I love credit cards so much!

[PolyRob]

I see a Chase offer on my CSR this morning for 30% back at Staples!

THANKS! I just found it on both my CSR and CSP. Wondering if I should eat the $1.99 Disney gift card fee online or just make my way to a Staples store. Decisions

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Can someone tell me why I don’t have the staples deal on our csr card?

Your not alone, I don’t have it either

 

[DisneyMandC]

Do you shop at Staples? We don't. They closed both locations within 20 mins so we have to drive 30+ mins in either direction to get to a Staples. I just never seem to make the time to actually get to Staples. I wonder if my lack of Staples purchases precluded us from receiving the offer...? We have made one purchase in the last 2-3 years at Staples and I used an Amex offer.

I don’t shop at Staples. I did buy a Disney GC there a couple months ago when they had the RMN deal, but I paid for that with my BoA card. @afan, I did get $5 back from BoA on that purchase and it was GC only.

I think I’m just going to buy on my CFU today which has both 30 and 10 and see what happens. As long as it credits the 30% back, I’ll be happy. Someone on DoC said they added a 15% back at Panera option and then added a 30% back option several days later and the 30% credited for them on a purchase, but not the 15%.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

I don't have a Staples 30% offer either. I did have a Staples 10% earlier this month that I used.

I/we have received credits for offers from Staples, Walgreens, Sephora, Starbucks, Lowe's (4 cards), and Hyatt. I hope we get some good new ones soon.

 

[GlamMistress]

Good morning and happy holidays! I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Among other things, DH got me the travel bag from eBags I've been looking at for a year. It has the steel straps, etc so it will be great for Europe. I will try it out next month on our Disney cruise.

We're just a few days away from our travel credits resetting. I've got to decide what to with mine on the pink gold and Amex plat. All my trips and flights are booked for 2019. I think I'll go ahead and use the plat credit and upgrade to Delta comfort for my Vegas Aerosmith trip. 4 hours each direction makes the $79 per head each way seem worthwhile.

@disneymagicgirl Looking forward to your trip report. I'm excited about my first Disney cruise.

 

[Judique]

Do you shop at Staples? We don't. They closed both locations within 20 mins so we have to drive 30+ mins in either direction to get to a Staples. I just never seem to make the time to actually get to Staples. I wonder if my lack of Staples purchases precluded us from receiving the offer...? We have made one purchase in the last 2-3 years at Staples and I used an Amex offer.

I don't think it actually affects what offers you get. I have a staples offer on 3 cards for 10% plus 2 offers at 30% and I have an offer on my BOA card, and I live 3 minutes from a Staples, Lowes, Starbucks and Walgreens and CVS. I go to Lowes and CVS all the time, the others are once or twice a year. I think it is just random.

 

[afan]

Been on hold over 30 minutes with Chase Fraud waiting to talk to an agent. I get that they only opened a bit over an hour ago and there was a 4 day weekend, but this is annoying. They only said it would be over 10 minutes not that it would be this long. Like a lot of people, I can't call during work and at this point worry that my lunch would even be long enough to take care of it. And I just accidentally hung up on them. They finally answered and he asked for the number and I started to give it to him and apparently my bluetooth wasn't working so he asked again and in trying to turn it off in my sleep deprived state I hung up on him. OMG! I guess I'll have to hope there's enough time after my chiropractor appt after work for me to call before they close. Hopefully if you are in the queue and they close they don't hang up on you. I'd like to go back to sleep now not to work.

@DisneyMandC was that a RMN offer you got credit for? I'm asking about a BofA offer like the Chase offers that are attached to the card. I know the RMN one's wor.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I’ve had office max and staples post. Both stores were gift card purchases. It takes much longer to get the credit than it does with Amex in my experience so far.

I have had Starbucks and dunkin donuts credit. Yes, much longer timeframe than amex though.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

https://milestomemories.boardingare...gift-cards-stack-for-up-to-39-5-off-targeted/

I know Staples works for Disney gift cards; when the 10% deal came out I used it on two of my cards (IHG and Hyatt). Just remember if you want to try to stack and use both you have to do it by end of year.

