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

[Psychodisney]

I did look at SW... they came in about $300 higher than this weird combo, if you can believe it.

*Edit* Oh sorry Just noticed you listed a different airport for SW! Well it can't hurt to check that too!

But I will check on the one ways booked directly with the carriers; thank you!

The other airport mentioned is MDW. Unless it’s a huge savings, it is not your best option for this trip in my opinion. You could look at Milwaukee.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

My husband is planning to go see his younger son graduate from Navy Basic Training.
We have no status on any airlines and would be paying cash to be as economical as possible, so currently looking at a combo flight on Expedia (outbound on American and return on... wait for it... Spirit).

He'd be flying into O'Hare and getting a rental car.

Is there anything specific he needs to know about flying into O'Hare with regard to picking up and returning a rental car? He would arrive around noonish, pick up the car, drive to the area of the hotel (probably budget motel somewhere), stay overnight, see the graduation the next morning, and then drive right back to the airport late afternoon/early evening to come home.

Thank you for your family's service!
Also wanted to suggest looking into MKE. Potentially a 20 min drive time difference, but when you factor in Chicago traffic vs the traffic he'd be likely to encounter in Wisconsin, it'll probably even out. Plus the car rental counters are right in the terminal in MKE, no need to shuttle/train anywhere. And the airport is so much smaller comparatively, so pretty easy to navigate.
Southwest and Frontier are the no frills carriers out of MKE.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Continuation of my trip.

Departed Dubai at the charming hour of 2:30AM. I was able to enjoy the Emirates first class lounge and was lucky enough to grab a slot for a 15 min head massage. It was really nice. Also had a quick bite in their restaurant, which was delicious. Wish that I had more time in the lounge. Funny thing is, I tried to change my pickup time at the JW Marriott to 11:30 and the lady at the front desk said they need 6 hours to make a change. She wanted me to go back to my room, but since I had my bags with me I said I’d wait in the lobby. I hadn’t even sat down when I got a text from my driver saying that he was outside waiting for me, which was wonderful!

I settled in my seat on the Emirates 777 in first class, which was pretty much the same as the seat on the A380. I changed into my pajamas before we even took off as I wanted to get as much sleep as possible, since it was a short flight (4 hours). Flight was uneventful, I did manage to get maybe 2 hours of sleep. Breakfast was a bowl of granola and yoghurt; I was going to try the eggs, but they looked very unappealing, so passed.

We landed around 7:30 Male time, I was first off the plane, breezed through customs and since I only have a carry-on, exited right away. Met up with my escort to the speedboat and landed at the Ritz before 9am. My room was ready, so I was in and settled by 9:30 and before 10am had done a quick load of laundry in the sink, hung it out to dry and settled myself on a lounger on the beach outside of my room.

Stay has been okay so far. I am more of a city person I think, so I find the days drag a bit. I like to be on the go, experiencing as much as I can; the reality here is there isn’t much to do or see. So I have read a book, tried to relax and today went on a sea turtle snorkeling trip. I don’t like the open water, but decided that I wanted to see sea turtles, so I signed up. The trip to the reef was 45 mins on the boat; the reef is 10-20 meters deep, I convinced myself that it is too shallow for sharks. I found out on the boat going out that there are no Great White shark in the Indian Ocean because it’s too warm for them. Yay! We had 45 minutes in the water and it flew by. I never saw a sea turtle, but I did see a white-tip shark (maybe 2 feet in length). The table reef was gorgeous – very alive and brimming with colorful fish. I am very glad that I went.

I rented a GoPro from the dive shop — they charged $50.00. I feel that it was totally worth the cost. I had to buy a rash guard because I was not planning this and have a sunburn on my back. I am not happy with myself because I have 2 at home and do not need another.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I want to make a few comments on the Ritz Carlton Maldives, but I am not sure what to say. It is truly a gorgeous property and the staff are very warm. The food is delicious, but I have not had much of an appetite (which is rare for me), so I’ve been forcing myself to eat for sustenance. The gym is fantastic, very well equipped. There is something magical about working out while facing the beach and ocean beyond.

I asked for, and received, the same villa that I had last year, which is a sunset beach villa. I didn’t like the o/w water that I had last year (for 1 night), because I do have a thing about the open water and staying over it was not relaxing for me. I prefer to admire the ocean from afar. My villa seems to have an issue with the AC, a “small problem”, I’m told. The room won’t go below 74 degrees, which is too warm for me to sleep comfortably at night. I am annoyed at this because I need my sleep. They tried to fix it this morning while I was snorkeling, but it has only gone down 2 degrees, so I am not a happy mama atm.

I don’t know if I’d rush to come back again. Maybe with my dd, but I’m just not sure. I think I’d rather be hiking in Norway, but that is not a reflection of the resort, rather my personality.

