I love credit cards so much!

[calypso726]

Alice in Wonderland maze @ Shanghai Disney since we are on the subject of rabbit holes and what not

 

[calypso726]

I think we are only planning on getting enough points for our plane tickets, but I may be able to convince DH to apply for a CSR when my MSR for my CIP is done.

We don't judge here and everyone should do what they are comfortable with doing I think we are a pretty easy going "you do you" kind of group and just like to share our "here's how I do me" strategies and goals for the benefit of all. Goodness knows I've learned a ton from people here who have done things differently than I do and incorporated their ideas to enhance my own goals. It's hard to contain the enthusiasm for this hobby sometimes. I'm just saying that I started out with only wanting enough points to get to Scotland and back RT in economy. If anyone would have told me back then where that decision would lead I would not have believed them. I still can't believe where this rabbit hole led me half the time.

Oh, I love that scene!

Me too! I could watch it over and over again!

I guess I have to see this movie! Heading over to on-demand right now...

YAY! Saw it in the theater a few times and then more recently on the Singapore Suites flight so I had to watch it again. The flight attendant was laughing every time she walked by and saw me jamming and silently mouthing the words to the songs

Best movie ever!

Right!

Well I know what song will play in my head while I sleep tonight. (Not that it doesn’t often anyway)

Every night it's either Hamilton lyrics or Greatest Showman lyrics for me

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Alice in Wonderland maze @ Shanghai Disney since we are on the subject of rabbit holes and what not

View attachment 328112

That is so cool

 

[miztressuz]

I posted this on the regular budget board, but figured I’d post it here too...I’ve been reading up on things you can use Capital One points on. It seems you can’t use them to buy tickets from Disney, but you can from Undercover Tourist. Does anyone know if I can use them to offset a payment on a package I already have booked? I *think* you could on just the hotel, but not sure if you can on a package since it includes tickets. What other kinds of things can they be used on?

I think it would code as travel because packages are through a travel agency (Walt Disney Travel Co. something like that, been a while since I bought a package) . I can't imagine that wouldn't code as travel, but I don't have Capital One card to know for sure. I'm guessing that's why Undercover Tourist is setup to code as travel because they also sell other travel things like hotel rooms and car rentals, so they're more a travel agency selling everything rather than just a ticket broker.
Tickets are a separate entity so that would make sense if bought by itself, that should code as entertainment (or something like that). Hotels are separate too, but that's a hotel so I would think they'd code as travel as well, as I can't imagine another category they could pick. So your room charges should work, and therefore anything else charged back to the room.
But maybe we'll find someone with a Cap One card on here who has actually done it

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

New shutdown report on r/churning today...

Person was new to the game and got 3 Chase accounts in 2 months (Mar/Apr) - attempted to apply for a 4th Card in June and got shutdown. This probably doesn’t surprise any of us here but reiterates that you don’t want to run too fast with Chase. For what it’s worth the person also does not appear to have a mortgage (they mention paying rent).

 

[Judique]

New shutdown report on r/churning today...

Person was new to the game and got 3 Chase accounts in 2 months (Mar/Apr) - attempted to apply for a 4th Card in June and got shutdown. This probably doesn’t surprise any of us here but reiterates that you don’t want to run too fast with Chase. For what it’s worth the person also does not appear to have a mortgage (they mention paying rent).

Yikes! You would think that they would have read enough info to try to at least diversify and mix in some other cards.

 

[caribbeandream]

I was there two weeks ago!

Alice in Wonderland maze @ Shanghai Disney since we are on the subject of rabbit holes and what not

WHAT?!!!!! I had no idea this existed in other Disney parks!!!!!!! I am a HUGE Alice in Wonderland fan. It was the first "big book" I read way back in 4th grade. Now I REALLY need to pay attention to this board so I can earn enough rewards to get myself to DLP and Shanghai!

 

[caribbeandream]

Yes. 8-10% off is fairly typical for AirBnB.

Than you for posting this info about Airbnb gift cards! I would not do it for Disney but will definitely keep it in mind for other family travel.

 

[Lain]

Hey all, so I just noticed we're almost caught up to the Disney Gift Cards Deals thread in terms of posts and page count, and will probably overtake that thread by this weekend or Monday. As someone who contributed a lot of posts there and jumped over here when that thread was around 1400 pages and this thread was only 60, I have a lot of mixed emotions over this milestone. Gift card churning made me thousands worth in Disney gift cards, saved me hundreds more in discounts; but credit card bonuses have earned me more free money and travel than that glorious run. Gift card deals are not like what they once were, but I learned so many money saving tips from chasing and churning gift card deals, like stacking, converting gift cards for gift cards, using shopping apps, portals, and credit card offers, and met so many great people there. The last two things lead me down this rabbit hole and to this wonderful thread (Wonderland?). I was happy to see so many familiar names when I first popped in, and those of you who have been at this longer were so welcoming and patiently explained the ins and outs of this game. I’ve tried to pay it forward as this thread has grown into a real community and made a lot of new friends along the way. We have something really special here -- let’s keep it going!

