I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[amalone1013]

I feel like I'm finally having a moment where I can make a travel decision based on how many points I have in a program and how feasible it is for me to earn more weve narrowed down when we want to do our 4 day F&G trip. DH would rather take thurs fri off because the jobs he has going dont always work on Friday plus most of his travel to the site will be beginning of the weeks... so I was looking at Sunday night flights home, 16k RRs or $175 on Frontier an hour later and could use his Arrival points. Then I realized I have tons of URs plus can continue to earn lots to restock my RRs

Now to figure out hotel since it's pretty booked up.

Side note, at this rate with DHs work trips he'll make SW A list in April. Not the most exciting status, but since they keep booking him business class... lol

 

[AmyAnne]

Apparently, the kids are assessed every year to try and determine at what level their reading comprehension is at which when maps to grade level. Many books have been given these lexcile scores. But the scores are all over the place like Grapes of Wrath is only a 680 but Robinson Cruscoe is 1360. And we have been doing exactly that letting DS read whatever especially since it is one of his least favorite things unless it is a book he really likes and then he can read it in a day. But his English teacher is now going to start requiring to read at their “level” which nothing he enjoys reading currently is.

These "by the numbers" teachers annoy me to no end. Mostly my kids got lucky with their teachers who put up with their idiosyncrasies -- but really, what better way to turn a kid off from reading than to make him read something just because some test/number says he should.

 

[Lain]

I’ll take any tips you’ve got for Japan in 2022. I’ve been saying for like 3 years now I want to do Japan for my 40th, which is August 2022. My kids will be 5 and 10 and old enough to handle that kind of trip (although my oldest could’ve handled it at 3 lol, he’s my good little traveler). I doubt I’ll be able to get 4 seats in business but that would be awesome. Otberwise I think I’d splurge for at least premium economy

Thinking 2 weeks, probably with one of them being Easter because I can only take them out of school for 5 days.

Hoping for 4-5 days at tdr, 3 days Tokyo and 1-2 days Kyoto.

I keep hearing from my wife that Tokyo in the summer is hot, humid, and miserable, so be prepared for that if you go in August. Springtime is nice, but Easter will likely put you past peak sakura season, which can be a good thing for finding award flights and hotels. I would probably take a day or two from TDR/Tokyo and add it to Kyoto. It's one of the few places in the world where I've felt entirely at peace. There are so many day trips you can launch from Kyoto by commuter rail. Try to give yourself 3 days in Kyoto if you can. It's just an ideal place to slow down and unwind after a week in Tokyo. We're eyeing a Japan trip probably in 2021. I've got a hoard of MRs ready to transfer to ANA or VS.

 

[calypso726]

I’ll take any tips you’ve got for Japan in 2022. I’ve been saying for like 3 years now I want to do Japan for my 40th, which is August 2022. My kids will be 5 and 10 and old enough to handle that kind of trip (although my oldest could’ve handled it at 3 lol, he’s my good little traveler). I doubt I’ll be able to get 4 seats in business but that would be awesome. Otberwise I think I’d splurge for at least premium economy

Thinking 2 weeks, probably with one of them being Easter because I can only take them out of school for 5 days.

Hoping for 4-5 days at tdr, 3 days Tokyo and 1-2 days Kyoto.

One way to get there is using Virgin Atlantic miles to fly ANA. Both UR and MR transfer to Virgin Atlantic. The only issue is that you can only book RT flights. So you either need to be flexible or be willing to pay the $50 change fee when your real return flight date shows up. I booked our real departure date and a return for the same day we arrived. I also needed to book a positioning flight to where ANA flies out of. Another option is AA miles to book JAL. You can't search for JAL availability on AA though. You need to search for it on BA. Again, I have had to book a positioning flight to do this. I have no issues with that. I am married to a Plane Princess, so it's lie flats seats or we aren't going. Not that I'm complaining

The Hilton Tokyo Bay is on the Disney monorail loop. Last year we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and MiraCosta. It will be very difficult for me not to do something like that again despite the cost. This year we are staying 2 post nights after our Japan ABD at the DL hotel and then I will be going for 2 more nights at MiraCosta. I am trying to convince myself to do a budget friendly trip next time LOL Therefore, part of my strategy is racking up Hilton points since the 5fth night is free on point stays. I will also plan on using free night certs from our Hilton Apsire cards and the $250 resort credits that they come with as well. My goal is the only out of pocket costs will be park tickets, food, souvenirs and the airline taxes and fees. The Hilton Tokyo Bay is reasonably priced for a Disney monorail resort and compared to the TDL hotel and MiraCosta.

