I love credit cards so much!

[amalone1013]

PSA for Escape Lounges: groupon if you need to/want to purchase an entry. At the lounge entry is $45, pre-purchase from Escape $40, Groupons run around $30ish and has a couple extra bucks off today so prices $25-$30 depending on the lounge.

I'm traveling with my fam to WDW in a couple weeks and we have an Escape Lounge visit planned at departure as Mom has her Plat Biz. That's good for the 3 others in the fam, but I want access so yay!

Seeing groupons for all domestic Escape lounges: OAK, RNO, GSP, BDL, MSP. Exp on the vouchers is Feb 22, 2019 so good for the holidays.

Hmm... DH was just telling me last night he is getting warm and fuzzy feelings for a job he is quoting in Reno... it would require him to make up to 5 trips out there to oversee. One more reason for an AMEX plat!

Wow. That's like next level ridiculous. At this point I'm shocked they're even allowing Disney Springs hotel bookings!

Shhhhhh...

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

The difference is actually $55. It jumped out at me only because I've run this calculation numerous times before to convince myself of the numbers to justify keeping the CSR (yeah, you made me pull out the calculator again!). Based on that number, one would need to spend $3667 on the CSR on dining/travel to come out ahead of the CFU for the same categories. Looks like that's not a problem for @disneymagicgirl :



I don't recall your 5/24 status, but if you can't go for CIC directly for the signup bonus, then consider downgrading your CIP to the CIC for 5xUR gift cards at office supply stores. I do like using mine for the VGC and MCGC deals at Staples and OD/OM when they come out. Those VGCs work fine at Costco check out (but not for the fuel pumps IME).



I pretty much only use my Costco VI for gas, and that's only if I'm not 1)working on a MSR or 2)using my Kroger gas station. You still get better value using CSR for dining and travel, because even if you don't use URs for Disney, you can transfer the URs to SW and be getting ~1.5cpp that way.

Oops LOL! That’s what I get for analyzing AFs while multitasking at work

 

[CyndiLouWho]

On chapter books, the ones I haven't seen mentioned yet are the Adventures of Wishbone books. Not sure if anyone else saw that show on PBS with the dog who plays a key part in classics. Fun way to read about the classics (Huckleberry Dog, The Prince and the Pooch!). I need to see if we still have the Wishbone stuffed animal. He is probably hanging with Clifford.

I loved that show. I watched it regularly and didn’t even have kids then

 

[Lain]

I swear I didn't spill the beans anywhere but here. We'll see how long this sticks around - I'm just glad I got the 75k Plat already!

More specific follow-up post: American Express Incognito Mode Offers Now Available On Referral Links.

Like you pointed out, this trick made its way onto reddit earlier this week. Some blogger was bound to write about it.

 

[MrPTato]

Second statement just cut on SPG Lux...hoping maybe I will have some points deposited into my account...you know...like the 100,000 from the signup bonus and those from regular spend.

 

[StephPlum]

This made me remember all the times I read 'Go Dog Go'.
That was the biggie for my son and he probably still loves that book!

That was also a biggie at my house.

 

[NewbieMom]

Good news about Gift of College GCs. It looks like they're really expanding their retail presence: Best options for buying Gift of College gift cards (now at Target, but…)

FM notes that we can now buy GOC GCs in-store, in amounts up to $500 at:

• Brookshire’s Grocery. (Located in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.)
• Foodmaxx. Discount supermarket. (Located in California and Nevada.)
• Fred’s. General merchandise and pharmacy. (Located in the Southeast.)
• H-E-B Texas Grocery
• Lucky Supermarkets. (Located in California.)
• Save Mart Supermarkets. (Located in California and Nevada.)

Buying in $500 amounts maximizes the value of the $5.95 activation fee, and brings funding a 529 Plan or paying off student loans with a credit card down to 1.19%. Notably, the Amex Gold earns 4x MR at grocery stores and the Amex BCP earns 6% cash back. FM lists other high earning grocery rewards cards.

Although Target (and previously discussed, Barnes & Noble) now carry GOC GCs, it appears Target sells only $50 and $100 denominations, which makes the $5.95 fee a terrible value (although I wonder if you get a 5% REDcard discount, but probably not if these are considered "prepaid cards").

This is huge for people in California and Nevada (and folks in the Southeast), because previously only H-E-B in Texas sold $500 GOC GCs. I have several Lucky Supermarkets relatively nearby so I'll be checking for GOC GCs this week.

Thank you for posting!! I had to go to Lucky's today to pickup some groceries, and sure enough, there's a stack of these cards. The cashier did initially say I had to use a debit card or cash to purchase. But he called the manager over, and she said it's fine. Hope these stick around!

