I love credit cards so much!

[wendow]

We have 1, and she’s 4 handfuls!

Yup, that was our first too Second baby was a dream baby. Then, third one was back to difficult. Fourth was another dream baby. SO, we decided to stop there since the pattern was clear at that point lol.

 

[CaT_DisLife]

Hello everyone. I am fairly new here and am trying to learm more about points and miles. I understand that there is a Reddit group for Dis members. How do I join the group? I can’t seem to find the post with the instructions.

TIA!

 

[Albort]

Hello everyone. I am fairly new here and am trying to learm more about points and miles. I understand that there is a Reddit group for Dis members. How do I join the group? I can’t seem to find the post with the instructions.

TIA!

send your reddit username to @Albort or @SouthFayetteFan in a PM.

 

[havaneselover]

My aunt is a TA who specializes in cruises. Goes on 3-5 cruises each year and is a major bargain hunter for herself (and her clients). SHe says Disney cruises are just not worth the cost compared to other cruise lines. And she books a lot of Disney cruises but feels the value just isn't there. Main reason we've not take a Disney cruise.

Value is so subjective!

We’ve done 5 cruises on Disney. Every one was amazing. Alaska is crazy expensive. We’re doing it in August. Between Costco, onboard booking, and paying with gift cards (which you can’t do on all the lines) we are probably paying 65% of the fare. It helps. I see why others try other lines for Alaska but Disney’s product is fantastic. In terms of trend, though, I think the value is declining.

 

[Budzooka]

Love DCL. Our first cruise was on DCL and have a hard time thinking another line can live up to the expectation. I can get about 25% off the DCL fare through gift cards, on-board booking, and using Costco as the travel agent.

I’ll try another line if the price is right, but will have to be a substantial difference after the discounts.

 

[calypso726]

Thanks for tagging me. I am on the fence now about DCL Alaska 2019 after seeing some pricing coming in. I thought I'd be safe in the shoulder season but even May prices jumped alot. I am debating NCL Bliss, RCCL Ovation and the Wonder. Ugh.

My only complaint about DCL is the pricing. We did the Alaska cruise in 2014 with DCL and actually toyed with trying another cruise line. At the end we decided we'd rather stick with DCL since the excursions were important to us and we had Platinum status. I also pointed out to DH that we had been on one RCL and one Carnival cruise before trying DCL and neither of us were remotely interested in cruises after the experience. We just went because other family members were going. Our first DCL cruise was a DVC member cruise and there was no going back after that. We did 2 DVC member cruises and realized how ridiculous the pricing was so we stopped doing those but are still pretty loyal to DCL.

This is me as well. DH is all in on DCL, doesn’t want anything else. I’m trying to convince him to look elsewhere.

DH and I have both discussed trying to get status on another cruise line. We are willing to give Celebrity a whirl since I always hear good things. However, we keep booking DCL each year LOL

I an a DCL fanatic and we are going on our 9th cruise in a couple months, but for Alaska we did Celebrity. For about the same price or less we got 3 more nights, drink packages, and a bigger room. We had a great cruise. Alaska is all about the scenery and the stops so to me the cruise line isn't as important - although Celebrity was really nice. Same with the Med- we did NCL for that and got 2 bedroom concierge for the same price as a regular room on DCL. Since we had only one sea day and spent so much time off the ship, I didn't really have time for all the DCL shows and special magic touches anyway...

I like to do DCL in the Carribbean and not get off the ship...

BTW, paid for my entire upcoming cruise with DCL gift cards using various discounts and probably saved about 10-15%. Thanks for all the tips!! Love the DISboards!

Me too! We just completed our 18th Disney Cruise last month. We also never get off the ship on the Caribbean cruises unless I need to pick up a new inhaler in the Bahamas with no prescription at the pharmacy or a new set of bamboo sheets at Cariloha

Paying DCL with Disney GCs is where we can justify some of the cost as well as on board booking. We are platinum with DCL so we will get opening day pricing. I already know that we will get 10% off for booking on board and a stateroom credit and just have choose our future date. My TA is going to kick in a stateroom credit as well. Then, we are going to get 5x in UR because the entire cruise will be paid using Disney GCs. Chase and Amex will have some offer that will get me discounted Disney GCs as well so that will be an additional savings. I do imagine that we may start trying out Celebrity for short cruises and begin working our way towards status. None the less, we still have every intention of doing the next 3 Maiden Voyages with DCL and any brand new itinerary that piques our interest.

