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

[IFlossU]

Sorry to jump around so much. Now that Japan is a no go I am having to shift and I'm going through my cards again.

The Amex Hilton Biz will be up for renewal in September. I don't wish to anger the RAT by cancelling after a year but I don't necessarily want to pay another $95 for a card I haven't even been able to use yet. The primary reason I got it was that I was also supposed to get an Aspire, and eventually get enough for a nice stay at the Hilton Tokyo Bay. Since I kept getting the pop up on the Aspire (and boy aren't I glad I don't have THAT AF now), that never materialized and I've really little use for any Hilton cards. I do have ONE Hilton reservation coming up at the end of August that is paid for completely on points but aside from that I've got no use for the card.

My only other Amex is a BBP, which I do put some spend on each month (although probably not as much in the next couple months here since I have a new MSR to meet).

We WOULD like to aspire (ha!) to Japan again, but I am not sure we would have time for Disney while we're there (we certainly didn't on the trip I just canceled).

I don't have an immediate plans to apply for another Amex any time soon, but that could of course change.

So, what say you, experts? Keep the card and just pay the $95 as a gesture of good will toward Amex in general? Or cancel and kiss my relationship with Amex goodbye?

I fully intend to cancel my Hilton Biz at the 1 year mark. I have absolutely no use for it. I understand it’s risky with the Amex pop-up, but I’m hoping if I can keep enough spend on my Platinum card that may help. The only reason I can see keeping the card is if you plan to get the $15k free night and in the process of putting a lot of spend on the card apply for another AMEX card, but it doesn’t sound like that’s your plan. I vote cancel it.

 

[ten6mom]

Yes. You’ll need to link the tickets to your Disney profile to made the reservations I believe.

Mid-Nov warning: only some Xmas decorations will be up. When I was there last year we were double blessed in ourBC/WL split stay as a couple days into each we woke up to Xmas. CMs don’t know until it’s happening, guests wake up to it. Resorts are decorated as late as Thanksgiving week and deluxes are toward the end is my understanding. Last year BC was decorated 11/15, WL 11/18, GF wasn’t up when we were over there for Enchanted Rose although the Gingerbread House was.

If you go to BC & it’s decorated walk over to YC. It has nautical themed Xmas and a neat train set Village thing. (BC/YC were decorated same night last year.)

Ooh that sounds neat. Thank you. Due to the award flight availability I booked, we will get there 11/17 and check out 11/24. Thanksgiving is 11/26 this year so here's hoping!!

I fully intend to cancel my Hilton Biz at the 1 year mark. I have absolutely no use for it. I understand it’s risky with the Amex pop-up, but I’m hoping if I can keep enough spend on my Platinum card that may help. The only reason I can see keeping the card is if you plan to get the $15k free night and in the process of putting a lot of spend on the card apply for another AMEX card, but it doesn’t sound like that’s your plan. I vote cancel it.

Yeah that's kind of where I'm heading, too.

Any other opinions? @Lain, perhaps?

 

[Limes96]

I have 4 cards with an AF coming up in the next couple weeks. I think I have a plan.

P2 Amex HH biz - keep
Me AAbiz Citi - close
Me CIP - PC to CIU ( don’t have one yet)
P2 Cap1venture - ?

If I remember right they’ll waive the fee on the venture if I have P2 call? That card was a hassle to get with the id verification we had to do. I’d keep it if I felt inclined to be supported to my own venture, but my previous experience with that was so annoying that I’m not sure I want to.

 

[Killer Fish]

But could you do it online? I know previously, you could book suites with points if you called.

Ha that is a great question that I can't even figure out the answer looking at an old SOP on it .

