I love credit cards so much!

[pillow]

does the charge get through to your card? If it doesnt, its most likely Plastiq denying...

Yes - I believe it was pending for a bit on the card.

 

[platamama]

OK, need some help. Thinking about booking through the Chase portal for my upcoming Orlando trip - I have a room already reserved for ~12k Starwood points (36000 Marriott points), but I found a similar room on Chase for 21k chase points. So the value seems about the same to me. Question is - do I get Starriott credits for nights stayed and/or elite perks if I book through Chase?

I'm currently booked at the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista. I could also do Sheraton Vistana for not too much more - is one better than the other? I really care about the pool on this trip, not so much about the room.

Either option is so much cheaper than the Swolphin, and I'm only considering Starriott properties for this trip, but would be interested if anyone has any other good Starriott off-site hotels with good pools.

I was curious about this too. Lucky at OMAAT states that third party bookings, e.g. Chase Travel, Orbitz, Expedia, Hotels .com etc., typically do not earn credits for hotel nights stayed or elite perks (though you can always ask once you're at the hotel - it's just not guaranteed). Hotels like to make you book thru their own website for you to get credit. It's different for airlines though, you do get credit for flights with the airline you choose (with some caveats about just how much credit you get, like if you somehow end up with a consolidator bulk fare).

 

[DrFacilier]

nothing. just follow the flow chart.

Thanks. Great chart! The automated line said 30 days. How often do I "keep checking back"? Like keep checking today or tomorrow and following days?

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Thanks. Great chart! The automated line said 30 days. How often do I "keep checking back"? Like keep checking today or tomorrow and following days?

Call the status line. I kept checking at least a few times a day. But that’s just my impatience coming out

 

[wendow]

Call the status line. I kept checking at least a few times a day. But that’s just my impatience coming out

Same!

 

[pillow]

OK - this is strange . . . on the Plastiq mortgage payment . . . The Chase Ink interface is wacky in that charges disappear and reappear randomly it seems (drives me crazy that it never seems correct). My available credit limit is low, which indicates the "declined" plastiq payments did in fact process. To confirm this, I went to the Ultimate Rewards page, which clearly shows the transaction. If this is the case, then why would Plastiq show "declined?" I'm confused. Best thing I think is to wait a day or two and see what happens. Very bizarre.

Edited: The transactions also appear under Chase Blueprint . . .

 

[Lain]

i did not end up going to Lake Tahoe for spring break. they were suppose to get like 3-5 inches a day for 8 days. We feared we probably couldnt even get up the moutain in our 2 wheeled drive car. It was deemed dangerous.


heh, my my friends just want to stay home. I dont have any friends that play this credit card game so they cant take nice trips themselves...


im actually considering it at this point. i probably go visit London when my parents board the cruise, then do a European tour.

Also thanks to everyone who replied.

@SouthFayetteFan did u read the most recent shutdown? thats probably the most scariest one ive seen... although i feel like the poster isnt telling us the full truth.

@Albort, find Player 2! Take her on a luxurious vacation all on points and make her your teammate in this game and in life.

 

[1st*toright]

@Albort, find Player 2! Take her on a luxurious vacation all on points and make her your teammate in this game and in life.

Great pickup line "hey, want to try 2 player mode?"

 

[Lain]

Nice that you got it! We could actually use it for home improvement but we were 0/7.

There’s a bunch of deals on Lowe’s gift cards right now. Check DoC/Slickdeals/Dan’s Deals.

 

[1st*toright]

I was curious about this too. Lucky at OMAAT states that third party bookings, e.g. Chase Travel, Orbitz, Expedia, Hotels .com etc., typically do not earn credits for hotel nights stayed or elite perks (though you can always ask once you're at the hotel - it's just not guaranteed). Hotels like to make you book thru their own website for you to get credit. It's different for airlines though, you do get credit for flights with the airline you choose (with some caveats about just how much credit you get, like if you somehow end up with a consolidator bulk fare).

Ok, that was my understanding too, but then I saw some random blog (I know, I know) that said you would earn status nights via the chase portal, so I was hoping I was wrong. That makes it easy - I'm going to try to renew my Marriott gold status (which translates to new platinum) so my URs are going to get a rest and I will be booking only via Starriott websites for the rest of 2018.

