I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 (see first page for add'l details)

[bbsearchlight]

im guessing chase.com/mybonus ? I never get anything anymore

Yes, you are correct - the offer showed up when I checked at the chase.com/mybonus link

 

[EACarlson]

Have to vent here. Flew AA through ORD on Sunday and there was no communication whatsoever with all of the problems there. I was working Sunday morning so I wasn't up to date on the latest news, had no idea Chicago was underwater until I got a notice of a 20 minute delay about two hours prior to scheduled boarding, then another, then another, then I see on a TV at the airport bar the NASCAR race that was supposed to be be running. Take off from MCI 80 minutes late and my scheduled two hour layover at ORD is down to 19 minutes. Land early because the pilot flew that 737 faster than any other I've ever been on. Spend 20 minutes driving around ORD, stop for five minutes 10 feet from the gate and I'm thinking there is no chance to make my connection. Get a notification that my connection is delayed two hours. How do you not know that you're going to delay before boarding is scheduled to start? No further delays get posted, the app and airport screens all said two hours late even as we boarded three hours late.

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/tsa-precheck-free-for-teenagers-with-parents

"All children under the age of 18 can now accompany a parent or guardian through the faster PreCheck line, free of charge."

That is not the new policy, there is no announced change to the policy or procedures. If the kid gets Pre on the BP they can go through, if they don't, they can not. Signing up and paying for Pre will get Pre on your boarding pass 99% of the time. It's possible that the algorithm on who isn't a Pre member that gets access has been tweaked to raise the likelihood of a teen getting it but if you really want it, sign up for it.
You can sign a child up at any age for Pre, it just won't matter until they are 13.

 

[Spivey378]

I just booked a Singapore Airlines flight from JFK to Frankfurt for 25,000 UR points + $11.20, and an Air France flight from Paris to JFK for 15,000 UR points+ $165. Both economy in May/June of 2024.

 

[calypso726]

Data point and venting rolled into one. As I have mentioned here before, we are taking my niece on a VV Greek Isles cruise for her graduation next year. When I was researching my best option to get 3 seats in J (business class), I decided to go with an Emirates fifth freedom flight out of EWR. It would be 261k miles and $312 in taxes/fees all in. I'll position there from MIA using UTB funds that have accumulated.

A few days ago I transferred the MR points to my Skywards account in anticipation of booking the flights in the next few days. The day after that, I come across a blog post talking about the Skywards Plus subscription and read the details. The one that struck me was the ability to once a year save 20% of the miles on an award flight for all travelers on the same ticket. That would be 52,500 miles and the subscription is $399. So my next question is do I or don't I. How much do I value 52.5k miles and am I likely to fly Emirates in the next 3 years as those miles have a hard expiration date. They are worth more than $399 the way I plan to use them and yes I am likely to fly Emirates again in the next 3 years. So I purchase the non refundable subscription. The voucher can only be applied to a booking while on a desktop which is fine. The last three Emirates flights I have booked were all booked on my desktop computer with no problem (Foreshadowing here )

My booking date opens up and there is no way to actually completely book the flight. The select payment screen is not working. I am able to select the flight, add passengers, choose seats, see the fare breakdown but not actually pay the taxes. I try with and without applying the 20% voucher and it's a no go. I try in different browsers, incognito and nothing. I do the same but with different dates and nothing. So I call and the agents cannot help since you can't apply the voucher over the phone. I am told to try chat, I do and the agent can't assist in the end even after walking me through the whole process which I've already done. He just says he will send the details and my screenshots to the back end team and someone will get back with me in a few days. Uh, a few days? I really don't intend on taking a chance those seats are still there in a few days.

I try everything again the next morning and still no payment option on the payment screen. So, I wind up booking the flight on the app and not using the 20% off voucher since you can't pull it up in the app. I'd rather not lose 3 seats together in J. I call again and explain the situation and once again they can do nothing to help. They can't refund the subscription or manually add 52.5k miles. The agent on that call suggested that I send a communication through the complaint/feedback option on the website. So, I did that, explained the entire situation and attempts to get things rectified without much hope of any resolution. This morning to my surprise and delight, I received an email from the feedback team stating that while they could not refund the subscription, they did manually add back my 52.2k miles!

