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

[palhockeymomof2]

Went for the CIP 8K deal and instant approval! I was going to wait til August and go for another MDD CSR/CSP but we have so many expenses coming up and no current MSRs so I figured why wait.

Congrats

 

[Expiry]

Planning future travel to Europe. I think my first trip will be Switzerland and Italy. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of questions, but for now I’m stuck on this. I’ll rely on trains/buses to get around. Reading blogs, travel sites they all say pack light. Which I can probably do but can’t decide on rolling carry on or backpack. So all you experts and experienced travelers, what do you feel works better in Europe. If I go with a backpack, I’m thinking of the ebags Mother Lode Jr.

Definitely backpack. I lived in Zurich for several years, and I can't imagine having to take a rolling bag through the cobblestone streets, over tram tracks, getting up stairs quicklu on trams/busses.

 

[smallsy]

Congrats, DH applied and received the "we're reviewing your application"
I keep checking but no card.

 

[Expiry]

I would love to know. We are doing Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. Glacier Bay replaces Stikine though. I would love to do DCL for Alaska but a balcony is out of our budget.

yeah, a balcony was out of our budget on DCL, too. Thanks to good weather I spent a lot of time out on the decks though and saw a ton of beautiful vistas and animals.
Regarding the ports, Ketchikan was by far my favorite. If you like fish, I highly recommend the Alaska Fish House--it was the best thing I ate all week. Our excursion was kind of middle of the day so I didn't see as much of the town as I would have liked to, but I still found it the most interesting. Juneau was the place to see humpbacks. If you want to see orcas, I'd recommend booking a tour in Vancouver over any of the stops in Alaska. We took the train in Skagway which I found interesting to learn about the history of the area. Most of the rest of the town was just shopping, which isn't my thing, but it may be yours I'd also recommend walking some of the trails very close to where the boats are docked. It's very pretty without too much exertion.
If you had any other specific questions, I'm happy to answer

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Unique situation.
DH has a Chase personal login and business (sole prop) login, though they are also linked. But recently he was approved for a CIP ($8k MSR- yay!) for his LLC, using the LLC's EIN. Received the approval email. But the card does NOT show up in his business account. Think he needs another login? Or is this a glitch?

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Anyone else get a letter from Chase regarding the closure of their Ink cards due to inactivity and that you would have to use it within 15 days to keep the cc open? I got an email notifying of the letter and when I checked online on the Chase website, I saw that this same letter went out to 4 other cards. I assume all business cards, I still have to check against the numbers. Although, some cc numbers do not look familiar at all. I wonder it they are card numbers that got replaced when I asked for a card to be expedited. Sometimes they send duplicate cards with the same number and sometimes they send us a replacement card with a new cc number.

Anyway, I am wondering if I should just let Chase close the card or if I should make a charge to the the card to keep it active? It has over a $15k CL. I can move some over or just let it close without doing anything.

The card was opened in Feb 2020 and we last used it in Aug 2021.

Any suggestions? TIA.

 

[disneybirds]

Unique situation.
DH has a Chase personal login and business (sole prop) login, though they are also linked. But recently he was approved for a CIP ($8k MSR- yay!) for his LLC, using the LLC's EIN. Received the approval email. But the card does NOT show up in his business account. Think he needs another login? Or is this a glitch?

I had the same thing happen. We had to a create another account for the LLC card. We had to wait until the card came in the mail. I couldn't add it to his existing personal or business account. Ended up cancelling the other LLC card, so he would only 2 logins at a time.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

We're headed to a Kimpton in Charlotte in 2 weeks (attending a concert). My DH is a Platinum Ambassador with IHG but this is our first stay at a Kimpton. I keep seeing bloggers and insta travel people saying to email the hotel/mgr to ask about an upgrade. Does anyone here do that? This is just a 1 night stay, but I just feel weird doing that like "hey, I'm staying free on points but could we also be considered for an upgrade?" lol.

Also wanted to add this experience from a Diamond Royal Ambassador Inner Circle. Better status, so they got some things you won't, but pretty sweet data point:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/35305870-post22.html

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I had the same thing happen. We had to a create another account for the LLC card. We had to wait until the card came in the mail. I couldn't add it to his existing personal or business account. Ended up cancelling the other LLC card, so he would only 2 logins at a time.

Just what I needed. Thanks for sharing.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Today, Rakuten has Dell at 10%, but Saks at 2%.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Today, Rakuten has Dell at 10%, but Saks at 2%.

Ugg. Since Saks upped free shipping back to $100 I feel it absolutely necessary to score 15% on a portal to make up at least partially for the loss on my $50 purchases

 

[georgina]

Anyone else get a letter from Chase regarding the closure of their Ink cards due to inactivity and that you would have to use it within 15 days to keep the cc open? I got an email notifying of the letter and when I checked online on the Chase website, I saw that this same letter went out to 4 other cards. I assume all business cards, I still have to check against the numbers. Although, some cc numbers do not look familiar at all. I wonder it they are card numbers that got replaced when I asked for a card to be expedited. Sometimes they send duplicate cards with the same number and sometimes they send us a replacement card with a new cc number.

