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

[havaneselover]

Any lawn experts? I've got about 6,000 square feet that needs to be seeded or I need sod put down. The difference in price is $7,820 ($1,350 vs. $9,170). This is part of a bigger landscape project (removing 21 trees, extending my irrigation system, putting in some trees, etc.). I just have no sense if the instant yard sod provides is worth an extra $7,800.

 

[leeniewdw]

Any lawn experts? I've got about 6,000 square feet that needs to be seeded or I need sod put down. The difference in price is $7,820 ($1,350 vs. $9,170). This is part of a bigger landscape project (removing 21 trees, extending my irrigation system, putting in some trees, etc.). I just have no sense if the instant yard sod provides is worth an extra $7,800.

I live in NC and we had a big septic project that tore up a huge part of our yard. Admittedly it was the WRONG time of year to put down sod (or seed for that matter) but we had a dog and couldn't wait until Fall to seed. So we spent $2900 to put down sod which was lovely for a few months and then it died in the heat of the summer despite our efforts to keep it watered. So we seeded in the Fall and it came in fine.

I don't know if you have kids or pets that need to use the area, but in hindsight we wished we didn't waste that money. Again, it was the wrong time of year and we were exhausted with making decisions (a fence, trees, stumps, deck all had to come down) and just did it. I think we would have been better off just putting down mulch and waiting.

Since it's becoming Fall, at least in NC is the perfect time to seed (we have fescue).

 

[havaneselover]

I live in NC and we had a big septic project that tore up a huge part of our yard. Admittedly it was the WRONG time of year to put down sod (or seed for that matter) but we had a dog and couldn't wait until Fall to seed. So we spent $2900 to put down sod which was lovely for a few months and then it died in the heat of the summer despite our efforts to keep it watered. So we seeded in the Fall and it came in fine.

I don't know if you have kids or pets that need to use the area, but in hindsight we wished we didn't waste that money. Again, it was the wrong time of year and we were exhausted with making decisions (a fence, trees, stumps, deck all had to come down) and just did it. I think we would have been better off just putting down mulch and waiting.

Since it's becoming Fall, at least in NC is the perfect time to seed (we have fescue).

I have dogs but this is the backyard so I can take them out in the front yard. The price difference just seems really high to get instant yard Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Any lawn experts? I've got about 6,000 square feet that needs to be seeded or I need sod put down. The difference in price is $7,820 ($1,350 vs. $9,170). This is part of a bigger landscape project (removing 21 trees, extending my irrigation system, putting in some trees, etc.). I just have no sense if the instant yard sod provides is worth an extra $7,800

As long as the irrigation system keeps the seed moist, I'd def go for that option, esp. considering the difference in price. As long as the seed is kept watered and planted in cooler weather it will be fine. Any bare patches that need touch-up can be re-seeded in the spring.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Thought I'd provide a data point here regarding Marriott FNAs if anyone's interested. I earned two FNAs earlier this year from a promo (one of those stay before X date, get 1 FNA, for up to two stays). I miraculously had two stays at the Dolphin back to back in Jan/Feb and earned two free nights as a result. 35k each, can top off up to 50k.

Now, my certs were expiring on 8/24 and 9/1. My plan was always to wait and call right before the expiration and then see if they could extend them about two weeks for our planned stay in Disneyland that was bookending our Maui trip. Well obviously that Maui trip is no longer happening and we're doing what we can to throw together a different trip. So I called Marriott today and explained I had to cancel a Maui trip and wanted to see if I could get the certs extended a few weeks to allow us time to reschedule a make up trip (sort of true though I was never going to be able to use them in Maui, too expensive). It didn't take too long and he was able to book a two-night stay in LA for me in mid-September (I made this one up on the spot hoping I'd be able to cancel it). He wasn't sure if it would work, just prefaced it with "if the system will allow it."

The system allowed it (he seemed somewhat surprised) and after the call I was able to cancel the booking. The free nights went back to my account and I see they now have a date of 2/21/24. So a six-month extension! I've seen lots of doom and gloom about extending certs and I'm not sure if I got lucky, or if it was because mine were "earned" from a promo and not just credit card annual free nights. The agent didn't give me any sort of hard time or anything, just put me on hold to see if it would work (and it did).

I don't have any accounts on other sites or I'd post about my experience. It does seem like the consensus is free nights are rare but not impossible to extend these days. Either way, thanking my lucky stars as now I can either use these for our real trip in a few weeks or for a future trip, instead of completely losing them. I think having them expiring within a week or two and having a near-term trip "planned" is key, at least that's the advice I've seen floating around.

