I love credit cards so much! v5.0 - 2022 (see first page for add'l details)

[chattadisser]

Did anyone else have the Hilton spend $8k get a FNC on multiple cards?

We, really DH, did as he has 2 Aspires. So I have confirmed several times through online chat that both accounts were eligible and checked on where we were on the spend for those. So I was just disconnected after I spent almost an hour on chat with them as they are now telling me that only one card per member is eligible for the promo. I made it to a supervisor and I explained that their system allowed me to register both cards and their rep confirmed (and I have the screen shot) that both cards were eligible. Then the chat just disconnected. Luckily DH could login on his computer and pick up the conversation from there, not sure how that happened but good for me. Got me off the chat and they don't realize it but he's way harder to please than me!!

Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has encountered this?

 

[EACarlson]

Don't they have to be living and join themselves? I know that's how USAA is so I can't do it. At least that's what our ins person said, the family member has to be a member of USAA for me to be able to join.

Not for Navy. For Navy you just have to be a descendant of someone eligible or who would have been eligible if they were alive. My grandfather died 15 years before I was born.

 

[WVMomof3]

Hi guys, I haven't been on here in about 2 weeks, and there's been 30 new pages that I don't have time to catch up on, LOL. Hope there was nothing juicy I missed!

We were gone on a cruise, and I am glad to report back that no one in our party of 4 got sick, and we in fact felt safer on this trip than any other we've been on in the pandemic thus far! If you have any questions, please feel free to DM me. We were on Carnival.

We are planning only domestic travel this year now. Were supposed to go to China in October (cancelled trip from 2020), but with all the uncertainty and new lockdowns occuring there, we are almost certain that trip is off the table. We'll lose our deposit of $600 that was paid pre-Covid with no travel insurance. You live and you learn.

Has anyone stayed at the Holiday Inn in West Yellowstone? We are thinking of taking a trip to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons in August for a week. The IHG points price is kind of steep, but we don't have any plans for all our IHG points at the moment, and with changes to the program coming, I'm thinking we should go ahead and use them instead of hoarding, in case of a devaluation soon. We would get 4th night free, so it comes out to around 42K pts per night. I did find cheap flights using AA points, only 25K round trip for the two of us.

Any recommendations for a hotel in Grand Teton area? We don't have any cc affiliated hotels in that area, and prices of hotels are insane! I looked on Airbnb as well, and they're just as expensive. Has anyone stayed outside the area, like Alpine or Victor, and found it to be acceptable with the drive back/forth? With the short amount of time we have, we might just have to suck up the cost to be closer.

To keep this all cc related, I am looking for our next credit card to earn a signup bonus. We haven't had one in about 6+ months. Just not sure what to get right now. The trips we have planned this year are Chicago, Yellowstone, & Outer Banks. We may try to do an all-inclusive in December in Dominican Republic, but not sure yet. We are okay paying cash on that one. The Chicago and Yellowstone trips air are covered, as well as hotels for the most part (see above). Outer Banks we'll probably have to pay an airbnb so we can take our dogs. I am thinking maybe a Hyatt card or Amex Surpass? We are planning Japan for November 2023, so we could get a jump on hotel points for those. Or Amex Delta or Southwest card to get airline points for a positioning flight for Japan. Any recommendations? Probably makes most sense to go with Chase cards first, due to 5/24.

I would highly recommend staying in the parks. Check Xanterra, that is what most NPs use, but I think Teton may have been a different one. I really enjoyed Yellowstone but it was soooooo much driving within the park and we stayed inside and it was still a lot of driving. I checked everyday for cancellations and was able to get rooms for enough of our nights with only a few months before our trip. I would not want to stay outside the parks.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

When booking a Hyatt room through WoH, the resort I'm interested in has a bookable category called "Upgrade Premium Suite." This states "UPGRADE - PREMIUM SUITE - Valid on 1-Bedroom Suite only. - Standard guarantee/cxl policy." The rate is cash plus points and is very attractive, but I'm not sure if I am understanding. Does this require a separate reservation of a 1BR suite? Then it's not attractive at all... Can anyone help/explain?

