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

[amalone1013]

I think the Daily Getaways sale is coming up soon. They've had discounted Sea World tickets in past years.

Thanks for responding! What are the Daily Deals? I am looking at all the SW partner hotels. The Renaissance does look nice but I don’t want to pay the extra fees. I’d also like to get free breakfast lol. I have gold status on my new Hilton biz. Does anyone know if all 4 of us would get free breakfast at Hilton Garden Inn? Or does that only apply to the card holder?

I love Daily Getaways. Like @Alexle2007 said they start in May. If you google it you can find some blogs discussing last years deals and get an idea of what they may be. Usually they are mor beginning of April but this year is May.

 

[Jaime4004]

Did you get an upgrade offer for the AmEx Hilton? I have the no-fee AmEx Hilton and also the Aspire. I'd be interested in upgrading the no-fee but so far as I have noticed, I have never gotten an upgrade offer. Any ideas about how I could get AmEx to give me an offer to upgrade the no-fee card?

I did get the upgrade offer from the no fee Amex Hilton card. Then within a week or so of hitting the MSR for the upgrade to ascend, I had another offer to upgrade to the Aspire. Which I was going to ignore due to the fee, until some helpful posters suggested otherwise. Maybe I got the upgrade offers because I didn't already have an apsire? Not sure how to get it. Going to try it with DHs account eventually though, he only has a hilton biz card.

 

[tink1970]

@tink1970, is this you celebrating all those Q1 cards?

What was the reason that Chase gave for the second denial on DH’s CIP?

He didn't bother calling a second time; he was too annoyed. So now I have to wait, apply myself for him (correctly) in the future and then oh, look what came in the mail, I guess they changed their mind.

 

[Haley R]

I’ll take any tips you’ve got for Japan in 2022. I’ve been saying for like 3 years now I want to do Japan for my 40th, which is August 2022. My kids will be 5 and 10 and old enough to handle that kind of trip (although my oldest could’ve handled it at 3 lol, he’s my good little traveler). I doubt I’ll be able to get 4 seats in business but that would be awesome. Otberwise I think I’d splurge for at least premium economy

Thinking 2 weeks, probably with one of them being Easter because I can only take them out of school for 5 days.

Hoping for 4-5 days at tdr, 3 days Tokyo and 1-2 days Kyoto.

I have a Japan itinerary on the Tokyo Disney board if you’re interested. I’m more than willing to help you with anything

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

@calypso726 does the regular Hilton card count towards your 5/24? I figure it must but want to be sure.

Today I just applied for the Hilton no fee card which begins the first steps on my path to get a second Aspire card via upgrade offers. 100K Hilton points for $1,000 MSR is easy enough. Instant approval! This of course means I've put off getting under 5/24 for a while longer. Since I've decided I need to go back to Japan in 2022 as a budget friendly trip for the TDL/TDS expansion I will need the second Aspire card in place. I will ask DH to apply for one too. Today I also finally hopped on the grAAvy train but am sticking to business cards and just got an instant approval. I will need those AA miles to book JAL flights to Japan. So 2 instant approvals in one day.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

@calypso726 does the regular Hilton card count towards your 5/24? I figure it must but want to be sure.

Yes - ANY card that reports to your personal credit report will add to your 5 count. The only cards that do not count are business cards from issuers that do not report to personal bureaus.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I am trying to meet the MSR for my new AmEx Bonvoy; one of the only ways I knew I'd be able to do it is by paying board for dd's horse via Plastique. I tried to pay online last night and it said I couldn't use an AmEx for payment. I searched the payment categories not eligible for Plastique and it does not fall under any of them. Any suggestions?

 

[Haley R]

this makes me laugh.... my DSIS records every book she's read her entire life... I kept trying but failing to record mine....I read at least 2-3 books a week and just gave up. That said, I don't know what a lexcile score is for reading ...and the concept of a 'reading level' baffles me (esp. for kiddos) I've always read what interested me,and I let my kids do the same. (they were homeschooled,prob. why I'm unfamiliar with the terms lol) Once I knew they could read fluently, it was up to them overall what to read. Kids picture books,comics,graphic novels,wimpy kid books (I had boys lol) it was all fine with me. (Within reason,we had a pg rating max in our household) I admit there are times when I've started a book,only to realize I'd already read it.... sorry I got swept up in the O/T posts too

Haha I have to record everything. I usually am like you and read 2-3 books a week. A lot of them are so similar so I have to record.

As far as Lexile scores, I’m a teacher so I do know what they are. I think kids should get to choose something that interests them but they need to be able to read it without struggling the entire time. The school I sub at uses AR and it tells them what level they should read. A lot of teachers will let kids read above their level but not below. Some teachers use a five finger rule: they choose a random page in a book, if the kid can read it without getting 5 or more mess ups they can read the book. Otherwise it’s too hard for them.

 

[Haley R]

You're missing so much by skipping stuff in the episodes. It's not just about Rory's relationships, the show is about relationships, with the town, with the towns people, with Luke, Loreli and Rory's relationship, their relationship with Richard and Emily etc. Even now I don't skip parts of episodes if I don't like them because it's still good/important. I will skip entire episodes but I know what happens since I've probably already seen it at least 3 times so it's not a big deal.



