I love credit cards so much!

[Judique]

Hope no one minds me sharing daughter's trip a bit. I think it is on topic because of the use of avios, starwood, Marriott, ur's, mr's, and whatever else that she has earned with her credit cards.

Yesterday they left from Andorra and drove to San Sebastian. Right at this moment they are at the beach on the Bay of Biscay. It is off season and not hot but it's November here in Maryland so the fact they can sun on the beach is a nice perk!

They drove through southeastern France to get to San Sebastian from Andorra. Beautiful countryside! She mentioned a hotel (spg) called Maria Cristina that was very nice, but I'm not sure if it was Andorra or San Sebastian. Then her phone died so she will call back later. I missed her call yesterday - didn't hear it as I was probably doing laundry. It's really fun to follow her and see the same view live that she is experiencing.

 

[Alexle2007]

I seem to remember someone ordering the HP Illustrated versions of the books last year for a cheap price. Is $17.63 reasonable or would you expect to go down further?

 

[Alexle2007]

Ok I got lost on here over the busy weekend and admit I haven't yet caught up reading..... but I need a (hopefully) quick answer to this....
(not finding anything on search)
SO my friend who wants to get the ball rolling today.... I mentioned before, CK score of about 740, 3/24, (plus one refi on the mortgage) she had a biz, but now would have a 'biz'..... is that link from last week still live? the 2k/50k link? I want her to get in on that if possible- and then the biz card in a month (?) or should she app the biz card now and then the link pers.(if available) right away after that? I can't find the original post I read about this.... (desperately chewing nails trying to locate the wisdom here)

If the goal is to get CP, I would snag the 50k while it is available and then have her wait the 30+ days to get the biz in order to the CP easily.

 

[Judique]

Ha, ha. I am pretty sure we don't have Grubhub up in Manchester. I believe there might be one Uber in all of Carroll County.

I actually have to go Arundel Mills since I decided to make my own Countdown to Christmas calendar for DS and need to pick up Harry Potter Lego men to go into the Chinese take-out boxes I am using for it. I am sure it will be just as much of a mess as Columbia Mall though.

OMG...Arundel is just a zoo! My friends had bought a townhome near there as it was just coming along about 10 or so years ago as a 'retirement' home - close to services, etc and sold it this year because of parking issues at the townhome and everywhere they needed to go around there. They moved back into another huge single family. I know they missed the big house, but I can tell you that town home wasn't tiny either, but parking was a bear when they had get togethers. They are entertainers (I'm not. I'm always someones guest and entertainers need guests, lol!) and it just didn't suit their life style, plus they have extended family in the area.

I guess we are fortunate to have all the delivery services and I just took it for granted that you had access.

 

[hsmamato2]

If the goal is to get CP, I would snag the 50k while it is available and then have her wait the 30+ days to get the biz in order to the CP easily.

Ok that's what I'm thinking...... I just saw over on the reddit thread a DP (or 2) saying you can't app for biz/pers on same day anymore...(?) is this true?

 

[disneybirds]

I seem to remember someone ordering the HP Illustrated versions of the books last year for a cheap price. Is $17.63 reasonable or would you expect to go down further?

I think that is a good price. Thanks for mentioning it! I never got last year's version because it hovered around $30 and I thought it was too expensive, but I will get it today!

 

[Judique]

In other local news, Jose Andres has been nominated for the Nobel. Jose is from Mieres, which is pretty close to Oviedo, where daughter spent time teaching. I am almost certain she will tour through Oviedo on this visit to possibly connect with friends she made there.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Excellent! I'm just getting started with UR's but I will use them for tickets eventually so all news good to hear!

I’m the opposite of you..lol... accumulating URs...hitting the MSR and it’s too soon for another Chase card so have started looking into how I’d use MRs

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Ok that's what I'm thinking...... I just saw over on the reddit thread a DP (or 2) saying you can't app for biz/pers on same day anymore...(?) is this true?

Yes..there are reports that Chase will close the second card applied for....look in the Dischurners group for an update and info on this

 

[speedyfishy]

Anyone know if the Chase UR portal pays out for Giftcard purchases at Staples.com. I have a 10% off at Staples offer and a 2x MR offer on SOs Amex card. It would cost me $19 to get $1000 worth shipped. But if the Chase portal codes at 5x I think it’s worth it. I’m trying to get $4000 in Disney Giftcards before my trip in December to pay for the wedding. Should I just go to the store?

