I love credit cards so much!

[Haley R]

You can stack the Orbitz promo code and get the Ebates cash back! Sometimes the promor caps it at $150. It used to be higher.

Its going pretty far out past the CBR range, but GF was listed when I had looked.

I've never used Ebates before so I didn't know that. So you can get the promo code and 7% cash back? That's pretty awesome! I did see GF, but I think that's getting to be too high for us.

 

[PolyRob]

I've never used Ebates before so I didn't know that. So you can get the promo code and 7% cash back? That's pretty awesome! I did see GF, but I think that's getting to be too high for us.

Yup! Ebates is a cashback portal so it doesn’t count against the promos you use on the actual website. You would create an ebates account, press shop now, be redirected to orbitz, select your resort and dates, apply the promo, and purchase. You’ll get an email from ebates confirming you booked a hotel and you will get the cashback after your trip is completed.

I just doubled checked. Orbitz is “up to 7%”

These are the categories:



I saw the “up to 7%” and got excited. 2.5% is still something if you find a resort you like.

 

[Lain]

Ah, ok, that helps me understand what to look for when researching the VS option. I did see blogs discussing the bonus points from Amex. A lot of it is sailing over my head right now but I'll keep reading all the blogs.

I don't have any Hilton points. What about the Sheraton that @wanderlust7 mentioned? Is there a reason to go for the Hilton over the Sheraton? Only asking cause I already have a head start on the Marriott points

The Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay? It’s right next to the Hilton on the monorail line. It’s a Cat 6 50k Marriott points/night hotel (5th night free, so 200k/standard room for 5 nights), but since you’d be booking for 6 you’d either need two standard rooms or a suite (which, as @Albort pointed out, you can’t book with Marriott points but you can book with points at a Hilton).

UR might be another option to pay the cash rate for some nights, redeem Marriott points for other nights, and ask the hotel to link the reservations. As @wanderlust7 mentioned, the rooms at the Sheraton don’t look too expensive and, with a 1.5x multiplier on the CSR, booking with URs might be a good value. (But then, compare the cash rates between the Hilton vs. Sheraton, and room vs. suite.)

If you’re going to try to top off your Marriott points, I don’t know if the SPG Lux is a good idea in your case. The current bonus is only 75k/$3k MSR, but it’s been offered at 100k and 125k for $5k MSR and probably will again. It’s got a $450 AF not waived, but a $300 Marriott credit per cardmember year that you can probably call in to apply as a payment towards your reservation (or use elsewhere) if your stay won’t be until after your first cardmember year and the credit resets (unsure if there’s anything to apply the credit towards on an all points reservation, so maybe book an extra night or elsewhere at the cash rate — because how often are you going to visit Japan?). It comes with a 50k FN cert, but you won’t get it until 6-8 weeks after your second year AF posts, meaning you’d have to pay $900 in AF for 75k-100k points, $600 in Marriott credits, and a 50k FN cert that you won’t get until at least a year from when you apply. I know you’re trying to trim your AFs. If you bring in DH (I forgot what he has as far as Starriott), whether it’s getting Amex’s SPG cards or Chase’s Marriott cards, keep in mind Marriott limits points transfers to 100k per year. Marriott does offer points advance, so you can book now even if you won’t have the points until like 14 days before the check in date.

ETA: Eek! Just checked a suite at the Hilton Tokyo Bay for 5 nights in October and it’s showing me a cost of 860k Hilton points.

 

[striker1064]

Not churning related, but can anyone recommend a TA for WDW? I've never used them before. We are traveling next month with our DVC points, but my parents are maybe thinking about joining us for a few days and are balking at the prices for what's left. Not sure how much better a TA would fare, but I thought I would try to help as much as I could.

 

[Lain]

Not churning related, but can anyone recommend a TA for WDW? I've never used them before. We are traveling next month with our DVC points, but my parents are maybe thinking about joining us for a few days and are balking at the prices for what's left. Not sure how much better a TA would fare, but I thought I would try to help as much as I could.

@wendow?

 

[Alexle2007]

How can I tell if a deposit constitutes a “direct deposit?” Discover was too easy! Hopefully after this one with Chase, I’ll get it down.

