I love credit cards so much!

[havaneselover]

Yup got this too. WTH! $200 Dell credit every year. I’ll use that and it will be getting cancelled for the next annual fee. I will always keep some form of a Plat tho.

Now I really need to fly to Florida and help my parents figure out the benefits of their gold and platinum cards. This is too complicated for them!

Never mind--I see it's for the business platinum.

 

[usakiwi]

Just a few tings to consider. Is Air New Zealand still flying out of the current US gateway cities you are searching and also on the days of the week you are searching? Sometimes airlines change their gateways cities or only fly in and out of them certain days per week. It is possible you may have to position yourself to a gateway city. If that isn't the issue, do you hold a UA credit card. Card holders are often shown award availability that is not open to non card holders. Is the UA site still searchable for Air New Zealand's partner availability. Sometimes you need to search another airline's site to find partner availability. Are you searching as a complete route or segment by segment? Sometimes searching segment by segment will produce results that searching as a whole will not. My best suggestion after making sure that Air New Zealand is currently flying out of the US gateway city you are searching and on the day of the week you are searching is to check on Air New Zealand's own website. I am not familiar with their mileage program but generally speaking if an airline shows a saver award on their website then it is bookable as a partner award with another airline's miles. The same tends to hold true if you can find the flight with a partner airline then you can book it with a different partner. For example, I can book JAL with AA miles but I can't search for the award on AA's website as AA never displays partner availability for JAL. So, I search for it on BA, another partner, then call AA with the JAL flight info I found on BA.

I didn't read the following articles but did a quick search to see who may have written anything about booking Air New Zealand as an award flight which may help.


https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/new-air-new-zealand-chicago-route/

https://www.travelcodex.com/using-united-miles-to-get-to-australia-and-new-zealand/

https://thepointsguy.com/2016/10/air-new-zealand-airpoints-program/

https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2016/02/08/air-new-zealand-business-class-award-space/

Hope this helps

Thanks for the suggestions! Yes, I have tried all of the above, to no avail. Last time I tried calling and booking on a partner but they told me they couldn’t book Air NZ if I wasn’t seeing it appear on the website. HOWEVER, in reading the articles you posted, one author had to huca FOUR times before getting a competent enough United agent who was able to book a partner airline. So I guess I know what I will be doing today. I don’t have high hopes, but I’ll try anyway!

 

[hsmamato2]

By the way, I finally got around to reading that Mommy Points article on TPG that everyone was talking about. What a... bizarre story. I truly didn't understand it. I know I'm not a mother, but I don't really understand how not having lounge access just to spend another, what, maybe an hour?, with her kids somehow left her in tears and so upset that she needed to write this article. I mean, we're talking about her leaving to take a nice vacation with her own mother when she already travels all the time for her job anyways. It's not like she was leaving for a year's deployment to Afghanistan...

I really don't mean to mom-shame. This was just a super strange scenario to me.

I don't think that's 'mom-shaming' to note the inconsistencies in a story on a blog..... but TPG outdid themselves today with a fascinating story about celebrities,travel and carseats on a plane....

 

[schmass]

Just got an email “update on American Express Platinum Upgrades for 2019.” Blah, blah, blah—AF increased to $595!

I just got this too! No thank you! I like having the perks, but not for $600!!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

All you can do at their ages is add them as AUers. I’ve done this for my teens for about 3 years now. When dd18 turned 18yo, I got her a Discover IT student card. That was about 6 mos ago and just last week she was approved for the freedom unlimited.

Yeah, I meant which are you adding them as AU, sorry. LOL

 

[schmass]

I've been MIA for a bit because life has been crazy but I've had a few wins lately:

• My CIP finally arrived and I met the spend within 2 minutes of opening the envelope
• DH was approved for and received the SW Biz card
• I was targeted for the 10,000 MRs for enrolling in pay over time
• was targeted for and have been successfully using the Amazon/MR 20% off deal

DH's credit limit for the SW Biz was only $5000 so I lowered the limit on his CIP by $6000. Hopefully this is enough for him to be approved for the SW personal next month.

 

[schmass]

Vineyard Vines is having a deal where you get 20% off if you pay with Amazon pay. I have the $30 off $150 Amex offer on one of my cards. Will I still get the Amex credit if I use that card through Amazon pay?

 

[tink1970]

Oh and those working this game for your kids, what cards are you getting them, and what ages are they?

My DD is now 18 but she's been an AU on my Disney Visa since she was 12 I think, as well as Ritz-Carlton and Freedom Unlimited (Visa). On my Amexes, she's an AU on my Platinum, Gold and EDP...all added over the past 2-3 years. The Platinum is expensive ($175 for 3 AUs) but comes with the lounge benefits so worth it to me.