Thank you! I am heading out today to do these, Home Depot ($50/%250), and a Best Buy. I need to hit Best Buy 3x before 12/31. Nothing like procrastinating.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Been on hold over 30 minutes with Chase Fraud waiting to talk to an agent. I get that they only opened a bit over an hour ago and there was a 4 day weekend, but this is annoying. They only said it would be over 10 minutes not that it would be this long. Like a lot of people, I can't call during work and at this point worry that my lunch would even be long enough to take care of it. And I just accidentally hung up on them. They finally answered and he asked for the number and I started to give it to him and apparently my bluetooth wasn't working so he asked again and in trying to turn it off in my sleep deprived state I hung up on him. OMG! I guess I'll have to hope there's enough time after my chiropractor appt after work for me to call before they close. Hopefully if you are in the queue and they close they don't hang up on you. I'd like to go back to sleep now not to work.

@DisneyMandC was that a RMN offer you got credit for? I'm asking about a BofA offer like the Chase offers that are attached to the card. I know the RMN one's wor.

Sorry, I meant that I had used both an RMN offer and a BoA deal. I had 10% at Staples and bought a $50 Disney GC and got $5 deposited back in my BoA checking account.

 

[WVMomof3]

Do you shop at Staples? We don't. They closed both locations within 20 mins so we have to drive 30+ mins in either direction to get to a Staples. I just never seem to make the time to actually get to Staples. I wonder if my lack of Staples purchases precluded us from receiving the offer...? We have made one purchase in the last 2-3 years at Staples and I used an Amex offer.

I have the 30% on my CFU, Marriott and the new SW Priority (only 3 offers on that card). I have never been to a Staples. Looks like there is one about 45 min away (in the next state). We may venture up there later this week, DH has off all week and next week too. Have zero fun planned with his time off, going to Staples may be our fun trip. haha Wondering why the random max of $19.

 

[amalone1013]

Thank you! I am heading out today to do these, Home Depot ($50/%250), and a Best Buy. I need to hit Best Buy 3x before 12/31. Nothing like procrastinating.

I've also been procrastinating... I need to put $55 more on DHs AMEX for Best Buy, and then I have it on one of mine and haven't done anything.

 

[GlamMistress]

Random but I just saw this when I started up Mozilla Firefox at work (I'm getting a slooooow start today):

For the holidays, we got you a little something just for using Firefox! Book your next hotel stay on Booking.com today and get a free $20 Amazon gift card. Happy Holidays from Firefox! (Restrictions apply.)
https://sp.booking.com/index.html?aid=1642303&sample_rate=0.001&snippet_name=9863

 

[amalone1013]

I have a good story from yesterday morning, and it's CC related!

Now, I'd mentioned before that one BIL and his partner have a business, and thankfully I noticed they at least have an AMEX Biz Gold card. Yesterday morning they were telling us that they had points, so they decided to do a 4 day getaway to Vegas for NYE with flights and hotel on points. Because they just got a huge influx of points BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T GETTING CREDITED THE CORRECT AMOUNT FOR THEY DON'T KNOW HOW LONG. They weren't even looking to see if what they earned each statement seemed like it matched up or anything.

PSA: Check your point balances!

 

[afan]

Sorry, I meant that I had used both an RMN offer and a BoA deal. I had 10% at Staples and bought a $50 Disney GC and got $5 deposited back in my BoA checking account.

I'm so tired I might have not read it right. Thanks! I'll give it a try. At this point I only need a 25 gc so not the end of the world.

 

[hsmamato2]

Hilton bonus points....any info on the ETA for those? in the past I saw points basically the minute I hit MSR- this time, nothing yet. I did the referral for DH with the basic hilton card so 20k for my acct and 100k for his acct, hit spend a few days back, nothing yet? should I be concerned?

 

[Judique]

In other news, although my earned points are very slow in posting on my Marriott account from both Chase and Amex, my very first ever free night from my Chase Marriott Premier Plus card posted yesterday, 12/25/18 on the exact anniversary of me signing up for the card last year. This a 35K night. So far I haven't been billed for any fee.

My 50K points have not posted yet. Hopefully by next statement.

I'm tempted to use this free night on a booked room and return the points paid to my account! But - I have 4 more free nights to come in 2019 and that will make a nice little getaway somewhere.

