I love credit cards so much!

[jhoannam]

After pricing flights from IAD-LAX all day to go to Disneyland and finding a good United flight, I've been contemplating how best to maximize our points/dollars. A one way United flight to LAX is 12.5k United miles (we'll be flying Alaska back most likely). I couldn't figure out how I wanted to make this work and thought maybe I'd just burn a little bit of URs to book it.
Well... it's fate. I just came home to a letter from United addressed to DH saying that he has 20,xxx United miles that will expire 8/31!!

I don't even know where these points came from because I can't remember the last time DH flew United, but I'm so excited! So now I'm thinking I will book DH's flight with 12.5k of those points. My question for all of you is how I should handle booking my flight out there. I'll have 8k points left. Do I buy 4k more points? Is that worth it when the cash price is only $144? Do I transfer some points from Marriott or UR? Do I pay with CIP or Marriott Biz (vaguely recall seeing something about earning more Marriott points when booking United flights recently)?

TIA! I'm so excited that this trip will now become a reality!

I would just transfer 4K UR points, those are pretty easy to earn.

 

[peel]

The thing that gets me about the IHG change Is they clearly had the change planned yet the old terms were still on the application page. I applied and was approved Friday evening. If people are receiving the letters today, then they were likely in the mail already at that point. I know they can change the terms at anytime, but in that case, they should have changed the application page or temporarily closed the card to new applications until they announced the change. Sneaky and underhanded, Chase!

Side question: how are people wording their secure messages to Chase requesting to be matched to the 80,000 offer? I can’t truthfully say I saw the offer, because I didn’t. I tried multiple times to pull it up, to no avail.

This is exactly my problem with it, too. I know the fine print always says they can change terms without warning, but they obviously already knew it was coming when I was approved with the unrestricted free night.

I just said that I had seen the 80k offer but had not been able to get it to go through (all true) and asked if they would match it. They said yes if I met the $2000 instead of $1000 minimum spend.

I said I started on the 80K offer page but when I began the application process it told me that offer wasn't available. I also included a screen shot of the 80K offer to show them I had actually seen it.

 

[DisneyMandC]

I would just transfer 4K UR points, those are pretty easy to earn.

So I just looked at that... I'm the one with the CSP and it says that the cardholder must transfer to their own account with United. But DH has the CIP, so I guess I could transfer from his CIP to his United account as soon as his points post with his upcoming statement?

 

[thevalley]

I finally got my links to work in reddit. My plastiq shows up and works. However in the Chase Referral thread I do not see my post. Does it take time or do I need to do something else to make it active?

 

[gottalovepluto]

After pricing flights from IAD-LAX all day to go to Disneyland and finding a good United flight, I've been contemplating how best to maximize our points/dollars. A one way United flight to LAX is 12.5k United miles (we'll be flying Alaska back most likely). I couldn't figure out how I wanted to make this work and thought maybe I'd just burn a little bit of URs to book it.
Well... it's fate. I just came home to a letter from United addressed to DH saying that he has 20,xxx United miles that will expire 8/31!!

I don't even know where these points came from because I can't remember the last time DH flew United, but I'm so excited! So now I'm thinking I will book DH's flight with 12.5k of those points. My question for all of you is how I should handle booking my flight out there. I'll have 8k points left. Do I buy 4k more points? Is that worth it when the cash price is only $144? Do I transfer some points from Marriott or UR? Do I pay with CIP or Marriott Biz (vaguely recall seeing something about earning more Marriott points when booking United flights recently)?

TIA! I'm so excited that this trip will now become a reality!

Getting $144 for 4k UR is a great redemption in my book. Idk about Marriott, but check not only the price but also the transfer times. URs transfer instantly to UA.

 

[calypso726]

Were you still planning on using the IHG for Bora Bora? I know you and I chatted about that many moons ago. Can you move those plans up to next year or is that too soon?

I was and I'm going to look into that. It will depend on what dates are released for ABD Japan and when we book that to see if we still have enough vacation time to do Bora Bora and of course secure flights. If it doesn't pan out, I still have the two Hilton nights with the Aspire card which will work, assuming no devaluations on that card and DH and I have enough IHG points to do about 5 or 6 nights in an over-water bungalow. So, either way we are good. I just really fell in love with the idea of exploring different cities every year over a long weekend with the free anniversary night.

