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

[amalone1013]

I'm about 99% sure I am seeing Wilderness Lodge on priceline over our trip for about $275-$290 a night including taxes.

We land at MCO around midnight on Wed, fly home early Tues morning. If I could find Thurs-Mon I would not even debate, but gosh darn it if I take Wed night off it all goes away

 

[Hoosier John]

Definitely can pay for dues with a card. I use my CSR or with gift cards that I’ve bought with discounts from other cards. No experience with loans though.

Ahhh, do you pay dues monthly? Maybe that's it. I don't see any option other than banking account for the monthly automatic payment?

 

[afan]

Ahhh, do you pay dues monthly? Maybe that's it. I don't see any option other than banking account for the monthly automatic payment?

I'm pretty sure there's someone on here that has their dues set to autodraft but pays them early with disney gc they get discounted, I just can't remember who it is. I'm pretty sure that's what they were talking about doing anyway, I don't have DVC so some of the stuff gets jumbled together for me but I am curious about it for some far off day in the future so I try and remember stuff

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I'm officially aboard the grAAvy train !

Applied for the 40,000 AA point $2,000.00 MSR spend card and got automatically approved with a $20,000 limit.

Love that you get a temp card number so you can start on the MSR immediately!

When do I start trying for the match to 60,000? Any recent DPs on people still having difficulty getting it?

 

[Hoosier John]

I'm pretty sure there's someone on here that has their dues set to autodraft but pays them early with disney gc they get discounted, I just can't remember who it is. I'm pretty sure that's what they were talking about doing anyway, I don't have DVC so some of the stuff gets jumbled together for me but I am curious about it for some far off day in the future so I try and remember stuff

Thank you! While I read the last 40 pages, maybe they will come along.

I just did the math and using a 3% Barclay Uber Visa (BUV) travel reward category I'm only missing out on $6.60 per month (and that is IF BUV considers DVC Travel)

 

[WardFam]

As promised here is a quick Spring Break Aruba trip report.
We booked this trip in February so only about 6 weeks before our trip. I booked our flights through the CSR UR Portal. I could have transferred points to Jet Blue and paid with less points, but the taxes and fees were high so I decided to just the portal. Total cost for airfare was about $2620 so we used 174,908 UR points. We each earned over 1000 miles True Blue points for our points. I love family pooling on Jet Blue! We also love flying Jet Blue. I feel like the seats are comfortable and the televisions are reliable. I love that they give you as many snacks and drinks as you want. We have always had good experiences with them.
We decided to rent a car so we could have more flexibility exploring the island. We rented from Drive 4 Cheap and it was $195 for our 6 days. They met us right outside the airport we signed a few papers and we were on our way. It was so easy and I would definitely use them again!
We stayed our first night at the Renaissance Aruba Resort. The resort is 35,000 points and I had a free night certificate from my Marriott Bonvoy card. This resort is actually 2 hotels the Marina which is adults only and the Ocean Suites. Because we have kids we stayed in the Ocean Suites and there was an extra $102.50 charge. We really enjoyed staying here. It is really close to the airport and has lots of shopping and restaurants nearby. They also have a private island with flamingos which was our main motivation staying here. (I feel conflicted about this because I know their wings are clipped, but once my kids saw pictures it was a must do.) The island is beautiful and we spent a fun day there. The pools at the hotel were good too and their happy hour has $4 drinks and $2.50 smoothies for the kids which was fantastic.
The next 5 nights we stayed at the Aruba Marriott Stellaris. It is 50,000 points per night and with the 5th night free we used 200,000 points. There wasn't any extra resort or parking fees which was nice. This resort is located in the high rise section of the island on Palm Beach. The hotel is great and even though I think we must have had the worst views in the hotel (they checked for an upgrade, but said there wasn't anything available) I loved our location. We could get from our room to the pool in 1 minute and only another 2 minute walk to the beach! It is busy and if you want a seat by the pool in the shade you need to be down fairly early. They have an online system to reserve a Palapa on the beach which worked out really well for us one day. You have to be on the resort at 4:00 to reserve for the next day so it's not super convenient, but if you are there it is easy to do. The pool was fun with waterfalls, a volleyball net and a bar in the pool. The beach was gorgeous with white sand and warm water.
We also used 19,200 UR points to go snorkeling with the Jolly Pirates one morning. This was one of the highlights of our trip. The workers were fun, there was an open bar, the snorkeling was meh, but the rope swing was awesome.
We rented a jeep to explore the other side of the island one day. We rented from More 4 Less for $160 for the day. You need a 4x4 to get to the natural pool in Arikok National Park and it was an awesome day. We visited the donkey sanctuary, went off roading down to the natural pool and visited the caves.
The rest of the time we spent at the pools and the beach. We went parasailing right from the Marriott beach and walked to dinner most nights. Because we have kids we didn't do as many nice dinners as we would like, but we enjoyed the Bugaloe Beach Bar and Moomba's Bar was fun also.
This was such a fun Spring Break and it was a fun and easy island to explore with kids. Let me know if anyone has any questions!