 

[hsmamato2]

the Amazon cc offer I see on DoC - what do you all think of it? I use Amazon a lot, and there's no AF or MSR...seems like a great deal?

 

[djmeredith]

i

...

That is not the new policy, there is no announced change to the policy or procedures. If the kid gets Pre on the BP they can go through, if they don't, they can not. Signing up and paying for Pre will get Pre on your boarding pass 99% of the time. It's possible that the algorithm on who isn't a Pre member that gets access has been tweaked to raise the likelihood of a teen getting it but if you really want it, sign up for it.
You can sign a child up at any age for Pre, it just won't matter until they are 13.

It appears this TSA teen policy is actually a change. I thought the same thing you did when I first saw that, but I checked (and then rechecked TSA and several other major news outlets). TSA says 13-17 "when traveling on the same reservation as parent" but also says "when Pre-Check is printed on boarding pass." However, all the major news outlets report that as of late May TSA announced it as a change to allow all teens 13-17 to accompany the parent. So maybe the change is that all teens 13-17 on the adult's res will now receive that designation on their boarding pass instead of random ones. This is supposedly one of the ways TSA is trying to speed up TSA checkpoint lines this summer. Maybe someone here can report about their experience this summer.

 

[djmeredith]

Data point and venting rolled into one. As I have mentioned here before, we are taking my niece on a VV Greek Isles cruise for her graduation next year. When I was researching my best option to get 3 seats in J, I decided to go with an Emirates fifth freedom flight out of EWR. It would be 261k miles and $312 in taxes/fees all in. I'll position there from MIA using UTB funds that have accumulated.

A few days ago I transferred the MR points to my Skywards account in anticipation of booking the flights in the next few days. The day after that, I come across a blog post talking about the Skywards Plus subscription and read the details. The one that struck me was the ability to once a year save 20% of the miles on an award flight for all travelers on the same ticket. That would be 52,500 miles and the subscription is $399. So my next question is do I or don't I. How much do I value 52.5k miles and am I likely to fly Emirates in the next 3 years as those miles have a hard expiration date. They are worth more than $399 the way I plan to use them and yes I am likely to fly Emirates again in the next 3 years. So I purchase the non refundable subscription. The voucher can only be applied to a booking while on a desktop which is fine. The last three Emirates flights I have booked were all booked on my desktop computer with no problem (Foreshadowing here )

My booking date opens up and there is no way to actually completely book the flight. The select payment screen is not working. I am able to select the flight, add passengers, choose seats, see the fare breakdown but not actually pay the taxes. I try with and without applying the 20% voucher and it's a no go. I try in different browsers, incognito and nothing. I do the same but with different dates and nothing. So I call and the agents cannot help since you can't apply the voucher over the phone. I am told to try chat, I do and the agent can't assist in the end even after walking me through the whole process which I've already done. He just says he will send the details and my screenshots to the back end team and someone will get back with me in a few days. Uh, a few days? I really don't intend on taking a chance those seats are still there in a few days.

I try everything again the next morning and still no payment option on the payment screen. So, I wind up booking the flight on the app and not using the 20% off voucher since you can't pull it up in the app. I'd rather not lose 3 seats together in J. I call again and explain the situation and once again they can do nothing to help. They can't refund the subscription or manually add 52.5k miles. The agent on that call suggested that I send a communication through the complaint/feedback option on the website. So, I did that, explained the entire situation and attempts to get things rectified without much hope of any resolution. This morning to my surprise and delight, I received an email from the feedback team stating that while they could not refund the subscription, they did manually add back my 52.2k miles!

Glad it worked out for you! Meanwhile, I am STILL waiting to hear back from United from when they bumped me out of biz class on May 15.

 

[EACarlson]

It appears this TSA teen policy is actually a change. I thought the same thing you did when I first saw that, but I checked (and then rechecked TSA and several other major news outlets). TSA says 13-17 "when traveling on the same reservation as parent" but also says "when Pre-Check is printed on boarding pass." However, all the major news outlets report that as of late May TSA announced it as a change to allow all teens 13-17 to accompany the parent. So maybe the change is that all teens 13-17 on the adult's res will now receive that designation on their boarding pass instead of random ones. This is supposedly one of the ways TSA is trying to speed up TSA checkpoint lines this summer. Maybe someone here can report about their experience this summer.

