming up so that was nice!

Oops! It was absolutely directed at you. I must have hit the wrong post to quote. I've booked some great award travel, but I still have so much to learn. And yes, that itinerary looks fantastic - I am sure that by the time I'm ready to look into it they will have watered it down and changed it enough that I won't book it (has happened before). So I'll enjoy it from afar instead. I hope you have a fabulous trip!

 

[Lain]

If we decide to try Platiq does it count for the MSR on an AMEX?

Yes.

I had $1500 in Plastiq fee free that expired middle of November. Used the Mastercard October deal last month (funds posted this morning). Now the fee free dollars say they expire in 90 days. Is that how it works? If you get new fee free dollars it resets the clock for all of them? I will make a payment now if some will expire otherwise I will wait.

Yes. Earning FFDs resets the clock on all of them to 90 days. Using any amount of your FFDs will reset the clock on the remainder to 90 days, too.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Maybe I'll hold off on the mixer... do my research.. be ready for Black Friday. This price should come back at Kohl's since it's supposed to be their BF price if that's what I go with.

I almost ignored this email just now, luckily I didn't! Since they have started major construction work near my workplace they are offering incentives for carpooling, taking public transit, etc. I signed up for the carpooling stuff because DH and I have been carpooling, and I wanted to see if that would qualify me for the $20 per month gift card. Not sure where it is too, but I just got an email asking for my mailing address so they can send me gift cards for Sept and Oct

Definitely do some research I love my KitchenAid. My first one was 4.5 qt which I liked but then After about 10 years, DH surprised me with the 6 qt. I make bread and pizza dough plus lots of cookies at the holidays and it works great. It is not great for a small batch of anything. The bowl is really too big for the paddle to work on a small volume. Besides that it’s perfect for me. The 4.5 qt went in the basement, which subsequently flooded. The dang thing worked even after being submerged. I ended up giving it to someone thru church.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Oh no that stinks, I guess I was super lucky to get through the whole process in less than a week. The interview was a breeze the longest part was getting southwest to add my middle name and change my current flight reservations so when I check in the TSA precheck should be on them.

DH and DS applied about a week before me. They had conditional approval in about 2 days. Their interviews are scheduled for January, during the school break. I was hoping to schedule for the same day but it’s not looking good.

 

[Psychodisney]

I decided to check the status line before bed. (I know, I have a problem, much like many of you). CIP approved!!
I love this hobby and I appreciate all I’ve learned from everyone here!

 

[PolyRob]

Chase e-mailed me with a promo to upgrade my Disney Visa back to a Premier Disney Visa for a WHOPPING $50 statement credit. I would make a whole dollar after the AF. Chase is so generous

 

[mmmears]

I decided to check the status line before bed. (I know, I have a problem, much like many of you). CIP approved!!
I love this hobby and I appreciate all I’ve learned from everyone here!

Congratulations!!!

 

[afan]

The travel adventure begins. Only one tsa precheck section open a hike from where I checked my bag. Then I'm flying out of the south satellite instead of main term for some weird reason and of course the lounge there is only open til 530 so I'll train to the open one and then train to SS. At least I'll have about 30 min there which is better than the desolate SS.

WDW in the morning!

ETA fat fingers while in precheck line

 

[calypso726]

Oops! It was absolutely directed at you. I must have hit the wrong post to quote. I've booked some great award travel, but I still have so much to learn. And yes, that itinerary looks fantastic - I am sure that by the time I'm ready to look into it they will have watered it down and changed it enough that I won't book it (has happened before). So I'll enjoy it from afar instead. I hope you have a fabulous trip!

I thought that may have been the case LOL We all learn as we go. This booking was a new venture for me too. Plenty of times I’ve looked back and thought I could have had a better value on a points redemption or learned afterwards that I could have maximized whatever I just did better. I don’t beat myself up over it. The way i see it is that despite not always making the most of my points and bookings because of what I don’t know or didn’t think of, I still have been able to do some pretty cool things with this hobby and that’s good enough. I’m ok with learning as I go.

Yeah, some itineraries have been watered down later. Some though have been improved and some stay as is for a while. Although the timing was dreadful, coming off of the China ABD and doing the Antarctica trip next month, we decided to book it the first year because it likely wouldn’t be less expensive moving forward.

 

[mamathompson]

I'm getting ready to apply for CIP. I'm feeling super nervous about a business card. I have over the years sold homeschool items on Ebay or on Facebook. I have no clue what to put for length in business or annual business sales, type of business, etc. Please hold my hand a little!

Also applying DH for an AMEX, do I go Gold or Platinum? I can't pull the larger Platinum offer but would like the travel credits and Global Entry perks. (Or maybe follow Lain's idea of BBP instead??)

 

[wendow]

I'm getting ready to apply for CIP. I'm feeling super nervous about a business card. I have over the years sold homeschool items on Ebay or on Facebook. I have no clue what to put for length in business or annual business sales, type of business, etc. Please hold my hand a little!

Also applying DH for an AMEX, do I go Gold or Platinum? I can't pull the larger Platinum offer but would like the travel credits and Global Entry perks. (Or maybe follow Lain's idea of BBP instead??)

My 'business' sounds similar to yours. I mostly sell homeschool items and occasionally some kids items. I put my 'business' years as 7, even though I've been selling much longer. I put annual revenue at about $600. Some years it is higher and some years, it is lower. For business type, I use the online sales, books, used items category. However, someone posted recently and it seemed that maybe that had changed somewhat. Biggest thing is to use your SSN and your name as your business. Keep it simple, imo.

 

[mamathompson]

My 'business' sounds similar to yours. I mostly sell homeschool items and occasionally some kids items. I put my 'business' years as 7, even though I've been selling much longer. I put annual revenue at about $600. Some years it is higher and some years, it is lower. For business type, I use the online sales, books, used items category. However, someone posted recently and it seemed that maybe that had changed somewhat. Biggest thing is to use your SSN and your name as your business. Keep it simple, imo.

So, do you have to file taxes on your business? Will they ask you about that? Under employees do I put 1 for myself? Sorry about so many questions, but I want to get it right

 

[wendow]

So, do you have to file taxes on your business? Will they ask you about that? Under employees do I put 1 for myself? Sorry about so many questions, but I want to get it right

No taxes to file on my 'business'. They will not ask you about that. NOW...if you were to apply and get all fancy and put down a business name...like Mama Thompson & co., you would most likely have Chase asking more questions than you want to answer...which is why I say, keep it simple. I do just put 1 employee. I apply as a sole proprietor (forgot to mention that earlier) and you will want to as well.

 

[mamathompson]

No taxes to file on my 'business'. They will not ask you about that. NOW...if you were to apply and get all fancy and put down a business name...like Mama Thompson & co., you would most likely have Chase asking more questions than you want to answer...which is why I say, keep it simple. I do just put 1 employee. I apply as a sole proprietor (forgot to mention that earlier) and you will want to as well.

OK I did it. Got the 30 day email. I'm not super confident but we will see. Thanks for the help!

 

[afan]

Over 90 on the upgrade list so almost half the plane seemed to have priority. The joys of flying through ATL. Did meet a fellow runner since she had a mickey shirt on and a wdw backpack. I couldn't resist talking to her.

 

[wendow]

OK I did it. Got the 30 day email. I'm not super confident but we will see. Thanks for the help!

The 30-day message is the norm Instant approval is not the norm with Chase biz cards!

You can call the automated line at 800-432-3117 and follow the prompts to enter your SSN. The message will most likely change in the next 1-2 days. Two weeks is typically a good sign of approval and 7-10 days is a sign of denial.