I love credit cards so much! v5.0 - 2022 (see first page for add'l details)

[mmmears]

Anyone have advice for booking travel insurance?

Looking for cancel for any reason, plus Covid stuff of course. This would be for a 2023 trip abroad.

I used to get Allianz through AAA but I'm trying to do this online this time.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Anyone have advice for booking travel insurance?

Looking for cancel for any reason, plus Covid stuff of course. This would be for a 2023 trip abroad.

I used to get Allianz through AAA but I'm trying to do this online this time.

Have used insure my trip dot com a few times

 

[mmmears]

Have used insure my trip dot com a few times

Thanks. I'm looking at that one now, but the company I used before doesn't work and I'm a bit overwhelmed looking at all the other insurance companies.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Odd question, but anyone travel on SW with an injury like broken arm or leg? Trying to figure out if I will be allowed priority boarding since my arm is in a sling. I really need a window seat on port (L) side of the plane so no one can bump my arm. I do have a SW biz card with upgraded boarding I can also use.

This past year when my husband tore his bicep, had surgery and then was in a cast/sling, we needed pre-boarding several times. Sometimes it was an easy request, and sometimes you get agents who are on a bit of an authority trip. I would be specific and say you need extra time to board and you also need a window seat, so that your arm won't be bumped by random passengers. You can bring one person with you for pre-boarding. At our local airport, when traveling with our two younger kids, they were kind enough to give both my husband and me pre-boarding, so we each brought a kid. That was really nice of them.

I would say that's the biggest challenge. But if your son can board with you and that's helpful, that would be the way to go, because obviously you can't leave your son to board by himself while your husband helps you board. I really wish there was a better system for the "one person" policy when traveling with children.

Ok—be careful booking tours through chase. In Barcelona I booked Sagrada familia and park guell. The meeting point was almost impossible to find and the tour information said transportation between the two was provided but it wasn’t. Not a huge deal but just added some stress.

Today dd and I arrived at Victoria coach station for our 9 am London in a day tour at about 8:40. I checked with one of the station employees who looked at the schedule and said there weren’t any 9 am tours. Today is ride London 2022 and most of the city is shut down. I tried calling the tour company but no one answered. I emailed and they claim I was notified through the trip advisor portal (whatever that is) that it was cancelled on 5/20. I never got anything. Dd and I did a hop on bus diversion tour and were able to go to Kensington palace. Then we had lunch at Gordon ramsey’s street burgers, walked to harrod’s, then to Westminster abbey and Big Ben. Over 13 miles so far. Hoping to get to the Tower of London tomorrow.

Thanks for this reminder. It seems like the info provided is so vague in many cases. If anyone is booking tours through Chase, I recommend confirming directly with the tour company and confirming any relevant details as well, because the information on Chase doesn't seem highly accurate.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Thanks. I'm looking at that one now, but the company I used before doesn't work and I'm a bit overwhelmed looking at all the other insurance companies.

You can filter your results and the "cancel for any reason" should be one of the filters. I will often then sort by price and/or reviews. One of the other criteria I like to filter for is "primary medical insurance." At first it might seem overwhelming, but once you filter, I think you'll be able to get down to a few affordable options. You can then select a few policies and do a side by side comparison. I think these are usually some of my criteria:
Primary medical insurance, at least 100k
$1m emergency medical evacuation

 

[havaneselover]

I’ll definitely see if csr will reimburse. If not that’s fine. I’m not staying overnight and getting home at 3 pm tomorrow which is United’s solution.

 

[havaneselover]

I did get four $10 virtual MCs for meal vouchers. I may try to load those to Amazon before they expire tomorrow.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

This past year when my husband tore his bicep, had surgery and then was in a cast/sling, we needed pre-boarding several times. Sometimes it was an easy request, and sometimes you get agents who are on a bit of an authority trip. I would be specific and say you need extra time to board and you also need a window seat, so that your arm won't be bumped by random passengers. You can bring one person with you for pre-boarding. At our local airport, when traveling with our two younger kids, they were kind enough to give both my husband and me pre-boarding, so we each brought a kid. That was really nice of them.

I would say that's the biggest challenge. But if your son can board with you and that's helpful, that would be the way to go, because obviously you can't leave your son to board by himself while your husband helps you board. I really wish there was a better system for the "one person" policy when traveling with children.

Super helpful info. Thanks. DS is 13 and taller than me so he can be useful if directed. Lol. He probably could be left to board but he doesn't listen to details/instructions well, so I'd worry he'd get confused (the listening thing is most teens though, right? )

 

[sinnika]

I have a CSR that I PCed from a CSP in Feb 2021. I opened the CSP in July 2019. The $550 AF comes due Aug 1st. Can I PC back to a CSP in August? My first year, I used the $300 grocery credit that was allowed as travel credit. I’ve only used $80 this year so far from toll tags. Any ideas to use the travel credit before August if I’m not traveling? I’m also trying to justify the high AF. I redeemed 2 hotel nights last Fall in Europe using the Chase travel portal, used the GE, and redeemed my Away luggage in Feb when the $200 savings came out for CSR and paid the balance with PYB. I also have the PP with my Venture x and have been using my new AmEx Gold for dining, groceries and gas. Thanks