I compared the wording of the policy after the press release to the wording of the policy from six months ago and they are identical. The line that all of the "news" outlets are using to justify their position appears to me to be a line reiterating current and past policy, if you are 13+ you have to have Pre on your boarding pass to use the Pre lanes. It was one sentence in a press release talking about how busy the checkpoints will be this summer. If it were a policy change of this magnitude, it would have been a release all on it's own and probably would have been just changing the line from 12 and under to 17 and under in the current regulations. I will absolutely agree that they have tweaked the algorithm to give more teenagers Pre, but it's not like it's the 99% that it is for paid Pre. Threads and comments on FT bear this out.

 

[platamama]

How much of a hassle is it to fly there vs Seattle?

If you can get a nonstop flight to YVR, it's not any more of a hassle than nonstop to SEA. And it's very easy to get to the Vancouver cruise terminal from the airport by catching their light rail, called TransLink, from the airport to downtown Vancouver. We spent the night before in downtown just a few blocks from the cruise terminal, and walked to it with our luggage in the morning and that was very easy. The people who took taxis to the cruise terminal were caught up in the stop and go traffic dropping off passengers. If you think you might go with this plan, make sure to book the hotel night as soon as you can. I can definitely recommend the Hyatt Regency Vancouver that we booked with 18K points (vs the $818 cash rate).

I really like Vancouver, we used to go there more frequently when we lived in Washington, and I wish we could have spent more time there.

 

[Judique]

Maybe my Swan issue with needing to go the front desk to check out/check back in was because I wanted to use a Marriott GC to pay the resort fee, which the desk person said would be charged separately after each night. (I was staying 2 nights on separate FNC's.)

I don't know but it's looking like inconsistent service may be related to the whims of whoever serves you at the resort.

I had 2 nights with 2 Marriott FNC's. Obviously had to book them as separate nights.

I had $131.67 on a Marriott gift card. At check in I asked to have it added to my account. That part was seamless as was not having to go back and forth to the desk.
EDITED to add: I was surprised and pleased that they actually knew how to apply the gift card!!!

The only (non)issue was when they billed me $52.59 for 'back2back'.

11-MAY-23 698*** GiveX Gift Card -131.67
11-MAY-23 RT415 Resort Service Package 40.00
11-MAY-23 RT415 Resort Service Package- Tax 2.60
11-MAY-23 RT415 Resort Tax- Resort Svc. Pkg 2.40
11-MAY-23 RT415 Parking Overnight - Self 32.00
11-MAY-23 RT415 Sales Tax 2.08
12-MAY-23 BackToBack To *****My name**** 52.59

12-MAY-23 2127477 Java Bar Other 1.0012-MAY-23 AX American Express

The charge disappeared from my credit card eventually about a week after I got home.

 

[georgina]

I don't know but it's looking like inconsistent service may be related to the whims of whoever serves you at the resort.

I had 2 nights with 2 Marriott FNC's. Obviously had to book them as separate nights.

I had $131.67 on a Marriott gift card. At check in I asked to have it added to my account. That part was seamless as was not having to go back and forth to the desk.

The only (non)issue was when they billed me $52.59 for 'back2back'.

11-MAY-23 698*** GiveX Gift Card -131.67
11-MAY-23 RT415 Resort Service Package 40.00
11-MAY-23 RT415 Resort Service Package- Tax 2.60
11-MAY-23 RT415 Resort Tax- Resort Svc. Pkg 2.4011-MAY-23 RT415 Parking Overnight - Self 32.00
11-MAY-23 RT415 Sales Tax 2.08
12-MAY-23 BackToBack To *****My name**** 52.59

12-MAY-23 2127477 Java Bar Other 1.0012-MAY-23 AX American Express

The charge disappeared from my credit card eventually about a week after I got home.

YES! I rarely can convince them at any Marriott property to add the gift card at checkin, they always tell me to do it at checkout. I know they CAN do it, just don't want to. So I usually have to go to the desk, have them reverse charges on my CC, and do the GC. That back to back charge is weird.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Happy Independence Day everyone!

 

[StephPlum]

I had 2 nights with 2 Marriott FNC's. Obviously had to book them as separate nights.

