I love credit cards so much!

[Albort]

I'm sure this has been discussed here already, but I'm pretty much always behind and try to skim through to catch up. I'm not up-to-date on all the info on the new SPG/Marriott cards. I got an email to upgrade my Chase Marriott Rewards to the Premier Plus. It's 50K for 1 purchase before 12/31. Any drawbacks to taking this offer? AF only increases $10, so I'm not really seeing a drawback.

the biggest lost is the the spend $3k for 1 elite night. Other than that, thats it. Im also sitting on the fence on the deal because of the 3k for 1 elite night.

 

[Judique]

I'm sure this has been discussed here already, but I'm pretty much always behind and try to skim through to catch up. I'm not up-to-date on all the info on the new SPG/Marriott cards. I got an email to upgrade my Chase Marriott Rewards to the Premier Plus. It's 50K for 1 purchase before 12/31. Any drawbacks to taking this offer? AF only increases $10, so I'm not really seeing a drawback.

I took it. My first offer was 10K points and that wasn't an offer I was interested in. 50K points is worth quite a few $10 bills. It will certainly make up the difference in annual fee. Plus it will give a 35K free night versus a 25K night.

Edit: It's highly unlikely that I would have put 3K on the card anytime soon to get a free elite night. It's pretty much a sock drawer card for a cheap night...

 

[Lain]

I'm sure this has been discussed here already, but I'm pretty much always behind and try to skim through to catch up. I'm not up-to-date on all the info on the new SPG/Marriott cards. I got an email to upgrade my Chase Marriott Rewards to the Premier Plus. It's 50K for 1 purchase before 12/31. Any drawbacks to taking this offer? AF only increases $10, so I'm not really seeing a drawback.

I think accepting an upgrade offer on a Chase Marriott card will push out your eligibility for any bonus on Amex’s SPG cards.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Did anyone notice that Chase automagically extended the expiration date of their offers? I had added the Staples and Walgreen's and thought they would be gone but Staples was extended to 12/31 and I think Walgreen's is 12/24. I used most of the Staples offer today.

Good thing. I still need a Dicks sporting goods (is that better @Lain lol) GC and haven’t gone yet. Instead spent 2 hours at the vet with my mom and her dog yesterday . Small world as I ran into a vet I worked with almost 30 years ago.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I cancelled my SPG Biz today...no free night ever posted. AF was due on Tuesday. Not unexpected but still bummed.

Still no final decision on my Schwab Plat...I'm leaning towards no right now. @Lain - care to weigh in on my whole dilemma? I got a ton of respect for your opinions on this stuff since you provide such thoughtful responses!

 

[Albort]

I cancelled my SPG Biz today...no free night ever posted. AF was due on Tuesday. Not unexpected but still bummed.

Still no final decision on my Schwab Plat...I'm leaning towards no right now. @Lain - care to weigh in on my whole dilemma? I got a ton of respect for your opinions on this stuff since you provide such thoughtful responses!

friend of mine was approved for a platinum card a few days ago @ 680. He was denied at first and was approved a few days later. Have some hope! :]

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

friend of mine was approved for a platinum card a few days ago @ 680. He was denied at first and was approved a few days later. Have some hope! :]

Oh I didn't actually apply, lol. I'm more talking about my whole issue with the popup and deciding to forego the signup bonus just the ability to cash out at 1.25x, lol.

 

[mhartman09]

the biggest lost is the the spend $3k for 1 elite night. Other than that, thats it. Im also sitting on the fence on the deal because of the 3k for 1 elite night.

I took it. My first offer was 10K points and that wasn't an offer I was interested in. 50K points is worth quite a few $10 bills. It will certainly make up the difference in annual fee. Plus it will give a 35K free night versus a 25K night.

Edit: It's highly unlikely that I would have put 3K on the card anytime soon to get a free elite night. It's pretty much a sock drawer card for a cheap night...

I think accepting an upgrade offer on a Chase Marriott card will push out your eligibility for any bonus on Amex’s SPG cards.

This is a sock drawer card for me as well, so I don't think I'd miss the elite night. I definitely feel the 50K is well worth the $10 AF increase also. I have the AMEX SPG biz already. Guess I need to read up on the eligibility for these new card bonuses. I should have paid more attention back when everyone was buzzing with the info of being shut out from certain sign-up bonuses, but none of the cards were really on my radar at the time. Off to back track and find the posts about this.

 

[Judique]

My daughter is going out to pick up dinner for us. I'm paying tonight.

Use my Rose Gold for the 20% on restaurants.
Use my Marriott to pick up drinks at a convenience store for my 'one purchase before Dec 31'.

And, she's not a churner, but will use whatever card I give her. That said, I use her cards when she is paying, if I'm picking up.

I could just use a delivery service....

 

[elgerber]

This is a sock drawer card for me as well, so I don't think I'd miss the elite night. I definitely feel the 50K is well worth the $10 AF increase also. I have the AMEX SPG biz already. Guess I need to read up on the eligibility for these new card bonuses. I should have paid more attention back when everyone was buzzing with the info of being shut out from certain sign-up bonuses, but none of the cards were really on my radar at the time. Off to back track and find the posts about this.

