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

[3 DD love princesses]

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?

Some companies allow the deposit. And some allow closing costs. I’ve found it cheaper to pay the cash than the increased fee to use cc for closing.

 

[ten6mom]

When a card is PC'd, the actual card number changes, right? Or do they keep the same card number/account?

 

[becauseimnew]

I've never thought to do this. You plan to check it? We usually stop at Walmart and buy either one of the white styrofoam coolers or one of the $1 insulated bags if no coolers are available. I'm looking forward to hear how your trip goes. Your itinerary looks ambitious! We're planning Moab for spring 2021 and have booked the same Hyatt as you. Please let me know what you think. Have fun!!!

We plan to keep the cooler in the car the entire trip, so we need something that can deal with the 100+ degrees in the car.

It is very ambitious, but we figured this will probably be our only Utah trip so let's try to do it

 

[palhockeymomof2]

When a card is PC'd, the actual card number changes, right? Or do they keep the same card number/account?

When I PCd my Chase card the number stayed the same

 

[Hoosier John]

... We plan to fly with it empty on the way there and then just schedule a walmart pickup for when we arrive.

... We usually stop at Walmart and buy either one of the white styrofoam coolers or one of the $1 insulated bags if no coolers are available. I'm looking forward to hear how your trip goes...

I've seen heavy-duty white Styrofoam coolers as carry-ons. Taped well with duct tape (2 straps on long side and one around ends). But this was before 9/11, so things may have changed (doubtful, because it can still be scanned)

When a card is PC'd, the actual card number changes, right? Or do they keep the same card number/account?

When I PCd my Chase card the number stayed the same

I was told by Chase Biz that the 3 number code would change, though (don't have new card to confirm)

 

[StephPlum]

awesome. We plan to fly with it empty on the way there and then just schedule a walmart pickup for when we arrive.

Let us know how it goes. My normal pattern is to buy a cooler at Walmart (~$15) and then leave it at our last hotel with a FREE sign for someone else to use. I just count the cost in our food budget since we do like you - sandwiches and fruit for lunch and then dinner at restaurants. Makes it easy when you aren't sure where you'll be at lunch time or when you are hungry. For our last trip, I bought a collapsible cooler and used that. Places where we have a fridge, the collapsible cooler worked well. Places where we would not have a fridge (didn't have one in Mt Rainier), I think a hard sided cooler would be best as we needed to keep things cold for a few days.

 

[elgerber]

I have seen coolers coming down the luggage pickup belt numerous times while waiting for my bags.

 

[DisneyMandC]

That's what I was doing too. I picked up the Barclays JetBlue card with the 60K bonus. I want to stay under 5/24 so I will be ready if/when Chase starts approving sole props again. I was 3/24 & didn't want to just do nothing. I figured the 60K would come in handy at some point. I'll be back at 3/24 in August & at that point will either do an IHG card or whatever else I think we could get some value from. Hopefully by November we will see some movement on the Chase biz front. It's lousy having absolutely no plan.

Good time to get this card since I got an email the other day that they're giving 2x miles on every purchase currently!

 

[danceintherain]

Hi, I'm Becca! I'm trying to plan out my travel for the next 3 years (it was going to be 4, but DH wants to get to the Star Wars hotel sooner than that...he usually pushes back on Disney trips, so I can deal with that)

At the moment, we are planning a Royal Caribbean cruise to Alaska (out of Vancouver) in June 2021 (my Dad is paying for our cruise fare but we have to pay for airfare and excursions...kids aren't invited) and I want to get our kids to Disney again before A) the baby turns 3 in March 2023 and B) my oldest turns 13 in July 2023 (3 kids doing Jedi Training is my goal...really before he turns 12 would be better, because it will be more difficult to pull him out of school once he's in middle school, but of my children he can probably most handle missing school). We're still deciding if we're willing to share our Star Wars hotel experience with our children. That decision probably won't be made until after they release more details.
A few other tidbits (probably all irrelevant to the topic at hand, but they impact our planning...)
- DH can only travel to Disney November-ish thru March. He can't hack the heat.
- We qualify for military discounts, so we can only buy 6 Disney park tickets/year. He's medically retired though, so we don't qualify to waive annual fees.
- DH only gets 2ish weeks of vacation a year...it might be 3 now...he just started a new job...so even beforeCOVID we weren't going to be traveling much this year with him having to build up PTO again and the new baby.
Anyway....my tentative thinking for trips is:
June 2021 - Alaska Cruise - 2 adults and probably the baby (1 yo) because DH doesn't think we'll want to leave him. My parents and siblings are also going, so we may want to share points/hotels/transportation etc. But, I'm planning most of the trip, so I can pretty much suggest whatever I want. My Dad does do a lot of business travel with predominately Delta and Hilton. BUT, when I checked in with him to the Swan in 2018 I found out he had 300,000 Marriott/SPG points. No idea what his balances are currently, but I'll make him check before we book anything else regarding the cruise. He was at the Swan for a business conference, so his company footed the bill and he never thought to check his points balance so we didn't have to split the stay.
February 2022 - Family Disney trip 2 adults, 4 kids 11, 8, 5, 2 (my kids usually have a longer break around President's Day)
January 2023 - SW Hotel + another 3-5 nights on the Disney property elsewhere
We usually only spend about $10000 on vacations in a 3-year period, and all of the above could easily cost $20,000, so anything we can do to offset the cost with CC rewards will help.
If we opt to bring the kids to the SW hotel, then we would probably do something other than Disney for an adult only trip in 2023 or beyond.