 

[afan]

It's very possible they've been changed or taken out since I was there last! They were in Alice's Labyrinth, towards the beginning of the maze, before you got to the smoking caterpillar. Here's a (not great) video - it's small jets of water that jump from one pillar to another. Looks really magical when you are nine!

Those stone covered posts are still there but there wasn't any water going between them. They make a little more sense now.

On a completely unrelated know, I woke up with hives yesterday for some unknown reason and they were mostly gone before flaring up worse last night. Fast forward to this morning and they are all gone but the bottom of my feet itch so bad I have a 5k in 2 hours that ought to be super fun to run and a half tomorrow morning so I'm really hoping they stop.

 

[elgerber]

I even got my husband singing songs from the Greatest Showman, he finally watched after hearing me talk about it over and over, and hearing it occasionally in my car

On an odd note, I just got my AMEX credit for my Lowes spend, but they gave me credit for 10% of the full 900, not deducting anything for the $800 return. I hope they don't look at that later and think I was scamming or something.

 

[Lain]

Catching up with this week's news --

So with Amex's new language, "We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility," we have to assume that closing cards will count more heavily against you than just opening cards, right?

Subject to Amex's five credit card limit (and no limit on charge cards), wouldn't Amex want you to open cards with them, keep them open -- and better yet, put spend on them, and pay the annual fees? Obviously, no one wants to be carrying too many annual fees. But some cards could easily pay for themselves as long as you keep them open, like the SPG cards when they start offering 35,000 award night certificates. And others can do with a little help from a retention offer, which Amex is willing to dole out every 13 months.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Catching up with this week's news --

So with Amex's new language, "We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility," we have to assume that closing cards will count more heavily against you than just opening cards, right?

Subject to Amex's five credit card limit (and no limit on charge cards), wouldn't Amex want you to open cards with them, keep them open -- and better yet, put spend on them, and pay the annual fees? Obviously, no one wants to be carrying too many annual fees. But some cards could easily pay for themselves as long as you keep them open, like the SPG cards when they start offering 35,000 award night certificates. And others can do with a little help from a retention offer, which Amex is willing to dole out every 13 months.

That makes sense but it is the ambiguity that gets me. They can just willy nilly decide not to give someone a bonus because they decide so. That isn't cool. I'm not sure how I feel about app-ing for amex cards now with this rule.

And in the background music from The Greatest Showman plays...

My boys play that soundtrack constantly on their Alexa dot things...

I guess I have to see this movie! Heading over to on-demand right now...

...but none of us have ever seen the movie. I am 46th in line to get it from our library. So crazy. Our library never has anything I go looking for...book, movie, or otherwise...without requesting it online and waiting for it to be your turn. So annoying. We need to just rent it.

On a completely unrelated know, I woke up with hives yesterday for some unknown reason and they were mostly gone before flaring up worse last night. Fast forward to this morning and they are all gone but the bottom of my feet itch so bad I have a 5k in 2 hours that ought to be super fun to run and a half tomorrow morning so I'm really hoping they stop.

My DD2 broke out in hives not too long ago and scared the heck out of me. We went to urgent card and a steroid shot helped get them under control. Next day at peds she said she felt like it was viral, thank goodness. And she must have been right because didn't happen anymore after about 4 or 5 days.

 

[amalone1013]

Just booked my grandpa for a 3 night stay the last weekend of this month at the hotel down the street from us. The Courtyard Marriott was ideal because it's so close but coming up at $400 a night for the weekend. I can't figure out why, but even the farther away hotels are pushing $200+ a night. @wendow did I miss some big event out here? It's 6/29 to 7/2...

Points to the rescue! Cash price $1070 for 3 nights, used 60k Marriott points.

Now to prepare to argue with grandpa to let me cover his hotel... wish me luck!

 

[afan]

My DD2 broke out in hives not too long ago and scared the heck out of me. We went to urgent card and a steroid shot helped get them under control. Next day at peds she said she felt like it was viral, thank goodness. And she must have been right because didn't happen anymore after about 4 or 5 days.

