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

[wweazel]

AmEx Offer

Carnival Cruise Line
Spend $1000 get 25,000 MR points
Expires 10/10/23

There's usually an equivalent cash offer ($250), I'll keep checking cards to confirm. Does anyone have the cash statement credit offer to confirm? I'm only seeing the MR points.

yay! thanks for this - I only see it on MR too - BBP.

 

[DogCat]

We got same day approval for an Amex Hilton Biz and the Bilt MC!!

 

[Number-nerd]

I have 43K of personal credit
14K of credit with business cards attached to my SSN
and 5K of credit attached to a business EIN.
Between all the banks, what is the total amount credit they will extend in total and personal only, on average? I know different banks have different metrics. so just curious across the board what what the limits.
I have read on here and on DoC that like 60K personal is a limit/threashold and anything more than that it gets difficult, and like 120K total between all cards combines business and personal. Does any of that make sense?
I am not asking about credit limit averages for individual cards from the banks but total average credit to be extended across all banks, as a total.

thanks for your time!

 

[miztressuz]

Have any of you guys traveled internationally with a passport in a maiden name, after you were married and had a name change? I figure if anyone has done it, someone here has experience! I've read a lot online about it, and it says to just make sure to book the airline tickets in your maiden name also so it matches the passport. I mean, is there anyway TSA or Customs flinches at this? Can they see in the system that the person's legal name is different now? This is for a family member that would like to avoid getting a new passport until it's up for renewal in 3 years.

Sorta. I changed my name with the state a few years before I changed it with the feds. DL came up for renewal before the passport. So I kept all my travel plans with my previous name (FF accounts and tickets, cruise reservations) and just traveled with my passport until I changed that.

I don't believe there are cross references with SS if that's the concern. IIRC they only use your SSN to verify eligibility for issuing or renewing a passport (like you have massive IRS debt and want a passport to flee the country). Otherwise there's no other linkage anywhere else. They scan your passport and it shows the info on the passport.

For piece of mind the person could just travel with a previous photo ID with matching info to the current photo ID. (I carried my expired DL with the current DL as everything on it matched except my last name. ) Or for me a PA marriage cert is very small, only needs a half page of paper. So I often had that on me somewhere too. But I don't think anyone, anywhere had ever asked. Honestly they don't even ask my name. Just hand a passport, they check the photo, ask their entry questions and off you go.

Your passport is the key. If it all matches that and you match it, then should be all good.

 

[becauseimnew]

https://milestalk.com/companion-pas...t-rapid-rewards-premier-business-credit-card/
Interesting offer, this would be worked out great for us if DH hadn’t just gotten the CIP.
DH is at 80k CP miles for the year, with this offer he could earn the CP with the first $3k spend then we would slowly spend the other $12k to earn the other 60K next year. Then he could apply for a personal card next year to extend his CP another year.

 

[GZanta77]

I have 43K of personal credit
14K of credit with business cards attached to my SSN
and 5K of credit attached to a business EIN.
Between all the banks, what is the total amount credit they will extend in total and personal only, on average? I know different banks have different metrics. so just curious across the board what what the limits.
I have read on here and on DoC that like 60K personal is a limit/threashold and anything more than that it gets difficult, and like 120K total between all cards combines business and personal. Does any of that make sense?
I am not asking about credit limit averages for individual cards from the banks but total average credit to be extended across all banks, as a total.

thanks for your time!

This is a difficult question to answer. Firstly, its going to be impacted massively by your current income, credit history and a whole range of other factors including the state of the economy and banks attitude to risk. The 60k personal and 120k personal/business combined you mentioned makes no sense to me - and it would not make sense without knowing personal income/business income etc. I will say that if those are the recommended limits then I'm in trouble.

I have seen some suggestion that credit lines with Chase should be kept below $75k or 50% of your personal income (whichever is lower), but I think that is based on experience rather than factual knowledge. I know its not helpful, but as you pointed out, different banks have different metrics and I just don't think it is possible to come up with the 'across the board limits, total and personal, on average' that you are seeking.

