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

[miztressuz]

So my mom is getting (for lack of a better term at the moment) punk'd accidentally on Christmas. After wrapping up one of her gifts all pretty, my husband says "Oh. Well, that's kinda rude but maybe funny." When he was looking for a box to hold an oddly shaped gift he grabbed our old MagicBands box! It fit inside perfectly and he didn't think anything of it until after.

So instead of going to Disney with her Magic bands, she'll be taking a meat thermometer I suspect that will be a bit of a let down.

The semi-evil guy he is, instead of unwrapping and finding another box - however less than perfect it would be - he's going with it to see what happens.

On a related note, we got her a new in-oven probe thermometer after Thanksgiving when her old one died and she had an unfortunate mishap with her digital instant read... Who'd have thunk plastic melts at such a low temperature that quickly? There was no saving that guy. (Fortunately it held on for the good of the turkey and gravy and no parts actually melted near food. We appreciated the sacrifice.) I seem to recall someone here had the same problem so I thought I'd share that you're not alone!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Staples offer on CSR. Hoping other cards will pop up with the offer soon. Def could use more staples cards right now

Saw it on CIP!

 

[havaneselover]

So my mom is getting (for lack of a better term at the moment) punk'd accidentally on Christmas. After wrapping up one of her gifts all pretty, my husband says "Oh. Well, that's kinda rude but maybe funny." When he was looking for a box to hold an oddly shaped gift he grabbed our old MagicBands box! It fit inside perfectly and he didn't think anything of it until after.

So instead of going to Disney with her Magic bands, she'll be taking a meat thermometer I suspect that will be a bit of a let down.

The semi-evil guy he is, instead of unwrapping and finding another box - however less than perfect it would be - he's going with it to see what happens.

On a related note, we got her a new in-oven probe thermometer after Thanksgiving when her old one died and she had an unfortunate mishap with her digital instant read... Who'd have thunk plastic melts at such a low temperature that quickly? There was no saving that guy. (Fortunately it held on for the good of the turkey and gravy and no parts actually melted near food. We appreciated the sacrifice.) I seem to recall someone here had the same problem so I thought I'd share that you're not alone!

That was me (and @Judique I think). She's in good company!

 

[amalone1013]

M

Watched Togo with the kids tonight. It was good! Thanks for mentioning it. All I knew going in was that it's about a dog. Turns out it's a great film to watch in anticipation of our Alaska cruise this summer. DD was upset that Balto got all the credit. I was like I don't think Togo cares, lol.

Got all the presents wrapped. DD mentioned before that Santa's handwriting looks like mine, so had DH do it this time. He did it in cursive. I've never seen his cursive, much less the kids, so should pass muster.

In churning news, Delta Gold Biz SUB posted. Whew. Always a relief with Amex. Oh, and a DP about Best Buy with RMN. Bought Disney GC (shipped with fillers) back when cashback was 10%, then 15% on "Top Deal Products". Went pending, they've been paying out these past few days. Only 1 left now which will hopefully pay out later today.

My mom always did cursive for Santa. I was the obnoxious kid going 0h look mom, santa used some of our wrapping paper! Look, the easter bunny used the basket from the bathroom!!

 

[smmco]

I just want to say that I am utterly shocked they are continuing to shut people down this week... and cancelling flights set to occur just days from now around Christmas no less. Who is even working in this department...seriously!! Take the week off and deal with this next week. This is like the real life Christmas Carol combined with the Grinch. I just picture Scrooge and Grinch in this office cackling about how they just wrecked somebody’s chance to see their family for Christmas...

To be clear...I have no issue with them taking action. They certainly aren’t in the wrong to do...however, the manner in which they’ve chosen to go about this screams of “petty ex lover” - not what I’d expect from one of the nations largest airlines.

Has anyone been shut down that didn't use the miles for flights? I know some people just used them for WDW, cruises etc.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

My mom always did cursive for Santa. I was the obnoxious kid going 0h look mom, santa used some of our wrapping paper! Look, the easter bunny used the basket from the bathroom!!

I did that too! I also found the Christmas presents one year. (I already suspicions about Santa), and oh God if looks could kill. My mother hid them pretty well but upon looking for something in the closet I found the 2 Nintendo DSs she had gotten us and she was livid! From that moment on she started hiding things at my grandparents house.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

My mom always did cursive for Santa. I was the obnoxious kid going 0h look mom, santa used some of our wrapping paper! Look, the easter bunny used the basket from the bathroom!!

