I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 (see first page for add'l details)

[mmmears]

I should add that I read that Le Comptoir (the takeout counter at the Ritz) was amazing, so I went there before dinner and purchased a pastry for dessert. OMGosh it’s insanely delicious. I also purchased a raspberry Madeleine and YUM. I am going to head there Monday morning before my train to Frankfurt and get a sandwich for the train. Of course I may be back before Monday….

Tomorrow I have a food tour of the Marais, which starts at 10:30am. I don’t typically eat a lot in the mornings, so this might be a struggle for me. Maybe I can start a ‘doggie’ bag for lunch.

I spent today wandering the Marais and WOW. The shopping is unbelievable. I wish that I wasn’t carry-on only. Actually I am not sure how I’ll get home with my purchases. I will probably have to ship a box to myself from Frankfurt.

Glad Paris is going well for you! I haven't been to the Marais, so I'm interested to hear more about it. I hope your food tour is fun. And that restaurant that @djmeredith shared has been on my list since that post, but now I want to go even more. Have a fun time.

 

[mmmears]

Just wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for those of you who still contribute to this thread. Thanks to all of the valuable information you share here I can do crazy things, like fly my family of 4 to WDW for a 3 day trip from AZ. That’s what my DD requested as her 8th grade graduation gift. Without the knowledge I’ve gained here over the past 4 years I would never be able to afford to just fly to WDW for a few days because my DD asked. This thread has the best group of people on the Disboards. I appreciate you.

I feel the same. Thanks to everyone who has stuck around during the last few years, especially since travel has become more complicated than ever before. It's wonderful to be able to afford to try new places, even better when we get special perks like upgrades and lounges, and so helpful when we need to pivot due to things beyond our control.

I appreciate everyone here as well. Thanks for all the ideas, info, recommendations, and advice.

 

[mom2febgirls]

I feel the same. Thanks to everyone who has stuck around during the last few years, especially since travel has become more complicated than ever before. It's wonderful to be able to afford to try new places, even better when we get special perks like upgrades and lounges, and so helpful when we need to pivot due to things beyond our control.

I appreciate everyone here as well. Thanks for all the ideas, info, recommendations, and advice.

Yes! Before I started reading this thread I had never heard of lie flat seats or airport lounges. So far this year I've flown to Hawaii (lie flat), Las Vegas, SLC, and Chicago (for free!) and visited 5 Delta/Amex lounges.

I know I still have tons to learn and look forward to someday mastering international travel.

Thanks!

 

[EACarlson]

We took two week long trips in 3 weeks so I'll have some trip reports to share. But, we just got back from Grand Cayman and we got caught up in the Fort Lauderdale disaster. Our flight from Grand Cayman was scheduled to stop in FLL with a nearly 4 hour layover, then continue to Chicago. We took off uneventfully from Grand Cayman then nearly landed in FLL but then began circling the airport like 4-5 times, for over an hour, until we finally had to divert because we were out of fuel.

Diverted to Orlando where we were explicitly told we wouldn't be able to get off because it was an international flight and we were not going to an international gate, we were just landing to be fueled and then were to head back to FLL. This cabin crew was something else "Don't even look for a flight out of Orlando, you are NOT gonna be allowed to get off," one of the FAs says over the intercom. Well of course we land and the pilots time out... and lo and behold, they are somehow magically allowed to get off the plane and clear internationally. Then we wait on the plane for new pilots. All this while I hadn't fed my kids since breakfast because I knew I had that darn four hour layover and I'd planned to feed them multiple times during that long layover and I didn't think I needed copious snacks for an hour flight. Well, big lesson learned there. So then finally they come on and say that the tower in FLL has no power so the airport is closed indefinitely. So then we deplane in MCO with basically zero information on how to rebook. Self service options online weren't working. That's where all the cc annual fee perks started kicking in:

1. Had used an reimbursed EBCI which allowed us to sit near the front of the plane, which meant we would be able to get to an agent quicker than others at the back of the plane
2. Global Entry for the whole fam whisked us past the mobs of people trying to clear
3. We only travel with carry-on baggage, so no waiting for baggage to unload
4. I ran to the Southwest check in counter while DH got the kids food. Initially waited in the wrong line and then had to go wait in another line at the actual "help desk." Was able to get rebooked to our local airport rather than Chicago, which is further for us. But got C53-56 boarding positions. Paid for upgraded boardings and got A1-3. I had the right SW cc on me which reimburses for upgraded boardings and even had the card marked- it helped being prepared.

All in all, though, it was really stressful. My sister's fam was traveling with us and they didn't have any of those perks and waited in line for hours and there were hoards of people behind them. This really should have been something that could have been easily achieved online through self service.

