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

[amalone1013]

I just got my serve card today!

I don't see mine in informed delivery Your post is what made me think to check!

 

[1st*toright]

Thanks! Did it actually give you the option for premium economy when you went to book, or were you just booking regular economy?

Just booked regular economy.

Idk I didn’t think it was targeted but maybe it is. Mine says 4% was 2%

Oh weird, is anyone else seeing 4%?

Me! 2% online but when I scroll down it says 4% in store.

I am at 2% as well. Just looked and it does say 4% in store, was 2%. I made 2 trips to staples this week, got the email saying I used an offer. The first cashback showed up today - about 4 days later. $0.23. I am not sure VGCs are tracking. I did buy the $200 VGC and a charging cable. I think I only got the 2% on the charging cable. Would love to hear other DPs on this.

Apparently @Haley R and I fail reading comprehension today. Yeah, I can see the 4% in store too. Don't worry, @speedyfishy, you are still special.

 

[Alexle2007]

.

 

[speedyfishy]

Yeah mine only says 2% so it must be targeted. Oh well.

I just got my serve card in the mail and I’m gonna try going to Walmart today. Once the money is on my serve how do I get it into my bank account?

You can withdraw it online to your bank account. You have to confirm with trial deposits but once you do that you should be good to go.

Maybe pick up the Rick Steves guide to Italy to see what you want to do. 5 days is enough for you to at least see Florence (2 hour train from Rome) and a day trip to Venice. What do you like to do?

Northern Italy has Lake Como and the Dolomite Mountain Region, then you have central Italy which has Tuscany and Florence, finally Southern Italy, which has Rome, Naples , the Amalfi Coast, Sicily and Sardinia.

We have 8 nights there so not a ton of time but enough. Our rough itinerary is:
Fly into Milan
Rome for 4 nights
Venice for 2 nights
Milan to fly home.



In Rome, we plan to do the Colosseum underground tour, a food tour (make pasta like an Italian) and a free walking tour to see the sights including the Forum, Palatine Hill and Spanish Steps. One day we will do the Amalfi Coast tour which covers Pompeii.

In Venice we will do a food tour and maybe a tour to see the other islands.

I think that's enough for our trip. We are skipping Florence, the Vatican and the City of Milan on this trip.

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll have to talk it over with SO. I really want to do a cooking class. I can’t cook but my SO loves cooking. He tried to make his own pasta one time and I thought it was awful maybe the class will help lol. I also saw I could rent a Vespa or I saw this guided tour in an old fiat. That sounds fun lol. I’ll probably still do the major stuff like the Vatican and Coloseeum too. I would like to see a soccer game too but idk if they are playing when we will be there

 

[speedyfishy]

I am at 2% as well. Just looked and it does say 4% in store, was 2%. I made 2 trips to staples this week, got the email saying I used an offer. The first cashback showed up today - about 4 days later. $0.23. I am not sure VGCs are tracking. I did buy the $200 VGC and a charging cable. I think I only got the 2% on the charging cable. Would love to hear other DPs on this.

Uhhh this is concerning. I thought it was just taking a bit to post

 

[miztressuz]

Idk I’m just starting to research now. We are in Rome for five nights but maybe we will do a day trip to Venice? I kinda wanted to do the rest of Italy another time. Maybe even doing an ABD like the Italy and Switzerland one? I don’t even know what I want to do in Italy. I’m not into museums lol

Personal opinion, for a 5 night trip I wouldn't day trip to Venice. If you were flying out from there then sure, but that's too much distance to travel on a round-trip for me. I'd stick with somewhere like Florence or Naples for a day trip on this go.

And there's plenty to look at outside of museums, although a lot does revolve around architecture and history. But there's wine tasting and whatnot in Tuscany, food everywhere, and other interesting sites like Herculean/Pompeii. (Although I guess that could count as both architecture and history) We did 3 nights pre cruise and had trouble fitting in half of what we wanted to see - well without killing ourselves or spending a fortune. Since you expect to be back at some point, I'd take time to just enjoy the city as you go about your activities.

 

[DisneyMandC]

You can withdraw it online to your bank account. You have to confirm with trial deposits but once you do that you should be good to go.

