I love credit cards so much!

[Angrose]

Was just playing around with our hotel for Venice in October 2018. I had booked us for 2 nights at the Gritti Palace for a whopping 70k SPG points (~210k Marriott points). Gritti Palace looks amazing and is right on the canal, but I have been struggling with the points cost. Our entire 5 nights stay at Sheraton Park Disneyland cost us just 40k SPG points. When I booked Gritti Palace, the Four Points by Sheraton Venice Mestre, which is a 15 minute taxi ride to the Venice city center, wasn't available to book. Well, now it is and it is just 4k points for weeknights and 3k points for weekends. I talked with DH and he said that we should book the Four Points and save the other points for another trip, since it would cover a lot. Not as glamorous, but our goal is mainly to travel more rather than the fanciest.

I'm in the camp of more travel instead of fancier travel as well but staying in Mestre vs staying in Venice is not something I would save on. The difference is huge and there is no way to take a taxi to the Venice city center - you will need to take a train or bus that may or may not be convenient then the "taxi boat" into the center. Plus, Venice at night is at its most magical and the Gritti Palace is one of Venice's best hotels. Sorry, I know this is none of my business!!! But Mestre vs Gritti Palace is not even apples and oranges. Are there any other Marriott properties in Venice proper?

I 100% agree with @amcc. I was just in Venice in June and it would be a PITA to have to commute into the Venice city center each day! The taxis/buses/trains only go to the edge of Venice. From there you either need to walk or take the water taxi (which isn't cheap) to get to the center. Plus, Venice in the early mornings is magical and uncrowded and fun to explore. The evenings are beautiful. Venice is a city of opulence, so live it up!

There is a JW Marriott that is beautiful on it's own island in the Venice lagoon. However, the only way to get out there is via the hotel's free water shuttle. The shuttles seem to run from around 8am to midnight. We originally booked 2 nights there for 40K Marriott points per night. But in the end we decided to rent an apartment in Venice proper instead, which worked out better for our family. The JW Marriott looks AMAZING though. The grounds are beautiful and they have a rooftop bar with and infinity pool that overlooks the lagoon and you can see Venice in the distance. You should check it out!

 

[Ssulax12]

Just got back from my first ever Disney trip thanks to points/miles. I've been using different strategies for years for different trips but did the following:

Flight - JetBlue via points and $22

Hotel - Hilton on Buena Vista palace - Points plus free breakfast and an upgrade to a fireworks view king room (Diamond status - from a status match for IHG)

Tickets - undercover tourist using Barclays arrival and manufactured spend to hit the $3,000 requirement.

Time to top off my hilton and Barclays points in order to do it again next year!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

So DH got the Citi Business AA card in February. We had such problems with the website and receiving statements that he cancelled it last month. Today he got an offer in the mail for the same card, 50k signup bonus. What are the chances he'd be approved for this card again.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I'm in the camp of more travel instead of fancier travel as well but staying in Mestre vs staying in Venice is not something I would save on. The difference is huge and there is no way to take a taxi to the Venice city center - you will need to take a train or bus that may or may not be convenient then the "taxi boat" into the center. Plus, Venice at night is at its most magical and the Gritti Palace is one of Venice's best hotels. Sorry, I know this is none of my business!!! But Mestre vs Gritti Palace is not even apples and oranges. Are there any other Marriott properties in Venice proper?

I looked into the options a little more last night. There is a train station that is a 5 minute walk from the hotel. We can catch a train, which runs about every 30 minutes and both early in the morning (starting around 5am) and late into the night (past midnight), to get to the Venice Santa Lucia Train Station. It is about a 15 minute train ride. From there, we would just walk around Venice on a self guided walking tour. It is about a 30 minute walk to St. Marks Square, which isn't bad. Venice itself is rather small, so I am not concerned with getting around on the island itself. As far as Venice at night, the train seems to run very late into the evening, so we would still be able to experience it at night and get back to our hotel without issue. We will be traveling in October too, so it would get darker sooner than if we traveled in the summer.

As for the Marriott properties in Venice proper, they didn't seem like such an amazing deal. They were about as many points as Gritti Palace, which is insane, but not nearly as nice. Honestly, I know the hotel experience won't be quite the same, but spending 63k more SPG points is really hard to justify for me. That is possibly 2 additional 5 night vacations for us in exchange for just 2 nights in Venice. This will be my second time in Venice and I am sure we will be back in the future, probably when I am wealthier and have more time to really enjoy a luxury experience.

And the other thing that turned me off from the Gritti Palace was that the room that you could book with points was not a no smoking room. This is pretty much a deal breaker for me. The Four Points is 100% smoke free.

 

[amalone1013]

I would go for the Marriott and one of the Freedom cards, since those are both affected by the 5/24 rule. Hyatt is not under 5/24 so you could pick that one up later. your wedding/honeymoon plans sound amazing!

D'oh Hyatt card! Glad you pointed that out!

I'd go for a Freedom as the first app, or consider an airline card to help get you over the pond for your future Europe plans.

Also for Europe, check out the locations of Marriotts and Hyatts before you apply for those cards. They may not be located where you want to be...

Good point. I haven't really looked into Europe stuff yet, I just know I wanted to take DF there as he's only been out of the country once, to Quebec City last summer. I was planning on transferring the Marriott bonus to SPG for a Dolphin stay next year.

I went to London on a band trip in high school, and my BF and I always said we'd go back... and we finally did in Oct 2015, almost 10 years later. We went to DLP too A few months after coming back, I was trying to figure out what it would cost to go in a few years with DF... basing it off of spending $4500 myself for a 2 week trip with splitting a hotel room. I was trying to figure out how much we would need to save each month for X years for us both to go. Then I ran across a blog post with someone who used SPG points to stay at WDW...

