I love credit cards so much!

[pillow]

ETA: I will have a DCL deposit due later this week when summer 2019 opens. What is the best/fastest way to get some Disney gift cards? Target will save 5% but I won't earn cc points. I could grab them from Sams but I have maxed freedom this quarter so getting a Walmart gc using chase pay won't work. I am going to hop over to the gift card thread, but let me know if there is something cc specific I should do.

How much do you need? Do you do the Kroger gas thing? There is a 4x deal that expires today.

 

[hsmamato2]

tell me if I'm crazy....(I know you all will!) am I the only only cc 'churner' (small time) that saves up spg points specifically for WDW trips? I keep reading all the ways that peeps on here transfer/use their spg hoard.... but no matter how I try,I can't seem to do anything except save for the trips I figure I'll be taking over the next 3 or so years..... is this shortsighted? I'm doing this based on the assumption that I will still be able to use those points at swolphin for the foreseeable future, even tho they say 'welcome to Marriott' on the hotel tv channel......(it used to say welcome to sheraton I think) and I'm actually considering buying a few more on sale,even tho I don't plan to use them for at least a couple of years? Let me say here, I love traveling to different places, but a stay at the swolphin just feels like a relaxing visit without having to worry about any details.....(I tend to use other accumulated reward for other places to visit)

 

[Lain]

I will have a DCL deposit due later this week when summer 2019 opens. What is the best/fastest way to get some Disney gift cards? Target will save 5% but I won't earn cc points. I could grab them from Sams but I have maxed freedom this quarter so getting a Walmart gc using chase pay won't work. I am going to hop over to the gift card thread, but let me know if there is something cc specific I should do.

You could use the Gyft app to buy Walmart e-Gift cards (in $10/25/50/100/250 denominations), earn 3x UR when using CIP through PayPal checkout. Then use the Walmart e-Gift cards at Sam's Club to buy Disney Gift Cards at, I believe, $484.98 for $500 (3% off) or $142.98 for $150 (4.7% off).

Unfortunately, the Best Buy deal through CashStar, where you could have bought a $150 Best Buy e-Gift Card and received a $15 savings code (or a single $450 eGC and get 3x $15 savings codes, effectively a ~9.1% savings), just ended yesterday. Best Buy gift cards and savings can be redeemed in store to buy Disney Gift Cards.

 

[pillow]

tell me if I'm crazy....(I know you all will!) am I the only only cc 'churner' (small time) that saves up spg points specifically for WDW trips? I keep reading all the ways that peeps on here transfer/use their spg hoard.... but no matter how I try,I can't seem to do anything except save for the trips I figure I'll be taking over the next 3 or so years..... is this shortsighted? I'm doing this based on the assumption that I will still be able to use those points at swolphin for the foreseeable future, even tho they say 'welcome to Marriott' on the hotel tv channel......(it used to say welcome to sheraton I think) and I'm actually considering buying a few more on sale,even tho I don't plan to use them for at least a couple of years? Let me say here, I love traveling to different places, but a stay at the swolphin just feels like a relaxing visit without having to worry about any details.....(I tend to use other accumulated reward for other places to visit)

I don't think I would buy points without a fairly immediate use for them - or some trip plan you're working on. If you won't need them for a Swolphin res any time soon, I would wait. Theres bound to be another sale.

Editing . . . Also keep in mind there MAY BE?? a new Marriott/SPG combined CC coming out at some point in the fairly near future. So possibly bonus points for that on the horizon. I like FREE!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

tell me if I'm crazy....(I know you all will!) am I the only only cc 'churner' (small time) that saves up spg points specifically for WDW trips? I keep reading all the ways that peeps on here transfer/use their spg hoard.... but no matter how I try,I can't seem to do anything except save for the trips I figure I'll be taking over the next 3 or so years..... is this shortsighted? I'm doing this based on the assumption that I will still be able to use those points at swolphin for the foreseeable future, even tho they say 'welcome to Marriott' on the hotel tv channel......(it used to say welcome to sheraton I think) and I'm actually considering buying a few more on sale,even tho I don't plan to use them for at least a couple of years? Let me say here, I love traveling to different places, but a stay at the swolphin just feels like a relaxing visit without having to worry about any details.....(I tend to use other accumulated reward for other places to visit)