While I recognize that this was weather related, then airport system failure (due to weather), I feel communication and assistance was really poor from SW. If I wasn't an experienced traveler or even knew to upgrade my boarding position, after a terribly stressful travel day, we would have been totally separated from our kids, one of who was already in tears from the stress. EBCI glitched on one leg, before the whole diversion, etc (I think @CyndiLouWho reported on this as well) DH and I each had EBCI and I got A boarding and he got B60, while my sister didn't have EBCI and got early B boarding. So a total glitch! Then, when we got rebooked to our local airport and got stuck with C53-56, an hour later my sister (luckily) got rebooked on the same flight and they were given B boarding positions. I just can't explain how any of this worked with Southwest.

In the end, we did get home and actually about the same time as we would have otherwise, just with a lot of stress. Anyone have experience with SW issuing LUV vouchers when it's weather related?

ETA: I just reread this and it sounds so whiny. I have so, so much to be grateful for and I don't mean to come off that way. Just stressful and stressful for my kiddos.

Not whiny, very factual. I can shed a little light on the boarding position issue for the rebooked flight. You and your group checked in when your flight was booked, so you went right into the queue for BP. When your sister and her group got re-booked, someone that had already been checked in was removed from the boarding queue. Missed connection, cancellation, probably not upgraded boarding but possible. It's the policy of SW to re-use any open boarding positions A16 or later.

Hi, the first page asks that I introduce myself and ask questions before I pull the trigger on a new charge card.
My husband and I need to get a new credit card. I have probably 10 shares or more of Disney stock and I also have Disney+. We charge anywhere from $2000 to $5000 a month and pay off the balance in cash each month.

My daughter is 24 and it’s her last 18 months in school. I just found out that 12/99 UPromise had been hacked that I was using. This might be a good time for me to make a clean break. I’ve never pulled out any money from the education program that I was involved in but I have over $25,000 so I really should do that.

I wanted to have a new card that works with Disney so that I could use it for DCL primarily and an occasional Disney hotel stay if needed.

I had been thinking about getting the Disney credit card for years. I believe it would be in my best interest as I could use the money for Disney if they still do that. I just needed to wait until my daughter graduated so I no longer have the use for future education money.

The first post in this thread recommended that I ask for warnings and recommendations according to the type of consumer, I am.

Please tap reply, so I don’t miss your comment thank you in advance for your help and advice.

I’ve considered airline cards but for health reasons we have to pick non-stop flights from ORD and MKE. Cheapest airline wins we use 3-4 no loyalty just short direct flights.

I am going to second @platamama 's suggestion that you go in branch at Chase and apply for a Chase Sapphire Preferred for their 90k offer. Chase Ultimate Rewards are a nice easy currency to work with- you can cash out the points for a statement credit or redeem on their travel portal or transfer to airline and hotel partners, like Southwest and Hyatt.

I too fly out of MKE, ORD and MDW, and am fond of using Southwest points because I can rebook flights if the price drops and it just refunds the points to my rapid rewards account.

While it's easy to charge DCL and Disney stays to the CSP (and earn points for doing so), it's a bit trickier redeeming the points at Disney hotels or for Disney tickets because Chase blocks Disney from their travel portal. But you can do the easy thing and redeem your points for a statement credit, then take that credit and use it for whatever you wanna purchase.

You don't list any new CCs in the past two years, so we'll assume you don't have any new ones?

Feel free to ask any additional questions!

I will 3rd @platamama and @FreeDiningFanatic with the recommendation for a CSP. I primarily fly out of MKE including twice a year on non-stops to MCO using points transferred from Chase. The other option for flights using Chase points is United which runs non-stops just about everywhere out of ORD.
If you're willing to go one step further and open two cards, the CSP pairs very nicely with the Chase Freedom Unlimited. That gives you a better option for those categories that aren't covered in the CSP bonuses.

 

[bnf0522]

Hi, the first page asks that I introduce myself and ask questions before I pull the trigger on a new charge card.
My husband and I need to get a new credit card. I have probably 10 shares or more of Disney stock and I also have Disney+. We charge anywhere from $2000 to $5000 a month and pay off the balance in cash each month.

My daughter is 24 and it’s her last 18 months in school. I just found out that 12/99 UPromise had been hacked that I was using. This might be a good time for me to make a clean break. I’ve never pulled out any money from the education program that I was involved in but I have over $25,000 so I really should do that.

I wanted to have a new card that works with Disney so that I could use it for DCL primarily and an occasional Disney hotel stay if needed.

I had been thinking about getting the Disney credit card for years. I believe it would be in my best interest as I could use the money for Disney if they still do that. I just needed to wait until my daughter graduated so I no longer have the use for future education money.

The first post in this thread recommended that I ask for warnings and recommendations according to the type of consumer, I am.

