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

[havaneselover]

Easy flight to Tampa. No issues getting a row together (row 10). Now to drive to Naples and hopefully find a Culver’s for lunch.

 

[Alexle2007]

Easy flight to Tampa. No issues getting a row together (row 10). Now to drive to Naples and hopefully find a Culver’s for lunch.

Have fun! The sun finally came out for a minute in Orlando.

 

[elgerber]

I NEVER buy these but I spotted this kind and had to try them. Haven’t opened then yet.

 

[alryan]

Ugh. Great Southern Bank froze DHs account because I tried to transfer payments that would “exceed my limits”. What good is a bank if you can’t transfer money out or pay bills? Now I have to have DH call.

This is so frustrating!! It's been bad enough that I've said no more bank bonuses for DH. I finally had him call for a lock from a transfer from Chase and they not only locked the account but I couldn't even log in with his business log in. Now my to do list for Christmas vacation is to close a bunch of bank accounts.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

This is so frustrating!! It's been bad enough that I've said no more bank bonuses for DH. I finally had him call for a lock from a transfer from Chase and they not only locked the account but I couldn't even log in with his business log in. Now my to do list for Christmas vacation is to close a bunch of bank accounts.

DH got the account unlocked. I think the issue is, his DD hit yesterday and I was trying to schedule transfers for future that exceeded the balance without the DD, which hadn’t cleared yet. Never a problem with Chase.
I’m cleaning house today too. Only keeping Great Southern Bank open because I can fund a new card with another account from them. I think my bonus from First Midwest won’t post because they took so long to fund the account it won’t meet the deadline. I’ll leave it until January but then close it. Both these banks are terrible to deal with. Chase is our primary bank and I haven’t had issues fortunately. Also have Discover and Cap One, no issues and pretty easy to use.
Made a list of cards on the chopping block this year as well. First to go will be BOA Premium Rewards just because I don’t use it and need less to keep track of.

 

[Haley R]

Have fun! I am guessing a boy if it mostly like a ball in the front or a girl if more spread out. If that makes any sense

Haha yeah that makes sense. I don’t really have a big enough belly to tell where the baby is. I would say it’s more ball like but idk lol

 

[alryan]

@alryan We go to NH a couple times a year (a close friend lives up there). Portsmouth is lovely, great town to walk around, lots of events, good restaurants, shops. If you have kids, Prescot Park has a lovely summer kids theater. Totally free, but get there early for a spot. Concessions are very good but $$$, but you can bring in food. Also great beaches up and down the sea coast.

There are a bunch of outlets in Kittery ME, right over the border from NH. The LLBean store isn't far either. Obviously Acadia and seacoast in ME as well.

In VT, check out the King Arthur Baking school (if that's your thing).

Thank you!! I love getting all these ideas from everyone, makes planning so much easier. I have quite a few bookmarks already.

 

[Judique]

Hmmm...is it typical for someone from Brighton England to call you about a Sam’s Club order? I did order DGCs that I need for dinner tonight but I didn’t answer because I had no idea who it was and I am not calling Englan.

Probably not. That would be expensive outsourcing.

I had to get my online Sam's Club account fixed when I started my order for the Amex offer. My online account was saying expired. Expired in 2015. No way for me to update it. And, I didn't actually have an account in 2015, I just ordered a gift card online and they charged me a 10% premium, and listed it as a guest membership. I now have an actual Sam's Club card and online account since last years spend 45/get 45 offer.

Anyway I chatted with someone on Sam's online chat and after getting my issue resolved (quickly and correctly) I had to review the chat agent. She was in San Salvador, El Salvador, which seems to be a growing location for outsourcing. She was excellent.

I've talked to people in El Salvador several times recently for various companies.

 

[alryan]

Woohoo, I've officially earned my free night cert for 15k spend on the Hilton Surpass!!!

Woohoo! So you've got what, 3 days off until you start again in the New Year

 

[Judique]

Haha yeah that makes sense. I don’t really have a big enough belly to tell where the baby is. I would say it’s more ball like but idk lol

@Alexle2007 has guessed boy, so I'm going with girl! One of us will have to be correct!