My aunt is a TA who specializes in cruises. Goes on 3-5 cruises each year and is a major bargain hunter for herself (and her clients). SHe says Disney cruises are just not worth the cost compared to other cruise lines. And she books a lot of Disney cruises but feels the value just isn't there. Main reason we've not take a Disney cruise.

I'll chime in with the other perspective. I suppose if bargain hunting is the motivation, then DCL would not be worth it. They are expensive. Value, on the other hand, is something that is very subjective and what is important and worth the cost to one person, may not be worth it to another. To me, the value is with DCL. When I compare our experience on RCL and Carnival to any of our DCL cruises then DCL wins hands down, no contest. The food was better, the service was laughably waaay better, the ship was cleaner on the inside and outside etc. But that still is not what has me hooked with DCL. Its the people. The fellow cruisers and the staff. On our very first Disney cruise which was the DVC member cruise in 2010. A year before that cruise we were getting to know our fellow cruisers here on the DIS in the cruise meets thread. We had a blast and by the time we boarded the ship we had friends that we linked dining with and got to know better throughout the cruise. The following year, we did it again and added even more amazing people to our group. There is now a group of about 40 of us that regularly keep in touch on the "social media site that shall not be named". Of that group, 20-30 of us regularly cruise together and meet up in WDW, or DLR and there's one other couple that has done ABDs with us. We are all good friends and have been there for each other IRL not just on fun vacations. Those amazing people would simply not be in my life if we had chosen to cruise on a less expensive cruise line. I can't put a price tag on that.

 

[Tikitoi]

I advise the CSR over the CSP due to the added 3x over 2x bonus points on travel and dining as well as the $300 travel credit which could be used to easily offset a car rental or hotel stay. This would also allow you to begin accumulating points that can be used at 1.5 on travel purchase or transfer to hotels and airlines. When your AF for the CIP hits I'd PC to a CIC and then you can start earning 5x UR on purchasing Disney gift cards at office supply stores to pay for your WDW trips and save towards that future Disney Cruise. Make sure you add a Freedom to the mix so you can take advantage of the 5x quarterly bonuses and beef up your UR stash.

I still go back and forth between the CSR & CSP. Anywho as far as getting the CIP then PC to the CIC when the AF hits, that would be for the reason of having gotten the 80k points then having a business card with no AF?...What else am I missing? Does the CIC have the same bonus amounts for say internet as does the CIP...?

 

[tink1970]

My only complaint about DCL is the pricing. We did the Alaska cruise in 2014 with DCL and actually toyed with trying another cruise line. At the end we decided we'd rather stick with DCL since the excursions were important to us and we had Platinum status. I also pointed out to DH that we had been on one RCL and one Carnival cruise before trying DCL and neither of us were remotely interested in cruises after the experience. We just went because other family members were going. Our first DCL cruise was a DVC member cruise and there was no going back after that. We did 2 DVC member cruises and realized how ridiculous the pricing was so we stopped doing those but are still pretty loyal to DCL.



DH and I have both discussed trying to get status on another cruise line. We are willing to give Celebrity a whirl since I always hear good things. However, we keep booking DCL each year LOL



Me too! We just completed our 18th Disney Cruise last month. We also never get off the ship on the Caribbean cruises unless I need to pick up a new inhaler in the Bahamas with no prescription at the pharmacy or a new set of bamboo sheets at Cariloha

Paying DCL with Disney GCs is where we can justify some of the cost as well as on board booking. We are platinum with DCL so we will get opening day pricing. I already know that we will get 10% off for booking on board and a stateroom credit and just have choose our future date. My TA is going to kick in a stateroom credit as well. Then, we are going to get 5x in UR because the entire cruise will be paid using Disney GCs. Chase and Amex will have some offer that will get me discounted Disney GCs as well so that will be an additional savings. I do imagine that we may start trying out Celebrity for short cruises and begin working our way towards status. None the less, we still have every intention of doing the next 3 Maiden Voyages with DCL and any brand new itinerary that piques our interest.



