I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[Oscar Madison]

I kinda knew u were kidding... i actually left already to meet some friends. Lol
I would love to see your spreadsheets if i ever do meet u...

If they were google sheets then they could be shared with everyone.

 

[Haley R]

Omg you guys! We offered the seller $150 for their tv stand because we didn’t want to transport ours. They said yes and we went back and asked for the two end tables and coffee table for a total of $200. They said yes and would include their sectional for no additional charge!!!!!

Not a great picture but it shows the couch a little bit

 

[Killer Fish]

In your situation I’d feel very comfortable with a literal 3 months. (ie May 10th). I’d honestly probably feel comfortable right now (like today! Even though that breaks my 3mo rule), I’m not sure who issues that Amazon card (you didn’t list the bank ) but you either have 1 or 2 Chase cards in the past year. AND really only 2 cards period in the past year that Chase can see. That’s a far cry from other people asking for advice on this loophole

This is why I strongly advise ANYBODY asking for advice to list out ALL cards like this. Otherwise we’re making assumptions - I’m thinking this person is at 3/24 with a bunch of Chase personal & biz cards on their record and meanwhile they’re 2/24 with hardly any Chase in their past. (This comment isn’t directed at you @Killer Fish - just a general observation that asking for advice and only listing when you got your last card is like trying to give somebody relationship advice when you only know the last date you saw them - I need the whole story or I’m left to assume a lot)

Sounds good! I will check the date and do the literal 3 months. Appreciate it. I have 10 total Chase cards but most of them are very old.

 

[pillow]

Omg you guys! We offered the seller $150 for their tv stand because we didn’t want to transport ours. They said yes and we went back and asked for the two end tables and coffee table for $200. They said yes and would include their sectional for no additional charge!!!!!
View attachment 398371
Not a great picture but it shows the couch a little bit

I love the open floor plan. Sectionals are a pain to move, so win win. I would live on that lanai I think. When do you close?

 

[Natgridenergy]

Instant approval for Citi AA personal #3! 65k offer for only 2k spend in 4mo from a mailer DW got. 21k CL. Riding the train hard for as long as it stays in track!

 

[amalone1013]

Did you ask for an extra 20k? Late night chat?

Yeah

 

[pillow]

Yeah

Bummer. Persistence is key with them I think.

 

[Lain]

Several blogs and r/churning are reporting a 30% transfer bonus when transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles. As @Haley R knows, VS>ANA is an extremely good value for J and F seats to Japan. Transfer bonus expires 7/1/19. Note DoC cites a limit of only 75,000 MR, but reddit does not see any limit.

Direct Link

Amex Offering 30% Virgin Atlantic Transfer Bonus - OMAAT

(YMMV) American Express Transfer Bonus: 30% To Virgin Atlantic - DoC

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/bjft9q/discussion_thread_may_01_2019/em7xlb6/

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/bjft9q/discussion_thread_may_01_2019/em7xmjr/

 

[amalone1013]

Bummer. Persistence is key with them I think.

Try, Try again... Still need to do DHs too. Actually need to call and get the darn login set up still...

 

[Lain]

REMINDER: Today is the LAST DAY to apply for the increased 120k Chase IHG Premier offer, and the elevated offers on the Amex Delta cards.

 

[Haley R]

I love the open floor plan. Sectionals are a pain to move, so win win. I would live on that lanai I think. When do you close?

Basically everything in the picture is being left: dining table set, hutch, bar stools, and all the living room furniture. We close June 17

 

[Lain]

I'll just leave this here if this interests anyone.

American Express Launches ‘Upgrade with Points’ Program - DannyDealGuru

ETA r/churning discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/bjft9q/discussion_thread_may_01_2019/em8qhcj/

 

[Albort]

I'll just leave this here if this interests anyone.

American Express Launches ‘Upgrade with Points’ Program - DannyDealGuru

daaaamn, came here to post this but @Lain is on top of it today! lol.

 

[Lain]

daaaamn, came here to post this but @Lain is on top of it today! lol.

You can offer up some thoughts!

 

[Lain]

I've done reading on FT and Reddit and it seems like it is a giant guarded State secret with no real answers given. It's all "Do your research." How can I do that if nobody takes the time to answer questions? Lol I have a few questions but is it not kosher to ask them here? Should I be doing this in a pm?

The world of MS is secretive, in part because it's so hyperlocal and YMMV. A lot of what works and what doesn't is done through trial and error, and for a lot of people having put in that legwork themselves, they don't want to share it and they want you to figure it out for yourself. No one wants to burn their sweet spots by posting it all over the internet.

That said, I don't want any of you to lose your usual spots, so we should probably move MS discussions to DISchurners, where we already have a MS Discussion Thread.

 

[Judique]

Get the email from AmEx saying I'll get my free night cert soon and I'm all like

8 weeks later.....

