I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Just tagging this one in case anybody missed it - this 10% off $500 @ Target deal is pretty awesome!

To access this deal - login to paypal and click on DEALS.
IF you don't see a target deal in your first list (scroll through to the right) I advise you add the Hot Topic deal (might have to click save offer 2-3 times to fully add it). After I did that, the Target offer then appeared!

This expires on 9/1 so if you want to do it... get on it NOW! The way it works is that you go to Target.com, Buy a $500 Disney GC or Target GC, and it only charges your card $450. It was super easy!

I did it with my Discover card and got 5% CashBack with their quarterly Paypal category...

It took me a while to get the Hot Topic offer, but once I got that the Target offer loaded right away! Thanks for tagging -- I missed the original post. Easy $50.00 savings!

 

[Disney Kidd]

I recently got the Chase Boundless Bonvoy, which is a Marriott Visa with an annual fee of $95. The new member special gives 3 one night hotel certificates valued at 50K points after spending $3K in the first 3 months. As soon as I hit my 3K spend, the 3 one night certificates were loaded to my account (in less than 2 months).

Based on where I travel, the 3 certificates won't get me much where I want to go often. I live near DL in California and it appears there is only one branded place walking distance to the parks that is within the 50K points. All the places I'd prefer to stay near there require much higher points. Also, I didn't see Swan/Dolphin at WDW as a likely place to redeem the 50K point certs. I will still get good use out of the certificates, but you'll want to keep that in mind. You still have to pay for things like tax, parking, resort fee, etc.

While each year costs $95/ you get a 30K hotel certificate each year on your anniversary.

The points earned by spending on other items is extremely poor. It's 2 points per dollar spent. So, if I charged $10K on my card at places other than Marriott, I'll have 20K points which isn't helpful when I want to stay at places that need 70K + points. If I charge that same $10K on my Citibank Double Cash back, I get $200 cash, which is more valuable for me as I can take the $200 and pay for a hotel room or use towards a more expensive hotel room. You cannot use your room certificates towards a higher valued room. I get 6 points for each dollar that I spend in Marriott hotels and I intend to use it that way.

I made a very calculated decision when getting the card because I plan on staying often in the Marriott brands over the next few years and I wanted those 3 certificates that I get for being a new member. If I wasn't going to be loyal to the Marriott brand, I would much rather use my double cash back card.

When were you looking at the Swan and Dolphin? I got the same card as you and just booked my 3 free nights at the dolphin for a trip in November 2021. I could've also used them at the Swan Reserve. From what I've seen, the Swan and Dolphin is usually around 50,000/night while the swan reserve is 40,000 on average. I plan to use it while I accrue the 10 x points at restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations, but beyond that, I probably won't use it too much.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I should clarify my Reserve experience - was booked with 5 free night certificates from DH opening a Marriott card last fall. It was the Swan/Dolphin reservations people who said they couldn't move me because they had no access to the certificates. Tried to call Marriott, got on hold, and gave up because I wasn't sure they would talk to me about his reservation (he was out of town). When I cancelled the certificates showed up immediately for rebooking, which I wasn't expecting!

I assume your husband has Bonvoy Gold Elite status- that should provide a reservation guarantee- which says if they can’t honor your reservation, they’ll PAY for you to stay nearby AND compensate you $200 USD for the inconvenience.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Just tagging this one in case anybody missed it - this 10% off $500 @ Target deal is pretty awesome!

To access this deal - login to paypal and click on DEALS.
IF you don't see a target deal in your first list (scroll through to the right) I advise you add the Hot Topic deal (might have to click save offer 2-3 times to fully add it). After I did that, the Target offer then appeared!

This expires on 9/1 so if you want to do it... get on it NOW! The way it works is that you go to Target.com, Buy a $500 Disney GC or Target GC, and it only charges your card $450. It was super easy!

I did it with my Discover card and got 5% CashBack with their quarterly Paypal category...

Thanks for highlighting this, I had missed it also! How do you know it's up to $500, I can't find that in the terms and conditions.

ETA: NVM, the email says up to $50. Thanks!

 

[punkin]

Is 170 delta point one way (on Virgin) a horrible deal? I'm not actually sure how to value Delta points.

 

[EACarlson]

Is 170 delta point one way (on Virgin) a horrible deal? I'm not actually sure how to value Delta points.

To Europe? Seems very high. It's only 210 RT for a couple of random dates I looked at in April going MSP-CDG. Even the non-stop is only 315. That sounds a lot like what Virgin used to charge RT US-EU.

 

[starfrenzy]

Just tagging this one in case anybody missed it - this 10% off $500 @ Target deal is pretty awesome!

To access this deal - login to paypal and click on DEALS.
IF you don't see a target deal in your first list (scroll through to the right) I advise you add the Hot Topic deal (might have to click save offer 2-3 times to fully add it). After I did that, the Target offer then appeared!