 

[GusGus16]

Guess I'm not getting on the train, auto denial, I can't think of a reason why, no prior cards with them. I guess I'll wait for the letter in 7-10 days. I'm hoping it is just a computer glitch, as my initial app timed out so I went and did another app right after...pretty disappointed.

 

[Psychodisney]

As promised here is a quick Spring Break Aruba trip report.
We booked this trip in February so only about 6 weeks before our trip. I booked our flights through the CSR UR Portal. I could have transferred points to Jet Blue and paid with less points, but the taxes and fees were high so I decided to just the portal. Total cost for airfare was about $2620 so we used 174,908 UR points. We each earned over 1000 miles True Blue points for our points. I love family pooling on Jet Blue! We also love flying Jet Blue. I feel like the seats are comfortable and the televisions are reliable. I love that they give you as many snacks and drinks as you want. We have always had good experiences with them.
We decided to rent a car so we could have more flexibility exploring the island. We rented from Drive 4 Cheap and it was $195 for our 6 days. They met us right outside the airport we signed a few papers and we were on our way. It was so easy and I would definitely use them again!
We stayed our first night at the Renaissance Aruba Resort. The resort is 35,000 points and I had a free night certificate from my Marriott Bonvoy card. This resort is actually 2 hotels the Marina which is adults only and the Ocean Suites. Because we have kids we stayed in the Ocean Suites and there was an extra $102.50 charge. We really enjoyed staying here. It is really close to the airport and has lots of shopping and restaurants nearby. They also have a private island with flamingos which was our main motivation staying here. (I feel conflicted about this because I know their wings are clipped, but once my kids saw pictures it was a must do.) The island is beautiful and we spent a fun day there. The pools at the hotel were good too and their happy hour has $4 drinks and $2.50 smoothies for the kids which was fantastic.
The next 5 nights we stayed at the Aruba Marriott Stellaris. It is 50,000 points per night and with the 5th night free we used 200,000 points. There wasn't any extra resort or parking fees which was nice. This resort is located in the high rise section of the island on Palm Beach. The hotel is great and even though I think we must have had the worst views in the hotel (they checked for an upgrade, but said there wasn't anything available) I loved our location. We could get from our room to the pool in 1 minute and only another 2 minute walk to the beach! It is busy and if you want a seat by the pool in the shade you need to be down fairly early. They have an online system to reserve a Palapa on the beach which worked out really well for us one day. You have to be on the resort at 4:00 to reserve for the next day so it's not super convenient, but if you are there it is easy to do. The pool was fun with waterfalls, a volleyball net and a bar in the pool. The beach was gorgeous with white sand and warm water.
We also used 19,200 UR points to go snorkeling with the Jolly Pirates one morning. This was one of the highlights of our trip. The workers were fun, there was an open bar, the snorkeling was meh, but the rope swing was awesome.
We rented a jeep to explore the other side of the island one day. We rented from More 4 Less for $160 for the day. You need a 4x4 to get to the natural pool in Arikok National Park and it was an awesome day. We visited the donkey sanctuary, went off roading down to the natural pool and visited the caves.
The rest of the time we spent at the pools and the beach. We went parasailing right from the Marriott beach and walked to dinner most nights. Because we have kids we didn't do as many nice dinners as we would like, but we enjoyed the Bugaloe Beach Bar and Moomba's Bar was fun also.
This was such a fun Spring Break and it was a fun and easy island to explore with kids. Let me know if anyone has any questions!

Perfect timing on the trip report! I’ve been researching Aruba possibilities all day! Interesting about the car rental. Do they drive on the right (also meaning correct IMO)side of the road? Would the Jeep fit 5 people? Sounds awesom!

 

[schmass]

New to this thread, and I'm only up to page 960 (don't worry, I started on 950), but had a question.

Can I pay for DVC dues and/or my current DVC direct loan with a travel card?
Only payment method seems to be banking.

Thanks!

