I love credit cards so much!

[tink1970]

That would be so much fun! Well we will be in Edinburgh June 27th and 28th. Then after that we will be in different parts of the country for the rest of the week. We will be visiting Stornoway and the Callanish Standing Stones again as well as Kirkwall and I know we are in Glasgow on our last day.

Well, rats! June 21-28 we're on the Danube, then Prague then Krakow. I *might* not even make it to Edinburgh next year for the first time in 6 years (but, who are we kidding? I'm going to figure out a way ).

You so too are one of the cool kids as is everyone else who posts here!

Awww, thanks!

I wanted CCay also. Not my dream itinerary in any case. I'll have to think carefully about this one.

Me, too! It is tempting to be able to drive to the port though...
I'm thinking about selling DH on my going on the one out of NOLA with him then the WBPC with mom (BTB for moi) so I don't have to worry about the car. Not sure he'll go for it, though.

 

[eeyoresmom]

Yes as long as all the spend is in 2019, then you only have 6,000 more to spend. The RR points from the sign on bonuses will you receive after you hit the MSR. There are some other ways to earn 6,000 RR points including the shopping portal and sometimes surveys, again they need to be all earned in 2019

I think I'm overthinking this like I tend to do but it's tricky trying to time this for the end of the year so we get the most out of the CP. So....the RR's we earn in December from spending the $4000 ms on these two cards are safe, nothing is going to "happen" to them. But, if we can't make that additional $6k in spending by December we should just wait to make that spend in January? I guess I'm looking for confirmation that the 100k sign up points earned in 2018 can be combined with the rest needed by spending anytime within a year and that's when we earn the CP. So if we don't spend that extra 6k until say March 2019 that's when we earn the CP? Sorry, just want to make sure I got this right.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I can't believe half the flights for the Easter week are sold out already. Especially the timeframes I was looking for. I called this morning trying to see if I can get a better deal over phone (couldn't) and the agent said that doesn't mean they will stay sold out and they can't release how many tickets are left on particular flights, such as if you want to see if a certain flight has 5 tickets left for all 5 family members going.

Anyway, I was really disappointed in how little was available! I am trying to book to Orlando during Easter, probably not the best idea. The points per flight are just not that great either, ranging 10k - 21k. I thought booking right when flights released would get the best point deals. I did end up using our points, but don't have anything much to spare! I do plan to keep checking back as this agent was not so nicely insistent that it doesn't mean they will stay sold out. I don't know though, Easter and MCO?

They won't stay sold out. Every opening day it is the same song and dance...not good prices or things sold out immediately. Even when I do end up booking I rebook for a lower price later. I didn't even bother getting up and checking today. Of course, this is Nashville to everywhere I ever fly. YMMV based on your airport. Airhint is a great site I have recently discovered to help you decide to buy or not. Of course, with points, just book it and take the refund when the price drops.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I agree, NOLA doesn't excite me at all BUT it's only a 3 hour drive so tempting there. We have 2 cruises I need to switch around so going to run things by DH tonight.

Well now that ALL of the info is up (except prices of course) I see the sail dates for Hawaii are awful. Should've known. I haven't totally written it off, but the Jan Southern carib may work out better since the kids have a 3 day weekend in Jan. It has been on my bucket list too. For Hawaii I will have to pull the kids from the last few weeks of school since we get out mid-may and it is 9 or 10 nights, plus a few more on land and in Vancouver.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I'm glad you found what you wanted! But that's going to take a lot of gift cards.

We usually just pick a resort hotel in Hawaii and stay put. I've never really considered a cruise to/from there before but I can see that tons of people are happy about this one.

That is alot of flying for us with our youngest, so I'd love to cruise one way and then stay on land a few days with it. Yes, so many gift cards...and bank bonuses!

 

[elgerber]

I just got an email offer for a SW Biz card, is that weird, when the only biz cards I have are with AMEX? To kind of piggy back off another question, if I can get approved for this, in a few weeks. Any min spend I make before the Jan statement will NOT count toward the CP correct? Only the bonus points (and any additional spend on the Jan statement )once I meet the $3k threshold in January?

