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

[hulagirl]

@Lain That's so impressive really. And if you cashed out both URs and MRs, it's enough to pay for a DVC contract that will last you 20 years or more. I wrestled with that decision with my MRs when I had the Schwab Plat but once I made up my mind, I never looked back. The thing that really gave me pause... was that SO many points can disappear into one week trips or even 1 12 hour flight. I guess, in my head... it felt really good to use a large amount of those points in my account, for something that would last until my 70s instead of being gone in such a flash. I chose a small contract at two different resorts, and use cash back to pay the annual dues. More points can always be earned (and are) but man do I treasure my little Beach Club contract, courtesy of American Express. And I supplement those stays with a weekend for free at the Waldorf Astoria which just sweetens the deal.

 

[Lain]

Amazing

O
M
G
!!!



So the burning questions is - what are you going to do with it??

@Lain That's so impressive really.

Oh, that's not mine!

@SouthFayetteFan just wanted to see the counter say a million before cashing out any of his UR hoard. I provided.

I'm about 200k shy of a million, maybe a little more by the end of today.

 

[Lain]

@Lain That's so impressive really. And if you cashed out both URs and MRs, it's enough to pay for a DVC contract that will last you 20 years or more. I wrestled with that decision with my MRs when I had the Schwab Plat but once I made up my mind, I never looked back. The thing that really gave me pause... was that SO many points can disappear into one week trips or even 1 12 hour flight. I guess, in my head... it felt really good to use a large amount of those points in my account, for something that would last until my 70s instead of being gone in such a flash. I chose a small contract at two different resorts, and use cash back to pay the annual dues. More points can always be earned (and are) but man do I treasure my little Beach Club contract, courtesy of American Express. And I supplement those stays with a weekend for free at the Waldorf Astoria which just sweetens the deal.

However... I am fast approaching 700k MR. With a retention bonus I'm working on, and a self-referral to the BBP planned, I'm looking at hitting 750k MR this summer. Throw in a referral to DW, and that's at least another 20k MR. When I do pick up the Charles Schwab Platinum, that's (hopefully *no pop up*) another 60k MR. Sitting on all those points... Now, I've teased the idea with @speedyfishy, but I have to admit that as my MR stash grows the idea of buying DVC with them is becoming increasingly tempting.

 

[amalone1013]

I can't read on my phone on the treadmill. I might could if I took a tablet with larger font but it'd be annoying having to scroll. I just watch HGTV beach shows

I need to pick something and put it on my phone or tablet. The last few times I've ended up reading the captions for Shark Tank HGTV would be a zillion times better!

 

[hulagirl]

Sitting on all those points... Now, I've teased the idea with @speedyfishy, but I have to admit that as my MR stash grows the idea of buying DVC with them is becoming increasingly tempting.

I thought about it for a long time. I really did. I thought I would hate seeing that MR balance disappear. But I gained something so wonderful and we've already had so many wonderful experiences, I don't regret it for a minute. Picking up the Aspire card was a really good call too because I can stretch those 60 points really far by banking and sometimes borrowing and then supplementing in off years with other hotels (my favorite being the Waldorf.) I generally get around 1cpp for that hotel too, which as you know, is a killer redemption rate for Hilton points. I was always so afraid to try that resort.. I thought it would be so stuffy and frou frou and I am anything but. Turns out those fears were totally unfounded and I am completely smitten with that hotel. Our last room there, had views of the Star Wars fireworks, Happily Ever After, and Illuminations fireworks with a sofa right in front of the window so we could sit with a glass of wine and watch them all. My husband figured out how to sync a YouTube video of Happily Ever After and Illuminations nearly spot on and we played the music while watching them... it was just so cool. We also had the Tower of Terror and the top of the bowling pin at Pop Century in our view, we were that close. I really do need to do a review of the Waldorf for the hotels thread and I may just try submitting an article here to the DIS. The staff was excellent as well and we had daily breakfast (thank you Aspire card) that ended up being one of the highlights of our day. Such a nice way to start the morning. Anyway.. all that to say it has been completely worth it and I'm super happy I made that decision a couple years ago. Oh... and my annual fees are only $450 a year, which are relatively easy to cover with a combination of bank bonuses, cash back rewards and discounted Disney gift cards purchased with both. In December, it's back to the Wilderness Lodge and the Beach Club. I can't get enough of either place!

