I love credit cards so much!

[SouthFayetteFan]

that CSP offer look mighty fine over the CSR though...

Yeah - I think it really comes down to:
1) Can you effectively use the travel credit (and double dip it)
2) Does the TSA/GE Credit benefit you
3) the other side benefits of CSR - i.e. 1.5x, Priority Pass, etc.

Now that DD is dead people should be able To determine if CSP or CSR is the better option for them. I’d imagine CSR is the better option in many cases (but CSP will sometimes be the answer too)

 

[disneymagicgirl]

What does everyone think my next move should be: apply for the CSR (DH already has one) or get a Hilton card. Our main goal is to save for our Japan trip. We want to stay at the Hilton Tokyo Bay so idk if we should just keep getting URs for that or get the Hilton card. When I looked at using URs most of the rooms were non-refundable. We will also be staying at an AirBnB so need to save for that.

Did you check Hilton and see how many points for your nights? Don’t forget 5th night free. If getting a set of Hilton biz cards plus maybe a personal or two would get you enough points for your stay I would definitely go for it. The biz cards won’t count against you anyway. I would start by checking how many points you need and make a plan from there. If you don’t know how to check I can look at it for you. Just p.m. me the hotels in dates.

 

[wendow]

It's always interesting to see just how regional some of these large chains are. We have Starbucks here, and no Dunkin' Donuts. All my East Coast friends love DD and can't believe how I can survive. And we have In and Out Burger here, but no Shake Shack (although we are getting one here soon). I know people who make a point of going to InO every time they come to CA. Yum on the onion rings - maybe they will make their way out here someday.

Whataburger is to Texans what InO is to Californians. In fact, many of my TX fam, who grew up on Whataburger don't really care for InO. I like both and they are pretty much the only fast food places I will eat a burger. We don't have either chain here in CO so that tells you how many fast food burgers I get

 

[disneymagicgirl]

@speedyfishy I made a non gc purchase at Kohl’s yesterday that didn’t go pending.

You can chat on the website with them and show them your receipt and they will take care of it.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Question for the ebay sellers with back story first. I have been playing an app based game from ampm/arco and won a stupid pair of monster energy MMA UFC gloves. There aren't a ton that are given away and any that I've found on ebay trying to be sold are autographed which these aren't.

I figured I'd sell them but when searching sold stuff nothing comes up. Trying to decide if it's worth the effort to list them at .99 plus whatever for shipping or if I should just donate them to goodwill etc. Not sure how to determine if it's worth it. From what I can tell there's one pair that looks like mine and not signed that have 11 watchers and a buy it now of 55. Been listed for over a month so obv too high price.

I sell on ebay..up to you if it’s worth the effort to list for .99....I’d start a little higher to cover yourself in case the shipping turns out more than you thought. Obviously the $55 BIN is too high but maybe list at 9.99 with a $29.99 BIN

 

[have2getaway]

I sell on eBay in addition to my regular job..no issues getting the business card..you use your name and SS number for the business name and EIN number

Thank you! How long does it take for the reward to go through, and, is it as cash or points or flexible to use as either? I’m just tapped out of dealing with travel points.

 

[disneybirds]

I tried to use the Kohl’s offer on RMN and it hasn’t went pending yet. I got a chipotle giftcard. Is Kohl’s slower than the other stores?

I bought a BP and Qdoba card around 2:00 today. They are still not showing as pending. Hoping they post!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Thank you! How long does it take for the reward to go through, and, is it as cash or points or flexible to use as either? I’m just tapped out of dealing with travel points.

It’s flexable you can use the UR points to book hotels, airfare, rental cars etc through the chase travel website or transfer them to their airline travel partners...I’ve transfer to SW....or you can cash out points 80,000 points are worth $800

The points use to post quickly...now it seems as if there is a 30 day delay once you meet the spend

 

[Haley R]

Whataburger is to Texans what InO is to Californians. In fact, many of my TX fam, who grew up on Whataburger don't really care for InO. I like both and they are pretty much the only fast food places I will eat a burger. We don't have either chain here in CO so that tells you how many fast food burgers I get

I haven’t been to either of those.

 

[wendow]

I haven’t been to either of those.

I'm sorry.
Someday, maybe will come to your area, or you will travel to them If you go to DLR, you will be close to InO's. We ate there three times while we were in CA this past summer lol. I'm not kidding. And we rarely eat fast food but my kids loved it, and well, we were on vacation so it was time to spoil them

 

[farmerswife]

FINALLY. View attachment 352031

Woohoo! Mine is showing as pending, too!

 

[miztressuz]

On another topic. Normally our vacations have been Disney or Cruise since kids were born. (they are now 19 and 17). We have been to Cabo and Colorado but not ventured very far. I talked to DH and Kids and said I would really like to plan a trip for Summer 2020 (next summer DD graduates and is going to China for a mission trip) somewhere international. Trying to branch out a bit. I just get so overwhelmed thinking of where to go and how to get there - it is so unfamiliar. I am working on getting a bunch of AA points now. Started DH and I on those - so hoping to use those points for flights. Looked at their award charts and they go lots of international places. Is AA a decent airline to use for International Travel (have never flown them before - we fly mostly Southwest).