I have been finding that if I book 2 nights (maybe only works if the nights match the # of FNCs) that the site knows I have 2 FNCs and will now allow me to book in one transaction instead of separate. I also have both of my FNCs post to my account in the same month (pure luck, I didn't plan it.) Anyway it is a nice change from having to book each night separately like I still have to do with IHG. Might be hotel specific as well.

 

[punkin]

Just used DH's Saks credit. Possibly our last. His AF posted and he will probably not keep the card without some sort of offer.

 

[StephPlum]

Updated my profile pic to the latest NP Sign! Banff and Jasper were amazing (a slight edge to Jasper in my mind!). Moraine Lake was the #1 attraction followed by wildlife (bears, moose, elk, mountain goats) and then Peyto Lake. Too many others to mention. This has been a bucket list item for me for a few years so happy to have made it happen, especially after my recent mobility challenges.

I don't calculate CPP but I do look at savings. My goal is to travel more. Points/miles/bank bonuses stretch my travel budget. The all in trip cost was about $5,000 and my out of pocket was $250. Points/miles for hotels and airfare; Chase Bank bonus $900 covered the other expenses (car, food, gas, entertainment).

 

[Judique]

YES! I rarely can convince them at any Marriott property to add the gift card at checkin, they always tell me to do it at checkout. I know they CAN do it, just don't want to. So I usually have to go to the desk, have them reverse charges on my CC, and do the GC. That back to back charge is weird.

It may be the accounting key to why I didn't have any issues. Maybe how they combined the room transaction and back2back possibly being the code to drop the charge after checkout.

I was definitely trying to avoid all the charge reversal stuff.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Updated my profile pic to the latest NP Sign! Banff and Jasper were amazing (a slight edge to Jasper in my mind!). Moraine Lake was the #1 attraction followed by wildlife (bears, moose, elk, mountain goats) and then Peyto Lake. Too many others to mention. This has been a bucket list item for me for a few years so happy to have made it happen, especially after my recent mobility challenges.

I don't calculate CPP but I do look at savings. My goal is to travel more. Points/miles/bank bonuses stretch my travel budget. The all in trip cost was about $5,000 and my out of pocket was $250. Points/miles for hotels and airfare; Chase Bank bonus $900 covered the other expenses (car, food, gas, entertainment).

Where did you stay in Jasper and Banff? Was there a/c? Did you do any hikes solo? Banff is high up on my list of places to travel but I want to stay at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise for at least 2 nights and I can't seem to stomach the cost!

 

[Judique]

I have been finding that if I book 2 nights (maybe only works if the nights match the # of FNCs) that the site knows I have 2 FNCs and will now allow me to book in one transaction instead of separate. I also have both of my FNCs post to my account in the same month (pure luck, I didn't plan it.) Anyway it is a nice change from having to book each night separately like I still have to do with IHG. Might be hotel specific as well.

I rarely stay at any Marriotts for more than one night, and the catch here was I booked one night and then the other a bit later. I know better than to cancel something that might not come back and I'd prefer dealing with the desk rather than trying to talk them through fixing it on a call or chat.

Same with IHG. They tell you to book one night at a time.

 

[IFlossU]

Updated my profile pic to the latest NP Sign! Banff and Jasper were amazing (a slight edge to Jasper in my mind!). Moraine Lake was the #1 attraction followed by wildlife (bears, moose, elk, mountain goats) and then Peyto Lake. Too many others to mention. This has been a bucket list item for me for a few years so happy to have made it happen, especially after my recent mobility challenges.

I don't calculate CPP but I do look at savings. My goal is to travel more. Points/miles/bank bonuses stretch my travel budget. The all in trip cost was about $5,000 and my out of pocket was $250. Points/miles for hotels and airfare; Chase Bank bonus $900 covered the other expenses (car, food, gas, entertainment).

Where did you stay in Jasper and Banff? Was there a/c? Did you do any hikes solo? Banff is high up on my list of places to travel but I want to stay at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise for at least 2 nights and I can't seem to stomach the cost!

Would also like to know where you stayed and any other details you’re willing to share. We spent a week in Whistler 5yrs ago, and it was one of our favorite vacations to date.

 

[havaneselover]

I'm not amused by Southwest at the moment. I asked them to change my name on my account. Sent them my new and old drivers license. So they changed it. They then changed my daughter's last time on the flights I have booked for her for Fall break. So I get to call them back and ask them to fix that. You really have to wonder why they would do that.