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

[Judique]

10% off Universal Orlando CityWalk restaurants and shops. (Offer excludes merchandise or food carts, tattoos, alcohol, tobacco, candy, film, collectibles or sundry items. Discount on food, non-alcoholic drinks and merchandise at all CityWalk restaurants and shops with the exception of Emeril’s, Bubba Gump, Fossil and Fresh Produce.) Valid up to six people per AAA membership card. Show your membership card to get the discount.

Just a reminder that Bubba Gump is a Landry's restaurant and you can get gift cards for these usually at 20% or so off at Costco and Sam's.

 

[castoral]

I'm in need of some help on my next move. I'm pretty sure the answer is CHILL, but would like an opinion, even if it is that!

Player 1:
1/18 CSP ---> converted to Freedom 2/19
2/18 SPG (Bonvoy) kept
6/18 Chase IBP
8/18 CO
10/18 Chase IBU
1/19 Barclay
3/19 Chase BizInkCash
3/19 Marriott Bonvoy Biz

So 4/24

Player 2:
1/18 Toro
2/18 Chase IHG
4/18 SPG (Bonvoy)
4/18 CSP
6/18 CO
10/18 Barclay
1/19 AMEX Hilton
3/19 Marriott Bonvoy Biz

So 7/24

Travel plans:
2019 - June - AirBnB Cumberland Lake (paid with CO/Barclay)
Aug - Hilton Head (paid for with CO/Barclay points) - will drvie
Oct - Gatlinburg (2 free SPG nights) and will drive
Nov - Bellagio (got for $50/night) x 3 nights - NEED FLIGHTS
2020 - Jan - Indianapolis (IHG free night Staybridge Suites) and will drive
Mar - Looking for some type of beach vacation + FLIGHTS (Cancun, Jamaica, etc) - either Chase points, Hilton, or Barclay
Jun - St Louis 3/4 nights will drive - next IHG free night + 2 SPG free nights?
Aug - Residence Inn Amelia Island (25K pts/night 5th night free) OR SpringHill Suites Navarre/Panama City/Pensacola (35k pts/night), etc and will drive
late Oct/Nov - 15 year anniversary trip - Turks and Caicos Hyatt, Costa Rica, Aruba, St Kitt, Puetro Rico, Cayman

Other info:
We are in northern Cincinnati OH so able to fly from CVG (Cincinnati), CMH (Columbus), or even Detroit, Louisville, or Indianapolis aren't far. OH, and we're a family of 6.....which throws an extra wrench in the plans sometimes....typically we'll bring a cot for smaller rooms though

Current Points:
Chase (on Ink Business Preferred) 138K
Barclay 82k + 30k
IHG 20k + free night by 2/2020
Marriott/SPG 220kish (waiting for bonuses to hit) + 2 free reward nights by 5/2020
Hyatt 16k
Hilton 165kish (waiting for bonus to hit)

My thoughts are to chill, but possibly 1 Biz card for Player 2? With another bank? Citi? or maybe Amex Plantinum so we can go to Centrion Lounge in Vegas? Then chill till 5/2020 to get back to 3/24. For me, Player 1.....chill till Dec and apply for Southwest Biz/Personal for companion pass for Mar 2020 Spring Break trip?

 

[linzjane88]

RUDE!

In addition to not magically adding hotels back into the portal during my churning hiatus, WDW tickets are not even on the Chase UR portal anymore!

 

[cajunmommy]

UR is probably the most flexible point system, at least in regards to easy redemption value. You can cash them out into your bank account, take a statement credit (straight statement credit, don't need to "erase" any specific purchase or category, just off the top credit), use them to book travel on Chase's travel portal or transfer them to travel partners. All UR points on any UR card are worth at least 1 cent cash (there are lower redemption options but there's no point to them if you can get cash at a better value) with no minimum redemption so 50,000 UR points gives you $500 cash in the bank or off your statement. (or 1 pt will get you .01 back)

All UR cards can also use them on the Chase travel portal, but depending on the card you get a different value there - the Freedom (CF) and Freedom Unlimited (CFU) are redeemed at 1 cpp so there's no compelling reason to use them through the travel portal, for those you may as well just cash them out; the Sapphire Preferred (CSP) card and the Ink Preferred (CIP) redeem at a 1.25 cpp value, so 50,000 UR points would be worth $625 of travel from the portal; the Sapphire Reserved (CSR) gives a 1.5 cpp value so 50k UR = $750 cash value of travel.