This expires on 9/1 so if you want to do it... get on it NOW! The way it works is that you go to Target.com, Buy a $500 Disney GC or Target GC, and it only charges your card $450. It was super easy!

I did it with my Discover card and got 5% CashBack with their quarterly Paypal category...

I don’t see it nor Hot Topic.

I’m looking via the PayPal app. Do I need to be on a web browser?

edit: The browser worked for me! Thank you!

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I don’t see it nor Hot Topic.

I’m looking via the PayPal app. Do I need to be on a web browser?

Yeah, I didn't see it on the app either. Look on the website and you should see Hot topic on the first row. Then after you add that you see the Target offer. That's how it worked for me.

 

[Sheree]

You only have to wait a year after for new cards. If you have an older CSR that you PCed to a freedom you can PC it back. Or if you have a freedom you can PC that up to a CSR, you just need 10K credit line.

thanks for that advice
once I'm ready to use my URs I'll PC back to CSR for the 1.5x value!

 

[Sheree]

Trip report: Iceland, Golden Circle and South Coast

Thought I’d share a travel hacking/points based trip report for Iceland. We mostly paid cash for this trip and used it to meet MSRs on several cards. This is my absolute favorite trip of all time and we’ve been to Greece, Paris, London, Hawaii, Mexico, blah, blah, blah. I cannot say enough about the amazing diverse landscape. It’s so green, like you are in Ireland or Hawaii, but yet the temperature is cool. One moment you are at a hot spring or waterfall and a few hours later you are hiking a glacier or floating next to an iceberg. It’s just indescribable. If I could recommend one place to visit for active travelers, this would be it. We also really loved staying in the country. There was just a calm to this trip that was completely different.

Travel party of 6: Myself and husband, 44, our younger kids, 7 and 11, known as “the lils” and our older kids, 23 and 20.

Iceland requires PCR or Antigen testing 72 hours prior to departure, except for children born after 2005. Completed a PCR test at Walgreens on a Friday morning, including for the lils for peace of mind. The Walgreens in our area don’t provide rapid antigen test, only the Naat test (which we’d successfully used for Hawaii). By the time our departure day rolled around, Sunday, only my husband’s results had come in. We had to scramble and do PCR tests at O’hare for $120 each. Total cost= $360.

Pre-planning. We paid about $20 for an Icelandwithaview Guidebook (digital) and Map. I’m not kidding, this simple purchase basically did all of the work for us. It gave us all of the inside information on packing, currency, what sites to visit, where to eat, etc, etc. It was exactly what we needed.

Trip Insurance. I always buy trip medical insurance and did this for our travel party of 6 ($234 total). $250,000 primary medical insurance pp and $1M med evac, + more coverage. My husband and niece were once hospitalized in Mexico and during our hospital stay we met many American and Canadian families without insurance coverage who were facing bills in the tens of thousands of dollars. Over the years, I’ve filed 3 claims with various travel insurance companies and it is ALWAYS a hassle, but I’ve always been glad to have the coverage. Cost= $234

Airfare. We bought economy light tickets on Iceland Air in November 2020 for $421pp. Prior to our trip I read reviews that Iceland Air is very particular about luggage sizes and checking luggage would have cost us $140 pp/RT, so I bought us all some cheapo Rockland luggage which fit their requirements. Glad I did, because they did both weigh our carry-ons and make us test them in their carry-on sizer. Total airfare cost, seat selection + luggage= $2,766

Transportation. Blue Car Rental. This company comes highly, highly recommended and did not disappoint. Because Iceland can be a hazardous place to drive, we took all of the insurance. We also added 4G WIFI router. This was one of the best decisions ever. It was a tiny wireless router we could connect up to 10 devices and portable, so we carried it around with us when we weren’t in the car. Worked brilliantly. We got a seven seater SUV but man was this SUV super, super tiny. Thank goodness for that tiny luggage or we would’ve never all fit! Total transportation and wifi cost= $1486

Accommodations.
We stayed at 3 AirBnbs and one hotel.

Geysir cabin in the Golden Circle
It’s difficult to describe the gratitude we feel for being able to stay in this home away from home. The host welcomes you with little touches that make you feel like family. The location is perfection- we easily visited Geysir, Gulfoss, and Kerid Crater from this location. We dined at Fridheimer greenhouse (must-do! and make reservations) and visited the Efstidalur dairy farm. There are many options to stay in this area- but this was by far our favorite of our 4 stays, including those that cost twice as much. P.S. A washer AND dryer is a huge bonus in Iceland!
Cost per nt: $417, Total cost= $833

Seljalandsfoss tiny homes , 2 cabins

These tiny cabins slept 4 and so we got 2. Waterfalls are in the backdrop and it’s just the perfect setting along the south coast. Seljalandfoss waterfall is just up the street.
Cost per cabin per nt: $383, Total cost= $1530

AirBnB 3
I won’t provide much info on this stay, but we will receive a full refund on our stay. I’ll make a subsequent post about the protections of booking through AirBNB and how that has served us well in the past.