 

[Alexle2007]

This is so frustrating!! It's been bad enough that I've said no more bank bonuses for DH. I finally had him call for a lock from a transfer from Chase and they not only locked the account but I couldn't even log in with his business log in. Now my to do list for Christmas vacation is to close a bunch of bank accounts.

My GSB account is locked also. It makes no sense. I have to wait until we get back home to call.

 

[Alexle2007]

Haha yeah that makes sense. I don’t really have a big enough belly to tell where the baby is. I would say it’s more ball like but idk lol

Probably not. That would be expensive outsourcing.

I had to get my online Sam's Club account fixed when I started my order for the Amex offer. My online account was saying expired. Expired in 2015. No way for me to update it. And, I didn't actually have an account in 2015, I just ordered a gift card online and they charged me a 10% premium, and listed it as a guest membership. I now have an actual Sam's Club card and online account since last years spend 45/get 45 offer.

Anyway I chatted with someone on Sam's online chat and after getting my issue resolved (quickly and correctly) I had to review the chat agent. She was in San Salvador, El Salvador, which seems to be a growing location for outsourcing. She was excellent.

I've talked to people in El Salvador several times recently for various companies.

I did the chat and it was probably a real call. The chat agent gave me an 855 number to call.

 

[Judique]

So one of my first birthday emails with free food offers came in. It's for Shula's and is a free entrée.

So, I decided to check the menu. And their locations, because if I'm not mistaken, they used to have one in Baltimore. And NYC (at the Westin in Times Square - we ate there one trip). Both gone.

So that leaves me with Florida where there are lots of locations, and of course one is in the Dolphin and I can easily get over there from Boardwalk. Maybe I'll do it - I have time to do it during my February trip. Plus this is the last of this reward type. They are going to a new rewards format after May.

Of course the $139 Australian Lobster is excluded as is the 48 oz steak dinner, but I can get a nice filet or a chicken dish for free.

 

[Judique]

I did the chat and it was probably a real call. The chat agent gave me an 855 number to call.

Interesting. Before chatting, I called this number 888-746-7726 which I got off the website. Called twice and got immediately disconnected both times. Good luck!

 

[vanjust14]

I'm guessing boy @Haley R ! Do we get to find out yet?!

 

[Albort]

So here is my first goal. We are planning a trip for next fall to Lancaster/DC for 2 weeks. My 1st goal is to start the process to earn points or cash for airfair for the 6 of us, then for 3 or 4 night to stay in DC. We are staying with family and friends in Lancaster and York for most of the time and are working on borrowing a friends minivan but have not ruled out that a rental might be part of the trip as well as some train/public transportation. I am looking at these two cards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Card. As we are just getting started, I know how we join is just as important as which ones. So can anyone walk me through which is a better jumping off point, Chase or Capital One? I will just be putting our normal spend on the card of gas and groceries but have to tackle the living international part of the equation that is a bit more sketching at this point for me. I will be paying the card off each month from my US bank account. Thanks!

are u staying abroad? where are u located now? where you live, how acceptable are credit cards? I think it will vary heavily on that.

 

[Oscar Madison]

I haven't done anything more than a night here or there with UR and have never cancelled or changed. Just booked 4 nights for spring break at the Royal Pacific/Universal Orlando.
Here's some questions.
Should I continually be checking to see if the rates go down?
If I find a cheaper rate/pt value, do I make another reservation and then just cancel the original?
How soon do the points get put back in the stash?
If I use UR to buy Universal tickets and decide to not go for whatever reason, I'm guessing the tickets are not able to be canceled. Is this correct?
Thank you!

 

[Dugette]

Hi, all. Seems I only pop on here every so often when we need to figure out a new strategy. But I always get good advice, so here I am again! I just reviewed our credit reports and did some research, but I'd love any feedback on our next steps.