Only certain UR cards transfer UR points to travel partners and that's the premium cards: CSP, CSR, and CIP. They all transfer 1:1 so 50k UR could be 50k SW RR points, or Hyatt, or several others. Depending on the redemption you can get greater than the 1.5 cpp by transferring your points into a partners point currency.

There are other points programs that give the same options but Chase seems to be the easiest to redeem with at least 1 cpp valuations.

ETA: Almost forgot the other selling feature is they also do points pooling both between cards and between household members. So any UR points earned on a CF card can be transferred to a premium card like the CSR to get a better redemption value. Also if your spouse gets a UR card they can transfer their points one of your cards that may have a better redemption value. This makes it a popular program to get into with how easy it is to earn and redeem the points.

Wow! What great info, especially in regards to the pooling! Quick and thorough.
I'm afraid I'll miss somebody because traffic on here is fast & furious, so I'll post a sincere for all the suggestions & answers so far.

I initially ventured out beyond DIS Visa & DISC because I realized we could capture so much more than 1% rewards on money we were spending anyway. I don't think I'm up to the challenge of heavy churning, so something that earns >1% back coupled with a generous SUB should fit the bill.

It sounds like I need to shoot for one (or more) of the CIP/CSP/CSR. I see a spreadsheet in my future....

 

[castoral]

@disneymagicgirl Which beach/es would you recommend when we visit Charleston? Also, any other must-dos? My kids are 6 and almost 4 and we'll be there one month from now. I already took note of your restaurant recommendations.

Wanted to throw out some more recommendations since we went last summer. Our kids were 9,7,6, and 4 at that time. We actually took our camper and stayed at James Island County Park, which actually had these really cool cabins too if you ever need a different place to stay.

For beaches, Isle of Palsm was our top pick. It does cost money to park (I believe $10/day) but it really was worth it. Get there early as the lots were PACKED by the time we left, even on weekdays. They had showers for hosing off sand, rest rooms, and even changing rooms. We also have to unfortunate knowledge that they sell sunscreen (and other necessities) for $10, lol. We also visited Folly Beach but it was a little more spread out and at that time no showers for hosing off.

If you are towards James Island, I can highly recommend Garage 57. Its kind of a hole in the wall in a strip mall but we seriously spent all night there. The food was to die for, but good kids meals, some games for kids to play, and we went on a Monday I believe which was 1/2 price burgers and BINGO. We had a blast! (And its next to a Walmart)

Take your kids crabbing. Just go to Walmart, buy some of the cheap nets and some chicken necks and zip ties and voila. Watch for the tides and go at high tide as it goes down. We had a ton luck at James Island Co Park but also crabbed at Pitts Street Bridge. Shem Creek Park also has a spot.

We took the Palmetto Carriage Rides tour. Kids really had a great time and it was educational. We visited the market before.

HIGHLY recommend the Morris Island Boat Tour as well. My kids came back with SOOOO many shark teeth, sandollars, starfish and my husband even found a brick from Fort Sumtner (which we did not visit this trip.....it was too expensive and honestly my kids were really bored last time we went....they were younger though).

This was our day trip to Kiawah: Day trip to Kiawah Stop 1: Angel Oak Tree (20 min) Stop 2: Tomato Shed for lunch, Stop 3: winery/Firefly distillery – home of Firefly sweet tea vodka, kids can feed bunnies) (18 min) Step 4: Tea plantation (free tea bar, factory tour was short and free, trolley tour into the growing fields was $10 for adults $5 for all 4 kids (18 min) Stop 5: Cherry Point in Rockville for fresh seafood off the boats – turn left at the pink panther, be aware, go slow, end up on a dirt road, make sure to request heads off shrimp (2789 Cherry Point Road Wadmalaw Island (843-559-0858) Stop 6: *head to Kaiwah beach (Beach walker County Park) right before low tide @ 2:28pm, turn right and walk a mile until you get to the river inlet ($8 to park)

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Wow! What great info, especially in regards to the pooling! Quick and thorough.
I'm afraid I'll miss somebody because traffic on here is fast & furious, so I'll post a sincere for all the suggestions & answers so far.

