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

[CaptainAmerica]

What are you considering the MR worth? And do you take advantage of the credits on the Gold? I usually get close to 2 cpp transferring to Delta and use 80% of the credits so I'm getting 8% back on grocery spend for an effective AF of $58.

No, I never Uber and the restaurants they include aren't around here. And my local airports are Providence or Hartford so it's hard to find decent itineraries on anything other than Southwest or JetBlue. This round of SUBs (Plat plus Gold) will be for round trip to Honolulu for 5 at around 1.5 cpp.

 

[reliev]

Do Disney restaurants (in the parks) code as travel or dining on the CSP?

they do on the CSR. So I wouldn't see why not.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I have a question on the Citi Premier. The 80000, I saw an article about a year old that said they can be redeemed for cash (I think it said direct deposit or statement credit) does anyone know if that's true? Also does anyone know if the hotel rates etc, are higher than booking directly, when you book through their website?
Need a new card, want low or no fee and most bang for the buck.

Yes to cash back. Statement credit, deposit to your account or mail a check
Here are random hotels for next week. The first is Citi, the second from Trip Advisor. Prices are pretty similar

 

[platamama]

That said after looking over the property, I'm not sure Tabacon is for us. Not a lot close by, town is a cab ride (not renting a car.) When we stayed near Arenal before, the volcano was active and we were only there 2 nights. This time it would be 4 nights. Manuel Antonio has tons of wildlife & beach, probably more our style.

When we were near Arenal before (3 nights), the activities we did that were pretty awesome:

• ATV tour (Original Arenal ATV; they came and picked us up from the hotel)
• Zip lining (Sky Adventures - Arenal Park; they came and picked us up from the hotel)
• Proyecto Asis (this was on the way to Arenal from San Jose airport; our private shuttle driver waited for us while we spent time there and we got to feed the animals including bottle feeding baby capuchins that were there ).

You can find reviews of them on trip advisor. We also spent time in Manuel Antonio on that same trip and really loved that too but I can't say that it was better than the Arenal area, just different. We didn't rent a car either, I just booked transport through Anywhere Costa Rica, where you can choose shared or private shuttles to get around.

 

[Eeyore1220]

they do on the CSR. So I wouldn't see why not.

Sorry, I meant which one (3x points vs 2x)

 

[reliev]

Sorry, I meant which one (3x points vs 2x)

I have it on the app so anything that is quick-serve shows up. even with AMEX gold I've gotten 4x just about everywhere I don't think any place in WDW doesn't code correctly but this is the place I could be proven wrong I go about 3x a month except I try to avoid it July/Aug (just too hot for me) I can't remember where you wouldn't get the 2x in other words.

 

[reliev]

Here's a link to the details. "These deals allow for travel from US gateways to Germany or Denmark starting as soon as July 5th, and going all the way until January 4th, 2023. You just need to find space on Delta.com and book at least 14 days before you plan to travel."

I was able to find availability to CDG Paris as well as Dublin, in addition to Germany and Denmark.

don't worry about it I don't think I can go this year I don't have enough time off work. but dang a good deal.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Do Disney restaurants (in the parks) code as travel or dining on the CSP?

In March they coded as restaurants on my CSR

 

[WVMo3DD]

Thanks everyone! Question from my dad:

He got roped into opening a bunch of cards that he didn't really understand so my mom could maximize rewards. (I'm sure you all don't need any further explanation.) Now he doesn't know which ones to keep and which ones my mom planned on cancelling after the SUB. He has Chase sapphire preferred and sapphire reserve and he wants to know if he should keep both of them or close the sapphire preferred. The annual fee just hit so he would need to close it soon to get that refunded. He is planning on looking into how to best use his cards but I don't think he plans to get to the level my mom was at.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

When we were near Arenal before (3 nights), the activities we did that were pretty awesome:

• ATV tour (Original Arenal ATV; they came and picked us up from the hotel)
• Zip lining (Sky Adventures - Arenal Park; they came and picked us up from the hotel)
• Proyecto Asis (this was on the way to Arenal from San Jose airport; our private shuttle driver waited for us while we spent time there and we got to feed the animals including bottle feeding baby capuchins that were there ).

You can find reviews of them on trip advisor. We also spent time in Manuel Antonio on that same trip and really loved that too but I can't say that it was better than the Arenal area, just different. We didn't rent a car either, I just booked transport through Anywhere Costa Rica, where you can choose shared or private shuttles to get around.