 

[afan]

How do you do that? Just curious? I was thinking on the elliptical last night, maybe if I brought the tablet and made the text big I could read... I can read easily on the bike. Makes it easier for me to workout if I can read lol

I generally only read on my walk intervals unless I'm running a slow enough pace to run. Only type while walking so sometimes it takes a bit to post i normally have my phone far away when I'm reading anyway so it's no prob with it on the treadmill. using the hydro massage bed now which is the other place I read since there's nothing to do for 10 min and I don't want to fall asleep.

 

[Lain]

You should just count lifetime miles earned.

Ok. I tallied my lifetime URs, and it's roughly 1.6 million. I DO NOT have a million URs sitting in our accounts.

 

[speedyfishy]

Tried to load serve with SOs closed account and it didn’t work lol

 

[Lain]

I thought about it for a long time. I really did. I thought I would hate seeing that MR balance disappear. But I gained something so wonderful and we've already had so many wonderful experiences, I don't regret it for a minute. Picking up the Aspire card was a really good call too because I can stretch those 60 points really far by banking and sometimes borrowing and then supplementing in off years with other hotels (my favorite being the Waldorf.) I generally get around 1cpp for that hotel too, which as you know, is a killer redemption rate for Hilton points. I was always so afraid to try that resort.. I thought it would be so stuffy and frou frou and I am anything but. Turns out those fears were totally unfounded and I am completely smitten with that hotel. Our last room there, had views of the Star Wars fireworks, Happily Ever After, and Illuminations fireworks with a sofa right in front of the window so we could sit with a glass of wine and watch them all. My husband figured out how to sync a YouTube video of Happily Ever After and Illuminations nearly spot on and we played the music while watching them... it was just so cool. We also had the Tower of Terror and the top of the bowling pin at Pop Century in our view, we were that close. I really do need to do a review of the Waldorf for the hotels thread and I may just try submitting an article here to the DIS. The staff was excellent as well and we had daily breakfast (thank you Aspire card) that ended up being one of the highlights of our day. Such a nice way to start the morning. Anyway.. all that to say it has been completely worth it and I'm super happy I made that decision a couple years ago. Oh... and my annual fees are only $450 a year, which are relatively easy to cover with a combination of bank bonuses, cash back rewards and discounted Disney gift cards purchased with both. In December, it's back to the Wilderness Lodge and the Beach Club. I can't get enough of either place!

If we bought DVC, I think it'd be at Aulani. We've been paying rack rates, discounted with Disney Gift Cards and credit card rewards, for the past few years, but my wife and kiddo love it there, and my wife has family on Oahu so we're always visiting.

 

[PolyRob]

If we bought DVC, I think it'd be at Aulani. We've been paying rack rates, discounted with Disney Gift Cards and credit card rewards, for the past few years, but my wife and kiddo love it there, and my wife has family on Oahu so we're always visiting.

Direct or resale?

 

[Albort]

Tried to load serve with SOs closed account and it didn’t work lol

were u able to successfully grab more cards afterwards? it seems like some ppl were able to sneak it in before the official SSN ban hammer went into effect.

 

[hulagirl]

@Lain Is your wife Hawaiian? My entire family is still on that island so I'm there a lot too. My dad was born and raised in Kaneohe, but lives in CA now. I love Aulani. I've only stayed once (I spend all my time on the North Shore) but I visit often. There is nothing like walking into that open air lobby for the first (or hundredth) time, is there? Did you see the Trackers videos from Aulani recently? I enjoyed them quite a bit.

 

[speedyfishy]

were u able to successfully grab more cards afterwards? it seems like some ppl were able to sneak it in before the official SSN ban hammer went into effect.

Yeah I got three more cards on the way.

 

[Lain]

@Lain Is your wife Hawaiian? My entire family is still on that island so I'm there a lot too. My dad was born and raised in Kaneohe, but lives in CA now. I love Aulani. I've only stayed once (I spend all my time on the North Shore) but I visit often. There is nothing like walking into that open air lobby for the first (or hundredth) time, is there? Did you see the Trackers videos from Aulani recently? I enjoyed them quite a bit.

No, my wife is not Hawaiian but she's "local." Her local roots go back 4-5 generations. I love the Windward side! But you're right, there's nothing like walking into that lobby, tradewinds providing a soft breeze, Waikohole Valley in front of you, the ocean beyond that, and the music of Keali'i Reichel playing on loop.

