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

[FreeDiningFanatic]

30 days after biz min.,right? Just verifying b/c I think I'll need one of each,trying to decide which order is best

We started with the Performance biz bc it has the higher MSR $5k for 80,000 points. That way it will be harder to accidentally meet MSR in 2021. Then we'll app for the Premier biz with the 3k MSR for 60k points.

Originally I was planning for the second app in mid Dec but I see the support links say expiring Dec 1. Anyone know if the Premier biz bonus is more than usual right now? I'd rather not push the spacing.

 

[Mulliganman30]

825

I may be better off spending a little more and booking 2 rooms then. I have to accept we're just at that point in life. It's hard enough getting 4 of us in a room happily lately.

You aren't on Expedia, that's what my CIP looks like and it says Travel Partner: AFAR at the bottom on the main travel search page. I'm attaching my Expedia screens from CSR. You can see on the main travel search page it says Powered by Expedia.

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im confused. Why would I be on the Expedia site? It was said some could still book with UR points through the Chase Travel portal for Swan, Dolphin,and Swan Reserve. And yes the screenshot I attached was from the Chase Travel portal. I don’t have a CSR or CSP card.

 

[snugglebug]

825


im confused. Why would I be on the Expedia site? It was said some could still book with UR points through the Chase Travel portal for Swan, Dolphin,and Swan Reserve. And yes the screenshot I attached was from the Chase Travel portal. I don’t have a CSR or CSP card.

Chase Travel Portal has been powered by Expedia for awhile now. When a new resort opens (Riviera and now Swan Reserve) they have been bookable for a limited time before being blocked. I believe all the talk about booking SR is based on using Expedia powered Chase Travel Portal. Chase is switching from Expedia to something else, if you are lucky enough to still have Expedia powering your Chase portal then you may be able to book it. It looks like it is not available on the new platform.

 

[miztressuz]

825


im confused. Why would I be on the Expedia site? It was said some could still book with points through the Chase Travel portal for Swan, Dolphin,and Swan Reserve. And yes the screenshot I attached was from the Chase Travel portal. I don’t have a CSR or CSP card.

@snugglebug was showing you her Chase Travel Portal. The Chase Travel portal website has been "powered by Expedia" for the past several years. Just recently Chase decided to switch the website back to Connexions (aka cxLoyalty) which they purchased. However, the rollout to the new Connexions website isn't across the board yet. Some Chase cards are still being run by the Expedia site and other cards have been switched to the Connexions site. The cards that can access the Expedia powered website can book the SR. If you are unable to see/book SR through your travel portal website, then you have been switched to the new site and are out of luck.

If you don't have a CSP, CSR, or CIP to get a higher redemption value for your UR, then there's not much point to booking through the portal anyway. It's the same cash price as booking directly, as far as I can see. If you were going to use UR then just take the same 1 cpp as a statement credit or bank deposit. If you were trying to earn the extra UR from booking through the portal that some cards give, then consider if the extra is worth the potential hassle of having an OTA control your reservation (for whichever hotel you decide on)

 

[IFlossU]

don’t have a CSR or CSP card.

I just did a quick search for comparison. My DH only has a Freedom Flex, no Sapphire cards. When I searched for hotels on his account no results for Swan/Swan Reserve. I then did the same exact process logged into my CSR account. Completely different search platform, and Swan popped right up for the same dates.

 

[Haley R]

I’m a little late to the swan reserve discussion but I just checked with my CSR and it shows up. We’ve been saving our points for Japan but I’m half tempted to book a few nights at the reserve to try it out.

 

[KPK02090]

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.

Welp, I called my brother to talk about the best time to apply and he said he had applied today. ugh, I had previously told him this was probably a good time to apply, but didn’t say to do it yet, I was still asking questions. Oh well, probably won’t work out to get him the support points towards CP. I think he’ll still get the CP, just would’ve been easier this way.
I sure hope he was listening when I said don’t spend the $2k til the Dec statement closes!