 

[elgerber]

so while I wait and wait (and get very frustrated) for my SW pers approval, I have a question on Chase offers. I have never had them before, and I am wondering how they work. I have one for 10% back on Lowes, on my IHG. My Lowes purchase from Thanksgiving day finally posted. Will the 10% just be posted as a credit to my account like the AMEX offers? Do you usually get any confirmation you used the offer, and how long do they usually take to show up?

 

[Albort]

For your AmEx business employee cards, do you typically set them up under the primary CH's account, under DH's existing account or establish a new logon account?

id set up as a new logon account. More AO u can play with...

Anyone know if the Chase UR portal pays out for Giftcard purchases at Staples.com. I have a 10% off at Staples offer and a 2x MR offer on SOs Amex card. It would cost me $19 to get $1000 worth shipped. But if the Chase portal codes at 5x I think it’s worth it. I’m trying to get $4000 in Disney Giftcards before my trip in December to pay for the wedding. Should I just go to the store?

give it some time, i think some of us have tried it and still waiting on the 10% back. i have yet to see any DP on that matter... :\

 

[Albort]

Just got an amex replacement card email... my spg lux card is coming!!!

 

[Alexle2007]

id set up as a new logon account. More AO u can play with...

But wouldn't Chase recognize that DH already have an AmEx account since I have to enter his DOB and SSN to set-up his employee card and just kick out duplicates?

 

[DisneyMandC]

I seem to remember someone ordering the HP Illustrated versions of the books last year for a cheap price. Is $17.63 reasonable or would you expect to go down further?

I think that is a good price. Thanks for mentioning it! I never got last year's version because it hovered around $30 and I thought it was too expensive, but I will get it today!

That is a pretty good price, I just bought the illustrated Tales of Beedle the Bard on Friday for around the same price I think. I do know that one day around this time last year, they had the illustrated Fantastic Beasts at something crazy like $9.99. It was very limited time and I remember that you could only order 2 per person. I think it sold out fairly quickly.

 

[SBWB48]

Ha, ha. I am pretty sure we don't have Grubhub up in Manchester. I believe there might be one Uber in all of Carroll County.

I actually have to go Arundel Mills since I decided to make my own Countdown to Christmas calendar for DS and need to pick up Harry Potter Lego men to go into the Chinese take-out boxes I am using for it. I am sure it will be just as much of a mess as Columbia Mall though.

Never would have expected another DIS-er to be SO close. I work downtown about a block and a half from the Gallery, so it'll be easy to pick-up the $10 GCs from Cheesecake Factory once I get my hands on the Amex Gold...soon. But, agree that for those coming into the city, it's a pain and $$$ to park and they don't have curbside. At Columbia Mall, if you are running in for GCs or pick-up, the bakery staff has always advised me to park curbside even for takeout inside because I always mention how difficult it is to park. I parked in the curbside area when I went to get the $25 GCs over Thanksgiving for the 2 slices, and it was a lifesaver ha.

OMG...Arundel is just a zoo! My friends had bought a townhome near there as it was just coming along about 10 or so years ago as a 'retirement' home - close to services, etc and sold it this year because of parking issues at the townhome and everywhere they needed to go around there. They moved back into another huge single family. I know they missed the big house, but I can tell you that town home wasn't tiny either, but parking was a bear when they had get togethers. They are entertainers (I'm not. I'm always someones guest and entertainers need guests, lol!) and it just didn't suit their life style, plus they have extended family in the area.

I guess we are fortunate to have all the delivery services and I just took it for granted that you had access.

Arundel has definitely gotten overcrowded, with all the development in recent years. We stopped venturing out there for that reason and because Columbia has expanded just as quickly, so opted to stay local.

 

[miztressuz]

so while I wait and wait (and get very frustrated) for my SW pers approval, I have a question on Chase offers. I have never had them before, and I am wondering how they work. I have one for 10% back on Lowes, on my IHG. My Lowes purchase from Thanksgiving day finally posted. Will the 10% just be posted as a credit to my account like the AMEX offers? Do you usually get any confirmation you used the offer, and how long do they usually take to show up?

Yes it'll work like AmEx offers. I don't think you'll get any kind of notification though, just in a few days a statement credit should pop up. You can check in the Redeemed/Expired offers section if your offer was used while you wait for the credit, I think.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Yes it'll work like AmEx offers. I don't think you'll get any kind of notification though, just in a few days a statement credit should pop up. You can check in the Redeemed/Expired offers section if your offer was used while you wait for the credit, I think.

I did get an email after I redeemed a Starbucks offer. The email said I'd see the statement credit within 7-14 days (of the email, I assume).