 

[hsmamato2]

So I finally used some of my CSR doordash credit.... I can't believe I also got points awarded for the purchase!
Also a question, my Freedom card was skimmed/hacked (or something) last week, I believe it was after use at a local gas station - is there anything I should do regarding notifying anyone local? (not cc company,that's done) or no, b/c I'm guessing but not 100% sure that was the problem....(like 98% sure)

 

[Lain]

I fully intend to cancel my Hilton Biz at the 1 year mark. I have absolutely no use for it. I understand it’s risky with the Amex pop-up, but I’m hoping if I can keep enough spend on my Platinum card that may help. The only reason I can see keeping the card is if you plan to get the $15k free night and in the process of putting a lot of spend on the card apply for another AMEX card, but it doesn’t sound like that’s your plan. I vote cancel it.

Yeah that's kind of where I'm heading, too.

Any other opinions? @Lain, perhaps?

I agree with @IFlossU - there's nothing you can PC the Hilton Biz to, and Amex has historically been very stingy by offering no retention offer on the Hilton Biz. You can try, but chances are you won't get anything -- especially if you haven't spent much on it beyond MSR. The only practical remaining benefit is the $15k spend for a FNC is relatively achievable. Spending $15k/year on a card will also make Amex happy and should help to keep pop ups away. The card's bonus categories aren't terrible: 6x at restaurants, gas stations, wireless bills, and shipping, but several other cards have better category bonuses. There's no category bonus for supermarkets, so buying GCs with your grocery to boost up spend in a bonused category isn't helpful with this card. Dunno if you have any gas stations near you that sell GCs. The risk of canceling the Hilton Biz after just a year -- again, especially if you haven't spent much on it beyond MSR -- is you risk putting yourself in pop up jail. You can spend your way out of jail, but if the Hilton Biz is your only Amex card then that might be hard to do. So if this is your only Amex card, I'd really consider whether you want to burn that relationship. Think about opening another Amex card before you close the Hilton Biz so that you still have an Amex card to spend on to keep the RATs appeased.

 

[GZanta77]

Have you contacted IRS yet?

Good luck with that - been trying to talk to them for a few days......finally, figured out how to get through the menu's to (hopefully) talk to a human and I get..."Sorry, due to extremely high call volume we can't take your call...........please try again tomorrow."

 

[snugglebug]

No FP for the foreseeable future.

I'm going to suggest something that I've never considered important before. Researching restaurants and booking dinners seems like it may take on a new increased importance. I've winged it a lot in the last few years and probably still will as I can drive over to Publix and fill my kitchenette, especially as a mostly single visitor.

But for someone new to WDW, and in the new environment, I think it may be important to have planned meals and of course coordinate them with the park of the day. Or the resort closest to the park of the day or Disney Springs, etc. Planning can be ADR's and also penciled in counter service choices.

There's always the counter service places and some are pretty good. The new one in Pandora in Animal Kingdom - Satu'li Canteen - I had an excellent bowl from there and would recommend for lunch or dinner.

A lot of people save money and do breakfast in the room at WDW for convenience and as a time saver. Breakfast out is always nice also.

Satu'li Canteen is our fave at AK. We ate there twice on this past trip. It's now our go to.

You can visit resorts, just try to walk or take Disney transportation. If you drive they will ask for ADR. We walked from Boardwalk to Beach Club with no issue. Beaches and Cream is one of my favorite restaurants, I think that was our best meal on this trip. They were running 45m behind on ADRs so the wait was brutal (we were 8:45pm). The food was perfect and I was able to gluten free tots. We ended up being the last ones to leave that night.

We do mostly QS, but sometimes I need something different. The nachos at Pecos Bills (which have shrunk since the last time I had them) and Cosmic Rays in MK are good. We also like Pinocchio Haus there. Contempo Cafe at Contemporary resort is one of my favorites, they do a pretty good gluten free pizza, probably same for Gasparilla at Grand Floridian. I'll be honest, if they give me choices other than cheese or pepperoni I'm happy so it doesn't take much lol I still think the best burgers I've had are Beaches and Cream and Roaring Fork at Wilderness Lodge. Oh, you mentioned pasta, we very much liked Mama Melrose and it's on our do again list. We have two places in Disney Springs that we like- Cooke's of Dublin (gluten free onion rings please!) and Polite Pig.