 

[havaneselover]

I need to buy a lottery ticket. Dell canceled one $100 gift from one order and a $10’gift card from the other order so it somehow worked out perfectly.

 

[Killer Fish]

If you are looking for a good place to use your IHG points- this might be a good alternative to DR in Dec. I'm reticent to share this here because I think it's such a good redemption and I hate to make it popular- but the Kimpton Seafire in Grand Cayman is 70k IHG points/nt. It's a stunning resort. Retails for about $1650/nt many nights, with all of the taxes/fees, so it's a great redemption. The resort fee is a bit steep for some at $80 a night, but it includes their morning coffee, afternoon social hour and actually really great watersports, like SUP, kayaking, rafts, free bike rental, and yoga/exercise classes. It's up there with the Ritz/Four Seasons. The Caymans has been so difficult with their reopening plan, and there are definitely some hoops to jump through, but hoping that gets better as the year goes on. We'll be there for Easter, fingers crossed.

I loved Kimpton Seafire....I stacked 3 IHG free nights before they changed the free night to restricted....everything on Grand Cayman though is insane expensive.

 

[Haley R]

Ds starts daycare in June and the provider uses Quickbooks but she only takes bank transfers I’m kind of upset we’ll have to pay with a check every month

 

[Killer Fish]

Ds starts daycare in June and the provider uses Quickbooks but she only takes bank transfers I’m kind of upset we’ll have to pay with a check every month

Boo.....I love that our daycare takes credit cards.....after 2 years of changing the card all the time to meet MSRs the preschool coordinator finally asked my wife why we change cards all the time....POINTS

 

[Haley R]

Boo.....I love that our daycare takes credit cards.....after 2 years of changing the card all the time to meet MSRs the preschool coordinator finally asked my wife why we change cards all the time....POINTS

It’s a really small daycare so I’m guessing that’s why but I just don’t get how people can’t take credit cards in 2022. Doesn’t make any sense to me. He’ll only be going twice a week for 3 hours so at least it won’t be a ton of money but still

 

[StephPlum]

Has anyone stayed at the Holiday Inn in West Yellowstone? We are thinking of taking a trip to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons in August for a week. The IHG points price is kind of steep, but we don't have any plans for all our IHG points at the moment, and with changes to the program coming, I'm thinking we should go ahead and use them instead of hoarding, in case of a devaluation soon. We would get 4th night free, so it comes out to around 42K pts per night. I did find cheap flights using AA points, only 25K round trip for the two of us.

Any recommendations for a hotel in Grand Teton area? We don't have any cc affiliated hotels in that area, and prices of hotels are insane! I looked on Airbnb as well, and they're just as expensive. Has anyone stayed outside the area, like Alpine or Victor, and found it to be acceptable with the drive back/forth? With the short amount of time we have, we might just have to suck up the cost to be closer.

I know it isn't on points but if at all possible I recommend staying in the park at Yellowstone. I split time between Old Faithful area and Canyon area. The distances between the different areas are a lot. It really helps not having to drive into the park to start your day and just walking over to Old Faithful to see it erupt - priceless.

I would recommend that In Grand Tetons as well - Signal Mountain Lodge is great. Some Hotel/Motel rooms and some cabins. We stayed in the cabins and they were great. Get the nachos on the deck at the restaurant there. Avoid Coulter Bay cabins. They were moved there from all over the area in the 50s and it looked like that was the last time they were cleaned. Small and a bit dirty.

 

[wanderlust7]

Ds starts daycare in June and the provider uses Quickbooks but she only takes bank transfers I’m kind of upset we’ll have to pay with a check every month

You can use Plastiq if the 2.85% fee is worth it to you. I only do it to meet MSR.

