I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[Herding_Cats]

Ended up going with a SW flight with a 2hr layover in Chicago Midway because the departure time worked better (we got a sv in akl and I want to be sure we can enjoy every second of it that we paid for HAHAHAHAHA!) It was the same price as a delta flight (except we would have to pay for luggage) and a 2hr layover in ATL. Crossing allllllllll of the things that things are at least a little normal when we go. We have 2 park days planned, but idc as much about them as I do about having an entire week to relax. My poor DH is absolutely mobbed with jobs now that construction can work again, and our summer baseball season is cancelled (so he won't have that to use as a reason to not work all of the daylight hours in a day to coach 2 teams.)


Did the CIP offer get changed to the $10k msr, or is the $5k still showing up for people?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Ended up going with a SW flight with a 2hr layover in Chicago Midway because the departure time worked better (we got a sv in akl and I want to be sure we can enjoy every second of it that we paid for HAHAHAHAHA!) It was the same price as a delta flight (except we would have to pay for luggage) and a 2hr layover in ATL. Crossing allllllllll of the things that things are at least a little normal when we go. We have 2 park days planned, but idc as much about them as I do about having an entire week to relax. My poor DH is absolutely mobbed with jobs now that construction can work again, and our summer baseball season is cancelled (so he won't have that to use as a reason to not work all of the daylight hours in a day to coach 2 teams.)


Did the CIP offer get changed to the $10k msr, or is the $5k still showing up for people?

If you use one of support links in our reddit group it’s $5k for 80k URs
The public offer is higher
Sending He’s approved

 

[Herding_Cats]

he won't be applying until june 1st. I just like to have a plan.

 

[Maine_Belle]

I tend to avoid layovers of less than an hour where possible, especially if I'm traveling with kids. I would rather have time for all of us to take a bathroom break in a regular sized bathroom, than have to deal with changing diapers in an airplane lavatory.
Yes, it can be annoying to sit in an airport for 2 hours with a small child, but I would rather plan for that, than miss the connection and end up stuck waiting for who knows how long.

^ This. We had a layover for an international flight years ago when my daughter was 1. And even though it had a good amount of time between flights AND we were prepared for dealing with Customs, we missed our second leg going home because we sat on the tarmac for an hour and they didn't hold the second flight for us. It was AWFUL. The next flight was 24 hours later, so we had to endure getting to a hotel and locating our bags since we needed the diapers and baby clothes. We were exhausted and stressed and then I ended up in a middle seat with the baby on my lap on a packed flight the next day.

Get the extra time between flights.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Looking for some "what card next" advice.

DH did a CIP in the very beginning of March....msr met.
I got a CIP in the end of April, right before they changed stuff. msr is nearly met, still have a month and a half left.

Wondering about trying for another CIP for DH, but not sure I want to deal with everything that might go along with that since he is a sole prop. He despises annual fees. I didn't tell him about the one with the CIP since it pays for itself with the point multiplier for travel. Airline cards aren't really "worth it" for us since we rarely fly. We both have regular freedom cards (i'm pretty sure that's what they are....might be freedom unlimited??) that we originally got about 15 years ago (one to build credit because i was fresh out of school, and the other for DH to beef up his credit score) but we added each other as AUs on those, so idk if we can get another one?


ALSO. I have a flight layover/connection time question since there are so many seasoned air travelers in here. We rescheduled our anniversary trip to the end of August. We will be traveling with an infant and gate-checking a stroller. Our options (not leaving early in the morning) are either a 2+hour layover in ATL, or 45ish MINUTE layovers/connections in ATL or Charlotte or Chicago Midway. Is 45-50 minutes cutting it too close especially since we would have to potentially wait for the stroller?

Do CLT over ATL. I avoid ATL at all costs! CLT isn't too hard...I've ran between letters before w/ 20 minutes and been fine. Whereas in ATL I had 20 min to get from the end of one terminal to the absolute further other terminal which involved trams. Though CLT it does take forever to get to the gate.

 

[IFlossU]

Reading these stories about flying make me wonder how it’s going to be flying Southwest. With their open seating, are people going to freak out if someone has to take the middle seat? I mean the middle seat is already the least desirable, and now with people so on edge about distancing I can see this potentially creating some problems. Has Southwest addressed this yet?

 

[Maine_Belle]

Gotta extend my thanks to this group again for giving me the ideas to really explore options for exploiting all the savings/earnings options with the cards in my wallet. I'm only a few weeks into this "scheming" as my husband calls it, but I got an AmEx statement credit of $20 for a Wayfair purchase I was gonna make anyway, and I think I earned 4x points with an Overstock purchase that I again already had in mind by going through the Jetblue shopping portal AND then using that new card! I'm almost to my MSR for my new JB card, so we'll focus on DH's and then I can start to plan for a CSP card once I feel good about being able to hit that MSR.

Question: When can I expect to see the TrueBlue points show up in that account for these purchases? I've got points I see on the Barclay site for transactions that have moved out of pendin. I think those will show up on the JetBlue site after the monthly statement comes out? But what about the ShopTrue portal purchase? Is it when the item ships? I'm so impatient- I want to see it NOW! Help me set my expectations, friends!