When dd18 turned 18yo, I got her a Discover IT student card. That was about 6 mos ago and just last week she was approved for the freedom unlimited

Did you use household income for your DD or her own income? I'm considering whether to try to get DD her own card (likely Discover) before she leaves us next summer or wait until she's out of the house--didn't know if there were pros v. cons to either approach. Pretty sure she's happy just being an AU since I foot the bills

 

[gottalovepluto]

A $145 dollar increase to the biz plat fee? Thank u, next.

 

[Haley R]

I'm still happily using my packing cubes I got on ebay two years ago...$7 for a set of three...... no problems at all

Thanks for the reassurance! Lol

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

A $145 dollar increase to the biz plat fee? Thank u, next.

But...think of all the value you’re getting out of being a freakin’ whale carrying a metal biz plat around.

 

[platamama]

DH's credit limit for the SW Biz was only $5000 so I lowered the limit on his CIP by $6000. Hopefully this is enough for him to be approved for the SW personal next month.

My CL for my SW Biz is only $5000 too, and that was after I had already lowered my CL with Chase. Then, when I applied for the 50K/$2K SW personal and got approved (24 days after my SW Biz approval), Chase gave me $22K+ CL on that card! I've seen other people say they only got $5000 CL on the SW Biz, so I don't think that necessarily means you've run out of CL with Chase.

 

[elgerber]

My CL for my SW Biz is only $5000 too, and that was after I had already lowered my CL with Chase. Then, when I applied for the 50K/$2K SW personal and got approved (24 days after my SW Biz approval), Chase gave me $22K+ CL on that card! I've seen other people say they only got $5000 CL on the SW Biz, so I don't think that necessarily means you've run out of CL with Chase.

My SW Biz is also $5k, after I lowered my Chase credit lines by 23k a couple weeks before applying. Can't tell you on the personal though, since we all know my saga LOL.

 

[schmass]

My CL for my SW Biz is only $5000 too, and that was after I had already lowered my CL with Chase. Then, when I applied for the 50K/$2K SW personal and got approved (24 days after my SW Biz approval), Chase gave me $22K+ CL on that card! I've seen other people say they only got $5000 CL on the SW Biz, so I don't think that necessarily means you've run out of CL with Chase.

Awesome - thanks for the DP!

 

[Lain]

Just got an email “update on American Express Platinum Upgrades for 2019.” Blah, blah, blah—AF increased to $595!

Saw that. New $200 Dell credit though...

 

[speedyfishy]

Saw that. New $200 Dell credit though...

This may not be that bad if I can use it all at once. I’m an Apple person but I saw they sell video games. Idk if I would be worth paying $595 to keep the card though.

 

[SBWB48]

My CL for my SW Biz is only $5000 too, and that was after I had already lowered my CL with Chase. Then, when I applied for the 50K/$2K SW personal and got approved (24 days after my SW Biz approval), Chase gave me $22K+ CL on that card! I've seen other people say they only got $5000 CL on the SW Biz, so I don't think that necessarily means you've run out of CL with Chase.

I'll be the second DP on this. $5K CL on my SW Biz last month (my fourth biz card with Chase) and a monster $24K CL on the SW Priority thereafter...I had lowered my CLs across Chase cards to about 30% of income prior.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Is anyone else feeling honestly overwhelmed by the amount of deals going on this holiday season? Haha, what a first world problem to have! I'm trying to make a list of a variety of things I need to purchase and which cashback portals, cards, and apps to use to get the best deal! Uber gift cards at Walgreens with 10% Chase offer and $10 Walgreens card back, Walmart grocery order with Amex offer and Shopkicks app credit and email coupon I just got, Target savings through Google Express... I need to sit down lol.

 

[elgerber]

Just talked to recon, I was denied for too much available credit, too many active accounts on my credit report?? They can't see the AMEX Biz accounts right?

 

[hsmamato2]

I have a 'question for dummies' here....I've been a slacker and just now thought of this.... Ok so I had a PP thru my CSR which apears to be good for 1-2 guests at the restaurants I'm interested in (when it states 1 guest,does that mean just me,or me + 1 guest is allowed the credit?) AND.... my big stupid blunder....I can't figure our how to use the Hh ascend PP options..... I know it came with 10 uses, but I don't recall getting a PP card for it (Dhs acct) for some reason I thought I had gotten 10 paper passes in the mail,and I had stuck them in my travel papers file..... apparently I am wrong,and none of that happened....I have no idea, was I supposed to register and recieve a physical PP card for just the 10 use perk? If so it's too late for me now to get them for next trip(blast!) or if I did get the paper ones,I must have tossed them by accident...... anyone here know what I did wrong? (even if it's too late for me now,it would be useful info lol)