I love credit cards so much! v5.0 - 2022 (see first page for add'l details)

[Haley R]

@Haley R will probably have a fight on her hands because she went through Chase but she is absolutely entitled to her cash back by law (Chase can give her points back). Allegiant can send her a check (lol, as if) or refund the payment method used (Chase’s TA’s credit card) and then she goes to Chase to demand points or cash back and she should be able to get points refunded. Allegiant might try to shove a voucher at her by ghosting her but that’s when DOT comes in. If they won’t talk to her after a couple weeks or insist on a voucher file a grievance against them.

@Haley R this sounds like a miserable situation with rough options. Hope you don’t meet any idiots on the road, I swear holidays + snow can bring out some of the dumbest drivers on the planet

We have the option to get a refund from allegiant. I just don’t know how that works with it going back to chase and them giving us the points back. We booked a hotel by the airport in Iowa and will stay there tonight and possibly even tomorrow night if we feel like we can’t make the drive. They have a pool so at least ds can go swimming.

 

[Haley R]

Dress WARM! Its currently -15 with -45~-50 wind chills. Its going to be a few days before the numbers go positive again. Not sure what airport you're flying into, but everything in Omaha is shutdown or running reduced today and tomorrow. Offutt, Zoo, Schools, ect are all closed, trash pickup canceled for two days, buses are running a reduced Sat schedule... From what I hear driving conditions are worse in IA.


Oh yeah, I'm back... Guess its been about 6 months or 300 pages... Figured I'd check in and see what was going on.

I’m honestly hoping the flight gets cancelled. We’re packed and ready to go but I’d rather wait. Dh didn’t want to fly Saturday morning but I feel like it would be safer. We leave for MCO in about an hour and a half.

 

[havaneselover]

We have the option to get a refund from allegiant. I just don’t know how that works with it going back to chase and them giving us the points back. We booked a hotel by the airport in Iowa and will stay there tonight and possibly even tomorrow night if we feel like we can’t make the drive. They have a pool so at least ds can go swimming.

I hope all goes well. Sorry for the added stress. Traveling is often so not fun

 

[Terp03]

Had $50 off $250 at Lowe’s on two Amex cards so wound up buying $500 in Disney GCs yesterday!

 

[DogCat]

VanillaGift has a promo today for 100% off purchase fees on eGCs with code FLASH22. They sell up to $500 VGCs and also accept PayPal if anyone is looking to max out their quarterly spend. I like these for paying property taxes because my town only charges a small fee for debit. With my oil delivery this morning and this purchase, I'm already half-way through my new CIC spend. That was fast!

How do Visa GCs get counted as a debit card rather than a credit card? Do you just designate them as a debit card and then use the last 4 digits as the PIN?

 

[Haley R]

I hope all goes well. Sorry for the added stress. Traveling is often so not fun

Of course the day we leave Iowa to come home it’ll be almost 50 I told dh we should just go a week later even though we’ll miss Christmas

 

[Judique]

We are scheduled to fly home tomorrow from Miami from our cruise and SW is offering free change due to the impending storm in MD. I am attempted to call an audible and just stay in Miami until Monday and enjoy Christmas in warmer weather. But DS asked to be home for Christmas. Decisions, decisions.

Good luck with your flights and drive @Haley R!

No way I'd come home to these soon to be single digit temps over Xmas! It's going to hit 60 by New Year's so there's that to look forward to.

 

[trenty]

We have the option to get a refund from allegiant. I just don’t know how that works with it going back to chase and them giving us the points back. We booked a hotel by the airport in Iowa and will stay there tonight and possibly even tomorrow night if we feel like we can’t make the drive. They have a pool so at least ds can go swimming.

Last spring an AA flight I had booked through chase using URs was cancelled by AA. AA refunded and I got he URs back within a matter of minutes.

My issue with that was AA would not refund my return flight that I didn’t need anymore. Even though I had booked round trip, Chase booked it as two one-way trips. I did get a travel credit for the return trip but it can only be used by the person it was booked for, and he might not travel by the time it expires. I do plan to inquire as to whether it can be extended. Not counting on it though.

 

[Haley R]

Last spring an AA flight I had booked through chase using URs was cancelled by AA. AA refunded and I got he URs back within a matter of minutes.

My issue with that was AA would not refund my return flight that I didn’t need anymore. Even though I had booked round trip, Chase booked it as two one-way trips. I did get a travel credit for the return trip but it can only be used by the person it was booked for, and he might not travel by the time it expires. I do plan to inquire as to whether it can be extended. Not counting on it though.

Did you book it directly through the chase website? Since we chose allegiant we had to call chase and they had to book it for us. I’m not sure if that changes anything or not

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Staples has no purchase fee $100 VGCs 12/25-12/31 limit of 5

 

[StephPlum]

We are scheduled to fly home tomorrow from Miami from our cruise and SW is offering free change due to the impending storm in MD. I am attempted to call an audible and just stay in Miami until Monday and enjoy Christmas in warmer weather. But DS asked to be home for Christmas. Decisions, decisions.

