I love credit cards so much!

[Lain]

I want to say we all got the SPG Biz at the same time in between the Marriott and CIC as well...at least I remember @Lain did. Can’t quite remember whether @Ava did as well? I’ll need to borrow @Lain’s spreadsheet

I did! I got the SPG Biz and Personal, actually. The Biz in March and the personal in April.

I did the SPG Biz 35k/$10k offer in 10/17, but Player 2 did the SPG Biz 35k/$7k offer in 3/18, and I did the SPG personal 30k offer in 4/18. So yeah, basically the same cards in order and timing!

 

[speedyfishy]

theres BMO... but that got shut down pretty quickly...

I managed to get one Amex bonus with BMO.

 

[mmmears]

I stumbled upon this thread because I'm trying to think about our CCards and if we have the right ones for our upcoming trip, and I just have to say... WOW! I've been reading this morning and can't keep up! You are all amazing at figuring this stuff out. (And I was pleased with myself that I got our summer air on points - clearly I'm a novice). We have an AMEX that we use whenever possible (love the perks) but not everyone takes AMEX and our other cards (AA MC and a free Disney Visa) aren't that great.

 

[Lain]

Question on Chase's 24-month bonus rule: I applied for Chase Marriott 6/2016. It looks like I got the bonus in Sept. or Oct. 2016. Does that mean I should not apply for the new Marriott card until October? In other words, do you have to apply 24-months or more after you last got the bonus?

DPs are mixed whether the 24 month limit is based on date or month. I’d err on the side of month. So if you got the bonus sometime in 9/16, you can apply again on the 1st of October 2018. If you’re still ineligible for the bonus, I think Chase’s system will auto-deny you and you’ll have wasted a hard pull.

 

[Haley R]

I'm trying to set up the online account for DHs CIP, and it's telling me I have to call them for the security code because they don't have my phone or email? Is that normal?

Yep we had to do that. I wasn't even able to call about our MSR date because DH has to be the one to call. He is going to change me from an employee to a proxy so hopefully I can be able to call to check on things with our account.

 

[thevalley]

So just wanted to say the I just came back from a quick weekend trip from Pittsburgh. went to the pirates game Saturday night and caught a foul ball and was on the jumbo tvs.. the kids just loved it. we stayed at the Hilton double tree in green tree, which is just about 4 miles away from the stadium. so this was my first time staying Hilton gold and was not able to get an upgrade they had 3 weddings lol. but the breakfast was great for free lol. sorry for the long story but when I booked I saw on a blog about the MVP portal codes for different Hilton properties and was able to use one with my stay and it saved about 20 dollars. if anyone books at a Hilton property google the mvp codes and see which will work for your stay. not sure if it is for all but I have already book 2 more stays at a double tree. hope this helps with saving a fee dollars. let me know if I can help anyone locating the codes or any other questions.

 

[wendow]

That’s the only one I found so far. Maybe a local credit union will accept Amex? The ones near me allow funding but only visa and MasterCard

Is $500 the max for Memory funding with a CC? I think I'm gonna go for that one since I can use Amex.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

@Lain gave a great review. I stayed at the Hilton last year, but we were too lazy to walk to the parks so we took Uber/Taxi. I think it was $7-$10 and definitely worth it to save tired feet at the end of the day!

Another option is the new-ish Homewood Suites Anaheim Resort-Convention Center. It's on Harbor right next to the Toy Story lot. It's not full-service like the Hilton, but it was just built in the last few years and includes full breakfast and evening dinner on M-Th. I think most of the rooms have kitchenettes. I've been interested in staying there but have not done so yet. Some friends stayed there last year and really liked it.

Ooohhhhh, even better! We stay at homewoods often since it gives us more space for 5-6 of us traveling.

 

[thevalley]

Is $500 the max for Memory funding with a CC? I think I'm gonna go for that one since I can use Amex.

yes, I was just looing into this right now lol.

 

[Ngwira]

My sis in law reached out to me for help in planning her 20th anniversary trip to Bali! She and bro in law have 100,000 spg and 100,000 Hyatt. Airport would be PHL or even EWR. Would anyone be willing to help? Which airline to transfer to? I'm going on awardhacker today to see where she needs to transfer her spg points to.

 

[Lain]

sooo... code word for "Hi Friend!" is Lime Green.

You sure we won’t get downvoted for that?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I funded it with $10k from my Ally account. I opened it Friday morning but don't see it in Discover yet.

Mine is from ally tooand we are on the same timeline. Keep me updated and I will do the same.

 

[Artygal90]

Augh! Just called the status line to check on my CIP application. It says they'll be in touch in 7-10 days. That's bad right? There were two things I was worried about: 1) it's a new business, so I put down 1 year and $1000 in revenue, and 2) I changed addresses on April 1st and didn't change my address on all my credit reports. D'oh! Am I SOL? I'm sweating bullets over here! (mostly because it's May in Texas, but a little bit because of this too!)

 

[wendow]

Augh! Just called the status line to check on my CIP application. It says they'll be in touch in 7-10 days. That's bad right? There were two things I was worried about: 1) it's a new business, so I put down 1 year and $1000 in revenue, and 2) I changed addresses on April 1st and didn't change my address on all my credit reports. D'oh! Am I SOL? I'm sweating bullets over here! (mostly because it's May in Texas, but a little bit because of this too!)

7-10 days is usually a denial I'm sorry. I just got one of those last week for the CIC.

