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

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Yesterday morning we flew out of Atlanta and the line for TSA precheck was insane. They had it off to the side with Clear. Both had huge lines but I’ve never seen precheck that long before. We heard a lot of people complaining about how it doesn’t work if everyone has precheck. I convinced dh to leave the line and go back to the general security line. There ended up being another smaller precheck line right there by the general security and it went much faster.

Our gate was in the D concourse but we decided to go to F to use The Club with our priority passes. It was pretty small and we were lucky to find chairs for the 3 of us. The food was meh but we were happy to be away from the crowds.

ATL is the biggest, closest airport to us for any type of international travel, but we avoid it at all costs. It's always a mess over there, from the airport down to the parking. We prefer to go the other way to CLT... we haven't experienced as long of waits or lines there, and the parking is much easier too.

 

[AndreaDM]

If any of you are looking to fly to Japan, I just saw that Iberia is flying to NRT starting October. I was able to see that they have released up to 6 J seats, ORD-MAD-NRT 93,500 Avios + $240. That's a lot of points but great for bigger families trying to fly in J.

Thank you for this, I will have to some planning! I wonder if having a day or two stopover in Madrid would be included?

 

[Haley R]

ATL is the biggest, closest airport to us for any type of international travel, but we avoid it at all costs. It's always a mess over there, from the airport down to the parking. We prefer to go the other way to CLT... we haven't experienced as long of waits or lines there, and the parking is much easier too.

Normally we avoid Atlanta but we flew there just for the weekend to visit the aquarium

 

[becauseimnew]

Thank you for this, I will have to some planning! I wonder if having a day or two stopover in Madrid would be included?

I think that British Airways allows you to book stopovers. I would book through BA since their site runs better than Iberia.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

I am no expert, but I think that you'd claim for the VAT refund in Rome (leaving the last EU country you visited). Be aware that with LV you have to take your passport to the store -- they don't accept pictures of your passport like most other designer stores do. Are you looking at buying a Goyard bag in Paris? Sometimes their stores have long lines to get in; I prefer the Goyard store in Printemps since it seems to have shorter lines. Everything else being equal, I'd wait until Rome to make the purchases so you don't have to lug them around Europe (unless you want a Goyard, in which case you'd have to purchase in Paris since they don't have a store in Rome).

Thanks @*WDW*Groupie* !! I also think that's where I claim the VAT, and I hope that between the two of us thinking that - we are both right!! I won't have time in Rome to do any shopping so I'll have to do all of my luxury (and non luxury) purchases in France. And since they're all Schengen countries that we're visiting I think Rome is the correct place to claim the VAT when I exit Schengen for home to the US.

I am "planning" to buy a LV or two for my 50th, on my 50th, in Paris and perhaps a Polene bag as well while I'm in Paris. I hadn't heard of Goyard, but I've looked them up online and I like those too! Thanks for the introduction to them! I l ove this group!!

 

[Psychodisney]

My AF posted for my Bonvoy business Amex. Really on the fence about this one and leaning towards cancelling. There are occasional business only offers but otherwise, I don't think I get much value out of the card for $125 AF.
Can anyone convince me otherwise?

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Normally we avoid Atlanta but we flew there just for the weekend to visit the aquarium

oh yes, forgot you guys were doing that. Hope your son enjoyed seeing the whale sharks!!

 

[Haley R]

oh yes, forgot you guys were doing that. Hope your son enjoyed seeing the whale sharks!!

I asked him yesterday what his favorite part of the trip was and he said the restaurant (Panera) Such a typical 3 year old response lol. He also loved the hot tub at our hotel. He did think the whale sharks were cool but he ended up liking the hammerheads more. It was nice to take such a short flight

 

[leeniewdw]

Hey RDU flyers! Just checking in to see if any of you have booked next spring flights to Europe using both a direct flight from RDU (LHR, CDG, FRA) and points. Any success stories? We pushed our fall plans to Europe to next spring. Still deciding the exact weeks but we're getting into the window (may already be if we try to overlap with some friends). Would love to know if you've utilized the direct flights from RDU or if you ended up booking via a larger east coast airport and positioned?

 

[DogCat]

My AF posted for my Bonvoy business Amex. Really on the fence about this one and leaning towards cancelling. There are occasional business only offers but otherwise, I don't think I get much value out of the card for $125 AF.
Can anyone convince me otherwise?

I have this card and I also wonder about it but I end up keeping it because I have no trouble using the annual free night certificate on rooms that are always more expensive than the $125 AF. Plus I don't have to worry about my points expiring (not that I have many). I often think I should start a new Marriott point strategy but the Chart that shows AMEX vs Chase Marriott cards, and who can get what, is mind boggling to me LOL.