Credit Card Approvals in the past 24 months:
11/19 CapitalOne Walmart
02/19 BOFA Cash Rewards MC
10/18 Chase Disney (basic no AF one)
08/18 Chase Freedom - UR 56,000 points (but its the wrong card for the extra 25% value)
07/18 Chase Marriott Bonvoy - 25,000 points currently
05/18 AMEX SPG Rewards (now Bonvoy...but not Brilliant or anything else I see on the page...the $95 AF just hit on Friday and I'm considering calling to cancel the card to see if i can get the fee waived, but I'm not sure if I should drop a card I might not be able to replace, even with the annual fee...May be better to drop the Chase Marriott card before THAT AF posts? No travel planned for the next several months, so I don't have need for TWO complimentary nights this year which is the only reason I've justified the AFs. I could likely swing something once COVID chills out a bit, so if I really should keep both I won't be too sad about the AF)
Beyond 24 months.... I have a CapitalOne Quicksilver and USAA AMEX. The AMEX is the only card in my husband's name, because credit card churning worries him. I've even stopped making him an authorized user on my cards, because having too many cards freaks him out. He IS an authorized user on my Chase Marriott card and uses it almost as much as his USAA AMEX. He has ZERO patience for the "best" card for certain purchases, and can pretty much only handle 2 cards at a time.

CLOSED cards include CapOne Venture (CLSD and merged with QS 08/2016) Chase Preferred (CLSD 09/18)

With Star Wars on the table, I can probably convince DH to open more cards in his name. But, it would be better to do a vast majority on my side to avoid overwhelming him.

- Spending is at least $1500/month. Usually, it's more than that, but it depends on the month.
- We PIF every month and our only debt is the mortgage.
- We generally fly out of MCI (Kansas City) but have done ICT (Wichita) before, since that's near my inlaws. That may be more practical for our Alaska trip since my in-laws will be watching our kids.
- Southwest flies to both. (also Alaska, American, United, Delta)
- I was prioritizing United (no points right now) while DH's company was HQed in DC, but now his company is HQed near Dallas. He only does maybe one business trip per year, but I usually go with him, and like to get on the same flight.
- We also like to do at least a night or two away from the kids every year, especially if we can't do a bigger trip.

Does anyone want to help me muck out this mess?

 

[MKTokyo]

Good time to get this card since I got an email the other day that they're giving 2x miles on every purchase currently!

I got the same email! It's a nice bonus on the MSR, at the very least

 

[MKTokyo]

When a card is PC'd, the actual card number changes, right? Or do they keep the same card number/account?

When I did CIP > CIC, the account number stayed the same but the expiration date & CVC changed.

 

[platamama]

When a card is PC'd, the actual card number changes, right? Or do they keep the same card number/account?

You have good answers about Chase (which fits my experience with Chase too).
With Citi, I got a new card number. With BoA, DH got a new card number. With Amex, the number stayed the same but the CID and expiration changed.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Hi, I'm Becca! I'm trying to plan out my travel for the next 3 years (it was going to be 4, but DH wants to get to the Star Wars hotel sooner than that...he usually pushes back on Disney trips, so I can deal with that)

