I love credit cards so much!

[kidsfirsttrip]

We did the Allure of the Seas for Sprink Break 2 years ago and had a very nice time. I will say it was sad when Disney was in the Falmouth the same day and we had to sit and stare at her all day. Have a terrific time! We’re going to try the Harmony or Symphony yet.

Nice! I haven’t done a cruise in a long time since Pre kids. I priced out DCL but just couldn’t justify the price difference. For the same money we are able to add in Disney before (2 park days) and universal after (4 park days). Plus my kiddos are 9&12 and like the characters but they aren’t as much of a priority. I figure they don’t know any better and after reading @disneymagicgirl review I was glad we went with RCCL. IS the allure a big ship too? Any tips for the kiddos?

 

[DisneyMandC]

Curious why you are doing the $200 bonus instead of the $300? I had that on my to do list for tomorrow to do for DH and me.

Just don't have the cash flow to do the $300 one for both of us since I think that was deposit $5000 versus the $2000 for $200, right? I have a couple thousand tied up in other checking accounts waiting to be able to cash out from bonuses there, so I only have enough available right now to do the $200 bonus for each of us.

 

[Alexle2007]

Nice! I haven’t done a cruise in a long time since Pre kids. I priced out DCL but just couldn’t justify the price difference. For the same money we are about to add in Disney before and universal after. Plus my kiddos are 9&12 and like the characters but aren’t as much of a priority. I figure they don’t know any better and after reading @disneymagicgirl review I was glad we went with RCCL. IS the allure a big ship too? Any tips for the kiddos?

The Allure is the sister ship to the Oasis. The Oasis came out first and then the Allure. It is huge ship but we found it very easy to navigate. DS had just turned 10 when we did the cruise and easily found his way to the kids club. He liked the kids club ok but preferred DCL’s (we had been on 3 DCL cruises but DH wanted to try the larger ships that RCCL offers.) The kids club there is closed for certain periods and is grouped by age groups in separate rooms. I believe after 10 or 11 pm, there was an extra charge for it. I only let DS do the after hours the final night. There is a ton to do on the ship and we never got around to doing some it plus DS was too young for the zip line which is one of the things he really wanted to do. We did the anytime seating but our first time we really liked our serving team and asked for them every night thereafter. If you go to the casino, be prepared for the smoke as there is a smoking section and it basically made the entire casino smell like smoke (at least on the Allure did.) There seemed to be plenty in pools which was nice as DCL always felt overcrowded. I am sure your kids will have a blast!

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Emporer penguins which is extremely rare in this area! One guide has been down 15 times and it’s the first time she has seen them. The obligatory Happy New Year selfie to you all from me and the Plane Princess and some nice scenery from today.

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Happy Birthday! The pictures are amazing. Keep them coming.

 

[Alexle2007]

Just don't have the cash flow to do the $300 one for both of us since I think that was deposit $5000 versus the $2000 for $200, right? I have a couple thousand tied up in other checking accounts waiting to be able to cash out from bonuses there, so I only have enough available right now to do the $200 bonus for each of us.

Ah, I am reading it as $5000 totals in direct deposits (accumulative) so I could put $2000 on my Arrival + to initially fund and then either move part of my paycheck or savings from my credit union account. I thought it could be reduced to a no fee account for $500 after meeting the $5000 in deposits so then I could move the extra $4500 out Fairly quickly.

 

[Judique]

Emporer penguins which is extremely rare in this area! One guide has been down 15 times and it’s the first time she has seen them. The obligatory Happy New Year selfie to you all from me and the Plane Princess and some nice scenery from today.

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At first I didn't notice the blue eye in the last picture! For someone who doesn't know how to use a camera you are doing an excellent job.

 

[Alexle2007]

@DisneyMandC or anyone else in MD, VA, have you done the FirstBank $100 bonus? It seems easy and you fund $1000 deposit on a CC. It is one bonus per household. If I do that one and open accounts for DH and I with PNC, there is my $5k spend on Arrival +.

 

[vanjust14]

I'm a bit late on this, but I have some thoughts.