 

[Lain]

The Hilton cards should be fairly easy for us since 90 days from either card will run into our DLR trip, so we can put expenses from that on them as well.

Thank you so much, this was a great review!! Yeah, I think this pretty much settles it that we'll go with the Hilton. I was already planning to pay cash for a hotel anyways and with the rates there plus the new Hilton biz card, it's kind of a no brainer. We won't have a car so no worries on the parking! And it sounds like walking might be the best option for us. That's good to know on the Toy Story shuttle though. I'll check Hilton's website on promotions too to see if we get anything extra for our stay. Thank you!

You probably know that the Amex Hilton Biz comes with complimentary HH Gold status. We always book the lowest cash rate because we’re always upgraded to a higher floor, often enough with a view, because of our Gold status. (That, and when we’re staying at the Hilton Anaheim, we’re really there to spend the day at the parks anyway.)

We’re also offered complimentary breakfast as HH Gold guests, but we always decline at check-in and get extra HH points instead because we'd rather open up Disneyland and eat in the parks or DTD.

There's also a special line for HH Gold and Diamond members at the Starbucks in the lobby, which is nice when it’s busy and most everyone else is in the long line.

I think HH Gold members also get a bonus on the base points earned from stays and things like free WiFi.

With Amex cards that give complimentary hotel status, just allow about a week’s time from receiving the card and activating that benefit to actually receiving confirmation that your hotel status is activated.

 

[Artygal90]

My sis in law reached out to me for help in planning her 20th anniversary trip to Bali! She and bro in law have 100,000 spg and 100,000 Hyatt. Airport would be PHL or even EWR. Would anyone be willing to help? Which airline to transfer to? I'm going on awardhacker today to see where she needs to transfer her spg points to.

Sounds like an awesome trip! I flew Singapore Airlines when I went in 2015, but don't see that as an option at awardhacker.com. Whatever you do, try and avoid a route that has a connection through Moscow - worst layover experience ever! American or BA might be good options?

As for hotels - it looks like there are two Hyatt options on the island, both at the south end. It looks like they're out of the touristy madness of Kuta, but still close to the airport and several tourist destinations. If they want to do a lot of sightseeing and have easy access to all the roads, they should probably pick the one closer to Denpasar proper. If they want a more relaxed vacation with lots of downtime on the beach, the Grand Hyatt Bali on Nusa Dua looks like a great choice.

I will also say that it's easy to find cheap(ish, depending) accommodations in Bali, especially the further away you get from the south end of the island. They could look into doing a split stay, maybe a few nights using points at a Hyatt and then pay in cash for a few nights in a guesthouse someplace like Ubud or Amed. It all depends on the kind of trip they want to take.

 

[amalone1013]

You probably know that the Amex Hilton Biz comes with complimentary HH Gold status. We always book the lowest cash rate because we’re always upgraded to a higher floor, often enough with a view, because of our Gold status. (That, and when we’re staying at the Hilton Anaheim, we’re really there to spend the day at the parks anyway.)

We’re also offered complimentary breakfast as HH Gold guests, but we always decline at check-in and get extra HH points instead because we'd rather open up Disneyland and eat in the parks or DTD.

There's also a special line for HH Gold and Diamond members at the Starbucks in the lobby, which is nice when it’s busy and most everyone else is in the long line.

I think HH Gold members also get a bonus on the base points earned from stays and things like free WiFi.

With Amex cards that give complimentary hotel status, just allow about a week’s time from receiving the card and activating that benefit to actually receiving confirmation that your hotel status is activated.

So there is a fastpass for the Starbucks line!



Or should I say maxpass...

 

[schmass]

You probably know that the Amex Hilton Biz comes with complimentary HH Gold status. We always book the lowest cash rate because we’re always upgraded to a higher floor, often enough with a view, because of our Gold status. (That, and when we’re staying at the Hilton Anaheim, we’re really there to spend the day at the parks anyway.)

We’re also offered complimentary breakfast as HH Gold guests, but we always decline at check-in and get extra HH points instead because we'd rather open up Disneyland and eat in the parks or DTD.

There's also a special line for HH Gold and Diamond members at the Starbucks in the lobby, which is nice when it’s busy and most everyone else is in the long line.

I think HH Gold members also get a bonus on the base points earned from stays and things like free WiFi.

With Amex cards that give complimentary hotel status, just allow about a week’s time from receiving the card and activating that benefit to actually receiving confirmation that your hotel status is activated.

We check into a Hilton on 6/15 and I was planning on applying DH to the card on 6/1. Do you think that's enough time, or should I apply in the next few days?

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I'm trying to set up the online account for DHs CIP, and it's telling me I have to call them for the security code because they don't have my phone or email? Is that normal?

This is what happened to both me and DH when we got our first Chase biz cards. It was slightly inconvenient, but we got the accounts set up quickly. After that, my CIC showed up in the same account without me needing to do anything.

 

[Lain]

Augh! Just called the status line to check on my CIP application. It says they'll be in touch in 7-10 days. That's bad right? There were two things I was worried about: 1) it's a new business, so I put down 1 year and $1000 in revenue, and 2) I changed addresses on April 1st and didn't change my address on all my credit reports. D'oh! Am I SOL? I'm sweating bullets over here! (mostly because it's May in Texas, but a little bit because of this too!)

Yeah... 7-10 days is likely denial. Wait for the letter so you know the reason(s) for denial. It very well could be verification since you moved recently, in which case you’d call reconsideration and prove you are you.