You guys seem to know so much and travel all over the place. I get anxiety just thinking about it. Like the language barrier and how to get around etc... I think we are leaning towards Europe. So many places. Looking at maybe 3-4 different places (probably a 10 day trip or so). France, Italy, Austria, Ireland, Germany, Greece, Venice.. How to pick??

I just ordered 3 Travel Guide books on Amazon - so hoping that will help. I heard the trains are a good way to get around - are they easy to use? Any suggestions would be great.

Will have some MR Points (have 85,000 right now). I have about 130,000 UR's and hoping to add on to that with CIP #2 for both DH and I. I have almost 400,000 Marriott Points and currently about $800 each on 2 Barclay Arrival + Cards. Waiting on Points for Barclay AA for DH and I (100,000 total). Just got Citi AA Business Card and will use for Mortgage (Plastiq) for 2 months and will get DH Citi AA and use for Mortgage (another 140,000 points) and then cancel and repeat on those. Would love to not have to fly coach if possible, but don't like to just waste points either. Does AA charge fees to fly to Europe. I know some airlines the fees are more than the ticket.

Sorry so long. Just trying to figure out where to start on this and you guys know everything... Thanks.

I'd recommend looking into something tour like if you want to do multiple places in a short time frame like that. It would help with the language concerns having a guide of some sort on top of taking care of how to get around. Or try for a cruise as they hit places that are used to tourists and mostly you'll find English somewhere. There's river cruises that hit many of the main cities within Europe, or the Med/Baltic ocean cruises of course, in addition to land tours.

How to pick gets complex One way is to figure out when you want to go and then find a region where that's a good time to visit. Another is think of one thing on the bucket list that you'd most regret not seeing, find a tour/cruise that gets you there and then build the rest of the itinerary around nearby places. I want to see the Christmas markets in Germany, my plan for next Europe trip is a river cruise that stops at the markets. This way I get a taste for a few other places at the same time and only have to unpack once

 

[striker1064]

For the first time ever, I got two Amex spend offers via email, both on my Biz Gold Rewards:

• Spend $500 on dining by 12/31/18, get 2,000 MR
• Spend $5,000, get 20,000 MR + spend additional $5,000, get 10,000 MR by 12/15/18

Both P2 and I have been declined for a few cash back cards recently, probably due to velocity, so I went ahead and enrolled. Can definitely hit the dining plus the first $5k. I'll start doing it over we finish the SPG Biz.

 

[Haley R]

I'm sorry.
Someday, maybe will come to your area, or you will travel to them If you go to DLR, you will be close to InO's. We ate there three times while we were in CA this past summer lol. I'm not kidding. And we rarely eat fast food but my kids loved it, and well, we were on vacation so it was time to spoil them

I like McDonald’s lol.

 

[linzjane88]

Well I just did my first RMN run today so I would expect this gravy train to come to an end within the next month or so. Good things seem to come to an end when I touch them . Dont worry, I only did Walgreens and HD. We don't have a Sams Club or CVS within at least 2 hours of here. My nearest BB is an hour . I looked into the Dosh thing but again there is nothing near me. Sometime when I get jealous of the sweet deals others get I remind myself that I may be in a rural area with fewer stores but my house payment is probably half of what everyone else pays closer to the big cities with cool stores/deals. I don't know if that logic works but it gets me by. The deals I plan to work are the Wags and HD with one big GC run about an hour away to Portland where I will hit Staples for 1k on each Amex SPG, Best Buy +SB+ Chase Pay for "DH" and myself.

 

[calypso726]

On another topic. Normally our vacations have been Disney or Cruise since kids were born. (they are now 19 and 17). We have been to Cabo and Colorado but not ventured very far. I talked to DH and Kids and said I would really like to plan a trip for Summer 2020 (next summer DD graduates and is going to China for a mission trip) somewhere international. Trying to branch out a bit. I just get so overwhelmed thinking of where to go and how to get there - it is so unfamiliar. I am working on getting a bunch of AA points now. Started DH and I on those - so hoping to use those points for flights. Looked at their award charts and they go lots of international places. Is AA a decent airline to use for International Travel (have never flown them before - we fly mostly Southwest).

You guys seem to know so much and travel all over the place. I get anxiety just thinking about it. Like the language barrier and how to get around etc... I think we are leaning towards Europe. So many places. Looking at maybe 3-4 different places (probably a 10 day trip or so). France, Italy, Austria, Ireland, Germany, Greece, Venice.. How to pick??

I just ordered 3 Travel Guide books on Amazon - so hoping that will help. I heard the trains are a good way to get around - are they easy to use? Any suggestions would be great.