 

[hsmamato2]

I'm not sure about the transposed numbers, but my payments almost always show as paid on the CC before the clear my bank acct (NFCU). With the 4th being Friday, I wouldn't be looking for it to clear my bank acct until tonight at the earliest.

y'all may be right about the delays,I'm just this morning seeing 2 other payments 'processing' from that same day....slow weekend I guess? When I input the bank # for the new swa cc for payment last week,ot asked me if I wanted to use the same as my other cards used to pay from...that's what's weird about all this. (got a few chase cards on same acct page using that acct)

 

[hsmamato2]

Anyway, here's my situation:

Me:

8/2/18 - AmEx - Biz Green Card - opened to move MR points from above card so I wouldn't have to pay annual fee

I have a question- how long did it take from your one purchase to get the MR points on the biz green?

 

[striker1064]

How can I tell if a deposit constitutes a “direct deposit?” Discover was too easy! Hopefully after this one with Chase, I’ll get it down.

DoC is the best resource for what works as a direct deposit.

Discover only required ACH and not DD, which is what makes them so easy. Chase is one of the most-done bank bonuses on DoC so there are lots of DPs about what works and what doesn't.

 

[disneybirds]

They're both good cards. Is any of her spend in the Discover categories?
Q1
Grocery Stores
Q2
Gas Stations, Uber and Lyft
Q3
Restaurants
Q4
Amazon.com

If not maybe hold back on that until it makes sense later. BCE is a good earner if she'd use the cash to pay down expenses, but if she might want to start travel points the Everyday card earns MR instead. Then, of course, the CFU is pretty versatile both ways so that'd probably be my first choice if Discover doesn't work right now.

Thanks for the insight. Most of her spend will not be in those categories, so the Everyday card is a good thought or the CFU. Thanks!

 

[disneybirds]

I think that CFU is a great choice. I advised a co-worker who asked about their college aged child (with similar stats) to look at CFU and they were approved. Having a relationship with Chase could be a good idea AND the 1.5% back is just so simple and a pretty good return.

^^ good build up and then get the CSR when ready and blow all your points at once!!!

Thanks for your thoughts!

ETA: @wendow @mmmears Thanks for the DP on your kids getting approved for the CFU!

 

[hsmamato2]

I'm debating about this for our cruise, because DH has 3 elderly grandparents who aren't in the best of health.

I only did one cruise but for me it wasn't a debate...I never buy extra insurance for trips but the cruise seemed like a lot of $$ to lose if something went wrong and one of us couldn't go etc. So I got the pricier insurance that cost around $200 for my own peace of mind,and it covered my concerns. I can't remember the insurance website I used, but I found it on cruise critic while researching. We didn't need it but I was less anxious.

 

[hsmamato2]

I think this is a wise idea. I swear it was my self-referral to the Biz Green that got me in trouble with Amex.

HOw do you know you're in trouble with Amex? I'm asking b/c I think I might be on the naughty list.... as noted before I didn't get the biz green points bonus....I know it's just s tiny amount but I wanted a foot in for purchasing deals....and I'm annoyed I have a stupid card I don't need+no bonus at all.... does this count toward my amex 5? (oh,add to that I also closed my old spg personal too...) maybe I should put some spend on one of my amex cards for a while...(?)

 

[miztressuz]

Thanks for the insight. Most of her spend will not be in those categories, so the Everyday card is a good thought or the CFU. Thanks!

If this sways it at all for the CFU, there's a higher sign up bonus right now - 200 back on 500 in 3 months. If it doesn't come up on the chase page DoC has a direct link in one of his posts. I think the BCE is 200 back on 1k, and the Everyday card is usually 15,000 MR points for 1k for comparison.

 

[hsmamato2]

HOw do you know you're in trouble with Amex? I'm asking b/c I think I might be on the naughty list.... as noted before I didn't get the biz green points bonus....I know it's just s tiny amount but I wanted a foot in for purchasing deals....and I'm annoyed I have a stupid card I don't need+no bonus at all.... does this count toward my amex 5? (oh,add to that I also closed my old spg personal too...) maybe I should put some spend on one of my amex cards for a while...(?)

Sorry- quoting my post b/c I decided to chat with Amex and got my answer..... apparently they don't give points on new accts till after 2nd statement. So that's all good, but I think I'll use a couple of my cards in non category spend for a bit just to be sure.