My son was 3 when he noticed the wrapping paper was the same....so after that I used two different kinds....also wrote their names with my left hand...for Santa gifts...he had very sloppy writing

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Instant approval for DH capitol one. I tried but they didn’t like that I’m a homemaker :-( used a dischurners link!

hope everyone has a merry Christmas and a happy new year! I’ll try to pop in over the next few weeks of travel but will depend on how the dis likes my phone.

 

[elgerber]

So to dispute a charge on Chase, I just send a secure message, selecting that option? No reason not to do this, right, if I ordered something 6 weeks ago that never came? yeah, I knew better but ordered it anyway.

 

[ten6mom]

OMG YOU GUYS

I am so glad I checked the United site again! I am booking now!

I'll have to change my return once that date opens but OMG!!!

 

[AmyAnne]

M

My mom always did cursive for Santa. I was the obnoxious kid going 0h look mom, santa used some of our wrapping paper! Look, the easter bunny used the basket from the bathroom!!

For a few years, I would buy a roll of santa wrapping paper for the gifts from santa and a roll of anything else for the non-santa presents. For some reason my kids never did believe that the easter bunny was real. DH and I never tried hard to make them believe in santa as an actual physical person and always "fessed up" pretty early in their doubting process. Actually I enjoyed the whole santa thing more once the older kids were in on the secret but the younger ones weren't--it was fun plotting with them what santa should bring, and leaving snacks for santa and the reindeers.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Has anyone been shut down that didn't use the miles for flights? I know some people just used them for WDW, cruises etc.

This is a good question but probably not something we'll get a firm answer on. They are surveying the folks who got shut down but this isn't even on the radar of people collecting data. I'd assume they figure that anybody playing the game is using these miles to fly. I don't believe you can use miles for cruises so really it would just be hotels and rental cars. At any rate...if I had to venture a guess, it doesn't make you any more or less safe. They are focused on the number of bonuses you earned it appears.

 

[Artygal90]

I have a question for anyone who travels splits travel expenses with folks who don't use CC points.

I booked 3 nights at Universal using a cash AP rate in May for my 30th birthday and am thinking of taking my mom along since it is also Mother's Day that weekend and she's been wanting to come with me to USO. I would try and switch her to be my companion so she can fly with me for free on SW (I would do this after my WDW trip with DH in January and then switch it back before DH and I go to a wedding in Detroit in September. This is possible, right?). So she wouldn't have to buy airfare like she was originally planning, but she would need to buy park tickets, and I'm struggling with if I should ask her to help me with the hotel charges. I would obviously cover my own food/drink/souvenir purchases and also treat her to a fancy brunch on Mother's Day.

If anyone here has done something similar, what do you think would be a fair way, if any, to split traveling costs? Do you ask traveling companions to cover one of your card AFs? Split hotel costs evenly? Do nothing and bask in your magnanimity? I'm trying to work this out today since I'd like to print out the hotel and flight confirmation and give it to her as a surprise on Christmas morning.

 

[ten6mom]

Thank you so much to everyone, especially @calypso726 , @CaliforniaGirl09 , and @HaleyR for all your help with the ANA booking stuff!

We "have to" fly out first class (where did all the business class seats go??? my goodness) on November 15 (that was unexpected, as it's a weekend) and right now the return is November 18 so I just need to keep an eye on that.

I had the saved post from reddit (detailed walkthrough) handy and it went exactly as that post said it would. The transfer from Chase to Virgin was instantaneous and I called Virgin back about 2 minutes after my initial phone call, paid my "extra" fees (goodness that's a lot in fees) and off I go. And yes they mentioned the $50 change fee so I'll plan for that in a week or two.

 

[Artygal90]

Thank you so much to everyone, especially @calypso726 , @CaliforniaGirl09 , and @HaleyR for all your help with the ANA booking stuff!

We "have to" fly out first class (where did all the business class seats go??? my goodness) on November 15 (that was unexpected, as it's a weekend) and right now the return is November 18 so I just need to keep an eye on that.

I had the saved post from reddit (detailed walkthrough) handy and it went exactly as that post said it would. The transfer from Chase to Virgin was instantaneous and I called Virgin back about 2 minutes after my initial phone call, paid my "extra" fees (goodness that's a lot in fees) and off I go. And yes they mentioned the $50 change fee so I'll plan for that in a week or two.

Awesome! How much were the extra fees?

