I love credit cards so much!

[wendow]

Columbia Bank in NJ had a $500 bonus that I applied for last week. $200 for opening the account, $200 for any DD and $100 for bill pay. You could fund the opening with up to $500 on a credit card. I opened it with $5 and will set up the DD and do the billpay for the bonus. Found it on doc.

Thanks! We are in CA but I’ll look into this one when we get home!

 

[Lain]

SOmeone please help me clarify this..... is buying SPG right now at 35% off a good idea, knowing in another few weeks it'll be 90k Marriott? Also, since I bought 30k this year already, would 'DH" be able to buy them and then transfer over,or send as a gift at purchase? I'm a little worried about the 30k limit in t&c

To your second question, DH would be able to buy 30k Starpoints for himself then transfer them to you. <-- this is what we had my DW do earlier this year after I already purchased my own 30k Starpoints. Worked fine.

DH cannot buy as a gift any points to you, because you've already hit your 30k Starpoints limit by buying them for yourself. I believe you can buy as a gift of 30k Starpoints to your DH, then DH transfers them back to you. The way I understand it, the 30k limit is how much a SPG account can receive via purchase for yourself or gift from someone else. Points transfers between accounts don't count towards the limit.

 

[Lain]

Thanks! We are in CA but I’ll look into this one when we get home!

Welcome to California!

 

[spacerangerqueen]

Oct is a busy month at DLR now due to the increasing popularity of “Fall Break” (and Gay Days is at the beginning of Oct). Have a back-up plan for that Sat, preferably a refundable one so you can book it now.

We are going the end of the month. I went ahead and used my SPG points to grab what I could so we have something for now. Thanks!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Oh well shoot. I'll just save myself the trouble and apply for him at a later date.

If that is easier for you, I get it. However, 25k points is a night stay some places, so it is a decent difference. It isn't a resort night stay, but a stay over on a road trip type place...hampton inn etc.

 

[hsmamato2]

To your second question, DH would be able to buy 30k Starpoints for himself then transfer them to you. <-- this is what we had my DW do earlier this year after I already purchased my own 30k Starpoints. Worked fine.

DH cannot buy as a gift any points to you, because you've already hit your 30k Starpoints limit by buying them for yourself. I believe you can buy as a gift of 30k Starpoints to your DH, then DH transfers them back to you. The way I understand it, the 30k limit is how much a SPG account can receive via purchase for yourself or gift from someone else. Points transfers between accounts don't count towards the limit.

thanks!

 

[hsmamato2]

No one knows if it will be a good idea or not. What would you do with the points if you were to use them today? That was my thinking when I bought the points. I bought them because I was able to get a travel package where I could put a dollar value on the airline miles. Marriott has been really helpful in basically saying: everything is kinda sorta maybe really not really changing in August and also next year.

yeah..... that's what I thought...IDK right now...except maybe a small placeholder res at my fave hotel..... till I see what changes(?) probably not worth it since 90k MArriott points won't get me far on their own

 

[Ngwira]

Our 4 APs just expired. We got them when they had the 15 month special and then the 15 month renewal. The plan now is to wait until next spring to get new passes.

On another note, we leave in the morning for 10 days in Wisconsin Dells.

Oh wow 15 months..so sad I missed this deal!

 

[Judique]

My tables in wonderland card has already saved me $60 out of the $150 purchase price. We have lunch at Grand Floridian cafe and dinner at California grill tonight so I expect to break even on this short trip. I will make money off of it in August and November. It’s good through July 31,2019 so will be used in April and June 2019.

I used to get Tables in Wonderland...I think it was around $50 the first time, but food prices were also lower. Then I paid $75. After that I didn't get it.

I have to calculate it for November as DD and family are coming and I know she wants some sit downs...we already have a couple booked. But I'm going to do a 1 night of dining plan on our first night since it is separate so I'm not sure TIW will be worth it for us. We will have the full kitchen in the villa and will cook some meals. If I do Deluxe dining plan we can do 2 or even 3 sit downs over the first 2 days. So, after that it will be easier to settle for counter service in the parks for lunch and it being food and wine, we will do a lot of booths in Epcot in the evening. Then that would leave 'Ohana at the end of our trip - 3 adults. Not sure it will be worth it, but got to do the math.