 

[amalone1013]

I think I've settled on DHs cards for his wallet:

• CSR for dining
• SPG Biz for gas
• SPG Pers for grocery (got the 1xt point offer)
• Barclay Arrival + for other

But really he'll get a Kroger GC because 10% off at Lowe's > 3 marriott points...
And he'll have SPG Lux as other until MSR is met...
And who knows, maybe we'll use Kroger GCs at Kroger gas stations too for 10% off plus use fuel points...
And we'll probably get him a Costco GC in case he goes there without me

 

[Psychodisney]

I think I'm overthinking this like I tend to do but it's tricky trying to time this for the end of the year so we get the most out of the CP. So....the RR's we earn in December from spending the $4000 ms on these two cards are safe, nothing is going to "happen" to them. But, if we can't make that additional $6k in spending by December we should just wait to make that spend in January? I guess I'm looking for confirmation that the 100k sign up points earned in 2018 can be combined with the rest needed by spending anytime within a year and that's when we earn the CP. So if we don't spend that extra 6k until say March 2019 that's when we earn the CP? Sorry, just want to make sure I got this right.

The RR points you earn from any spending in 2018 on the new cards will go into your RR account. The key is that the bonus points won't credit until 2019 if you wait until 2019 to finish the MSR...ie. DO NOT FINISH YOUR MSR UNTIL 2019!. Then you'll have the 100 K bonus points with 10K spend or bonuses from RR shopping etc. to earn the CP fro 2019-2020.

 

[Psychodisney]

I just got an email offer for a SW Biz card, is that weird, when the only biz cards I have are with AMEX? To kind of piggy back off another question, if I can get approved for this, in a few weeks. Any min spend I make before the Jan statement will NOT count toward the CP correct? Only the bonus points (and any additional spend on the Jan statement )once I meet the $3k threshold in January?

Yes, correct. Anything you spend now will earn RR points but will not go toward 2019 points towards CP.

 

[amalone1013]

I think I'm overthinking this like I tend to do but it's tricky trying to time this for the end of the year so we get the most out of the CP. So....the RR's we earn in December from spending the $4000 ms on these two cards are safe, nothing is going to "happen" to them. But, if we can't make that additional $6k in spending by December we should just wait to make that spend in January? I guess I'm looking for confirmation that the 100k sign up points earned in 2018 can be combined with the rest needed by spending anytime within a year and that's when we earn the CP. So if we don't spend that extra 6k until say March 2019 that's when we earn the CP? Sorry, just want to make sure I got this right.

I would add to just make sure you don't get close to hitting the MSR at all until January. Even if you return anything, the system doesn't seem to track that and will award the points anyways. For example, I think it was AMEX, but @Lain bought and returned several iPhones earlier this year and had sign up bonus awarded, even though the net spend was nowhere near MSR. Also, last year a lot of people got messed up because they hit the MSR amount in December because their statement closed in January, and usually that's when the bonus points would be awarded (at statement close). But last year a bunch of people had their's post immediately after they hit the spend, so they posted in December and messed up plans for CP. Hope that makes sense

 

[Oscar Madison]

So, whats the violence/ickyness factor with Jack Ryan? I'm kind of a wimp about blood, so I like to have a heads up before trying a new series. Also, how appropriate would it be to watch with a teenaged girl? We're always looking for something to watch together, but its kinda tough to find stuff that works. We did Lost in Space, which worked well. K, now I really sound like a wimp! DH and I watched a bunch of the Americans this summer (while our teen was away), and I thought that was good (although the ickyness factor got to me a few times). That is not a show we are watching as a family anytime soon!

Just finished S2 of the Americans. Loving it. Watched 3 episodes of Jack Ryan and seemed very slow. I've read all the books that TC actually wrote and it just wasn't doing for me. My SIL told me it gets better. Ickyness factor was similar to the Americans in the few episodes I've watched so far.

 

[mhartman09]

Same! I love using the TA for 'magical' savings but she knows less about Disney than I do. I am doing everything for this party of 16...booking dining, FP's, and of course, rooms. I always said I'd do the TA thing when my kids were more self-sufficient but I figured it takes time to build up a clientele. So start slowly now and maybe in 5 years, I'll be ready to go at it FT. My aunt started about 6-7 years ago and she is so busy. She gets new people calling her every single day to book new trips. She's late 60's so she cannot continue at this pace forever.