I can't zip line, although DS and DH might. ATV is questionable. At Arenal we did a Cano Negro wildlife cruise. Hot springs visit was an option but we skipped it. Proyecto Asis sounds great.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Thanks everyone! Question from my dad:

He got roped into opening a bunch of cards that he didn't really understand so my mom could maximize rewards. (I'm sure you all don't need any further explanation.) Now he doesn't know which ones to keep and which ones my mom planned on cancelling after the SUB. He has Chase sapphire preferred and sapphire reserve and he wants to know if he should keep both of them or close the sapphire preferred. The annual fee just hit so he would need to close it soon to get that refunded. He is planning on looking into how to best use his cards but I don't think he plans to get to the level my mom was at.

This is hard to answer without knowing how he might use the cards, but the Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee, which includes an annual $300 travel credit. Again, without a ton of information, I might suggest closing this card due to the high annual fee and the unliklihood that someone not "in the game" would use this card to it's potential to offset this fee. Before canceling the card, try to use any available benefits:
1. If there is a travel benefit ($300) available, try to use that before canceling. I think you can look in the rewards section and see how much of the travel benefit is available.
2. If there are any other benefits, like Global Entry/TSA precheck, etc, that haven't been used, you can use them prior to canceling.
3. Make sure to transfer any UR points from the card being canceled to another UR card. This is really important- we don't want him to lose his points.
4. He has at least 30 days from the AF posting to have it fully refunded. Someone else might chime in and correct this- it could be even longer- 30 days from statement closing. I just don't want to give out the wrong info, so I'll say 30 days from posting, just to be safe.

The Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee and can always be product changed to a CSR if he would like the benefits of the CSR down the line.

 

[Alexle2007]

Thanks everyone! Question from my dad:

He got roped into opening a bunch of cards that he didn't really understand so my mom could maximize rewards. (I'm sure you all don't need any further explanation.) Now he doesn't know which ones to keep and which ones my mom planned on cancelling after the SUB. He has Chase sapphire preferred and sapphire reserve and he wants to know if he should keep both of them or close the sapphire preferred. The annual fee just hit so he would need to close it soon to get that refunded. He is planning on looking into how to best use his cards but I don't think he plans to get to the level my mom was at.

One option is for him to downgrade to a no fee card like the Freedom Flex if he could benefit from it.

Good luck on your move to St. Louis!

 

[chattadisser]

Thanks everyone! Question from my dad:

He got roped into opening a bunch of cards that he didn't really understand so my mom could maximize rewards. (I'm sure you all don't need any further explanation.) Now he doesn't know which ones to keep and which ones my mom planned on cancelling after the SUB. He has Chase sapphire preferred and sapphire reserve and he wants to know if he should keep both of them or close the sapphire preferred. The annual fee just hit so he would need to close it soon to get that refunded. He is planning on looking into how to best use his cards but I don't think he plans to get to the level my mom was at.

This is hard to answer without knowing how he might use the cards, but the Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee, which includes an annual $300 travel credit. Again, without a ton of information, I might suggest closing this card due to the high annual fee and the unliklihood that someone not "in the game" would use this card to it's potential to offset this fee. Before canceling the card, try to use any available benefits:
1. If there is a travel benefit ($300) available, try to use that before canceling. I think you can look in the rewards section and see how much of the travel benefit is available.
2. If there are any other benefits, like Global Entry/TSA precheck, etc, that haven't been used, you can use them prior to canceling.
3. Make sure to transfer any UR points from the card being canceled to another UR card. This is really important- we don't want him to lose his points.
4. He has at least 30 days from the AF posting to have it fully refunded. Someone else might chime in and correct this- it could be even longer- 30 days from statement closing. I just don't want to give out the wrong info, so I'll say 30 days from posting, just to be safe.

The Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee and can always be product changed to a CSR if he would like the benefits of the CSR down the line.

I agree with the points @FreeDiningFanatic mentioned. My DH has the CSR and I have the CSP. My CSP will likely get closed when the annual fee hits. I really opened it when the signup bonus was high. For our needs, we use the $300 credit on the CSR, the TSA pre-check and the increased UR's when booking through the portal that the CSR brings. We also like the comfort of the travel protection too. If your Dad isn't really going to ultiize these benefits it may make more sense for him to keep the CSP with the lower annual fee.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Here's a link to the details. "These deals allow for travel from US gateways to Germany or Denmark starting as soon as July 5th, and going all the way until January 4th, 2023. You just need to find space on Delta.com and book at least 14 days before you plan to travel."