 

[StephPlum]

Was checking my points from my Westin stay last week. I had bonus points of 3500 which I couldn't understand. Then I remembered I signed up for the
With MegaBonus® in More Places, you’ll earn:
2,000 bonus points on all stays** of two or more nights
1,000 bonus points per brand, starting with your second brand
This is right below the 29 ways to stay game; you have to register. So I got 2000 for that stay + 1500 for declining housekeeping for the 3 days I was there.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Hmm... DH was just telling me last night he is getting warm and fuzzy feelings for a job he is quoting in Reno... it would require him to make up to 5 trips out there to oversee. One more reason for an AMEX plat!...

I can assure you there is nothing worthwhile for eating or snacking in the Reno airport. You’ll definitely get some brownie points if he ends up there with a Plat
*I’m assuming the escape lounge is halfway decent, I’ll report back on that! Like I said, the bar isn’t very high...

 

[StephPlum]

I am stunned. Finally DH approved for SPG Biz from my referral! I - I mean DH - applied for the SPG Biz about 5 times. Kept getting the dreaded pop-up so I stopped the application. Took his Hilton Biz (only AMEX he has) out last weekend for car maintenance and other errands. Spent around $300. I tried applying on Tuesday and got the pop-up. Tried again today and I almost didn't believe it when it got past the pop-up and said APPROVED!

 

[Artygal90]

Good news about Gift of College GCs. It looks like they're really expanding their retail presence: Best options for buying Gift of College gift cards (now at Target, but…)

FM notes that we can now buy GOC GCs in-store, in amounts up to $500 at:

• Brookshire’s Grocery. (Located in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.)
• Foodmaxx. Discount supermarket. (Located in California and Nevada.)
• Fred’s. General merchandise and pharmacy. (Located in the Southeast.)
• H-E-B Texas Grocery
• Lucky Supermarkets. (Located in California.)
• Save Mart Supermarkets. (Located in California and Nevada.)

Buying in $500 amounts maximizes the value of the $5.95 activation fee, and brings funding a 529 Plan or paying off student loans with a credit card down to 1.19%. Notably, the Amex Gold earns 4x MR at grocery stores and the Amex BCP earns 6% cash back. FM lists other high earning grocery rewards cards.

Although Target (and previously discussed, Barnes & Noble) now carry GOC GCs, it appears Target sells only $50 and $100 denominations, which makes the $5.95 fee a terrible value (although I wonder if you get a 5% REDcard discount, but probably not if these are considered "prepaid cards").

This is huge for people in California and Nevada (and folks in the Southeast), because previously only H-E-B in Texas sold $500 GOC GCs. I have several Lucky Supermarkets relatively nearby so I'll be checking for GOC GCs this week.

Okay, I've got a couple MSRs to meet, an HEB near my apartment, and some siblings with student loans to pay off. I know it's a no-no to meet MSR by buying a Visa/MC gift card, but is buying Gift Of College cards risky when it comes to earning a signup bonus for Amex and/or Chase?

 

[miztressuz]

Hmm. I may need to find a cheap place to stay to get the extra night then. Not sure if I will actually be staying at a Marriott/SPG next year but would be nice for the extra benefits if we do.

Points bookings count if you don't want to outlay cash just for status.

 

[miztressuz]

I am stunned. Finally DH approved for SPG Biz from my referral! I - I mean DH - applied for the SPG Biz about 5 times. Kept getting the dreaded pop-up so I stopped the application. Took his Hilton Biz (only AMEX he has) out last weekend for car maintenance and other errands. Spent around $300. I tried applying on Tuesday and got the pop-up. Tried again today and I almost didn't believe it when it got past the pop-up and said APPROVED!

Spending magic works again, that's great

 

[jhoannam]

DP: had my GE interview on Friday and got my card today, Thursday. That’s the fastest the federal gov. has done anything.

 

[spacerangerqueen]

Just got back from our first trip paid for with points!
We went to Disneyland for 4 nights and paid for nearly all of it with URs.

• Southwest flights for 3 people roundtrip MCO-LAX - 65,305 RR points (transferred 63,000 UR from opening CSP) plus $33.60 in fees
• The Anaheim Hotel 2 king bed room for 4 nights - 63,539 URs (mostly from the CIC MSR) plus $38.29 because I was short some URs
• Super Shuttle to/from hotel - 8,340 URs

I also had a free night certificate for one of our nights of airport parking. We had roughly $500 in Disney gift cards that I either got at a discount (retail me not offers, Sam's etc) or were gifts and that covered a majority of our food and souvenirs. We paid roughly another $370 out of pocket for various things on the trip (like MaxPass, OMG it was wonderful, highly recommend, especially on a weekend)

We had a layover both directions and on our first flight out I could not get the Southwest credit card page to load. I was planning to wait for the return trip, but didn't want to risk it not working so when I was able to pull it up (sloooowly) on the second flight I jumped on it. Took almost the entire flight to get to the approval screen, but I was instantly approved for the Priority Card! Excited for 50,000 RR points to refill my account. Now I need to find another card because $1k isn't much of an MSR lol.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Ok new CSR UR portal sucks. I have been looking at excursions for our Alaska cruise next May. Booked one excursion but was a few thousand points short to book the other 2. So I log in today, 2 excursions available in Skagway, just 2, when there were at least 10 before. Searching Juneau gets nothing or an error message.
So disappointed. URs will be far less desirable if the portal continues to suck this bad.