I'm very tempted by the new Boundless SUB but I'm finding Marriott awards aren't the easiest to use (and the redemptions seem to keep going up, wow) so I need to think on it.

Edit: I had just enough Marriott points to top off a 3-night stay at the Fairfield Marriott just before Disneyland race weekend (coming straight from WDW marathon weekend). So now I’m doing a split stay at Fairfield/Hojo completely on points Good thing too because these RunDisney races cost enough

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I got 2 HH FNCs with 'free' spend. I split the deposit for ds's car between dd and my new biz cards. Sadly I returned the car because it was missing a long list of safety features (that should have been on the model) due to the chip shortage. The dealer never disclosed this to me when I was purchasing the car and after thinking long and hard about it, I decided that ds's life is worth more than the $1,500.00 they offered to return to me to keep the car. I picked up the check today and they refunded the entire amount on the check (instead of refunding the deposit to the HH cards).
I think that I'll put the deposit for the ds's next new car on my new HH personal cards (dd's and mine) and the rest on my new CIP (which I won't have until next week, but the bank will hold the check for 5 days anyways, so timing should work).

 

[calypso726]

Dh just told us that he got dd tickets for Nov. 21st TS concert in the 200 section ! He only got 2 tickets and she wants to take her boyfriend, so I'll get a t-shirt. He pulled some strings with contacts he has in the music industry to get them. She's over the moon and I am beyond happy for her. He just texted her the tickets. WOOHOO.

Congratulations! I bit the bullet and bought tickets for the Miami show. I really didn't want to fly all the way to Germany for standing floor tickets. I'm only 5 feet tall and didn't want to risk standing behind a tall person all night. So, I sold my Germany tickets already and now don't have to fly to see the show.

 

[DogCat]

I got 2 HH FNCs with 'free' spend. I split the deposit for ds's car between dd and my new biz cards. Sadly I returned the car because it was missing a long list of safety features (that should have been on the model) due to the chip shortage. The dealer never disclosed this to me when I was purchasing the car and after thinking long and hard about it, I decided that ds's life is worth more than the $1,500.00 they offered to return to me to keep the car. I picked up the check today and they refunded the entire amount on the check (instead of refunding the deposit to the HH cards).
I think that I'll put the deposit for the ds's next new car on my new HH personal cards (dd's and mine) and the rest on my new CIP (which I won't have until next week, but the bank will hold the check for 5 days anyways, so timing should work).

I never thought of putting a car deposit on a cc. How much will they let you charge? I assume there's a limit.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I never thought of putting a car deposit on a cc. How much will they let you charge? I assume there's a limit.

Totally dependent on the dealer. Some will say no, others $500 to 1000 or more. I think I've seen as high as $10k.

 

[ambgoph]

Any lawn experts? I've got about 6,000 square feet that needs to be seeded or I need sod put down. The difference in price is $7,820 ($1,350 vs. $9,170). This is part of a bigger landscape project (removing 21 trees, extending my irrigation system, putting in some trees, etc.). I just have no sense if the instant yard sod provides is worth an extra $7,800.

Seed as long as you don't need an instant lawn. We seeded about 7,500 square feet on the side of the house that was cleared 2 years ago in the fall. It took a little over a week for it to sprout and it grew at a pretty good rate. There were a couple of bare spots that needed to be re-seeded in the spring, I used an all-in-one seed on those spots which worked well.

The thing about seed is it must be watered everyday if it doesn't rain. I had 2 sprinklers going in the front and back that I moved every 10 minutes in the early morning and late afternoon for two weeks. After the seed started to sprout and grew a couple of inches, I cut back watering to once a day, and then every 3 days. It seemed like a full time job watering, but it was totally worth it!

 

[ambgoph]

duplicate

 

[iujen94]

DH just got the dreaded AMEX pop up despite only having 2 AMEX cards . Is the pop up something that might vary by browser, incognito mode, referral link vs not, etc? Or does it only potentially vary by AMEX card?

 

[wanderlust7]

DH just got the dreaded AMEX pop up despite only having 2 AMEX cards . Is the pop up something that might vary by browser, incognito mode, referral link vs not, etc? Or does it only potentially vary by AMEX card?

Definitely can vary by support link or not. Also varies by what card. The cobrands seem to be more susceptible to pop-up. Can also vary by the source of the link, for example a link from the Hilton site vs a generic Amex site. If it's a targeted offer to you like they have for biz gold or plat also less likely to encounter the pop-up.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I never thought of putting a car deposit on a cc. How much will they let you charge? I assume there's a limit.

