I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

I’ve got $50 off $250 at Lowe’s on my Marriott AMEX Biz card. I know AMEX hates GC purchases when meeting a SUB. Am I ok to buy a $250 GC at Lowe’s to trigger this offer? Should I throw on a candy bar or something so it’s not exactly $250?

I hit my FNC w/ my Surpass doing mostly GCs w/ some actually monthly spending too (my car insurance). So far, I've earned them. But that said, I have been in popup hell, LOL. I haven't checked in awhile.

 

[platamama]

Thank you @Pixiedustspreader and @platamama! I was guessing probably 30 days or so from approval, so this definitely changes things.
It's weird that the public offer ends 12/7, but the links say 12/1. Makes me wonder if maybe the links will actually go until the 7th, since Chase links often go longer than the public offer.
I'd really like to help my brother get the CP, but I also don't want to miss the 100,000 offer for myself. I'm going to take your advice @platamama and tell him to apply on 11/14. I'll apply on the 1st of December using his link (assuming he can generate one). Hopefully the timing will work that the points post in January to his account. I suppose worst case scenario, he gets the points, they just don't count towards CP.

My worry with the 12/1 date is that because it's written there in black and white, if Chase doesn't give the support points then your brother has got nothing to back him up if he doesn't get them. I don't recall ever seeing a date on support links in the past, so this may be Chase's way to shut down that loophole.

Hope it works out for him (and you)! And if you're so inclined, copy and paste a DISchurner's link url to send him, to help out a fellow DISchurner.

 

[Killer Fish]

Hoping some pixie dust comes my way. I'm trying to plan a January trip. I have our last 2 nights at Shades of Green booked. I have 3 nights in a Kidani 1-bedroom. I've been hesitating on borrowing points from next year until my boy gets his leave request approved, it's still not done, but he thinks it's a 95% chance of going through. I have nothing booked for our first night or 2 nights in the middle. A few days ago I noticed a 2 bedroom at Saratoga was available, but again, waiting on the boy. Now nothing is available.

My grand plan- first three nights at Universal, on or offsite. Then move that Kidani over 2 nights to any DVC that sleeps 5. Then our last 2 nights at Shades. I just can't seem to get the first part of this trip to work out. I'm ready to borrow my points and book, but now nothing is avail. I don't want to move flights and car rental around since those are locked in, but I may have to move this entire trip at this point.

Has anyone stayed in a Cabana Bay family suite? I don't think we'd need front of the line passes and the suites would fit all 5 of us. I just need to make sure I can fit an air mattress in there somewhere.

I stayed in the Cabana Bay family suite.....it is pretty tight. There is really not much room in the suite portion but maybe if you move some of the chairs.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I booked the Swan Reserve on the Chase Travel portal today. It still showed Powered by Expedia. Some people with CSRs are reporting seeing Powered by Expedia, while some people with CSP are seeing the other travel engine. I searched for Walt Disney world resort, then put "Swan" in the "Search by property name" box.

This could disappear any minute.

I booked a stay in early January for dd and I. I am so excited to get to Disney for the 50th! She also wants to go to Universal, but I can't find a room under $1,000.00/night, so we may take an Uber from the Swan Reserve to Universal for the day (even though she wants 2 days there).

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

OMG, whoever said Amex chat was horrible was right! It just took me 45 min to get a retention offer on my Surpass. I was keeping it anyways. I got offered 15k Hilton points for $1k spend in 3 mos. I have $250 I need to spend to get my FNC, I activated another offer ($8k for another FNC). So I figure it's likely I'll get the $1k spend anyways. I was going to keep the card, so it was "worth it" to get the "free" points. But OMG that was annoying AF!

 

[Mulliganman30]

Click the destination on the map and an info box pops up at the bottom of the map. Click that info box and a new page opens for booking.

Happy to see a suite that sleeps 5 at only 45K night.

So, I tried again and I found the reserve again on the Chase Travel Redemptions map and used the same dates I saw availability through Expedia. But, the attachment shows all I see when I click on it (no option to reserve). From Expedia, I can click from the map and be taken to a page to book. But, no bueno so far through the Chase Travel portal.