My enormous stash of Marriott points is basically reserved for Swan/Dolphin and Disneyland trips so you're not crazy!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Do you happen to have the old Chase Ink Plus or a Chase Ink Cash? If so, they earn 5x at Office Supply stores. Staples and Office Depot/Max usually sell Disney gift cards.

no, unfortunately. Just got a regular CIP recently.

 

[hsmamato2]

My enormous stash of Marriott points is basically reserved for Swan/Dolphin and Disneyland trips so you're not crazy!

 

[hsmamato2]

I don't think I would buy points without a fairly immediate use for them - or some trip plan you're working on. If you won't need them for a Swolphin res any time soon, I would wait. Theres bound to be another sale.

Editing . . . Also keep in mind there MAY BE?? a new Marriott/SPG combined CC coming out at some point in the fairly near future. So possibly bonus points for that on the horizon. I like FREE!

well..... one immediate plan is hitting my spg biz spend.... that plus I'm conditioned to kep my spg points balance going strong (years of reading too much on the subject) and yeah,I'm 100% hoping for new card opportunites too....

 

[Lain]

Applied and approved for SPG Biz, used DISchurner link and IM'd that wonderful individual . Thanks everyone who shared their enthusiasm for the card to keep me focused (yay I didn't repeat the IHG mistake).

Thanks, I will make this my 1st purchase if I get the card before 3/16

Congratulations! I'm so glad you went ahead and applied for the SPG Biz and didn't let your recent Platinum deter you!

My SPG Biz took a little over a week to 10 days to arrive, so hopefully the Points dot com sale on Starpoints is still going on when you get your card. Buying points isn't necessarily for everyone, but it can really pay off to have enough Starpoints to take advantage of the fact that you’ll receive 5,000 bonus miles for every 20,000 Starpoints transferred to a partner airline, and you'll receive your fifth night free when you redeem Starpoints for Free Night awards at SPG hotels and resorts.

 

[GlamMistress]

tell me if I'm crazy....(I know you all will!) am I the only only cc 'churner' (small time) that saves up spg points specifically for WDW trips? I keep reading all the ways that peeps on here transfer/use their spg hoard.... but no matter how I try,I can't seem to do anything except save for the trips I figure I'll be taking over the next 3 or so years..... is this shortsighted? I'm doing this based on the assumption that I will still be able to use those points at swolphin for the foreseeable future, even tho they say 'welcome to Marriott' on the hotel tv channel......(it used to say welcome to sheraton I think) and I'm actually considering buying a few more on sale,even tho I don't plan to use them for at least a couple of years? Let me say here, I love traveling to different places, but a stay at the swolphin just feels like a relaxing visit without having to worry about any details.....(I tend to use other accumulated reward for other places to visit)

Churn and collect points for the trips YOU want to take. Your dreams and wallet are all that matters. Ignore the bloggers.
Just remember sitting on large piles of points for years is a risk because of devaluations.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

How much do you need? Do you do the Kroger gas thing? There is a 4x deal that expires today.

I'm not completely sure, but I am guessing the cost will be $12k or so and I have a $500 deposit on my placeholder, so maybe around $700 more. It is a 10% deposit for OBB unless that changed.

You could use the Gyft app to buy Walmart e-Gift cards (in $10/25/50/100/250 denominations), earn 3x UR when using CIP through PayPal checkout. Then use the Walmart e-Gift cards at Sam's Club to buy Disney Gift Cards at, I believe, $484.98 for $500 (3% off) or $142.98 for $150 (4.7% off).

Unfortunately, the Best Buy deal through CashStar, where you could have bought a $150 Best Buy e-Gift Card and received a $15 savings code (or a single $450 eGC and get 3x $15 savings codes, effectively a ~9.1% savings), just ended yesterday. Best Buy gift cards and savings can be redeemed in store to buy Disney Gift Cards.