Dealers around here seem to limit the deposit on cc to $5,000.00.

 

[IFlossU]

I never thought of putting a car deposit on a cc. How much will they let you charge? I assume there's a limit.

Dealers around here seem to limit the deposit on cc to $5,000.00.

Just bought a car at the end of June. They allowed $5k with credit card. Oddly we were expecting to pay cash (cashiers check) but no banks were open on Saturday. The dealership offered DH to use his debit card, and being the amazing P2 he is, he quickly asked if any of it could go on a credit card. $5k on my Biz Plat. You guys can understand how happy I was with that news

 

[wdwpluto]

Congratulations! I bit the bullet and bought tickets for the Miami show. I really didn't want to fly all the way to Germany for standing floor tickets. I'm only 5 feet tall and didn't want to risk standing behind a tall person all night. So, I sold my Germany tickets already and now don't have to fly to see the show.

Do you mind if I ask what you paid and what kind of seats? We're keeping an eye on the Miami shows and I'm just wondering what I should prepare myself for LOL

 

[havaneselover]

Seed as long as you don't need an instant lawn. We seeded about 7,500 square feet on the side of the house that was cleared 2 years ago in the fall. It took a little over a week for it to sprout and it grew at a pretty good rate. There were a couple of bare spots that needed to be re-seeded in the spring, I used an all-in-one seed on those spots which worked well.

The thing about seed is it must be watered everyday if it doesn't rain. I had 2 sprinklers going in the front and back that I moved every 10 minutes in the early morning and late afternoon for two weeks. After the seed started to sprout and grew a couple of inches, I cut back watering to once a day, and then every 3 days. It seemed like a full time job watering, but it was totally worth it!

Thank you. I have irrigation but it needs to be extended before the yard is seeded (I currently have a mess of pine trees in the middle of my backyard so no irrigation or grass). I definitely don't need an instant lawn since I have no plans to move.

I have better things to spend the extra $8,000 on

 

[calypso726]

Do you mind if I ask what you paid and what kind of seats? We're keeping an eye on the Miami shows and I'm just wondering what I should prepare myself for LOL

Way too much IMO. But I'm still regularly stalking in case something reasonable comes up. Nosebleed seats are going for over $1,000. Lower side of stadium is going for over $2600, lower front is over $3,000. Field seats are ranging from $2700 and up depending on the section and row and I have seen them as high as $23,000 for front row. This is all without considering the fees from the resellers. Every now and then a set of tickets will pop up for a few hundred less than what everything in that section is going for and they sell quickly. My advice would be to get a feel for where you are hoping to sit, check the reseller sites and get an idea of what tickets are going for in a given section. Go through a shopping portal for the extra points if possible.

 

[wdwpluto]

Way too much IMO. But I'm still regularly stalking in case something reasonable comes up. Nosebleed seats are going for over $1,000. Lower side of stadium is going for over $2600, lower front is over $3,000. Field seats are ranging from $2700 and up depending on the section and row and I have seen them as high as $23,000 for front row. This is all without considering the fees from the resellers. Every now and then a set of tickets will pop up for a few hundred less than what everything in that section is going for and they sell quickly. My advice would be to get a feel for where you are hoping to sit, check the reseller sites and get an idea of what tickets are going for in a given section. Go through a shopping portal for the extra points if possible.

Daaannnnng! I paid I think $450 re-sale for upper bowl for Tampa, so this is wild! Worth every penny honestly, but Miami pricing is wild and that's more than my crew is willing to spend. We're out of Orlando, so even if we don't get anything beforehand, we may try a hail mary drive down there that day and hope we get lucky with last-minute "cheap" tix. I have to keep reminding myself that it's a year away and Tampa prices did fluctuate wildly between on-sale and show date.

 

[Narnia_girl]

I'd like to help my daughter with her first adult credit card.
She graduated college in May and starts Disney College Program next month. She has had a student Discover card which she pays fully and is a AU on one of my cards. Her credit score is very good.
She is frugal in some ways (Aldi groceries, thrift store clothes) but also likes good coffee, traveling, restaurants and quality skincare/makeup.
I think the Chase Freedom Unlimited or Freedom Flex but I don't know which to pick. She does not think she can meet the Sapphire SUB minimum spend. I could help with that, but I'm not sure of approval since her work history/income is summer jobs up to this point and she hasn't actually started at WDW.

Any suggestions for her?