Kind of a serious question...

What do you tell people when they mention the negatives of having credit cards?

I have co-workers here at my job that are somewhat light churners and always ask me for some advice on what card to go for next. I'll give them some suggestions, but occasionally I'll have another co-worker chime in with "credit cards are bad" and "I can't believe you guys pay those crazy interest rates." I'll mention that you don't pay interest on credit cards if you pay your balance in full every month but I don't think they quite get it.

It's also the same with my family (not married). I never ever share any financial info with them about how much I make and they see me traveling all the time. They don't quite get the idea/process of churning and always give me a mini lecture about compound interest and how it's bad for you.

Anybody else been in this situation?

I explain that credit cards, like anything else, can have its pros and cons. Like most things, it also depends on the person as to whether or not it will be a pro or a con. A glass of wine with dinner isn't a problem and actually has health benefits for most. A bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 with every meal, is a problem. Some people are able stick with the occasional glass of wine and alcohol doesn't have a negative effect on their life. Some people are not able to do that and they have a daily struggle to never pick up that glass of wine so that they don't wind up drinking the bottle. When it comes to finances we all have a general idea of which side of that line we lean on. Fortunately, when it comes to finances, there are some that can learn to kick the bottle habit and come to simply enjoy the glass.

I've had those exact same conversations. I think they're fun. More so when you have someone who gets really sanctimonious about it. I hear "Credit cards are bad." I respond with "Nothing is worse than paying cash. I have never been paid for using cash. But I do get paid for using credit cards."

I had a family member give me the "I can't believe you pay those crazy interest rates." So I gave an intentional look of confusion and asked them to explain as I didn't understand what they meant. What is this "interest rates" you speak of This person insisted I'm paying interest so I offered a wager. I pulled out my phone and offered to pull up any statement from any credit card going back as long as they wanted so they could show me where I paid interest on anything ever. I told them that if they found one interest payment I'd give them $100 on the spot, but I'd have to Venmo it since I never carry cash. Now, my family knows I don't bet real money unless I know I'm going to win that bet, which is what clued this person in finally. So this family member asked what would they owe if they didn't find any interest payments. I said, "The look of dawning realization that you don't know everything and now have to eat your words is already payment enough." Not sure you'd want to try move that with a co-worker.

Unfortunately for those that applied recently, they won't get an annual certificate until 1 year from now...after this change goes into affect.

When they applied the T&C would have not had restrictions on the anniversary certificate. I'd suggest a screen shot and demand it be honored.

 

[gottalovepluto]

My personal SPG arrived today! UPS 2 day air this time. Just went I'd settled into Amex only ever delivering via snail mail Time to pay some bills!

 

[Lain]

I would start with how much is it to buy the miles you need and go from there. I've bought miles before when I was close and it was much cheaper than the flight. I didn't have transfer partner options at the time.

I would also consider that his 8k miles won't expire since you'd use some but if you buy a ticket and he's the only one with miles I would redeem thr miles for you and buy his so he earns the 2k+ miles for that flight.

Thanks for the response! So how exactly would he earn the 2k? Do you mean just purchase his ticket outright in cash?

It looks like it would be $10 more than the cash price of the tickets to buy the rest of the points I need...

If DH uses 12.5k UA miles to buy you an award seat, but pays cash for his ticket from IAD>LAX, DH’s ticket is a revenue seat and he’ll earn UA miles on that flight (approx. 2200 miles from IAD>LAX, which would also count as activity on DH’s UA account to push out his expiration).

So since DH used some of his UA miles on your ticket, the remainder of his 8k miles won’t expire (or at least expiration is pushed out), and if he pays cash for his seat then he earns 2k miles that goes into his UA account.

