I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 (see first page for add'l details)

[hsmamato2]

Thanks for the link! It does say only one rent payment per month but it doesn't say only 1 rental property per Bilt account so I think I could still make it work by paying the "semester rent" when it is due (twice per year) and in those 2 months I just won't be able to use Bilt to pay the other monthly rent.

Also, I was planning to have the older child apply for the card (rather than me) and use one of her 5/24 slots since right now she is paying rent every month and not receiving any points at all. I thought about Bilt previously but hesitated because other SUBs were out there. But now that my college kid is also paying apartment rent, I thought it might be worth it.

Is Bilt a tough/easy card to get? I have a friend who could benefit from this card but I don't think her credit score is all that high....

 

[EACarlson]

Highest redemption of points ever for me. 143,000 MR to send my wife to Hawaii with her mother in January. C+ out and D1 home. It will be my MIL's 50th state visited and probably her last flight ever. Saved almost 30,000 miles by having a DL credit card.

It seems like getting TSA precheck is faster than Global Entry, right? Any chance of getting either by November?

TSA Pre I had in three days. I applied for GE in March and it's still pending so I can't even book an interview slot yet.

 

[WaltsMartini]

Saw a few posters talk about 5 FNC through Marriott. Had done the SUB for 100k points, but only squeezed 4 nights out of that (with 10k pts leftover)

For those getting 5 FNC, what strategy/card are you using?

 

[punkin]

I'm currently in the middle of a hyatt mattress run where we're actually not staying at the hotel. DH insists we go in every couple of days and mess things up so it looks like someone is actually staying there. Is this really necessary? It takes an hour out of my day to do this. Why would the hotel even care?

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

Requesting a lot of travel hack advice as I am new to the redeeming points world and have always planned trips with cash. I want to use the below stash of points plus cash...

Have 200,000 AMEX MR
Have 200,000 Chase UR

Planning for next June - preferably June 14-June 25 (give or take) - being abroad June 17-24 is a must.

3 adults 100% going.
2 additional adults possibly going (so looking for AriBNB's, VRBO's or hotel suites that fit 4 people right now). I will only be paying for flights for the 3 adults that are 100% going. The other two won't be able to travel the entire trip so they're on their own for purchasing flights.

IAH>CDG>Athens>Santorini>IAH

Want to stay around the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Doesn't matter where we stay in Athens, but I'd guess close to the Parthenon
Want to stay in Oia in Santorini
I also have a handful of United points (50k), but nothing significant

As an added headache - would love to fly on Play and hit Iceland on the way back to IAH.

Any trip reports, travel hacks, guidance and advice welcome. Thanks in advance!

 

[DogCat]

Is Bilt a tough/easy card to get? I have a friend who could benefit from this card but I don't think her credit score is all that high....

I wish I knew. I saw something on another site that said credit needed = Good/Excellent. There's not much discussion on this card here and Wells Fargo issues it.

 

[becauseimnew]

Hi everyone! We are back from our 18 day trip to Japan. Just a quick info on how the churning help cover the cost of the trip.
AA miles: 270,000 (we had to book our DFW to home on a seperate tickets) + 44.80
BA miles 260,000 MRs transferred during a bonus, actual BA miles needed 371,000 + $1343
Chase UR miles for hotels & activities: 207,757
Hilton Points: 154,000
Total out of pocket costs: $9,136 (including airfare taxes and fees)
I know that's a lot of money but we didn't hold back, we did 3 days of Disney for $650, $680 USJ ticket + Express pass, $500 to climb Mt Fuji, $741 on Shinkansen tickets. During those 18 days we spent $4,650 on food, local transportation and souvenirs, which is about $258/day for 4 people. I am posting a daily recap of our trip on my Instagram stories. https://www.instagram.com/jomurray/ Day 1 is currently on my stories.

 

[becauseimnew]

Requesting a lot of travel hack advice as I am new to the redeeming points world and have always planned trips with cash. I want to use the below stash of points plus cash...