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I’m a little late to the swan reserve discussion but I just checked with my CSR and it shows up. We’ve been saving our points for Japan but I’m half tempted to book a few nights at the reserve to try it out.

AP rates (code QWH) are really good too through Bonvoy. I was just comparing vs what I paid through the Chase portal (CSR/powered by Expedia). For the dates I'm looking at, AP rates are $258 vs $332 through Chase. But with the higher redemption rate with the CSR, I think that evens it out quite a bit. But the AP rates are GREAT if looking to pay cash.

 

[wanderlust7]

I've doing this, but nothing. Added all the travel offers, actually, and now the travel filter button is gone since none of the new offers came in under that category. Sigh... Is there a limit on how many offer I can add?

I've added ALL the offers until I got no new ones and still couldn't get the NCL or Carnival one to show up. Sometimes the adding works and sometimes it doesn't.

The RCCL ones have been out some time. Some offers have a maximum number that can be saved. So it's another possibility that it's out vs not being targeted.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I've added ALL the offers until I got no new ones and still couldn't get the NCL or Carnival one to show up. Sometimes the adding works and sometimes it doesn't.

The RCCL ones have been out some time. Some offers have a maximum number that can be saved. So it's another possibility that it's out vs not being targeted.

Darn. It's looking rather hopeless, then. I'll add them all on one card and see what happens. But ooh well

 

[EACarlson]

Some of these companies could be a lot more efficient. Placed a Kohl's order to take advantage of their early black friday deals. I ordered six items and they are coming in four packages, three have been shipped less than 12 hours after placing the order with delivery times ranging from Tomorrow to next friday. $15 back in Kohl's cash for a $75 order, I'll take it.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Hi all, I came across this thread about a year ago I think and became intrigued by traveling with points. My wife and I already had Delta AMEX cards, and had taken a couple free flights as a result of msr bonus points along with our daughter. Since joining here, I added a Choice Hotel rewards card last summer that I met my msr while visiting Disneyland for a week, then got a Chase Sapphire to pay kids private school tuition and just hit the msr.

This week, we decided to take a Christmas points trip to Disney World! It won't be all paid with points, but we got 3 flights for 60k total, 20k per person, traveling Sunday Dec 19 - Saturday Dec 25. We weren't super excited about a Christmas day flight home but it's not til 6pm, so figured what the heck, if it saves us 30k points but not going back Sunday, let's do it! We booked Clarion hotel just south of Animal Kingdom. For 6 nights, 72k points. We still have 30k+ points, so might get another 3 nights out of it, thinking Disneyland again next summer. And the Chase Sapphire I have 100k points, which should pay for a little more than half of the park tickets. So our expenses will be less than half the park tickets, rental car and food! We didn't plan until after 60day window passed and Candlelight Packages were released, but was fortunately able to find a random lunch on the 23rd at Biergarten with the package for a 7pm show time, which will be fun. I kinda would have preferred Christmas Eve, but still excited. Also got Hollywood and Vine for Friday night and Tiffins Christmas day. We'll get 6-7 hours in the park on Christmas before our flight, so that should be fun.

I was trying to talk DW into the Christmas party on the 21st, but that unfortunately sold out before we decided, so it was decided for us. We get in too late on the 19th to be able to go that night, so now we're going to 4 parks in 4 days. I don't think we'll want to hit MK after traveling all day Sunday and I don't want to go on party day as I don't think they have the Enchantment show those nights and I'm kinda hoping they continue the tradition of bringing the Christmas party entertainment to the daytime after the last party.

anyway, just wanted to share a churning success story! I think next we'll look at a Marriott card so we can stay at the swan or dolphin next time.

 

[Alexle2007]

Anyone have tour recommendations for St. Croix, St. Lucia, Barbados or St. Kitts. I am getting excited to be cruising again!

 

[calypso726]

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.

