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

[Oscar Madison]

You sound a lot like me. I have a hard time committing now that my kids are getting older. I still try to work around their plans, but it gets harder each year. Last year was the first time our summer vacation didn't include all 3 kids View attachment 460736. This year our middle DD graduates from college and DS graduates from High School so will be leaving this coming fall. I'm happy and sad at the same time.

I try to keep telling myself that it will allow more flexible vacations, but there are still so many things I want to do with them as a family.





So were you approved? I guess I may as well go for it. The worst they can do it tell me no, right??

Yes, approved.

 

[disfanforlife]

My DH was the one who saw the show was opening while we are booked to be there. I balked at the cost, but he was so excited and the kids loved the one Cirque show they've seen, so I agreed. I'm the more frugal one in my house, but now that it's booked I'm REALLY excited!

I never saw cirque at Disney but I have seen a few different ones in Montreal, let me know how you like it. I will probably try to get tickets for November. I saw right now it only looks like they are selling March - August.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Freaking BoA. There's a reason @SouthFayetteFan and I REALLY dislike this bank! They have a couple cards I am interested in but I just will not enter into another relationship with BoA.

Never Forget... how much you hate BoA... one of my churning idioms!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Does anyone have a loungefly backpack here? Curious if you use an organizer for it or some small bags, etc?

Well as of Christmas my wife has this...

I can't answer your question at all though....... She really loved the present!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Ugh! We blew it! We got a refund onto our CIP and it put us just a couple dollars under the MSR. And we lost out on our sign up bonus. I'm so sad!

I think we missed out on it because the tracker disappeared and it's not showing as pending like the bonus for my CFU was showing as. Hoping I'm wrong.

I would agree with others that this one really doesn't jive with prior reports. Have you checked both the website and the app to see if the tracker disappeared? I'm sorry if this ends up being the case but this is VERY odd situation and I really hope we're just missing something here for your sake.

How long does it normally take to see a support on an account? I was approved 12/19 and don’t see it in dh’s account

It has been very inconsistent recently. I've seen reports of people getting them within a week an others waiting closer to a month. I don't know what drives this but I typically wouldn't get worried until it has been a month.

I'm getting ready to apply for the 2nd credit card for my Southwest Companion Pass. I applied for the Performance Business when it had the 80,000 point offer. I was thinking of using the suggestion of applying for another business card, but when I look at my history, I'm kind of nervous about another business card. I have gotten 3 business cards this year:

CIP 1/10, 5/28 and the SW business on 10/10

I'm afraid I'm pushing my luck with another business card. With personal cards, I'm just 1/24 with the Arrival Plus card on 6/6/19.

When I look at the three available SW personal cards, one question I have it what can you use the $75 SW credit on if I would go with the Priority card? If it is on anything useful, that seems like a good option, but I really don't spend much actual cash with southwest since all flights are purchased with points and they have free checked bags. Can it be used for gift cards (that could possibly be sold)? Even then, seems like it would be much less hassle to just go with one of the lower tiered cards.

Just wondered what others are doing that are going the 1 business / 1 personal card route?

Thanks!

My wife got Chase Biz cards in Feb, Jun, Sept, & Dec this year. And once March comes we'll be back in line for another!

I've gotten them in Apr, Aug, & Nov and am planning for a 4th when the calendar turns to Feb As long as your following the 3 month pacing, I wouldn't stop until Chase denies you, lol!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Ok - finally caught up. I'm trying to disconnect a bit here for Christmas break with my family. Figured I'd do a quick catch up on yesterday/today this evening. I promise, I'll be back and more active soon friends, haha!

Regarding 2020 plans... Disney World, Captiva, Myrtle Beach, and another Orlando trip probably in the fall. If you know me, you'll say,"Wow this sounds a lot like 2016, and 2018"... and yes, yes it does! I enjoy repeat trips, I enjoy the familiarity of them, they allow me to let down my guard and relax.

Just a quick reminder that you don't have to explore new places or go to Thailand to be a good churner. It's ok to do what you like...and what I like is comfortable & familiar destinations that provide time to connect with my family and relax!

 

[wendow]

Does anyone have a loungefly backpack here? Curious if you use an organizer for it or some small bags, etc?

My dd's each have several Loungefly backpacks...probably 3-4 each..they neither one use any kind of organizer.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Oh - just a little dumb "venting" but I was doing a little reading on the shutdown group today to keep up with things there. So the one comment I made anywhere today was calling out some idiot for using the "R-Word" to describe Citi.

Sorry, not cool dude...I'm one of those people that is NOT OK with that word (with some personal reasons why). At any rate...I got downvoted for it... REALLY?? That perfectly describes the type of people that r/churning is comprised of... oh well! I said my piece and won't apologize for calling that out (the R-word comment got a lot more downvotes than mine at least)...

 

[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.

Circling back on this discussion from the other day...

If you get shutdown: They will cancel hotels and rental cars. They will cancel non-refundable hotels. And according to a comment I saw, this particular user had no award flights booked at this time and had maybe used miles for a flight once or twice (and they weren't even sure if they had). So basically when the grim reaper comes...nothing and nobody is safe.

We continue to have only 1 report of a shutdown on our thread though and minimal people locked...

 

[ten6mom]

If you have first booked on the outbound then you have already paid for a RT first class flight. If memory serves correctly, a mixed cabin is allowed and you should be able to book business if that’s all that is available but you will not get a refund on the miles difference Since they are priced RT. I’d be looking for first of course

OH! I didn't even think about that.... OK! Thank you!