I'll chime in with the other perspective. I suppose if bargain hunting is the motivation, then DCL would not be worth it. They are expensive. Value, on the other hand, is something that is very subjective and what is important and worth the cost to one person, may not be worth it to another. To me, the value is with DCL. When I compare our experience on RCL and Carnival to any of our DCL cruises then DCL wins hands down, no contest. The food was better, the service was laughably waaay better, the ship was cleaner on the inside and outside etc. But that still is not what has me hooked with DCL. Its the people. The fellow cruisers and the staff. On our very first Disney cruise which was the DVC member cruise in 2010. A year before that cruise we were getting to know our fellow cruisers here on the DIS in the cruise meets thread. We had a blast and by the time we boarded the ship we had friends that we linked dining with and got to know better throughout the cruise. The following year, we did it again and added even more amazing people to our group. There is now a group of about 40 of us that regularly keep in touch on the "social media site that shall not be named". Of that group, 20-30 of us regularly cruise together and meet up in WDW, or DLR and there's one other couple that has done ABDs with us. We are all good friends and have been there for each other IRL not just on fun vacations. Those amazing people would simply not be in my life if we had chosen to cruise on a less expensive cruise line. I can't put a price tag on that.

Since there's no LoVE option I'm quoting this and saying ditto!


Most of the above applies to us (well except for having a CIP and a bunch of friends )!

 

[brownhaired_girl]

@brownhaired_girl, you’ve been caught red handed replying to and liking posts while on vacation. I hope you’re doing your catching up with this thread while sitting on one of your three balconies watching the ocean below or relaxing on a soft sand beach.

Absolutely. Sitting in the dark listening to the waves roll in. I feel like I need to keep up with my reading to see what my friends are up to. But this morning just waiting for the others to get ready to go to breakfast.

 

[calypso726]

I still go back and forth between the CSR & CSP. Anywho as far as getting the CIP then PC to the CIC when the AF hits, that would be for the reason of having gotten the 80k points then having a business card with no AF?...What else am I missing? Does the CIC have the same bonus amounts for say internet as does the CIP...?

The CIC has a 5x bonus category for office supply stores up to $25,000. Office supply stores sell 3rd party merchant gift cards (including Disney GCs) and Visa, MC and Amex gift cards. Cable, internet and phone is also 5x. I think CIP is only 3x. The bulk of our UR earning comes from the Ink. We have the old Ink+ and the cap on that one is 5x for $50,000 a year in spend. We pay cable, internet and phone with our Ink. If we shop at Macy’s, Whole Foods, Bed Bath Beyond go out to eat at one of the chain restaurants we buy a gift card for it at Staples or Office Depot/Max. Nearly ALL our Disney related expenses for vacation are paid with disney gift cards at 5x. That alone is about 100,000 UR points a year for us.

 

[Alice Sr.]

I received my Discover it card yesterday. Do I need to register in order to take advantage of the 5% category? Thanks

 

[brownhaired_girl]

If you need help, pm me. I'm happy to help you.

Best offer I’ve had all day. I may take you up on that after I get home.
Thank You

 

[DisneyMandC]

I'm hoping to provide some more data points for the group in the next week or so about booking Disney through Chase Cruise and Tour. Specifically, I'm planning to call in and book a room for November at the current rack rate, and see if I'll be able to get any available discounts applied at a later date, or if I'll have to rebook. I've heard conflicting reports (if you have additional info, I'd love to hear it!).

Anyways, I figured that since I'll be on the phone with either Leon or Melissa per the DisChurners reddit page, I'd throw it out to the group at large to see if anyone had any questions they wanted answered that I might be able to squeeze in! Let me know if you think of anything and I'll write it down so I can remember to ask. I'm planning to call in the next week or so, potentially this Sunday (if they're open/working then?) to book my trip and ask questions.