I need to take a look at those also. Pretty sure I am shut out for quite some time, since I got the SPG Biz early this year.

 

[wendow]

You only show 12 Karma in the last 3 months FYI. If was that one comment where you called that guy pathetic on the Disney thread, lol. You might be looking at your all-time karma which is not what we use for eligibility.

Good to know!!

 

[Alexle2007]

I'm sure this has been discussed here already, but I'm pretty much always behind and try to skim through to catch up. I'm not up-to-date on all the info on the new SPG/Marriott cards. I got an email to upgrade my Chase Marriott Rewards to the Premier Plus. It's 50K for 1 purchase before 12/31. Any drawbacks to taking this offer? AF only increases $10, so I'm not really seeing a drawback.

I just received that same offer. I think I am going to go for it. $95 for a 35k night is a much better deal than the $85 for a 25k night.

 

[Alexle2007]

My daughter is going out to pick up dinner for us. I'm paying tonight.

Use my Rose Gold for the 20% on restaurants.
Use my Marriott to pick up drinks at a convenience store for my 'one purchase before Dec 31'.

And, she's not a churner, but will use whatever card I give her. That said, I use her cards when she is paying, if I'm picking up.

I could just use a delivery service....

My Marriott actually has some nice offers on it but I have been trying to restrain myself. I guess i’ll Select one to use for the upgrade.

 

[liloca]

This is off topic work venting but as we all know here, this is my favorite emoji and I really need it everywhere, like on my phone and google hangouts too.

The person in charge of our supply ordering is so incompetent I could scream. Doesn't order things when asked multiple times, orders random things without being asked, orders the wrong thing, orders huge amounts of things when we don't have places to store them, encourages you to take supplies from the other labs instead of just ordering them for whichever lab you want them for. Doesn't send things back after ordering the wrong things - they are just piling up in his office. Does no follow up after ordering to see if things are shipped, back ordered, ever show up... just two weeks ago he was going off because someone asked about something he was supposed to order, it shows as delivered on the tracking, but we never saw it show up. A $4000 order is missing. And he is trying to blame everyone else. Now the whole orders showing up thing could easily be solved by a system where the person who unpacks the order marks off on the packing list if everything showed up or not, and putting it in his mailbox so he can check it against his ordering... but that would make too much sense.

Anyways, earlier this week I emailed him to order some standards for our equipment. He came to the lab yesterday to ask what I wanted again. I repeated what my email said. Today he sends an email that he ordered them, plus sample containers for this equipment. Why? Because he "thought I mentioned them, guess I was wrong haha!" We go through 25 of these sample containers at most throughout a week, and we currently have 2600 in stock, and he ordered 500 more

Sorry, I forgot that when I emailed for supplies, I also put sample containers on my list IN INVISIBLE INK.

Lol I work in a R&D lab and we used to have an horrible lab assistant that would never get things right! Things were always not stocked when need, it was very frustrating but we got a new person that is amazing!

 

[afan]

Wind storm is blowing in, thankfully no rain yet. Standing outside waiting to get some Dick's since it opened Wednesday. Thankfully the longer lines will eventually die down. Oh and for anyone that didn't look at the site when @Lain posted it all but one location is a walk up drive in. Super awesome in rainy Seattle but the food is worth it

 

[mmmears]

It's taken me all day to catch up. Busy thread! We hit the MSR on 3 of the 4 cards opened this fall. Just one more to go (LUX). I don't think we'll ever take on that kind of spend again, but unfortunately 2018 has been a very expensive year here and at least we are getting points for most of that spend.

Currently waiting at our gate in Union Station, the happiest place on Earth. On to NYC this weekend at the St. Regis. We have Wicked tickets for tonight. Very excited! It looks like rain most of the weekend, but that's what umbrellas are for.

Ooh! Have a great trip! I hope you enjoy the hotel, the show, and NYC!

Oh I didn't actually apply, lol. I'm more talking about my whole issue with the popup and deciding to forego the signup bonus just the ability to cash out at 1.25x, lol.

I've been following along. I'm no expert, but if you aren't in a hurry you could wait and try again soon. I agree with the poster who said that MRs aren't going anywhere.

 

[mmmears]

2 adults, 2 kids 10 and 13. Where to eat, what to see off the beaten path, tips on seeing the sites? Our Airbnb is very close to the Trevi fountain.

Hmm... Ok. We stayed near the Spanish Steps, so not far from your location. We were able to walk pretty much everywhere. For Italy, it's a good idea to have a hidden travel wallet or a bag that they can't cut (travel bags that have steel cables in the straps). We booked 2 private tours with Context Travel and they were amazing. One was the Vatican and one was the Colosseum and Forum. The after hours Vatican prices are insane, and our tour started first thing in the morning - we had the Sistine Chapel to ourselves for at least 15 mins, then shared it with 3 other people for the next 20-30 mins, without paying the evening prices. I asked our hotel concierge to direct us to good dinner places that weren't expensive - but I can't remember the names. There is a chain there that does pizzas and salads (we tried this for lunch after reading about it on trip advisor and then asking our tour guide who said she eats there at least once a week). Our hotel came with breakfast. There's great gelato places all over (one near Trevi).

