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

[Chris75]

Is there a way to find out if my local Walmart supercenter counts as a "grocery store" for the Disney Visa?

I have not tested it with my Disney card but on my CSR at least 3 supercenters around me code as grocery for PYB so I imagine it would work on the Disney card since they are both from Chase, however as mentioned by someone else just doing a small transaction and waiting for it to post should tell you for sure.

 

[becauseimnew]

For those that have gone for the elevated Hilton SUB, what are you doing with those points and FNC?

DH and I will each be applying for a card, so we'll have 300K + 2 FNC.

Going to Disney World in April, already have reservations that we could change. But don't have any other big trips where we could take advantage of the FNC.

 

[pinkxray]

United Airlines ?
I am looking at June 2024 flights from New York to Seattle. United has the best flight times(I think they are from New Jersey but that’s fine)
When looking at a one way Seattle- NJ flights are all reasonable until June 15. $300 range. Then all the sudden on June 16 prices jump to $1600 for a one way. Am I just too early or is June 16 a summer surge price or something?

 

[chuff88]

I'm kind of looking for advice? I'm also sort of new here.

My name is Caroline, I'm a recent new DVC Owner, I've been on one Adventures by Disney trip with another one planned next month, and I've been on 3 Disney cruises with 3 more (a B2B and a British Isles) planned for 2024 (the second B2B will make us Gold Castaway Club members).

I am interested in the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Here are my existing cards:

05/23 APPLE Apple Card (this is the only card opened in the last 24 months)

I also have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Freedom card. I only have the Chase Freedom card because it was my first-ever CC and I don't want to take the hit to my credit that comes with closing it. Currently I split most of my expenses between the Chase Sapphire Preferred (all travel and dining) and the Freedom Unlimited (almost everything else) to maximize the points earnings. I really like the Sapphire Preferred, but think the Sapphire Reserve might better fit my needs in the long run.

Honestly, it's hard to estimate how much I put on my credit cards each month because it varies quite a bit. I also have a high-interest checking account that requires 12 debit card transactions each month to earn the higher interest rate, so I can't put ALL of my expenses on my CCs. I'd say that, on average, I'm probably putting about $5k on my two Chase cards per month (I put all of the travel expenses for both myself and my mom on the Sapphire Preferred and then she reimburses me, and we use the rewards for our travel). I pay off my balance every month, though I'm currently doing the "interest saving balance" on the Sapphire Rewards because I used Pay Over Time for my Annual Pass purchase.

The main reason I'm exploring the Sapphire Reserve is that my mom and I have started flying first class and are trying to maximize our points earnings to minimize the cost of flying in a higher fare class. We are also trying to fly Delta primarily (we are SkyMiles members and should reach Silver Medallion status for the first time at the end of this year), and we fly out of a small-ish regional airport. We are serviced by Southwest but are not interested in flying Southwest at this time.

Most of our travel going forward will be to Disney World, through Adventures by Disney or another tour company, or on a cruise line, so hotels really aren't of concern to us (as a DVC member we'll mostly be using that for WDW and accommodations are covered in the other travel we're doing).

I'm mostly just trying to determine if the rewards offered by the Sapphire Reserve are better enough to justify a switch. I know that I will at least wait until I get my next round of anniversary bonus points early in 2024 before making any switch. Ideally I'd want to close my Sapphire Preferred completely to open the Sapphire Reserve in order to get any introductory bonus they're offering at the time.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Applied and approved for CIU almost instantly (that weird We'll let you know, followed immediately by a welcome email) as DS will be playing club soccer at least one more year. I already SM'd to expedite the card as the soccer club sent the offer emails today and wants payment by 23rd.

So I hold a basic discover cc, they'd let me hold a 2nd one?

Yes, I have 2.

12 debit card transactions each month to earn the higher interest rate

Usually 12 $.50 transactions at Amazon will work, or 12 bananas at say Traders Joe's or Aldi etc. You usually don't need significant spend on those unless they list a minimum transaction amount.