Will have some MR Points (have 85,000 right now). I have about 130,000 UR's and hoping to add on to that with CIP #2 for both DH and I. I have almost 400,000 Marriott Points and currently about $800 each on 2 Barclay Arrival + Cards. Waiting on Points for Barclay AA for DH and I (100,000 total). Just got Citi AA Business Card and will use for Mortgage (Plastiq) for 2 months and will get DH Citi AA and use for Mortgage (another 140,000 points) and then cancel and repeat on those. Would love to not have to fly coach if possible, but don't like to just waste points either. Does AA charge fees to fly to Europe. I know some airlines the fees are more than the ticket.

Sorry so long. Just trying to figure out where to start on this and you guys know everything... Thanks.

Before you get yourself seriously overwhelmed keep one truth in mind. Wherever it is you want to go on points and miles, it is highly likely that some blogger has already done it and written about it. Then the other truths are that you have a group of people here that are happy to share their advice and hold your hand. So, now that is out of the way let's see what it looks like with some of your itineraries. I don't keep a spreadsheet so I don't know where you are flying out of.

To Paris, checked random dates for CDG and ORY
No saver awards in business. Anytime was 110 - 135 pp each way depending on the date - taxes and fees for RT in business was $131.61
Saver in economy was 30k each way, return only open with a connection and $90 in taxes and fees.

To Rome same thing but taxes and fees were $71.21 for business
Nothing direct in economy saver. Economy anytime was 65K pp each way

I did find one saver award to Germany on business for 57.5K AA miles.

AA does offer off peak mileage pricing to Europe but not in the summer and only in economy. November 1-December 14 or January 10-March 14 for only 22,500 American miles each way in economy.

So the taxes and fees aren't too bad on AA unless you are connecting in or flying to London. Those flights had taxes and fees of $305.81 pp. Still better than BA.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Did you check Hilton and see how many points for your nights? Don’t forget 5th night free. If getting a set of Hilton biz cards plus maybe a personal or two would get you enough points for your stay I would definitely go for it. The biz cards won’t count against you anyway. I would start by checking how many points you need and make a plan from there. If you don’t know how to check I can look at it for you. Just p.m. me the hotels in dates.

Tagging @Haley R...

Not being a negative nellie but I seem to recall the Room Type you desired was a Premium Reward with Hilton so 5th night free would not work for you. Just setting honest expectations

 

[LynnTH]

It IS hard to decide where to go...there are so many countries in Europe and so little time! I first got bitten by the Europe travel bug when DD starting attending a summer school in St. Andrews, Scotland. We started off going to London, Paris and Scotland. Then one year Scotland and Ireland, another year just Scotland and the final year I can't remember

I think the important thing is to decide where you want to go and what you want to do. Rick Steves has some great videos on his website and it's fun to watch those and think "yes, yes, no, yes" for places. Solicit one suggestion from a family member and pull out of a hat. Or throw a dart at a map.

This board is full of people who love to travel so I'm sure once you decide you'll get a plethora of suggestions!



AA has low fees to Europe but one of its main travel partners -British Air has crazy fees, so I agree, watch out for that!

Remember Citi has 24 month language-24 months from when you receive the bonus OR if you cancel, 24 months from cancellation. So it's not the easiest to churn-I made the mistake of canceling after a year so essentially gave myself an extra year to sit out a new bonus



Aww...bless your heart Seriously it's just another burger chain but it started in Texas and has onion rings (not that I can tolerate them much anymore, drat getting older!) and breakfast taquitos! Anyplace where picante is a condiment makes me happy---you can take the girl out of Texas and all that!



Thanks, I'd been wondering why my skymiles hadn't jumped.



What would we do without @Lain and @SouthFayetteFan ?


Today I got to explain how Amex Offers worked to my trainer (another bless your heart moment). He thought the Starbucks Amex offers that said up to $5 meant he couldn't spend more than $5. I cleared that up for him so next time he can use it more wisely. I feel like that was my good deed for the day [/QUOTE

Sorry. Couldn’t figure out how to reply to part of this. I thought Citi AA business cards could be churned every 90 days. ( with 9 digit mailers that can be gotten on Reddit)

 

[afan]

I'm sorry.
Someday, maybe will come to your area, or you will travel to them If you go to DLR, you will be close to InO's. We ate there three times while we were in CA this past summer lol. I'm not kidding. And we rarely eat fast food but my kids loved it, and well, we were on vacation so it was time to spoil them

2 nights in SF and I had In and Out for dinner both nights...

I like McDonald’s lol.

Oh you need to expand your fast food there's so many better places out there. Steak n Shake, Shake Shack, Five Guys etc. I miss SnS as much as I miss InO.

 

[LynnTH]

RMN. Went to 5 stores yesterday and today. Did gift cards for my account and DH account. So 10 total. 7 of the 10 are pending. DH is missing Walgreens and Staples and I am missing Staples. Hope they show up but these are still gift cards I would have bought for Christmas anyway. So not out anything.