I will look into gyft now. thx!

@Lain does it only work on the app...not on computer?

 

[Lain]

I'm not completely sure, but I am guessing the cost will be $12k or so and I have a $500 deposit on my placeholder, so maybe around $700 more. It is a 10% deposit for OBB unless that changed.



I will look into gyft now. thx!

@Lain does it only work on the app...not on computer?

I'm pretty sure the you'll earn 3x on the Gyft desktop website too, as long as you use the CIP through PayPal checkout.

 

[calypso726]

tell me if I'm crazy....(I know you all will!) am I the only only cc 'churner' (small time) that saves up spg points specifically for WDW trips? I keep reading all the ways that peeps on here transfer/use their spg hoard.... but no matter how I try,I can't seem to do anything except save for the trips I figure I'll be taking over the next 3 or so years..... is this shortsighted? I'm doing this based on the assumption that I will still be able to use those points at swolphin for the foreseeable future, even tho they say 'welcome to Marriott' on the hotel tv channel......(it used to say welcome to sheraton I think) and I'm actually considering buying a few more on sale,even tho I don't plan to use them for at least a couple of years? Let me say here, I love traveling to different places, but a stay at the swolphin just feels like a relaxing visit without having to worry about any details.....(I tend to use other accumulated reward for other places to visit)

I don't think you're crazy at all and that is coming from someone who has never used SPG points for Swolphin. My SPG points are reserved for international flights and once in a blue moon an SPG property that costs way more money than I want to pay for and is far more convenient than other hotels for whatever reason. I can literally think of only 3 times we have used SPG points for a hotel stay in the last 5 years. Now with that said, if I did not have a good deal of DVC points and 2 Marriott cat 1-5 nights each year to play with at WDW, I might very well be using my SPG points to stay at Swolphin because of my sheer love for Disney trips. Now that I think about it, Swolphin is/are the only on site properties, besides Shades of Green, that I have not experienced for a stay at WDW. May need to remedy that at some point.

I know that the rule of thumb is not to speculatively purchase points unless you have an immediate use for them or to bump up to have enough for a redemption. Another rule of thumb is earn and burn over hoarding. I ignore both of those rules. If the purchase of the points fits my needs and I will be able to redeem them for better value than the actual purchase OOP, then I will do it. I'm also not an earn and burn sort of girl, I'm more of an opportunistic hoarder. This has worked so far so I see no reason to change. I think we all should do what works best for each of our individual travel needs and goals and understand what works best for some people simply won't fly for others and that is ok

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I think I am about ready to commit on the Hawaii thing for this year. We can do summer, thanksgiving, or after Christmas b/c of college schedules for my oldest.
I am thinking summer is best for weather. Thanksgiving would require she miss some classes so that is a last resort. I'm not opposed to after Christmastime but I am worried about weather.
DH says he want to go to Maui. I'd like to do Aulani for part of it but not super important I don't guess. There are 6 of us. We can change resorts if necessary but that is alot of work. Flexible on number of nights but hopefully 10 days or so since it is alot of travel.
Home airport is BNA. Not opposed to flying to SFO or something on SW and then hopping on another line (Hawaiian looks nice) for the rest of the trip. A night on west coast might be helpful too since the time change and long travel.

Here is our stash..

Hilton- 500k.................use for resort?
Hertz- 5393 (can tx to SW approx 10,800)..........prob use for car rental
Amex- 14,058
SW- 25,759..........use towards getting to west coast?
SPG- working on min spend for 35k pts............save for another time?
UR- 229,600 (98,100 pending)...(have CSR for 1.5x redemption)..........resort/flights?

Trying to figure out what card to get DH next too, but that is another thread. Ha. We can get him one to top off whatever points we need to do this trip. I am sorta leaning CIP w/ my referral for a quick 100k UR but there is SPG Biz too....or should he do Hilton? So confusing.