Anyway, I am wondering if I should just let Chase close the card or if I should make a charge to the the card to keep it active? It has over a $15k CL. I can move some over or just let it close without doing anything.

The card was opened in Feb 2020 and we last used it in Aug 2021.

Any suggestions? TIA.

We haven't gotten any letters like that from Chase but we usually don't keep inactive Inks around that long. DH got one like that about a BOA biz card he has but is not using and we are fine to let them close it. Would have closed it already if there was an easy way to do it online.

I don't see any reason to keep it open if you have other Ink cards, but I wouldn't let that 15,000 CL go without transferring it to another card. We are juggling 4 Inks with the 0% APR promo and I am trying to keep the utilization ratio reasonable so higher CL would be great for us.

 

[Zhoen]

Have any of y'all been to Tonolo bakery in Venice?

I was looking at pictures and I am just in LOVE with the china they serve their drinks in. I was wondering if anyone has been there and knows if it is possible to purchase a cup as a souvenir... (otherwise I'll just flip it over and try to find the pattern online, but it would be so much better if it was the actual cup from the shop...)

 

[snugglebug]

Unique situation.
DH has a Chase personal login and business (sole prop) login, though they are also linked. But recently he was approved for a CIP ($8k MSR- yay!) for his LLC, using the LLC's EIN. Received the approval email. But the card does NOT show up in his business account. Think he needs another login? Or is this a glitch?

I have 3 Chase accts- my personal, my sole prop and my LLC. I haven't combined any of them, I just keep 3 separate log ins.

 

[wannabee]

I just realized we might be comparing apples to oranges. 60K was one way. If yours is 125K round trip, then that is a decent rate.

If that is a one way, I would probably wait. Are your points already with United or do you still have the ability to transfer UR/MR? I ask because United seemed to offer the fewest deals both times I was looking. Virgin (depending on the fees) and Flying Blue were the ones with the most consistent points bargains. I checked Delta, United, Air Canada, Virgin, and Flying Blue.Sometimes I would check a different one but mainly stuck with these. The good rates come and go on an airline. If there was a rhyme or reason I never figured it out. If I still had the flexibility to transfer points to several airlines, I would wait and keep checking daily. I literally checked every day for weeks. That being said, if you are comfortable spending that amount of points for peace of mind, then go for it.

This is incredible.I just checked out Virgin and there are some amazing deals-- too early to book my dates yet. I have UR that I can transfer. How long do points take to transfer? I can purchase my husbands flight together with mine using my UR points- correct? Sorry for so many questions- very new to flying on points ( except SW) Thanks so much for your help!!

 

[orangecuse]

Looking for suggestions/tips in planning a November trip. DH turns 50 and wants to go somewhere warm with a beach to relax. We went to Italy for my 50th and I'm trying real hard to talk him into Europe again, so many cool places yet to be explored! He is thinking Virgin Islands, DR, or even Cancun, but we're open to anything really. He has about 200K MR he's willing to use, but I don't think there's any great flights/points transfers to the Caribbean, but I could totally be missing something. We are in NE Ohio so could fly out of CAK, CLE, CMH, or PIT. Would we be better off just paying cash for those flights and saving the points?

Jetblue has tons of direct flights to the Caribbean for very few miles comparatively. If they don't fly out of your home airports you could do a cheap flight to NY to get to jetblue. St Lucia is pretty amazing with the Pitons, or you could go more straight relaxation with Anguilla or the Virgin Islands.

 

[calypso726]

My husband and I flew Air Canada for our cruise in June, and it didn't go well. We used the Chase portal with our CSR to book our flights way in advance with United--which then was switched to an Air Canada flight. We had picked seats on our first flight, but were unable to after the switch to Air Canada. When we went to check in to our flights, it showed that they had bumped both of us to standby. I ended up making it on the plane, my husband did not. We had an 9am flight the day before the cruise, and he didn't end up making it to Vancouver on until 11pm. On top of that, they lost some of our luggage. It was what was supposed to be a carry-on bag, but with the switch from United to Air Canada, the plane they were using was small, so the carry on baggage had a smaller requirement than most airlines. We had to check my bag that had all my important stuff in it (like I said--it was planned as a carry-on!). A lot of expensive outdoor wear (important for an Alaska cruise!), and things particular to me that I was unable to replace before embarkation. We ended up spending our whole morning before boarding in Vancouver trying to replace nearly all my clothing and some other lost items.

They did end up compensating my husband for denied boarding. We were given a $1550 check (not a flight voucher), and we are still in waiting to see if what if anything we will be compensated for the luggage (They did find it and we got it back after our cruise, but we still had to pay to replace a bunch of stuff for the trip).