I was able to find availability to CDG Paris as well as Dublin, in addition to Germany and Denmark.

I haven't done Delta One. But we are going to Paris this year so this was intriguing. Thing is, we're happy with lie-flat seats on Air France business class which are 55K each, so it's still a huge difference. But also don't know what we're missing...

 

[afan]

I know why I did this to myself but I also don't know why I allowed myself to talk myself into doing it this way.

TDLR Hilton went down again and rather than call to have them do it I figured I'd just cancel and rebook. Always had the points back in like 20 min before. There's also a room at 34k and one at 35k so either way I'm saving over the 4 nights I have booked at 37k which was why I did it. And I didn't feel like bugging them to rebook something I may just end up cancelling cause they still aren't open.

So now my impatience starts to get worse cause I'm closer to 30 min than 20 and the cancellation email came in the same time frame but the points aren't back.

I did get the ok from work yesterday to be able to be flexible with my dates if they open in Sept so that's good. I would still prefer to be back by the end of the month. I'd rather go this year as I'm sure next year will be nuts. I'll still go if that's how it works out.

 

[IFlossU]

I have a question on the Citi Premier. The 80000, I saw an article about a year old that said they can be redeemed for cash (I think it said direct deposit or statement credit) does anyone know if that's true? Also does anyone know if the hotel rates etc, are higher than booking directly, when you book through their website?
Need a new card, want low or no fee and most bang for the buck.

I redeemed 84k points ($840) with direct deposit to my checking account last month. Deposit was in my checking account the next day. Given Citi’s reputation I was impressed by how easy it was.

 

[AmyAnne]

I agree with the points @FreeDiningFanatic mentioned. My DH has the CSR and I have the CSP. My CSP will likely get closed when the annual fee hits. I really opened it when the signup bonus was high. For our needs, we use the $300 credit on the CSR, the TSA pre-check and the increased UR's when booking through the portal that the CSR brings. We also like the comfort of the travel protection too. If your Dad isn't really going to ultiize these benefits it may make more sense for him to keep the CSP with the lower annual fee.

Why close the CSP rather than change to a Freedom? For no-fee cards, the Freedom benefits are pretty good (1.5 URs on everything or 5x URs on quarterly categories).

 

[chattadisser]

Why close the CSP rather than change to a Freedom? For no-fee cards, the Freedom benefits are pretty good (1.5 URs on everything or 5x URs on quarterly categories).

We have 4 Freedoms and a Flex between DH and I. I have a hard time maxing out the quarterly categories on them all unless it's the grocery quarter.

 

[Narnia_girl]

I'd appreciate suggestions on a hotel loyalty card/brand to pursue. We have had IHG for 10+ years but I want to expand. It is mostly used for my husband's business stays at IHG although we occasionally stay one night here or there. We've stayed executive level a few times at Hilton and like that perk, but I'm also open to Hyatt.

In the next year I have trips planned to London/U.K., Oklahoma City, Orlando for a convention--last time it was at Rosen Shingle Creek, and then WDW on property for a few days, and Glacier National Park via Seattle. After that we will be officially done with college tuition and plan to travel a lot more.

Just got this email from IHG. These are my three primary categories, but timing is bad as I'm working on a minimum spend for Venture X:

​

From July 1 to Sept. 30, you can earn 5X total points for every dollar spent on up to $1,500 in combined purchases at gas stations, grocery stores and home improvement stores with your IHG® Rewards Credit Card.*​

​ Activate your special offer by Sept. 30, 2022.​

Should I aim for Hilton or Hyatt?
edited to add: I already have CSP and Disney Visa

 

[afan]

I know why I did this to myself but I also don't know why I allowed myself to talk myself into doing it this way.

TDLR Hilton went down again and rather than call to have them do it I figured I'd just cancel and rebook. Always had the points back in like 20 min before. There's also a room at 34k and one at 35k so either way I'm saving over the 4 nights I have booked at 37k which was why I did it. And I didn't feel like bugging them to rebook something I may just end up cancelling cause they still aren't open.

So now my impatience starts to get worse cause I'm closer to 30 min than 20 and the cancellation email came in the same time frame but the points aren't back.

I did get the ok from work yesterday to be able to be flexible with my dates if they open in Sept so that's good. I would still prefer to be back by the end of the month. I'd rather go this year as I'm sure next year will be nuts. I'll still go if that's how it works out.

Well it appears it's going to take the up to 48 hours they say it can to get your points back. Lesson learned, next time I'll call hilton instead of thinking it'll work like it haw before.