I initially ventured out beyond DIS Visa & DISC because I realized we could capture so much more than 1% rewards on money we were spending anyway. I don't think I'm up to the challenge of heavy churning, so something that earns >1% back coupled with a generous SUB should fit the bill.

It sounds like I need to shoot for one (or more) of the CIP/CSP/CSR. I see a spreadsheet in my future....

Definitely keep a spreadsheet...since you want to make sure to keep track of application dates, bonus dates etc

 

[WVMomof3]

Wow! What great info, especially in regards to the pooling! Quick and thorough.
I'm afraid I'll miss somebody because traffic on here is fast & furious, so I'll post a sincere for all the suggestions & answers so far.

I initially ventured out beyond DIS Visa & DISC because I realized we could capture so much more than 1% rewards on money we were spending anyway. I don't think I'm up to the challenge of heavy churning, so something that earns >1% back coupled with a generous SUB should fit the bill.

It sounds like I need to shoot for one (or more) of the CIP/CSP/CSR. I see a spreadsheet in my future....

Definitely start the spreadsheet now. I too said I was going to take things slow, and I probably am one of the more slow "churners" on here. I haven't opened a new card myself since December! So I am way over due. lol I also said I didn't want business cards for a long time. But in the last 2 years between DH and I we have opened 15 cards including 3 Biz cards each. It is so easy to get confused and forget when things happened. Your best bet is to start with a CIP for one and then refer the spouse for the CIP. Depending on when you next travel, the CSP is now a better SUB and can be referred by spouse for more points so would be better than CSR, but if you think you might use the perks of the lounge or the Global Entry credit, than that could push the CSR first. There really is no one size fits all and is dependent on your needs and what you feel comfortable doing. But I promise, the more you stick around here, the more cards you will want! FOMO is real here. Good luck!

 

[speedyfishy]

My thoughts are to chill, but possibly 1 Biz card for Player 2? With another bank? Citi? or maybe Amex Plantinum so we can go to Centrion Lounge in Vegas? Then chill till 5/2020 to get back to 3/24. For me, Player 1.....chill till Dec and apply for Southwest Biz/Personal for companion pass for Mar 2020 Spring Break trip?

imo no need to chill yet. I think your options for P2 to get a biz card is a good idea. and you could also get an amex or Citi biz card and still get the southwest cards in December.

 

[wanderlust7]

I'm in need of some help on my next move. I'm pretty sure the answer is CHILL, but would like an opinion, even if it is that!

Player 1:
1/18 CSP ---> converted to Freedom 2/19
2/18 SPG (Bonvoy) kept
6/18 Chase IBP
8/18 CO
10/18 Chase IBU
1/19 Barclay
3/19 Chase BizInkCash
3/19 Marriott Bonvoy Biz

So 4/24

Player 2:
1/18 Toro
2/18 Chase IHG
4/18 SPG (Bonvoy)
4/18 CSP
6/18 CO
10/18 Barclay
1/19 AMEX Hilton
3/19 Marriott Bonvoy Biz

So 7/24

Travel plans:
2019 - June - AirBnB Cumberland Lake (paid with CO/Barclay)
Aug - Hilton Head (paid for with CO/Barclay points) - will drvie
Oct - Gatlinburg (2 free SPG nights) and will drive
Nov - Bellagio (got for $50/night) x 3 nights - NEED FLIGHTS
2020 - Jan - Indianapolis (IHG free night Staybridge Suites) and will drive
Mar - Looking for some type of beach vacation + FLIGHTS (Cancun, Jamaica, etc) - either Chase points, Hilton, or Barclay
Jun - St Louis 3/4 nights will drive - next IHG free night + 2 SPG free nights?
Aug - Residence Inn Amelia Island (25K pts/night 5th night free) OR SpringHill Suites Navarre/Panama City/Pensacola (35k pts/night), etc and will drive
late Oct/Nov - 15 year anniversary trip - Turks and Caicos Hyatt, Costa Rica, Aruba, St Kitt, Puetro Rico, Cayman

