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

[wanderlust7]

First time getting the Amex popup. I’m 40,000 Hilton points short for 3 nights at the Conrad Tokyo. Any reason not to buy those points for $200?

There's a promo on buying points now (through 7/18), so that's a good deal. Another option would be to transfer MRs 1:2 (so 20,000 MRs). Depends on how much you value MRs, but in your circumstance I'd probably buy.

 

[wanderlust7]

A lot of the inside is closed for renovation and we decided we would rather not take ds through the tour. We’ll have the stroller with us and I’m thinking we might put it in one of the stroller lockers at the top. I’d like to hike some of the trails a little bit to see different views of the castle.

I think the renovation status is the same when I went as when you'll go? I felt like there was enough to see to be worthwhile. It's short enough (only 30 min) that your DS probably won't get bored. You do need to climb stairs though. I considered not going in too due to the disparaging remarks on the Rick Steves forum. But I'm glad we did because if we only saw the outside I'd always wonder about the inside!

 

[georgina]

Spent 5 days listening to testimony in a boring civil trial only to be picked as an alternate juror and allowed to go home this afternoon. Not complaining about being able to leave, but we the jury sat around most of the day doing nothing as the lawyers and judge discussed the list of charges, jury instructions, etc. I will probably never learn what the final outcome was, but I made $250 tax-free. (The city classifies it as expense reimbursement not pay)

So I just got my first Chase Biz card last week and am unable to log in to my account online. I set up the Biz account with all my info, but when I go to log in, I get this message:

Important:It looks like this part of our site isn't working right now.​

Please try again later. Thanks for your patience.

Contact us

Of course when I click "contact us" all I get is a FAQ page. I've been trying this almost every day for over a week now and am frustrated. Wanted to see if there's anything I can do before actually calling lol, I hate phone calls!

When I get that message I find that just refreshing the page will sometimes get me to the account info. Site is wonky sometimes.

 

[hsmamato2]

FSA- tons in August (58), a few in June, one in July. We just booked an August one! It wasnt the longest/fanciest we could have chosen but it is on a nicer ship and gave us a window which I really need on a cruise when possible haha

One last question about the Wyndham cruise match etc-is this for one or two people? or can you book it for 4?

 

[disneyfan551]

Hi all! I'm a long time DISer, but CC newbie. I have been reading these posts for a few weeks now, trying to understand it all & I'm now ready for your advice!
A little about myself, I have stage 4 kidney cancer (doing great!) and am in my 3rd year of a clinical trial at MD Anderson in Houston, TX. CC-wise, I pay for myself & a companion to fly to/from TX every 4 weeks (est. 1K). My airports of choice are Greenville/Spartanburg, SC & Asheville, NC. I have dealt with several cancelled flights and delays during this last year, so a card with a good travel insurance policy may be useful.
My hubby is retired, but still working at another job & I have 7 more years to work. We just sold our rental cabins (we're in the Great Smoky Mtns.), and have business tax #/info., etc. if needed for business cc's.
Here is a breakdown of my frequent airline co's & points that I have:
**Clinical trial pays for 1 person in economy…
Southwest 35,779
United 21,750
Delta 12,044
American 6,445
Here is a breakdown of my frequent hotels & points:
**Clinical trial pays $240/nt
Marriott 8,496 (have used 11 free nights (for vacays) from points this year)
Radisson 11,922
IHG 9,967
Hilton 6,719
Credit card spend varies, but I will estimate $3,000/m for both of us (each of the last 2 months have been over $6k..). We could have more household bills/insurance charged to cc's, as he only charges the cable bill currently. Cards are paid in full monthly, and we never carry a balance.
I'm hoping to learn this process to assist with a trip out West in 5/24 and possibly a trip to France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland. The travel party would likely be myself, hubby, daughter-22 and possibly her boyfriend-22 (not sure since he's in grad school and will head towards pharm. school after that).
Typically, my trips consist of two 7-10 night stays at Disney & a week at the beach. I haven't been to Europe since our honeymoon, and I don't even know where to start planning that!
These are the cards we've applied for in the last 24 months:
My Cards:
5/23-Barclay Carnival
10/21-Citi Costco
3/23-BOA Royal Caribbean (closed 6/23)
04/22-Wells Fargo Active Cash (user)

P2 Cards:
04/22-Wells Fargo Active Cash
08/22-Tractor Supply
05/22-Lowe's for Pros (comm. Account)
5/23-Barclay Carnival (user)
10/21-Citi Costco (user)
3/23-BOA Royal Caribbean (closed 6/23...user)

I hope I haven't missed anything, and I apologize for the lengthy post! Feel free to ask any questions. I am so excited to get started with this. I am all about saving money for travel! Reading all of your posts have been so inspiring. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge with others!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

I'll come back to update everything else from the week....but I'll start with sharing the chaos I was in on Tuesday! There I am, just trying to enjoy the pool at Caesar's and suddenly employees are screaming we need to evacuate....then this happens!

https://www.facebook.com/amy.porter3/posts/pfbid0RUUotDP9qFmaSJLFkrtG5yhKMvK5uDtos5rfxdmgJbYtxvuTxBY66r3xDdzXjnefl

My FB has photos that were leaked from the inside too. CNN contacted me for my videos. I sold them to another company too for $100. But it was scary and shaky. I might have cracked jokes, but humor is my coping mechanism. In the frenzy to get out of Caesar's I left my fav bikini in the room I contacted Wyndham about a points refund, and Caesar's about charges since our day was cut SHORT. We'll see what happens.

