I love credit cards so much!

[happ]

anyone know if you can upgrade your spg room with points? Like book the standard and call to apply more points to upgrade? Marriott shows upgrades right on their site. I was considering swan alcove.

I was able to upgrade a standard room to a balcony with points by calling spg. The standard room was booked with points also. I don't know if you can book a cash rate and upgrade with points if that is what you mean.

 

[miztressuz]

Thanks so much for helping me understand. It’s been a long time since we booked on board but I remember it was automatic and I think now it’s not. I remember reading that if you book then transfer to a TA the OBC is smaller but I can’t find my notes now (out of the country and just trying to read here on my iPhone isn’t working well for me - small screen). I had a feeling that Chase would be the TA. I wonder how that works in terms of help and how much they really know. I have a TA who knows the ins and outs of DCL. Thanks again!

I'm new to the Chase agency, but so far it seems like everywhere else in the world - some folks are on point and others just know how to take payments (if yer lucky). I would not expect in depth knowledge of DCL in particular, but you could get lucky.

Have to decide if doing the legwork yourself but being able to use UR points to discount the cruise is worth more than the intangible knowledge of your current TA. For me, it would depend on how many UR's I was going to use to discount the cruise. Half price? I'd probably spend the extra time on the interwebs and interfacing with the fine folks on the DIS for that Couple hundred dollars? Maybe not. I can get discounted GC's for that.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I need some help with Marriott Travel Certs. I jumped into the deep end with this chasing Alaska miles (which I'm happy to have) but now I think I'm sinking...

How do you know that you can attach a cert to a certain hotel? Can you only attach if there is award availability for all 7 nights? Does it need to specifically be the cheapest room? ...I feel like these are 101 questions but I can't find the answers

I was thinking of just upgrading my cert now and then letting it ride but I'm getting cold feet and now I'm considering attaching it...

 

[Alexle2007]

I went to Staples and Walgreen’s today to use my RMN offers before they expire tomorrow. I walked out of Walgreen’s and got immediate notification and see it is pending on the app. But Staples, I got nothing. I did use my Freedon for W and AmEx for S. Anyone know of this is working properly?

 

[afan]

I went to Staples and Walgreen’s today to use my RMN offers before they expire tomorrow. I walked out of Walgreen’s and got immediate notification and see it is pending on the app. But Staples, I got nothing. I did use my Freedon for W and AmEx for S. Anyone know of this is working properly?

I did the same thing today but got the opposite, notified of staples right away and nothing for walgreens.

 

[MikeRes]

Welcome....as you can see this is a friendly group....

Agreeing with other posters your wife referring you for the CIP will add 100,000 UR.....then in 3-4 months your wife could do the CSR and CSP double dip...and you have another 100,000 URs..

Sounds good. Any idea how long this offer might last? I don’t want to be on the clock for spending two $5000 requirements at the same time. If I wait at least 6 weeks it will bring me through Christmas shopping.

 

[Alexle2007]

I did the same thing today but got the opposite, notified of staples right away and nothing for walgreens.

So strange! Did you get a gift card at Staples? I did toss in a $.15 notebook hoping I would be safe.

 

[Gwmw1210]

I went to Staples and Walgreen’s today to use my RMN offers before they expire tomorrow. I walked out of Walgreen’s and got immediate notification and see it is pending on the app. But Staples, I got nothing. I did use my Freedon for W and AmEx for S. Anyone know of this is working properly?

I did both today and got notifications for both.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Sounds good. Any idea how long this offer might last? I don’t want to be on the clock for spending two $5000 requirements at the same time. If I wait at least 6 weeks it will bring me through Christmas shopping.

The 80,000 offer on the CIP and the 50,000 UR offers on CSR and CSP have been around a while...obviously no guarantees but I would think you should be fine...

When your ready to do the double dip...check back here for how to go about it...@SouthFayetteFan has laid out exactly how it should be done

 

[miztressuz]

Sounds good. Any idea how long this offer might last? I don’t want to be on the clock for spending two $5000 requirements at the same time. If I wait at least 6 weeks it will bring me through Christmas shopping.

80k has been around for a while and it's not expected to go anywhere soon.

Chase has been refreshing their referral links on a few products lately though. May want to try to get a link from your wife's card when you can to have in case it goes glitchy when you're ready to apply. If it's glitchy now, just try periodically between now and then

ETA: Likewise for your CSR. At the moment you can get a link from the Chase app but the web page is down. Hopefully that's just temporary.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Is there a way to see the seasonal points rates for Starriott properties? Trying to see how many points the Swolphin will be for Oct. 2019. Trying to decide what card(s) to recommend for DM to get. Thanks!