I'm pretty sure there's someone on here that has their dues set to autodraft but pays them early with disney gc they get discounted, I just can't remember who it is. I'm pretty sure that's what they were talking about doing anyway, I don't have DVC so some of the stuff gets jumbled together for me but I am curious about it for some far off day in the future so I try and remember stuff

My dues are set to autodraft but I discovered this year that I can pay monthly with a Disney gc. I believe you go to "pay by contract" and then you can put in whatever amount you want and pay with the gc. I usually pay 2 months at a time and forget each time exactly what steps to take, but it's easy enough to figure out. If you have any questions after trying it, let me know and I'll look at my account.

 

[speedyfishy]

I'm officially aboard the grAAvy train !

Applied for the 40,000 AA point $2,000.00 MSR spend card and got automatically approved with a $20,000 limit.

Love that you get a temp card number so you can start on the MSR immediately!

When do I start trying for the match to 60,000? Any recent DPs on people still having difficulty getting it?

I got two matches recently via chat. I do it when I set up my online account.

Guess I'm not getting on the train, auto denial, I can't think of a reason why, no prior cards with them. I guess I'll wait for the letter in 7-10 days. I'm hoping it is just a computer glitch, as my initial app timed out so I went and did another app right after...pretty disappointed.

See what the letter says and call recon. Could potentially be verification.

 

[wendow]

Guess I'm not getting on the train, auto denial, I can't think of a reason why, no prior cards with them. I guess I'll wait for the letter in 7-10 days. I'm hoping it is just a computer glitch, as my initial app timed out so I went and did another app right after...pretty disappointed.

I’d guess verification for you as well. My dh was auto denied for his second personal card. Waiting on the letter as well to see why.

 

[Lain]

Don’t freak out at the title:

Chase Imposes New Restriction on Points Transfers - VftW

[ETA: Weirdly, it looks like VftW pulled the above article and it’s no longer online. From the horse’s mouth:”My article was up for less than two minutes, and it was posted accidentally. Woke up from a Sunday afternoon nap, started looking at this and typing, did not mean to ever publish it.” VftW cited OMAAT, whose article is still up and title is less clickbaity.]

Ultimate Rewards Transfers Restricted To Authorized Users - OMAAT

And DoC comes in as the voice of reason: No, New Transfer Rules Have Not Been Introduced By Chase - DoC

• You can still combine UR points from different credit card accounts in your own name.

• You can still transfer UR points between Chase card accounts belonging to different persons in your household or co-owners of your business, and there’s no requirement that the person receiving points has to be an authorized user on your account.

• Previously you could transfer points to your own airline or hotel loyalty accounts or to an airline or hotel loyalty account belonging to one member of your household (such as a spouse) or, in the case of a business card, to a co-owner of the business.

• Now in order to transfer points to a frequent flyer or frequent guest account belonging to a household member or a co-owner of the business that person needs to be an authorized user on your card account.

I have to confess that I thought this was the rule all along, and that if you wanted to transfer UR points to another’s frequent flyer or hotel loyalty program, that other person needed to be an AU on your account. So these new terms aren’t really a big deal.

But this is a good reminder that Chase has been considering negative changes to its UR program for years, including possibly ending combining UR points between any Chase cards or between no-fee cards and annual fee cards, or UR points transfers within the same household. In summer 2017, Chase surveyed customers about these and other proposed negative changes to its UR program, and rumors Chase may end UR points pooling resurfaced in spring 2018. These are things that Chase has been considering for a long time!

See: Chase Sends Out Survey Regarding Possible Changes To Transferring Chase UR Points For 1.5¢ Travel Redemptions

[Rumor] Chase To End Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Pooling

Remember, it is highly recommended to transfer your (and any other player's) UR points when they post on any UR-card at the close of every statement onto the UR-card that gets you the highest redemption on the Chase travel portal, i.e., onto the CSR for 1.5 cpp redemption value or the CSP or CIP for 1.25 cpp redemption value. Make note of the statement closing date of all your UR cards, so when points post you can send them to your highest redemption UR card.

 

[DisneyMandC]

I have this on two cards. Do Chase Offers work on gift cards?

Yes, I’ve used several to purchase GCs with no issues.

@DisneyMandC even without your warning I would have been ok. I read about it online a couple months ago, I follow them and the show on fb/twitter. I love the specials but I am bummed that it'll be all that. I liked the combination because this was how I got my car info. I don't remember if they gave the reason for it though. And they'll each be doing an individual show on Amazon, I think James comes out first but I'm not 100% on that.

I totally missed everything on this so I was really freaked out when Jeremy was crying! I agree with your feelings though. I loved this week’s funeral for a ford and have always enjoyed their comments on just regular cars. And James show does come out first. It actually looks interesting, it’s about him traveling though Japan.