 

[wanderlust7]

Went to Universal Studios Hollywood the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Got the Express Pass using URs. Cash rate on the portal was $179, or 11,900 URs with CSR. Cheapest price I could find elsewhere was $166 on Undercover Tourist. Direct was like $219. Ideally, I want to use URs only if the portal price is the same or better than elsewhere. But $166 for a one day ticket is a bit hard to swallow, thinking of the URs as $119 makes it a little better, lol.

I'm glad we got it since we got there late around 11 am (not early people + drove down late the night before + not staying near). Most waits were 50-60 minutes, but we walked on or waited 5-10 minutes. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was 90 minutes, we waited maybe 20 but only because the ride was down for a bit. We did everything we wanted to, which wouldn't have been possible without the pass.

OTOH, Legoland cash price on the portal for 2 day tickets was $103 ("discounted"), or 6900 URs. The same tickets through work (Recreation Connection) was $70, so we paid cash for those. Well, that and I was out of URs, lol. But account is replenished now that CIP points posted.

 

[linzjane88]

Holy moly. Back from vacation and then a busy week after vacation--I just have to face the music and realize that I can't read the 100 pages since I have been gone. So, any highlights from the last 2 weeks? I will trade you some boring vacation details? Warning: this turned into a mini trip report but without all the fun pictures. Sorry .

First, let me just say, I remain a WDW girl all the way around. It is much cheaper to get a higher quality vacation--and this is coming from someone who lives in Washington state. I would rather pay the little higher cost in airfare (Ha! It's a joke! We don't pay for airfare around here!) and spend a few more hours in the plane. The rental house we got, after taxes, was 425ish a night which we were splitting with friends. The company must have hired the best photographer in Anaheim because boy did those pictures not portray the state of the house. It looked like there had maybe been a flood from a pipe or appliance at some point so the laminate floors through most of the house were peeling up and flaking around the edges. You could feel dry rot squish under the floorboards. The kitchen had been remodeled in very low grade Ikea quality materials and hadn't held up well at all. We paid for pool heat but the water level of the pool had dropped a few inches below the skimmer so not only was it not being heated upon arrival but wasn't being filtered for quite a few days before we got there. The housekeeper had done a good job so that was good--the place was beat up but clean so no complaints there. Basically for the price we were paying we would have gotten a very nice house or condo near WDW. The SUV we rented was almost 500$ which was actually cheaper than the minivans or two rental cars. I haven't paid anything close to that in Florida!

We did Disneylandx5 days, Legoland and Seaworld. LL was not something I feel the need to revisit but DD6 had a blast. We all agreed it was worth going just to see her SO excited the entire day (if you knew DD6 you would understand why that is such a big deal. Pray for me during her teenage years ) Seaworld was fun too. It was nice sort of taking a break from the lines and waiting- the shows were empty enough you could get some bench space to yourself and not feel like it's wall to wall people. I feel a little weird morally about all the captive animals that we make do tricks for people but . Seaworld does have the Manta coaster which was AWESOME. It's such a fun smooth coaster. I forced DD10 into riding it (I hate to be one of THOSE moms but at some point you have to graduate from the kiddie rides!). She was covertly tearing up as we were loading into the seats and I felt a twinge of being a bad parent but was by the end of it she was like--she rode it again immediately AND went on the Incredicoaster at DCA by choice! No Guardians of the Galaxy but I didn't ride that until I was 24...and I cried so I can't blame her. I do enjoy it now but in full disclosure anything my hands can reach from my seat is fair game to grab in full blown terror during the drops .

MaxPass was pretty cool. An expensive proposition at 10$ per day per person but we did it for 1 DL and 1 DCA day. I think it would be nice for WDW to go to day-of FP's. But maybe just keep it free . I know, wishful thinking. And it does kind of stink of your not a rope dropper because the hot rides go fast--we have the time zone working against us in WDW so rope dropping never works for us. It's a vacation, I am not getting up at [my] 3AM to go to a park!

Anyway, it was still a fun trip and made us excited for surprise Aulani in 9 days--the kids are going but have no idea and WDW in January (sans kids). Only my fellow churning peeps realize that isn't quite as ridiculous as it sounds when you are getting flights/cars/etc for little or nothing with points.


ETA: My BFF and I signed up for 50k SW cards..... through that leaked Reddit link while sitting in the Burbank airport where there were ads for the legit 50k signup. Unfortunately it was in another terminal and we would have had to repeat security which after having my bags pulled aside and personally searched I was not interested in making eye contact with those TSA guys again . There are some things you should ALWAYS check. Lesson learned.