 

[becauseimnew]

If we purchase a DVC resale contract, can we use credit card to pay? I would love to earn some points on that big purchase?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

If we purchase a DVC resale contract, can we use credit card to pay? I would love to earn some points on that big purchase?

I don’t believe you can, hopefully someone here has purchased a resale and can let you know definitely

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Reading these stories about flying make me wonder how it’s going to be flying Southwest. With their open seating, are people going to freak out if someone has to take the middle seat? I mean the middle seat is already the least desirable, and now with people so on edge about distancing I can see this potentially creating some problems. Has Southwest addressed this yet?

Southwest has a statement on their website addressing these and other concerns....but it states..they are not selling all seats so there will be no need for the middle seat to be occupied

 

[thevalley]

Does Hilton show your free night in the app? I have been looking and can’t find it. I do like how bonvoy shows it and when it expires.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Conversation Starter -

4 seats in business, 20 in coach per this proposal to keep airline seats "distant" during the pandemic. I wonder if this will effectively kill award seats? That is a reduction of capacity by 67%!

Sort of makes you wonder if moving to cash rewards right now really is a smart play. I was sort of flippant about that six weeks ago, because cash is always good - but now it may be something to more seriously consider. Of course, flexible currencies allow holders to "buy" seats, so UR and MR are good too. I'm not sure it is smart to invest a lot of time in stockpiling straight United or American miles right now tho...

https://abc11.com/travel/congressman-suggests-middle-seats-on-planes-be-left-empty/6185053/

I think we *may* see a shortage of flights on points in the next 12 months. I have been toying with the idea of going to the Maldives next spring (when dd is done her freshman year at uni) and I can't get a seat on Aeroplan (which used to be easy when booked this far out). I have tried to get a first class suite on Singapore (paging @calypso726 ), but wasn't able to find any availability with 'saver' miles (and I am not keen on transferring points to Singapore Air in this environment, just in case there isn't a vaccine next year and we have to cancel). Will likely book one way with BA as I have 270,000 Avios from cancelling the trip this year and they have availability in first for dd and I (from Newark to Heathrow). We'd spend 4 nights in London, then travel Heathrow to Doha with British and Qatar from Doha to the Maldives.

Also of note, I cannot find any nights at the WA Maldives for 120,000 / night. Plenty of availability at the Conrad, so not a total loss, but I really wanted the WA. Rooms are currently going for 783,000 points / night for the time period I'm looking at at the WA.

 

[wendow]

If we purchase a DVC resale contract, can we use credit card to pay? I would love to earn some points on that big purchase?

Pretty sure no cc's on resale

 

[georgina]

Starting to think about cancelling our family trip in July. If all the kids have to spend several hours on a plane and pick up a virus, they would be stuck in Wisconsin for the duration, unless we drove them home to PA with us. Anyone exposed could not just get on a plane and go home. Trip just not sounding practical. DS in particular will be very disappointed. Never thought it would last this long. DH the scuba diver got an email from the Cayman Islands resort he is booked at in Oct, saying the country has extended it's border closure until Sept. 1. They are serious about keeping people carrying the virus out! I contributed to a Go Fund Me for the workers of the St Lucia resort we have stayed at twice, and are supposed to be there again a year from now.

Does Hilton show your free night in the app? I have been looking and can’t find it. I do like how bonvoy shows it and when it expires.

Haven't looked at the app, but it is not on the website. I called to ask about it. Then a couple of months later I got an email that listed a different expiration date than I had been told over the phone! Of course they are all extended now.

 

[hlhlaw07]

If we purchase a DVC resale contract, can we use credit card to pay? I would love to earn some points on that big purchase?

You can use a credit card for the deposit, but for the money you have to bring to closing is usually required to be paid by wire transfer or official bank check. Depending on the size of the contract you purchase, you could knock out a good chunk of an MSR with the deposit.

 

[Albort]

You can use a credit card for the deposit, but for the money you have to bring to closing is usually required to be paid by wire transfer or official bank check. Depending on the size of the contract you purchase, you could knock out a good chunk of an MSR with the deposit.

plaastiq? haha

 

[becauseimnew]

plaastiq? haha

That would be awesome... maybe I'll just buy a Tesla using plastiq, or is that dead too?

 

[calypso726]

I would agree with you completely. I think when we add on (and we definitely will...!), it will be at BCV. I stalk the site like crazy and rarely can find even one night there, much less a few nights.

This was exactly why we added on at BCV. There was never anything at 7 months during F&W.

 

[PaintsWithAllTheColors]

If we purchase a DVC resale contract, can we use credit card to pay? I would love to earn some points on that big purchase?

you can if you buy direct, but unfortunately not for a resale. And it’s hard to justify the extra cost of buying direct with the point value

 

[elgerber]

This was exactly why we added on at BCV. There was never anything at 7 months during F&W.

Not BCV, but soooooooooooo thankful to own at BWV for this very reason! I have never seen BCV at 7 months for any time of year. I love my BWV and have no desire to say elsewhere, but I do check around for fun occasionally and BCV is always booked.