 

[Judique]

This is a difficult question to answer. Firstly, its going to impacted massively by your current income, credit history and a whole range of other factors including the state of the economy and banks attitude to risk. The 60k personal and 120k personal/business combined you mentioned makes no sense to me - and it would not make sense without knowing personal income/business income etc. I will say that if those are the recommended limits then I'm in trouble.

I have seen some suggestion that credit lines with Chase should be kept below $75k or 50% of your personal income (whichever is lower), but I think that is based on experience rather than factual knowledge. I know its not helpful, but as you pointed out, different banks have different metrics and I just don't think it is possible to come up the 'across the board limits, total and personal, on average' that you are seeking.

I agree with this assessment. Based on these factors no one would be giving me any new cards.

Yet Chase just gave me a new IHG.

 

[Princess Michele]

We have returned from our 7 day Voyage of the Glaciers Cruise and have had some time to gather my thoughts. This was our first Alaska cruise and our first cruise with Princess Cruises. We have sailed 2 times with Celebrity Cruises, 2 times with DCL, and 1 time with Carnival. I selected Princess for the itinerary because I wanted to go to Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. I also selected the Grand Princess because I wanted to be on a smaller ship with lots of outside space for viewing. @pinkxray I know you have some concerns about the NCL ship you have booked but I don't know what they are. On the CruiseCritic.com forum there is not a lot of love for the Grand Princess among the Princess fans. Most posters prefer the Sapphire over the Grand but the dates worked out better for the Grand sailing for us. I was a little concerned that I would regret my choice but we did not have any issues with the ship. Everything was in good working order and the service was outstanding. The ship did not seem like it was 25 years old but the Carnival and Celebrity ships we sailed on were older also so I guess we are just used to older ships.

@CyndiLouWho we had one naturalist on board, Dr. Sharron Faff, who gave 2 presentations on our second day (Hubbard Glacier scenic cruising). The first was called Alaska from Icy Glaciers to Fiery Volcanoes and the second was on Humpback & Orca Whales. Both were available to be viewed on the stateroom tv or in the theater. On days 5, 6, and 7 Dr. Faff also provided commentary for an hour in the evening. While we were in Juneau Libby Riddles came aboard and gave a presentation called Sled Dogs and Adventures. There was also an author, Nick Jans, who wrote a book titled A Wolf Called Romeo who spoke. On our Glacier Bay day there were several Park Rangers who gave commentary or were walking around the ship and answering questions. There were lots of activities and performers each day but we did not get to many of them. There were 3 production shows in the evenings but they were just alright compared to Disney's shows. My DS is 16 and an introvert. I was not able to get him interested in attending any of the teen activities. He was content to hang in the cabin on his phone while we were cruising.

We went to Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan. We booked whale watching in Juneau but we did not get lucky and see lots of whales on our trip. I think we only saw two adult whales and one baby. In Skagway my DS and DH booked a helicopter trip to a glacier for dog sledding in the morning but it was canceled due to the weather. In the late afternoon my DH, DM, and I rode the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway to Canada and back. My DD and DS decided to stay on the ship instead. We enjoyed the train ride and would recommend it. We did not book any excursions in Ketchikan. We just wandered around town on our own. Hubbard Glacier was outstanding. We booked an excursion on a smaller boat to get closer to the glacier. Seeing Hubbard Glacier up close was amazing.

The only real negative on our trip was the food on the ship. We normally eat dinners in the main dining rooms but most nights the menu choices did not appeal to most of us. I don't know if Princess' menu selections would be different in the Caribbean than Alaska. We went to our second formal night because it was my DM's birthday and we had something special planned. 3 of us ordered the filet and lobster but the filet was not very good. We also did not care for the selections at the buffet for dinner most nights. The grill by the pool had decent food options but I can only eat so many hamburgers in one week. The bright spots for us for dining were room service and Alfredo's. Alfredo's serves freshly prepared pizzas which were really good.