What the Hades AmEx? Apparently I should have booked it on a points advance while it was still an option. I have the points but not enough for this one night and the 5 nights worth I want to transfer. Guess I'll have to transfer, and then points advance if the cert still isn't here. Grr.

I'm now closer to 9 weeks and no certificate since I got my email. @Alexle2007 - did you ever get yours? I got my email March 2nd and paid my annual fee immediately when it posted. Totally ridiculous!

 

[wanderlust7]

Just posted a review of the Doubletree San Pedro that we stayed at pre-cruise in the hotel thread.

The other thing that we used points for this trip was the Signature Taco Tour with Vallarta Eats in Puerto Vallarta. It was 19,866 URs for 4 adults and 2 kids. Price is the same as booking directly plus the 1.5 CSR redemption. There’s another highly rated taco tour that’s slightly cheaper, but I went with this one since they limit the group size to 6 (effectively becoming a private tour for us). Lucky, I did this because I committed a big newbie mistake. I didn’t realize that ship time was going to be different from local time in PV! Our arrival time was 9 am, tour time was 10, so I thought that’s plenty of time! Well, ended up arrival time was actually 10 am local time. Also, luckily, DH had changed our Cricket plan to unlimited (for unrelated reasons), but that meant we had unlimited data/calls/texts in Mexico. I sent a WhatsApp message using the free ship data that we had, then called them once we got in port. They’d already seen my message and replied (but I didn’t see it yet) by the time I called. I was freaking out a bit, but they were super nice about it. No worries! Your guide will be waiting for you at 10:45 and no worries if you’re a little later! Since it’s just us, they could just start it later.

Our tour guide was great, very accommodating. We all ate WAY too much. DD is a super picky eater, but just like before our Barcelona food tour, I told her you have to try a little bite. If you don’t like it you don’t have to eat more, but you have to try it, and no spitting it out! And no saying yuck since you’ll hurt the shopkeeper’s feelings. Just like the Barcelona tour, she surprised me and ate more than I thought she would.

 

[amalone1013]

Thanks for the tip. Orlando is definitely on the agenda. And no... we didn’t check out Waterworld. Again, it’s not an IP we’re particularly interested in, and I adore Kevin Costner. As we were leaving, we were walking next to a family and overheard the wife say to her husband, “oh, there’s Waterworld here,” and her kid asked, “what’s Waterworld?” Lol. I’m old enough to remember it as the most expensive movie ever made at the time that turned out to be a gigantic flop. I was surprised they made an attraction of it after that.

I know basically nothing about the actual movie but the show is pretty great that they do

 

[wed100105]

Am I reading blogs and informaiton correctly that I could apply for one but not two Southwest cards? I'm looking at a personal and a business to earn a companion pass.

2/2019 Chase Ink Preferred Business
2/2019 Barclay's Frontier Airlines Mastercard
2/2019 AU on DH's AMEX Ascend Should have never done that. Doh!
9/2017 AMEX Hilton Ascend

 

[Lain]

MMS is shilling the Bonvoy Biz HARD even after the welcome offer dropped from 100k to only 75k Marriott points.

- "3 of our team members are seriously considering getting [it] — and our senior editor [] already has the card."

Wondering why they haven't already jumped on this card (and its previous iteration) when the welcome offers were much better, like at 100k Marriott points or 35k Starpoints (105k Marriott points). Or when the first year AF was waived and they could've locked in a lower $95 second year AF?

MMS asks, Is the Marriott Bonvoy Business Credit Card worth it?

- "Every year when you renew your credit card, you’ll receive a free night at Marriott hotels that cost 35,000 points or less.... You can easily receive more from this single benefit than you’ll pay in the card’s annual fee. Most hotels cost more than $125 per night, after all!"

Ok, fair enough. But MMS fails to point out that you'll be paying two $125 AFs in order to get that 35k FN cert, since Amex increased the Bonvoy Biz's AF and no longer waives the first year AF as of March. And Amex will not post your 35k FN cert until 6 or more weeks after your AF is due, making it impossible to pocket the cert and cancel the card for a refund of the AF.

So in addition to going for a lower signup bonus, you'll also now have to pay the increased AF twice to get that FN.

- "A Better Hotel Experience [with] automatic Silver Marriott Bonvoy elite status."

Good thing this is in writing, because I don't think anyone can convincing say Silver Bonbon status is worth anything with a straight face.

- "The Marriott Bonvoy Business Credit Card comes with 15 elite night credits each year."

Yeah, but MMS doesn't tell you that if you have any of Marriott's other cards, you already get this and the nights don't stack up.

- "Three of us on the team plan to apply for the card."

Really? Even when the welcome offer is only 75k points? Where were you guys last week? or better yet, two months ago?

- "Signing-up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission."

Here’s Why 3 of Our Team Members Are Seriously Considering Getting the Marriott Bonvoy Business Credit Card — and Why Our Senior Editor Already Has It! - MMS