 

[hsmamato2]

Anyone know if SWA will allow a flight change at no charge BEFORE they post a weather notice? Or do we have to wait

 

[reliev]

When booking a Hyatt room through WoH, the resort I'm interested in has a bookable category called "Upgrade Premium Suite." This states "UPGRADE - PREMIUM SUITE - Valid on 1-Bedroom Suite only. - Standard guarantee/cxl policy." The rate is cash plus points and is very attractive, but I'm not sure if I am understanding. Does this require a separate reservation of a 1BR suite? Then it's not attractive at all... Can anyone help/explain?

which hotel I can login and see what you mean.

 

[EACarlson]

It’s a really small daycare so I’m guessing that’s why but I just don’t get how people can’t take credit cards in 2022. Doesn’t make any sense to me. He’ll only be going twice a week for 3 hours so at least it won’t be a ton of money but still

Have to pay fees for CC. Especially with small daycares, that can be too much. I've never had a daycare that did take cards. Our last two daycares only took ACH without a fee, it was a $10 monthly fee to pay by check.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

It’s a really small daycare so I’m guessing that’s why but I just don’t get how people can’t take credit cards in 2022. Doesn’t make any sense to me. He’ll only be going twice a week for 3 hours so at least it won’t be a ton of money but still

Since it’s small they probably don’t want to pay the credit card fees…they can really add up…when my kids played ice hockey I was the treasurer….we stopped taking Amex due to the fees

 

[wed100105]

I’m so far behind. I think of you guys often though!

We had the $8000 offer on each of our Aspire accounts. They are two separate accounts though.

2021 was a great year for CC redemptions. I cashed out all of our Chase URs with dining, home improvement, and grocery stores 1.5x. It worked well and was nice to have some of that extra “cash” in our budget. We’ve taken really great vacations including a trip to Key West over Christmas using HHonor points to pay for

My husband is going through the process of being medically separated from the ANG. Thank you to everyone who has helped with credit card bonuses. Over the years we’ve been able to travel and become debt free. We wouldn’t be able to have DH retire and maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

We need to apply for new cards to earn bonuses, but I will take some time to research. I’m super bummed to see CIP is now $15,000!

Thanks again to everyone who led us in a great direction two years ago. It really made a difference and helped us!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Anyone know if SWA will allow a flight change at no charge BEFORE they post a weather notice? Or do we have to wait

You usually have to wait and keep a close eye on their website….but if you have the time to call it doesn’t hurt to ask

 

[becauseimnew]

I’m so far behind. I think of you guys often though!

We had the $8000 offer on each of our Aspire accounts. They are two separate accounts though.

2021 was a great year for CC redemptions. I cashed out all of our Chase URs with dining, home improvement, and grocery stores 1.5x. It worked well and was nice to have some of that extra “cash” in our budget. We’ve taken really great vacations including a trip to Key West over Christmas using HHonor points to pay for

My husband is going through the process of being medically separated from the ANG. Thank you to everyone who has helped with credit card bonuses. Over the years we’ve been able to travel and become debt free. We wouldn’t be able to have DH retire and maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

We need to apply for new cards to earn bonuses, but I will take some time to research. I’m super bummed to see CIP is now $15,000!

Thanks again to everyone who led us in a great direction two years ago. It really made a difference and helped us!

Congratulations on the retirement and becoming debt free. The CIP MSR is tough. Why not apply for the CIC or CIU? The MSR is only $7,500 for 75,000 URs plus 20,000 for support links.

 

[happ]

Anyone know if SWA will allow a flight change at no charge BEFORE they post a weather notice? Or do we have to wait

This happened for me a few weeks back. A snowstorm was predicted for my travel day so I went online to switch my flight to the day before. I didn't see anything about changing for free and fully expected to pay more points for the new flight, but it let me change for free. Maybe I just timed it right. It's worth trying to change to see whether it shows a charge.

 

[DaveL]

It’s a really small daycare so I’m guessing that’s why but I just don’t get how people can’t take credit cards in 2022. Doesn’t make any sense to me. He’ll only be going twice a week for 3 hours so at least it won’t be a ton of money but still

DD's after school care finally started to accept CC's this year. For the past six years it's been bank draft only. You would think now-a-days with most dependent care accounts having CC's attached more would accept it.