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

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

I don’t know if any of you remember me talking about getting faint when I get my blood drawn. I was worried since there are a lot of lab tests during pregnancy. My first one I laid down and got very light headed but didn’t pass out. The one after that I laid down and played solitaire on my phone. I didn’t pass out and felt decent after. Today I had to do my glucose one where you drink the sugary drink and sit for an hour before the blood draw. I sat up in a chair this time and the lady was so awesome. She kept me in an engaging conversation and I didn’t feel even close to being faint. This is a big accomplishment for me because drawing blood has always been an issue

The only time I've ever passed out was after giving labs while pregnant. I got to the check out desk. The nurse said, "you don't look good". I said "I don't feel good" and the next thing I remember waking up propped up against the wall. My OB walked out of a room and was shocked to see me there.

 

[elgerber]

The only time I've ever passed out was after giving labs while pregnant. I got to the check out desk. The nurse said, "you don't look good". I said "I don't feel good" and the next thing I remember waking up propped up against the wall. My OB walked out of a room and was shocked to see me there.

I almost passed out on the 3 hour glucose test. I have terrible veins and blood draws are a nightmare for me. They had to get the DR to do it, on the 3rd draw LOL.
I have only actually passed out twice in my life, both times the day my son was born. I lost a lot of blood and I passed out twice that day, they made me use a wheelchair after the 2nd time.

 

[ten6mom]

Ok, I actually found the hotel. I'm seeing two prices for the same flexible cancellation rate on that room, so I'm not sure what the difference is just yet. But the one that matches your circle is 16,104 MR avg per night. (the other is higher for seemingly the same room )

View attachment 465713

For those 4 nights it's a total of $545.62 or 77,946 MR points. Looks like either cash or points there's an estimated $14.52 due at the hotel for property fees. You can also pay with points and cash - you choose how many points to apply starting with a 5k minimum. This gives .07 cpp value for the MR points. I believe this is typical for all hotel bookings through the portal. This is slightly better than the cash option which is .06 cpp. (Not having done the math, but since the difference is so slight there may be a situation where buying through the portal for the extra earnings and still taking the cash out could make sense, but I have no numbers to prove or disprove it. Just a thought)

Since it seems like their search engine has the same cash pricing and discounts as the one you're using, you should be able to use the .07 cpp valuation to make your calculations for estimating purposes.

Thank you so much; that's very helpful!

I agree that it isn't the best redemption rate but quite honestly at this point I'm just trying to get the hotels taken care of so that it'll be just one more thing checked off my list.

Because this hotel is relatively inexpensive for the 4 nights, I may just pay for it anyway because I won't have enough MRs (the SUB on the BBP is quite low) and due to timing, I won't have enough Chase URs in a reasonable amount of time either. I can always book a refundable rate and then if I end up having enough points later on I can always go back and perhaps change it.

Interestingly, the Kyoto hotel that I booked through the Chase UR portal is cash price of average $200/night; I "paid" 17,635/night.

 

[Alexle2007]

So I had planned to take DD to London/Paris for spring break next year but I really think I'd rather wait until next summer so we won't be as rushed (8 days vs 10 days). I'm now toying with using URs to book a spring break 2021 trip on Symphony of the Seas. It would deplete my stash, but then I could use MRs for booking flights to Europe and Marriott points for hotel rooms. And hopefully I'll keep accumulating. Just want to get a few more big trips in before college. Has anyone been on Symphony of the Seas? And I take it I just need to call Chase's cruise department?

We are doing her sister ship, Harmony of the Seas, for Spring Break. We are excited to try her.

We have previously done the Allure, which was the 2nd in this class, and really enjoyed. RCCL also has some new ships coming out that might be worth looking at.

i initially booked via RCCL to put the deposit down and then transferred to Chase to pay the balance with URs.

I’ll report back when we return on 3/22. Less than 2 months to go.

 

[alryan]

I have yet to find them valuable for flights either. The same flight right now on Delta, that is $318.80 in MAIN cabin or 23500 SkyMiles is $325.78 or 32578 MR's in ECONOMY. That's terrible, when you could just transfer the MR's to Delta.