I am not opposed to paying money (gasp, ha) towards part of the trip. Just trying to use enough points to make it economical b/c we are saving for an expensive DCL to Alaska in 2019. That can't really be on points b/c I did my OBB with dreams. Won't do that next time...chase will get it.

 

[amalone1013]

Woke up to a nice little Sunday morning suprise. $20 Best Buy certificate....earned from ordering DH a new laptop for work (will be a reimbursed expense.) Immediately used the $20 to buy a $25 Disney gift card online. So thanks to DH's company I got a $25 Disney card for $20 and approx $1000 UR points for the computer purchase. No shop through chase or ebates since it is an apple product. Boo.

ETA: I will have a DCL deposit due later this week when summer 2019 opens. What is the best/fastest way to get some Disney gift cards? Target will save 5% but I won't earn cc points. I could grab them from Sams but I have maxed freedom this quarter so getting a Walmart gc using chase pay won't work. I am going to hop over to the gift card thread, but let me know if there is something cc specific I should do.

I'm glad you asked about DCL deposits! I'm looking at booking a cabin with our OBB, and one without. Can I ask you a question? I think the deposit for what we're looking at will be around $950 for the regular 20% down... So I would need $950 for that cabin, pus $425 for our OBB cabin minus the $250 I put down when I made the placeholder booking? We're pretty new to cruising

Also, I'm glad you got points and BB certificate for a work expense! I had to label DH's cards for regular spending, but he always pulls one at random for reimbursable work expenses. Sometimes when I'm at work on a weekend, he'll ask if he can go to lunch with a friend, but work expenses are, oh by the way, you're going to see a $300 charge for this or that. His best non-category card right now for our purposes is his Barclay Arrival, but he often pulls out his CSR or Discover. And when they had the 10x UR Best Buy Deal in January, he bought something there for work for $250... but since he didn't tell me until after I couldn't direct him towards Chase Pay.

 

[mefordis]

Just spent a day in the ER with my youngest DD. Everything is okay (thank you God!), just a virus but they ran several tests and I can imagine how high this bill will be (we have a $5000 deductible)! Therefore, it's time to apply for the SPG business card for my dh (min spend is $7000 ? I hope the ER bill comes within the minimum spend timeframe, but if not I can put some of our vacation to LA/DLR on there. That's 35k points plus 7k for my referral. Wow!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

tell me if I'm crazy....(I know you all will!) am I the only only cc 'churner' (small time) that saves up spg points specifically for WDW trips? I keep reading all the ways that peeps on here transfer/use their spg hoard.... but no matter how I try,I can't seem to do anything except save for the trips I figure I'll be taking over the next 3 or so years..... is this shortsighted? I'm doing this based on the assumption that I will still be able to use those points at swolphin for the foreseeable future, even tho they say 'welcome to Marriott' on the hotel tv channel......(it used to say welcome to sheraton I think) and I'm actually considering buying a few more on sale,even tho I don't plan to use them for at least a couple of years? Let me say here, I love traveling to different places, but a stay at the swolphin just feels like a relaxing visit without having to worry about any details.....(I tend to use other accumulated reward for other places to visit)

My enormous stash of Marriott points is basically reserved for Swan/Dolphin and Disneyland trips so you're not crazy!

OR maybe we are both crazy...hmmmmmmm!

I'll add an opposing viewpoint on the point purchasing - I feel like I'd be very hesitant to ever buy points. I've looked into it before and the math has never made sense to me. I know many here have done so and don't appear to regret it...maybe I'm just not recognizing that I'm spoiled with our stash so I can't see the true economics of it.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I'm glad you asked about DCL deposits! I'm looking at booking a cabin with our OBB, and one without. Can I ask you a question? I think the deposit for what we're looking at will be around $950 for the regular 20% down... So I would need $950 for that cabin, pus $425 for our OBB cabin minus the $250 I put down when I made the placeholder booking? We're pretty new to cruising

I have 2 cabins booked using OBB and have a $500 deposit paid. So I will owe the rest of the 10% when she moves it to an exact sailing next week. The 10% is of the reservation total...both rooms.