 

[miztressuz]

That is exactly what happened! It would not show me anything, completely disabled my online banking. I guess I am a DP lol

I am so hesitant of fake calls and phishing scams so I assumed it was a fake call. You'd think they could send me a push notification from the app to call or something?

IDK why I thought that seemed like a good idea at the time to transfer that way. I would have just been better off waiting a day and driving to the actual branch and depositing a check. Lesson learned.

Well I think no one expects the Spanish Inquisition! Especially when performing a routine banking function they lay out for you to use. But it sounds like I'll keep doing the push method to try to avoid that

 

[hsmamato2]

Same. I will be cancelling my BGR here very soon. I am pretty sure there is no free card there to PC to...then both dh and my SPG's (both pers and biz) and then the Green biz. I don't think any of those have free versions. Last will be the Plat (personal). I'm on the fence about the SPG's so I guess if I were going to keep any, it would be those.

I'm still on the fence after canceling my one personal..... (I'm crazy I know) I still have biz and so does P2..... there is no real reason for me to keep them tho. I much prefer my IHG free nights,they're very user friendly! (again, still mourning the swolphin train of happiness)

 

[striker1064]

HOw do you know you're in trouble with Amex? I'm asking b/c I think I might be on the naughty list.... as noted before I didn't get the biz green points bonus....I know it's just s tiny amount but I wanted a foot in for purchasing deals....and I'm annoyed I have a stupid card I don't need+no bonus at all.... does this count toward my amex 5? (oh,add to that I also closed my old spg personal too...) maybe I should put some spend on one of my amex cards for a while...(?)

Biz Green is a charge card and therefore does not count toward the Amex 5 credit card limit.

 

[hsmamato2]

Haha. Yes but that 10% staples offer is calling my name!!!

I have those but was thinking I'd be all smart and use my staples 30% offer first.... you know, spent,and still nothing. I dislike jumping thru hoops to save a few bucks. the amex offers seem to refund almost immediately with no effort. OR am I the only one who doesn't like the chase offers so far? (I like the idea, but not the execution of them so far)

 

[DisneyMandC]

I’m so sorry... I had the exact same feeling when my wife got the pop up, also on the Rose Gold, also with only two Amex biz cards in her history, and decent spend post-MSR.

I don’t know what criteria Amex is using to evaluate their customers. I wondered if it’s because of my wife’s short history with Amex. She’s been an AU on my Gold card since ‘11, so that’s what appears as her Member Since, but she’s only had Amex cards in her own name since last year (the two biz cards). I also wondered if it was the lack of high or consistent spend. I’ve since put her cards into my wallet to rotate in some organic spend. I haven’t tried applying for another Amex for DW since the pop up, so I don’t know if the additional spend has helped any. I’m also aware of DPs where the bonus is denied even when there’s no pop up. A little wary about that. At this point, I’m having DW play the long game with Amex. I’ll have her keep the SPG Biz (hey, 35k FN cert!) and Hilton Biz (Gold status?) and build up some favorable history and ongoing spend for her. I’ve thought about referring DW to the BBP (instead of myself first) so she has a 2x MR card (welcome bonus or not, since it’s not a big bonus anyway and I’d still get the referral), that we can maybe throw some of our recurring spend/Plastiq payments on to buff up her spend with Amex. Meanwhile, DW drops to 0/24 next month, and Chase is her playground.

The more I read about it, the more it sounds like a Gold card-specific issue. Either way, I'm going to play it safe on Amex for a while or just go for BBP if I get some downtime. I got DH's Citi AA biz last night, I plan to get him a CIU in March, and then I need to build up more SPG and Hilton points for Tokyo. I highly doubt he'll have an issue with Amex considering he's a cardholder since 2012 and we've upped his spend on that card recently. I'd like to get him whatever the high end Hilton card is (Aspire?) around August so we'll have the status from that during our trip to Tokyo. Fortunately, I don't need MRs or SPG points immediately for flights since I plan to use AA through JAL, and I already have enough AA miles for my flight and will have enough for DH once this new bonus posts.

ETA: Eek! Just checked a suite at the Hilton Tokyo Bay for 5 nights in October and it’s showing me a cost of 860k Hilton points.

SWEET FANCY MOSES.