 

[eeyoresmom]

Interesting that you were charged AF right away since CSP has had waived AF first year for the past few years. Do you have the info from when you opened it? Maybe you can get them to refund AF.

When I get out of work I'll look into this , thanks. I did save all the literature I was mailed with the card.

 

[jhoannam]

I just bought egift cards on Walmart.com, Netflix and Starbucks, they were in my email in less than 10 minutes. I'm going to try a $200 Walmart egift card next.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I just bought egift cards on Walmart.com, Netflix and Starbucks, they were in my email in less than 10 minutes. I'm going to try a $200 Walmart egift card next.

I bought one for $100 earlier today and it showed up almost immediately.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I've heard that it's good to wait six months between Barclay apps. When the Barclay JetBlue Plus sign-up bonus went from 30,000 miles to 40,000, I impulsively applied because JetBlue is our go to airline for trips to Disneyland. When it went to "pending review" I did some checking and found these strategies from 2015 (so I'm not sure if they still apply):

1. Never go for a third card. If you have two cards, close one down before applying for another.
2. Use your existing Barclay card(s) regularly. They like to make sure you've actually been using their cards before extending more credit.
3. Wait six months between applications.
4. Getting a second of the same product can be dicey.
5. Do not call recon unless denied. If you get denied, call recon, but don't expect much help.

I was instantly approved for the Barclay Arrival Plus on March 3 and applied for the JetBlue Plus card on August 13, so I was three weeks shy of six months. It eventually got approved on August 21, but if I'd known, I would have waited the three weeks just to possibly increase my chances of an instant approval.

ETA: @calypso726 beat me to it.

So I went ahead and applied. The instant response was "need to review application. Will let you know within 30 days". a few hours later, I got an email saying they were reviewing application and would contact me within 10 days.
Anyone know if this is good or bad from Barclay? This is the first Barclaycard I've applied for.

 

[calypso726]

Anyone try the chase pay 10x UR points at walmart.com on e-gift cards with other items in the order? I just purchased that way, and received the card immediately, then turned around and used it at sams.com for WDW gift cards. I have one more chase card I can do the promo on for 10x UR but don't really need anything else, so I don't want to do it for the e-gift card if it may not get me the points. Mine won't post for a few days for me to see and it will be too late.

DH and I did Walmart E gift cards only $250 on each eligible card. For me: CSR, CFU CF. DH: CSR CF CF. We got our GCs within a few minutes. Then we used all the GCs to purchase discounted Disney GCs through Sam's. Purchases went thorugh fine and I received my order. I also got 2500 points on each of my cards. DH was a slacker so his haven't posted yet but I don't foresee any issues.

 

[jhoannam]

Two things: Do I just print the Walmart gift card and use it at Sam's club? I don't have a card, I'll have to go with my parents.

What is DP on Reddit?

 

[peel]

DH and I did Walmart E gift cards only $250 on each eligible card. For me: CSR, CFU CF. DH: CSR CF CF. We got our GCs within a few minutes. Then we used all the GCs to purchase discounted Disney GCs through Sam's. Purchases went thorugh fine and I received my order. I also got 2500 points on each of my cards. DH was a slacker so his haven't posted yet but I don't foresee any issues.

Have you received any Avios miles yet?

 

[peel]

Hotel - Hilton on Buena Vista palace - Points plus free breakfast and an upgrade to a fireworks view king room (Diamond status - from a status match for IHG)

How did you like this hotel? I'm in the process of booking a January trip and we're having a lot of trouble deciding on a hotel. I'd be booking through the CSR portal, so I don't think I can get the free breakfast package.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

Two things: Do I just print the Walmart gift card and use it at Sam's club? I don't have a card, I'll have to go with my parents.

What is DP on Reddit?

You can scan the bar code from your phone at the store or order it online using your parents account/card.

 

[hurt817]

Just got back from my first ever Disney trip thanks to points/miles. I've been using different strategies for years for different trips but did the following:

Flight - JetBlue via points and $22

Hotel - Hilton on Buena Vista palace - Points plus free breakfast and an upgrade to a fireworks view king room (Diamond status - from a status match for IHG)

Tickets - undercover tourist using Barclays arrival and manufactured spend to hit the $3,000 requirement.

Time to top off my hilton and Barclays points in order to do it again next year!

How did you like that Hilton? I have reservations there but don't usually stay off site. It's the one closest to the bridge to DS, right?

 

[calypso726]

Have you received any Avios miles yet?

Not yet. They usually take a few weeks or so to post. I should get them for the Sam's club purchases. I may or may not get them for the initial Walmart purchases.

 

[calypso726]

Two things: Do I just print the Walmart gift card and use it at Sam's club? I don't have a card, I'll have to go with my parents.

What is DP on Reddit?

You can do the purchase online using your parents' log in too.

DP = Data Point
Reddit = Very useful social media outlet with just about every topic for users to share info and content etc.

 

[Albort]

Two things: Do I just print the Walmart gift card and use it at Sam's club? I don't have a card, I'll have to go with my parents.

you can also use your parent's card in stores as well.
source: my mom and I have been alternating cards for the past 3 years.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

you can also use your parent's card in stores as well.
source: my mom and I have been alternating cards for the past 3 years.

Sam's membership card doesn't have picture? I got away with using my dad's Costco card for a bit, but they cracked down and check the pic now.

 

[jhoannam]

You can do the purchase online using your parents' log in too.

DP = Data Point
Reddit = Very useful social media outlet with just about every topic for users to share info and content etc.

Thanks!
What'a Data Point?