 

[AmyAnne]

Slow churners here. I upgraded my personal amex Hilton to ascend and now to aspire. DH opened capitalone venture. Probably going for CIP #2 for him next. I might go for the CIC or CIU next. Also thinking about AA cards, have to do more research. Not just for potential Disney, but DH has flown on them 2x in the past two months. We haven't flown on them in probably 15 yrs but they have the only nonstop flight from our airport to visit his brother at their closest airport. So they're now on my radar.

Did you get an upgrade offer for the AmEx Hilton? I have the no-fee AmEx Hilton and also the Aspire. I'd be interested in upgrading the no-fee but so far as I have noticed, I have never gotten an upgrade offer. Any ideas about how I could get AmEx to give me an offer to upgrade the no-fee card?

 

[AmyAnne]

Today I just applied for the Hilton no fee card which begins the first steps on my path to get a second Aspire card via upgrade offers. 100K Hilton points for $1,000 MSR is easy enough. Instant approval! This of course means I've put off getting under 5/24 for a while longer. Since I've decided I need to go back to Japan in 2022 as a budget friendly trip for the TDL/TDS expansion I will need the second Aspire card in place. I will ask DH to apply for one too. Today I also finally hopped on the grAAvy train but am sticking to business cards and just got an instant approval. I will need those AA miles to book JAL flights to Japan. So 2 instant approvals in one day.

I just asked a PP this, but how do you plan to get an upgrade offer?

ETA I see @elgerber and I have the same question.

 

[calypso726]

This works? I have had a no fee Hilton for awhile now, as does DH, and have never gotten an upgrade offer :-(.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targ...-when-upgrading-your-hilton-ascend-to-aspire/

It wouldn't hurt to call and ask if you are eligible for one. I've never had the no fee card, so I figured I'd pick it up. I had the Ascend when it was a Surpass card and am not eligible for that bonus unless it is via upgrade. I already have an Aspire, so my only way to get an additional bonus is via upgrade to a second card. Honestly, I'd pick up a second Aspire card for no bonus because it works into my long terms plans. But if there is a chance I could get an upgrade then I will start working on it now.

 

[calypso726]

I just asked a PP this, but how do you plan to get an upgrade offer?

My understanding is that you need to be targeted for the offer and that you may get an email or it may appear on your offers page.

 

[happ]

Sea World anyone? I don’t think this is a popular destination on this board but.....

My family wants to do Discovery Cove, SW, Aquatica on our next trip to FL. I can buy tickets through the CSR Chase travel site. Because you have to reserve an exact date for DC and the tickets are non refundable, I have to wait till we are certain of our travel dates. We are looking at early August but we have never been to FL that late in the summer. I know it will be hot, humid, with pm showers, LOL, but I am worried since that is hurricane season. I hate non refundable reservations. Also, ticket prices seem to rise the longer you wait. Anyone have experience and/or advice?

I think the Daily Getaways sale is coming up soon. They've had discounted Sea World tickets in past years.

 

[havaneselover]

Oh man am I mad. I rented an intermediate car to take my kids to Busch gardens tomorrow. The lady says I rented an intermediate so I’m getting a Ford Fiesta. I thought that was odd but rental car companies seem to have strange car class definitions. I got back to my parents’ and googled it and it’s a compact. The enterprise location is closed the 800 number was useless and now I’m stuck driving a fiesta on 75 (I’m a minivan driver). But I’m really mad that they lied to me and won’t do anything to fix it.

 

[Judique]

Upsides: $300 in credits on each one, though I'm not sure how I would use up the Marriott credits if it's not just money back from booking Marriott stays in cash. Bonvoy has transferability to AA (very helpful). Free night reward with Bonvoy. Could time this card to either use a free night in Japan next year or to have Diamond status when we go.

I'm not sure if you are talking Marriott or Hilton for Diamond status. Hilton Aspire is diamond but The Marriott -I just can't type it - Brill....used to be SPG Lux is just plain Gold which is pretty much useless. (IMO)

 

[afan]

I wouldn’t be lying if I said I skip through a lot of it. Majority of the show is boring to me but I do like Rory’s relationships.

You're missing so much by skipping stuff in the episodes. It's not just about Rory's relationships, the show is about relationships, with the town, with the towns people, with Luke, Loreli and Rory's relationship, their relationship with Richard and Emily etc. Even now I don't skip parts of episodes if I don't like them because it's still good/important. I will skip entire episodes but I know what happens since I've probably already seen it at least 3 times so it's not a big deal.

Apparently, the kids are assessed every year to try and determine at what level their reading comprehension is at which when maps to grade level. Many books have been given these lexcile scores. But the scores are all over the place like Grapes of Wrath is only a 680 but Robinson Cruscoe is 1360. And we have been doing exactly that letting DS read whatever especially since it is one of his least favorite things unless it is a book he really likes and then he can read it in a day. But his English teacher is now going to start requiring to read at their “level” which nothing he enjoys reading currently is.

