I love credit cards so much!

[jujubiee4]

Hm, that's interesting about the offers. About 50/50 if hubby has an offer on his Green card that can earn either points or cash back he gets offered the points option. I mostly get the cash back options. Which works for me as I like discounts. We started wondering if he gets more points options because if we both had the same points offer we did it on his card because he's got the bigger points stash (and we can't combine household points ). So last year there was a pattern of redeeming more points offers than statement credits, and now I wonder if that's why he gets points offers when there's a "choice". Like for the Lowe's $10 stmt credit off $50 or more earlier this year. On my 2 cards I got the stmt credit, on his Green he got offered 10,000 points instead of the cash. (and no offer on his blue cash card ) Or it could just be luck of the draw.

But yeah I think sentiment played a part in him keeping the card so long too. It's been a while since his credit's been good and he doesn't really need it but still kept hanging on to the card anyway AmEx got us good there

Interesting how we are talking about the amex green and Doc just posted this offer.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/amer...card-25000-membership-rewards-points-offer-2/

When comparing with other cards this card seems so so.....obsolete. Although they
are waiving the first year fee. My husband just mentioned to me to see if they have a
retention offer. Never thought of that may go that route depending what it is.

 

[amalone1013]

Can confirm the $10 off $150 or more MCGC works on variable loads. Bought 2x $500 variable load MCGCs and the discount applied just fine. Better get on it! Doesn’t that expire in a day or two?

Yup. I'll drag DH there tomorrow. I was just thinking, MIL never shops at Safeway any more but I'm sure she has an account... if we can do the 3 coupons twice, that'll max my discover and leave $250 on DHs. Then I'll have $350 on my freedom.

I'm thinking for that $350 and then next quarter I'm going to buy restaurant gift cards for places well go. Gas too, of course. But we wont max that for gas so I'm going to make my own restaurant quarter haha.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Upgrade to AP went smoothly using tickets purchased through Chase cruise and tour department. Cast member bridged the AP ticket value to the value of the tickets paid for with UR.
I also bought the tables in wonderland card which we are now using at Via Napoli for lunch.

Do you mind sharing how many day ticket you bought and cost to upgrade to AP? I am wondering if I should do the same when DD19 and I go next month. I know for sure I will be back before the end of the year with the little ones and could prob squeeze in a spring and another summer trip 2019.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Is the best buy thing still the best deal on tickets to wdw or is the UR portal with CSR better? And for you AP holders, is there a discount on buying disney after hours tickets?

On another note, I still can't get disney resort to show rooms when I click on the in the portal.

ETA: I was just thinking...could i buy the tickets from UR/CSR at the 1.5x rate, then upgrade them using BB/SW deal giftcards once I get to wdw?

 

[Judique]

Is the best buy thing still the best deal on tickets to wdw or is the UR portal with CSR better? And for you AP holders, is there a discount on buying disney after hours tickets?

On another note, I still can't get disney resort to show rooms when I click on the in the portal.

ETA: I was just thinking...could i buy the tickets from UR/CSR at the 1.5x rate, then upgrade them using BB/SW deal giftcards once I get to wdw?

You can definitely upgrade with gift cards. I just did it for my daughter's AP in January. Haven't used UR's to buy any tickets but that's a potential use for them (UR's) for me once I get a bunch. I have enough tickets for me, but come Dec 31, my oldest granddaughter turns 3.

My strategy has been buy a ticket with the greatest savings from Undercover Tourist then upgrade with gift cards at Disney. I'm usually the one finding ticket deals for my friends and family.

Editing to add: we got 2 different pricings from 2 different cm's at the gate. When we first stopped by, daughter didn't have her DVC card so couldn't get that discount. Had to go back to the room and get the card issue resolved - she didn't bring it. Once she had a copy on her phone she went back and the upgrade went through at a lower price then the first guy. Now, I believe the first cm was correct, as she was using a ticket I had purchased a few years back, but I was happy that the price was much lower. So, figure out what you expect to pay just in case.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Noticed on the Safeway app as I was doing some grocery shopping that Safeway has two deals for Visa gift cards until 6/30/18:

$15 off when you buy TWO $100 Visa gift cards; and

$10 off when you buy TWO $50 Visa gift cards.



Even better deal if you’ve still got some room left in this quarter’s Chase Freedom 5x UR grocery stores category.

I like to pick up Visa gift cards when they go on sale like this to shift spend to places that only accept Visa magnify: Costco), or code under a lower bonus category or no bonus.