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Ugh! We blew it! We got a refund onto our CIP and it put us just a couple dollars under the MSR. And we lost out on our sign up bonus. I'm so sad!

Don’t think anyone has mentioned this but if you look at the more details in UR it should show if you have the 80k pending. Mine disappeared for two days and then showed them pending. It might not have been a full 2 days as I didn’t check it for a day.

 

[calypso726]

Never Forget... how much you hate BoA... one of my churning idioms!

This will come as no surprise but I'm good with BoA. I've had a banking relationship with them for most of my adult life. Currently have 2 cards with them, Alaska and the Travel one. I don't try to churn their cards for the same reason I don't churn Chase cards. I value the relationship too much to risk it.

Just a quick reminder that you don't have to explore new places or go to Thailand to be a good churner. It's ok to do what you like...and what I like is comfortable & familiar destinations that provide time to connect with my family and relax!

Well said my friend. I like to do both. I like exploring some place new and exotic. This appeals to my sense of adventure, daring and curiosity. I always feel like an intrepid explorer when we've accomplished something crazy with points and miles. But I also highly value my staycations and my weekends with FN certs at WDW. WDW is almost like a staycation since we are there so often and its only a few hours drive away. This weekend we are using the BonBlah credits for WDW, a couple of weekends ago we did the FN certs from the Aspire at WDW. Don't care if they are or aren't the best value I can get. If the redemption benefits are equal to or greater than the AF then I'm good. Works for my goals at the moment and my sanity. PlanePrincess and I will get to connect and relax so it's all good.

 

[happ]

Never Forget... how much you hate BoA... one of my churning idioms!

I used to really dislike BoA. They denied me for the Merrill card when that existed and then they refused to pay out on a business bank bonus. It took filing a complaint to get it. I swore I was done with them forever, but I changed my mind when the premium travel rewards card came out. That card was followed by a nice bonus from moving some assets over to Merrill, a biz card bonus, and a pc from an old personal card to the cash rewards card. These days, I use my BoA cards all the time. I guess I am a fickle churner. Calling them is still a big pain with the wait times. Preferred rewards doesn't seem to help with the wait, even though they advertise that it will. All it really gets you is someone answering the phone thanking you for being a preferred rewards member. Though I do appreciate the extra cash back the status gets me.

 

[Ngwira]

Check your AMEX offers. There is a $15 off $30 Sams club offer. Found it on my Aspire.

 

[Judique]

Check your AMEX offers. There is a $15 off $30 Sams club offer. Found it on my Aspire.

Thanks, got it on 2 cards and will use for Disney Gift Cards, if possible - haven't checked the website yet for prices and exclusions.

 

[DisneyMandC]

I don't think too many people here have a CO Venture card, but thought I'd share something interesting. They recently made support links available on the card and it said you would get $100 for each link used. I just assumed it meant $100 in points, but it's actually a $100 statement credit! It also posted within 24 hours of the person using my link. I'm actually kind of glad to have the statement credit because our balance is high on that card this month since we put an $1800 charge on it related to DH's new car.

 

[Limes96]

Took the kids to Kings Island Winterfest last night. This is a Cedar Fair park near Cincinnati for those not from the Midwest. DH got free tickets from work, but we still had to pay $20 for parking! Had a nice time though and it was in the 50’s all evening. I was surprised how many rides they had open as I was expecting mostly lights, shows, ice skating, and $5 hot chocolate. It was quite crowded. People like us taking advantage of the warmer temps I guess.

Went to Cheesecake Factory beforehand for “snacks” and to use my new gold $10 credit, and ended up spending way more than that. I think that gold credit may end up backfiring on me. Not sure it will actually SAVE me money. Lol

 

[alryan]

We did a similar trip. Acadia is really nice. Recommend taking the Sea Princess boat tour. It has a park ranger on board narrating. And they stop by Little Cranberry Island (200 year old lobster fishing island with a NP museum).

Are you going up White Mountain in NH? We took the cog railroad up (bought the last tickets of the day for a discount). We lucked out and had clear skies and could see for miles and miles. Another fun thing to do.

Thanks for the info!! Other than Acadia I haven't really planned this trip. I have no idea what we will do in New Hampshire, but it was too close not to do something and cross another state off of our list. I've even considered going to Vermont to hit another state since I don't know when we would be back but I'm not sure if that will be too much driving for a one week vacation.

 

[elgerber]

Took the kids to Kings Island Winterfest last night. This is a Cedar Fair park near Cincinnati for those not from the Midwest. DH got free tickets from work, but we still had to pay $20 for parking! Had a nice time though and it was in the 50’s all evening. I was surprised how many rides they had open as I was expecting mostly lights, shows, ice skating, and $5 hot chocolate. It was quite crowded. People like us taking advantage of the warmer temps I guess.

Went to Cheesecake Factory beforehand for “snacks” and to use my new gold $10 credit, and ended up spending way more than that. I think that gold credit may end up backfiring on me. Not sure it will actually SAVE me money. Lol

Awwwww, I lived in Mason as a kid. We could see the Eiffel Tower from our house. I spent many a summer there, with summer passes, dated an employee, etc etc LOL. I haven't been since the late 80's.

 

[trenty]

I am switching some of my bills to my CF to reflect the Q1 categories. Assuming "phone services" is for land-lines, not wireless. Anyone know if we will get the 5x on wireless phone service?