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

[Lain]

He's gonna need a bigger wallet.

Thank God for eBags Amex Offers and 20% cashback portals.

 

[wendow]

how did you get the denial?

Came by snail mail today.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I'm coming out of lurkdom (not a real word) to thank y'all for this thread. I've been reading the past month, month and a half and have learned some valuable things. I also appreciate all the off topic talk. I do not post often (occasionally on the swagbucks thread), but do read the DIS regularly. I will have to get a reddit account to keep up with news. I had to catch up with this thread after Mardi Gras last week! I don't need any real advice, but wanted to stop lurking. So as a way to introduce myself here are our stats-

Me:
Express 2000 (first credit card, must have been senior year or first semester of college)
Capital One 2001
Old Navy 2003
Disney(no fee) 2007
Citi(TYpref) 2009
CIP approved and expedited this morning! (referred from DH)

DH:
BofAm 2012
CIP 1/19

DH is a realtor (so actual business) and we own a few rentals (that's what I used as my business). I am a SAHM. Fortunately for his CIP (unfortunately for us) we just had to spend thousands on repairing floors at one of our rentals. With that and putting regular spend (health ins, cable/internet, utilities, cell phones, etc) we are just about finished with the spend. That's why I went ahead and got myself one. We do not travel by plane regularly. We've actually never flown together in almost 17 years of marriage. I have never even booked a flight (have gone with groups to various places, but others did the bookings in the past). We may do a trip to Cali this summer, so we'll probably use the UR for flights. Had I known our plans sooner, we may have gone for SW cards, but we may go for them in future. We will not need hotels, as I have family with a house north of San Diego, as well as a car for us to use We go to beach often, but my mom has a house on Pensacola Beach, so no need for hotels, and only 5 hour drive, so no need for flights. We have a small airport in town, but can fly out of New Orleans or Houston. Hoping to go to Europe next summer (France) to celebrate DD graduating high school. So maybe need to start a plan for that (know I'm a little late with that, but got to start somewhere). I could go to Disney every year, but family wants some different experiences. My in laws also have timeshares, so we have stayed for free in condos near Disney. I really just wanted to introduce myself, get out of lurking, and thank everyone for all the wonderful advice, experiences, and off topic conversations on this thread. Sorry for the long post, just wanted to give some background, as I slowly begin this churning thing!

Edited- When I typed it out dates were in line, DIS did not keep them all pretty (it's bothering my slightly OCD self, and I'm sure others)

Hi and Welcome.....Ive never been to Europe so of no help there...sorry...but there are plenty of others here who can help you

 

[elgerber]

Came by snail mail today.

Ah, same thing I got yesterday LOL.

 

[wendow]

I think I overlooked this...but I don't see it on the landing page. There is an AA credit on this card?

There is a credit depending on the offer you signed up under. Do you remember what offer you got? Was it a dummy booking offer?

 

[wendow]

Ah, same thing I got yesterday LOL.

I thought you got the same thing!

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

So I've been daydreaming (aka researching while doing post-trip tasks, such as laundry) about how to spend our American Airlines $1K (each) vouchers

I've been looking for nonstop flights out of PHL during this October. We have NEVER been to Europe! Our best choices based on interests look to be

• London (LHR) roundtrip, either on AA metal or on BA. Pro for BA: would be in their PE class, World Traveler Plus. Con for AA metal: no PE on these 2 flights, so it would be Main Cabin Extra. We'd rent an apartment for 7-9 nights, depending on flights.
• Flying into Venice and out of Rome on AA in Main Cabin Extra. We would either stay in hotels or apartments and take the train from Venice to Rome. I'd love to add Florence but dh cannot take more than 5-6 days away from the office for this bonus trip.
• Flying into Barcelona and out of Madrid on AA in Premium Economy. We would take a 7 day Rick Steves tour but arrive a day or two early.

So my questions are

• How awful is a transatlantic redeye in main cabin/economy on AA? Flights lengths are 7hr (LHR) and 8hr (Venice). The PE Barcelona flight would be 8hr.
• How awful is a daytime transatlantic flight in main cabin/economy on AA? Flights range from 8hr (LHR) and 10hr (Rome). The PE Madrid flight would be 8hr 30 min.
• If this was your first time to Europe, which trip would you choose---London-based, 2 cities in Italy, or Spain---and why? Our interests include art, history, food (dh is allergic to dairy though), drink (lol), public gardens, and natural beauty. We like walking in cities.

editing to add: We flew 14 hours in economy from JFK to Beijing. That was fine once but we never want to repeat that flight experience again

 

[GlamMistress]

Been working all day. I see WDW raised ticket prices (again).