So, take my one data point how you will, but if I were to fly with them again before a cruise, I'd give myself 2 days of

That is awful. So sorry you went through that. I'd be wary of flying a particular airline after something like that as well.

As far as getting bumped to standby, that may have more to do with having booked the ticket via the UR portal rather than directly with United or Air Canada. I've heard quite a number of stories from friends and read posts online where passengers wind up in situations when there are changes or cancellations with an airline and they didn't book directly with the airlines. The airline will treat it as a 3rd party booking like Expedia and direct the passengers to deal with the travel agency rather than try to make things right for the passenger. I used to book a decent amount of flights through the Amex Travel portal and no longer do so because these issues seem to be so common now. Now, I will just transfer points over to the airline and book with miles whenever possible. At this point, I would risk the UR or Amex portal only for flights where I know I have plenty of options to switch gears on the fly should something get canceled and am willing to deal with the hassle that comes next. Had a friend book a fully refundable flight via UR portal and her CSR with AA. AA canceled the flight and said she could only be refunded by the travel agency (UR). Chase charged her $200 for the cancellation. It took months of going back and forth with Chase and AA to finally get her $200 in UR points put back.

 

[pinkxray]

I am working on my retention bonus for Amex Gold. Is buying gift cards just a no go? I need a few Disney gift cards and will buy them at shopdisney for the cute designs. Maybe $100/&150?

 

[miztressuz]

AmEx Offer

Carnival Cruise Line
Spend $1000 get 25,000 MR points
Expires 10/10/23

There's usually an equivalent cash offer ($250), I'll keep checking cards to confirm. Does anyone have the cash statement credit offer to confirm? I'm only seeing the MR points.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

You are going to all the best places! Check out my signature for Paris and Iceland trip reports.

We are headed to Iceland this summer again. Iceland is no joke as far as needing to book accommodations well in advance- you cannot wait to book hotels or airbnbs. I would just do it in the next couple of months and make sure you book refundable options. Iceland will be a nice treat after being in European cities during the summer heat. Just be sure to get out of Reykjavic and stay either in the south coast or in the Golden Circle.

Flights
Agree with the AF/KLM options. They offer a new stopover benefit in CDG for free, so that means you can continue onto Athens for no cost. It needs to be booked over the phone. Refer to the wiki on FT for an easyish guide. Iceland Air also offers a free stopover benefit, but this would be a cash flight. Check to see how much the mark up is on a one-way cash flight vs the round trip to be sure you aren't really overpaying.

Paris
Not sure of the highlights you'd like to hit in Paris, but the Eiffel Tower is not really the most central location. I personally would recommend staying near the Louvre, as you're walking distance to the Louvre and Royal Gardens, Notre Dame and the Seine. Transport to the Eiffel Tower when you want to visit there via subway, uber or taxi. If limited time, consider a tuk tuk tour to hit the highlights around Paris.

Oia
You can ferry or fly here from Athens. Ferry experiences in Greece are pretty cool. I think you can also do an overnight ferry from Athens, if that saves travel time and a hotel. We stayed in this AirBNB cave house right on the caldera in Oia, and the view is literally maybe the most beautiful I've ever seen. It's so beautiful it's almost impossible to truly explain how beautiful it is. Greek breakfasts (included) are the best and I still remember these croissants as being some of the best we've ever had. A couple nights in Oia is probably plenty. You can do the Red beach, black beach, white beach tour from near Akrotiti. No need to book in advance, just show up at the water taxis. From Oia, another cheap activity: you can walk down a few hundred steps to the small marina and enjoy a meal waterside (pass on riding the donkeys as they are abused). For sure visit the bookstore in Oia.

I recommend buying AirBNB giftcards at a discount, or you could PYB with a CSR if you buy gcs at a grocery store. I like to buy mine at a grocery store that also offers fuel points bonuses. Don't forget to use the British Airways AirBNB portal to earn 3x Avios on your AirBNB bookings.

Message me if you need any help. You are going to plan the best trip!

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Air France does have a direct nonstop flight from IAH-CDG and allows stopovers. AF also has direct non stop flights from CDG-ATH so theoretically you should be able to book a stopover ticket for the same amount of miles. https://princeoftravel.com/news/air-france-klm-flying-blue-adds-free-stopovers/

AF is a transfer partner for both Chase and Amex. AF flights for your time frame are already open for booking.

The Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile can be booked with Hyatt points transferred 1:1 with Chase. You can book a Regency King Standard suite for about 21k points per night. It will accommodate 4 people and also give you club access for snacks and drinks. It isn't super close to the Eiffel tower but some rooms and the salon do have great views of the Eiffel Tower. We have friends that have stayed there and really thought the location was fine and are returning. I have a stayed booked there as well for next year.

THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH! I am going to work on booking this week and next week. I appreciate you both, and your knowledge and info, so very much!