Have 200,000 AMEX MR
Have 200,000 Chase UR

Planning for next June - preferably June 14-June 25 (give or take) - being abroad June 17-24 is a must.

3 adults 100% going.
2 additional adults possibly going (so looking for AriBNB's, VRBO's or hotel suites that fit 4 people right now). I will only be paying for flights for the 3 adults that are 100% going. The other two won't be able to travel the entire trip so they're on their own for purchasing flights.

IAH>CDG>Athens>Santorini>IAH

Want to stay around the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Doesn't matter where we stay in Athens, but I'd guess close to the Parthenon
Want to stay in Oia in Santorini
I also have a handful of United points (50k), but nothing significant

As an added headache - would love to fly on Play and hit Iceland on the way back to IAH.

Any trip reports, travel hacks, guidance and advice welcome. Thanks in advance!

Without too much thought, AirFrance/KLM is probably going to be your best way of getting to CDG. Right now on AF I'm seeing IAH to CDG on 6/17 for 20K + $84 per person (not direct, transfer in AMS). Return from ATH is also available for 20K + $184.
I would not wait to book those if that works for you. You can transfer both Amex and Chase points to AirFrance.

I would personally transfer the Amex points to AF and use the Chase points to book hotels on the Travel portal if you have the CSR.

 

[georgina]

Saw a few posters talk about 5 FNC through Marriott. Had done the SUB for 100k points, but only squeezed 4 nights out of that (with 10k pts leftover)

For those getting 5 FNC, what strategy/card are you using?

It was a promo on the Chase Bonvoy Boundless - 5 free nights up to 50,000 pts.. DH got it a few years ago. We used them at the Swan at Disney. I have cancelled my Boundless recently and hope the promo comes back.

 

[DCLMP]

Requesting a lot of travel hack advice as I am new to the redeeming points world and have always planned trips with cash. I want to use the below stash of points plus cash...

Have 200,000 AMEX MR
Have 200,000 Chase UR

Planning for next June - preferably June 14-June 25 (give or take) - being abroad June 17-24 is a must.

3 adults 100% going.
2 additional adults possibly going (so looking for AriBNB's, VRBO's or hotel suites that fit 4 people right now). I will only be paying for flights for the 3 adults that are 100% going. The other two won't be able to travel the entire trip so they're on their own for purchasing flights.

IAH>CDG>Athens>Santorini>IAH

Want to stay around the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Doesn't matter where we stay in Athens, but I'd guess close to the Parthenon
Want to stay in Oia in Santorini
I also have a handful of United points (50k), but nothing significant

As an added headache - would love to fly on Play and hit Iceland on the way back to IAH.

Any trip reports, travel hacks, guidance and advice welcome. Thanks in advance!

Those united points can be very handy for intra-Europe travel. We flew FCO to ZHR on Swiss Air 6k miles. LHR to CPH on SAS for 8.8 miles. I also found some good redemptions on Lufthansa. I was able to use Delta miles for Air France CPH to CDG.

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Paris. Not within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower, but we had a beautiful view of the Tower. I was able to use Hyatt points for club level and it was right next to the metro. In Athens, we booked an apt through booking.com, and paid cash, but this was before I was into the points game.

If you want to hit Iceland on your way back I would look at Iceland Air. They have stopovers. Good luck. Planning is fun.

 

[newski_mom]

Hi everyone! We are back from our 18 day trip to Japan. Just a quick info on how the churning help cover the cost of the trip.
AA miles: 270,000 (we had to book our DFW to home on a seperate tickets) + 44.80
BA miles 260,000 MRs transferred during a bonus, actual BA miles needed 371,000 + $1343
Chase UR miles for hotels & activities: 207,757
Hilton Points: 154,000
Total out of pocket costs: $9,136 (including airfare taxes and fees)
I know that's a lot of money but we didn't hold back, we did 3 days of Disney for $650, $680 USJ ticket + Express pass, $500 to climb Mt Fuji, $741 on Shinkansen tickets. During those 18 days we spent $4,650 on food, local transportation and souvenirs, which is about $258/day for 4 people. I am posting a daily recap of our trip on my Instagram stories. https://www.instagram.com/jomurray/ Day 1 is currently on my stories.