Fun fact- Serve never took back the 13 cents they gave me... lol

 

[speedyfishy]

Personal opinion, for a 5 night trip I wouldn't day trip to Venice. If you were flying out from there then sure, but that's too much distance to travel on a round-trip for me. I'd stick with somewhere like Florence or Naples for a day trip on this go.

And there's plenty to look at outside of museums, although a lot does revolve around architecture and history. But there's wine tasting and whatnot in Tuscany, food everywhere, and other interesting sites like Herculean/Pompeii. (Although I guess that could count as both architecture and history) We did 3 nights pre cruise and had trouble fitting in half of what we wanted to see - well without killing ourselves or spending a fortune. Since you expect to be back at some point, I'd take time to just enjoy the city as you go about your activities.

Thanks for the suggestions! Im sure we will do some traditional site seeing in Rome, but Im like a child and a get bored after a bit lol. I was a government major in college lol the stuff is interesting just not really what I think of when it comes to vacationing lol. I definitely what to see everything put maybe a lot of it would just be some quick stops for pictures and then off to go eat pizza and gelato lol Do you know any places where I could sit and eat outside with a view of some of the stuff? that would be fun lol

 

[speedyfishy]

Fun fact- Serve never took back the 13 cents they gave me... lol

They didn't for me either. Crappy churning keep transferring your serve balance to as many different bank accounts as possible?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Yeah we always pay cash. That’s even with the passholder rate. My plan right now is to book a hotel with dh’s travel credit and watch to see what cruises (if any) have a FL rate. I may end up doing just the cruise and get rid of the wdw trip. We can always just go for the day instead

Did you see what reservations were for sale at dvc rental store?
ETA: And what do you mean you pay cash? why!?!?

 

[havaneselover]

Oh weird, is anyone else seeing 4%?

I am.

 

[Haley R]

Did you see what reservations were for sale at dvc rental store?
ETA: And what do you mean you pay cash? why!?!?

Yeah I did. There aren’t any for our dates. Sometimes we travel last minute and don’t have any gift cards so we just pay OOP, not with actual cash

 

[tink1970]

Thank you! I will probably take whatever time offers the best plane. I was looking and these planes seemed to be Polaris: 777-300, 777-200, 787-10. The 787-10 looked smaller, but I think this map was Polaris. If I can get on one of the 777s for the same/better price that would probably work best.

I flew on the 787-10 in seat 1 L. Probably my most comfortable flight in biz to date. It was an excellent product! You know it's a good flight when 10 1/2 hours later you don't want to deplane

Finally, on the way back to Milan, we have two nights in Venice.

Oh, I am completely jealous! Venice is on my top 3 to return list.

 

[disfanforlife]

Has anyone done the Animation Experience at the Conservation Station in AK? It’s available as a FP.

No, but I did it when they had it in DHS and loved it. I definitely want to try it when we go on our next trip.

 

[tink1970]

On the cc side of the house, I cancelled Cit Biz #2 today since DH received a mailer yesterday. It's been 120 days since my last application but I suspect I should wait a bit after canceling #2. Is the general consensus to wait a month or is it less?

I also upgraded my CSP to the CSR in anticipation of being under 5/24 and over 48 months post CSR bonus in Oct 2020 (which truly seems crazy). It will be interesting to see how quickly the new AF posts.

ETA-and it's already on my Chase portal with that lovely $300 travel credit begging to be used

 

[Lain]

Staples is at 4% on ebates in store cash back

Do you know why I can only see a 2% cashback for staples?

Idk I didn’t think it was targeted but maybe it is. Mine says 4% was 2%

@speedyfishy is special. Mine still says 2% too.

Oh weird, is anyone else seeing 4%?

Yeah mine only says 2% so it must be targeted. Oh well.

I just got my serve card in the mail and I’m gonna try going to Walmart today. Once the money is on my serve how do I get it into my bank account?

Me! 2% online but when I scroll down it says 4% in store.

I am at 2% as well. Just looked and it does say 4% in store, was 2%. I made 2 trips to staples this week, got the email saying I used an offer. The first cashback showed up today - about 4 days later. $0.23. I am not sure VGCs are tracking. I did buy the $200 VGC and a charging cable. I think I only got the 2% on the charging cable. Would love to hear other DPs on this.