This makes more sense, I thought you were talking number of pages and I thought that's an awful way to get a kid to read, here's a 1300 page book. I rarely read stuff over 400 pages. Does he get credit for reading or something? Why does it matter to the teacher? Personally if he's a reluctant reader anyway I'd want to find him stuff, even if it's not quite at his reading level, so he wants to read rather than it seeming like a chore. Otherwise the teacher needs to be finding books for these kids that they'll actually want to read. I've always liked to skirt the edge of rules like this and play in the grey area to make it work for me.

Once I was out of elementary, and probably early elementary, none of my teachers required reading outside of the books we read in class so it didn't matter if I was reading Sweet Valley High or something at a higher level. But I also remember back then it being a teen section in the library rather than young adult. The lines are blurred so much now with that level it's hard to figure out what they mean and what's appropriate. In the end reading should be fun and stuff like this doesn't seem to make it fun.

 

[Disneyonmymind]

We love SeaWorld and have 3 nights booked at the Renaissance for June which is an easy walk to the park. We plan to hit SW and Aquatica but I will probably purchase tickets through Daily Deals which is what I did last year. I selected the Renaissance despite the resort and parking fee so I can take advantage of my Platinum status for a nice breakfast and the free drink they offer guests. Plus we had a beautiful view of SW upgrade last time. We have also stayed at Fairfield Inn and Suites which provides shuttle service to the parks. I definitely recommend staying at one of the hotels associated with SW since they you can get a front-of-line ticket and a discount card for food in the parks. When we were there on Thanksgiving Day, I purchased the FOL access for DS and me and we gave DH our FOL tickets since we love the coasters but hate to wait.

Thanks for responding! What are the Daily Deals? I am looking at all the SW partner hotels. The Renaissance does look nice but I don’t want to pay the extra fees. I’d also like to get free breakfast lol. I have gold status on my new Hilton biz. Does anyone know if all 4 of us would get free breakfast at Hilton Garden Inn? Or does that only apply to the card holder?

 

[Alexle2007]

I think the Daily Getaways sale is coming up soon. They've had discounted Sea World tickets in past years.

@Disneyonmymind, This is what I used the last two years to purchase tickets. Two day tickets were $75. It looks like previews start on 4/29 and sales begin on 5/6.

ETA: https://dailygetaways.ustravel.org/....19 - 2019 DG - Save the Date&utm_campaign=dg

Here’s the link to sign up for the email reminders.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thanks to everybody who has responded to my little "Sunday Funday" exercise. We as a group have gotten a TON of cards so far this year!! I bet it also helped @Lain update the spreadsheet haha!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I think the Daily Getaways sale is coming up soon. They've had discounted Sea World tickets in past years.

Thanks for responding! What are the Daily Deals? I am looking at all the SW partner hotels. The Renaissance does look nice but I don’t want to pay the extra fees. I’d also like to get free breakfast lol. I have gold status on my new Hilton biz. Does anyone know if all 4 of us would get free breakfast at Hilton Garden Inn? Or does that only apply to the card holder?

@Disneyonmymind, This is what I used the last two years to purchase tickets. Two day tickets were $75. It looks like previews start on 4/29 and sales begin on 5/6.

We used the Daily Getaways last year to purchase tickets too - it worked great!

Also, we skipped the SeaWorld partner hotel plan. When we do a Sea World trip I like to stay at the Homewood Suites on I-Drive which is walkable to wonderworks, a bunch of restaurants, etc. and just drive over to Sea World Orlando has so many good hotels for non-Disney trips though that you almost can't go wrong.

 

[Alexle2007]

This makes more sense, I thought you were talking number of pages and I thought that's an awful way to get a kid to read, here's a 1300 page book. I rarely read stuff over 400 pages. Does he get credit for reading or something? Why does it matter to the teacher? Personally if he's a reluctant reader anyway I'd want to find him stuff, even if it's not quite at his reading level, so he wants to read rather than it seeming like a chore. Otherwise the teacher needs to be finding books for these kids that they'll actually want to read. I've always liked to skirt the edge of rules like this and play in the grey area to make it work for me.

Once I was out of elementary, and probably early elementary, none of my teachers required reading outside of the books we read in class so it didn't matter if I was reading Sweet Valley High or something at a higher level. But I also remember back then it being a teen section in the library rather than young adult. The lines are blurred so much now with that level it's hard to figure out what they mean and what's appropriate. In the end reading should be fun and stuff like this doesn't seem to make it fun.

