I love credit cards so much!

[miztressuz]

Can I open up an Spg or Spg biz if I opened a Marriott Premiere Plus before August 26th.

ETA: and get the sign up bonus?

As of 8/26, since you have a Marriott Premier Plus you can't hold the SPG cards at the same time. You'd have to cancel (or PC) the Marriott PP and wait 30 days to apply for the SPG. For the SPG Biz you'd also have to cancel (or PC) the card and wait 30 days to apply BUT also have to wait 24 months since receiving the welcome bonus on the Marriott PP.

I find this chart helpful when sorting it all out: https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/2018/07/30/navigating-marriotts-byzantine-credit-card-rules/

 

[miztressuz]

Can I use SM to reduce CL on my Disney Visa, which I now hardly use?

Yes, I did it on mine just a few months ago. They were quick, I think it was done same day.

 

[nhgirl]

As of 8/26, since you have a Marriott Premier Plus you can't hold the SPG cards at the same time. You'd have to cancel (or PC) the Marriott PP and wait 30 days to apply for the SPG. For the SPG Biz you'd also have to cancel (or PC) the card and wait 30 days to apply BUT also have to wait 24 months since receiving the welcome bonus on the Marriott PP.

I find this chart helpful when sorting it all out: https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/2018/07/30/navigating-marriotts-byzantine-credit-card-rules/

Okay thank you! I just opened the Marriott in June and haven’t received the bonus yet. I guess I’m going through the empty nest syndrome since I spent all my UR’s and now I have no points

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I'll go take a look on the boards. I remember loving the Costa Rica itinerary when it came out, but a few years later when I was ready to consider it it didn't look that amazing any more. I figured they must have changed it (but maybe my expectations changed and I didn't realize it). I'll be looking for those reviews from you and Calypso for sure.

If you’re looking at an all inclusive trip in Costa Rica, take a look at caravan.com. They have been doing escorted tours for longer than almost anyone (1952). They have changed their itinerary since we went (I think Disney locked them out of some locales) but they were awesome. They do a great job with native bilingual guides, great tours, nice accommodations and travel via Mercedes motorcoach. They have tours leaving daily, so schedule is not a problem. Because they have so many tours, they do have pull at resorts and activities so we were treated well. We did have someone injured in our tour group. Our guide escorted them to the hospital, stayed with them all night as their interpreter, while Caravan sent a second guide to be with them while our guide returned to the group. Can’t say enough about how impressed I was with their service.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

That's awesome. I want to be a Disney TA, but I can't find anywhere that will take someone who only wants to do Disney.

AAA? My TA is a Disney Travel Specialist for AAA

 

[miztressuz]

Okay thank you! I just opened the Marriott in June and haven’t received the bonus yet. I guess I’m going through the empty nest syndrome since I spent all my UR’s and now I have no points

That's a bummer. You can still go for the Marriott Biz for a points boost. But with the SPG card going away eventually it's unclear if it'd still be around next July (I assume you wouldn't want to risk the relationship with Chase by closing the Marriott PP early). However, if it is you can hold the Marriott Biz and the SPG card together.

Just really realized the Marriott Biz should be going away eventually too. We just picked that up a couple months ago and wasn't sure if we'd hang on to it but maybe we will since $99 isn't terrible for a Marriott night and it's not like we'd get it back. (wish it were $95 like the others but $4 won't break us) Although this is hubby's card and he'd be eligible to sign up for the SPG Biz after he cancels it. Hm, that's a thought...

 

[amalone1013]

Thanks for reminding me to order my dog’s food from the vet. $80 a case and they don’t even take AMEX for my MSR.
And don’t you work for a dog food company?

Yup. For now...
ILs dont feed my brand though, and my discount is crap honestly.

If you didn't injure yourself and you are not on fire...go in! Don't miss out on the deals!

Hahaha! Mission accomplished!

I was thinking same thing! lol No dog food perks for working for a dog food place @amalone1013?

Discount is crap. I can order from a special website. Some locations at least have an on site store but not us. I'd do better ordering my company's food with discounted gcs and shopping portals. Best we get is occasionally they give food and treats away to employees, then I stock up and ILs mix that into what they normally feed.