Uhhh this is concerning. I thought it was just taking a bit to post

This may be a “moo” point anyway if Ebates is not crediting VGC purchases at Staples, but I feel that I should reiterate a warning that was posted a few months back.

Caution: No Ebates in-store cash back for GC purchases - FM

It seems like Ebates is threatening to shut down and has shut down accounts/clawed back cash back for buying GCs using a linked credit card for in-store cash back. The comments seem to point to OD/OM, which doesn’t offer in-store cash back currently (or any more?); but I would be very wary at Staples too.

Ebates earns me the most rebate rewards from all the shopping portals that I use, so I do not want to risk getting my account shut down.

 

[Chancery8]

CitiBiz Recon question.

My wife applied for CitiBiz AA #3 on 7/14. Her first account had been closed many months ago, but second account was still active. She received immediate denial for too many open business accounts. We kept her second account open for free checked bags, and we have now completed our AA flights.

Is it too late to cancel card #2 and request recon on card#3? Is the phone call pretty easy? My wife does not like calling, but I think I can get her to call if she only needs to ask for her application to be resubmitted.

Thanks!

Nope, not too late to get approved, but whether the bonus will be attached is unknown (even with a mailer) and you only have a few more days left to recon (30 days after denial). DH and I were both in the same position - denied for having biz #1 open. I cancelled both cards through chat. Then called recon between 3-7 days later, but I've heard people have called as soon as the card is closed. Citi recon is fairly painless. They don't ask about your business. But, like anything with citi, whether recon is a success is a toss up depending on which rep you get.

DH's first call to recon didn't go well. The rep told him citi wouldn't approve a 2nd card within 6 months of closing the same type of card. She said pushing the app through will still end in a manual denial. She told DH he would need to reopen his first card before he would get approved for the 2nd. This didn't make sense, so he just told her he would think about it and hung up.

A few days later, I called recon for my card. I just had to tell the rep my app ID number and that I got a denial letter and wanted to see if they could somehow push it through. She put me on hold while she connected me to another recon rep. This rep confirmed I was looking for a reconsideration, then put me on hold for 5 min or so. He came back and said he could approve me, but then told me to hold on while he checked something. Came back and said he could see that I opened a card within the last 48 months and that I wouldn't be eligible for the SUB. He said as long as I was okay with that, he could go ahead and approve. Since I applied with a mailer without the 48 month language, I said okay, hoping the SUB will still be attached and the rep didn't remove it.

Since I was able to recon so easily, I pestered my DH into trying again - on day 30 after denial, so it was the last possible shot. The second call went like mine, except he was on hold with the second rep for about 20 min (all the while glaring at me, because he hates making calls, lol). After DH was approved, the rep told DH he was just checking to make sure DH was eligible for the SUB, because he could see that DH opened a card within the last 48 months. After checking, he says "It looks like you didn't get the SUB on the first card, so you should be fine to get it for this card".....DH did get the SUB on the first card though....oh, Citi.

Anyway, we both got approved for biz #2 (mailers for both) after recon. Question is though if the SUBs are attached. Sounds like my DH's is fine. I don't think the rep removed it. But I don't know if my rep removed mine.

TLDR; Citi recon is easy. Cancel open card via chat, then ask recon to push the app through.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Maybe this is old news, but I just saw that Chase pulled its credit cards from Canada and is now forgiving all the debt owed on those cards.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/chase-bank-amazon-visa-marriott-credit-card-debt-1.5239411

Holy crap!

 

[speedyfishy]

Yeah I did. There aren’t any for our dates. Sometimes we travel last minute and don’t have any gift cards so we just pay OOP, not with actual cash

.

 

[speedyfishy]

This may be a “moo” point anyway if Ebates is not crediting VGC purchases at Staples, but I feel that I should reiterate a warning that was posted a few months back.

Caution: No Ebates in-store cash back for GC purchases - FM

It seems like Ebates is threatening to shut down and has shut down accounts/clawed back cash back for buying GCs using a linked credit card for in-store cash back. The comments seem to point to OD/OM, which doesn’t offer in-store cash back currently (or any more?); but I would be very wary at Staples too.

Ebates earns me the most rebate rewards from all the shopping portals that I use, so I do not want to risk getting my account shut down.

Oops lol I did get cashback on instore GC purchases last month.