My impression is that MR are best for transferring to FF programs, and that the Schwab Plat will get you the 1.25 cpp cash out. Oh, and of course the occasional 1cpp for the 20% discount on Amazon (using just 1MR).

I guess I knew that going in about being best for transferring to FF programs, but I didn't think they would be so bad for the other things. I did just get this last Amazon MR offer. The more I look at how I can redeem them, the more I think the Home Depot gift card might be best. @tink1970 is probably cringing just reading that

 

[Haley R]

The only time I've ever passed out was after giving labs while pregnant. I got to the check out desk. The nurse said, "you don't look good". I said "I don't feel good" and the next thing I remember waking up propped up against the wall. My OB walked out of a room and was shocked to see me there.

I passed out one time awhile back when they pricked my finger to check cholesterol. They didn’t even draw a bunch of blood lol. Last year a lady came to our house to draw blood for life insurance and I was close to passing out there. I’m hoping I’ve just gotten used to it

 

[havaneselover]

I haven't, but after sailing on RCCL Mariner last year, which we all enjoyed, my kids are wanting to go on the Symphony of the Seas. Yes, the process was pretty simple, just call Chase's cruise department. I just called and booked with one call. Some people booked with the cruise line and then switch it over within a certain number of days if they want to put the deposit on a different card. Apparently you only have one time when you can use URs. You may also need to find a willing rep who doesn't want you to use the URs when you switch. If you are paying 100% URs it would be easier to book with Chase from the beginning.

DH and I both got the 20% off using MR on Amazon. I don't need anything so I was thinking I'd buy google play gift cards for youtubetv. Looking at my account I see that I don't put them in under my YouTubeTV payment, but would just redeem them on google play. So then if you have funds in there I assume your credit card doesn't get charged. I hope that makes sense. I just want to make sure that's the correct process. Thanks!

Yes. You just redeem them with google play and your card doesn't get charged. It's super easy.

 

[havaneselover]

I don’t know if any of you remember me talking about getting faint when I get my blood drawn. I was worried since there are a lot of lab tests during pregnancy. My first one I laid down and got very light headed but didn’t pass out. The one after that I laid down and played solitaire on my phone. I didn’t pass out and felt decent after. Today I had to do my glucose one where you drink the sugary drink and sit for an hour before the blood draw. I sat up in a chair this time and the lady was so awesome. She kept me in an engaging conversation and I didn’t feel even close to being faint. This is a big accomplishment for me because drawing blood has always been an issue

They had to get the smelling salts out (or whatever they use) when I had to drink the nasty orange drink.

 

[Haley R]

I almost passed out on the 3 hour glucose test. I have terrible veins and blood draws are a nightmare for me. They had to get the DR to do it, on the 3rd draw LOL.
I have only actually passed out twice in my life, both times the day my son was born. I lost a lot of blood and I passed out twice that day, they made me use a wheelchair after the 2nd time.

I think they’ve changed the glucose test quite a bit from what I’ve heard. There’s no fasting or anything like that. Someone told me they used to draw before and after the drink but now they just do it after. It only took an hour

 

[Haley R]

They had to get the smelling salts out (or whatever they use) when I had to drink the nasty orange drink.

I actually didn’t think it tasted bad at all. It was basically like orange Fanta

 

[elgerber]

I think they’ve changed the glucose test quite a bit from what I’ve heard. There’s no fasting or anything like that. Someone told me they used to draw before and after the drink but now they just do it after. It only took an hour

Lordy, when I did it there was fasting, and I also failed the one hour test, with both kids, so I had to do the three hour which was blood draws for all 3 hours.

 

[havaneselover]

I actually didn’t think it tasted bad at all. It was basically like orange Fanta

This was 15 years ago. But I do not like sugary drinks at all.

 

[elgerber]

This was 15 years ago. But I do not like sugary drinks at all.

I loved sugary drinks back then (my youngest turned 24 this week LOL), but I do not like orange, that stuff was nasty.

