I love credit cards so much!

[eeyoreland]

You can try the Chase Refer A Friend website. If that doesn’t work then you should be able to do it via the Chase Mobile app.

The referral will get you 10k URs.

I was approved. YAY!!!

 

[Lain]

Is there a trick to get the AA $200 GCs so AMEX will reimburse? I'm going to try this one soon and don't want to mess up.

You need to have selected AA as your airline in the Platinum benefits dashboard first.

Out of caution, it's usually advised to wait a day or two after selecting your airline before purchasing something that you want reimbursed.

Check FlyerTalk for the latest DPs: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ame...200-100-reimbursement-reports-aa-only-57.html

Latest DPs say buy $100 AA gift cards in 2 separate transactions. Anything more at once won't credit.

Buy AA gift cards here: https://giftcards.aa.com

You should see a reimbursement credit on your statement in 2-3 days.

 

[Lain]

Somebody brought this up earlier today several pages ago, but does Air b n b code as travel on CSR? How about other cards?

Yes. But you can usually do better on AirBnB than charging directly to CSR and CIP for 3x UR Travel.

This post is a little dated, but the overall strategy to maximize rewards on AirBnB is still valid: https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-1571#post-59306096

I'd add that today, 9/23/18, Raise has an extra 5% off sale with promo code FALL, up to $10 off, and most AirBnB gift cards are reselling for 3.5% off.

Tagging @wisconsinmom, too, since she mentioned she's booking AirBnB.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

@Lain I have to thank you for all your restaurant charging escapades which sounded so delicious I made a Thai noodle bowl I haven’t done in a long time. DS hated it but DH and I enjoyed it!

In other news, still waiting for PNC bonus even though last requirement posted >10 days ago.

I was also thinking about our upcoming trips next March and May. Excited to consider a lounge (have never stepped foot in one) with PP from my SPG Lux. Then realized we depart from Midway in March, not OHare, and there are no lounges. Doh. And the OHare flight in May is at 7 am. I did book the Hilton in the airport for that one and thanks to SPG Lux, CSR and BOA Premium Rewards, we should all have GE by then.

 

[Lain]

Chase UR newbie here with a question. What's the best way to book a Hilton using URs? Do we just go through the Chase portal or is there a better way?

Hilton is not an UR transfer partner, so yeah book through the UR Travel Portal.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Yes. But you can usually do better on AirBnB than charging directly to CSR and CIP for 3x UR Travel.

This post is a little dated, but the overall strategy to maximize rewards on AirBnB is still valid: https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-1571#post-59306096

I'd add that today, 9/23/18, Raise has an extra 5% off sale with promo code FALL, up to $10 off, and most AirBnB gift cards are reselling for 3.5% off.

Tagging @wisconsinmom, too, since she mentioned she's booking AirBnB.

I saw AirBnB GCs at Lowes. So if you have the Lowes 10% off on Amex...

 

[Alexle2007]

I couldn’t figure out why my 2nd Walgreens purchase didn’t get me a RMN notification this morning. But after my CC, it is my goof. I used my CIU twice instead of DH’s CIC. It did teach me not to get both of CCs out in advance. At my other stops, I got one card out at a time. Now to hit Walgreens tomorrow and Macy’s.

 

[wendow]

I couldn’t figure out why my 2nd Walgreens purchase didn’t get me a RMN notification this morning. But after my CC, it is my goof. I used my CIU twice instead of DH’s CIC. It did teach me not to get both of CCs out in advance. At my other stops, I got one card out at a time. Now to hit Walgreens tomorrow and Macy’s.

I did this same thing the very first time I did Walgreens (back when it was $5 off $25). Had my Freedom and dh's Freedom both out and yup, used the same card twice Finally checked the receipt and figured out why only one of us got a notification lol!

 

[mmmears]

You need to have selected AA as your airline in the Platinum benefits dashboard first.

Out of caution, it's usually advised to wait a day or two after selecting your airline before purchasing something that you want reimbursed.

Check FlyerTalk for the latest DPs: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ame...200-100-reimbursement-reports-aa-only-57.html

Latest DPs say buy $100 AA gift cards in 2 separate transactions. Anything more at once won't credit.

Buy AA gift cards here: https://giftcards.aa.com

You should see a reimbursement credit on your statement in 2-3 days.

Thank you once again! This is exactly the information I was looking for. I'll make to sure to wait a bit before we purchase and then buy 2 GCs. AA finally gave DD a $150 credit towards her next flight booking, so combined with this it looks like she's going to have to fly AA again to/from home for winter break. I'm still waiting for her to give me her travel dates then I can book it.

Hilton is not an UR transfer partner, so yeah book through the UR Travel Portal.

Thanks - we played with the portal today for the first time and saw that we could do it that way but I first wanted to make sure we aren't making a rookie mistake and missing some better way to do it.

 

[calypso726]

Is there a trick to get the AA $200 GCs so AMEX will reimburse? I'm going to try this one soon and don't want to mess up.

The way @Albort explained is exactly how we do it every year on any and all cards we have that have an airline credit benefit and we always choose AA.

 

[mmmears]

The way @Albort explained is exactly how we do it every year on any and all cards we have that have an airline credit benefit and we always choose AA.

Great to have another poster have success using AA. Thanks!

 

[Alice Sr.]

Yes, so log into your Amex account. Click benefits then select Transfer Points. There will be all the transfer options. British Airways currently has a bonus.
You select whichever you want, put in your corresponding frequent flier number and transfer the number you need. You will have to verify one of your Amex cards before they will allow the transfer. My BA transfer was immediate. It's always been immediate for Delta too. With Delta you do pay a tiny tax on the transfer.

Some transfer partners can take awhile - I think Emirates can take up to a week but I've never moved over to them.

https://www.creditdonkey.com/membership-rewards-transfer-partners.html

This was very helpful, thank you!

 

[mmmears]

DH has a layover in Detroit next month - he noticed there's no Centurion lounge there but then I told him he can use the Delta lounge since he's flying Delta on that trip. PP has nothing listed either. Anyone have any advice regarding that particular airport?

PS- the Delta lounge info is thanks to all of you here who have mentioned it. His last business trip was on Delta also, but he didn't realize he could use their lounge and ended up at the PP one in Atlanta which he said was nice and adequate. So thanks again for all the info. I'm taking notes but it's a lot to take in.

 

[Limes96]

Yes. But you can usually do better on AirBnB than charging directly to CSR and CIP for 3x UR Travel.

This post is a little dated, but the overall strategy to maximize rewards on AirBnB is still valid: https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-1571#post-59306096

I'd add that today, 9/23/18, Raise has an extra 5% off sale with promo code FALL, up to $10 off, and most AirBnB gift cards are reselling for 3.5% off.

Tagging @wisconsinmom, too, since she mentioned she's booking AirBnB.

Thanks for the link. I’m considering perhaps a week at an Air BnB in London in May/June 2020. What I am thinking is using my Swagbucks, ibotta, etc. $ to buy gift cards at Kroger during their 4x fuel points promos. I’ve always done this for Disney gift cards, but after this year’s December trip I won’t have another Disney trip planned until after Europe. (Unless you count a couple days at DLP.) Just wondering how it codes on CSR in case I need to use it. I’m totally unfamiliar with the Air bnb gift cards. I doubt you can combine them?

On a related note, Disneyland Paris...how can we save money there? Probably can’t use our U.S. gift cards there? Probably can’t count on much help from Chase either. I’ll tag @afan since I know she went. I read the trip report and enjoyed it! I would totally be a superhero to my kids (young adults, really) if I could get reservations for the new Marvel hotel when it opens. Hoping it will be possible in June 2020. I think projected opening is spring 2020 IIRC.

 

[Lain]

Just thinking ahead as I continue to wait on my CIC app (now into day 8 ). I'm thinking about a hotel card. There's a Residence Inn by Marriott near my DS's college campus that we sometimes stay at. I'd like to be able to earn some extra points for stays there and use them sometime in the future for a Swan or Dolphin stay. Would I be better off with a Chase Marriott or AMEX SPG?

What is your */24 count with Chase? Do you already have any SPG/Marriott cards?

If you are still under 5/24, I would focus on Chase and build out your Chase trifecta, quadfecta, or pentafecta of Freedom, Sapphire, and Ink cards. I would avoid signing up for any of Chase's Marriott cards. The reason is under new restrictions that went into effect on 8/26/18, getting any of the Marriott cards now would, generally speaking, disqualify you from the Amex SPG cards for the next two years (and vice versa). See https://viewfromthewing.boardingare...r-marriott-and-starwood-credit-card-approval/

Then, after you are 5/24, and assuming no SPG/Marriott cards, I would focus on the Amex SPG cards and avoid the Chase Marriott cards for now, and maybe try for the Chase Marriott cards if you can get back under 5/24 in about two years. The reason for this is there are currently 2 Chase Marriott cards (the Marriott Premier Plus and the Marriott Biz), and 3 Amex SPG cards (the SPG Personal, SPG Biz, and SPG Lux).

The bonuses are richer on the Amex SPG-side too. If you go through all 3 Amex SPG cards, at their current offers, that’s 275k Marriott points from the welcome bonuses alone. The SPG Biz currently has a 100k Marriott points after $5k/3 months MSR offer, first year annual fee waived (offer expires 10/31/18); the SPG Personal has a 75k Marriott points after $3k/3 months MSR offer, first year annual fee waived; and the SPG Luxury has a 100k Marriott points public offer (125k Marriott points targeted offer) after $5k/3 months spend, $450 AF not waived. Keep in mind the SPG Personal is supposed to be discontinued sometime in early 2019, when the Starriott brands completely merge and Chase gets the consumer and premium consumer cards, and Amex gets the super premium consumer and small business cards. If you go for the Chase Marriott cards first, you disqualify yourself from the Amex SPG cards and won't be able to hit the SPG Personal card and bonus before it's discontinued. While some people suggest waiting for the SPG Personal to raise its offer (because 75k Marriott is equivalent to the old 25k Starpoints offer), there’s no telling how much longer the SPG Personal card will still be around. But maybe Amex will make one final push to attract signups with a higher offer for the SPG Personal before discontinuing the card?

The Chase Marriott cards are both offering 75k Marriott points right now with a $3k/3 months MSR, AFs not waived. (Compare with Amex SPG Personal and Biz cards that waive the first year AF.) That’s just 150k Marriott points combined.

Getting one of the Amex SPG cards has no preclusive effect on getting another SPG card under the post-8/26 rules. But it will disqualify you from getting a Chase Marriott card for about 2 years. Remember, Amex welcome offers are generally once per lifetime, so you won’t be coming back to churn those cards again. Getting the SPG Personal and Luxury will add cards to your */24 count, but they’d make you ineligible for the Chase Marriott cards for 25-27 months (24 months after bonus received) anyway. And in about 2 years, these cards will drop off, and assuming you're under 5/24, you can see about going for the Chase Marriott card(s) then. Note that by then, Chase will probably have discontinued the Marriott Biz because the small business card product is supposed to belong to Amex. But perhaps Chase will raise the Marriott Premier Plus back up to 100k Marriott points at some point?

3 > 2

 

[snugglebug]

I made purchases 9/18 and 9/19....3 of them just posted this morning..and I was able to relink...the other..Staples never came up as pending

Waiting at the airport for our flight to Orlando...so will not be able to reuse until Friday...and I’ll try to keep up here

Have fun and good luck! I tried so hard to keep up this past week, but I've spent most of today reading 20+ pages. I'm almost up to date. Six more to go...

 

[vanjust14]

Citizens is long, they have 60 days from when the requirements are met and they seem to use it all. I met it end of June and got the bonus end of August. Here's my timeline: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/99whbm/comment/e53lzuk

If it's been more than 60 days since meeting the requirements, and it was all legit, then may want to call. If my push from CapOne360 didn't work, I'd probably still be waiting too since I didn't get my DD changed until late July.

I’m right at the 60-day mark since my “direct deposit” from CapitalOne 360. It’s listed as a direct deposit, but no $400 bonus yet. I’m reluctant to call since it wasn’t a real direct deposit - although DPs on DoC said CapOne worked.
I’m worried about this one because there are fees on the account ($25/month). I haven’t been charged one yet and read they usually take a few statements to kick in, but I wanted to downgrade the account as soon as possible before they do. Have either of you been hit with fees?

Mine wasn't a real DD either so I do not want to call. I haven't been hit with any fees yet. Hopefully I just need to be a little more patient.

 

[Lain]

Thanks for the link. I’m considering perhaps a week at an Air BnB in London in May/June 2020. What I am thinking is using my Swagbucks, ibotta, etc. $ to buy gift cards at Kroger during their 4x fuel points promos. I’ve always done this for Disney gift cards, but after this year’s December trip I won’t have another Disney trip planned until after Europe. (Unless you count a couple days at DLP.) Just wondering how it codes on CSR in case I need to use it. I’m totally unfamiliar with the Air bnb gift cards. I doubt you can combine them?

You can't combine AirBnB GCs like you do with Disney GCs, but you can apply AirBnB GCs to your account and the funds essentially get added up there.

Redeeming gift cards
To redeem a gift card, add the funds from the card balance to your account:

1. Go to our gift card redemption page
2. Enter the 19-digit card number (do not include spaces or dashes)
3. Once the card number is entered, you’ll see a box to enter the alphanumeric PIN—enter the 13-digit PIN in this box
4. Click Apply to Account

Once a gift card has been added to your Airbnb account, the funds won’t expire.

Gift card funds can be used to pay for most home and experience bookings on Airbnb. When you book, the balance from any gift card funds on your account will be automatically applied.

Gift card funds can’t be used to pay for the following:

• Reservation of 28 nights or more
• Changes to existing reservations
• The second payment, if you choose to pay with the pay less upfront option

See: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/981/how-do-airbnb-gift-cards-work

 

[Limes96]

You can't combine AirBnB GCs like you do with Disney GCs, but you can apply AirBnB GCs to your account and the funds essentially get added up there.

Redeeming gift cards
To redeem a gift card, add the funds from the card balance to your account:

1. Go to our gift card redemption page
2. Enter the 19-digit card number (do not include spaces or dashes)
3. Once the card number is entered, you’ll see a box to enter the alphanumeric PIN—enter the 13-digit PIN in this box
4. Click Apply to Account

Once a gift card has been added to your Airbnb account, the funds won’t expire.

Gift card funds can be used to pay for most home and experience bookings on Airbnb. When you book, the balance from any gift card funds on your account will be automatically applied.

Gift card funds can’t be used to pay for the following:

• Reservation of 28 nights or more
• Changes to existing reservations
• The second payment, if you choose to pay with the pay less upfront option

See: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/981/how-do-airbnb-gift-cards-work

Thanks again! I think this is the direction I want to go in for this trip. It will essentially be half Air bnb and half hotel points (mostly ihg, supplemented by UR’s). I think that will work. I know this trip will be a hotel points eater since we'll need two rooms (5 of us). Not sure I could manage 2-3 weeks’ worth of hotel points. A couple more weeks and I’ll apply for the CSR. Awesome. I’m seriously stoked for this trip that is still almost two years away. Lol

The only thing I’m wary of is point devaluations and policy changes a la Chase of the last few weeks. Guess I’ll be transferring points ASAP each statement close and making reservations as early as possible.

 

[afan]

On a related note, Disneyland Paris...how can we save money there? Probably can’t use our U.S. gift cards there? Probably can’t count on much help from Chase either. I’ll tag @afan since I know she went. I read the trip report and enjoyed it! I would totally be a superhero to my kids (young adults, really) if I could get reservations for the new Marvel hotel when it opens. Hoping it will be possible in June 2020. I think projected opening is spring 2020 IIRC.

Save your pennies? We paid cash and got what we thought was a good deal since it was pay 2 nights get 2 nights and when you buy a package you get tickets for each day so 5. I don't know when they open the new Marvel if they'll have it blacked out from deals since a lot of people will want to stay there or not. If I'm remembering correctly you can book room only on expedia I think, I know there was some portal people used, but I don't know if the savings would be worth it over the specials they have. You also are best off looking at all the different country pages, so .uk, .fr etc for France, UK, Germany, Denmark etc because they often have better deals than the US site even with the exchange rate, not when we were booking though. There are places off site you can use hotel points to book at but you'd have to bus in whereas from Hotel NY or Sequoia where we stayed or Newport and I think there's one another around the lake, you can walk to the parks in 10-15 min depending on speed and security, which is worth it.

So all that to say bank bonuses? And I like DLP Town Square on twitter, though he does also have a website. He's in the UK. The other blogger/podcaster I followed I stopped before the trip. I still follow this guy cause he goes often and has useful info and since someday I'll go back I have to keep up a little