I'm also a new owner, just buying in back in March. We haven't even had our first stay yet (that's coming February). We have a small direct contract and a larger resale contract. To me, the reallocation is just part of the deal. I did a lot of research on DVC before we bought in, and one of the things that was constantly reinforced is that reallocations can happen at any time, so always make sure you buy a few more points than you need for your typical reservation to serve as a cushion. That's why I'm a little surprised at the strong reaction everyone is having to this. I get it's a little slimy to not mention anything about the reallocation at the annual meeting when it was clearly already decided though.

I would stay off the DVC board for a while if it's depressing you. You bought in because you thought it was a good idea. You (hopefully) did research before buying - I assume you did because you bought resale and the average person buying DVC direct likely has no idea resale even exists. If DVC was a good idea for you, your family, and your vacation patterns earlier this year, it still is. This reallocation may cost you a few more points when you go back in 2020. Maybe in 2022 there's another reallocation that lowers the points cost to even fewer than it costs now. You just don't know.

The lawsuit thing caught me off guard.



Yes, they mean the direct (from DVC) price per point is increasing. I believe CCV is going up $6/point. Not sure about the other resorts, but really if you're buying any other resort it makes much more sense to go resale. The general advice is, if you can plan your trips 10-11 months in advance, you love WDW, and you know you will go back regularly, DVC might make sense. From there it's direct vs resale - most people can't make use of the savings the Gold AP will offer over the life of the contract compared to the difference in price per point over resale, and it's a perk that could go away at any time. So the only real reason to go direct is if you love CCV (or Riviera, or whatever is currently being sold at the time), and you know you want to stay there for most of your stays.

Otherwise, buy resale, and buy during a recession or during a big sell-off which lowers prices (which, never know, could happen now with all this reallocation stuff).

Ah ok, makes sense. Thank you so much for this info!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Ah, I am reading it as $5000 totals in direct deposits (accumulative) so I could put $2000 on my Arrival + to initially fund and then either move part of my paycheck or savings from my credit union account. I thought it could be reduced to a no fee account for $500 after meeting the $5000 in deposits so then I could move the extra $4500 out Fairly quickly.

Oh I didn’t realize that. That I would probably be able to do!

@DisneyMandC or anyone else in MD, VA, have you done the FirstBank $100 bonus? It seems easy and you fund $1000 deposit on a CC. It is one bonus per household. If I do that one and open accounts for DH and I with PNC, there is my $5k spend on Arrival +.

I don’t think I’ve heqrd of that one. I would be interested to try that if it does work with CC.

 

[Alexle2007]

Oh I didn’t realize that. That I would probably be able to do!



I don’t think I’ve heqrd of that one. I would be interested to try that if it does work with CC.

It is on the list from DOC and is only available for VA and MD. It looked pretty straightforward and didn’t much of an investment. https://www.fbvirginia.com/first-checking-in-minutes

 

[Frwinkley]

I’m new to the CC churning thing, but am also interested in bank sign up bonuses. Are these fairly straightforward? (Meaning no 5/24 restrictions, etc.)

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I’m new to the CC churning thing, but am also interested in bank sign up bonuses. Are these fairly straightforward? (Meaning no 5/24 restrictions, etc.)

Hi there - welcome to our awesome thread!

Bank Sign Up bonuses can be very lucrative. They are typically very straightforward - many of us use Doctor of Credit (DoC) doctorofcredit.com as a guide to hitting up various bank bonuses. IF you go too fast with bank bonuses you may find the occasional denial, but those are only for the extremely heavy hitters. Most people can easily make a couple thousand dollars in their first year (and more if they have a spouse - i.e. player 2!)

You say you're new to CC churning - have you gotten any new cards in the past 24 months? Do you have a spouse or other player 2 who might be interested in doing this as well? While bank bonuses can make decent money, CC signups are where it's at when it comes to travel for sure! If you give us some more info on you and your travel interests we could provide some specific advice on next cards

You might consider joining DISchurners - a private reddit group where we keep track of some of our best tips AND you can potentially support other DISers when you signup for a new card If you're interested let me know and I'll send you a PM about it.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Just don't have the cash flow to do the $300 one for both of us since I think that was deposit $5000 versus the $2000 for $200, right? I have a couple thousand tied up in other checking accounts waiting to be able to cash out from bonuses there, so I only have enough available right now to do the $200 bonus for each of us.