 

[platamama]

I'm considering switching up my HI plans based on this....tell me if this makes sense. Right now I have 5 nights at Sheraton Maui=80k spg. I could cancel that,and put back into my acct have that 80+another 25k spg which = 315 Marriot points. ( I can possibly add another 30k buying them on sale and using UR credit to pay myself back) so total Marriott points would be 405k. (still with me?) This is for Dec 8-13 2018 if that makes a difference.
That would get me a 7 night cert plus flights for 360k,and I'd still have 45kMarriott left after this.
*NOW* here's my questions....
1) I hesitate to cancel my current booking, b/c I'm afraid there won;'t be availability by the time I get this all set up. Is this a valid concern?
2) How do I use the flights part of this, is it required that I use the flights for this trip,or right away? How long do I have to keep them(if possible) and use them elsewhere?
3) what is booking like? do they run out of rooms with this cert? Would I book the sheraton thru the Marriott site?
4) I'd likely only be able to stay the 5 nights anyway due to award flight availability (I think the saavers are gone for my dates.
head currently spinning just trying to max out my value on this batch of points.
Any help would be appreciated!

1) I think it's possible that there won't be availability at that particular hotel. But I don't see your dates as being very popular (not over a holiday, for example) so my feeling is that you would able to re-book it. Just no guarantee.
2) Flights are separate. Put the miles into whatever program you want, then they'll be subject to whatever the expiration rules are of that airline. They do not need to be used for the HI trip.
3) The certificate just stays in your Marriott account until you attach it to a booking. When you go to book, you need to check the "Use Rewards Points" box when you're searching for availability. The certificate can only be used on rooms available on points. Once you have the booking, call into Marriott Rewards customer service and ask to attach the certificate to your reservation. You have to wait until 8/1 to book a Sheraton thru the Marriott website.
4) You don't need to stay for the entire 7 nights. That said, I think it's easier to check-in on the first day of your reservation and leave early. Otherwise you have to call the hotel if you're not arriving that day, and if you don't it's possible they will give your room away.

 

[Lain]

Thanks. Great chart! The automated line said 30 days. How often do I "keep checking back"? Like keep checking today or tomorrow and following days?

We won’t judge you if you check every hour or more.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Is there a reason I can not sign into my husbands employee account on SPG amex? Like, can I not use the same browser or computer as my login? This is the only the 3rd time I have attempted to login. The first is when I created the account, no problem. The 2nd time it kept telling me my username or password was wrong. I knew it was not, but after about 10 attempts, I gave up and made a new password. At first I tried reusing the password since it said it was wrong, but it told me I could not use the same password, so aha, damn it I was using the right password! lol So I totally changed the password and that worked, but now I am trying to login again, and again it is saying username or password is wrong. I am 1000% sure I am putting in the right info. I even tried using a different browser thinking it was getting confused with my login, even though it is not saved. Am I just going to have to change the dang password every time?

What browser are you using. I have issues with lots of sites on safari. I default to chrome when issues happen. This happens with SPG alot, but not the amex site.

 

[Lain]

Two (out of 4) of my most recent mortgage payments were "declined" on Plastiq. We're pushing our credit limit a bit, and its possible my cc payment didn't post before the pending charge came through - so possibly the decline was due to the card declining the transaction. Or it could be Plastiq declining. Does anyone know exactly what it means if Plastiq says "Declined?"

Not sure whats up. Figured I'd wait a few days and try again.

Wondering if it is a CC issue. I think if plastiq 'declines' it, as in they aren't sure if it's legit, they just ask for a copy of the invoice.

I think you might have hit the credit limit on your CIP.

I’m inclined to agree with @wendow that if Plastiq flagged your payments as suspicious or needing review, they’d put a hold on your payment and request supporting documentation; and if you don’t send anything, then they’d cancel your payment.

I had a payment declined a while ago, and that was because I tried to make a large payment on my (then-) new CIP and triggered a fraud alert on Chase’s end. (This could be another possibility, but if you’ve been making Plastiq payments on your card previously, I doubt a recurring monthly payment would do that.)

If you’ve got a low credit limit on your CIP, then it’s possible your Plastiq payments might’ve gotten caught in between your credit card payment posting and clearing, even though it showed your payment posted on your account.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

OK - this is strange . . . on the Plastiq mortgage payment . . . The Chase Ink interface is wacky in that charges disappear and reappear randomly it seems (drives me crazy that it never seems correct). My available credit limit is low, which indicates the "declined" plastiq payments did in fact process. To confirm this, I went to the Ultimate Rewards page, which clearly shows the transaction. If this is the case, then why would Plastiq show "declined?" I'm confused. Best thing I think is to wait a day or two and see what happens. Very bizarre.