My doorstep when I came back from snorkeling


View from the deck of my villa


Goodies on arrival. Though strangely this morning everything disappeared, including the fresh fruit.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Well after calling PaymentUS, it seems my tax payment will be sent today. Meaning I get hit with a 1% late fee. There is no way for the township to waive it, as it's a state law. And the company that sends the payment for paypal had nothing to say other than that this can happen and to allow enough time for processing. I guess 12 days isn't enough time. Even better if I sent it the day before or after, or ANY DAY since 9/2 it would have processed immediately. So yeah....My other option was to double pay. But I didn't like the idea of waiting 21 days for my 2nd payment to come back to me. So I'm out $29. And likely won't try paypal again (though I've used it like 5 times to pay the township). They are also looking into shutting the paypal option down, since they didn't even know it was there.

I hate Delta so much!

You can blame my BF, LOL. He went from the most hated airline in american (Spirit) to Delta last month, LOL. Honestly we're both still so sad he left

do you do online with the fee thu the town or paypal?

My township has the option to pay online via their processor with 3.5% fee. Or there was the option to use paypal for no fees. Except my payment got stuck in a technical glitch the same day as many others (9/2). So my payment will now be late and I'll get a 1% late fee. Oh joy! My township is also looking to shut off the paypal option as they didn't even know it existed. So I kinda shot myself in the foot, LOL. I normally use a new CC so I can get a SUB. So I guess if my only option is the 3.5% fee, it's normally offset by the bonus!

For those interested check your emails from AA, or look at the current promotions in your AA account. They are doing a status match with Hyatt. I have ZERO AA status, but was given AA Platinum status for the next 4 months (after registering) because I’m a Hyatt Explorist. I was already able to upgrade some seats on a flight to MCE at no charge.

Sorry I can’t find a link with more details, but you should be able to see it in your promotions section. Could be a good deal if you have Hyatt Status and fly AA

I got it. I'm trying to figure out the spends needed to maintain status for more than the 4 mos. I don't see myself flying them for the next 4 mos. And the fine print said this offer can only be once every 2 years. If I could meet the spends to extend it, it might be worth it. But if they are insane, I'm torn on doing it.

Thank you for your family's service!
Also wanted to suggest looking into MKE. Potentially a 20 min drive time difference, but when you factor in Chicago traffic vs the traffic he'd be likely to encounter in Wisconsin, it'll probably even out. Plus the car rental counters are right in the terminal in MKE, no need to shuttle/train anywhere. And the airport is so much smaller comparatively, so pretty easy to navigate.
Southwest and Frontier are the no frills carriers out of MKE.

Spirit also flies in/out of MKE now. If you're looking for cheap. I was shocked, the dates I've been tracking for DTW to LAS in Nov, the Spirit RT price dropped to $112! The Delta price for BASIC ECON was $1100 for the same dates! But school is paying, LOL.

 

[Judique]

My township has the option to pay online via their processor with 3.5% fee. Or there was the option to use paypal for no fees. Except my payment got stuck in a technical glitch the same day as many others (9/2). So my payment will now be late and I'll get a 1% late fee. Oh joy! My township is also looking to shut off the paypal option as they didn't even know it existed. So I kinda shot myself in the foot, LOL. I normally use a new CC so I can get a SUB. So I guess if my only option is the 3.5% fee, it's normally offset by the bonus!

They sound tough! My area has the option to do a semi annual and/or an annual payment - same amount total if you do semi annual. The processing fee is 2.45%. They then have a posted 'late' payment where they increase by 3/4 of 1 %.

The 1st payment in the semi annual is due by September 30, with 2nd payment due by Dec 31.

In retrospect I 'could' get 2 of the 6K MSRs out of paying taxes combined with regular bills but I seem to lack patience in this area.

Oh and my payment was cleared by the county even though still pending on Chase. Of course if Chase flagged it and didn't process it, I'd be back to square one.

 

[ten6mom]

Thanks to all who suggested possibly flying into Milwaukee instead of O'Hare.... I did check and there seems to be far fewer flights (to be fair I am only looking at nonstop) and they're significantly more expensive!

I found an outbound on American and a return on Spirit (PHX-ORD-PHX) for just over $200 total, so we will likely go with that.

Thank you!

 

[KrzyKtty101]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this, but considering what Delta just rolled out yesterday, I am considering replacing my Delta American Express Platinum card with something else. We tend to take one or two decent family trips a year, but honestly we don't fly that frequently. However I use our credit card daily and pay it off monthly. At this point, i'm thinking it would be a good idea to get a new card that has perks that I can use?

Recommendations?

 

[KrzyKtty101]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this, but considering what Delta just rolled out yesterday, I am considering replacing my Delta American Express Platinum card with something else. We tend to take one or two decent family trips a year, but honestly we don't fly that frequently. However I use our credit card daily and pay it off monthly. At this point, i'm thinking it would be a good idea to get a new card that has perks that I can use?