I think that sounds great for 4 people for 18 days!! I'm going to follow you on instagram to see your story! Thanks for sharing!

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

Without too much thought, AirFrance/KLM is probably going to be your best way of getting to CDG. Right now on AF I'm seeing IAH to CDG on 6/17 for 20K + $84 per person (not direct, transfer in AMS). Return from ATH is also available for 20K + $184.
I would not wait to book those if that works for you. You can transfer both Amex and Chase points to AirFrance.

I would personally transfer the Amex points to AF and use the Chase points to book hotels on the Travel portal if you have the CSR.

This is exactly the type of advice I was looking for. Thank you very much!

 

[AndreaDM]

Anyone know of a way to extend the IHG United credits? I have the $25 from Jan, and now the $25 from July. The first $25 expires 7/14. I didn't know if I could book a refundable flight that I could either cancel or change when I do have travel plans that involve United? I know it's only $25 but I don't want to lose any of it if possible.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

Those united points can be very handy for intra-Europe travel. We flew FCO to ZHR on Swiss Air 6k miles. LHR to CPH on SAS for 8.8 miles. I also found some good redemptions on Lufthansa. I was able to use Delta miles for Air France CPH to CDG.

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Paris. Not within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower, but we had a beautiful view of the Tower. I was able to use Hyatt points for club level and it was right next to the metro. In Athens, we booked an apt through booking.com, and paid cash, but this was before I was into the points game.

If you want to hit Iceland on your way back I would look at Iceland Air. They have stopovers. Good luck. Planning is fun.

Thank you! Great advice!

 

[becauseimnew]

This is exactly the type of advice I was looking for. Thank you very much!

Download the AF app to do research, the website sucks. Once you know what flights you want to book then you can use the website.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

Download the AF app to do research, the website sucks. Once you know what flights you want to book then you can use the website.

Thank you.

 

[LynnTH]

Anyone book (hold) a car w/ Priceline? Are they cool like Costco and don't care if you don't cancel your car rental reservations? The flight to Vegas on Tuesday is oversold w/ 1 person listed above the BF and I. So I'm looking at going in on Monday. A rental car through Costco would be $230, but via priceline it's $150!

Went to look at MacBooks for my daughter....She's luckily willing to hold off until I get a new CC. The flight times for my NC trip flying non-rev through MYR are kinda crappy. So I was just looking at the AA miles. It's a little higher than I like to spend (25k) but I'd get more beach time. So I think I'll go ahead and try for the Citi Biz AA card so I get the free checked bags, LOL. I wanted another AA card anyways.


Glad to hear you like Mardi Gras as that is what I have booked for "free". I'm still waivering on paying $400 for my 18yo....but I guess it's still a pretty cheap vacation overall.

Love the Mardi Gras. Been on her twice and Celebration once with another one booked!! The Serenity Area is awesome too! And so much variety of included food - you can't possibly get to them all.

 

[newski_mom]

Download the AF app to do research, the website sucks. Once you know what flights you want to book then you can use the website.

What is the AF app?

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

What is the AF app?

The Air France app.

 

[afan]

Got my USJ and TDLR tickets this week. Was able to use apple pay to buy direct through USJ which was great. DL I got through klook since I got an error with my amex ansd wasn't going to fight with it. Already scanned all 4 days tix into the app.

Pricing though. My 3 day hoppers with genie + at DLR next month is 495. My 4 days at TDLR is 233. I think I can manage a few premier access passes if I need them

Few more tickets to get next month once they open and then I'll be done until I get there.