 

[spacerangerqueen]

Ended up hitting the MSR on my CIU this weekend thanks to the Target gift card sale and a trip to IKEA. Ended up supporting DH to a CIP. He got instant approval with a 6k credit limit. He'd never had a CIP before. His last 2 cards were a SW Biz and an Amex Gold Biz that we were working on simultaneously for most of the fall/winter. I didn't close any cards or adjust any CL, so glad we got a decent amount of CL with 6k.

 

[platamama]

What's tasty out there? Need a new SUB.

3/24
Chase SW RR Plus
Citi AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard
Barclays AAdvantage® Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard

I haven't hit the Inks as hard as others, but I have had 3 in the past year, the last on 12/29. Prefer a biz card but open to the right personal.

Did you see FM report today of the new offer for a 75K CitiBiz AA card? That's 10K more than normal, but the MSR is $5000/5mo. instead of the $3500/4 mo. on the personal card. First year AF waived. 48 mo. SUB rule for CitiBiz card.

 

[becauseimnew]

Did you see FM report today of the new offer for a 75K CitiBiz AA card? That's 10K more than normal, but the MSR is $5000/5mo. instead of the $3500/4 mo. on the personal card. First year AF waived. 48 mo. SUB rule for CitiBiz card.

I got the business SUB in december and the MSR was $6K in 6 months, so this one is slightly better offer. I try to meet the MSR fast on those cards that have the 48 month rule.

I'm going to have DH apply, hopefully he'll be approved since he just got the personal card.

 

[StephPlum]

My AF posted for my Bonvoy business Amex. Really on the fence about this one and leaning towards cancelling. There are occasional business only offers but otherwise, I don't think I get much value out of the card for $125 AF.
Can anyone convince me otherwise?

I think I’m going to ask for a retention offer on mine. Got an offer last year so not sure if I will get another one. I’ll be keeping as I can find Marriotts over $125 a night to use where I travel. I also got lucky and both my Biz FNC and chase personal FNC come in June and I’ve been able to use both on the same trip. I say lucky because I didn’t purposefully plan that, but it is nice.

 

[Psychodisney]

I think I’m going to ask for a retention offer on mine. Got an offer last year so not sure if I will get another one. I’ll be keeping as I can find Marriotts over $125 a night to use where I travel. I also got lucky and both my Biz FNC and chase personal FNC come in June and I’ve been able to use both on the same trip. I say lucky because I didn’t purposefully plan that, but it is nice.

Maybe I’ll ask and see what happens!

 

[georgina]

I think I’m going to ask for a retention offer on mine. Got an offer last year so not sure if I will get another one. I’ll be keeping as I can find Marriotts over $125 a night to use where I travel. I also got lucky and both my Biz FNC and chase personal FNC come in June and I’ve been able to use both on the same trip. I say lucky because I didn’t purposefully plan that, but it is nice.

When I cancelled and re-applied for the Chase Bonvoy card last year, I did plan it that way. It takes like 3 months for the Amex Biz free night to post, and the Chase one comes instantly. I have never tried for a retention offer, as I only use the Amex a few times a year.

 

[StephPlum]

When I cancelled and re-applied for the Chase Bonvoy card last year, I did plan it that way. It takes like 3 months for the Amex Biz free night to post, and the Chase one comes instantly. I have never tried for a retention offer, as I only use the Amex a few times a year.

Yeah my anniversary for Amex is March and I get the FNC in June. Whenever it works for DH to get the personal I’ll make sure it is June. He is eligible and 1/24, but working on other MSRs and want other cards first ( like the elevated Citi AA biz card). Too many cards I want and not enough spend

 

[wanderlust7]

Thank you for this, I will have to some planning! I wonder if having a day or two stopover in Madrid would be included?

BA charges by segment, so you can just book the 2 flights separately. It should cost the same as booking it as a connection, unless there's a peak/non-peak difference for the dates.

 

[DogCat]

When I cancelled and re-applied for the Chase Bonvoy card last year, I did plan it that way. It takes like 3 months for the Amex Biz free night to post, and the Chase one comes instantly. I have never tried for a retention offer, as I only use the Amex a few times a year.

So you are able to have both Amex and Chase Bonvoy/Marriott cards? I guess because one of them is old enough?

 

[LynnTH]

Did you do any other matches? You could match at Hard Rock and get $50-100 in food/bev. Match at Resorts World and use that to match at Fountaine Bleu (We got $150 there). I plan on matching at Wynn when we are there at the end of the month.

That card has gotten me SOOOOOO much free. We did the matching in AC though so we matched to Ocean's which got us free nights at Resorts World and $100 F/B and $100 Free play.

Ok. So leaving next week and interested in all these status matches...

1. Is there a Hard Rock in Vegas? I know one is coming but still a way from opening?
2. So, I status match at Resorts World and what do I get there? Then use that status to match to Fountaine Bleu (not familiar with that one - is that in Vegas too?)
3. Any other ones you can think of. I think last time I tried to match to MGM and they said "no go" on just the Caesears Diamond status, so wouldn't match.