Recommendations?

After properly reading the sticky, This is some other information.

I currently have a american express delta platinum card for twenty years.

No new cards in the last year.

We both have excellent credit ratings.

I also have a premium Chase Disney credit card. That I have had opened for years.

It is not abnormal for me to put over three 3k a month on our primary credit card and pay it off monthly.

Up to this point, we have preferred to fly Delta. But considering the changes, I'm really up for anything. We use Marriott more than Hilton.

Up until recently, most of our trips have been disney centered, but now that our kids are older, we want to see the rest of the world.

We also fly out of CHS, Charleston SC.

 

[AndreaDM]

I sent a SM to Chase yesterday since I got the CIU in July, woke up to 15K extra points in my account!

 

[trenty]

After properly reading the sticky, This is some other information.

I currently have a american express delta platinum card for twenty years.

No new cards in the last year.

We both have excellent credit ratings.

I also have a premium Chase Disney credit card. That I have had opened for years.

It is not abnormal for me to put over three 3k a month on our primary credit card and pay it off monthly.

Up to this point, we have preferred to fly Delta. But considering the changes, I'm really up for anything. We use Marriott more than Hilton.

Up until recently, most of our trips have been disney centered, but now that our kids are older, we want to see the rest of the world.

I focus on earning Chase UR and Amex MR. These can both be transferred to various airline and hotel partners. It is also possible to book travel directly with Chase and Amex using the URs(Chase) and MRs(Amex). I also have the Discover IT card which is cash back, but I don't put a lot of spend on that.

If you choose to use Chase URs most recommend starting with the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve. I am sure others will chime in with specifics about these cards.

 

[KrzyKtty101]

I focus on earning Chase UR and Amex MR. These can both be transferred to various airline and hotel partners. It is also possible to book travel directly with Chase and Amex using the URs(Chase) and MRs(Amex). I also have the Discover IT card which is cash back, but I don't put a lot of spend on that.

If you choose to use Chase URs most recommend starting with the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve. I am sure others will chime in with specifics about these cards.

Ty. I did see the Sapphire preferred recommended on a few places, But then I also saw the Venture card, and I really wasn't sure between the 2.

 

[platamama]

I also thought using GCs with Plastiq was no longer allowed, possibly because of this https://www.doctorofcredit.com/plastiq-will-no-longer-accept-prepaid-debit-cards-beginning-2020-rip/ . Did that change? Their site seems to indicate they accept them with limitations, https://support.plastiq.com/s/article/Prepaid-Card-Policy .

I used a $500 usb mcgc in Feb '23 (and in late '21 and early '22 as well) toward my mortgage which I ran into hiccups with (mortgage company gave me conflicting info as to whether or not the payment was applied to my account or not) but eventually it did successfully post a couple weeks later after I submitted documentation that I made the payment. I haven't used a prepaid with Plastiq since then so I'm not sure if it still works. @DogCat with Plastiq (and PayPal BillPay) I'd make sure that I had a way to check my account with the recipient to make sure the payment was applied.

 

[trenty]

Ty. I did see the Sapphire preferred recommended on a few places, But then I also saw the Venture card, and I really wasn't sure between the 2.

I don't have the Venture so can't comment on that. Many here have a variety of cards across many credit card providers. I have 5 main cards (and a few "sock drawer" cards). I personally don't want to manage more. Here is my strategy for what it's worth.

CSP - $95AF - I use it very little, but transfer URs from other Chase cards (below). Once the URs are on this card, they can be used for travel.

CFF - I use this for the 5x rotating categories. So, this quarter one of the rotating categories is gas. I use it mainly for gas and transfer the URs to the CSP.

CFU - 1.5x on all spend. Mainly got this for DH since he doesn't want to be bothered thinking about what card to use and doesn't want more than one CC in his wallet. URs also transferred to the CSP. Most of our spend goes on this card.

Amex Everyday Preferred - $95 AF. I had the no AF Preferred for decades. I upgraded about a year ago because they offered 40KMRs to upgrade. I will downgrade back to the no AF card in October. I use this mainly for groceries and a few other things.

Discover IT - cash back card. 5x rotating categories. I only use this on the rotating categories. This quarter one of the categories was Apple Pay, so it got used a lot. I use the cash back to pay the AFs on my other cards. When it builds up beyond that - travel cash.

I also have the no AF Disney and no AF United cards. They get used if there is a good offer on them or if there are 5x categories. So basically only a few times a year.

Sometimes the decision to use a certain card has to do with the offers on them. Recently one card had 10% back at Walmart online up to $11. So I used that card, regardless if another one would have given me more points.