Other info:
We are in northern Cincinnati OH so able to fly from CVG (Cincinnati), CMH (Columbus), or even Detroit, Louisville, or Indianapolis aren't far. OH, and we're a family of 6.....which throws an extra wrench in the plans sometimes....typically we'll bring a cot for smaller rooms though

Current Points:
Chase (on Ink Business Preferred) 138K
Barclay 82k + 30k
IHG 20k + free night by 2/2020
Marriott/SPG 220kish (waiting for bonuses to hit) + 2 free reward nights by 5/2020
Hyatt 16k
Hilton 165kish (waiting for bonus to hit)

My thoughts are to chill, but possibly 1 Biz card for Player 2? With another bank? Citi? or maybe Amex Plantinum so we can go to Centrion Lounge in Vegas? Then chill till 5/2020 to get back to 3/24. For me, Player 1.....chill till Dec and apply for Southwest Biz/Personal for companion pass for Mar 2020 Spring Break trip?

Chill? Why? P1 can probably get another Chase Ink Preferred 3 months from the Ink Cash. You can self-refer to the CIP (I think that's what Chase IBP stands for)? You could also do an AmEx Hilton Biz. Or if you have a lot of spend, the AmEx Biz Plat (call-in for 100k MRs with $10k spend) - that would get you Centurion access without adding to your 5/24.

 

[schmass]

Wanted to throw out some more recommendations since we went last summer. Our kids were 9,7,6, and 4 at that time. We actually took our camper and stayed at James Island County Park, which actually had these really cool cabins too if you ever need a different place to stay.

For beaches, Isle of Palsm was our top pick. It does cost money to park (I believe $10/day) but it really was worth it. Get there early as the lots were PACKED by the time we left, even on weekdays. They had showers for hosing off sand, rest rooms, and even changing rooms. We also have to unfortunate knowledge that they sell sunscreen (and other necessities) for $10, lol. We also visited Folly Beach but it was a little more spread out and at that time no showers for hosing off.

If you are towards James Island, I can highly recommend Garage 57. Its kind of a hole in the wall in a strip mall but we seriously spent all night there. The food was to die for, but good kids meals, some games for kids to play, and we went on a Monday I believe which was 1/2 price burgers and BINGO. We had a blast! (And its next to a Walmart)

Take your kids crabbing. Just go to Walmart, buy some of the cheap nets and some chicken necks and zip ties and voila. Watch for the tides and go at high tide as it goes down. We had a ton luck at James Island Co Park but also crabbed at Pitts Street Bridge. Shem Creek Park also has a spot.

We took the Palmetto Carriage Rides tour. Kids really had a great time and it was educational. We visited the market before.

HIGHLY recommend the Morris Island Boat Tour as well. My kids came back with SOOOO many shark teeth, sandollars, starfish and my husband even found a brick from Fort Sumtner (which we did not visit this trip.....it was too expensive and honestly my kids were really bored last time we went....they were younger though).

This was our day trip to Kiawah: Day trip to Kiawah Stop 1: Angel Oak Tree (20 min) Stop 2: Tomato Shed for lunch, Stop 3: winery/Firefly distillery – home of Firefly sweet tea vodka, kids can feed bunnies) (18 min) Step 4: Tea plantation (free tea bar, factory tour was short and free, trolley tour into the growing fields was $10 for adults $5 for all 4 kids (18 min) Stop 5: Cherry Point in Rockville for fresh seafood off the boats – turn left at the pink panther, be aware, go slow, end up on a dirt road, make sure to request heads off shrimp (2789 Cherry Point Road Wadmalaw Island (843-559-0858) Stop 6: *head to Kaiwah beach (Beach walker County Park) right before low tide @ 2:28pm, turn right and walk a mile until you get to the river inlet ($8 to park)

This is AMAZING - thank you so much for taking the time to share all of this information! When you say get to Isle of Palms early, how early do you recommend?