 

[Albort]

I finally got my links to work in reddit. My plastiq shows up and works. However in the Chase Referral thread I do not see my post. Does it take time or do I need to do something else to make it active?

it should be instant. i see your amex post deleted, but nothing on chase side.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Have that Chase use apple 5x get 1,000 point offer on my CFU. Thought I'd knock 3 of them out today buying 3 sodas at McD's when I saw there was no line. 1st fine. Partway through #2 the computer stopped. Cashier apologized and said she needed to get a manager override code since I used the same credit card twice. She knew I was buying 2 more sodas so she handed them to me in the meantime. Finally (after 3/4 of the people working back there yelled for the manager to come out of the back- omg it was so embarrassing) an assistant someone came over to override. When I took the 2nd receipt and stood there the lady was like "it's fine, just go". 2 apple pays down, and one free soda to boot! (I'm paranoid I'll miss the apple pay promo because I'll just forget so I'm knocking them out now.) I will at minimum net $11.09 on this thing now

 

[DisneyMandC]

Getting $144 for 4k UR is a great redemption in my book. Idk about Marriott, but check not only the price but also the transfer times. URs transfer instantly to UA.

If DH uses 12.5k UA miles to buy you an award seat, but pays cash for his ticket from IAD>LAX, DH’s ticket is a revenue seat and he’ll earn UA miles on that flight (approx. 2200 miles from IAD>LAX.

So since DH used some of his UA miles on your ticket, the remainder of his 8k miles won’t expire (or at least expiration is pushed out), and if he pays cash for his seat then he earns 2k miles that goes into his UA account.

Ok figured out what to do I think... transferred a couple extra UR points from my account to DH's account, now transferring those to his United account. It'll put us just over the 25k miles we need to book our flights to LAX totally free (well, $11.XX for fees). Woohoo!!

 

[Lain]

Ok figured out what to do I think... transferred a couple extra UR points from my account to DH's account, now transferring those to his United account. It'll put us just over the 25k miles we need to book our flights to LAX totally free (well, $11.XX for fees). Woohoo!!

Yup. Was just going to reply that you could also transfer UR to UA. Or your UR to DH’s UR account then to DH’s UA account to top off what you need. Glad you figured it out!

 

[thevalley]

it should be instant. i see your amex post deleted, but nothing on chase side.

I just redid the chase but again when I leave the page and go back I don't see it.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Yup. Was just going to reply that you could also transfer UR to UA. Or your UR to DH’s UR account then to DH’s UA account to top off what you need. Glad you figured it out!

It took a lot of brainpower for me to figure that out! haha! But yes, just made the transfer from DH's URs to United and just waiting for them to show up there and then I'll book.

Pixarfest, here I come!

 

[jhoannam]

Ok figured out what to do I think... transferred a couple extra UR points from my account to DH's account, now transferring those to his United account. It'll put us just over the 25k miles we need to book our flights to LAX totally free (well, $11.XX for fees). Woohoo!!

Also, if you download and use the Mileage Plus X (MPX) app you can earn miles that way. I bought some stuff on Oldnavy.com, I logged onto the MPX app purchased an Old Navy gift card for $60 and earned 300 miles, those post instantly.

 

[gottalovepluto]

And in the “What company doesn’t give a rip about customer data today?” game Panera is the winner: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/panera-bread-databreach-millions-of-customer-records-leaked/

 

[DisneyMandC]

I've thought about using this before, but I think I've maybe flown United once before... maybe. So I wasn't sure how much value I'd get out of it. I usually use Swagbucks or the Chase portal for my shopping for more direct to Disney points for me haha.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I finally got my links to work in reddit. My plastiq shows up and works. However in the Chase Referral thread I do not see my post. Does it take time or do I need to do something else to make it active?

it should be instant. i see your amex post deleted, but nothing on chase side.

I just redid the chase but again when I leave the page and go back I don't see it.

Reddit is being weird today. Some posts are taking awhile to show up - I’m keeping an eye on it but your actual posts are formatted correctly now

 

[Lain]

And in the “What company doesn’t give a rip about customer data today?” game Panera is the winner: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/panera-bread-databreach-millions-of-customer-records-leaked/

What about Saks?! Do you know how many gift cards I’ve bought from them using Amex Offers? At least I don’t have to worry about the Plat that I just closed.

 

[gottalovepluto]

What about Saks?! Do you know how many gift cards I’ve bought from them using Amex Offers? At least I don’t have to worry about the Plat that I just closed.

Saks was yesterday’s winner! New winner everyday!