This is pretty much why I decided in January to take the plunge and join an agency. Even though I'm newer to WDW than some others, I've done tons of research and have built up my knowledge quickly. I've been helping my friends and family plan their trips anyway (taking care of ADRs, FPs, etc.) so at least this way I get paid for it. The hardest part for me is wanting to tell clients all about so many ways to save going different routes, but that doesn't help me as a TA and to be honest, most of my clients wouldn't want to put in the extra effort it takes to try those other routes. Most of my clients are looking for a one-stop shop type of deal where they book everything together and it's all taken care of by one person. Other hard part is for my personal trips using points. Obviously I make nada on those, but the free or almost free trip is way better than commission anyway!!

I come into this fully knowing that you probably can't earn a liveable wage doing this. Here's some of what I've found:

• You're going to latch on to an agency and they'll get a cut
• A room only will probably generate a 10% commission - the agency is gonna take 30ish% of that
• So you're looking at roughly 7% of the room cost
• Tickets only pay commission on 3 day tix or more - it's an 8% commission I think
• I don't think they get anything for the Dining Plan

A Big thing is you don't get paid until the travel is COMPLETED. So if you start now and people are booking 6-12 months out you don't see cash until then.

As a hobby, sounds cool...Trying to support a family or replace a REAL income...sounds scary

This is totally a side-gig for me and it does take up a lot of my time. Feels like I'm playing catch up here almost every day lately, but it's because I'm still working my office job M-F and handling my TA biz during my breaks/lunch and after work. I just make sure it doesn't take away from my family time. I've been making pretty decent commission so far so I'm happy with how things are going. However, I've got a pretty awesome paying day-job and I don't see being a TA ever being able to take the place of that job. It's a good fall back for me though, since I work in the oil industry and it's so volatile. At least I'll have something for the interim should something happen to my job or the company I work for and I'm out of work for an extended period.

We actually get commission on the entire package cost, so if dining is added our commission is higher. My agency does Disney destinations as well as multiple cruise lines and a few other vendors too. I'm one of the only agents with my agency who books a lot of cruises (outside of DCL). In fact, my bookings are about half WDW and half cruise lines. Different agencies do have different commission splits with agents. I'd say it's important to shop around for a good fit.

The other was new Orleans. They made a much better deal out of that. Doesn't excite me at all. But I need a job. Hawaii is gonna be $$$ with only 2 sailings. At least I have plenty of time to buy discounted GC.

I'm super excited about DCL coming to New Orleans!!! This is huge for my area, as I live about an hour away from New Orleans. This will be great for me personally, as well as for my TA biz!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I think I'm overthinking this like I tend to do but it's tricky trying to time this for the end of the year so we get the most out of the CP. So....the RR's we earn in December from spending the $4000 ms on these two cards are safe, nothing is going to "happen" to them. But, if we can't make that additional $6k in spending by December we should just wait to make that spend in January? I guess I'm looking for confirmation that the 100k sign up points earned in 2018 can be combined with the rest needed by spending anytime within a year and that's when we earn the CP. So if we don't spend that extra 6k until say March 2019 that's when we earn the CP? Sorry, just want to make sure I got this right.

There's a lot to this message...and I'm concerned you're playing with fire here...

For anybody going for a 2019/2020 Southwest Companion Pass: I recommend you read this thread on r/churning https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/9h4yc0/applying_for_southwest_cards_cp_late_in_the_year/ on all the ways it could go wrong.

Specifically in response to you @eeyoresmom - This is all about having 110,000 SW RR points earned in one calendar year (for you 2019). Money spent in 2018 WILL NOT count (unless it's spent after your December statement closes...but again that seems like you're playing with fire). AND you should not hit your MSR before Jan 1, 2019 so your bonuses do not post until 2019.

You are correct in saying that you will not earn your CP until the 110,000th point posts to your SW account within 1 calendar year...whether that's Jan 30th, Mar 30th, or Dec 30th of 2019.

 

[speedyfishy]

Please, please school me here and explain how you are getting 40% or even close to it. I always go for 5x UR but when I can get 10% off or better then I switch. Thanks in advance.