Don’t freak out at the title:

Chase Imposes New Restriction on Points Transfers - VftW

• You can still combine points from different credit card accounts in your own name.

• You can still transfer points between Chase accounts belonging to different persons, and there’s no requirement that the person receiving points has to be an authorized user on your account.

• Previously you could transfer points to your own airline or hotel loyalty accounts or to an airline or hotel loyalty account belonging to one member of your household (such as a spouse) or, in the case of a business card, to a co-owner of the business.

• Now in order to transfer points to a frequent flyer or frequent guest account belonging to a household member or a co-owner of the business that person needs to be an authorized user on your card account.

I have to confess that I thought this was the rule all along, and that if you wanted to transfer UR points to another’s frequent flyer or hotel loyalty program, that other person needed to be an AU on your account. So these new terms aren’t really a big deal.

But this is a good reminder that Chase has been considering negative changes to its UR program for years, including possibly ending combining UR points between any Chase cards or between no-fee cards and annual fee cards, or UR points transfers within the same household. In summer 2017, Chase surveyed customers about these and other proposed negative changes to its UR program, and rumors Chase may end UR points pooling resurfaced in spring 2018. These are things that Chase has been considering for a long time!

See: Chase Sends Out Survey Regarding Possible Changes To Transferring Chase UR Points For 1.5¢ Travel Redemptions

[Rumor] Chase To End Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Pooling

Remember, it is highly recommended to transfer your (and any other player's) UR points when they post on any UR-card at the close of every statement onto the UR-card that gets you the highest redemption on the Chase travel portal, i.e., onto the CSR for 1.5 cpp redemption value or the CSP or CIP for 1.25 cpp redemption value. Make note of the statement closing date of all your UR cards, so when points post you can send them to your highest redemption UR card.

Ha, yeah I had no idea you could transfer to FF accounts in family member’s names. So no loss there.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Update on Chase URs pending/posting. My moms 50k for CSP bonus is now shown as pending. Not sure exactly when it happened as I haven’t checked in the past few days.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I have Lowe’s 10% on my CF card, so question is, will it stack with the 5% for this quarter?

 

[havaneselover]

I have Lowe’s 10% on my CF card, so question is, will it stack with the 5% for this quarter?

I can't imagine it wouldn't.

 

[Lain]

Weirdest thing... went to use my 2nd round of MCGCs from Safeway for DHs car loan on Plastiq and it's only charging a 0.99% fee??? Did I miss something?

There have been reports of some Metabank MCGCs processing essentially as debit, thus the 1% fee on Plastiq.

Hi there, I have a question. Plastiq only accepts MC or Discover for my car loan (lease). So can I go buy MC Gift Card, and use it on Plastiq? Does Plastiq accept MC Gift Card same as paying by Mastercard? If so, that’ll really help!

It should, I've used many MCGCs to pay my auto loans. Are you working on a sign up bonus spend? If not the fee is typically more than the points you'd get.

Yes, I’m working on my Amex Plat Delta and my DH’s CSP sign up bonus right now. It is a little harder to knock down Amex, so if I can use it for my car loan, I should be almost done with Amex MSR........and I can apply for CIP next!

Just as a DP . . . I tried my Vanilla Mastercard gc (from Sam's Club). The fee was 2.5% as usual.

Just following up on this. This is the DP I saw on r/churning a few days ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/b9bb9z/data_points_central_thread_week_of_april_04_2019/ek5n9hj/ There are a few other scattered reports of Metabank MCGCs coding for only a 1% fee on Plastiq recently.

The above DP reports their MCGC came from OD and was issued by MetaBank in black packaging with 5113 320X starting numbers.

I picked up $50 and $100 fixed denomination Metabank MCGCs from Safeway in the shiny silver ($50s) and gold ($100) packaging during the recent $10/$15 off deal, all with 5113 320X numbers, and they also triggered only a 1% fee when I liquidated them towards student loans on Plastiq.

@wintotty - yes, you can use MCGCs to pay for your car loan through Plastiq.

Amex cards are not accepted as payment for car loans (and many other things) on Plastiq, and VGCs generally don’t work on Plastiq even though Visa credit cards do work for most things (except mortgages being the big exception).

However, to get your MCGCs to work on Plastiq, you’ll have to register them with your name and personal information, and you may need to add them to Masterpass first, then add them to your Plastiq wallet by selecting the MCGC from Masterpass.