 

[Haley R]

Okay I have a question. I started looking at places to stay in Kyoto and found a great place called Hotel Gentle Fox. It’s an apartment style hotel and is available on the chase portal, BUT it’s cheaper on booking.com and possibly other sites. Should I cash out the money on chase and book through someone else? I thought our CSR would give us better rates but I guess not.

 

[Haley R]

AAA? My TA is a Disney Travel Specialist for AAA

I’ll have to look into that!

 

[amalone1013]

Okay I have a question. I started looking at places to stay in Kyoto and found a great place called Hotel Gentle Fox. It’s an apartment style hotel and is available on the chase portal, BUT it’s cheaper on booking.com and possibly other sites. Should I cash out the money on chase and book through someone else? I thought our CSR would give us better rates but I guess not.

Not always better. I'd compare how many points on portal at 1.5x vs booking.com at 1x if you cash out

 

[GusGus16]

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.

Looks like @SouthFayetteFan answered your question, read through his answer! You need to have a clear plan otherwise you may only end up earning the sign up bonuses and not the CP. All 110,000 points need to be earned/credited in the same year. So if you open a card in November and put spend on that card, those points will be in your RR account but will not count toward the 110,000 point total for a 2019 CP.

 

[Haley R]

Not always better. I'd compare how many points on portal at 1.5x vs booking.com at 1x if you cash out

What’s the point-cash ratio? Does that make sense? I’m seeing the cash price on chase for $108/night and booking is $98/night. The points say 48k or 46k

 

[KPK02090]

@pinkxray , @KPK02090 , have you gotten your Citizens bonuses yet? Mine just posted 9/26, which is 63 days after my "DD" posted and matches the info @miztressuz gave us about the bonus timing. No fees yet either. I'm going to close it soon. Hope you both get yours as well!

Yes! Got mine today. I was super excited.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

So I had a coworker look up AAA prices for WDW hoppers for our March trip. They look cheaper than UCT, great! Come home, spend 30 minutes finding the cheapest way to get AAA membership, find a $20 off deal and sign up. Sign into my new AAA account, look up WDW tix, put them in my cart only to discover the original price did not include tax. So they are more $ than UCT. Should have known better, I know Disney prices are listed without taxes too. At least I’ll use the AAA membership for discounts at Swolphin restaurants.

 

[amalone1013]

What’s the point-cash ratio? Does that make sense? I’m seeing the cash price on chase for $108/night and booking is $98/night. The points say 48k or 46k

Is the 46k/48k total?

Going off $108 a night, that should be 7200 pts (CSR) or 8640 pts (CIP/CSP) I cant remember if you have CSR yet. Just divide cash price by .015 or. 0125 depending on which card.

If booking.com is $98, you'd have to redeem 9800 pts at 1 cent per point to cover, so UR portal is still better overall.

 

[mom2elal]

I just booked the perfect departure flights for our WDW trip in June! 11k pts each (from CA), leaving at 10:55am (I hate having to get to the airport at like 6 am) and nonstop, which is awesome. I'll keep checking for the price to go down, but if it doesn't I'm totally okay with what we paid.

 

[mom2elal]

are there these kind of deals for disneyland? could not find anything? thankyou

I think if they had a cardholder discount going on, it would be listed here
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/offers-discounts/

 

[Haley R]

Is the 46k/48k total?

Going off $108 a night, that should be 7200 pts (CSR) or 8640 pts (CIP/CSP) I cant remember if you have CSR yet. Just divide cash price by .015 or. 0125 depending on which card.

If booking.com is $98, you'd have to redeem 9800 pts at 1 cent per point to cover, so UR portal is still better overall.

Yep that’s the total for 6 nights. Seems like a good deal to me considering we would be getting a kitchen and a washer and dryer.

 

[Albort]

Yep that’s the total for 6 nights. Seems like a good deal to me considering we would be getting a kitchen and a washer and dryer.

heh, u can probably eat 7-11 Food for a week straight in Japan... :]

 

[Haley R]

heh, u can probably eat 7-11 Food for a week straight in Japan... :]

Lol yeah I know! We actually won’t even be in the apartment at all since we will be going nonstop places but it’s nice to have the option.