Other than the 2 big attractions (Vatican and Colosseum) we visited the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi, etc. Also took a tour of the Capuchin Crypts (DD was 13 at the time and thought it would be awful there but it was fascinating and she ended up being so glad we went), the Borghese Gardens (my favorite memory was of us in a rowboat in the lake there - something we rarely have time to do on vacation and it sounds silly but it was really nice and worth it), and the Borghese Gallery (you have to make reservations online before you go to get into this museum but it's worth it).

We didn't do much shopping, even though we stayed on the serious shopping street (Via dei Condotti) which is where stuff like LV, Ferragamo and Prada is. There is a Disney store on Via del Corso. Hope this helps!

 

[miztressuz]

Totally understand about the accounting issues it might create.

I suppose the only thing I can think of might be if DH could apply for the Hilton Aspire today (using his Platinum referral link for the extra 15k MR or your Aspire referral link for the extra 20k HH bonus), get approved, and get the card number or a temporary card number, or even get the card overnighted to use on the hotel bill.

Amex sometimes offers a temporary card number immediately after approval that you can write down/screen cap for use. There’s also a hidden feature in your Amex online account, once you’ve added your new card, that lets you get the card number and temporary CID for a newly approved card that’s still in transit: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/904w5b/comment/e2oclw2?st=JPO9M59W&sh=8762333f

However, there may be a low credit limit on the temporary card number, as @miztressuz experienced: https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-2162#post-59621012 In the end, I believe @miztressuz was able to get Amex to overnight the card to her husband to use on a contemporaneous hotel stay.

I know you kind of suggested your husband doesn’t want to apply for credit cards, but it’d be such a waste if he’s not getting the best return in rewards from a really large hotel expense, i.e., 1 MR/$1 on the Platinum or at least 14 HH/$1 for Hilton charges on the Hilton Aspire. Not to mention that the Hilton Aspire comes with automatic Diamond status, which gets him another 20 HH/$1 (10 points/$ base earn + 10 points/$ elite bonus) because of his elite status.

I think the Aspire was possibly on the table for DH, anyway, and now would be a great time to get it if you can appeal to his rational business side. I’d imagine this weekend’s hotel bill would more than hit the $4k MSR, so you’d get the 150k HH signup bonus and a whole lot of HH points from the stays.

Also, remember the Aspire comes with a $250 airline fee credit that can be used every calendar year (including on AA, Delta, and Southwest gift cards in certain denominations per transaction — let us know if you need help using up this benefit on your or hopefully DH’s cards), so there’s still 2 weeks to dip this benefit in 2018, before it resets for another $250 in 2019.

Haven't caught up totally yet today, but for what it's worth @*WDW*Groupie* , AmEx claimed the low CL was because we applied through a dummy booking on Hilton's site and not through AmEx directly. This was a phone rep so take it with a grain of salt, but if you do the self/household refer you might have a better chance of a higher or even the full limit. They did indeed overnight the card to the hotel, he got it by dinner on Friday, and checked out Saturday morning without an issue. It worked out but I wouldn't recommend it

 

[Tikitoi]

Just checked my Amex account.

2) I got my 20,000 bonus points on my Hilton card for the $2k spend bonus

I'm doing this too. Just met the spend requirement a few days ago . How long did they take to post? My statement closes in a few days...

 

[Ngwira]

Hmm... Ok. We stayed near the Spanish Steps, so not far from your location. We were able to walk pretty much everywhere. For Italy, it's a good idea to have a hidden travel wallet or a bag that they can't cut (travel bags that have steel cables in the straps). We booked 2 private tours with Context Travel and they were amazing. One was the Vatican and one was the Colosseum and Forum. The after hours Vatican prices are insane, and our tour started first thing in the morning - we had the Sistine Chapel to ourselves for at least 15 mins, then shared it with 3 other people for the next 20-30 mins, without paying the evening prices. I asked our hotel concierge to direct us to good dinner places that weren't expensive - but I can't remember the names. There is a chain there that does pizzas and salads (we tried this for lunch after reading about it on trip advisor and then asking our tour guide who said she eats there at least once a week). Our hotel came with breakfast. There's great gelato places all over (one near Trevi).

Other than the 2 big attractions (Vatican and Colosseum) we visited the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi, etc. Also took a tour of the Capuchin Crypts (DD was 13 at the time and thought it would be awful there but it was fascinating and she ended up being so glad we went), the Borghese Gardens (my favorite memory was of us in a rowboat in the lake there - something we rarely have time to do on vacation and it sounds silly but it was really nice and worth it), and the Borghese Gallery (you have to make reservations online before you go to get into this museum but it's worth it).

We didn't do much shopping, even though we stayed on the serious shopping street (Via dei Condotti) which is where stuff like LV, Ferragamo and Prada is. There is a Disney store on Via del Corso. Hope this helps!

It does. Thanks so much.