I think in your case you are correct, but maybe get lucky and only need 10% for reservation total for both rooms. I'd plan to have to 20% for the one room in case.

 

[calypso726]

I think I am about ready to commit on the Hawaii thing for this year. We can do summer, thanksgiving, or after Christmas b/c of college schedules for my oldest.
I am thinking summer is best for weather. Thanksgiving would require she miss some classes so that is a last resort. I'm not opposed to after Christmastime but I am worried about weather.
DH says he want to go to Maui. I'd like to do Aulani for part of it but not super important I don't guess. There are 6 of us. We can change resorts if necessary but that is alot of work. Flexible on number of nights but hopefully 10 days or so since it is alot of travel.
Home airport is BNA. Not opposed to flying to SFO or something on SW and then hopping on another line (Hawaiian looks nice) for the rest of the trip. A night on west coast might be helpful too since the time change and long travel.

Here is our stash..

Hilton- 500k.................use for resort?
Hertz- 5393 (can tx to SW approx 10,800)..........prob use for car rental
Amex- 14,058
SW- 25,759..........use towards getting to west coast?
SPG- working on min spend for 35k pts............save for another time?
UR- 229,600 (98,100 pending)...(have CSR for 1.5x redemption)..........resort/flights?

Trying to figure out what card to get DH next too, but that is another thread. Ha. We can get him one to top off whatever points we need to do this trip. I am sorta leaning CIP w/ my referral for a quick 100k UR but there is SPG Biz too....or should he do Hilton? So confusing.

I am not opposed to paying money (gasp, ha) towards part of the trip. Just trying to use enough points to make it economical b/c we are saving for an expensive DCL to Alaska in 2019. That can't really be on points b/c I did my OBB with dreams. Won't do that next time...chase will get it.

On the bolded part for your Alaska cruise down the line: My suggestion would be to get your DH the CIP with your referral. Once he has it, PC your CIP to an Ink Cash. That is assuming you have a CIP too and not the Ink+. I have an Ink+ but my referral link goes for a CIP. Anyhow, with the Ink Cash or Ink+ you can purchase Disney GCs at office supply stores for 5x. You can then pay for your Alaska cruise with Disney GCs through Dreams and get 5x on paying for your cruise. I believe Dreams limits you to how much you can pay with Disney GCs per day or how many Disney GCs you can submit per day, but it is totally do-able.

For your current Hawai plans: I'd advise the Aspire card. You'd get 100K Hilton points, a $250 airline credit (this can be triggered by certain airline gift cards at certain amounts once you select your airline), a $250 Hilton resort credit, $100 Waldorf or Conrad resort credit, a free weekend night and Diamond status! I picked this one up because I am planning a trip to Bora Bora in a couple of years. DH picked one up too, my mistake was not making him wait until I had a referral code. So if both you and your DH decide to pick up the card and get 200K points, $500 in resort credits, $500 in airline credits, 2 weekend nights etc. I'd wait until you can generate a referral code.

With your current Hilton points, current plans and ease of adding another 100K Hilton points, plus resort credits, a free weekend night and airline credits you can easily cover your entire resort stay depending on the property you choose. Even with the high end properties you'd be able to cover a good portion of the stay considering you get 5th night free on award stays.

SPG won't last long at 35K. If you find with the current planning that the SPG points will be more valuable then jump on it sooner rather than later.

 

[miztressuz]

I have 2 cabins booked using OBB and have a $500 deposit paid. So I will owe the rest of the 10% when she moves it to an exact sailing next week. The 10% is of the reservation total...both rooms.

I think in your case you are correct, but maybe get lucky and only need 10% for reservation total for both rooms. I'd plan to have to 20% for the one room in case.

As long as it's a 7 night or longer cruise and you booked both rooms while on board you'll only need 10% for the deposit.

Edit: And now for the rest of the post:
As for @amalone1013 you're correct she'll need the 20% for the one room not booked on board.