Please tap reply, so I don’t miss your comment thank you in advance for your help and advice.

I’ve considered airline cards but for health reasons we have to pick non-stop flights from ORD and MKE. Cheapest airline wins we use 3-4 no loyalty just short direct flights.

Hello! I’ve found this forum very helpful and hope you do too!

As everybody else has basically mentioned, I wouldn’t use the Disney Visa as your primary card. There are much better cards out there for maximizing rewards. I keep my Disney Visa for Disney trips only ( and because it’s a cute card ) but I’ve signed up for the Discover It card and Chase Freedom to try and maximize the rewards that work best for me and my spending habits!

Also, the NerdWallet website has excellent info and comparison tools for a lot of different credit cards. Hope this helps!

 

[Jax1023]

Anyone have any Jackson, WY hotel reccs? Probably booking through the UR portal.

Have decided to move forward with the Yellowstone/ grand Teton trip this summer, so if anyone has any great suggestions, let me know.

Currently flying SW into Bozeman, mt. Have 2 nights booked at at Mammoth hot springs hotel in the park, but the opening is currently delayed, so considering going to Gardiner MT if anyone happens to have any suggestions for there.

Then 2 nights at old faithful inn:

Then for 3 nights in Jackson where I still need a hotel.

Also fun activities and places to eat!

 

[hsmamato2]

Question for my cc peeps... I have used and love my IHG $49 card for years now.... but I reallllly am tempted to get that new one with 175k bonus.... I'd have to cancel my old one tho..... wwyd? I could do a ihg biz, which is 35k less but I'd still get to keep my OG card..... trying to decide!

 

[wanderlust7]

Back from a trip to NYC. Stayed at the Manhattan Club on timeshare exchange, then 3 nights at the Park Hyatt. I put a review here.

Flew Jetblue SFO-JFK. At SFO, we went to Mustards Grill with a CSR Priority Pass ($56 credit for 2 people max). Had to go through security twice, but food was really good! The salmon in the sandwich was so moist. Coming back, flight was delayed 3 hours. Too bad I didn't check my e-mail or we would have left the hotel later. Tried to get into Terminal 1, but was told we can't go to a different terminal. Even though I told them our flight was delayed and we wanted to go to a lounge. So went to Terminal 4 instead and got in with no problems (even though flight is out of Terminal 5). Went to the Primeclass Lounge, which wasn't great. One sandwich was so soggy it was inedible.

Got to our gate just as they were announcing meal vouchers of $12/person. Also got $50/person travel funds. I think these can't be combined but can be used for other people. If anyone knows of any Southwest-like tricks for these, let me know.

First trip to NYC for DH and the kids. I haven't been in over 20 years. Weather was fairly nice; had 1 day of drizzle. The cherry blossoms and magnolias were in bloom in Central Park. We climbed the spiral staircase to the crown of the Statue of Liberty. So interesting seeing the inside, though a little scary for me since I'm a bit scared of heights. I'm regretting not bringing back some Eileen's Cheesecake like I did the last trip.

 

[ten6mom]

Within the past week, both of my kids (16 and 18) have suggested to me that they'd be intersted in going back to Japan "sometime" if I go again.

If I took them, we would just fly coach and the carrier would not matter.

I know that when I originally booked the ANA flights in First/Biz class, the fuel surcharges were as much as a regular coach class ticket would have been.

Is there a possibility of using points/miles for coach class tickets wtihout the crazy fuel surcharges? I don't know whether the fuel surcharges are carrier specific or how that works.

I am happy to try to accumulate whatever points I can to transfer to get us all there as long as I'm not still spending more in surcharges than I would if I were just paying cash.

Thank you!

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Within the past week, both of my kids (16 and 18) have suggested to me that they'd be intersted in going back to Japan "sometime" if I go again.

If I took them, we would just fly coach and the carrier would not matter.

I know that when I originally booked the ANA flights in First/Biz class, the fuel surcharges were as much as a regular coach class ticket would have been.

Is there a possibility of using points/miles for coach class tickets wtihout the crazy fuel surcharges? I don't know whether the fuel surcharges are carrier specific or how that works.

I am happy to try to accumulate whatever points I can to transfer to get us all there as long as I'm not still spending more in surcharges than I would if I were just paying chash.

Thank you!

Our United flights in economy were 60K roundtrip per person, so total of 120k miles, and we transferred URs to United to book. Taxes on the award tickets were only $60 each, so $120 total for 2 people. The taxes are actually cheaper than taxes on our flights to Costa Rica later this year.

 

[ten6mom]

Our United flights in economy were 60K roundtrip per person, so total of 120k miles, and we transferred URs to United to book. Taxes on the award tickets were only $60 each, so $120 total for 2 people. The taxes are actually cheaper than taxes on our flights to Costa Rica later this year.