He’s in a honors level ELA course and on Friday’s they have free reading and have a reading assignment due based on that reading so I guess in some ways he gets credit for it. I, personally, just wish they were reading more novels as part of the actual class. I remember reading Lord of the Flies, Shakespeare and lots of other things in my middle school classes but now all they seem to do is read short stories. We just need to get through the final quarter and see what his new school brings.

 

[wanderlust7]

We went with three new cards in this quarter! I got the Chase Hyatt card with the 60,000 points with MSR over 6 months offer. DH got a new Bonvoy Biz and a Citi AA Biz. We also got DH a CSP on 12/26 so didn't start spending on the card until this quarter. I'm planning to finish off the quarter with an app for CIP #2 for DH today after closing his CIP #1 earlier this month.

What do I plan to get next? Well, that's where I need your advice...

DH and I need 1) GE for both of us, 2) preferably not a $450+ AF, and 3) more AA miles or transferability to AA miles would be nice (but not required).

So here's what I'm thinking based on looking up some options...

1) Capital One Venture

Upsides: seems easy enough to use their points from what I've read from others. Low AF (none for the first year?). Don't know if they have transferability anywhere else, but I could use them to erase some purchases for sure.

Downsides: pulls all three credit bureaus. I'm an AU on my mom's Quicksilver card (don't know if that matters).

2) Bank of America Premium Rewards

Upsides: BoA is our main bank, I have one CC with them (Americard? My first CC) and DH has 2 (some cash back card and an old travel rewards card). I suspect it would be easy for us to get since we're longtime BoA customers.

Downsides: It's BoA. Transferability?

3) Bonvoy Brilliance or CSR

Upsides: $300 in credits on each one, though I'm not sure how I would use up the Marriott credits if it's not just money back from booking Marriott stays in cash. Bonvoy has transferability to AA (very helpful). Free night reward with Bonvoy. Could time this card to either use a free night in Japan next year or to have Diamond status when we go. CSR at 1.5x, could be useful for Japan bookings for next year?

Downsides: $450 AFs. I would need to PC my CFU to CSR since I'm not eligible for the bonus. Does PCing restart my 48 month clock for getting another Sapphire bonus? I have Marriott Biz and Bonvoy Biz, DH just got a Bonvoy Biz, but I don't think those interfere with this card.

Thoughts? Seriously, would love to hear some different pros and cons from you guys!! I'm even thinking if one of us did CSR or Brilliance, the other could do one of the lower fee cards.

We stayed at the Sheraton Tokyo Bay and was able to charge our Disney park tickets to the room. So the Marriott credits might work for that (if you didn't want to use it for room rates). This was almost 3 years ago, so I don't know if anything's changed.

When deciding cards, I like to calculate out first year value. Though it sounds like you wouldn't be getting a bonus for the CSR? Makes the comparison a little harder, lol. But CapOne would be $500 + $100 GE = $600 value. Bonvoy Brilliant using @Lain suggestion downgrading after 1 year for prorated AF but double dip on Marriott credit AND get the 50k room certificate - would be 100k SUB using 0.7 cpp ($700) + ($300 x2 credit) + $100 GE + $150 conservative estimate for room value - $450 AF - $155 prorated AF = $945. You may want to adjust the $300 depending on if you feel you get the full value from it.

ETA: the Brilliance first year value is actually higher due to the referral bonus. 20k Bonvoy points if you refer from the Bonvoy Biz. Or 15k MR if you have a Plat, 20k MR if you have Gold Biz, 10k other MR cards IIRC.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

So it’s a crazy world over there - my understanding of the progression is:

• People under 5/24 are the only ones that can go for this and if you’re under 5/24 on r/churning you’re a “dumb noob”
• But the “dumb noobs” like to prove they are dumb and noobs by repeatedly posting DPs of successful CIP#2 (seriously...we get it...even my patience can be tested)
• So then the more experienced folks start shaming people for repeatedly posting this - mostly because we all get it now, and it means nothing to 90% of the people there (as they’re over 5/24 anyways)
• Then another group of experienced folks think this shaming is “censorship” and start to spam it everywhere as a “joke” which annoys the rest of the experienced folks and the “non-dumb noobs” (not all noobs are dumb)
• At some point then the mods have to weigh in with some “state of the issue” post or stickier comment that causes even more drama
• Eventually it’s discussed so frequently that one blog will pick it up and write about it
• Then every other blog has to get in on the action too
• Once this happens cue loophole shutdown in 3...2...1...

So I'm not psychic or anything...but read my bullet point 5...then look at what just got posted:
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/b7mls6/discussion_thread_march_31_2019/ejt30z4/

HAHA! These issues always follow the same pattern

It did give me a chance to share this gem though...which never fits on our thread:

 

[Lain]