I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[disfanforlife]

Daughtry is who I want to see. I figured maybe I should go ahead and book a package since they aren’t charging up front. It’s possible I won’t feel up to going anyway

I would book a package to get to see him for sure. I think it would be worth it.

 

[amcc]

Your booking/rebooking sounds like daughter's saga in the last week or so. She is on her way to Cambodia for a family wedding. Her cousin went there to teach and is now marrying a girl from there. (That's another story as she is budhist and there have been multiple parental trips back and forth in the last year. Engagement,etc.)

Anyway she is at this moment on a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong in business (points) and then will fly on to Cambodia on Tuesday. I tried (somewhat) to talk her out of it because her girlfriend was going with her and last minute had an emergency and backed out. Those were also daughter's miles and she was able to redeposit and actually changed to this flight and shortened her trip by a couple of days as she was supposed to leave this past Wednesday. Eventually she meets up with my ex and his wife and the rest of the family at the wedding. (Almost 99% certain they all paid cash for everything through a travel agency because that's what they do.) Deeper pockets than daughter or I.
But she will be in Hong Kong, Macau, Phnom Phen and who knows where else by herself touring around. She is fearless and so am I for myself but still worry for my kids even though she's 41 and very well traveled. Anyway, her return trip is Cambodia to Thailand to Munich to Dulles on United Polaris business class. She will have an economy seat from Hong Kong to Siem Reap on leaving HK for her next stage of touring before the wedding, but that's only 2 and 3/4 hours on a Cathay Dragon flight, but she will try to continue to get this in business while she is in the HK area. I would tell you all the different miles used but I don't have that in front of me. Hotels are all on points and free night certificates, Marriott and Holiday Inn. Her fees that I could see on the outbound flights were $75, no info on the return flights. Her only real cost is for food and maybe a few minor souvenirs.

Anyway the China part solo is a bit of worry for me as there are still warnings for the area due to the civil unrest. Doesn't phase her in the least.

Edit: daughter carries the Plat and several other cards and will be have all the lounge access she can desire. She could be one of those who just fly from airport to airport enjoying free food, massages and showers (lol).

The logistics of finding and booking that itinerary are impressive. I admire her so much for the solo traveling - I’ve only had to tour solo a couple of times when my companions were working during my visit and it really pushes me outside of my comfort zone.
I feel that incredible redemptions like that are so unattainable for me since we are 6 but at the same time, it’s been hitting me that in a year and a half my oldest starts college (followed a year later by the next one) so my years of traveling as a family of 6 will probably end soon. I almost feel the sadness of a “less full” nester before it even happens. My first business flight will probably shake me out of the blues , I hope.

 

[WVMomof3]

Remember the one and only one trip I actually had dates and planned for this year??? Yep, I cancelled it. Because I suck. lol It was for Cancun at end of this month. I just wasn't excited about it. I think I am feeling the sadness of the empty nest already and just don't want to take a trip while DS is still at home. He could care less if we leave him, He doesn't like to travel, but I care. I tell DH we can plan as many trips as we want after they all leave.

I do still have a Hyatt cert I need to use before May. I was going to use it for DS college visit that we have planned in February but the hotel is only $105, so it seems like a waste. lol I am thinking maybe Chicago during Easter break. Does anyone have any recommendations for a category 1-4 Hyatt in Chicago? I am not sure what we would be doing, the last time we went we did Millennium Park, The Art Institute, the river cruise and Lincoln Park zoo. We would pick DD up on the way and It might only be one night Friday before Easter. I would prefer to spend Easter services at DD's campus, but maybe we would do 2 nights that include Easter. Bonus points if it is not a Hyatt Place, House or Regency! Now I need that 5th different brand again. I was looking at the 2 different Hyatt Centrics and the Thompson. The Athletic Association said not taking points booking then.

 

[WVMomof3]

I almost feel the sadness of a “less full” nester before it even happens. My first business flight will probably shake me out of the blues , I hope.

lol I feel you! See my post above that I was typing as you posted!

 

[GZanta77]

Apologies if this is off-topic, but this seems like the place to ask. I recently got a JetBlue credit card--the one with the $99 fee, which I figure will pay for itself in checked bags alone--and have already met the minimum $1,000-in-90-days requirement in order to receive the bonus points.

Does anyone here have an estimate of how long it'll be before those bonus points show up in my JetBlue account? I have a feeling it'll be the full 90 days from the time I got approved even though I've already met the threshold (thank you, AP renewal). But, you know, I'd like to use those points for my May trip. If possible.

Not off-topic at all

It been a couple years since I got mine - but I met the $1000 MSR within 10 days of getting the card and the bonus points posted with my second statement. So about 7 weeks after meeting the MSR.