This gives me hope; thank you!

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Saw on Frequent Miler that the Marriott Boundless (5) 50k certificate offer for $5k/3mos is back, which can often be a great deal. Here's the public offer. I believe you can top these off with 15k points. Note that these aren't as easy to use as straight points, so do some research before signing up. My support offer is only showing 3 certs, so the public offer is better.

TIP: When I've done this in the past, I've made the mistake of meeting the MSR too quickly. Because these are good from one year from distribution (mine we issued within a few days of hitting MSR), I wished I had slow walked the MSR so that I had a little more time with the certs.

ETA: We've previously used these at the Swan, Swan Reserve and/or Dolphin. Even the Swan Reserve looks like it tops out at 66k, so would fall within the 50k cert + top off.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Saw on Frequent Miler that the Marriott Boundless (5) 50k certificate offer for $5k/3mos is back, which can often be a great deal. Here's the public offer. I believe you can top these off with 15k points. Note that these aren't as easy to use as straight points, so do some research before signing up. My support offer is only showing 3 certs, so the public offer is better.

TIP: When I've done this in the past, I've made the mistake of meeting the MSR too quickly. Because these are good from one year from distribution (mine we issued within a few days of hitting MSR), I wished I had slow walked the MSR so that I had a little more time with the certs.

ETA: We've previously used these at the Swan, Swan Reserve and/or Dolphin. Even the Swan Reserve looks like it tops out at 66k, so would fall within the 50k cert + top off.

I love my URs but regretting my latest CIC because I'd love this offer for Marriott. You essentially can't hold any other Marriott cards though, right?

 

[IFlossU]

TIP: When I've done this in the past, I've made the mistake of meeting the MSR too quickly. Because these are good from one year from distribution (mine we issued within a few days of hitting MSR), I wished I had slow walked the MSR so that I had a little more time with the certs.

Thanks for posting this. I’m considering this card, but didn’t read the fine print about using the certs within a year. That’s a very important detail, and you’re absolutely right about the timing.

I love my URs but regretting my latest CIC because I'd love this offer for Marriott. You essentially can't hold any other Marriott cards though, right?

Here’s the information from DOC. From what I’ve read it appears you can’t currently hold another Marriott card. I just got the Amex Biz so I’m ineligible.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targ...t-certificates-up-to-50000-points-each-bonus/

 

[Eastern]

Our United flights in economy were 60K roundtrip per person, so total of 120k miles, and we transferred URs to United to book. Taxes on the award tickets were only $60 each, so $120 total for 2 people.

How far in advance did you book your Japan tickets?

 

[Eastern]

I know that when I originally booked the ANA flights in First/Biz class, the fuel surcharges were as much as a regular coach class ticket would have been.

Is there a possibility of using points/miles for coach class tickets wtihout the crazy fuel surcharges? I don't know whether the fuel surcharges are carrier specific or how that works.

I am happy to try to accumulate whatever points I can to transfer to get us all there as long as I'm not still spending more in surcharges than I would if I were just paying cash.

I have just started looking at Japan flights and ANA was mentioned for its significant carrier-imposed surcharges.

 

[StephPlum]

I love my URs but regretting my latest CIC because I'd love this offer for Marriott. You essentially can't hold any other Marriott cards though, right?

It is complicated. But I have the Amex Biz and the chase personal. I had to wait 2 years before I was eligible for another one. Here is a chart, sorry first link that came up when goggling. https://thepointsguy.com/credit-cards/hotel/marriott/eligibility-chart-marriott-bonvoy-cards/

 

[StephPlum]

Question for my cc peeps... I have used and love my IHG $49 card for years now.... but I reallllly am tempted to get that new one with 175k bonus.... I'd have to cancel my old one tho..... wwyd? I could do a ihg biz, which is 35k less but I'd still get to keep my OG card..... trying to decide!

Do you have a P2? I have both the $49 af card and the $89 af one. I am probably not going to cancel either one due to the new rule of one personal. I’ll get the biz one. My P2 never had the $49 af card he’ll churn the $89 card when he can.

 

[afan]

Note that these aren't as easy to use as straight points, so do some research before signing up.

Why is this? If there's points availability aren't they good to use? I've never had a Marriott card but the 5 nights could be good for a trip next year.

 

[have2getaway]

My husband was approved for a CIU and the bonus tracker was showing. Today I logged in and it says “ We can’t show your bonus tracker” in red. Anyone ever have this happen? We hadn’t spent enough to make the bonus, but were on track to meet the SUB. I’m sort of panicking about it, but honestly not sure if I need to be since we hadn’t met the minimum spend to receive it anyway.