At the moment, we are planning a Royal Caribbean cruise to Alaska (out of Vancouver) in June 2021 (my Dad is paying for our cruise fare but we have to pay for airfare and excursions...kids aren't invited) and I want to get our kids to Disney again before A) the baby turns 3 in March 2023 and B) my oldest turns 13 in July 2023 (3 kids doing Jedi Training is my goal...really before he turns 12 would be better, because it will be more difficult to pull him out of school once he's in middle school, but of my children he can probably most handle missing school). We're still deciding if we're willing to share our Star Wars hotel experience with our children. That decision probably won't be made until after they release more details.
A few other tidbits (probably all irrelevant to the topic at hand, but they impact our planning...)
- DH can only travel to Disney November-ish thru March. He can't hack the heat.
- We qualify for military discounts, so we can only buy 6 Disney park tickets/year. He's medically retired though, so we don't qualify to waive annual fees.
- DH only gets 2ish weeks of vacation a year...it might be 3 now...he just started a new job...so even beforeCOVID we weren't going to be traveling much this year with him having to build up PTO again and the new baby.
Anyway....my tentative thinking for trips is:
June 2021 - Alaska Cruise - 2 adults and probably the baby (1 yo) because DH doesn't think we'll want to leave him. My parents and siblings are also going, so we may want to share points/hotels/transportation etc. But, I'm planning most of the trip, so I can pretty much suggest whatever I want. My Dad does do a lot of business travel with predominately Delta and Hilton. BUT, when I checked in with him to the Swan in 2018 I found out he had 300,000 Marriott/SPG points. No idea what his balances are currently, but I'll make him check before we book anything else regarding the cruise. He was at the Swan for a business conference, so his company footed the bill and he never thought to check his points balance so we didn't have to split the stay.
February 2022 - Family Disney trip 2 adults, 4 kids 11, 8, 5, 2 (my kids usually have a longer break around President's Day)
January 2023 - SW Hotel + another 3-5 nights on the Disney property elsewhere
We usually only spend about $10000 on vacations in a 3-year period, and all of the above could easily cost $20,000, so anything we can do to offset the cost with CC rewards will help.
If we opt to bring the kids to the SW hotel, then we would probably do something other than Disney for an adult only trip in 2023 or beyond.

Credit Card Approvals in the past 24 months:
11/19 CapitalOne Walmart
02/19 BOFA Cash Rewards MC
10/18 Chase Disney (basic no AF one)
08/18 Chase Freedom - UR 56,000 points (but its the wrong card for the extra 25% value)
07/18 Chase Marriott Bonvoy - 25,000 points currently
05/18 AMEX SPG Rewards (now Bonvoy...but not Brilliant or anything else I see on the page...the $95 AF just hit on Friday and I'm considering calling to cancel the card to see if i can get the fee waived, but I'm not sure if I should drop a card I might not be able to replace, even with the annual fee...May be better to drop the Chase Marriott card before THAT AF posts? No travel planned for the next several months, so I don't have need for TWO complimentary nights this year which is the only reason I've justified the AFs. I could likely swing something once COVID chills out a bit, so if I really should keep both I won't be too sad about the AF)
Beyond 24 months.... I have a CapitalOne Quicksilver and USAA AMEX. The AMEX is the only card in my husband's name, because credit card churning worries him. I've even stopped making him an authorized user on my cards, because having too many cards freaks him out. He IS an authorized user on my Chase Marriott card and uses it almost as much as his USAA AMEX. He has ZERO patience for the "best" card for certain purchases, and can pretty much only handle 2 cards at a time.

CLOSED cards include CapOne Venture (CLSD and merged with QS 08/2016) Chase Preferred (CLSD 09/18)

With Star Wars on the table, I can probably convince DH to open more cards in his name. But, it would be better to do a vast majority on my side to avoid overwhelming him.

- Spending is at least $1500/month. Usually, it's more than that, but it depends on the month.
- We PIF every month and our only debt is the mortgage.
- We generally fly out of MCI (Kansas City) but have done ICT (Wichita) before, since that's near my inlaws. That may be more practical for our Alaska trip since my in-laws will be watching our kids.
- Southwest flies to both. (also Alaska, American, United, Delta)
- I was prioritizing United (no points right now) while DH's company was HQed in DC, but now his company is HQed near Dallas. He only does maybe one business trip per year, but I usually go with him, and like to get on the same flight.
- We also like to do at least a night or two away from the kids every year, especially if we can't do a bigger trip.

Does anyone want to help me muck out this mess?

Welcome!! When you say that your husband doesn't like credit card churning, do you mean that he won't get any more cards in his name, or simply that he doesn't like to carry different cards around to maximize the best option. For example, my husband will let me get cards in his name but I usually am the one optimizing spend/meeting MSR and will just throw a card in his wallet that's good for his needs at the time.

 

[pinkxray]

I think being locked down in my house for 2 months is starting to make me have crazy thoughts. I am thinking maybe Aulani in June 2022 which will be my 40th bday. Other ideas are an Alaskan DCL cruise or just a trip to WDW.
We live in CT. Am I crazy to think we can manage getting my kids to Hawaii from CT. They will be 17,7 and 5 at that time. I would probably want to stop at CA to check out Disneyland for a few days but maybe fly direct to get home.
Bad idea? Anyone have any tips about traveling to Aulani? Hoping to use DVC points for Aulani so don’t care much about getting points to cover hotels.