I've been looking at both the Palmetto Carriage Ride tour and the Morris Island boat tour, so I'm glad to see you recommend both!

 

[wanderlust7]

Just chatted with AmEx about why I got no 4x on my last Biz Gold statement. Was told it's a known issue, they're working on a fix.

Anyone else notice the same thing? This is the newer version that has 4x on the top 2 categories.

 

[afan]

SO MUCH vinyard vines stuff at target left. 3 wagons, beach chairs, tons of clothes etc. Only thing I would have liked that wasn't here was the wristlet or small bags. The makeup bag bundle is too much. There will def be stuff on clearance unless they ship it elsewhere which I doubt since they didn't with lilly. I'll check another target tomorrow or wednesday.

 

[vanjust14]

I can't decide if I want the Spaceship Earth MB or the Castle one...

I want the castle, the food, or the minnie bows...so many decisions!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

SO MUCH vinyard vines stuff at target left. 3 wagons, beach chairs, tons of clothes etc. Only thing I would have liked that wasn't here was the wristlet or small bags. The makeup bag bundle is too much. There will def be stuff on clearance unless they ship it elsewhere which I doubt since they didn't with lilly. I'll check another target tomorrow or wednesday.

My daughter went to ours Sunday afternoon...she said all that was left was pet stuff and some napkins

 

[afan]

My daughter went to ours Sunday afternoon...she said all that was left was pet stuff and some napkins

If they did one with patagonia or Columbia there wouldn't be anything left. There just aren't preppy people here and I imagine fewer that have heard of vv than lilly. There's way more vv stuff left than lilly.

 

[castoral]

This is AMAZING - thank you so much for taking the time to share all of this information! When you say get to Isle of Palms early, how early do you recommend?

I've been looking at both the Palmetto Carriage Ride tour and the Morris Island boat tour, so I'm glad to see you recommend both!

I'm glad you saw this! I was a little worried with it being so many pages back. Just had to share as we loved it there! We're actually doing Hilton Head this summer. Rented a condo near Coligny Plaza. I haven't been since the early 90s.

Oh, and by "early" I just meant maybe 10am. Maybe a tad earlier if its Sat/Sun morning. I just meant don't go at 1pm on Sat, id guess the lot would be 100% full.

 

[PolyRob]

If they did one with patagonia or Columbia there wouldn't be anything left. There just aren't preppy people here and I imagine fewer that have heard of vv than lilly. There's way more vv stuff left than lilly.

How did Hunter do?

There was a Vineyard Vines shirt I was semi-interested in if it was in stock. I could have stayed up until 4am, but I didn't want to. By the time I checked and went to my store it was out of stock. NBD. I looked on eBay out of curiosity and some of the items are soooo expensive that you could get real Vineyard Vines stuff.

 

[Haley R]

We have also had it for years..I have all 4 of us covered.....it’s not used often...but comes in handy when needed....usually for dead batteries..which my son seems to get in FL every couple of years

I was so lucky to have AAA this winter when I went into the ditch. They had to bring two trucks to get my car out

 

[linzjane88]

If they did one with patagonia or Columbia there wouldn't be anything left. There just aren't preppy people here and I imagine fewer that have heard of vv than lilly. There's way more vv stuff left than lilly.

I had NO idea what LP or VV was before the Target thing!

 

[LynnTH]

We have also had it for years..I have all 4 of us covered.....it’s not used often...but comes in handy when needed....usually for dead batteries..which my son seems to get in FL every couple of years

We have those portable jump boxes in each of our 4 vehicles They are so nice and you don't need someone else to help charge your battery. DD17 has used hers a few times at school for herself and a few classmates. Use mine at work a few times when we were like -50 below here. Also helped some guy out at Target who needed a jump. They come in very handy and it takes 30 seconds before you are up and running again. And you don't have to wait for AAA or someone else so show up. Best invention ever... We do also have AAA for the 4 of us. Just gives me piece of mind especially with the kids.