I do not regret selecting Princess for our trip so we could experience Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. If we decide to do another Alaska cruise I would select the cruise line again based on whoever offered the itinerary I was interested in. Even though we have done 2 Disney cruises my DH thought they were not worth the price. After this cruise he is now ready to cruise with Disney again.

 

[EACarlson]

I am working on my retention bonus for Amex Gold. Is buying gift cards just a no go? I need a few Disney gift cards and will buy them at shopdisney for the cute designs. Maybe $100/&150?

Depending on the level of data AMEX gets from the merchant you may not get credit for those gift cards. There have been reports that the RAT team is looking closer right now at GC purchases and clawing back bonuses on many customers. According to T&C's, GCs are not eligible spend for bonuses or rewards earning. Personally I wouldn't count on it as part of the retention spend.

Have any of you guys traveled internationally with a passport in a maiden name, after you were married and had a name change? I figure if anyone has done it, someone here has experience! I've read a lot online about it, and it says to just make sure to book the airline tickets in your maiden name also so it matches the passport. I mean, is there anyway TSA or Customs flinches at this? Can they see in the system that the person's legal name is different now? This is for a family member that would like to avoid getting a new passport until it's up for renewal in 3 years.

I would be careful about TSA Pre or GE. Those get checked occasionally and a mismatch could make you ineligible.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

I would be careful about TSA Pre or GE. Those get checked occasionally and a mismatch could make you ineligible.

Thanks for the info. Do you mean a mismatch could make the person ineligible to be approved for either in the future? Right now, the person has neither TSA Pre or GE. They simply want to travel to Costa Rica with a passport in a maiden name with no issues, and can carry a marriage cert with them as well to show the name progression. CBP website seems to indicate this is acceptable.

 

[trenty]

International travel question: I will be going to Europe next week.
I just logged onto Chase to set up a travel alert and it says I don't need to. I will primarily be using my CSP. I also searched to see about doing the same for my BOA debit card and see the same info. Should I call and see if I can set up a travel alert?

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

International travel question: I will be going to Europe next week.
I just logged onto Chase to set up a travel alert and it says I don't need to. I will primarily be using my CSP. I also searched to see about doing the same for my BOA debit card and see the same info. Should I call and see if I can set up a travel alert?

I don't think Chase does travel alerts anymore. We didn't do anything when we traveled to Japan in May, and we used our CSP everywhere with no issues whatsoever.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Have any of you guys traveled internationally with a passport in a maiden name, after you were married and had a name change? I figure if anyone has done it, someone here has experience! I've read a lot online about it, and it says to just make sure to book the airline tickets in your maiden name also so it matches the passport. I mean, is there anyway TSA or Customs flinches at this? Can they see in the system that the person's legal name is different now? This is for a family member that would like to avoid getting a new passport until it's up for renewal in 3 years.

Thanks for the info. Do you mean a mismatch could make the person ineligible to be approved for either in the future? Right now, the person has neither TSA Pre or GE. They simply want to travel to Costa Rica with a passport in a maiden name with no issues, and can carry a marriage cert with them as well to show the name progression. CBP website seems to indicate this is acceptable.

As a former airline cabin crewmember, yes, this is perfectly acceptable. Passport and ticket names just need to match.

 

[EACarlson]

Thanks for the info. Do you mean a mismatch could make the person ineligible to be approved for either in the future? Right now, the person has neither TSA Pre or GE. They simply want to travel to Costa Rica with a passport in a maiden name with no issues, and can carry a marriage cert with them as well to show the name progression. CBP website seems to indicate this is acceptable.

If you apply for Pre or GE after changing the name with Social Security using the previous name, you will be denied and could be added to the list that is permanently ineligible. Without Pre or GE, the biggest concern is going to be to make sure you use the passport as ID with TSA. If they scan your DL it's going to come up with no hit on flight manifests and you won't be allowed through.

 

[miztressuz]

International travel question: I will be going to Europe next week.
I just logged onto Chase to set up a travel alert and it says I don't need to. I will primarily be using my CSP. I also searched to see about doing the same for my BOA debit card and see the same info. Should I call and see if I can set up a travel alert?