 

[tzolkin]

Welcome! I see that you want to use points for cash and travel, but more specifically what do you want to use them for? Flights to Rwanda, Europe, Hawaii? If so, it might help to know which airlines you are looking at.

I am really interested in your Rwanda trip. I may be looking at a similar trip next year but I will not know for sure until a few things fall into place.

Thanks for all the helpful info. As far as the first question... I figured I would need to learn more about how everything works and calculate how the rewards would add up before knowing how/when we would use them. I will need to look more into what flights are best for what locations.

Feel free to message me if you'd like to discuss Rwanda/Africa. We've been twice before for a few weeks at a time and know several people who live there, so I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

@tzolkin also! My husband and I are SU alumni! I am from the south so not sure how I survived but I loved it so much, even the insane snow haha

My husband and I both grew up in FL, so the weather was quite a change for us. We moved up there when I went to college (Colgate) and he went to nursing school in Syracuse. My family also moved there when I did, so we stayed for quite a few years after graduating to be near them, but eventually we were just done with winter and had to move farther south.

 

[elgerber]

On the Chase checking question. I have tried 3 times to open an account online, as they send me the bonus offers in my email. Not once has it worked :-(

 

[wed100105]

I actually need to open another savings or checking account. I don't have any Chase branches nearby though. Is it a pain to deposit/withdraw/complete 5 transactions? TIA

 

[gottalovepluto]

I actually need to open another savings or checking account. I don't have any Chase branches nearby though. Is it a pain to deposit/withdraw/complete 5 transactions? TIA

Use the debit card 5 times, nbd.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Um guys, flights I booked for 3 of our kids MCO-PHL have disappeared from the SW schedule I have not received an email from them. Has this happened to anyone else? I won't have time to call until later today.

The other kid's flights had time changes (<30 min), and I did received emails about those.

 

[elgerber]

If a Chase app goes straight to the two week message, that's good right? Seems they usually start at 30 days?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

If a Chase app goes straight to the two week message, that's good right? Seems they usually start at 30 days?

Yes that’s good.... for a fast approval

 

[elgerber]

One more question. I know it's not the greatest card, but can you churn the Cap One Venture? Got a bonus in spring 2017, closed it out awhile back. I will have the MSR met on this CIP (assuming approval) literally as soon as I open the envelope, with some additional spend I have to make, so looking for something else that could be useful for Hawaii.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Um guys, flights I booked for 3 of our kids MCO-PHL have disappeared from the SW schedule I have not received an email from them. Has this happened to anyone else? I won't have time to call until later today.

The other kid's flights had time changes (<30 min), and I did received emails about those.

if you have the confirmation numbers, you can look online and change the flights. When are they flying?

 

[StephPlum]

Um guys, flights I booked for 3 of our kids MCO-PHL have disappeared from the SW schedule I have not received an email from them. Has this happened to anyone else? I won't have time to call until later today.

The other kid's flights had time changes (<30 min), and I did received emails about those.

It happened to me last year. Our flights were from CMH to MDW to SEA. Due to the Max 8 changes, one leg was removed and our flights, which should have been redone were broken. If I remember, mine didn't get removed but all fares showed sold out which was odd. I had to call in as I never got an email. Some type of computer glitch. It will help if you know exactly what flight you want to change to if that one doesn't exist any more.

 

[Albort]

If a Chase app goes straight to the two week message, that's good right? Seems they usually start at 30 days?

it needs to stay at 2 weeks for a couple days to be good.
my last chase app went from 2 weeks to 7-10 days after a day at 2 weeks.

 

[elgerber]

it needs to stay at 2 weeks for a couple days to be good.
my last chase app went from 2 weeks to 7-10 days after a day at 2 weeks.

Oh this makes me nervous. I need this card LOL, can't not have an MSR with the amount of spend I have coming.

 

[mmmears]

I have never been to Japan but my niece went to school in Osaka for one semester while in college ( she minored in Japanese) She was also looking into a program to go back again to live there for a year called Jet. Interesting and exciting opportunity for a young adult.

A good friend of mine did JET for two years and loved the program, and in fact met his (now) wife at a JET reunion in the US. Now they have 2 kids who share their love for travel and I see their FB posts from all over the world whenever there's a school holiday (even a short one LOL).

 

[Killer Fish]

Has anyone used boxed.com? I have the AMEX offer for $20 back of $75...seems like I can find plenty of products to make that worthwhile.

 

[havaneselover]

Has anyone used boxed.com? I have the AMEX offer for $20 back of $75...seems like I can find plenty of products to make that worthwhile.

Yes. It's fine. I find it's usually more expensive than Costco but sometimes with amex offers it makes sense to order from them (e.g., I bought two big bottles of vanilla from them last year and with the amex offer it was cheaper than buying at costco).