Edited to add: I am planning to book the same redemption in February or March of 2020. Trying to plan my budget now

 

[AmyAnne]

In credit card news, DH and I finally (after talking about it pretty much all year) bought a car yesterday. Ugh I hate car salespeople even though this one was not bad. The dealer allowed what seems to be the usual $5000 to be paid by credit card. Sadly I have no MSR now so I used the BBP. When I pulled it out, the finance guy asked if I had a Visa or MasterCard because he wasn't sure if they took American Express. I just said that would complicate my plans or something like that. He took the card and came back with the $5000 charged so I didn't have to decide what my plan B was. We ended up financing $5000 for the moment because they were really pushing the financing--$1000 off but only if you finance. I triple-checked that there is no pre-payment penalty (and the docs say that) so we'll end up paying about $20 in interest before we can pay it off in January.

 

[amcc]

I have a question for anyone who travels splits travel expenses with folks who don't use CC points.

I booked 3 nights at Universal using a cash AP rate in May for my 30th birthday and am thinking of taking my mom along since it is also Mother's Day that weekend and she's been wanting to come with me to USO. I would try and switch her to be my companion so she can fly with me for free on SW (I would do this after my WDW trip with DH in January and then switch it back before DH and I go to a wedding in Detroit in September. This is possible, right?). So she wouldn't have to buy airfare like she was originally planning, but she would need to buy park tickets, and I'm struggling with if I should ask her to help me with the hotel charges. I would obviously cover my own food/drink/souvenir purchases and also treat her to a fancy brunch on Mother's Day.

If anyone here has done something similar, what do you think would be a fair way, if any, to split traveling costs? Do you ask traveling companions to cover one of your card AFs? Split hotel costs evenly? Do nothing and bask in your magnanimity? I'm trying to work this out today since I'd like to print out the hotel and flight confirmation and give it to her as a surprise on Christmas morning.

If the hotel cost is going to be the same regardless of whether your mom went or not, I would just cover it. If she insists on financially contributing, let her pay for a dinner or breakfast. That way, the gift part (hotel and air) stays as a gift and she helps contribute to the rest of the trip. I think covering the AF is too much like a business transaction. What a nice gift! It sounds like a lovely and perfect Mother’s Day weekend.

 

[StephPlum]

I have a question for anyone who travels splits travel expenses with folks who don't use CC points.

I booked 3 nights at Universal using a cash AP rate in May for my 30th birthday and am thinking of taking my mom along since it is also Mother's Day that weekend and she's been wanting to come with me to USO. I would try and switch her to be my companion so she can fly with me for free on SW (I would do this after my WDW trip with DH in January and then switch it back before DH and I go to a wedding in Detroit in September. This is possible, right?). So she wouldn't have to buy airfare like she was originally planning, but she would need to buy park tickets, and I'm struggling with if I should ask her to help me with the hotel charges. I would obviously cover my own food/drink/souvenir purchases and also treat her to a fancy brunch on Mother's Day.

If anyone here has done something similar, what do you think would be a fair way, if any, to split traveling costs? Do you ask traveling companions to cover one of your card AFs? Split hotel costs evenly? Do nothing and bask in your magnanimity? I'm trying to work this out today since I'd like to print out the hotel and flight confirmation and give it to her as a surprise on Christmas morning.

It really is up to each person and very personal. I'll give you what I do now with my adult daughter (31). When I invite her to accompany me on a planned trip, she is responsible for airfare and misc spending. We usually pay for meals every other time (ie she picks day 1 and pays, I pick day 2 and pay,..). It usually works out even except I normally pick and pay for the more expensive ones! For hotels, I cover that. I figured I was going anyway and paying that price so I don't ask her to chip in. This has a lot to do with the fact she is at a much different point in her career and money earning than I am.

I think the key is to set the expectations up front. There is no right or wrong way, just the way you are comfortable with.

 

[platamama]

This is our first time flying SW International with a connection. Will we get our connecting flight boarding pass in the departure airport?

Yes, you’ll get them from the departure airport. You’re probably on the plane already and found out yourself lol. Have a fantastic trip!

 

[mmmears]

Thank you so much to everyone, especially @calypso726 , @CaliforniaGirl09 , and @HaleyR for all your help with the ANA booking stuff!

We "have to" fly out first class (where did all the business class seats go??? my goodness) on November 15 (that was unexpected, as it's a weekend) and right now the return is November 18 so I just need to keep an eye on that.

I had the saved post from reddit (detailed walkthrough) handy and it went exactly as that post said it would. The transfer from Chase to Virgin was instantaneous and I called Virgin back about 2 minutes after my initial phone call, paid my "extra" fees (goodness that's a lot in fees) and off I go. And yes they mentioned the $50 change fee so I'll plan for that in a week or two.

I'm so glad you got a good flight out! And in first, too! I'm following along since Japan is something we are considering, but no firm plans here.