I love credit cards so much!

[gottalovepluto]

My brother taught me something new today about the cost of extra legroom seats on United: estimate the upgrade cost at $20/hour of flight time and round hours up. He was spot on for the cheapest extra legroom seats on my flights booked today. Gotta remember that one...

 

[platamama]

I got some good news and some maybe bad news.

Good news is I referred DH to SPG Biz AX and he got instant approval. Yippee!!

Maybe bad news is I also applied (on his behalf, in a separate browser but a few minutes later using a different email address from the SPG Biz application) for a targeted AMEX Biz Plat offer he received (150K MR) that was going to expire in a few days. Got the message "Thank you, your application has been received." What should I do? He's in a meeting at work, and is not going to be happy about calling in. :/

He has a AX BGR opened 12/2017, so it's been almost 3 months since that one. He has a BCP from over a decade ago, and he's an AU on my personal SPG also from over a decade ago. That doesn't seem like a lot of AMEX cards...

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I got some good news and some maybe bad news.

Good news is I referred DH to SPG Biz AX and he got instant approval. Yippee!!

Maybe bad news is I also applied (on his behalf, in a separate browser but a few minutes later using a different email address from the SPG Biz application) for a targeted AMEX Biz Plat offer he received (150K MR) that was going to expire in a few days. Got the message "Thank you, your application has been received." What should I do? He's in a meeting at work, and is not going to be happy about calling in. :/

He has a AX BGR opened 12/2017, so it's been almost 3 months since that one. He has a BCP from over a decade ago, and he's an AU on my personal SPG also from over a decade ago. That doesn't seem like a lot of AMEX cards...

Did you check the Amex application status website? I've had some AMEX Biz cards go pending. Usually change to approved in 2-5 days if you wait it out.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I know someone has used their CC to pay student loan, can't remember who. Can someone tell me how that might work? Was it through gift of college GCs? And are those a no no on the spg biz?

I didn't use gift of college (although they are supposed to be the cheapest way to do this I think) but I did just pay mine on Plastiq with some old fee-free dollars I had. Mohela is my company and they were set up to receive electronically, they had my payment the day Plastiq said they would and it showed in my account a few days after that. I think I tried to pay with my SPG back in Jan but Mohela or Plastiq didn't allow amex for it.

 

[platamama]

Did you check the Amex application status website? I've had some AMEX Biz cards go pending. Usually change to approved in 2-5 days if you wait it out.

Thanks for the fast response. I checked, and it says "In Progress." So you'd wait it out? I guess it wouldn't be a huge deal if he didn't get it, it just seemed like a good offer.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thanks for the fast response. I checked, and it says "In Progress." So you'd wait it out? I guess it wouldn't be a huge deal if he didn't get it, it just seemed like a good offer.

You can always have him recon if he's denied. If it gets approved on its own then less hassle for you (and him). In your situation with his "excitement" level of calling in I'd probably at least give it until Monday/Tuesday before doing anything.

 

[miztressuz]

UGGHH I need help.

So DHs new job is a pain in my rear. I told him not to forget me on personal assistant's day.

He was offered a stipend (pathetic one) to rack up tons of miles on his own vehicle, or rent cars and expense it. However, being a small company they are learning as they go and I am guessing they won't be happy to pay $250 a week for rental cars for his travel. I am trying to find them at decent rates (Costco, Hilton site, and SW site are looking good) but also maximize point value for ourselves. Prior to this, his last company had him renting at hertz. Cost billed to their company acct but he got hertz points, so that was nice.
We don't want him driving his personal vehicle for a lousy $400/month so I need to figure this out.

Any ideas on best way to book to get most points out of the transactions? Trying to avoid the southwest site because it seems to be airport pickup only which means I'd need to drive him to get the car and pick up him up. That would stink but airport parking would stink more. I can do a neighborhood location of enterprise through Hilton or American Express.

Best suggestions for car rentals to max points?

Is he doing mostly local driving, or in the same general areas each week? We would do monthly rentals for our long term projects, it was generally cheaper to keep the car over the weekend (or sometimes even the extra week if we only needed 3 weeks) than doing separate rentals each week. Our main account is with Enterprise but I'm sure all the big brands have that option. Especially if he's willing to drive around in a class not in as high demand. Most locations even let us drop it off for a couple days if we were switching teams out so even if it's not local but he's in the same area each week he can drop it off and pick it back up and it'll be like his own company car

 

[wendow]

Has anyone been able to use their cards for a good portion of a car purchase? We need to buy another van for our business, so if it is 25 k I would probably put half on the card if possible. I am just wondering if you have any suggestions on it? Are there any rules against it? We have in the past always just paid outright or put half in cash down, that kind of thing. TIA!