You'll want to look at dining now and be ready to book at 60 days, but if you don't get something you want just keep checking. I used to plan my days and then at some point decide dining since I usually only book 1, maybe 2, TS. If the TS was important I would shift my park day schedule to match. It's different now with park reservations. You can change your park reservation, but I don't know how easy it is and you'd need to make sure there was availability for the days your swapping. Just seems like too much work.

When you're in the park sometimes lines will look long. There are parts of the queue not being used and everyone is distanced. Also, waits will go up and down. They stop periodically to clean the ride vehicles so the lines/wait times will get long. Once they start moving again they move pretty quickly. Either hop in line and wait or if you feel like criss crossing the park (my teen does, she wore me out) then do something else and return in a bit. Do not remove your mask on the ride, especially for photos if you want them. Any photos with no mask are deleted. I have my ToT video, but the photo has not shown up. A lady in the front row had her mask off.

I'm happy to answer any questions. We just got back Wednesday night. We did not visit Epcot this trip, but did 2 AK, 3 MK and 1 DHS. Our next trip is September.

 

[havaneselover]

Good luck with that - been trying to talk to them for a few days......finally, figured out how to get through the menu's to (hopefully) talk to a human and I get..."Sorry, due to extremely high call volume we can't take your call...........please try again tomorrow."

My return has been in review for four months. I hate having things hanging over my head but I know there's no use trying to contact them to find out what's up.

 

[afan]

So I finally used some of my CSR doordash credit.... I can't believe I also got points awarded for the purchase!
Also a question, my Freedom card was skimmed/hacked (or something) last week, I believe it was after use at a local gas station - is there anything I should do regarding notifying anyone local? (not cc company,that's done) or no, b/c I'm guessing but not 100% sure that was the problem....(like 98% sure)

Where was the card used that you think it happened somewhere local and not just a coincidence that it happened after you got gas. Not saying it wasn't skimmed but there's a lot of ways they can get card numbers. If the card was used local to you, it might be good to contact them but if it was used online or out of state I'd just move on as it's not our problem to figure out how the card number was obtained.

 

[Psychodisney]

Have you contacted IRS yet?

My accountant said we need to mail in. He was going to get me the number to call.

 

[ten6mom]

I agree with @IFlossU - there's nothing you can PC the Hilton Biz to, and Amex has historically been very stingy by offering no retention offer on the Hilton Biz. You can try, but chances are you won't get anything -- especially if you haven't spent much on it beyond MSR. The only practical remaining benefit is the $15k spend for a FNC is relatively achievable. Spending $15k/year on a card will also make Amex happy and should help to keep pop ups away. The card's bonus categories aren't terrible: 6x at restaurants, gas stations, wireless bills, and shipping, but several other cards have better category bonuses. There's no category bonus for supermarkets, so buying GCs with your grocery to boost up spend in a bonused category isn't helpful with this card. Dunno if you have any gas stations near you that sell GCs. The risk of canceling the Hilton Biz after just a year -- again, especially if you haven't spent much on it beyond MSR -- is you risk putting yourself in pop up jail. You can spend your way out of jail, but if the Hilton Biz is your only Amex card then that might be hard to do. So if this is your only Amex card, I'd really consider whether you want to burn that relationship. Think about opening another Amex card before you close the Hilton Biz so that you still have an Amex card to spend on to keep the RATs appeased.

The only other Amex I have is the BBP.

I wonder if I could spend $15K in a year. I mean... I know I can (DUH!)... I just haven't been trying very hard. I will check next time I go to my QT and see if they sell Gift Cards. I've never looked!

Thank you for your thoughts!

 

[afan]

Amex streaming dp. May's AT&T charge automatically triggered the credit in about two weeks. June's payment looks the same to me but didn't credit. Just chatted as it's been 4 weeks and it was manually credited without issue.