 

[Sheree]

i just did a wyndham status match to my hilton diamond. (a few days ago) what is the next step, would love a free, cheap cruise!

thanks

 

[wweazel]

my app for Hilton Biz says - we need more information- link to your business bank account or if your business is less than 4 months old a personal account that shows business transactions. I have a "business", and no recent transactions. any advice?

 

[AmyAnne]

CC companies keep changing their extended warranty policies, e.g. Costco Visa used to be really good but no longer offers extended warranties on purchases from Jan 22 2023 onwards. So if you have a particular CC you're thinking of using, you have to search for the up-to-date benefits. In the past when I've looked into it, I think most cards only cover up to the amount you paid on the CC.

Here is a write-up but it's from 2020 (although it's where I learned about Costco Visa dropping extended warranty this year):

https://frequentmiler.com/best-credit-card-purchase-protections/

Thank you for this!

Although I am now on the fence about getting Apple Care. It would be $69 plus there's a $69 service fee for fixing things. The watch itself is $350. I'm not sure it makes sense to pay 1/3 of the value for a warranty (and if I understand correctly, there is a more limited warranty that is included).

The watch is for DH who is very unlikely to damage it.

Those of you with Apple watches--did you purchase Apple Care?

 

[mom2febgirls]

Is there an 'easy' way to get to Marriott Platinum? I have the Chase Bonvoy Boundless so I get 15 nights, but I'm not quite going to get to 50 nights this year. If I understand correctly, Chase doesn't have a business card that gives free nights and I can't get the AMEX while holding the Chase (right?) Any tips?

 

[wanderlust7]

Is there an 'easy' way to get to Marriott Platinum? I have the Chase Bonvoy Boundless so I get 15 nights, but I'm not quite going to get to 50 nights this year. If I understand correctly, Chase doesn't have a business card that gives free nights and I can't get the AMEX while holding the Chase (right?) Any tips?

You can get the Amex Bonvoy biz or Brilliant if you got the Chase Boundless SUB more than 24 months ago. Chart

The Brilliant gives you Platinum status, so I'd say that's the easiest way (AF of $650).

 

[DogCat]

It was definitely a pleasant surprise to get their email offering 5X on all spending for the first 5 days! Please let us know if you also got an offer.

DD did get the email with 5X for 5 days! We are gathering all of our spending plans together right now lol! Thanks again for the heads up!

 

[mmmears]

Is there an 'easy' way to get to Marriott Platinum? I have the Chase Bonvoy Boundless so I get 15 nights, but I'm not quite going to get to 50 nights this year. If I understand correctly, Chase doesn't have a business card that gives free nights and I can't get the AMEX while holding the Chase (right?) Any tips?

What @wanderlust7 said is right. DH has had the Brilliant for a few years and just added a Chase Marriott card to the mix. The Brilliant is by far the easiest (not necessarily the cheapest) way to Platinum.

 

[chattadisser]

Thank you for this!

Although I am now on the fence about getting Apple Care. It would be $69 plus there's a $69 service fee for fixing things. The watch itself is $350. I'm not sure it makes sense to pay 1/3 of the value for a warranty (and if I understand correctly, there is a more limited warranty that is included).

The watch is for DH who is very unlikely to damage it.

Those of you with Apple watches--did you purchase Apple Care?

We've had several Apple Watches in the family and they are pretty durable. Both teenagers have them as well as DH and I and they get knocked around pretty good. So far everything is fine. I've never purchased Apple care for them for that very reason. Now if I was getting one of the more expensive ones I might but we get the cheaper models.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

First time getting the Amex popup. I’m 40,000 Hilton points short for 3 nights at the Conrad Tokyo. Any reason not to buy those points for $200?

I'd buy the points! The Hilton Tokyo is also excellent with good transit links.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I think the renovation status is the same when I went as when you'll go? I felt like there was enough to see to be worthwhile. It's short enough (only 30 min) that your DS probably won't get bored. You do need to climb stairs though. I considered not going in too due to the disparaging remarks on the Rick Steves forum. But I'm glad we did because if we only saw the outside I'd always wonder about the inside!

Ditto this. As an old castle it's always going to be undergoing some sort of upkeep and/or repairs. The main bedroom was having major work done while we were there, but we walked through and still thoroughly enjoyed the tour. I particularly enjoyed the theatre - it is magnificent, especially if you think of it in terms of its intended purpose. I definitely highly recommend doing the tour if you're going to be there.

 

[elgerber]

Thank you for this!

Although I am now on the fence about getting Apple Care. It would be $69 plus there's a $69 service fee for fixing things. The watch itself is $350. I'm not sure it makes sense to pay 1/3 of the value for a warranty (and if I understand correctly, there is a more limited warranty that is included).

The watch is for DH who is very unlikely to damage it.

Those of you with Apple watches--did you purchase Apple Care?

I am on my 4th Apple Watch, I think. Dd is on her third. We have never had apple care on any of them. We only have had multiples because of upgrading. Never had an issue or needed apple care.

 

[Haley R]

Ditto this. As an old castle it's always going to be undergoing some sort of upkeep and/or repairs. The main bedroom was having major work done while we were there, but we walked through and still thoroughly enjoyed the tour. I particularly enjoyed the theatre - it is magnificent, especially if you think of it in terms of its intended purpose. I definitely highly recommend doing the tour if you're going to be there.

I’m worried ds is going to be wild in there and bother others trying to listen to the tour.

 

[havaneselover]

I'd buy the points! The Hilton Tokyo is also excellent with good transit links.

On my list to do today. I'm finally starting to figure out Hilton and FNCs Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[reliev]

trying to buy tokyo disney sea tickets and I'm stuck at the "update your address" screen doesn't matter if I use my phone or desktop or different browsers its just stuck any tips?