Others here churn these cards and many others. I don't want to be bothered with opening and closing cards, but it works for them and they get way better travel deals than I do. But what I do works for me. I will soon send my DH a support link for the CSP. I may downgrade mine after that and then have him support me. But that will be my first "churn" in about 7 years, if I do. Waiting for an elevated SUB offer before doing any of this.

I find that having a portfolio of MRs and URs is good enough for my travel needs. I don't want to venture (haha - pun not intended) into other point currencies at this point.

Others here also get business cards. I can do that; and might at some point, but again, I don't want to manage too many cards. (I do have a legit business.)

 

[georgina]

Well, add me to the Chase Ink 15,000 bonus group. Emailed yesterday, got the match today. This was for a 6/8 approval that the spend was met before 7/8! I sometimes feel a bit guilty taking all this cash from Chase, but I get over it.

Actually when I look at his account it says -15,000 available points? The SM clearly says they were added, but also says he will see the adjustment on his next statement close.

 

[wanderlust7]

After properly reading the sticky, This is some other information.

I currently have a american express delta platinum card for twenty years.

No new cards in the last year.

We both have excellent credit ratings.

I also have a premium Chase Disney credit card. That I have had opened for years.

It is not abnormal for me to put over three 3k a month on our primary credit card and pay it off monthly.

Up to this point, we have preferred to fly Delta. But considering the changes, I'm really up for anything. We use Marriott more than Hilton.

Up until recently, most of our trips have been disney centered, but now that our kids are older, we want to see the rest of the world.

We also fly out of CHS, Charleston SC.

Since your Delta plat is so old, you might want to keep it for the history on your credit report. Instead of canceling, you can downgrade it to a no annual fee Delta blue.

 

[IFlossU]

After properly reading the sticky, This is some other information.

I currently have a american express delta platinum card for twenty years.

No new cards in the last year.

We both have excellent credit ratings.

I also have a premium Chase Disney credit card. That I have had opened for years.

It is not abnormal for me to put over three 3k a month on our primary credit card and pay it off monthly.

Up to this point, we have preferred to fly Delta. But considering the changes, I'm really up for anything. We use Marriott more than Hilton.

Up until recently, most of our trips have been disney centered, but now that our kids are older, we want to see the rest of the world.

We also fly out of CHS, Charleston SC.

I would either downgrade, or keep your Delta card if you like the benefits. Downgrade to a lower fee Delta card if you’re not getting value out of the benefits. Then if you still want the option to fly with Delta I think it’s more valuable to get some MR earning cards and transfer the points to Delta as needed. As @trenty pointed out, having flexible currency is usually always preferable since you can transfer to so many different partners. I would recommend a Gold card for 4x groceries/restaurants, and then a Blue Business Plus for 2x on everything else. If you’re not looking to constantly churn cards you just need to pick a currency and start maximizing earning with a few different cards in that one ecosystem.

 

[wanderlust7]

Well after calling PaymentUS, it seems my tax payment will be sent today. Meaning I get hit with a 1% late fee. There is no way for the township to waive it, as it's a state law. And the company that sends the payment for paypal had nothing to say other than that this can happen and to allow enough time for processing. I guess 12 days isn't enough time. Even better if I sent it the day before or after, or ANY DAY since 9/2 it would have processed immediately. So yeah....My other option was to double pay. But I didn't like the idea of waiting 21 days for my 2nd payment to come back to me. So I'm out $29. And likely won't try paypal again (though I've used it like 5 times to pay the township). They are also looking into shutting the paypal option down, since they didn't even know it was there.

Glad to hear it's being resolved. My county charges a very punitive 10%. I plan to pay a couple months early, but will be nervous until I see it credited!

I feel like this option can't last long term. Paypal must be picking up the cc fees. I hope to take advantage as many times as possible!

 

[elgerber]

So, all the BoA discussion I stirred up, you are all saying I should NOT open a bank account there for the bonus, and the ability to cash out my points LOL?

 

[KrzyKtty101]

I would either downgrade, or keep your Delta card if you like the benefits. Downgrade to a lower fee Delta card if you’re not getting value out of the benefits. Then if you still want the option to fly with Delta I think it’s more valuable to get some MR earning cards and transfer the points to Delta as needed. As @trenty pointed out, having flexible currency is usually always preferable since you can transfer to so many different partners. I would recommend a Gold card for 4x groceries/restaurants, and then a Blue Business Plus for 2x on everything else. If you’re not looking to constantly churn cards you just need to pick a currency and start maximizing earning with a few different cards in that one ecosystem.

We did downgrade and will keep it since it has been opened for so long and has a very high credit limit.

However, it's not abnormal for us to put over fifty thousand dollars a year on our credit card (we pay it off montly).

So at this point I don't mind opening up a third card and using that if there are benefits to it. Considering how much we tend to put on the card on a yearly basis. I might as well get something back out of it. I just don't see me getting anything out of the Delta card anymore considering all the changes.