That's better than the 6-8 weeks I've read about. I think it's a histamine issue though given other stuff. Also because I didn't flare back up until after I drank hit chocolate and chocolate is a high histamine food. So I'll stay away from it and peanuts/peanut butter until it seems to be gone It's just weird cause I've never had them and am almost 40. And I'm not allergic to anything. Two rounds of tests and I only react to the histamine control spot.

 

[Lain]

@calypso726, @tink1970, @platamama, and @CaliforniaGirl09, you have the Amex Business Platinum that earns 20k MR per referral, right?

Apparently, you can use your Amex Biz Plat to refer yourself (and I guess others) to Amex's other MR business charge cards (the Biz Green and BRG), and earn 20k MR for self referral to another card and the other card's sign up bonus, assuming you don’t have and haven’t had that card before.

From your Biz Plat, scroll to the Refer a Friend section, copy your referral link, paste your link into an incognito window address bar, a Biz Plat application landing page will load, but at the bottom you can also see applications for the other Amex MR business charge cards, then apply.

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/8ozeqz/daily_discussion_thread_june_06_2018/e07bbxv/
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/8piooe/daily_discussion_thread_june_08_2018/e0bnaj4/
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/8piooe/daily_discussion_thread_june_08_2018/e0bvl6y/

ETA more DPs: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/8pzw57/comment/e0fxtpo?st=JI9HM2AT&sh=8df6d01c

This trick works with the Amex Business Rewards Gold (to Biz Green or Biz Plat) too, but the referral bonus on that card is only 10k MR.

Before attempting this, read the linked discussions on /r/churning. I don't have any of these cards, so I haven't attempted or vetted this trick myself.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

@calypso726, @tink1970, @platamama, and @CaliforniaGirl09, you have the Amex Business Platinum that earns 20k MR per referral, right?

Apparently, you can use your Amex Biz Plat to refer yourself (and I guess others) to Amex's other MR business charge cards (the Biz Green and BRG), and earn 20k MR for self referral to another card and the other card's sign up bonus, assuming you don’t have and haven’t had that card before.

From your Biz Plat, scroll to the Refer a Friend section, copy your referral link, paste your link into an incognito window address bar, a Biz Plat application landing page will load, but at the bottom you can also see applications for the other Amex MR business charge cards, then apply.

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/8ozeqz/daily_discussion_thread_june_06_2018/e07bbxv/
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/8piooe/daily_discussion_thread_june_08_2018/e0bnaj4/
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/8piooe/daily_discussion_thread_june_08_2018/e0bvl6y/

This trick works with the Amex Business Rewards Gold (to Biz Green or Biz Plat) too, but the referral bonus on that card is only 10k MR.

Before attempting this, read the linked discussions on /r/churning. I don't have any of these cards, so I haven't attempted or vetted this trick myself.

I do! Thanks for the heads up. I’ll definitely check it out. Btw, I’m due to finally have my huge tax payment MR bonus hit in a couple days (1.5x). It’s been almost exactly 2 months since I made payment. Payment didn’t hit my account until the next payment cycle, which slowed things down. Painful wait.

 

[wendow]

Just booked my grandpa for a 3 night stay the last weekend of this month at the hotel down the street from us. The Courtyard Marriott was ideal because it's so close but coming up at $400 a night for the weekend. I can't figure out why, but even the farther away hotels are pushing $200+ a night. @wendow did I miss some big event out here? It's 6/29 to 7/2...

Points to the rescue! Cash price $1070 for 3 nights, used 60k Marriott points.

Now to prepare to argue with grandpa to let me cover his hotel... wish me luck!

Not that I am aware of either...other than it being the weekend before July 4th so maybe some activities surrounding that...?

Yay for points! What a great deal!

 

[amalone1013]

Apparently we overpaid the car by $1.49... I wonder if they're sending us a check. My first instance of MSing...

Not that I am aware of either...other than it being the weekend before July 4th so maybe some activities surrounding that...?

Yay for points! What a great deal!

Yup, that's all I could think of. Google has not helped.

 

[snugglebug]

Oh my Kansas City airport is not spacious at all. I had trouble locating the SW kiosk to print boarding passes. TSA wasn't bad at all. But once through, there just seems no place to move. There's no defined walkway, that I could see, you either wind through those waiting on SW flights or those lined up for boarding.

Last night we stayed at Four Points Sheraton which was only 2000 spg pts. I went in with no expectations so I was not disappointed. It was fine for a night before a flight. I know someone else is staying there soon, I didn't get photos before my husband took over the room, but I'll add our thoughts to the hotel thread later tonight or tomorrow.

Now I have to decide between CSR and CSP for my husband who will be applying on Monday. I can't seem to convince him he needs GE and we have no international flights any time soon and that's really the only thing I can come up with to push CSR.