Thanks in advance for any pointers or Advice.

 

[danceintherain]

Welcome!! When you say that your husband doesn't like credit card churning, do you mean that he won't get any more cards in his name, or simply that he doesn't like to carry different cards around to maximize the best option. For example, my husband will let me get cards in his name but I usually am the one optimizing spend/meeting MSR and will just throw a card in his wallet that's good for his needs at the time.

All of the above?
His parents had/have issues with debt, so having access to a high amount of credit worries him. At least that's the reasoning he uses. We have never had an issue with debt, and I've only missed a payment on a CC like once (forgot to put the Disney card on autopay when I got it....whooops....the balance was less than $500). He also gets flustered when it comes to cards. He's an AU on the Quicksilver, but won't use it any more, because it was denied too many times. Either a new card wasn't activated properly or they flagged it for fraud? I don't even remember. But, having a card denied freaks him out.
He has a myriad of health issues, many of which are mental health related, so I pick and choose my battles very carefully. This one might go over well, or it might not.
With the Star Wars hotel on the line, I can PROBABLY convince him to let me churn for him, but I'm going to have to time it right or he might shut down....which he already does frequently when it comes to money matters.

The main thing is to convince him that the value is worth it. If I try to explain the process, he'll shut down, but if I can say "we will be able to cover the entire Star Wars hotel stay this way," then I can probably convince him. (or half or 75% etc).
Yes, I can change out the cards in his wallet, but that may cause him some level of anxiety. I will have to make sure he has at least one card in there that he is comfortable with, but somehow ensure that he grabs the current churn card first.

So anyway, I just need y'all's best plan. Then I'll run it by him, and he might go along calmly or he might not.

 

[danceintherain]

I think being locked down in my house for 2 months is starting to make me have crazy thoughts. I am thinking maybe Aulani in June 2022 which will be my 40th bday. Other ideas are an Alaskan DCL cruise or just a trip to WDW.
We live in CT. Am I crazy to think we can manage getting my kids to Hawaii from CT. They will be 17,7 and 5 at that time. I would probably want to stop at CA to check out Disneyland for a few days but maybe fly direct to get home.
Bad idea? Anyone have any tips about traveling to Aulani? Hoping to use DVC points for Aulani so don’t care much about getting points to cover hotels.

Thanks in advance for any pointers or Advice.

I think those are great ages to go to Hawaii with kids. I've mostly kept it off my list, because jet lag with really young kids sucks. But 5+ is probably fine, and you'll probably want to go before your oldest is over 18 and no a lock for family vacations anymore.
I might not add in a stop at Disneyland, as tempting as it might be, unless you have a ton of vacation time to burn. There's a lot to see and do in Hawaii, even if you stay on Oahu the whole time. There are some advantages to stopping though. You would be able to start adjusting to the time difference, so it won't be as much of a shock, once you get to Hawaii. But, Hawaii isn't the type of vacation where a time difference is going to cause you a huge amount of stress. You don't have to deal with park hours as much etc.

 

[DisneyMandC]

All of the above?
His parents had/have issues with debt, so having access to a high amount of credit worries him. At least that's the reasoning he uses. We have never had an issue with debt, and I've only missed a payment on a CC like once (forgot to put the Disney card on autopay when I got it....whooops....the balance was less than $500). He also gets flustered when it comes to cards. He's an AU on the Quicksilver, but won't use it any more, because it was denied too many times. Either a new card wasn't activated properly or they flagged it for fraud? I don't even remember. But, having a card denied freaks him out.
He has a myriad of health issues, many of which are mental health related, so I pick and choose my battles very carefully. This one might go over well, or it might not.
With the Star Wars hotel on the line, I can PROBABLY convince him to let me churn for him, but I'm going to have to time it right or he might shut down....which he already does frequently when it comes to money matters.

The main thing is to convince him that the value is worth it. If I try to explain the process, he'll shut down, but if I can say "we will be able to cover the entire Star Wars hotel stay this way," then I can probably convince him. (or half or 75% etc).
Yes, I can change out the cards in his wallet, but that may cause him some level of anxiety. I will have to make sure he has at least one card in there that he is comfortable with, but somehow ensure that he grabs the current churn card first.

So anyway, I just need y'all's best plan. Then I'll run it by him, and he might go along calmly or he might not.