You can lower your cash advance via SM.

I’m currently doing this one and should get payout in the next few weeks. I’m attempting to trigger the $300 DD via ACH, which has worked in the past on this bonus with some banks, but PNC is being supper slow to process bonuses the last few weeks. I can update you if it comes through for me if you want. I’m trying with Chase ACH.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

FYI - the double dip is not entirely dead...

https://www.reddit.com/r/DISchurners/comments/9uoxlv/the_modified_double_dip/

We've talked about this a little bit here but figured it was worth a reminder...there is a "modified double dip" that could enable you to still get a CSR and CSP or potentially 2 SW personal cards. We don't have a ton of discussion on DISchurners but this thread has had a little activity. I think we were keeping a lot of the conversation over there to stay off search engines AND because it's a highly specific strategy so seeing comments and DPs is helpful. I also don't think we'll be advising new folks to try this as it sounds a little crazy, haha! At any rate...if anybody has any additional thoughts or questions, please share there (or here).

 

[gottalovepluto]

I’m new to the CC churning thing, but am also interested in bank sign up bonuses. Are these fairly straightforward? (Meaning no 5/24 restrictions, etc.)

I LOVE bank bonuses!!!

Straightforward? Imho yes. Meet the requirements in the fine print, get the money. No 5/24? Eh. Some banks don’t like to see you’ve opened lots of bank accounts and will deny you based on ChexSystems/EWS but there aren’t too many. It’s not enough to worry about tbh.

Definitely encourage you take @SouthFayetteFan up on the link to our Reddit group, we’ve got a little beginner’s guide that reviews bank bonus chasing in general- stuff to be aware of, where to look for info.

 

[Frwinkley]

DH and I have done a few CCs with sign up bonuses in the past (Amex, Chase Freedom, SW). We charge everything possible and pay our cards off in full each month. Some of the spending requirements on many cards are just too much for us; I guess it’s a good thing that our expenses are minimal.

I’ve been following the FIRE thread also—love that one!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

DH and I have done a few CCs with sign up bonuses in the past (Amex, Chase Freedom, SW). We charge everything possible and pay our cards off in full each month. Some of the spending requirements on many cards are just too much for us; I guess it’s a good thing that our expenses are minimal.

I’ve been following the FIRE thread also—love that one!

We have some strategies on how to hit a larger MSR (minimum spend requirement) without spending wastefully. Since you pay off each month you’re playing the game right. If you happen to have some extra cash or a nice sized emergency fund, ideas to hit a larger MSR include:

• Prepay utilities, cell phone, cable, etc. ahead. I just paid 6 months of my power and water bills this week.
• Purchase visa gift cards near the end of the 3 months then use them for regular expenses after your MSR period is over.
• Purchase gift cards to grocery stores/gas stations/etc. that you would use anyways and use them after the MSR period is over.
• Time your application for a large MSR card to when a large bill is due (property taxes, home or auto insurance, etc.)

The largest typical MSR you’ll see is $5,000 in 3 months and most are in the $1k-$4k range.

 

[Frwinkley]

Definitely interested in the Reddit group, SouthFayetteFan. Thank you!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Definitely interested in the Reddit group, SouthFayetteFan. Thank you!

Awesome - check your PM

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

FYI - the double dip is not entirely dead...

https://www.reddit.com/r/DISchurners/comments/9uoxlv/the_modified_double_dip/

We've talked about this a little bit here but figured it was worth a reminder...there is a "modified double dip" that could enable you to still get a CSR and CSP or potentially 2 SW personal cards. We don't have a ton of discussion on DISchurners but this thread has had a little activity. I think we were keeping a lot of the conversation over there to stay off search engines AND because it's a highly specific strategy so seeing comments and DPs is helpful. I also don't think we'll be advising new folks to try this as it sounds a little crazy, haha! At any rate...if anybody has any additional thoughts or questions, please share there (or here).

I just added a comment to the DISchurners thread on this but somebody has points pending on a CSR and CSP from a modified double dip