For me, when I go alone it doesn't fly as I eat so little by myself.

 

[Ngwira]

Thanks! We are in CA but I’ll look into this one when we get home!

I think it’s expired and they require proof of residency. Only lasted a few days on doc. Current bonus is $200.

 

[DisneyMandC]

If that is easier for you, I get it. However, 25k points is a night stay some places, so it is a decent difference. It isn't a resort night stay, but a stay over on a road trip type place...hampton inn etc.

Yeah, it would be nice, but it would really be cutting it close for us. I'd rather miss out on one night's stay than miss out on all 125k points if I can't get the MSR met! Plus I have no immediate need for Hilton points other than Tokyo in 2020... hahaha. I'm still loyal to Marriott for my random little stays before early AM flights and that sort of thing.

 

[Judique]

I liked having TIW last year! I had done all this math and decided it was worth it, and then they released the 20% AP discounts for the anniversary. So I tried to do the math again and it seemed about even, so I decided to go for it. We ended up saving $10 more with it over the AP discounts after subtracting the cost Though if we hadn't squeezed in two more trips we would have been overpaying by $25. It's an easy winner with AP discounts back to 10%!

Are you sure they are back to 10%? Or is that at Disneyland? I was just on the website and it says 20% at WDW. 20% select restaurants and 20% merchandise.

 

[platamama]

My family just got back from our trip to Italy, and it was one we'll remember for a long time. We stayed in Rome, Florence, and Venice, and made day trips out to Positano, Amalfi, Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa. Most days I got 25,000 steps so it was very busy and active.

For the miles & points portion of the trip, I used SW RR to fly DD (using my CP) and myself to NY first because she wanted to go to BookCon. We saw Hamilton - OMG awesome - and I used bank bonuses to reimburse myself for those tickets. DH joined us later (paid with SW RR), and we flew JFK - FCO direct economy for 30K SAAver miles + $5.60 each for taxes. I looked several times daily for Business class saver availability for that flight but never did find any. I was more lucky on the returning leg from VCE - DEN, and was able to switch our econ tickets to business (J [57.5K SAAver miles]) for the flight home for the difference in miles needed, fees/taxes were $100 each. It's hard to put an exact number on what value I extracted out of the points I used but if I used AA's cash value for those flights it would come to airfare around $39,000 but I think that's mostly because AA's one-ways are ridiculously overpriced. Still, I think it was worth at least $6000 because even though I would never pay OOP for J class, it was fantastic and there's no comparison to economy.

We had a 5 hr layover in LHR, so I able to visit three lounges in Terminal 3. The one for AA's J and higher passengers was really very nice and spacious with lots of food and drink. There are a couple ones available for Priority Pass: No.1 and Aspire. Those also were good, the Aspire is the smallest of those three and thus felt more crowded and the A/C didn't feel as strong. The No.1 has a buffet for grazing, and a small menu that you can order individually prepared small meals as well as a spa and cosy movie theater. My favorite was the No.1 lounge with the Admirals Club J lounge (there's also a regular Admirals Club and one for First class passengers in the same location but separate spaces) a close second.

I used a combination of Hotels .com, Booking .com, and Chase UR portal to arrange for lodging. My decision mostly rested on property location and reviews and proximity to public transportation/meeting spots for the day trips I arranged. The CSR Chase UR portal has great redemptions with the 1.5 multiplier but it doesn't offer the broad variety of lodgings that some other websites do. I booked apartments at in Rome and Venice specifically for washing machines, and it was so helpful to be able do laundry during our trip. I should be getting TopCashBack money for those stays too.

I hope to run the numbers soon to see what was paid for this entire trip vs what it would have cost otherwise if we'd gone through ABD or similar. I get a rush out of that, since I kind of view the difference as my "income" as a SAHM. Maybe I'll use the $39,000 number lol.