Edited: The transactions also appear under Chase Blueprint . . .

When I was trying to get my 1st mortgage payment to go through, they charged my card but then when I didn't submit the docs they wanted, they reimbursed me, and the the status showed declined.

 

[platamama]

A question for anyone who has had a Marriott credit card since Jan-April 2016:

In 2017 did you receive your 15 elite night credits on your anniversary?

In 2018 did you receive your 15 elite night credits on your anniversary? If so, did it add to your rollover nights from 2017 so that you have more than 15 nights currently? Or did the 2017 15 night credits expire once you received your 2018 15 nights credit?

This woke me up at 1AM and kept me up for an hour last night.

 

[Albort]

Can you give a quick synopsis of the shut-down scenario here? It's definitely on my mind as I try to ramp DH up with Chase cards.

This guy was at 1/24 with 10 credit cards total. AoA is 10 years. shut down reason was the same as usual, too many credit inquiries. he was in the middle of applying for an CIP. he had unfroze experian and equifax. 800+ credit score, has a mortgage. his shutdown has been the most unique and matches my own profile in the sense of x/24 and credit card totals. i don't think this is a bust out, but as @SouthFayetteFan has listed, there was quite a bit of fluke that lead to the shutdown. i asked him if he called to see if they would reinstate him but didn't give me a clear answer. so far has filed a complaint. even the original bustout guy who first announced it wasn't sure what was going on.

@Albort, find Player 2! Take her on a luxurious vacation all on points and make her your teammate in this game and in life.

if only it was that easy. lol.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

OK, I think I have made some progress.

Alaskan Airlines flights 35k each x 6 people...210k points....need help with this part.

Hilton Grand Wailea x 5 nights x 2 rooms. room 1 380k hilton points. room 2 UR portal/ 159,760 points.

Westin Kaanapali x 6 nights x 2rooms. Room 1 104k SPG points. Room 2 104k SPG points (purchase 30k)
*(I'd rather do Aulani at 381k URs but i think i need those for flights?)
Hertz car rental on hertz points.


Alright...I even got all this lined up around the flights. Here is the kicker...how in the world do I buy the alaskan flights with alaskan points.

Here is my current stash (pending points):
Hilton 413k (earn more every week)
SPG 59,706 (55k pending. Can buy 30k x2)
UR 361,379 (116,523 pending)

Did I organize it to make best use of points? Should I change something? How to do make my URs into alaska miles...need 17,500 each way for 6 people.


ETA: this completely wipes out my entire stash. do I really want to go to hawaii? all you young churners out there...remember when family planning that hotel rooms are made for 4.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thanks. Great chart! The automated line said 30 days. How often do I "keep checking back"? Like keep checking today or tomorrow and following days?

First off - thanks so much for the click

When I have a pending Chase App I honestly will call as frequently as once per hour

My most recent application sat pending for 6 days I believe (including the weekend) before being approved

 

[gottalovepluto]

So did you go to the Tahoe Hyatt or cancel because you saw the weather? I am looking at that one too...maybe for summer, maybe for a ski trip. Leaning summer and doing a ski trip at a ski-in/out place.
Sorry things haven't gone as planned. It can only improve, right?

Tahoe Hyatt is the one in Incline Village right? I don’t see any other options so I’m assuming that’s it. I know the area a bit so my two cents... Summer is a beautiful time to go. Summer storms happen but you have better of odds of good weather during summer than you do of good ski weather during winter. When winter is good it’s great but I’ve had Xmas’s up there when the ground was bone dry. You just don’t know, when there is little snow the big resorts have an ok ability to make snow on their main runs and even the little guys (Diamond Peak, Mt Rose) will make snow for their main runs so during the heart of winter dec/Jan/feb you should be able to ski no matter what but whether or not it has the potential to be that great Tahoe skiiing you won’t start to be able to guess until a few weeks out.

If you do summer you could consider trying to be at Tahoe for the 4th IF you can stay at that Hyatt! It has its own private beach and there are a few fireworks shows on the lake that night. I haven’t seen fireworks from down there so I’m not sure which shows you can see from Hyatt’s private beach. For sure you’ll catch the Incline Village show (not as great as the South Lake Tahoe one which is known as one of the best in the country, but it’s a nice fireworks show), the fireworks are set off a barge right there off the beach of Incline!
*don’t try to go to Tahoe for the 4th and spend the day at a Public Beach. You’ll be fighting tens of thousands of people who will plow you down at 6am for that perfect spot on the beach for the 9:30pm fireworks shows*