Good luck with your flights and drive @Haley R!

I'd stay in Miami! Warmer and I think it is going to be a nightmare this weekend at the airports with all the cancellations, flight changes due to the weather. Good luck.

 

[happ]

How do Visa GCs get counted as a debit card rather than a credit card? Do you just designate them as a debit card and then use the last 4 digits as the PIN?

I pay my property taxes online, and the site automatically recognizes the VGCs as debit cards when I enter the number. There's no pin required.

 

[havaneselover]

Staples has no purchase fee $100 VGCs 12/25-12/31 limit of 5

At first I thought this was pointless because I prefer the $200 ones. But I figure I can pick a few up for my Costco spend.

 

[afan]

At first I thought this was pointless because I prefer the $200 ones. But I figure I can pick a few up for my Costco spend.

Oooh I finally need to pay attention to these since I have a CIC now

 

[aea71]

Flight/Customs questions. Ok, need someone to explain it to me like I'm five! First time flying to Canada/International. You guys are all pros at this. I should have Global Entry before my first trip (appointment in Feb for interview).

first trip - Flying Columbus - Chicago - Calgary. I assume I go through customs in Calgary after landing. Nothing to do in Chicago. (Right?)
Return trip the opposite Calgary - Chicago - Columbus. I think I go through customs in Calgary before boarding. Nothing to do in Chicago or Columbus (right?)
Do I have that right? Also, what is the recommended time to get to the airport? Columbus I think I can get by with 1-2 hours, whatever the cut off is for checked bags. Calgary, is the 3 hours recommended good?

Second flight - Flying Columbus - Toronto - Halifax. Do I go through Customs in Toronto or Halifax? Do I have to get my bags in Toronto and then recheck?
Return is the opposite - Halifax - Toronto - Columbus. Where do I go through Customs?
Depending on the answer, I may have to change my flights as I don't have a long layover in Toronto in either direction, 1-1.5 hours.

Thanks!

We flew from Philadelphia to Halifax with a layover in Toronto a few months ago. Return trip was Halifax - Montreal - Philadelphia. We cleared customs in Toronto very quickly and did not need to retrieve any bags; however, I believe the customs agent does reserve the right to ask you to collect bags. On the return trip since your first leg is within Canada, you'll clear US customs in Montreal. We had a one hour layover in Montreal and only made our flight from Montreal to Philadelphia because that flight was delayed. Even with strategically selecting seats at the front of the plane from Halifax to Montreal, customs took quite a while to go through in Montreal. Although you don't need to grab your bags, they won't allow you to enter the line to pass customs until all of your bags are accounted for. I wouldn't be comfortable with a layover of anything less than 1.5 to 2 hours if we were doing this trip again. I would suspect it's the same in Toronto for a return trip.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

At first I thought this was pointless because I prefer the $200 ones. But I figure I can pick a few up for my Costco spend.

I need to remember to do this. Most of my Costco shopping is through Instacart which codes as grocery but for in store purchases, I always forget. A few weeks ago I spent $250 in store and even forgot the partially used visa GC I already have.
In other news, upgraded DHs CSP to CSR and it looks like Chase applied the $15 per month Instacart credit retroactively for 4th quarter. There are 3 $15 Instacart credits backdated in currency charges. Surprised but I'll take it.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

At first I thought this was pointless because I prefer the $200 ones. But I figure I can pick a few up for my Costco spend.

I like the $200 ones as well…missed getting them last week since we were visiting our sons family in Orlando celebrating an early Christmas with them….but every little bit of URs help fund the next visit.

 

[Albort]

sounds like staples is probably trying to get rid of the $100 since the new $7.95 cards are rolling in now.

 

[Haley R]

Welp the new flight was also cancelled I got my wish of not flying today I guess lol. Wish we would’ve known before driving all the way to the airport. We took a rental car there because we are flying back into Sanford and this flight was out of MCO. So now we have another rental car to get home. It’s a huge a mess

We’ve been chatting with Frontier on twitter to get a new flight. They’re very slow but at least responding so hopefully we’ll have a new flight soon

 

[havaneselover]

Welp the new flight was also cancelled I got my wish of not flying today I guess lol. Wish we would’ve known before driving all the way to the airport. We took a rental car there because we are flying back into Sanford and this flight was out of MCO. So now we have another rental car to get home. It’s a huge a mess

We’ve been chatting with Frontier on twitter to get a new flight. They’re very slow but at least responding so hopefully we’ll have a new flight soon

Aren't there flights on United/Delta/American? I know the weather problem is affecting everyone, but when you're flying with the little guys I'd think you’re limiting your options of actually getting there.