ETA: Tried Expedia app, nothing for Juneau, same 2 excursions for Skagway. So I guess Expedia just sucks.

 

[miztressuz]

Ok new CSR UR portal sucks. I have been looking at excursions for our Alaska cruise next May. Booked one excursion but was a few thousand points short to book the other 2. So I log in today, 2 excursions available in Skagway, just 2, when there were at least 10 before. Searching Juneau gets nothing or an error message.
So disappointed. URs will be far less desirable if the portal continues to suck this bad.

ETA: Tried Expedia app, nothing for Juneau, same 2 excursions for Skagway. So I guess Expedia just sucks.

If you remember what the other tours were I'd call the cruise and tours desk and see if you can still book them there.

(And yeah Expedia sucks I thought we'd get more options but I seem to be very wrong)

 

[Lain]

Okay, I've got a couple MSRs to meet, an HEB near my apartment, and some siblings with student loans to pay off. I know it's a no-no to meet MSR by buying a Visa/MC gift card, but is buying Gift Of College cards risky when it comes to earning a signup bonus for Amex and/or Chase?

Chase doesn’t care what you buy (even gift cards, prepaid cards, and cash equivalents), bill pay services you use, bank accounts you fund, P2P transfers you make, in order to meet their cards’ MSR.

Amex has much more restrictive language in their terms. See Amex Updates Terms to Exclude Peer Payments, Cash Equivalents, & Amex GC from Earning Points.

In practice, you can still use a lot of methods that might seem to fall into these restrictive categories to meet an Amex MSR.

Plastiq payments count towards Amex MSRs, provided you can get your payment through Plastiq's restrictive terms for paying with Amex. I use Plastiq all the time to help hit my Amex MSRs.

A few days ago, I noted:

PayPal payments to merchants are fine and count towards Amex MSRs.

PayPal P2P payments to friends & family are fine too and typically don’t pose a problem with counting towards Amex MSR. I’ve made donations to my daughter’s school/pto with my Amex while trying to meet MSR using the friends & family option (to avoid the recipient incurring the fees), and the payments counted towards MSR, with no problem from the RATs.

The only instance I’ve seen Amex RATs have a problem with PayPal P2P payments is when you use PayPal to pay someone who shares the same address as you.

DPs say Venmo payments count towards Amex MSRs too.

You can usually buy third-party/merchant gift cards, prepaid gift cards like Gift of College, Visa and MasterCard gift cards, and have them count towards Amex MSR -- but to be safe, DO NOT BUY THESE FROM RETAILERS THAT PROVIDE AMEX WITH LEVEL 3 DATA. Office supply stores like Staples/Office Depot/Office Max are notorious for sharing L3 data, which discloses everything you bought in your transaction (so if you bought GCs, Amex will be able to see that and could deny you points or not count that spend towards MSR). Grocery stores and home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowe's, which sell gift cards, generally do not share L3 data. I don't think Walgreens, CVS, Target, or Walmart share L3 data either.

However, even when merchants don't share L3 data with Amex, what you buy could still be a dead giveaway to Amex that you bought what they may consider cash equivalents. A lot of VGCs, MCGCs, and the GOC GCs have $5.95 activation fees. If you buy only a $500 VGC/MCGC/GOC GC with a $5.95 fee, and the total charge on your statement is $505.95, the Amex RATs don't have to think hard to guess what you bought, and they may not award points for, or count that transaction towards MSR or spending bonuses. So it's advised to throw these cards in with your regular shopping so your charges aren't some obvious amount that flashes gift cards.

 

[mmmears]

Ok new CSR UR portal sucks. I have been looking at excursions for our Alaska cruise next May. Booked one excursion but was a few thousand points short to book the other 2. So I log in today, 2 excursions available in Skagway, just 2, when there were at least 10 before. Searching Juneau gets nothing or an error message.
So disappointed. URs will be far less desirable if the portal continues to suck this bad.

ETA: Tried Expedia app, nothing for Juneau, same 2 excursions for Skagway. So I guess Expedia just sucks.

This is really discouraging. I hope you're able to find something. We did a private excursion in Juneau on the glacier with Above and Beyond Alaska BTW. They are amazing.

 

[mmmears]

Speaking of restrictive language, the CIP says it should be used for business expenses only. Is there anything to this? Should we be at all careful where we use it? Working on the MSR, no MS just regular spend and maybe some RMN GC offers.