Now a one day pass around Christmas is $159? Boy howdy. How much will a day at the World cost when they start charging for FastPasses? We're getting dangerously close to $200 a head here.

 

[Natgridenergy]

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/sout...ee-including-cost-difference-between-flights/

Any idea how you can check ahead of time if your flight is on a max8?

 

[tink1970]

the recently added Dell benefit

I LOLed at the guy when I was doing my recon. I said "I knew those Dell boys in Austin when they were just starting out. That isn't a perk to me." He recovered pretty quickly, but I could tell he was taken aback (they were friends of my boyfriend and we did a bit of imbibing).

ETA-pretty sure my Texas accent (which comes and goes) was pretty thick so maybe he just didn't know what I was saying

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I got a Chase offer for 10% back at Dunkin Donuts! Of course I just started Weight Watchers yesterday so that’s not not helpful right now.

I’m hoping it works for the Baskin Robbins half of DD. Taking DS for a bday treat.

 

[miztressuz]

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/sout...ee-including-cost-difference-between-flights/

Any idea how you can check ahead of time if your flight is on a max8?

Lookup your flight on Southwest, click on the flight number and it'll tell you the aircraft type they have scheduled. It'll show as "Boeing 737 MAX8".

 

[tink1970]

So I've been daydreaming (aka researching while doing post-trip tasks, such as laundry) about how to spend our American Airlines $1K (each) vouchers

I've been looking for nonstop flights out of PHL during this October. We have NEVER been to Europe! Our best choices based on interests look to be

• London (LHR) roundtrip, either on AA metal or on BA. Pro for BA: would be in their PE class, World Traveler Plus. Con for AA metal: no PE on these 2 flights, so it would be Main Cabin Extra. We'd rent an apartment for 7-9 nights, depending on flights.
• Flying into Venice and out of Rome on AA in Main Cabin Extra. We would either stay in hotels or apartments and take the train from Venice to Rome. I'd love to add Florence but dh cannot take more than 5-6 days away from the office for this bonus trip.
• Flying into Barcelona and out of Madrid on AA in Premium Economy. We would take a 7 day Rick Steves tour but arrive a day or two early.

So my questions are

• How awful is a transatlantic redeye in main cabin/economy on AA? Flights lengths are 7hr (LHR) and 8hr (Venice). The PE Barcelona flight would be 8hr.
• How awful is a daytime transatlantic flight in main cabin/economy on AA? Flights range from 8hr (LHR) and 10hr (Rome). The PE Madrid flight would be 8hr 30 min.
• If this was your first time to Europe, which trip would you choose---London-based, 2 cities in Italy, or Spain---and why? Our interests include art, history, food (dh is allergic to dairy though), drink (lol), public gardens, and natural beauty. We like walking in cities.

Another CON- BA metal to LHR-TAXES...I'm not saying I haven't and won't pay them again but if it's a semi budget trip it's a consideration.

1) TA redeyes in main cabin are fairly bad if you can't sleep, are tall, are claustrophobic. I've done one in the past 3 years (we were rescheduled d/t storms so it wasn't my first choice) and survived but not my favorite.

2) Daytime flights are okay, but you need to be able to adjust your circadian rhythm pretty easily (I cannot).

3) First time in Europe was England, Scotland and Wales (1986). As you know, I still return to Scotland regularly. That said...probably Italy. It is amazing, the art is amazing, the food is fabulous and it feels more "foreign" than England. Venice is just...so magical and romantic and...sigh...

I vote Venice/Rome (actually Venice/Florence because The David), and fly out of Rome but that wasn't an option. So second best is Venice/Rome.

Have fun planning, I've been to all of the cities except Madrid more than once so they are all great options.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I grew up in Minneapolis where just about every block has an alley, that the city plows whenever it snows. Across the river in St. Paul most of the blocks have alleys but the city doesn't plow them, most blocks get together and pay a guy to do it each winter.

In Chicago, people just shovel out a parking spot and mark their territory with chairs
Chicago dibs

 

[trstno1]

Opened the Schwab checking account today. Does anyone know if this is a churn-able bonus?

I'm nearly certain it cannot be churned. It's a complicated story, but my first Schwab checking account was closed by mistake after having been opened several years earlier. I opened a second account 2-3 months after the first account was closed, and I was not eligible for another bonus.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

A Quick Message to all the Lurkers and Newer Folks on thread... RE: DISchurners
It is awesome that we have a lot of people regularly reading this thread in "lurker" status. If you find the comments and strategies discussed here helpful but just aren't ready to take the plunge and jump into the discussion that's absolutely fine! Our goal is to help YOU travel for free and/or reach your financial goals through credit card churning and we will selflessly share our expertise. While you are welcome to quietly take advantage of the advice dished out...if you really want to show your appreciation, consider joining DISchurners before you start applying for cards.