 

[chuff88]

Usually 12 $.50 transactions at Amazon will work, or 12 bananas at say Traders Joe's or Aldi etc. You usually don't need significant spend on those unless they list a minimum transaction amount.

I totally get that, and a lot of my debit transactions generally come from small reloads to my Starbucks card. I will also be honest and say that I want to maximize my points earnings without having to put a lot of energy into micromanaging every single one of my transactions to maximize the benefits. Ultimately I think that would create more stress for me and I'm not looking for that in my life. What I'm really looking to do is maximize my earnings and rewards on the transactions I'm already making with my credit cards.

I should also add that I live with my parents and they handle the grocery purchasing, so they use grocery shopping to get their 12 debit card transactions for the month.

 

[wanderlust7]

Ideally I'd want to close my Sapphire Preferred completely to open the Sapphire Reserve in order to get any introductory bonus they're offering at the time.

Has it been 48 months since you got your Sapphire Preferred bonus? If so, when you apply for the Reserve, you can't be holding any Sapphires. So you would need to either cancel the CSP and wait 30 days or product change it to a Freedom and wait about 4 days.

 

[chuff88]

Has it been 48 months since you got your Sapphire Preferred bonus? If so, when you apply for the Reserve, you can't be holding any Sapphires. So you would need to either cancel the CSP and wait 30 days or product change it to a Freedom and wait about 4 days.

Oh I don't think it's been 48 months, I opened it at the end of 2019 so I have a while before I'll be at that 48 month point.

I guess when I pass that 48 month point the best thing to do would be to change it to a Freedom Flex (the only Freedom I don't currently have that I'd qualify for) and then open the new CSR? It's also a matter of deciding if all this extra work is worth it or if I should just convert the CSP to a CSR.

ETA: the 48-month rule actually works out fine anyway, since I want to get my anniversary points bonus for 2023 and I'll probably get those around February/March of 2024 anyway.

 

[wanderlust7]

For those that have gone for the elevated Hilton SUB, what are you doing with those points and FNC?

DH and I will each be applying for a card, so we'll have 300K + 2 FNC.

Going to Disney World in April, already have reservations that we could change. But don't have any other big trips where we could take advantage of the FNC.

Think I'm going to use ours at the Roku Kyoto. Standard rooms are 110k points/night, so I'd feel like I'm maximizing the FNCs lol.

The Waldorf Orlando looks nice.

ETA: I see there's a Conrad opening in Orlando too.

 

[iujen94]

United Airlines ?
I am looking at June 2024 flights from New York to Seattle. United has the best flight times(I think they are from New Jersey but that’s fine)
When looking at a one way Seattle- NJ flights are all reasonable until June 15. $300 range. Then all the sudden on June 16 prices jump to $1600 for a one way. Am I just too early or is June 16 a summer surge price or something?

Not sure if this is related, but I'm also looking at booking a United flight for June 2024. I’ve been tracking award prices for weeks, watching for patterns. One consistent pattern Is that, when flights are first released for a given date, they stay at 395k points for 3 days. On tne 4th day, they drop to around 100k points. Not sure if cash prices follow the same pattern, but maybe?

 

[wanderlust7]

I guess when I pass that 48 month point the best thing to do would be to change it to a Freedom Flex (the only Freedom I don't currently have that I'd qualify for) and then open the new CSR?

You can have more than one of the same card when you product change. So you can PC to whichever Freedom that you want.

 

[chuff88]

You can have more than one of the same card when you product change. So you can PC to whichever Freedom that you want.

I was just thinking because I already have a Freedom Unlimited that I use regularly I'd probably change it to a different one. Ultimately I'd probably end of closing whichever Freedom card I change the CSP to because I just don't need another one.

 

[Sheree]

The offer is for 2 people but you can book a room for 4 and just pay the 3rd/4th person fair. Thats what I did for CCL, snd the 3rd/4th person are the prevailing rates of a 3rd/4th for that cruise so that varied widely from $130pp to $500pp. We went w/ one of the cheapest ones (which was actually a nicer one surprisingly).