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Well I just had my first over $100 gas fill up. That hurt! I'm seriously not sure how I'm going to keep up w/ expenses with the way the cost of everything is going up. My good friend works at a Hilton by her house on the side. She's done this for years, and actually added me to her Hilton "family" discount list. I'm seriously considering doing the same this summer. I have a few pretty close to me (like a mile away) looking for front desk workers. The pay is only $14-15/hr BUT as an employee you get rooms for $30/nt. The shuttle driver that the BF and I had in MYR was saying he only does the job for the $30 rooms, LOL. There is a Hyatt posting near me too. Looks like they give 12 free nights a year. BUT there is a 3/nt at ONE property max each year. Not sure which is a better gig, LOL. I'm seriously looking to retire in 2024. But I WILL need another job. For awhile I've joked about being a flight attendant to get better flight benefits (aka fly on anyone). But the BF keeps warning me how much the job sucks, LOL. To which I remind me, it can't be worse than teaching. But I also did the math to figure out what I need to make per hour to replace my income (+ my pension) and I think it was a $13/hr job. So this would be a good thing for "retirement" too. I guess it doesn't hurt to maybe apply and see. My friend legit works when she wants (she's doing it to pay off her wedding). She said some only work 1-2 times a month! It would be a good job to do while the kids are at their dads and while the BF is flying. Plus it comes w/ some travel perks, LOL. My BF has said he values the hotel discounts higher than airline....but he's also never had to pay for a ticket, LOL.

DoC has a fat checking bonus for anyone who likes bank bonuses for up to $450 with Teachers Federal Credit Union and like under $5k of non-Amex cc funding allowed link

If you can generate a link don't forget to post to DISchurners! Never know, maybe someone else here will want to apply as well!
I was denied halfway through the app so I don't get to participate in this one, better luck anyone else who tries! (might be restricted against CA- Edit: nope. Others in CA got approval)

Do you have to do a legit DD though? I mean as a teacher, I'm down to do this bonus. BUT changing my DD is annoying AF!

I have a CSR that I PCed from a CSP in Feb 2021. I opened the CSP in July 2019. The $550 AF comes due Aug 1st. Can I PC back to a CSP in August? My first year, I used the $300 grocery credit that was allowed as travel credit. I’ve only used $80 this year so far from toll tags. Any ideas to use the travel credit before August if I’m not traveling? I’m also trying to justify the high AF. I redeemed 2 hotel nights last Fall in Europe using the Chase travel portal, used the GE, and redeemed my Away luggage in Feb when the $200 savings came out for CSR and paid the balance with PYB. I also have the PP with my Venture x and have been using my new AmEx Gold for dining, groceries and gas. Thanks

Travel GCs? I know I used my $300 credit at Kroger and actually bought some Delta GCs (I could have used it on anything) when groceries were still valid for the credit. So maybe a purchase through a travel site for GCs?

 

[becauseimnew]

My Starbucks $10 reload only earned me 30 URs.

 

[becauseimnew]

I have a CSR that I PCed from a CSP in Feb 2021. I opened the CSP in July 2019. The $550 AF comes due Aug 1st. Can I PC back to a CSP in August? My first year, I used the $300 grocery credit that was allowed as travel credit. I’ve only used $80 this year so far from toll tags. Any ideas to use the travel credit before August if I’m not traveling? I’m also trying to justify the high AF. I redeemed 2 hotel nights last Fall in Europe using the Chase travel portal, used the GE, and redeemed my Away luggage in Feb when the $200 savings came out for CSR and paid the balance with PYB. I also have the PP with my Venture x and have been using my new AmEx Gold for dining, groceries and gas. Thanks

You can book a refundable SW ticket, the travel credit will post, then you can cancel the ticket. Also, don't forget to do it again once your travel credit resets in August but before you PC the card.

 

[leeniewdw]

You can book using Avíos, Aer Lingus releases 5 economy seats, no business from my research.
URs and MRs transfer to avíos.

Chase offers an Aer Lingus card. I got one last fall (I think) and the SUB was 100k aer club/avios points, I can't recall the MSR, $6k over 6 months maybe?

As far as reward seats, it really depends on the route. I've been checking once every other week or so because I'll be booking for a June 2023 trip this July. The BOS --> DUB has shown 9 business class seats each of the most recent dates I've checked. PHL --> DUB showed 2 BC seats. IAD --> DUB has consistently shown 1 (which is a bummer since that's our preference, but we'll do BOS most likely).

We'd actually like to fly into SNN (Shannon) but the amount of routes changed during the pandemic and I've found no business class seats on the few routes they offer to SNN.

 

[afan]

Travel GCs? I know I used my $300 credit at Kroger and actually bought some Delta GCs (I could have used it on anything) when groceries were still valid for the credit. So maybe a purchase through a travel site for GCs?

They don't code correctly for that to work. Why people suggest refundable airfare you can turn into travel credit.

 

[becauseimnew]

Chase offers an Aer Lingus card. I got one last fall (I think) and the SUB was 100k aer club/avios points, I can't recall the MSR, $6k over 6 months maybe?