Kvosin Hotel, a Mr and Mrs Smith property, booked through IHG
We had to scramble to find accommodations when we could not continue staying in the AirBNB we booked. Only 4 other AirBNBs were available, and none fit our criteria. I had considered staying at the Kvosin in Reykavik and highly recommend it. Perfect location, boutique brand and mini kitchenette. They even got us rooms right next to each other, even though we booked at the last minute. They checked us in very early, around noon and provided 6 drink coupons at their bar, as well as late checkout. The Mojitos I enjoyed in bed were delicious!!!
Cost per room per night: $446, Total cost= $891

Total accommodation costs for 6 people for 7 nights= $3254 (this is about $1500 cheaper than we expected due to the AirBNB issue)

Free excursions.
I'll attach a few more pics at the end of this post, as there is a limit of 10.

There’s a volcano erupting right now and we were able to hike to the site following our visit to the Blue Lagoon. A 30 minute hike leads you to a fresh lava field. We were almost speechless. It’s breathtaking to behold this freshly drying lava (black, not red). It would have been a several hour hike to make it to the eruption site to see red lava, which was too much for our lils. We were so pumped to see what we saw and it was totally worth it. We finished off our amazing day with some gelato in town!



Paid excursions.
In addition to all of the places we visited for basically free, we also did these paid excursions and they were some of our favorite experiences.
Jökulsárlón Adventure Tour by Ice Lagoon. This is a Zodiak boat tour of a glacial lagoon, where you get up close to the glacier (you can hear it crackling) and ride alongside huge icebergs which have broken off the glacier. We selected this company because it is well reviewed and was one of the few companies that allowed 8 year olds in a Zodiak. They were very, very safety conscious. We suited up in their flotation suits and life jackets and then zipped off in Zodiaks to the glacier. We even got to see seals and grab our own mini icebergs right out of the water. I was really worried about the safety aspect of this trip, but we felt comfortable the whole time. It was a 6 hour round-trip drive to get to Jökulsárlón, and you know it’s worth it when your 8 yo says it was worth the drive.
Total cost= $415

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Ice Cave by Katla Volcano by Troll Expeditions. This starts as a ride through moss lava fields on a super jeep. You are dropped off to do a glacial hike to an Ice Cave which sits atop Katla Volcano. You can see the glacier is crusted in volcanic ash. My kids really loved the experience of drinking fresh glacier water dripping inside of the ice cave. It was just totally unique.
Total cost= $940 paid for with 62,656 URs, booked through the Chase Travel Portal

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Blue Lagoon. The iconic Iceland tourist experience. I was really worried about the communal showering and changing rooms, because I am a very modest person. But there were plenty of private changing rooms and private showers. We had a very relaxing time and were glad to have spent a few hours here enjoying Iceland’s unique geothermal energy.
Total cost= $252

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Gas, groceries, dining, small souvenirs= $1480

Departure. US requires a negative covid test for re-entry. We pre-ordered eMed’s BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag At-home Test 6 pack and brought them with us. Easy proctored testing from our AirBNB with results within 15 minutes.
Total cost= $165

8 day trip to Iceland for 6 people= $10,432

Final thoughts, if this destination is one you’ve considered, I encourage you to do it. I think summer is the perfect time to go- even though it is busier, the weather is beautiful (50s for us) and we got to see seals, puffins, Icelandic horses and sheep roaming the countryside. The days were long with about 16 hours of sunlight, but the cool temps made hiking so enjoyable.
Thanks for the advance recommendations, especially @wanderlust7, @AndreaDM and @mmmears

we also just got back. Amazing country
we used our Hilton FNC for 1st and last nights in Reykajavik

we rented a hybrid crv. got ripped off by Enterprise and trying to fight them now. They don't call back.
we stayed at little hotels one night each as we drove the entire ring road
I'm impressed with your dining costs.. Dinners seemed to br $100-120 each for the 2 of us. Lunches were sandwiches and breakfast ca,me with the rooms

we did get a speeding ticket, ouch

but i would definitely go again

I did use chse UR for icelandir thankfully

 

[calypso726]

Just tagging this one in case anybody missed it - this 10% off $500 @ Target deal is pretty awesome!

To access this deal - login to paypal and click on DEALS.
IF you don't see a target deal in your first list (scroll through to the right) I advise you add the Hot Topic deal (might have to click save offer 2-3 times to fully add it). After I did that, the Target offer then appeared!