I put in for the Wyndham match (hilton diamond) last week. once that comes thru how do you do the cruise match?
thanks

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

For those that have gone for the elevated Hilton SUB, what are you doing with those points and FNC?

DH and I will each be applying for a card, so we'll have 300K + 2 FNC.

Going to Disney World in April, already have reservations that we could change. But don't have any other big trips where we could take advantage of the FNC.

No plans yet, but thinking maybe WA Cabo, Conrad Orlando, WA (or is it the Hilton) Beverly Hills. Or perhaps I'll head the Maldives next September and use the FNCs at the Conrad Rangali.

I have another tax installment due August 1st and the deposit for ds's new car early next week (ended up getting a 2022 Q3 Progressiv with 6k miles) and both HH biz spends will have been met. I plan on applying for the regular Hilton for dd tonight for my 3rd FNC.

 

[wanderlust7]

Went for the Hilton no AF today. Thought it was a good time to get it if I want to downgrade my Surpass in the future and not have to worry about locking myself out of the bonus. Amex seems to be relaxing the lifetime criteria though, so who know what the future holds.

Had to cancel my BBP to free up a cc slot. That was a bit painful. Applied for the Hilton knowing I'd be declined. Then called recon, but they had to transfer me to a different department to cancel the BBP. Got transferred to the personal side, who had to transfer me to the biz side. Got it canceled and asked to be transferred back, but got transferred to the new accounts biz side, who then transferred me to the personal side. Finally got it pushed through, but had to wait a couple hours before it was approved.

Maybe I should have canceled via chat. But would have had to call anyways since it can take a month (or more?) for canceled cards to drop off.

 

[Haley R]

Sorry another question for Munich. We’re finally looking at places to eat while we’re there. Do most of the Biergartens require reservations or can you just walk up and eat?

 

[IFlossU]

For those that have gone for the elevated Hilton SUB, what are you doing with those points and FNC?

DH and I will each be applying for a card, so we'll have 300K + 2 FNC.

Going to Disney World in April, already have reservations that we could change. But don't have any other big trips where we could take advantage of the FNC.

We’re using our incoming points for 2 connecting rooms at DoubleTree in Rome. Haha sounds funny to say that, but works for our purposes. I will also add that the WA Orlando has really grown on us as a family. The first stay was a bit sad for us because we have always stayed on property so definitely missed that Disney feeling. However, I can’t justify the cost anymore when I can stay at the Waldorf on points. We stayed 2nd time in May, and like I said we’re really starting to like it. As a Diamond member I’ve been upgraded to a 2 queen deluxe suite both stays (I asked the 2nd time a week in advance) we had a view of Epcot and the fireworks every night, and it’s amazing having a 2 room suite to spread out. If you want to know more you can message me, or ask here. I’m happy to answer any specific questions. It’s 100% a different experience, but I’ve made peace with it and quite enjoy staying there now.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Sorry another question for Munich. We’re finally looking at places to eat while we’re there. Do most of the Biergartens require reservations or can you just walk up and eat?

When we were there in December all decent restaurants required dinner reservations. We watched numerous people get turned away at several places where we dined.

 

[Haley R]

When we were there in December all decent restaurants required dinner reservations. We watched numerous people get turned away at several places where we dined.

Thanks for responding. It’s hard for us to book anything ahead of time without knowing how ds will handle the jet lag and what our days will look like. How far in advance did you book the restaurants?

 

[georgina]

Ugh, little things bother me sometimes. REI switched its credit card to Capital One. I am not a fan. I got 2 emails today, one from Amex stating 'your autopay is scheduled for July 22'. The other was from Capital One saying 'your payment is due July 22.' So I have to dig out my Capital One login info (I rarely use the card unless I buy something from REI) and login to check that my autopay is scheduled. Just annoying. Rant over.