 

[MikeRes]

I would not disagree with getting the CIP for yourself from your wife's referral. That's a good way to restart the stash. If you're liking UR's then I can't help but see that you're coming up to churning the CSR you have there. Once it's been 24 months from when you earned the bonus on the CSR, you could PC it to a Freedom and then reapply for it or the CSP to get another bonus. Even better if you can make the 8k in spend within 3 months, double dip it and get both

If you want to have 2 CSR's, you could have your wife double dip it instead. Either way you do it, make sure you use your own referral link to get an extra 10k for it. If you go the CIP/CSR/CSP route for 13k in MSR's you'll net 220k+ in UR points. (sign up bonus/referral points/min spend)

If that sounds interesting and doable, let us know. There's good ways to space this out so it's doable from a spend and risk perspective. You don't want to hit Chase too hard or it can all blow up So many combinations and timings available to work it into a long term plan. What other parts of the 2020 trip may need to be covered? Sometimes brand specific cards can be helpful not only for points but status and other perks to pair with flexible use points like UR. (and help you space out Chase applications)

Thank you for the suggestions. Can you tell me what “PC” is and how I do it? Not sure what the 2020 trip will be. I like cruises and all-inclusives, but the kids are begging to go to SoCal to visit their aunt. So we would need airfare from Boston and a nice hotel in the Pasadena area.

I am a bit conservative by nature, so I’m wondering if there is a less aggressive approach to this plan, even if it takes longer?

Thanks again for taking the time to offer your advice.

 

[afan]

Per DoC you won't be able to transfer UR to Korean Air Skypass starting 8/25. @Albort @calypso726 I think you both are the two this will potentially affect the most.

So strange! Did you get a gift card at Staples? I did toss in a $.15 notebook hoping I would be safe.

$2 pens at Staples with the gc and a candy bar at Walgreens with the gc.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Thank you for the suggestions. Can you tell me what “PC” is and how I do it? Not sure what the 2020 trip will be. I like cruises and all-inclusives, but the kids are begging to go to SoCal to visit their aunt. So we would need airfare from Boston and a nice hotel in the Pasadena area.

I am a bit conservative by nature, so I’m wondering if there is a less aggressive approach to this plan, even if it takes longer?

Thanks again for taking the time to offer your advice.

PC is product change...you ask Chase to convert the card you have..if I’m remembering correctly one of the sapphires to one of the freedoms

Definitely take it slow with Chase apply for one card every 3-4 months ....start with which ever card your most comfortable with...

 

[liloca]

Thank you for the suggestions. Can you tell me what “PC” is and how I do it? Not sure what the 2020 trip will be. I like cruises and all-inclusives, but the kids are begging to go to SoCal to visit their aunt. So we would need airfare from Boston and a nice hotel in the Pasadena area.

I am a bit conservative by nature, so I’m wondering if there is a less aggressive approach to this plan, even if it takes longer?

Thanks again for taking the time to offer your advice.

PC= product change. I called when when I PCed my slate for a CFU.
You could take longer break btw cards, but you may get addicted like most of us and open more cards than you were expecting!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I've been wondering this too. What is the swan alcove? I don't see that on their site.

@disneymagicgirl @wendow Here is an article I read about the alcove room.

https://pointstoneverland.com/secret-disney-hack-swan-dolphin/

Ohhhh yay!! I may try swan then.

@wendow I am interested b/c they are included in the the new FP+ thing where you can buy the 3 extra FP per person if you are club level. We may do a park day post cruise...so 12/22..and it will be insane, so the 6 FP per person would make it slightly more tolerable.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I was able to upgrade a standard room to a balcony with points by calling spg. The standard room was booked with points also. I don't know if you can book a cash rate and upgrade with points if that is what you mean.

no I meant all points...book points and upgrade w/ points...is what I was asking. Thanks so much for confirming!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Thanks so much for helping me understand. It’s been a long time since we booked on board but I remember it was automatic and I think now it’s not. I remember reading that if you book then transfer to a TA the OBC is smaller but I can’t find my notes now (out of the country and just trying to read here on my iPhone isn’t working well for me - small screen). I had a feeling that Chase would be the TA. I wonder how that works in terms of help and how much they really know. I have a TA who knows the ins and outs of DCL. Thanks again!