As far as reward seats, it really depends on the route. I've been checking once every other week or so because I'll be booking for a June 2023 trip this July. The BOS --> DUB has shown 9 business class seats each of the most recent dates I've checked. PHL --> DUB showed 2 BC seats. IAD --> DUB has consistently shown 1 (which is a bummer since that's our preference, but we'll do BOS most likely).

We'd actually like to fly into SNN (Shannon) but the amount of routes changed during the pandemic and I've found no business class seats on the few routes they offer to SNN.

This is great info... Thanks for sharing your business class finds.

 

[amcc]

Have used insure my trip dot com a few times

You can filter your results and the "cancel for any reason" should be one of the filters. I will often then sort by price and/or reviews. One of the other criteria I like to filter for is "primary medical insurance." At first it might seem overwhelming, but once you filter, I think you'll be able to get down to a few affordable options. You can then select a few policies and do a side by side comparison. I think these are usually some of my criteria:
Primary medical insurance, at least 100k
$1m emergency medical evacuation

Thank you always for all of you that are always so generous with information. I booked a cruise last October on a whim and didn't think of trip insurance at the time. I just followed all your info here and it seems that cancel for any reason can only be purchased within a couple of days/weeks of initial payment. The deposit was paid at that time - am I correct in thinking that this is the initial payment even if I haven't paid anything else? Am I out of luck for the cancel any time at this point?

We've never done a cruise and we haven't gone overseas since the pandemic so I had just never considered what ifs.

 

[wanderlust7]

Thank you always for all of you that are always so generous with information. I booked a cruise last October on a whim and didn't think of trip insurance at the time. I just followed all your info here and it seems that cancel for any reason can only be purchased within a couple of days/weeks of initial payment. The deposit was paid at that time - am I correct in thinking that this is the initial payment even if I haven't paid anything else? Am I out of luck for the cancel any time at this point?

We've never done a cruise and we haven't gone overseas since the pandemic so I had just never considered what ifs.

That's correct.

FWIW I've never gotten cancel for any reason because:
- usually within the time you need to buy it everything is still completely refundable, so I feel like I'm putting in a sunk cost when I could just change my mind.
- it only covers 75% of the cost. Psychologically, even losing 25% is a lot to me. It would have to be something major for me to cancel and lose that, but then I think most of the circumstances would be covered by the regular travel insurance
- it adds significantly to the cost of the insurance.

 

[smallsy]

I want to cry. I cancelled DH's CIP in February and in the flurry of everything must've forgotten to transfer his points to another card. Almost 200K gone. I am so angry with myself!

Does anyone have a system/spreadsheet they can share that will work to help me avoid this in the future? I was doing so well before the pandemic started, and after taking a 2 year break I am starting to feel like maybe I can't handle this anymore.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

That's correct.

FWIW I've never gotten cancel for any reason because:
- usually within the time you need to buy it everything is still completely refundable, so I feel like I'm putting in a sunk cost when I could just change my mind.
- it only covers 75% of the cost. Psychologically, even losing 25% is a lot to me. It would have to be something major for me to cancel and lose that, but then I think most of the circumstances would be covered by the regular travel insurance
- it adds significantly to the cost of the insurance.

When we booked our first DisneyWorld vacation (thru Disney) it was for my parents anniversary. Included me, DH, DS and my parents. My sister booked her family of 5 also. Both of us got the trip cancellation insurance Disney offered at the time. My dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer in May before June trip. I had booked flights with miles, everything else cash. We got all our money back and the insurance covered fee to redeposit miles. We were out only the $200 cost of insurance. I've insured every trip since where Ive spent significant cash, though not if all booked on miles/points. Every international trip, I get medical and evacuation coverage.

I want to cry. I cancelled DH's CIP in February and in the flurry of everything must've forgotten to transfer his points to another card. Almost 200K gone. I am so angry with myself!

Does anyone have a system/spreadsheet they can share that will work to help me avoid this in the future? I was doing so well before the pandemic started, and after taking a 2 year break I am starting to feel like maybe I can't handle this anymore.

I have spreadsheets listing cards opened, when closed, bonus earned, etc. I also have a list of points and miles on each account, which helps if you get hacked. The easiest way to not lose chase points is to transfer to one account when they post or when you pay the statement. I may leave a few hundred on a card, but as soon as a bonus posts, I move it.

 

[sinnika]

I want to cry. I cancelled DH's CIP in February and in the flurry of everything must've forgotten to transfer his points to another card. Almost 200K gone. I am so angry with myself!

Does anyone have a system/spreadsheet they can share that will work to help me avoid this in the future? I was doing so well before the pandemic started, and after taking a 2 year break I am starting to feel like maybe I can't handle this anymore.

Can you try calling Chase and asking for forgiveness? I recently opened an American Express Gold card and missed my first payment. I called them and not only did I have a late charge but all the points that I earned for that first month were also lost. I explained to them that I never miss a payment and I was out of the country and would they please consider reinstating the points. The supervisor was able to do that as well as reversed the late charge. Granted it was only a few days late but it never hurts to ask. Good luck!