I think this definitely varies by dealer. We bought a new van in 2017 and the dealership allowed no CC funding at all. I know I have read others being able to at least put a few thousand on a CC.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

WOW I was so thinking the same thing earlier today when @wendow said she had kids driving and I was like "she seems so young to have kids that old, hahaha!"... It's funny when you have a mis-perception hahaha! Just to be clear...I am 34, married with 2 wonderful children who are Elem School/Preschool aged And I just really love my high school football team, can count on one hand the number of games I've missed since 1998 (and we've played a lot of games )

I prefer to just think we’re all the same age. And not remember I’m old enough to be your mother

 

[miztressuz]

Has anyone been able to use their cards for a good portion of a car purchase? We need to buy another van for our business, so if it is 25 k I would probably put half on the card if possible. I am just wondering if you have any suggestions on it? Are there any rules against it? We have in the past always just paid outright or put half in cash down, that kind of thing. TIA!

As most folks pointed it out it varies depending on dealership but I think gone are the days where you can pick up a 50k car and drop it all on your AmEx. (true story) When I bought my car in 2008 I had the credit line to drop it all on a card but the dealership didn't allow the purchase price on a card. I think I could have used it for the taxes and what not, but purchase price was cash, check, or their wonderful financing. When we bought hubby's car 5 years ago they had a cap of 5k on a credit card.

 

[havaneselover]

Got a letter from Amex saying my SPG Biz was approved. The only envelope I want to get from Amex is one with a card in it! 83 days left to spend $7,000.

 

[Alice Sr.]

Has anyone been able to use their cards for a good portion of a car purchase? We need to buy another van for our business, so if it is 25 k I would probably put half on the card if possible. I am just wondering if you have any suggestions on it? Are there any rules against it? We have in the past always just paid outright or put half in cash down, that kind of thing. TIA!

I used my CIP to pay the down payment ($10k) then did a balance transfer to a CC with 0% interest for 12 months. You have to ask the dealer if they do and if there is a limit. I saw anything from no not at all to $2k limit to no limit at all.

 

[platamama]

You can always have him recon if he's denied. If it gets approved on its own then less hassle for you (and him). In your situation with his "excitement" level of calling in I'd probably at least give it until Monday/Tuesday before doing anything.

Well, as it turns out it didn't take that long! DH just texted that he was notified that he was approved for the AMEX Biz Plat. Guess we're gonna be getting new carpet and new fencing in the next 90 days!!

 

[DisneyMandC]

I prefer to just think we’re all the same age. And not remember I’m old enough to be your mother

Well the good news is you look GREAT in your profile picture!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Well, as it turns out it didn't take that long! DH just texted that he was notified that he was approved for the AMEX Biz Plat. Guess we're gonna be getting new carpet and new fencing in the next 90 days!!

Awesome news!! That's great

 

[linzjane88]

Hhhh that's sad. I typically think of a brilliant idea months/years after other churners have figured it out and rode it hard until it shuts down. But still, 7 nights free and 100k SW points works for me.

If SW ever changes their rewards program I will be soooo sad. I can get round trips from PDX to Orlando for 15k and the LA airports for 8k. I can't wait to see what their Hawaii fares are going to look like.

ETA: I did it. We went pending but considering I sort of made up a business I kind of expected that.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Well the good news is you look GREAT in your profile picture!

Yep, just a teenager!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Hhhh that's sad. I typically think of a brilliant idea months/years after other churners have figured it out and rode it hard until it shuts down. But still, 7 nights free and 100k SW points works for me.

If SW ever changes their rewards program I will be soooo sad. I can get round trips from PDX to Orlando for 15k and the LA airports for 8k. I can't wait to see what their Hawaii fares are going to look like.

ETA: I did it. We went pending but considering I sort of made up a business I kind of expected that.

You can keep an eye on your status here: https://www262.americanexpress.com/eaol/welcome.do A decision could come as quickly as a few hours or take a few days to a week. Good Luck!