I don't know if it'd matter, but what browser or device are you using? I'd try the same dates you're seeing the option to book from on the chase portal, but understand if you don't want to post them.

 

[amcc]

I just put all my 5.6$ fees on my CSR so that if I end up with a cancellation I can take advantage of the CSR cancellation/delay benefit.

Ugh, just researched a bunch to get the best flights I could afford with my AA miles for the 6 of us to Utah next summer...and didn't put the $5,60 in fees on the CSR. Don't know why I though CitiAAdvantage was the way to go. I've got so much to learn. Let me see if the redemptions are the same so I can cancel and rebook since we have one stop each way and would like to have some trip delay coverage.

 

[becauseimnew]

Has anyone transferred Marriott point via Twitter? I need 7K points to pay for our Maui reservation and DH has them in his marriott account.

 

[hsmamato2]

Do you see it with a CSP or CSR?

csr

 

[SleepyatDVC]

So I booked a RCCL cruise this past June for Spring 2022. I booked 3 cabins at approximately $1500 per cabin double occupancy.

I used my Costco Citicard to pay the deposit of $500 per cabin, leaving a balance of about $1000 per cabin.

I got the AMEX offer of $500 back on $1500 spend on 2 of our cards and $200 back on $500, expiring 12/31/2021. Obviously, the return of the $500 spend (40%) is better than the $1500 spend (33.33%). My total balance for all 3 cabins is just a little over $3K. So, I need to decide which 2 of the 3 offers to use. I guess $1000 total back is better than $700 total back even though the $500 spend has a higher return.

Can I break up the charges, $1000 on one cabin and $500 on another in order to fulfil the $1500 spend?

We also just got the CSP/CSR recently. How does the travel insurance work? Do you have to pay for the entire cruise on the card for the insurance to be valid?

I will be purchasing travel insurance with medical evacuation type insurance before the final payment if we don't get coverage through the cards.

 

[wanderlust7]

So I booked a RCCL cruise this past June for Spring 2022. I booked 3 cabins at approximately $1500 per cabin double occupancy.

I used my Costco Citicard to pay the deposit of $500 per cabin, leaving a balance of about $1000 per cabin.

I got the AMEX offer of $500 back on $1500 spend on 2 of our cards and $200 back on $500, expiring 12/31/2021. Obviously, the return of the $500 spend (40%) is better than the $1500 spend (33.33%). My total balance for all 3 cabins is just a little over $3K. So, I need to decide which 2 of the 3 offers to use. I guess $1000 total back is better than $700 total back even though the $500 spend has a higher return.

Can I break up the charges, $1000 on one cabin and $500 on another in order to fulfil the $1500 spend?

We also just got the CSP/CSR recently. How does the travel insurance work? Do you have to pay for the entire cruise on the card for the insurance to be valid?

I will be purchasing travel insurance with medical evacuation type insurance before the final payment if we don't get coverage through the cards.

The Amex offer terms is one or more transactions, so you can break it up. Definitely total saved is better!

For CSP/CSR travel insurance, you only need to pay partial. CSR has medical evacuation. Here's the guide to benefits:
https://www.chasebenefits.com/sapphirereserve2
For the $500 offer that you'll have left, you can check the Cruise Critic thread for other ideas.

ETA: edited link, this one looks more current.

 

[AndreaDM]

So I booked a RCCL cruise this past June for Spring 2022. I booked 3 cabins at approximately $1500 per cabin double occupancy.

I used my Costco Citicard to pay the deposit of $500 per cabin, leaving a balance of about $1000 per cabin.

I got the AMEX offer of $500 back on $1500 spend on 2 of our cards and $200 back on $500, expiring 12/31/2021. Obviously, the return of the $500 spend (40%) is better than the $1500 spend (33.33%). My total balance for all 3 cabins is just a little over $3K. So, I need to decide which 2 of the 3 offers to use. I guess $1000 total back is better than $700 total back even though the $500 spend has a higher return.