If you call Chase they'll just tell you the same thing. There's no where for phone reps to set one up and adding a note to your account won't do anything to stop automated fraud alerts so they won't do that either. Could try BoA but I think it's the same there.

I haven't set a travel alert in ages. Haven't had any problems when country hopping in Central America or Europe. Both online or in person. Tech has advanced enough that there are better ways to identify legit use than a flag on an account.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

If you apply for Pre or GE after changing the name with Social Security using the previous name, you will be denied and could be added to the list that is permanently ineligible. Without Pre or GE, the biggest concern is going to be to make sure you use the passport as ID with TSA. If they scan your DL it's going to come up with no hit on flight manifests and you won't be allowed through.

Thanks for explaining further. If my family member applies for TSA Pre in the future (they don't travel internationally nearly enough for GE), I'll make sure to let them know they would have to do it AFTER changing their passport to their new last name. I think that would avoid the issues. Although this family member rarely ever flies to begin with, so TSA Pre may never be a thing for them either, or at least for now. But good info to know!

 

[hsmamato2]

AAdvantage shop portal...ARGG!!! I hate it! twice now my purchase hasn't tracked,is this just me? I'm just trying to keep my point alive....

replying to self here- dp I waited,then sent the where's my points email- got a response that they found it and tracked it!

 

[leeniewdw]

I'm 2+ weeks behind on reading as we just got back from 14 days in Ireland (and 2 in Boston). I'll write up a little recap of the pts/places but wanted to share this Global Entry interview experience while it's fresh in my mind as a DP.

DH & I both applied LAST July for GE. I was conditionally approved within a week, DH still was not as of our time of travel, & we never bothered to schedule my interview, so we traveled w/o GE.

We departed from Shannon airport on Monday and in Ireland you pre-clear IN Ireland, so I was planning to ask about "apply on 'arrival'". Before I even asked, when they scanned my passport the lady saw I was pending interview and asked if I wanted to complete it now...I did. The person who scanned my DH's didn't mention anything either way, but we asked if he could "try". She hesitated a little, saying they normally don't allow people to do it until they are only pending the interview, but they did let us both go to the office for the "interview".

I was first and it was a quick few questions (validate address, email, had I been arrested ever, had I lived in middle east, employment status), then finger printing and that was it. My DH did the same thing and was approved as well.

Keep in mind that there was literally NO LINE in Pre Clearance or in the CBP office at all so it was PAINLESS!
(edit to add: I think most of the people on our flight had already gone thru based on the crowd a the gate when we were done, so perhaps had we gone thru earlier there would have been a small line.)

Shannon was a nice small airport and I would highly recommend using it unless Dublin is more convenient. We flew into Dublin and it was fine as well actually, but I suspect there would always be more people during the middle of the day. We had biz class (Aer Lingus) going in, and since both you and your bags are let off first, we were at the front of the line for immigration there -- which took < 5 minutes.

Quoting myself to update this story. This week I got my letter with my GE card. My DH did not. We waited a day or so and it still didn't come. Since we have no trips planned until December, neither of us actually logged back into the website to see anything. Well, we did that yesterday for DH and interestingly, he's now set to "conditional approval" but still needs an interview BUT!!! It offers a zoom option! I presume that's because they have his photo and fingerprints from the Shannon interview. So we need to schedule that and he should be good to go.

 

[trenty]

If you call Chase they'll just tell you the same thing. There's no where for phone reps to set one up and adding a note to your account won't do anything to stop automated fraud alerts so they won't do that either. Could try BoA but I think it's the same there.

I haven't set a travel alert in ages. Haven't had any problems when country hopping in Central America or Europe. Both online or in person. Tech has advanced enough that there are better ways to identify legit use than a flag on an account.

Thank you. I haven't travelled internationally in ages. LOL

 

[trenty]

I don't think Chase does travel alerts anymore. We didn't do anything when we traveled to Japan in May, and we used our CSP everywhere with no issues whatsoever.

Thank you.