Do Costco and Sam’s allow Visa GCs to purchase other GCs?

 

[Albort]

Do Costco and Sam’s allow Visa GCs to purchase other GCs?

Visa gift cards are considered a debit card like card. So yes.
store GC--> other GC is a different story. I think Sams still allow it.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

You can definitely upgrade with gift cards. I just did it for my daughter's AP in January. Haven't used UR's to buy any tickets but that's a potential use for them (UR's) for me once I get a bunch. I have enough tickets for me, but come Dec 31, my oldest granddaughter turns 3.

My strategy has been buy a ticket with the greatest savings from Undercover Tourist then upgrade with gift cards at Disney. I'm usually the one finding ticket deals for my friends and family.

Editing to add: we got 2 different pricings from 2 different cm's at the gate. When we first stopped by, daughter didn't have her DVC card so couldn't get that discount. Had to go back to the room and get the card issue resolved - she didn't bring it. Once she had a copy on her phone she went back and the upgrade went through at a lower price then the first guy. Now, I believe the first cm was correct, as she was using a ticket I had purchased a few years back, but I was happy that the price was much lower. So, figure out what you expect to pay just in case.

I definitely would agree with purchasing tickets with the greatest savings from UT and then upgrade with Disney gift cards. I generally try to get more than .015 when I use my UR. Also, UT codes 3x for travel if you have CSR.

 

[mmmears]

Hi everyone. Health issues got in the way of my adding on any cards and trying to slowly make it all work. Still planning for my DH to get the 2 Chase Sapphire cards. Has anything changed in the last month that I should know about (do we still get the bonus points and should he still try to sign up for them both the same day)? I did see there is an extra bonus on some preferred cards, but I'm not sure if that's new. I've been reading back a few pages but this group moves so fast I can't keep up. Thanks for any info you can share.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Hi everyone. Health issues got in the way of my adding on any cards and trying to slowly make it all work. Still planning for my DH to get the 2 Chase Sapphire cards. Has anything changed in the last month that I should know about (do we still get the bonus points and should he still try to sign up for them both the same day)? I did see there is an extra bonus on some preferred cards, but I'm not sure if that's new. I've been reading back a few pages but this group moves so fast I can't keep up. Thanks for any info you can share.

Yes, double-dipping is still a thing. There are some new DPs that chase has been calling a couple people who have just DD'd and asking them some further questions about income, spending habits, etc, and then decreasing their credit limits on the 2 new cards. I don't think anyone has had to choose one card or the other, or been closed down, though.

 

[Ngwira]

Do you mind sharing how many day ticket you bought and cost to upgrade to AP? I am wondering if I should do the same when DD19 and I go next month. I know for sure I will be back before the end of the year with the little ones and could prob squeeze in a spring and another summer trip 2019.

Sure, I bought four 2 day base tickets-3 Disney adults, 1 child. Cost was $877 or 58,000 UR using CSR. I paid $2800 or so to upgrade to 4 annual passes (anyone over age 3 pays the same price for an AP so no discount for my DD 9). Considering that I would’ve paid around $1600 for our tickets for our 8 day August stay, plus we have a November stay booked, and I plan to book a late April and June 2019 trip, the APs make sense for us.

I did buy $1500 in Disney gifts cards on my discover card at Shoprite to get 5 percent cash back, then bought the rest at BJs for a slight discount.

Since I was buying 4 tickets, I didn’t want to burn all my UR on tickets... so paid cash for the bulk of the APs. If you have a huge stash of UR you can burn as many as you want.

 

[StephPlum]

Small rant and then a question. I don't fly much - max 3 times a year. We normally fly SW and I don't remember ever having the schedule change once I book. But like I said, we don't fly a lot so maybe I forgot a time. Delta has now changed our flight out to Spokane 2 times UGGGH. First was only a 15 min change so no biggie. Latest - we are leaving 2.5 hours earlier so that means I now have a 3 hour layover in MSP vs 45 mins. I am kinda of locked in as there are limited options from here (Columbus) and I don't want 2 or 3 stops! This brings up the question. I was just reading the Hilton Biz benefits and see I get priority pass access and MSP has a priority pass lounge. So it looks like we can spend our layover in the lounge.

Questions: 1) How do I get my priority pass card from AMEX? 2) the priority pass website says I'll get $15 off per person for cardholder and registered guest. Do I need to register my guest in advance or is that something that happens at the lounge? First time lounge visitor so not familiar... Thanks for all your help.