 

[Albort]

@Lain u can tell your wife, Ewoks were reported in the vicinity.
will confirm tomorrow!

 

[Lain]

Direct or resale?

Haven't given it much thought.

 

[Lain]

@Lain u can tell your wife, Ewoks were reported in the vicinity.
will confirm tomorrow!

AWESOME!

 

[LynnTH]

Another HIGHLY reputable DP of grAAvy train derailment:

Our own @Andysol shares on r/churning the following:

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/bs1kcm/discussion_thread_may_23_2019/eoi6smr/

I’ll be using mailers from now on.
Hit spend two weeks ago and 1st statement closed yesterday for both. No signups. I had no other cards active currently. Closed the previous one 2 months ago.
I suppose the signup could still happen, but I doubt it.
​

This is a very strong DP to me:

1. I highly trust Andy so that now gives us DPs from @platamama, u/gonzohawk and him - all people that we trust
2. He met the spend TWO weeks prior to the stmt closing date so this isn't just a delay in timing

I'm still not sure what to make of all of this... It seems like it's a huge YMMV thing. Some random thoughts on this:

• If you pursue the dummy offer you have to spend $2,000 to find out if you get your bonus. If you don't get it...you wasted $2k in MSR. If you happened to buy the $250 AA eGC and the statement credit didn't post, you could still sell it on Raise and get >$200 back so you'd be out <$50 and get no miles. This is your worst case scenario - if you get the miles and stmt credit you're in great shape. You could also wait to buy an AA eGC to see if you get the initial 40k miles and potentially not waste that $50.
• If you pursue one of the higher offers (i.e. 75k/$5k) then you're spending A LOT more to find out whether you're getting your bonus or not.
• Unless you have a solid source for a mailer code, to stay on the "safer" train you have to purchase a mailer for $40-$70. That's a cost you have to factor in and also the hassle of being the "first" to grab one since the supply is somewhat limited.
• I also should point out that there were DPs that business mailers could be used multiple times in VERY short succession. For those in 2 player mode, you could align your applications to the same day, buy one mailer code and submit the apps within seconds in different browsers I think - so this could save you $50ish on buying 2 mailers. (PLEASE don't just assume this will work without doing a little more research - I'm just loosely recalling something shared months ago here).
• The big thing to remember is that this is a once every 95 days proposition. That has nothing to do with bonuses posting but rather Citi's own application timing rules. So if you apply for a public offer and don't get the bonus you still need to wait until 95 days are up to try again.

I will let you know if I get the bonus. I met the spend yesterday and my statement closes on June 7th. I did the 70,000 for 4K public offer. (Card #2 for me since DH can't see to get approved...)

 

[hulagirl]

No, my wife is not Hawaiian but she's "local." Her local roots go back 4-5 generations. I love the Windward side! But you're right, there's nothing like walking into that lobby, tradewinds providing a soft breeze, Waikohole Valley in front of you, the ocean beyond that, and the music of Keali'i Reichel playing on loop.

Now you're speakin' my language.;-) Keali'i Reichel's Maunaleo is one of my all time faves. Ah, ya just made my day.

 

[LynnTH]

Booked a RC cruise (1st timers) for July with a POFQ stay afterwards. We are flying into MCO the day before the cruise. Does anyone have any suggestions for places to stay the night before the cruise? Do you stay in Port Canaveral? Additionally, any suggestions on getting from MCO to Port Canaveral. We will do DME on the return trip. Thanks

Went on a cruise out of Port Canaveral in March. We flew in the day before and stayed at Country Inn & Suites in Port Canaveral (Niece worked for them at the time and we got a friends and family rate). Had free breakfast and we were able to walk to some restaurants for dinner.

We booked a shuttle through Orlando Shuttle Service. They picked us up at the Airport and brought us to our hotel and then they picked us up from the Port and brought us back after the cruise. There was 7 of us and the total RT Fare was $294 (includes tip). We just did Uber from Hotel to the Port as it was so close. If you do this - make sure to get an Uber earlier in the morning as there are lots of hotels in the area and other cruisers doing the same thing. Our driver said he does these short trips all the time but a lot of the drivers only want the longer trips so could take you a while to get a driver. We went down at about 10-10:30 and had to book 2 UBER XL's for the 7 of us (lots of luggage). I booked one UBER and my son booked the other.