I think the 40% off is only with the RMN deal right now, since that's what that about works out to. I've gotten $175 in gift cards for $105. Obviously YMMV as to whether it will credit, being able to take advantage of all those deals, stores, etc. I think generally if you're getting 10%, you're doing very well.

Yeah I’m just doing RMN. $10 off a $25 card. I’m up to $275 in giftcards this month.

ETA: I guess 41% off because I’m using my Amex Biz to meet MSR and getting 1x MRs too lol

 

[wendow]

This is pretty much why I decided in January to take the plunge and join an agency. Even though I'm newer to WDW than some others, I've done tons of research and have built up my knowledge quickly. I've been helping my friends and family plan their trips anyway (taking care of ADRs, FPs, etc.) so at least this way I get paid for it. The hardest part for me is wanting to tell clients all about so many ways to save going different routes, but that doesn't help me as a TA and to be honest, most of my clients wouldn't want to put in the extra effort it takes to try those other routes. Most of my clients are looking for a one-stop shop type of deal where they book everything together and it's all taken care of by one person. Other hard part is for my personal trips using points. Obviously I make nada on those, but the free or almost free trip is way better than commission anyway!!

I've been helping others plan their trips for years and they always would bring me back something from the parks. Not that I ever expect anyone to do it but people just always 'thank' me in that way. Which is super sweet and I cherish the little trinkets they bring me back from WDW. But if I can actually book their trips and get commission, that is even better. I've had everyone in my life telling me for years I need to actually become a TA so I could do this for money and I've always brushed it off. So, I finally went for it It is fun, and the money isn't tremendous but it's more than I was making lol!

 

[striker1064]

Have you ever read this article? It's really long and the math is way over my head, but it's fascinating.

That article was tremendous. I'm impressed he was able to see how to do that in the first place. That's the real talent - the math is not terribly difficult (just finding the break-even point), it's spotting the pattern in the first place.

I'm also even more impressed they had the foresight not to blow all their winnings right away.

 

[wendow]

I think the 40% off is only with the RMN deal right now, since that's what that about works out to. I've gotten $175 in gift cards for $105. Obviously YMMV as to whether it will credit, being able to take advantage of all those deals, stores, etc. I think generally if you're getting 10%, you're doing very well.

Whether it will credit or not is key here lol...My HD one from last week that went pending before I even left the store, never became payable and now I have the sad smiley saying my purchase didn't qualify. I think my dh's did the same! I haven't had a ton of those but I'm up to 3-4 on just my account. So, even once it goes to pending, it's not all rainbows and unicorns yet. I just did CVS again. Got notifications. We shall see. I'm scared to try HD again.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Yeah I’m just doing RMN. $10 off a $25 card. I’m up to $275 in giftcards this month.

ETA: I guess 41% off because I’m using my Amex Biz to meet MSR and getting 1x MRs too lol

I'm getting ready to head to Walgreens and CVS again lol. Fortunately they're right across the street from each other. Mark this is the only time I've ever NOT said "this is so stupid, why did they build two drug stores right across the street from each other."

 

[DisneyMandC]

Whether it will credit or not is key here lol...My HD one from last week that went pending before I even left the store, never became payable and now I have the sad smiley saying my purchase didn't qualify. I think my dh's did the same! I haven't had a ton of those but I'm up to 3-4 on just my account. So, even once it goes to pending, it's not all rainbows and unicorns yet. I just did CVS again. Got notifications. We shall see. I'm scared to try HD again.

Yeah I did HD on mine and not on DH's. It's still pending and I'm not going to try another one until it becomes payable. If it doesn't then oh well. Still $25 I spent towards MSR on my SPG Biz.

 

[Haley R]

I've been helping others plan their trips for years and they always would bring me back something from the parks. Not that I ever expect anyone to do it but people just always 'thank' me in that way. Which is super sweet and I cherish the little trinkets they bring me back from WDW. But if I can actually book their trips and get commission, that is even better. I've had everyone in my life telling me for years I need to actually become a TA so I could do this for money and I've always brushed it off. So, I finally went for it It is fun, and the money isn't tremendous but it's more than I was making lol!

Are you just a TA for Disney? I tried applying at places where I live but they didn’t want a TA just specialized in Disney. I also thought about starting my own business but the state I live in you have to get a license.