DISchurners is our private Reddit group that is safe from judgment and open to ALL DISboards members. The primary benefit of the group is some of the helpful guides and tips threads with info taken directly from our discussion here. Also through that group, when you apply for certain new cards, you would have the opportunity to support another DISer who you've found to be helpful. That is the BEST way to thank somebody for sharing helpful advice & content here. It costs you nothing AND you're helping somebody else reach their goals then too!

Just a friendly reminder - I'll try to share this on occasion for visibility. An added side benefit on DISchurners is the news thread which highlights the major events of the day on the thread. If you struggle to keep up with 200+ comments a day, that can be a major help!

 

[tink1970]

So what I recall about MRs... is they are best for international flights or Schwab cashout I'm going to be a noob and ask for some examples of how they could get me to Europe, not caring about first/business class necessarily. I get overwhelmed looking through the transfer partners because I'm not familiar with any of them.

Me, me, I know this!

My number one use is topping off Delta Skymiles. Delta flies almost everywhere and the transfer is almost instant. I just did this for my EDI-PNS flight and have also done it to get mom home from Munich and DH home from Paris. I would also consider flying to Prague, Croatia and Australia someday...all possible on Delta!

Flying Blue

If Delta didn't work to get DH home from Paris, I knew I could transfer to Flying Blue which covers KLM and Air France-@mmears just did this for her AirFrance flights from SFO-OSL this summer. Air France and KLM cover Europe and also Africa.

BA

I did this for our last minute trip to Scotland for Christmas-BA/Amex was running a promotion (40% bonus transfer!) and it was super easy to transfer enough to fly in pjs across the Atlantic. (The taxes were ugly, though). BA intra Europe is also helpful--I'm flying BA (although I used American miles I could have transferred from MRs, too) from Munich to Edinburgh.

Aer Lingus

Fancy a good Guiness? Then transfer to EI and fly in a cool green airplane

Jet Blue

I've never needed this but Amex has historically run promotions so if you want to fly from MCO/NY or NY to CA apparently this is a good way to do it (TPG approved).

Virgin Atlantic

Think Richard Branson is a visionary and want to be cool and hip? Skip fuddy duddy BA and fly to London in style.

You know I don't do Asia and this is only about half of their flight partners but just a few ideas...

Basically Europe/Europe in style/Africa/Australia and I'm sure other places just not on my radar. One of the best uses is when they offer a redemption bonus-I've done that twice and it's like a SALE

 

[Oscar Madison]

@Oscar Madison We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero (right by the Ferry Building) and loved it. I was deciding between that and Hyatt Centric Fisherman’s Wharf as @Lain recalls and couldn’t have been happier to have picked the Hyatt Regency instead. Although everyone’s interests may differ, we found Fisherman’s Wharf a bit too touristy for our liking despite it being our first trip. In hindsight, if we planned better, one day (we did two not knowing the lay of the land) was more than enough for what we wanted to see in that part of town. We also didn’t find getting around (and to other parts of town) nearly as easy around FW. The Embarcadero on the other hand was great. It was close to all modes of transport that @Lain mentioned and easy to get on and off between modes. More importantly, we felt it was more centrally located. If you are there on a Saturday, don’t miss the farmer’s market! The ride on MUNI literally from right downstairs outside of the hotel to the ballpark was incredibly easy. No stops, just straight there. We also found it to be an easy and quick Uber ride from the ballpark back on another day when we did a ballpark tour (highly recommend!). DH loved it.

Oh, this is really good. Yes, I'm trying to decide if the extra 5k pts per night is worth it for the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero. Thank you for the detailed responses.
I'm seeing $187 RT flights on Spirit from Chicago to Oakland, which is considerably cheaper than flying into SFO.
About how much would an Uber be to the hotel? I've never done an Uber, but am willing to.
Our team is the Brewers, so we're excited to see them play at that beautiful ballpark.

 

[Psychodisney]

I think I overlooked this...but I don't see it on the landing page. There is an AA credit on this card?

It seems like there are multiple AA offers out there. When I was looking at biz offers, I found the best offer via incognito which included a $200 credit in the first three months. I think I saw some for $150 too.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Bought my 1 day Universal park to park ticket using UR points today. I needed a regular ticket but they only have anytime tickets available so I went ahead paid the extra $15 for anytime because I wanted to use my points to cover it. It was 13,064 points with my CSR.

I was going to hold off another couple weeks just in case some awesome deal popped up somewhere but literally right after I texted my friend a high five for having bought our Disney tickets before the price hike it dawned on me Universal sometimes follows suit fairly quickly...