I booked DCL through chase cruise and tours. I know as much as a TA though, so I called already knowing exactly what I wanted to book. The gal on the phone took care of the booking, read me a bunch of scripted stuff, etc. She did proactively take notes from me to remember to discuss with the DCL rep when she called them to make the payment, as I wasn't on the line at that point. For example, I asked her to waitlist us for 1st seating, add the kid bday celebrations, etc. She didn't offer anything without me asking first, so I don't think she was well versed in DCL.

 

[PolyRob]

Sorry for the multi-quote and double post. Super crazy day at work and I was finally able to log-in and read through everything!

I’d suggest you really consider the Amex Blue Business Plus (“BBP”) card if you’re (1) open to applying for business cards; (2) have $3,000 in spend in the next 3 months; (3) value 2x base earning; (4) want some kind of signup bonus on top of the 2x base earn; (5) think you’ll want to dip into Amex Membership Rewards (“MR”) program at some point; (6) want to get targeted for Amex Offers that we’re always talking about.

The Amex BBP is a business credit card that will not show up on your personal credit reports, so will have no effect on your plans with Chase. Amex business cards are also among the easiest to get approved for. And once you have an established relationship with Amex, Amex may not do a hard pull on all subsequent applications.

The BBP earns 2x MR on all purchases up to $50k/yr., which makes it a solid everything else daily driver card. Arguably, 2x MR could be more valuable than 2% cash back from your Citi Double Cash, if you follow the Charles Schwab cashout strategy that values 1 MR at 1.25 cpp or if you transfer MR to Amex’s airline partners.

The BBP also has a $0 AF, which makes it a card you’ll probably want to keep open to “hold” your MR points as you’re opening and closing other MR-earning cards. MR points are automatically pooled from all MR-earning cards into your MR account, but you need at least one MR-earning card open at all times to keep the points alive. The BBP can do that for you at no fee.

The BBP has a highly targeted offer of 20k MR after $5k MSR in 3 months. However, the more accessible offer through “support link” is 10k MR after only $3k MSR in 3 months, which fits perfectly with your upcoming planned spend.

I like the way this card sounds. I need to look at the MR point redemption options closely to see how I can maximize them. The $3,000 MSR seems very reasonable and I like no annual fee! Is there a way to find the 20,000 MR offer? Would biz cards come up through CardMatch? I found a link for the 20,000 MR from another site, but it takes you to an Amex login page so I can't really look at it.

The way around that is to add an AU card for your nickname, your middle name, your kid or something like that (just not your spouse).

I was wondering about this process to avoid having an actual family member on the account in the event one decides to join the game. If I do add the AU with my middle name as the AU's first name to my CSP, do I use my same date of birth, or will Chase not even ask for it? Also, how long should I wait after adding my middle name AU should I remove him without forfeiting the bonus? Not sure I would need a second CF or CFU card next year.

I was worried about Amex until someone here mentioned it's basically like Oprah and the "you get a car! you get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets cars!" episode back in the day. That's Amex with cards. I don't know why, despite everyone's assurance's I'd be fine, I needed that visual to get comfortable with apply for Amex cards. (I now have 4, oldest is 8 months- maybe I got too comfortable!)

I am imagining Oprah throwing CCs into an audience! Amex sounds so generous, minus the once a lifetime bonus. The possibility of only having Amex do one hardpull and then approve without it down the line is another compelling Amex feature.

 

[PolyRob]

I totally get this! Dh discovered yesterday he needs new tires, and we just finished our last two MSR. I am pretty much tapped out until this fall when I try to double dip something after we move below LOL/24.

Ugh, so frustrating! Sorry you are tapped out at this point. It is never fun paying for stuff like tires, but even worse when you can't get rewards!

in other news, im having a lot of issues with keeping things cool. :\ AC in car broke, Central Air broke, Portable AC broke... last night my fridge stop working... FML. all within the spam of 2 months...

Oh no, sorry about all the cooling issues! I have one and I can barely take it.

So in your opinion which hotel would be the best for my family? It will be me my DH, DS(5) and DD(2).

Our plan is to check out from AKL and have a late breakfast at 1900 Park Fare and go to the hotel and enjoy the pool/rest before going to MK for the party. The price difference is $34 or 2267UR.

Is the AoA worth the extra points? Or should I stick to Pop since we will only be staying for 1 night?

This is a tough choice! Busses and dining can be used as a guest of either resort with the bridge. Do you have a pool preference since you will be utilizing it for the day? The Big Blue is really fun and unique for kids.

If Pop had not recently been refurbished, I would have said AoA over Pop for the slight price increase and theme. Now that the Pop rooms are updated, it is harder. I would say if you want to enjoy the grounds, pools, amenities/theme more – AOA. If you want a newer room with two queen beds rather than doubles for less money – Pop.