@Happy_2_B Love cruises and I would love to hear your feedback on Viking. We’ve done 20 cruises with DCL and are now just deciding to branch out and cheat on the mouse. We do have the Panama Canal in 4 months and the Wish Maiden Voyage booked in June as the last of our planned Disney cruises. Next month we are going to try out the adults only Virgin Scarlet Lady and late next year will be our first cruise with Celebrity as we have the all suites Flora booked for a Galapagos cruise. I’ve been on one Carnival and one RCCL cruise before and wasn’t especially impressed. I thought the service and food was way better on DCL. Since you sound like an experienced cruiser, your thoughts on other lines would be appreciated

The other thing you can try with AmEx is apply filters at the top. I read on one of the blogs (I think- can't remember where I read it actually) that sometimes additional offers will pop in there. Hasn't shown me anything additional that I can recall even though I have made the effort quite a few times- but I distinctly remember seeing that it worked for whomever wrote the article.

I recall one of the bloggers sharing a script that lets you add all available offers to one card. Much easier than adding 5-10 offers you don’t want, to get under 100, then logging out and back in on every card. The downside is if you are looking for it on a specific card.

 

[Happy_2_B]

Anyone have tour recommendations for St. Croix, St. Lucia, Barbados or St. Kitts. I am getting excited to be cruising again!

We did NCL out of Puerto Rico a few years ago. You have to get yourself to Puerto Rico, but once there it is very shore excursion heavy with almost no sea days as compared to taking a ship from the mainland. We have also stayed on Barbados for a week on a separate trip- hired local drivers to take us places, ate from food trucks (some food trucks are the trunk of a car- but the food is amazing), did some shopping, and soaked up the sun on the beach. Moving forward our plan is to just pick an island and stay there for a week or two rather than cruising them. Once you do a couple of Caribbean cruises all the islands start to meld together- and we think by staying on one we will be able to experience the culture a lot more. The Barbados trip was so good I would go back tomorrow

 

[hookala]

I am going to purchase an annual pass and I'm trying to figure out what card to use. Does this show up on my statement as travel category?

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

My CFF missing charges finally showed up! Hoping it recognizes my Best Buy purchase since my Best Buy chase offer has since expired.

I'm currently sitting at my car dealership and need to get a bunch of routine maintenance done on my X3. I knew my tires were nearing the end of their life and they told me they would recommend replacing them before the winter. $$$$ flying out the window. Wish I had another SUB to put this on!

 

[iujen94]

I am going to purchase an annual pass and I'm trying to figure out what card to use. Does this show up on my statement as travel category?

Have you considered paying for it with Disney gift cards? Even just buying them at Target with a RedCard will get you 5% off, and there’s lots of other ways to get even better discounts. (Check out the disney gift card to thread!)

 

[Mulliganman30]

@snugglebug was showing you her Chase Travel Portal. The Chase Travel portal website has been "powered by Expedia" for the past several years. Just recently Chase decided to switch the website back to Connexions (aka cxLoyalty) which they purchased. However, the rollout to the new Connexions website isn't across the board yet. Some Chase cards are still being run by the Expedia site and other cards have been switched to the Connexions site. The cards that can access the Expedia powered website can book the SR. If you are unable to see/book SR through your travel portal website, then you have been switched to the new site and are out of luck.

If you don't have a CSP, CSR, or CIP to get a higher redemption value for your UR, then there's not much point to booking through the portal anyway. It's the same cash price as booking directly, as far as I can see. If you were going to use UR then just take the same 1 cpp as a statement credit or bank deposit. If you were trying to earn the extra UR from booking through the portal that some cards give, then consider if the extra is worth the potential hassle of having an OTA control your reservation (for whichever hotel you decide on)

Thank you! I do have a Chase Ink Business Preferred Card. Wasn't there another change sometime back when the Swan, Dolphin, and even ticket options were removed as an option from UR point redemptions on the Chase Portal? Just kinda wondering how long it took for that change to happen for everyone to see if applying for CSR might make some sense right now....

Do you or someone else care to share what "OTA control of your reservation" means?

 

[elgerber]

I am going to purchase an annual pass and I'm trying to figure out what card to use. Does this show up on my statement as travel category?

in my experience, only tickets bought through places like UCT code as travel. Not directly from Disney.