This makes more sense, I thought you were talking number of pages and I thought that's an awful way to get a kid to read, here's a 1300 page book. I rarely read stuff over 400 pages. Does he get credit for reading or something? Why does it matter to the teacher? Personally if he's a reluctant reader anyway I'd want to find him stuff, even if it's not quite at his reading level, so he wants to read rather than it seeming like a chore. Otherwise the teacher needs to be finding books for these kids that they'll actually want to read. I've always liked to skirt the edge of rules like this and play in the grey area to make it work for me.

Once I was out of elementary, and probably early elementary, none of my teachers required reading outside of the books we read in class so it didn't matter if I was reading Sweet Valley High or something at a higher level. But I also remember back then it being a teen section in the library rather than young adult. The lines are blurred so much now with that level it's hard to figure out what they mean and what's appropriate. In the end reading should be fun and stuff like this doesn't seem to make it fun.

I don’t only watch Rory and her relationships but I do skip through some of the other stuff. Usually I’ll start to watch some of it and if it’s boring I skip through like 30 seconds of it. I just get bored and would rather be reading during some parts so instead of watching I skip through. I don’t feel like I’ve missed anything big in the show and always know what’s going on

 

[wanderlust7]

Just ordered UberEats on desktop. I made sure the use $15 credit toggle was on. But the credit didn't show up on checkout and I see the full amount pending. Will it show up later or did it not work? Only did this once before, can't remember what it looked like last time.

 

[calypso726]

@calypso726 does the regular Hilton card count towards your 5/24? I figure it must but want to be sure.

Yes. The Hilton business Amex won't though.

 

[speedyfishy]

Did anyone see that Steakhouse 55 got rid of the 24 layer chocolate cake? That was SOs favorite dessert ever.

 

[amalone1013]

Some teachers use a five finger rule: they choose a random page in a book, if the kid can read it without getting 5 or more mess ups they can read the book. Otherwise it’s too hard for them.

I remember using that rule in school

 

[amalone1013]

Since I messed up DHs 2nd CIP so it wouldn't let me add it to his current biz account can I SM to get it added to verify that we got it instead of having to call in to get a code?

 

[EACarlson]

Made it to Naples—it’s warm and sunny!

I don’t think that is true about having to charge the whole trip unless it changed recently. I called and asked when we cruised to Alaska and was told any payment on CSR got you coverage.

ETA I just read the pdf of benefits and it says you are eligible if a portion of your trip was charged to the card.

You are correct. I was looking at the next line that says it also covers awards if all of the points or miles were earned on the card. I'm guessing that would be more for hotels since all flights have the taxes and fees that need to be charged.

 

[DisneyMandC]

I'm not sure if you are talking Marriott or Hilton for Diamond status. Hilton Aspire is diamond but The Marriott -I just can't type it - Brill....used to be SPG Lux is just plain Gold which is pretty much useless. (IMO)

You’re right! I was looking at one of the Hilton cards at the same time I was typing this.

We stayed at the Sheraton Tokyo Bay and was able to charge our Disney park tickets to the room. So the Marriott credits might work for that (if you didn't want to use it for room rates). This was almost 3 years ago, so I don't know if anything's changed.

When deciding cards, I like to calculate out first year value. Though it sounds like you wouldn't be getting a bonus for the CSR? Makes the comparison a little harder, lol. But CapOne would be $500 + $100 GE = $600 value. Bonvoy Brilliance using @Lain suggestion downgrading after 1 year for prorated AF but double dip on Marriott credit AND get the 50k room certificate - would be 100k SUB using 0.7 cpp ($700) + ($300 x2 credit) + $100 GE + $150 conservative estimate for room value - $450 AF - $155 prorated AF = $945. You may want to adjust the $300 depending on if you feel you get the full value from it.

ETA: the Brilliance first year value is actually higher due to the referral bonus. 20k Bonvoy points if you refer from the Bonvoy Biz. Or 15k MR if you have a Plat, 20k MR if you have Gold Biz, 10k other MR cards IIRC.

Oh that’s interesting on the Sheraton Tokyo bay. We’re definitely planning on going to Tokyo Disney. I’m leaning towards the Brilliant (I agree, dumb name) and a Venture Card right now. Thanks for the help!

 

[speedyfishy]

I’m really off topic today. Does anyone know if you can buy a full dvc contract direct from Disney with Disney giftcards. I have been getting giftcards at around 20% off that would really help with the cost lol.

 

[smallsy]

Just bought $700 worth of replacement car seats with my CF for a whopping 1x ur. So painful but we couldn’t put it off any longer waiting to see if the next card is approved or not. At least I got $40 in ebates and $130 in Kohl’s cash .

 

[AmyAnne]

I did get the upgrade offer from the no fee Amex Hilton card. Then within a week or so of hitting the MSR for the upgrade to ascend, I had another offer to upgrade to the Aspire. Which I was going to ignore due to the fee, until some helpful posters suggested otherwise. Maybe I got the upgrade offers because I didn't already have an apsire? Not sure how to get it. Going to try it with DHs account eventually though, he only has a hilton biz card.

Thanks -- for now I'll just keep an eye out and see if I happen to get targeted for an upgrade. Since it's no-fee, the only harm in keeping it is that it's taking up a credit card slot, but I don't have any immediate plans to apply for another AmEx credit card.

 

[smallsy]

CIP question: I know there’s a benefit for cell phone protection/replacement, but what are the qualifications? Do you have to buy the phone with the card, pay the bill with your card, or both?