 

[Judique]

I prefer to just think we’re all the same age. And not remember I’m old enough to be your mother

Yes! I have a son who will be 34 in April.

What I find is that the tone on this thread is respectful to all ages, from the younger 20ties just starting out to older 60ties retirees like me. This thread does keep me on track. If I wasn't reading it every day, I would be letting lots of opportunity slide on by.

 

[kmc8826]

Thanks for your report and glad you had such a nice time!
I love the pic of the whale...if anything would get me to HI, it would be whales
Funny you should mention getting sick on the water...I had altitude sickness the entire time we were in Yellowstone- I'm definitely an ocean not a mountain girl! Good thing I live just a few miles from the beach, I guess.

See and since we have been back (and had a blast) both DH and I are like "I think we like the idea of tropical vacations more than the actual reality of it." I look at the ocean and just feel vaguely ill and my husband starts wondering about what lurks beneath! It was a lot easier to run in Maui than here. I do miss that (and the gorgeous weather!)

Questions? Oh yes I have questions! First off welcome back Leavin around
Memorial weekend for our trip. I know from experience food is very expensive
in Hawaii. Did you find any relative inexpensive places to eat? What did you guys do
for fun? I'm literally pitching pennies for "things to do" while there. It seems activites
can be expensive and i have older girls who like adventure stuff. I'm hoping for
lot of beach days.

What did you think of Costco? Do they pretty much have the same stuff as mainland
ones? We will be staying around same area as you (Westin) so how was traffic and
ease of getting around?

Did you see any interesting gift cards/discounts at their Costco? Looking at the website
i saw little.

I hope you had a good time.

We had a really good time. I am the type of person though that really likes to do stuff so we definitely drove around the island a lot more than most people probably do (who just stay in their resort bubble). Guess that is why I like WDW so much. Strange but to me that can be relaxing. Beach days will be perfect.

The Westin is really nice! In fact it is really close to Whaler’s Village which is kind of an outdoor mall and has a lot of shopping, small grocery store, about 4 restaurants. Activities are expensive. Our whale tour was the most expensive and was $90 for the two of us for 2 hours. Maybe you can do it cheaper but we went through Pacific Whale Foundation which is a non profit I guess? I won’t take up the whole thread but we did a couple other things which were great (and cheap). I will pm you tomorrow some pictures and details if you want.

Traffic was okay but it is an island with pretty much 2 way main streets. It seemed like we spent a lot of time in the car, but that was partially because I didn’t want to just sit at the beach all day everyday. And DH puts up with me.

As far as food when we were going my mom (who is one of the people who LOVE it and go all the time) kept telling me eat here, or here. I was like “it’s fine mom we will find places.” But seriously it was a little surprising to me how few places there were to eat. Chains we saw were Starbucks, Burger King, Subway, Panda Express. We ate at Panda Express three times and we had never ever eaten there before and there is one close to my house! If you want specific places let me know.

Ohmygosh I love Costco in HI! We load up on all the Macadamia stuff, my father goes nuts in the Hawaiian shirt section, and found better pineapples at the one in Kauai than we did at the farmer's markets. And icing on the cake is the Costco gas station! Didn't know about the package stuff, will have to keep an eye out for that next time we go (nothing on the books now, but I'm forever a travel optimist).

We actually bought our three little girls, me, and the grandmas (who watched the girls) the wrap around sarong things that they sell. But Costco had them in all different patterns and colors for $8.99! As far as the other stuff I was actually struck how it was the same prices as our Utah Costco’s. I.e. I have been eyeing the fancy dresses for girls for Easter and they were the exact same price. The main difference was the alcohol section. We don’t have that in Utah...so shopping there and looking was our entertainment.

Has anyone ever used the car insurance benefits on the CSR?

I'm going to Oahu in May to visit family and wondering if it's beneficial to just go with the insurance on the card, or pay extra for the LDW with the rental car company. With how small the parking spots are in Hawaii, I'm kind of worried about renting a car, getting side swiped and the CSR somehow not covering the rental.

We just did the rental insurance on the CSR and I declined everything else. I had heard small places but they didn’t seem inordinately small to me. I can’t remember which blogger but I saw an article this week on using the CSR insurance on a trip to Australia where they had storm damage to a rental. CSR ended up paying the whole thing without too much trouble.