Can I break up the charges, $1000 on one cabin and $500 on another in order to fulfil the $1500 spend?

We also just got the CSP/CSR recently. How does the travel insurance work? Do you have to pay for the entire cruise on the card for the insurance to be valid?

I will be purchasing travel insurance with medical evacuation type insurance before the final payment if we don't get coverage through the cards.

CC posters mentioned adding and prepaying the tips if they were close to being able to use an offer, maybe look into that?

 

[Happy_2_B]

So I booked a RCCL cruise this past June for Spring 2022. I booked 3 cabins at approximately $1500 per cabin double occupancy.

I used my Costco Citicard to pay the deposit of $500 per cabin, leaving a balance of about $1000 per cabin.

I got the AMEX offer of $500 back on $1500 spend on 2 of our cards and $200 back on $500, expiring 12/31/2021. Obviously, the return of the $500 spend (40%) is better than the $1500 spend (33.33%). My total balance for all 3 cabins is just a little over $3K. So, I need to decide which 2 of the 3 offers to use. I guess $1000 total back is better than $700 total back even though the $500 spend has a higher return.

Can I break up the charges, $1000 on one cabin and $500 on another in order to fulfil the $1500 spend?

We also just got the CSP/CSR recently. How does the travel insurance work? Do you have to pay for the entire cruise on the card for the insurance to be valid?

I will be purchasing travel insurance with medical evacuation type insurance before the final payment if we don't get coverage through the cards.

Break it up. We cruise a lot (6 in the next 13 months) and only do high end suites- and have always used multiple cards to pay them off. We always get the cruise line's insurance as well. Have been on a couple of cruises when the helicopter has come in to evacuate people- and I'm not going to rely on the insurance on a credit card covering it if (God forbid) we need it some day. I'm not saying it won't cover it- but we won't be rolling those dice with the exorbitant cost of an evacuation. The cruise we leave for next week is with Viking, and their insurance also covers all expenses related to COVID-19. Yet another reason that, even though a chunk of the cruise cost was put on a CSR, we won't be relying on- or having to fight for- expenses getting covered by that insurer.

 

[amcc]

Is anyone here familiar with AA bookings? I can cancel and have my miles redeposited but there is a fee to change the itinerary. In my head, this translates to similar to SW - cancel and rebook (instead of change) if a better redemption or schedule pops up. I canceled MIA-LAX and booked MIA - SLC by doing just that. Am I correct that I can cancel and book a different flight with no penalty as I want or if I cancel and book another flight on the same day, same cities will it be considered a change?

 

[iujen94]

Is anyone here familiar with AA bookings? I can cancel and have my miles redeposited but there is a fee to change the itinerary. In my head, this translates to similar to SW - cancel and rebook (instead of change) if a better redemption or schedule pops up. I canceled MIA-LAX and booked MIA - SLC by doing just that. Am I correct that I can cancel and book a different flight with no penalty as I want or if I cancel and book another flight on the same day, same cities will it be considered a change?

I don’t know the specific answer, but I will say that I cancelled an AA flight booked with miles in June. The miles weren’t automatically redeposited - I had to call (or use the app chat) and ask that they be redeposited, which seemed ridiculous. When I complained about it, I think other people had had different experiences, but just a heads up, just in case!

 

[Happy_2_B]

Is anyone here familiar with AA bookings? I can cancel and have my miles redeposited but there is a fee to change the itinerary. In my head, this translates to similar to SW - cancel and rebook (instead of change) if a better redemption or schedule pops up. I canceled MIA-LAX and booked MIA - SLC by doing just that. Am I correct that I can cancel and book a different flight with no penalty as I want or if I cancel and book another flight on the same day, same cities will it be considered a change?

I think they give you 24 hours to cancel- I would think it applies to changes. A lot of airline have waived change fees- not sure if AA is one of them or not. We have been flying United since their flight cancellation percentages are very low compared to other US carriers. I would personally just call as the process is much smoother with a live agent IMHO.