This expires on 9/1 so if you want to do it... get on it NOW! The way it works is that you go to Target.com, Buy a $500 Disney GC or Target GC, and it only charges your card $450. It was super easy!

I did it with my Discover card and got 5% CashBack with their quarterly Paypal category...

Thank you! My gosh, I haven't used my Discover card for anything in ages! Quite happy to get such a nice overall discount on a $500 Disney GC. All savings I can get on my DVC annual dues are welcome!

 

[Hoosier John]

Just tagging this one in case anybody missed it - this 10% off $500 @ Target deal is pretty awesome!

To access this deal - login to paypal and click on DEALS.
IF you don't see a target deal in your first list (scroll through to the right) I advise you add the Hot Topic deal (might have to click save offer 2-3 times to fully add it). After I did that, the Target offer then appeared!

This expires on 9/1 so if you want to do it... get on it NOW! The way it works is that you go to Target.com, Buy a $500 Disney GC or Target GC, and it only charges your card $450. It was super easy!

I did it with my Discover card and got 5% CashBack with their quarterly Paypal category...

Help! I almost NEVER shop online ... Should it look like this ... $475?

And do I choose PayPal then add Discover to PayPal account?

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Help! I almost NEVER shop online ... Should it look like this ... $475?

And do I choose PayPay then add Discover to PayPal account?

View attachment 601085

Right now, Target is recognizing your RedCard so it's giving you the 5% discount instead of the 10% from the Paypal offer. It would be better to add your Discover card first to your Paypal account so when you hit "pay with Paypal", the card is already there to be selected. It might show the 10% off the Target RedCard price (it did for me when this happened to me) but it would revert back to the 10% off amount. To ensure that there wasn't any issue with the discount, I deleted the item and then added it back. The Target Redcard price wasn't there and the Paypal offer discount was accurate.

 

[Albort]

Help! I almost NEVER shop online ... Should it look like this ... $475?

And do I choose PayPal then add Discover to PayPal account?

View attachment 601085

ur suppose to pick pay with PayPal, then there is an option to add your discover card to it.
alternatively, u go to to paypal.com, add your discover card there, then go back to target.com, pick pay with PayPal and then it should pop up your discover card.

the discount will appear with paypal and not target. you will see Total $500.00 on Target, your receipt will show $450 on PayPal side. (i think, i did this late at night but thats what i recall).

 

[Hoosier John]

Right now, Target is recognizing your RedCard so it's giving you the 5% discount instead of the 10% from the Paypal offer. It would be better to add your Discover card first to your Paypal account so when you hit "pay with Paypal", the card is already there to be selected. It might show the 10% off the Target RedCard price (it did for me when this happened to me) but it would revert back to the 10% off amount. To ensure that there wasn't any issue with the discount, I deleted the item and then added it back. The Target Redcard price wasn't there and the Paypal offer discount was accurate.

Thank you sooo very much!

I think I did it. When I selected PayPal (twice), it took me to PP where it showed the Discover (that I pre-linked, like you suggested) and showed a price of $427.50 for the $500 card.

Then back to Target where I had to push the big red buy now button (which was now showing a price of $500 and NO discount), but Discover immediately notified me that the price was $450 (and the additional 5% will be in rewards)

Whew ... that's why the missus does this stuff for me

 

[Hoosier John]

ur suppose to pick pay with PayPal, then there is an option to add your discover card to it.
alternatively, u go to to paypal.com, add your discover card there, then go back to target.com, pick pay with PayPal and then it should pop up your discover card.

the discount will appear with paypal and not target. you will see Total $500.00 on Target, your receipt will show $450 on PayPal side. (i think, i did this late at night but thats what i recall).

Yes, that's accurate. Very nerve wracking pushing the $500 button, but makes sense now

Thank you!

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Thank you sooo very much!

I think I did it. When I selected PayPal (twice), it took me to PP where it showed the Discover (that I pre-linked, like you suggested) and showed a price of $427.50 for the $500 card.

Then back to Target where I had to push the big red buy now button (which was now showing a price of $500 and NO discount), but Discover immediately notified me that the price was $450 (and the additional 5% will be in rewards)

Whew ... that's why the missus does this stuff for me

I was nervous to hit the buy button too but the Disney GCs thread folks assured me that was right when I double checked with them. Thank dog for the Dis!

 

[punkin]

To Europe? Seems very high. It's only 210 RT for a couple of random dates I looked at in April going MSP-CDG. Even the non-stop is only 315. That sounds a lot like what Virgin used to charge RT US-EU.

It's to London. Both ways (not round trip because I need to fly in and out of different cities) is 290k. It seems high to me as well. It is first class.

 

[mamapenguin]

It’s August—why am I convinced I need this?View attachment 600256

I bought that last year at Costco, and yes you do. I can’t wait to put it out again this year

 

[georgina]

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