 

[WVMomof3]

@afan or anyone else that knows about Seattle area. Would you stay for 7 nights in the Bellevue area? Looking to use our 7 night cert and they have a lot of Cat 4 in that area. I have zero idea what to do around there, we like hiking and outdoorsy stuff plus walking around Seattle itself and seeing the sights. Just one of my many ideas to use this cert up. Would we regret spending 7 nights in that area?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

@disneymagicgirl I'm so sorry to hear your cruise wasn't great. I'd love to know why you feel this way, as I'm going back and forth as to whether to spend the money on DCL or go with my aunt's fav, RCCL, for much less.

Let me do a quick report:

The very best thing about it was DD3. She was the most perfect age for the characters. Young enough to truly believe they were real and that she was a real princess after visiting BBB as well.

There are no words for her sheer joy and excitement over everything. We would step off an elevator on a random floor and there would be Tiana, just waiting around for whomever might come by. Hattie would retell the story of Tianna at the elevator all week. Those spontaneous character interactions are a big PLUS over the parks. It was the best 3rd birthday ever, I'm pretty sure. My oldest DD didn't go to disney until age 5. My boys went every year since birth, but boys just aren't the same. lol

Our dining team was slow to warm up, but after a few nights we formed a connection and were sad to leave them at the end of the week. Palo was amazing for brunch. Dinner wasn't as good as I remember but still better than the dining rooms. The main dining room menus have never impressed me, but I am not an adventurous eater. The food is always lukewarm, which doesn't help. Others rave about the food, so it may just be me.

Tortola was a lovely day. We did cane garden bay. Beautiful country. Still a mess from the hurricane. My hubs took the boys zip lining (not an excursion) really early and was back by 10am so we could do a beach day.

St Thomas was a nicer beach day (amenity wise) but more crowded. We went to Secret Harbour since it is less well known, but there were 5 ships in port, so you can imagine how busy everywhere was that day.

Then things went downhill, weather wise. It was expected to be stormy in the Bahamas, which we heard from guests of the NCL ship. They informed their guests that they'd likely have to skip their private island and stayed in St Thomas extra to make up for it. Well we didn't hear anything from DCL. We went through the storm (6/10 on some sea scale which means 13-20' waves), pulled almost up to castaway cay, and didn't dock. Turned around and tried to get us out of the rain for a sea day. Well, it was miserably windy, overcast, therefore cold, and sea day number 4 of a 7 night cruise. The activities they threw together to do onboard were terrible...basically repeats of same stuff all week. Aquaduck was closed due to high winds. Pools were like wave pools and ended up closing multiple times that day for poop incidents. Too windy for foosball and mini golf. It really was not a fun day. Worst part is that it was my DS9's bday and he had looked forward to spending it on CC for months, as he loves it so much.
To be fair, DCL can't control weather. But they really need a contingency plan for eastern sailings that can't get into CC. 4 days at sea and 2 port days is just not acceptable for the kind of money you pay. I'd never book that itinerary by choice. Maybe they need to look at nassau as backup or something. On a western, you have 4 port days, so missing 1 isn't so bad. Eastern is pretty miserable.

On top of the missed CC day for our last day, the entertainment staff was just not like usual. They seemed sort of blah, burnt out, or something. Definitely didn't seem to have the energy they usually do. Of course, that sort of set the tone for the cruise, since their job is to engage guests. The onboard entertainment wasn't very good. The signature stage shows are good, but most guests have seen them multiple times. I do still like them. However the other acts...magician, comedian, etc....not very good. One night was jump ropers. Now, they could do some neat tricks, but not exactly what adults want to see at 10pm when they have kid-free time. One comedian didn't make us laugh at all. None of us...and we are a wide range of ages.

We did the VGT rate and had 2 connecting rooms, with extended balconies on deck 5.