 

[mmmears]

The cruise we leave for next week is with Viking, and their insurance also covers all expenses related to COVID-19. Yet another reason that, even though a chunk of the cruise cost was put on a CSR, we won't be relying on- or having to fight for- expenses getting covered by that insurer.

Bon voyage! I'd love to hear about your cruise when you return. I have been hesitant when thinking about cruises and all the hurdles we would have to jump over to take one, so I'd really like to hear how Viking is doing things.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

So I booked a RCCL cruise this past June for Spring 2022. I booked 3 cabins at approximately $1500 per cabin double occupancy.

I used my Costco Citicard to pay the deposit of $500 per cabin, leaving a balance of about $1000 per cabin.

I got the AMEX offer of $500 back on $1500 spend on 2 of our cards and $200 back on $500, expiring 12/31/2021. Obviously, the return of the $500 spend (40%) is better than the $1500 spend (33.33%). My total balance for all 3 cabins is just a little over $3K. So, I need to decide which 2 of the 3 offers to use. I guess $1000 total back is better than $700 total back even though the $500 spend has a higher return.

Can I break up the charges, $1000 on one cabin and $500 on another in order to fulfil the $1500 spend?

We also just got the CSP/CSR recently. How does the travel insurance work? Do you have to pay for the entire cruise on the card for the insurance to be valid?

I will be purchasing travel insurance with medical evacuation type insurance before the final payment if we don't get coverage through the cards.

Darn, our cards don't have this offer! We're doing an RCCL cruise, but all we have is Norwegian and Celebrity offers.

 

[amcc]

Thank you both. I'm a new DP. I canceled my outbound flight and realized that the points redeposit wasn't instant, as you mention, although it said it would be done automatically (and a note on another page that it could take 2 weeks to reflect, lol). I got impatient, tried an incognito window and could see my miles. I went through the booking and was able to book the new flight at a better time for 8k miles less and use the CSR. I don't see a better redemption for my return flight but I'm not sure I would risk it for the busier route of Vegas - Miami (vs. Miami - Salt Lake City).

So, this is twice I've canceled and rebooked after the 24 hr window has passed. They have both had a change in airport so not sure if AA sees it differently than just doing it to reduce miles used.

I don’t know the specific answer, but I will say that I cancelled an AA flight booked with miles in June. The miles weren’t automatically redeposited - I had to call (or use the app chat) and ask that they be redeposited, which seemed ridiculous. When I complained about it, I think other people had had different experiences, but just a heads up, just in case!

I think they give you 24 hours to cancel- I would think it applies to changes. A lot of airline have waived change fees- not sure if AA is one of them or not. We have been flying United since their flight cancellation percentages are very low compared to other US carriers. I would personally just call as the process is much smoother with a live agent IMHO.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

The Amex offer terms is one or more transactions, so you can break it up. Definitely total saved is better!

For CSP/CSR travel insurance, you only need to pay partial. CSR has medical evacuation. Here's the guide to benefits:
https://www.chasebenefits.com/sapphirereserve2
For the $500 offer that you'll have left, you can check the Cruise Critic thread for other ideas.

ETA: edited link, this one looks more current.

CC posters mentioned adding and prepaying the tips if they were close to being able to use an offer, maybe look into that?

Break it up. We cruise a lot (6 in the next 13 months) and only do high end suites- and have always used multiple cards to pay them off. We always get the cruise line's insurance as well. Have been on a couple of cruises when the helicopter has come in to evacuate people- and I'm not going to rely on the insurance on a credit card covering it if (God forbid) we need it some day. I'm not saying it won't cover it- but we won't be rolling those dice with the exorbitant cost of an evacuation. The cruise we leave for next week is with Viking, and their insurance also covers all expenses related to COVID-19. Yet another reason that, even though a chunk of the cruise cost was put on a CSR, we won't be relying on- or having to fight for- expenses getting covered by that insurer.

Thanks everyone! Will look to try and add gratuities and use all the offers.

I will most likely purchase additional insurance as well. Appreciate all the knowledge here.