 

[1GoldenSun]

Wow, DCL sounds incredible! But I don't think we can justify spending that kind of money on one trip when that would mean limiting the number of trips we can take.

I have a friend whose family is taking a year off to travel the world. They're doing and seeing some amazing things, but they're doing it in a very budget-minded fashion. I've been following her trip on social media and I keep thinking to myself that it wouldn't be worth that to me, that I would rather travel for maybe only six months but spend a little more on comfort and indulgences. Boiling pasta in a hostel kitchenette when in a city full of new and exciting culinary experiences doesn't appeal to me at all. I don't need luxury (although i like it ) but I don't want bare-bones.

So I guess what I'm saying is that everyone has their own quantity/quality ratio and mine doesn't at this point run to Disney cruises. But Alaska sounds great and I think I've decided on that as the trip I'm going to be working for with this new churning hobby thing. Since @calypso726 says it's best to start two years in advance I may see if we can use some of DH's Marriott points to do one of those packages in the meantime, since we don't want to wait two years for our next vacation. We would probably have to do Alaska either at Spring Break (exactly 2 years from now), Thanksgiving week (1 yr, 8 mths from now), or summer (either about 15 mths from now or 27 mths from now). When do you guys think would be best? And most importantly, now that I know what my travel goals are, how do I best tailor my efforts to meet this specific goal?

My plan for today is to finish the minimum spend on the SPG biz and then as soon as I see my 25,000 points post I'm going to call and ask about the 35,000 deal. Then my next step is to apply for a new card. I'm down to 4/24 now so I can go back to Chase. I want to stay away from business cards for a while. I don't have a truly legit business and that makes me a little nervous.

 

[tink1970]

I received my Discover it card yesterday. Do I need to register in order to take advantage of the 5% category? Thanks

Yes, there's a button somewhere on their site (after you login) that you hit and viola! it's done. I really like that they released the entire year categories so I can budget my spend wisely.

 

[1GoldenSun]

I have another question. Off topic, I feel like I'm taking advantage of this board's generosity and I would love to be able to "give back", but at this point I don't have anything to give! Maybe someday I'll be informed enough to help answer newbies' questions but for now I'm all questions and no answers.

So my question is this: A large portion of my minimum spend on my new SPG biz was Disney resort reservations for an upcoming trip. We're leaving this weekend for Aspen and I'm sure lift tickets alone are going to run well over $1000, plus there will be other expenses. I don't have a new card in hand to start meeting the minimum spend on, so I hate to waste that spending. Can I use my SPG biz for those expenses (which would put me well over the $5000 min) and then later on when I get a new Chase card cancel the Disney reservations on the SPG biz and put those charges on the Chase card? Will AmEx be ok with that, as long as I did spend a legit $5000 within three months? Also, do I need to cancel and then re-book, or can I call Disney and move the charges to the new card?

Thank you!

 

[DaveL]

I'm hoping to provide some more data points for the group in the next week or so about booking Disney through Chase Cruise and Tour. Specifically, I'm planning to call in and book a room for November at the current rack rate, and see if I'll be able to get any available discounts applied at a later date, or if I'll have to rebook. I've heard conflicting reports (if you have additional info, I'd love to hear it!).

Anyways, I figured that since I'll be on the phone with either Leon or Melissa per the DisChurners reddit page, I'd throw it out to the group at large to see if anyone had any questions they wanted answered that I might be able to squeeze in! Let me know if you think of anything and I'll write it down so I can remember to ask. I'm planning to call in the next week or so, potentially this Sunday (if they're open/working then?) to book my trip and ask questions.

Add your findings to my post on DisChurners. I know several have wondered about discount addition/modification. I am hoping that its possible seeing how from Melissa it sounds like they are a standard TA and that's already possible with other TA's. I have a res with Disney for late 2018 I want to rebook with Chase but been waiting to see if I can get a bounce back this summer or anything better first.