So the good news is you've had/have some of the best/most versatile earning cards, which are the Chase UR earning cards. And you have a small stash of those points, which is great! The bad news is Chase has a 5/24 rule, meaning you can't get one of their credit cards if you've opened up 5 credit cards or more in the last 24 months. You are currently sitting at 5/24 based on your stats. However, it looks like you'll have 3 cards dropping off your 5/24 status by the end of this year based on the cards you opened up in 2018. That would open some availability for you to get more Chase cards, which could include UR-earning cards or airline miles-earning cards (Chase offers SW and United cards).

Do you recall when you got the bonus on your Chase Sapphire Preferred card that you closed? You can only earn one of those bonuses every 48 months.

 

[Hoosier John]

All of the above?
His parents had/have issues with debt, so having access to a high amount of credit worries him. At least that's the reasoning he uses. We have never had an issue with debt, and I've only missed a payment on a CC like once (forgot to put the Disney card on autopay when I got it....whooops....the balance was less than $500). He also gets flustered when it comes to cards. He's an AU on the Quicksilver, but won't use it any more, because it was denied too many times. Either a new card wasn't activated properly or they flagged it for fraud? I don't even remember. But, having a card denied freaks him out.
He has a myriad of health issues, many of which are mental health related, so I pick and choose my battles very carefully. This one might go over well, or it might not.
With the Star Wars hotel on the line, I can PROBABLY convince him to let me churn for him, but I'm going to have to time it right or he might shut down....which he already does frequently when it comes to money matters.

The main thing is to convince him that the value is worth it. If I try to explain the process, he'll shut down, but if I can say "we will be able to cover the entire Star Wars hotel stay this way," then I can probably convince him. (or half or 75% etc).
Yes, I can change out the cards in his wallet, but that may cause him some level of anxiety. I will have to make sure he has at least one card in there that he is comfortable with, but somehow ensure that he grabs the current churn card first.

So anyway, I just need y'all's best plan. Then I'll run it by him, and he might go along calmly or he might not.

I can't help much because I really only learned about Chase Biz cards, and that looks to be over (at least for a while).
But I am curious to hear Alaskan Cruise responses, so thank you for asking! We are planning June 2021 on Princess (locked into Princes because several in our group have vouchers from a cancelled cruise). And if we get 4 more rooms booked we will get a group discount.

 

[Albort]

So the good news is you've had/have some of the best/most versatile earning cards, which are the Chase UR earning cards. And you have a small stash of those points, which is great! The bad news is Chase has a 5/24 rule, meaning you can't get one of their credit cards if you've opened up 5 credit cards or more in the last 24 months. You are currently sitting at 5/24 based on your stats. However, it looks like you'll have 3 cards dropping off your 5/24 status by the end of this year based on the cards you opened up in 2018. That would open some availability for you to get more Chase cards, which could include UR-earning cards or airline miles-earning cards (Chase offers SW and United cards).

Do you recall when you got the bonus on your Chase Sapphire Preferred card that you closed? You can only earn one of those bonuses every 48 months.

@danceintherain
great advice here and i was thinking of the same. get yourself below 5/24 for more chase card. this would probably be a good long term goal for a travel date probably for 2021 or 2022. It will be tough though now that business cards are out of reach and you already have the Sapphire product within the last 4 years. SW CP sounds good but it seems like your family only travel once a year.
If ur looking for a trip within a year, id probably suggest the citi premier card and booking your hotels via portal that way(i believe they have Disney hotels on there) or AA card is another suggestion.

Tough call, really difficult to pick a card right now esp with limited choices. let us know if u have more specific questions.

 

[DisneyMandC]

@danceintherain
great advice here and i was thinking of the same. get yourself below 5/24 for more chase card. this would probably be a good long term goal for a travel date probably for 2021 or 2022. It will be tough though now that business cards are out of reach and you already have the Sapphire product within the last 4 years. SW CP sounds good but it seems like your family only travel once a year.
If ur looking for a trip within a year, id probably suggest the citi premier card and booking your hotels via portal that way(i believe they have Disney hotels on there) or AA card is another suggestion.

Tough call, really difficult to pick a card right now esp with limited choices. let us know if u have more specific questions.

@danceintherain if you want to wait to get under 5/24 to pick up more cards (which may be a smart option for you depending on your Sapphire bonus timing and business card availability in the future), right now would be a good time to take advantage of the 5% cash back grocery category on the Chase Freedom. It's even coding 5% at Wal-Mart right now, which may mean you get a better return with that card than you do on your CO Wal-mart card (not familiar with that card so not sure what kind of earning capacity it has).

ETA: It is not coding 5% at Wal-mart, apparently that's only the Sapphire cards! But either way, 5% back at grocery is still a great deal to pick up your usual groceries plus any gift cards you might want for the future!