Only difference is may I paid 25 and june I paid 20 but saw someone post on reddit that their car hotspot works for the credit and they only paid 20 so I don't think it's the amount that's the issue but the back end info they get or don't get timely from AT&T.

 

[trenty]

Anyone know how long it would take to see a $5 credit for the small business offer? I have a few purchases from this week that posted, no credit tho....

I made a purchase on the 13th. The credit posted on the 15th.

 

[Judique]

Good luck with that - been trying to talk to them for a few days......finally, figured out how to get through the menu's to (hopefully) talk to a human and I get..."Sorry, due to extremely high call volume we can't take your call...........please try again tomorrow."

I figured that would be difficult. I've had to call Medicare and Social Security and the best time is right at line opening time. Then on hold for up to an hour, but not as bad as calling Disney.

However, I had an employee with same issue and getting linked to an agent to get your case resolved is important. My employee had to meet directly and in person with an IRS team member in Philly and bring evidence to support who 'she' was. I have no idea if this is standard practice or what, but it wasn't pretty, especially when your refund is tied up. I purposefully do my best to 'owe' when the time comes.

Edit: since it was an employee who had the issue and not someone close to me, I have to qualify that I only can go on what I was told. It's always possible I was only told so much and not the whole story.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Sorry to jump around so much. Now that Japan is a no go I am having to shift and I'm going through my cards again.

The Amex Hilton Biz will be up for renewal in September. I don't wish to anger the RAT by cancelling after a year but I don't necessarily want to pay another $95 for a card I haven't even been able to use yet. The primary reason I got it was that I was also supposed to get an Aspire, and eventually get enough for a nice stay at the Hilton Tokyo Bay. Since I kept getting the pop up on the Aspire (and boy aren't I glad I don't have THAT AF now), that never materialized and I've really little use for any Hilton cards. I do have ONE Hilton reservation coming up at the end of August that is paid for completely on points but aside from that I've got no use for the card.

My only other Amex is a BBP, which I do put some spend on each month (although probably not as much in the next couple months here since I have a new MSR to meet).

We WOULD like to aspire (ha!) to Japan again, but I am not sure we would have time for Disney while we're there (we certainly didn't on the trip I just canceled).

I don't have an immediate plans to apply for another Amex any time soon, but that could of course change.

So, what say you, experts? Keep the card and just pay the $95 as a gesture of good will toward Amex in general? Or cancel and kiss my relationship with Amex goodbye?

Imho but paying an AF alone won’t help you, Amex looks for continued spend on their cards. Idk if it changes your calculations but Aspire Resirt credit is a Restaurant credit until end of Aug. (Alas HH points are some of the worst out there and devalue stupid fast.)

Personally I cannot recommend paying Amex $95 to gamble they will still like you when you come around for your next card. When I pay almost 100 dollars for something I want to know what I’m getting in return.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Anyone know, does it still work to cancel a citi aa biz card via chat?

That’s how I did mine

 

[ten6mom]

Thanks for the thoughts on the Hilton Amex.

I'll wait till my end of August trip is over (just so I have any "benefits" it might get me) and then close it.

Can it be closed via chat/SM or do I need to call? I've never communicated with Amex before.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Ugh! Just heard from our accountant that our return was rejected because someone already filed under one of our SSN! trying not the freak out but wondering what steps are reasonable to take. I don't see anything unusual on our credit reports. Should I put a freeze on? I'm not planning any new cards in the short term.

I would read up on credit lock vs freeze, decide what you want and do it. Your identity has been compromised and you are aware of it so you need to take action to protect yourself.

IRS link on this topic

 

[Artygal90]

What is the deal for a $50 resort credit? I have a stay in September booked and I have not seen this.

It was emailed to me since I had a May stay onsite that I had to cancel since they were closed. It’s a minimum two-night stay and j have to call to book it: