I love credit cards so much!

[disneymagicgirl]

Unfortunately, you cannot cashout MRs for 1 cpp. It's something like 0.6 cpp or 0.7 cpp, so it's a very poor use of them. They do better as airline transfers. However, if you want to cash them out, you can get the Schwab Platinum and a Schwab checking + brokerage account, and cash out all your MRs for 1.25 cpp (and that's pure cash you can then transfer to your checking account). That's what I did. You can even use a code when you open the Schwab brokerage and checking for a $100 bank bonus.

Good to know, thank you! I have read so much the last few days I am getting jumbled up.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Is there some way to look and see if my bonus for the SW biz card is pending? I doubt it will since all of the delays are going on, but I'd like to be able to check it. I need to book Thanksgiving and Christmas flights. I just decreased 2 CLs on Fri so I can app for the personal asap. Giving it some time to update.

 

[miztressuz]

We just did a cruise Southbound from Alaska. We flew in 10 days beforehand and did some traveling via RV. How much time do you have, and what kinds of things do you like to do? We went to Denali, Seward, and Homer. We've never traveled via RV before, but really enjoyed it. Plus, we were able to camp down in Denali which was terrific. Honestly, I think Denali was the most beautiful place I've ever been. You need a few days there though to increase your chance of seeing THE mountain (we had one cloudy day and one sunny one - not sure what the weather is like in September). Car rentals one way from Anchorage to Fairbanks will be outrageous. You might want to think about round trip Anchorage. PM me if you want help. Alaska in simply incredible!

We took a northbound Alaskan cruise in mid-August 2015. We flew Southwest to Seattle (from BWI--the price was insanely good), did the touristy stuff and stayed overnight, and then took the train to Vancouver the next day. Our Seattle hotel was just a couple blocks from the train station, so getting there was super-easy. After the cruise we rented an RV and stayed inside Denali NP for four nights. We returned the RV to Anchorage, took the free rv shuttle to the airport, and flew home to PHL on United, with a change in ORD.

Never thought about an RV, that's a neat idea. We'll only be there 3 nights, but one of the things I've wanted is to try for the northern lights. But Sep being early in the season for that I think the recommendation was Fairbanks to try for it. That part's still a little up in the air, I actually have no idea what we want to do there I figure I have a year to work that out. But it's kinda hard to do Alaska and not try for the lights and Denali at least, even on a short timeline. I'll definitely come back to pick your brains once I get past the travel plans.

I think I've decided to stick with the original plan and do SW to SEA and then take the train to Vancouver. There's an Embassy Suites by the train station, so I can use our new Hilton points for a night there then use the train ride to sightsee WA coast. That'll give us a day and a half to do some sights with our 2 nights in Vancouver pre-cruise still. I did see a SW non-stop route from BWI but hubby agreed the extra drive on the front and back end wasn't worth it this time as we're trying to minimize our PTO used. (We both don't know how next year will go jobwise so we're trying not to count on current policies)

Flights from Alaska in Sep are really wacky Most carriers want to send you to a hub no matter where your ultimate destination is, so some are kinda weird. Like American, ANC > SFO area sends you to DFW first. Um, yeah that's half way home for me, that doesn't seem worthwhile Actually was finding really odd routings for other legs too. I think the best for the SFO > PHL leg, but I forget the carrier, was San Jose(SJC) > Orange County(SNA) > SFO, then to PHL. I guess mileage runs are still a thing as there's really no reason for that

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

i may have missed it but someone on reddit posted that Disney is going through a revamp of their system so it could be the reason why its down at Chase.
@SouthFayetteFan comment it, not sure why he hasnt posted it here... unless i missed it. hang on to your pants tight guys!

Thanks for mentioning that here, I saw it earlier right before church started and didn’t have a chance to share here. I obviously responded kindly to this person, however, r/churning always seems to have some insider expert who knows exactly what’s going to happen and may just be attempting to gain upvotes...I hope he is correct though.

What people on Reddit won’t understand, is that losing this capability for a month or two could greatly affect people attempting to book trips in the January, February, March timeframe (ie Me!). LOL! Disney Discounts for that travel time are scheduled to come out in the next month I would guess.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Is there some way to look and see if my bonus for the SW biz card is pending? I doubt it will since all of the delays are going on, but I'd like to be able to check it. I need to book Thanksgiving and Christmas flights. I just decreased 2 CLs on Fri so I can app for the personal asap. Giving it some time to update.

No unfortunately. Just have to wait for your statement to close.

 

[platamama]

Were you going through the UR portal for CSR?

@DisneyMandC I found them. Went through CSR UR portal (on the app, I’m on mobile right now) and got all ticket options from PTP 1 day through 5 day tickets! I think the only thing they don’t have now is the 1 day base ticket!
You didn’t mention 2 Park PTP or 3 Park PTP so here’s both & I gave 3 day prices because it’s super cheap to tack on a 3rd day if that’s in the cards and the promo rates could make 4 days for the cost of 2?

2 Park PTP:
-2 day PTP 19,479 for my random day of Oct 5 (cash cost via UR $292.19)
-3 day PTP 20,579 UR ($308.69)

3 Park PTP:
-2 day 23,521 ($352.82)
-3 day 24,551 ($368.27)

They also had “promo” offer but I’m too scared I might accidentally book it if I click “book it” looking for more info...
-2 Park PTP 4 day Promo 19,479
-3 Park PTP 4 day Promo 23,521

Oh, you're right! I just tried logging in again and found the same thing as you.

 

[calypso726]

How "valuable" are BA Avios and how easy are they to use? How would you rank them compared to United or AA? I'm trying to decide which Chase card should be next for dh (CSP, 1/24, no biz cards pls). He's got a considerable amount of spending this next month or two so I was looking at the World of Hyatt and the BA personal because of the higher rewards with higher spending levels. He will also want to get United Explorer (not club) and Marriott personal in the future. No luck yet getting 100K Plat.

We fly from PHL and BWI primarily but also use EWR and IAD as needed. Future travels include Australia fall 2020 and Germany/Switzerland/Austria.

BA Avios have a distance based award chart. Their best use is on domestic short haul flights and flying to Asia. When you fly transatlantic through Europe you will likely have to connect in London and the taxes and fees are nearly the price of an economy ticket.

Off peak. One passenger next July/ Aug all connect via LHR even when choosing no stopover
PHL-FRA 49,000 Avios and $567 in taxes and fees for economy RT
126,750 and $1220 for business RT
164,750 and $1560 for first RT

 

[afan]

Do they sell insurance themselves? I haven't noticed it advertised so I don't understand why they don't want it discussed. The other TAs I do understand as they are competitors...and darn good ones.

I don't know if they have a company they prefer. As with TA's, there are some that are allowed and some that aren't. I don't know their reasoning but since it's their boards they make the rules. It's part of why for some things it's suggested you type in the web address because it'll pick up if it's ok or not.

i may have missed it but someone on reddit posted that Disney is going through a revamp of their system so it could be the reason why its down at Chase.
@SouthFayetteFan comment it, not sure why he hasnt posted it here... unless i missed it.



hang on to your pants tight guys!

Thanks for mentioning that here, I saw it earlier right before church started and didn’t have a chance to share here. I obviously responded kindly to this person, however, r/churning always seems to have some insider expert who knows exactly what’s going to happen and may just be attempting to gain upvotes...I hope he is correct though.

What people on Reddit won’t understand, is that losing this capability for a month or two could greatly affect people attempting to book trips in the January, February, March timeframe (ie Me!). LOL! Disney Discounts for that travel time are scheduled to come out in the next month I would guess.

Oh yeah, the ticket tiering! From the rumors & news board multi day tickets are going to go to tiered pricing like the single day tickets have, peak season, low season etc. It's rumored that it'll happen in mid October and that part of the issues with MDE are part of this roll out.

Not sure who posts on reddit, but I believe it from the people that have posted on the news thread as they generally have it correct or close to it.

Hopefully this is what it's all from and depending on when the pricing changes I could see why Disney and/or Chase may want them to stop booking for the moment.

 

[Albort]

Thanks for mentioning that here, I saw it earlier right before church started and didn’t have a chance to share here. I obviously responded kindly to this person, however, r/churning always seems to have some insider expert who knows exactly what’s going to happen and may just be attempting to gain upvotes...I hope he is correct though.

What people on Reddit won’t understand, is that losing this capability for a month or two could greatly affect people attempting to book trips in the January, February, March timeframe (ie Me!). LOL! Disney Discounts for that travel time are scheduled to come out in the next month I would guess.

throwaway account though. hes 100% trying to protect his identify. i think there is some authenticity in that! :]

 

[platamama]

I actually booked two nights Marriott Village after Swan, so will use it there. But if I could get back points from Swan stay, it would be better. Doubted I could but worth trying. Lol.


I’m chicken to do this. Not worth it if it doesn’t trigger $300 Lux credit and $60 offer.

Ah, I see. I have an upcoming stay in Costa Rica where we're mostly stuck eating at the hotel restaurant due to its remote location (unless I rent an SUV and I haven't decided on that yet), AND I'm trying to reach MSR on my Amex Biz Plat so I was in a win/win situation with that offer.

I need to find out if RC gift cards can be used at Marriott properties. If so, then I can use that offer on my upgraded SPG Lux and report back if I get both the $300 credit AND the $100 Amex offer.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I don't know if they have a company they prefer. As with TA's, there are some that are allowed and some that aren't. I don't know their reasoning but since it's their boards they make the rules. It's part of why for some things it's suggested you type in the web address because it'll pick up if it's ok or not.





Oh yeah, the ticket tiering! From the rumors & news board multi day tickets are going to go to tiered pricing like the single day tickets have, peak season, low season etc. It's rumored that it'll happen in mid October and that part of the issues with MDE are part of this roll out.

Not sure who posts on reddit, but I believe it from the people that have posted on the news thread as they generally have it correct or close to it.

Hopefully this is what it's all from and depending on when the pricing changes I could see why Disney and/or Chase may want them to stop booking for the moment.

I did just listen to that in a podcast too. Len Testa was going over it. Seems veeerrryyyy complicated to me. It will be interesting to see how they handle it. Surely they don't expect us to plan what park, what day before we even buy tickets and then not ever change our minds what park we want to go to or flip flop a pool day with a park day due to rain, etc.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

BA Avios have a distance based award chart. Their best use is on domestic short haul flights and flying to Asia. When you fly transatlantic through Europe you will likely have to connect in London and the taxes and fees are nearly the price of an economy ticket.

Off peak. One passenger next July/ Aug all connect via LHR even when choosing no stopover
PHL-FRA 49,000 Avios and $567 in taxes and fees for economy RT
126,750 and $1220 for business RT
164,750 and $1560 for first RT

Thank you---that's kinda what I figured. No plans to return to Asia any time soon since there are so many other places to see

 

[afan]

I did just listen to that in a podcast too. Len Testa was going over it. Seems veeerrryyyy complicated to me. It will be interesting to see how they handle it. Surely they don't expect us to plan what park, what day before we even buy tickets and then not ever change our minds what park we want to go to or flip flop a pool day with a park day due to rain, etc.

I vaguely remember hearing about that when the rumor first came out months ago, I think around the time of the last price increase. We like to hop, so really I only care about what kind of increase that will have. I have an AP that I'll activate in Nov and then use again in Aug when I go for the Dis Unplugged event. I don't think I'll go again until the 50th after that in 2021 so that'll at least give it time to flush out.

I do wonder, since the ticket packages they are selling now are good through the end of 2019, though they keep their value and can be upgraded, why this would come out now instead of before they started selling 2019 packages and tickets. I also hope that if they raise prices along with the tiers that they don't turn around and raise them again in Feb since there was already one increase this year. But it's not like they've never done it twice in a year before.

 

[Albort]

I need to find out if RC gift cards can be used at Marriott properties. If so, then I can use that offer on my upgraded SPG Lux and report back if I get both the $300 credit AND the $100 Amex offer.

believe so... in the GC scene, we are told RC gift cards can be listed as a Marriott Card.

 

[Lain]

I need to find out if RC gift cards can be used at Marriott properties. If so, then I can use that offer on my upgraded SPG Lux and report back if I get both the $300 credit AND the $100 Amex offer.

believe so... in the GC scene, we are told RC gift cards can be listed as a Marriott Card.

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/9culx1/comment/e5ek2me?st=JM589SJW&sh=896e02b6

 

[platamama]

believe so... in the GC scene, we are told RC gift cards can be listed as a Marriott Card.

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/9culx1/comment/e5ek2me?st=JM589SJW&sh=896e02b6

Thanks! I thought I had seen a DP about that somewhere. Just to be sure, I just called a place we're staying next year to ask, and the Marriott resort hotel rep didn't know the answer to my question right away but came back and said that I could use the RC GC there. Score.

 

[trenty]

I sent Chase an SM early this morning. Have not even received the "We received your message" SM back. I know it is Sunday, but I thought I have always gotten an instant auto response and then a few hours later the actual response.

 

[miztressuz]

Wow I picked the wrong day to take a day off from the boards! I think I may be caught up now, but now I just jinxed myself...

Points just posted for my Best Buy purchase using Chase Pay.
I did not get an email about the offer, but did get the extra points. I spent $104 and got 626 in points. Nothing showing yet on swagbucks for me.

Edit to add: actually 206 points are pending on swagbucks for the 2x per dollar, but no sign of the 750SB bonus.

The bonuses post on weekdays, usually if they points go pending on the weekend, Mon or maybe Tues the bonus posts.

In the spirit of diversifying one's points :

For dh's next card, like in the next week, I'm debating between the United Explorer, the World of Hyatt, and the Chase BA card for dh (1/24 w CSP, no biz cards pls).

Pro for United: miles for Australia 2020; expanded award viewing; GE credit (we have precheck now)

Pro for Hyatt: he'd hit the higher 60K with no problem ($6K spend); free annual night; we like a Hyatt where dd goes to school (8K category 2); we could use points in Sydney (20K and 30K options, both above free night)

Pro for BA: miles for traveling duh (but not sure how to use that for Australia? save for Europe in future?); definitely hitting the 75K level ($10K spend), strong chance of hitting the 100K level ($20K spend), middling chance of hitting the travel together ticket level of $30K

Which would you choose? or how would you order these three? Dh's last 5/24 spot would probably be a CF/CFU or the Marriott personal.

The Hyatt seems like a solid choice since you already have use for the points and night that comes with it. But, I also don't know much about the United or BA cards and how useful the benefits are from them, so that could be coloring it. I think for international though I'd look into the United one more. They have some interesting options for multi-city routes between regions, and while I'm not a fan of them in general, depending on what you want to do there can be some good point values to work out.

It is easy to tell you are an extremely caring, compassionate, and conscientious person. In no way can you be held responsible for Chases recent actions. Don't be too hard on yourself.

I was coming here to say my CSP from the DD was closed today. I am at $3900 in spend on my CSR and was about to start pulling out the CSP for spend. No phone call, email, etc. I just signed into my online account and it shows account closed.

After signing into the DIS I saw the high number of new pages and figured I better skim through to see what was happening. Ugh, more bad news. I admit I read through pretty quick so I'm sure I missed a lot. I just booked a cruise with NCL this morning with the intention of transferring to Chase in the next couple weeks. Is this no longer possible, or is it just Disney that has been kicked to the curb?

ETA: On a positive note my CSR remains intact with the insanely high CL.

Oh no So very sad for you, that sux.

I'd think NCL is safe for now. But I'd call in to check on the timing of any other changes going on. With Chase bringing in Expedia to run the portal redemptions not sure what's ultimately going to happen with Connexions - if they're sticking around for the cruise and tours or eventually Chase is going to transfer everything to Expedia. I'm going to be calling my Chase TA tomorrow to see what he says about my NCL cruise. I might take the bird in hand and try to use my UR's to make a payment now and then just leave the balance due on final payment. A lot can happen between now and May.

Judique has a good point about the properties that don't allow use of a Marriott (or RC) gift card. Specifics can be found here. The Swan is a strange case since it was an SPG property before and it looks like all the other pre 8/18 SPG properties are excluded, but the Swan and Dolphin don't fit into any of the brands mentioned on the FAQ. Probably need to call the Swan and ask if they accept the Marriott gift card.

Dolphin's a Sheraton and Swan's a Westin - so they're both excluded from the Marriott/RC cards, from what I can tell.

Ah, I see. I have an upcoming stay in Costa Rica where we're mostly stuck eating at the hotel restaurant due to its remote location (unless I rent an SUV and I haven't decided on that yet), AND I'm trying to reach MSR on my Amex Biz Plat so I was in a win/win situation with that offer.

I need to find out if RC gift cards can be used at Marriott properties. If so, then I can use that offer on my upgraded SPG Lux and report back if I get both the $300 credit AND the $100 Amex offer.

RC has been integrated into Marriott for a little while now so they should work at Marriott's (just as Marriott's work at RC's). Eventually the SPG cards should be interchangeable too, but I'm sure that's down on the list of priorities to integrate those two systems. So for now they're separate, and given how the reservation system merge went, I'm guessing it's months before GC systems are considered.

Thank you! Making a note to get that next for him. I know nothing about MRs.
I did see dis hotels on the amex travel site this morning when I was playing around. It seemed expensive, but I'm not sure how MR compare to UR, so I'm not sure. For example a $7xx GF room for about 100k MR. Seems would be better to cash out at 1cpp and pay for the GF room, thus earning cc points at the same time.

MR's are more complicated because depending on the redemption the cpp value changes. In general to get 1cpp or better, you need to go through their travel portal to redeem or transfer them to a travel partner. There are also a decent list of gift cards to redeem at 1cpp, including a newish one for Carnival group cruises. It's good at many of their millions of brands. But otherwise most of those GC's are restaurants and shopping at 1cpp.

Other gift cards and tickets have .08 - .05 cpp values. They do have Universal tickets listed, and last I looked up gate prices, they are in the .07-.08 cpp values. Majority of GC's seem to be .06 cpp. Worst value of anything is redeeming for AmEx GC's @ .05 cpp; really not sure why anyone would do that one, but I'm sure they manage to trick someone.

Redeeming for a statement credit is .06 cpp and you have to have enough MR's to fully cover the purchase. It's not nice like UR where you take a straight statement credit, as far as I've seen. You pick a charge and use points to pay just for that charge.

And this is why people are excited about the Schwab cash out at the 1.25 cpp

​

 

[platamama]

Talk about CC envy. Is it too crazy to make DH consider a trip to CA to "visit relatives" but really just to open up a CNB Visa Infinite card?

Card that gives $250 airline incidental credit for primary and each AU (up to 3) plus $100 off companion airline ticket unlimited use

Alas, I think he'd find it too crazy.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

throwaway account though. hes 100% trying to protect his identify. i think there is some authenticity in that! :]

I didn’t even think to look for that, great observation!