We haven't had a minimum spend bonus to work on for a while, but have taken several trips on "leftovers" from our previous go-rounds. We're squeezing out one more with the scraps of points/rewards/deals we can - driving from MN to WDW over our daughter's Spring Break in March. We've got 11 nights of (reasonably nice) accommodations for about $550 total (there's three of us), so I'm satisfied with that, given that we just decided to do this and don't have time to get new bonuses before booking everything. But we are literally cleaning out all of our rewards programs to make this happen. And, since we're hoping to upgrade our Disney tickets to Annual Passes (so $$$, ugh), we really need to pile up some more rewards to cover hotels and travel for at least one more WDW trip later in 2020. We are in MN and mostly fly Delta (though we tried out super cheap fares on Frontier recently and I would do that again for a short trip!). We both have the Delta AmEx Platinum Business and get annual companion passes. There are 2 adults and a 7-year-old in our party, so at least we can get one freebie out of that. But our Skymiles balances are minimal right now (less than 20K/each).

Looking to figure out the next card for both myself and DH. I'll start with DH. I'm thinking maybe the Chase Ink Business Preferred for him because of the 80K UR point bonus. He does technically have a freelance business - not very active, but legitimate. He's only had three new cards in the last 2 years - one in March 2019 and two in July 2019 (one of which is Chase). He has an existing CSR that we can transfer URs to. He is mostly using his CSR now for everyday spending. Oh, also, I am taking classes and have a $2K+ tuition payment coming up, so I could put that on whatever card he gets, if that changes anything.

For myself, I'm looking at maybe the Hilton Business AmEx with 130K Hilton point offer (we stay at Hilton brands fairly often when we travel). I already had the CIP and converted it to a Chase Ink Business Cash after a year to avoid the annual fee. I have had my own business in the past and could always start it up again, so that seems to work fine (at least w/Chase) to get a biz card. Not sure if AmEx is any different. I, however, have opened 5 cards in the last 24 months. The oldest two were both on 4/6/18 (double dipped Chase Sapphires). I got a Hilton AmEx (free, personal) in Nov. 2018, along with a Barclay Arrival + at the same time. Last card is a bank cash back card in March 2019. Thinking I would wait until May to apply, due to this (and that gives us time to hit DH's spend first). I am mostly using my Barclay Arrival+ for everyday spending right now.

I can go through more of our cards/info as needed, but I think those are the most relevant things. If you'd direct me to something else for hotel and/or flexible travel rewards to help with WDW trips, please share. I am pretty sure I applied for the Cap One Venture about a year ago and got turned down. But both our credit scores are over 800, no issues, just slow-paced churning.

One other question. As I reviewed our cards, I realized that my CSP is probably no longer necessary. I have the CIC and that earns URs. I transfer all my URs to DH's CSR. Would you recommend I do a product change on my CSP? If so, to what? Would love to be rid of an annual fee.

Thanks for any feedback and happy travels in 2020!

 

[calypso726]

I literally yelled!!! Also, one of my friends told me one of the storm troopers is Jason Sudeikis!

I really liked that show. I thought it was super well done and a great season finale.

And now I need the Baby Yoda spirit jersey and Pop immediately!

I yelled too! LOL

I also need that baby Yoda spirit jersey.

Ok sorry I'm replying to myself here.... I didn't 'qualify' for the Biz blue...(got the popup,not surprised) so I just got the Blue basic.... any Amex experts out there,can you confirm that my MR will be 'saved' automatically now if I close the other biz green card? or do I need to do something?

Some Amex Blue cards do not earn MR points. To keep your MR points safe you need an MR earning card. So it depends on which flavor of the Blue cards you got.

 

[StephPlum]

I haven't done anything more than a night here or there with UR and have never cancelled or changed. Just booked 4 nights for spring break at the Royal Pacific/Universal Orlando.
Here's some questions.
Should I continually be checking to see if the rates go down?
If I find a cheaper rate/pt value, do I make another reservation and then just cancel the original?
How soon do the points get put back in the stash?
If I use UR to buy Universal tickets and decide to not go for whatever reason, I'm guessing the tickets are not able to be canceled. Is this correct?
Thank you!

I’ve used URs for rental cars and it does work like you described, as long as you picked a rate with no cancel fees. If it goes down you can book that one and cancel the first reservation.

I think they say there is a chance it will take some time (days) for URs to show up after cancellation. My experience has been pretty immediate.

Universal tickets are non refundable.

Have a great time!