Oh, fwiw I saw three ATMs at FCO, in response to a question from (p)ages ago.

And I want to give a shout out to Apple's Find iPhone app. My phone got stolen on a train in Rome, and through frantic use of Find iPhone we were able to track it down even though the police, train steward, our day trip guide and even I all thought that my phone was a goner, DH persisted and we eventually found it a couple blocks from the train station! With only 2% battery left so that was a very close call. Fortunately, that was the only real hiccup on the entire trip.

 

[gottalovepluto]

its weird that they don’t allow Marvel characters like Captain America and Black Panther to appear in Florida theme parks but they allow the GOTG to appear.

I think I saw a copy of the contract at one point, it’s short but with lots of room for interpretation. (I find it fascinating tbh!) This is the most comprehensive run-down I’ve seen on it: https://www.insideuniversal.net/201...ct-what-rights-does-universal-and-disney-own/

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I hope to run the numbers soon to see what was paid for this entire trip vs what it would have cost otherwise if we'd gone through ABD or similar. I get a rush out of that, since I kind of view the difference as my "income" as a SAHM. Maybe I'll use the $39,000 number lol.

I feel the same way about my savings.

Glad you had an awesome time! I look forward to doing these sorts of trips...in about 10 years, ha!

 

[amalone1013]

Are you sure they are back to 10%? Or is that at Disneyland? I was just on the website and it says 20% at WDW. 20% select restaurants and 20% merchandise.

I think select is the key term. A lot of places went up for the anniversary, when they were offering the 13mth APs. I haven't paid attention since our last trip in January so I just checked the site here. Looks like 10% except at Joffrey's.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/passholder-program/passholder-benefits-and-discounts/

 

[amalone1013]

I used to get Tables in Wonderland...I think it was around $50 the first time, but food prices were also lower. Then I paid $75. After that I didn't get it.

I have to calculate it for November as DD and family are coming and I know she wants some sit downs...we already have a couple booked. But I'm going to do a 1 night of dining plan on our first night since it is separate so I'm not sure TIW will be worth it for us. We will have the full kitchen in the villa and will cook some meals. If I do Deluxe dining plan we can do 2 or even 3 sit downs over the first 2 days. So, after that it will be easier to settle for counter service in the parks for lunch and it being food and wine, we will do a lot of booths in Epcot in the evening. Then that would leave 'Ohana at the end of our trip - 3 adults. Not sure it will be worth it, but got to do the math.

For me, when I go alone it doesn't fly as I eat so little by myself.

I have a super intense excel sheet to calculate what I expect to spend at a restaurant and what the available discounts would be... that's what I did to see if I wanted TIW last year

 

[Judique]

I think select is the key term. A lot of places went up for the anniversary, when they were offering the 13mth APs. I haven't paid attention since our last trip in January so I just checked the site here. Looks like 10% except at Joffrey's.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/passholder-program/passholder-benefits-and-discounts/

Wow! Slick! At least the merchandise 20% is fairly intact.

Editing: I just checked and the DVC discounts are a bit better on some of the restaurants: Via Napoli is 15%, then you have 20% off at a number of Epcot restaurants and at Paddlefish in DS. Spice Road Table is 20% and I like that. All the Swan/Dolphin have always been 20% off for DVC....

 

[Natgridenergy]

Plastiq is asking for an invoice for my mortgage payment on my cip. The payee cashier fooled them once but the second month is prompting verification. Any ideas?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Just got our updated reports on Experian for the month... My wife's report looks SOOO clean As some of you may recall, I went on a clean-up effort in recent months (partially to avoid shutdown and partially because things were just out of control). I removed numerous AUs from older Chase Cards (from before 5/24 was a concern), cancelled unnecessary cards, and reduced CLs.

Her report now shows ONLY 8 CCs (1 AU on my ancient Discover Card and the other 7 are her open/active accounts). And her combined credit limits (across all issuers) are finally under 1x our annual household income. My report doesn't look as clean yet but I'll get it there

Add to that we are now down to just 7 active bank accounts (vs. 23 a couple months ago) and things are a little easier to manage now, haha!