 

[Lain]

Seeing reports on reddit that Citi AT&T Access More cards are no longer earning 3x TYP on PPDG or Plastiq. I know not a lot of us have this card, but just goes to show the precarious nature of how certain things code.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

I still go back and forth between the CSR & CSP. Anywho as far as getting the CIP then PC to the CIC when the AF hits, that would be for the reason of having gotten the 80k points then having a business card with no AF?...What else am I missing? Does the CIC have the same bonus amounts for say internet as does the CIP...?

The CIC has a 5x bonus category for office supply stores up to $25,000. Office supply stores sell 3rd party merchant gift cards (including Disney GCs) and Visa, MC and Amex gift cards. Cable, internet and phone is also 5x. I think CIP is only 3x. The bulk of our UR earning comes from the Ink. We have the old Ink+ and the cap on that one is 5x for $50,000 a year in spend. We pay cable, internet and phone with our Ink. If we shop at Macy’s, Whole Foods, Bed Bath Beyond go out to eat at one of the chain restaurants we buy a gift card for it at Staples or Office Depot/Max. Nearly ALL our Disney related expenses for vacation are paid with disney gift cards at 5x. That alone is about 100,000 UR points a year for us.

Just to expand upon Calypso's great post above and something that was touched on yesterday, with the exception of the Visa, MC, and Amex gift cards, all of the other gift cards mentioned above, including many chain restaurants, can all be purchased electronically using the Ink products via the Gyft app and received instantaneously to obtain the 3X/5X. Using this method, we find it's rarely necessary to actually go to an actual office supply store anymore.

Disney gift cards are not available via Gyft, so if you truly have no other option to purchase Disney gift cards than you will have to go to one of the stores. However, by simply obtaining a Sam's Club membership online (if you don't have one already), you can take Walmart gift cards purchased via the Gyft app and subsequently use those to purchase Discounted Disney cards via the Sams website or local store. Once you recoup your membership fee, there really is no reason to not save approximately 8%-10% on all Disney gift card purchases versus only 5% by purchasing directly from the office supply store.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

@calypso726 I am addicted to cariloha sheets too!!!

Not sure if you have cruised Alaska before, but to me, cruising Alaska and not going to Glacier Bay is like going to WDW and not going to MK.

I have never cruised DCL, but have done NCL and RCCL many times. From our experience, from the age of 4 thru teens, our kids enjoyed the kids clubs on RCCL far more than NCL.

I have heard that about glacier bay. If my inlaws end up coming I know they will want to do that one for that reason.

I told you. It's the 4 kids. Always, always just blame them I can barely stay afloat these days lol!

yes...I was good with 3. Adding the 4th must have tipped the scale because I feel like I chase my tail now.

My aunt is a TA who specializes in cruises. Goes on 3-5 cruises each year and is a major bargain hunter for herself (and her clients). SHe says Disney cruises are just not worth the cost compared to other cruise lines. And she books a lot of Disney cruises but feels the value just isn't there. Main reason we've not take a Disney cruise.

I have gotten decent value booking off season, using OBB discounts, etc. Also, having a nursery has always been a big value to me and not all lines have that. My kids (all 4, even the teen) think DCL is the best ever vacation. Alaska value...not so much. LOL. Generally speaking I agree, the trend is that value is declining as prices over the whole fleet have about gotten to the point of ridiculous.

Value is so subjective!

We’ve done 5 cruises on Disney. Every one was amazing. Alaska is crazy expensive. We’re doing it in August. Between Costco, onboard booking, and paying with gift cards (which you can’t do on all the lines) we are probably paying 65% of the fare. It helps. I see why others try other lines for Alaska but Disney’s product is fantastic. In terms of trend, though, I think the value is declining.

I wasn't really factoring in gift cards into my equation, so I should consider that. I have a year to collect them, so hopefully we'd see some of those 10x UR deals etc come about. I avoided GC previously because of the hassle and not wanting to be stuck with Disney dollars if we had to cancel. But who am I kidding...I'd use them at some point, likely within a year. hahaha

Well, my quote shall be here this morning from my TA. If I am not active on the thread you may need to call paramedics as I have passed out and hit my head.