 

[Judique]

Sure, I bought four 2 day base tickets-3 Disney adults, 1 child. Cost was $877 or 58,000 UR using CSR. I paid $2800 or so to upgrade to 4 annual passes (anyone over age 3 pays the same price for an AP so no discount for my DD 9). Considering that I would’ve paid around $1600 for our tickets for our 8 day August stay, plus we have a November stay booked, and I plan to book a late April and June 2019 trip, the APs make sense for us.

I did buy $1500 in Disney gifts cards on my discover card at Shoprite to get 5 percent cash back, then bought the rest at BJs for a slight discount.

Since I was buying 4 tickets, I didn’t want to burn all my UR on tickets... so paid cash for the bulk of the APs. If you have a huge stash of UR you can burn as many as you want.

I alternate tickets and AP's. Right now I'm on an AP cycle. Once my AP expires, I'll use a ticket deal or I'll use some of my stash of no expiry tickets - these are used very sparingly. My last two AP's cost around $550ish each. Incredible that they are over 1K now.

 

[Albort]

Small rant and then a question. I don't fly much - max 3 times a year. We normally fly SW and I don't remember ever having the schedule change once I book. But like I said, we don't fly a lot so maybe I forgot a time. Delta has now changed our flight out to Spokane 2 times UGGGH. First was only a 15 min change so no biggie. Latest - we are leaving 2.5 hours earlier so that means I now have a 3 hour layover in MSP vs 45 mins. I am kinda of locked in as there are limited options from here (Columbus) and I don't want 2 or 3 stops! This brings up the question. I was just reading the Hilton Biz benefits and see I get priority pass access and MSP has a priority pass lounge. So it looks like we can spend our layover in the lounge.

Questions: 1) How do I get my priority pass card from AMEX? 2) the priority pass website says I'll get $15 off per person for cardholder and registered guest. Do I need to register my guest in advance or is that something that happens at the lounge? First time lounge visitor so not familiar... Thanks for all your help.

the priority lounge doesnt look that great. it looks like a place for a guy to hang out in.
have you considered the other lounges? i think all you need is to show your Amex card.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/benefits/detail/the-lounge-collection/platinum

 

[mmmears]

Yes, double-dipping is still a thing. There are some new DPs that chase has been calling a couple people who have just DD'd and asking them some further questions about income, spending habits, etc, and then decreasing their credit limits on the 2 new cards. I don't think anyone has had to choose one card or the other, or been closed down, though.

Thanks for the heads up and for answering my question. So it is better to just choose one card then? I wanted the CSR for the benefits, but the preferred says we could earn lots of bonus points if we put enough on it in the first year.

And if we do try for 2 in one day, is there a better order? And a better day to try?

 

[kmc8826]

Is the best buy thing still the best deal on tickets to wdw or is the UR portal with CSR better? And for you AP holders, is there a discount on buying disney after hours tickets?

On another note, I still can't get disney resort to show rooms when I click on the in the portal.

ETA: I was just thinking...could i buy the tickets from UR/CSR at the 1.5x rate, then upgrade them using BB/SW deal giftcards once I get to wdw?

I LOVE having AP’s. I really do think they can easily pay for themselves in 2 trips. I’ve always bought tickets cheapest way possible and upgraded while there using a gift card stash. Absolutely discount for DAH. Definitely worth doing as I have done DAH for 3 separate trips. There are also discounts for party tickets as well as the current 20% merchandise discount which really adds up.

 

[kmc8826]

Happy Father’s Day to all our Disney Churners out there! Good dads pay for travel with free points and awards right?!?

 

[SBWB48]

For those that use lounges on arrival, how do you deal with checked luggage? I'm just paranoid about luggage getting lost or accidentally taken if we stopped by the lounge while everyone is down at baggage claim

 

[jujubiee4]

Yes Happy Father's day to all the dads here. I keep forgetting there are men here as I'm so
use to talking "dis stuff" with ladies.

Reminds me of how my dad use to complain how a huge deal is made out of Mother's day and
barely a mention for Father's day. So again Happy Father's Day to you wonderful Dads out there!

 

[jujubiee4]

For those that use lounges on arrival, how do you deal with checked luggage? I'm just paranoid about luggage getting lost or accidentally taken if we stopped by the lounge while everyone is down at baggage claim

This is interesting as I would like to know myself. I would be scared my luggage would be left or stolen. I just assumed
that lounges were only used for departures. Since i have had Priority pass i haven't gone to a lounge once since either the
flight is boarding early or we are running late or just flat forgot about this benefit.