Generally, Plastiq will process the MCGCs like Mastercard credit cards and charge a 2.5% fee, so you need to account for that fee (e.g., $48.78 + 2.5% = $50; $97.56 + 2.5% = $100; $487.80 x 2.5% = $500), unless you have FFDs or your MCGC triggers only a 1% fee (then, $49.50 + 1% = $50; $99.01 + 1% = $100; $198.02 + 1% = $200).

You should also be aware about how your car loan will apply multiple partial payments towards your statement balance, principle and interest.

Also know that MCGCs and other prepaid cards carry activation fees that can range from $3.95 to $8.95, so you could be paying 1-3% fees on the prepaid card before Plastiq charges its 1% or 2.5% fee. Look for deals when grocery stores or office supply stores offer no fees or some $X off on the prepaid cards.

However, since you’re working on an MSR for an Amex card, do not buy VGCs/MCGCs or any gift cards from office supply stores like Office Depot/Max or Staples because they share Level 3 data with Amex, so Amex will know exactly what you purchased at these office supply stores, and Amex RATs have been known to not count your spend on prepaid and gift cards towards your MSR. Gift card purchases at grocery stores and home improvement stores are generally ok.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Got this View attachment 394466

Yeah - I'd call. Most DPs on r/churning say if you call and have a pulse they'll approve

 

[afan]

Don’t freak out at the title:

Chase Imposes New Restriction on Points Transfers - VftW

[ETA: Weirdly, it looks like VftW pulled the above article and it’s no longer online. VftW cites OMAAT, whose article is still up and title is less clickbaity.]

Ultimate Rewards Transfers Restricted To Authorized Users - OMAAT

And DoC comes in as the voice of reason: No, New Transfer Rules Have Not Been Introduced By Chase

• You can still combine UR points from different credit card accounts in your own name.

• You can still transfer UR points between Chase card accounts belonging to different persons in your household or co-owners of your business, and there’s no requirement that the person receiving points has to be an authorized user on your account.

• Previously you could transfer points to your own airline or hotel loyalty accounts or to an airline or hotel loyalty account belonging to one member of your household (such as a spouse) or, in the case of a business card, to a co-owner of the business.

• Now in order to transfer points to a frequent flyer or frequent guest account belonging to a household member or a co-owner of the business that person needs to be an authorized user on your card account.

I have to confess that I thought this was the rule all along, and that if you wanted to transfer UR points to another’s frequent flyer or hotel loyalty program, that other person needed to be an AU on your account. So these new terms aren’t really a big deal.

But this is a good reminder that Chase has been considering negative changes to its UR program for years, including possibly ending combining UR points between any Chase cards or between no-fee cards and annual fee cards, or UR points transfers within the same household. In summer 2017, Chase surveyed customers about these and other proposed negative changes to its UR program, and rumors Chase may end UR points pooling resurfaced in spring 2018. These are things that Chase has been considering for a long time!

See: Chase Sends Out Survey Regarding Possible Changes To Transferring Chase UR Points For 1.5¢ Travel Redemptions

[Rumor] Chase To End Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Pooling

Remember, it is highly recommended to transfer your (and any other player's) UR points when they post on any UR-card at the close of every statement onto the UR-card that gets you the highest redemption on the Chase travel portal, i.e., onto the CSR for 1.5 cpp redemption value or the CSP or CIP for 1.25 cpp redemption value. Make note of the statement closing date of all your UR cards, so when points post you can send them to your highest redemption UR card.

DoC said no new transfer rules and referred back to both of these blogs. He emphasized that nothing has changed.

ETA - FWIT Gary from VFTW said in the comments on the DoC post that he didn't mean to post it and it was only up 2 minutes. I have generally found his site and twitter to be good so I lean towards believing him because he's never given me reason not to. He also doesn't play towards click bait imo.

 

[WardFam]

Perfect timing on the trip report! I’ve been researching Aruba possibilities all day! Interesting about the car rental. Do they drive on the right (also meaning correct IMO)side of the road? Would the Jeep fit 5 people? Sounds awesom!

Haha yes they drive on the right side of the road. There is one main road that takes you from the airport all the way up to palm beach and then we used maps.me and downloaded the Aruba map to get us to the donkey sanctuary and the natural pool. The Jeep did fit all 5 of us! We got a 4 door Jeep to make it more comfortable. The UTV rental looked so fun also but they were more expensive and did look really hot! My kids were happy to put the top up and the a/c on for the drive back to the hotel.
And I forgot to mention Eagle Beach is a must visit. It was just voted #3 beach in the world by trip advisor and it is gorgeous!