 

[wanderlust7]

As the UR cruise expert I have a question for you... I booked on Carnival using all UR.... so now If I wanted to apply GC ahead of time to prepay gratuities(I didn't think to prepay using UR) would I need to call the Chase line to apply,or is it smarter to wait and apply onboard to pay for those? (at least I'm getting the gc discounted)

I don't know about applying GC with Chase, but you can use Carnival GC to buy Cruise Cash on Carnival's website. That will go on your onboard account and apply towards any charges, including gratuities. That's what I did to avoid a trip to guest services. You can prepay gratuities on Carnival's website, but can't use GC for some weird reason.

So I just started with MRs and I go to look at hotels and I got the same thing. MR not even worth 1ccp when booking through the portal. Even at their listed price of $135, 19,313 MRs, that's crazy. And didn't @ten6mom say her price was $113. I don't know, am I missing something? I thought that MR would at least be worth 1cpp using their portal. Are they really only valuable for flights?

What @platamama already said, but will add that if you have a Biz Plat that comes with 35% points rebate for flight redemptions through Amex Travel. BUT only for first or business class (which you'd probably want to use partner transfers) OR your selected airline. So it would be pretty similar to booking a flight with CSR through the Chase portal at 1.5x but only good for your selected airline. Biz Gold comes with 25% points rebate.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I actually didn’t think it tasted bad at all. It was basically like orange Fanta

So that’s my opinion on Orange Fanta lol...

Glad it went well for you!!

 

[miztressuz]

My impression is that MR are best for transferring to FF programs, and that the Schwab Plat will get you the 1.25 cpp cash out. Oh, and of course the occasional 1cpp for the 20% discount on Amazon (using just 1MR).

Pretty much. The most you can get at AmEx is 1 cpp, and that's on flights and certain gift cards. Walking through the calculator it looks like they added NYC Taxis (can pay with points in the cab, who knew?) and the new flight upgrades option. For Plat holders the Fine Hotels program is also 1 cpp.

Except for maybe Marriott, you should in most cases get a better value by transferring over using them on AmEx.

I guess I knew that going in about being best for transferring to FF programs, but I didn't think they would be so bad for the other things. I did just get this last Amazon MR offer. The more I look at how I can redeem them, the more I think the Home Depot gift card might be best. @tink1970 is probably cringing just reading that

Been like that for as long as I can remember, hence the Home Depot GC's for us!
Got excited when they added Lowe's but the redemption rate was lower, so nope, back to HD! There were other 1cpp GCs but we didn't shop any of those places, it was mostly clothing stores.

And they would send us their points catalog filled with merchandise for terrible redemption rates, even with the "sales" they run. Redeeming for merch is only .05 cpp. For that I'll take the AmEx GC's, also at .05 cpp, and find a discount myself to stack to get a better redemption. For the amount of catalogs we would get I really thought that's what they expected you to use your points for and we were like "AmEx be cray cray if they want me to earn a million points for a set of golf clubs "

 

[AmyAnne]

Sooooo, I may have just planned another trip for this year... I think I can do a trip to Costa Rica on points in December. Just noticed that Christmas and New Years fall on Fridays this year, which got me thinking about our post-Christmas plans, which led to checking out hotel options/flights. Next thing I know I have points advance reservations at the hotel, and am tallying my MRs/URs to see if I can put together the points I'd need for hotel and flights... Should maybe talk to DH about this (and won't know for sure if it will work until Jet Blue comes out with their schedule for the end of the year) - but fun to think about! I think this is the place that @platamama loves, so hoping I can make it work!

So now I am thinking about possibly thinking about Costa Rica for a Christmas week trip. Are the resorts mostly geared toward beach things? We'd be more interested in hikes or wildlife type things.

 

[Haley R]

Lordy, when I did it there was fasting, and I also failed the one hour test, with both kids, so I had to do the three hour which was blood draws for all 3 hours.

Hopefully I don’t fail

 

[Haley R]

So that’s my opinion on Orange Fanta lol...

Glad it went well for you!!

I love orange Fanta!

 

[elgerber]

Hopefully I don’t fail

I remember after the 3 hour, it was girl scout season, so I had a box of thin mints in my car. I probably ate half a sleeve just to hold me over till I could get to a drive thru.