Balconies were huge! Bad thing was the rooms only slept 3 each, so no pullman beds. That meant the boys had to share a bed, DH and I shared, and the girls each took a sofa bed. They boys sharing isn't ideal, but then when DS10 got sick, poor DS9 had to sleep on the floor so as to avoid his germs. We've never had a room without pullman or Murphy beds before, and it wasn't good. However, we did like 5th floor forward alot but I prefer aft. Will likely book 5th aft in the future. We also like 7aft.
Our stateroom host cleaned well, but that was it. She didn't even introduce herself. I had to introduce myself and ask her name. lol. Usually I spend a good bit of time chatting with the stateroom hosts and we form a connection. Not this trip. She didn't call me by my name the entire time. Weird. Didn't put princess sheets on DD3s bed for her bday or anything either. Guest services sent up a bday pin for DD3 on her bday, but not DS9. Luckily, I was able to go down and get him one. I decorated myself on each of their respective days, and we did the sweet shop for a treat and to sing. The dining team also sang at dinner both nights.

My DS10 got sick on Thursday and didn't get out of bed, so that was a bummer for him. He was able to get up Friday, but was still not feeling too great. That put a damper on things.
DD19 met some friends at the 18/20 Society and spent most of her time with them. She did come eat dinner every night, luckily.

Overall, we had some special moments but it was our 5th DCL sailing, and out of 5 sailings it is ranked number 5. I have said the last few years that DCL still has that extra touch that the parks have been lacking lately. After this sailing, I am concerned DCL is losing the special touch as well. That said, I am hopeful it was a fluke, between the weather, sick kid, missing our fave port, holidays....and next time will be back to normal. There were alot of upset people in our cruise group, so I know it wasn't just me. I think DCL needs to change up the dinner menus, shows, and entertainment ASAP since so many guests are repeat cruisers. Then come up with a contingency plan for missing a port on an eastern. Those things would really freshen it up.

As for our travel, we had a layover in ATL going down. Didn't bother to do the lounge b/c of changing terminals. There were alot of options right near our gates so we just did that. Hauling 6 of us and our stuff to another terminal didn't seem like fun. Both of the flights were really turbulent the whole way, so that was scary. Stormy night. ATL to MCO was delayed. Meanwhile, that cheaper Frontier flight I was too scared to book was a nonstop and took off BNA to MCO on time.

I was so thankful that DH insisted on staying in the airport that first night. I had wanted to drive to the port. Well, after the delay we were ready for bed upon arriving at MCO and being at the Hyatt was soooo nice, even for the 24k URs it cost me. The junior suite was huge and newly remodeled. Seems 10pm is a good time to depart MCO b/c it was really empty and quiet in there at that time. The next morning was a madhouse, lol.

We didn't do the allowed restaurant for priority pass in TPA either. We were terminal C and the restaurants were A and B. It required going through security again so we didn't bother. I think overall, PP isn't really a perk I can factor into the cost of my annual fees for CCs.

This was our first time renting a van to go to port. It went really well. We paid $90 through hertz (after using 600 points for a $30 coupon). DH dropped us and the luggage at the curb. Porters were there to help. We went on in and checked in at the counter. He returned the rental car and hopped the shuttle back. Just had to take his picture and we boarded. We had boarding group 3, but arrived later than we ever had and they were already boarding group 12, so we had no wait. It was actually awesome to not get there early since the weather was not good for swimming anyways. However, when we got off the ship, we had to rent a car again to get to TPA. I will never rent a car after the cruise again. We waited FOREVER to shuttle to the rental agency.

Well, that is probably way more than anyone wanted to know. Happy to help others plan and answer questions though!
We hope to do a Med or Alaska next. I'd also like a southern carib, but the summer prices are for those and the Jan ones don't work with the hockey schedule.

@wendow I think I'd almost consider one of those super fancy new ships for your family over DCL. I think there will be alot more for your kids to do at their ages. Maybe you can post the price difference for your dates and that would help me decide what I would do if I were you.

 

[hsmamato2]

https://milestomemories.boardingare...gift-cards-stack-for-up-to-39-5-off-targeted/

I know Staples works for Disney gift cards; when the 10% deal came out I used it on two of my cards (IHG and Hyatt). Just remember if you want to try to stack and use both you have to do it by end of year.

I'm trying to figure out the proper amounts to buy to max some of these out.... on a couple of cards I have the staples 30% and the 10%(gonna give this a try at around $65 as noted in the article I guess- how do I easily caluclate the percentages?