I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[hsmamato2]

Am I mistaken here or are there NO Uni onsite hotels in Chase portal right now? I tried a variety of date configurations to test this and found nothing onsite... tell me it ain't so... are you guys finding anything at all at any date? This is going to seriously impact my planning

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

.

 

[platamama]

I really do love churning. Made Thanksgiving plans yesterday to go back to Costa Rica (same place as last year because DH and DD loved it so much).

Flights for 3 people and 5 nights in Costa Rica is costing me $261 OOP.

For comparison, if I had to actually pay for it with real cash money it would be $5,879. I'm saving 95.6%!!!

 

[Lain]

I didn't get it and Exxon is the closest one to me. It's also the most expensive so even at 10%, I can probably beat the deal just spending at Costco with my 4% citi card. Exxon is at 2.67 near me and 2.35 at Sams and 2.39 at Costco. Yes, after doing the calculation, Sam's or Costco are still cheaper.

Right now I'm still enjoying my $1.50 off per gallon from Giant fuel perks.
I will be trying to max that in future.

Exxon prices are comparable to the other gas stations in the city, and Speedpass+ helps. They're not as abundant as Chevron or Shell here, but still pretty convenient for me. I'll take the 10%+ savings if that means I don't have to drive farther to get gas (burn gas to save money on gas?). I'd have to drive 10 miles to another city for the closest Costco with a gas station, but Costco does have the lowest prices in the area and that suppresses prices at surrounding Chevrons and Shells, which is nice if I want to use Safeway gas rewards.

 

[WVMomof3]

I forgot to list the one vanity plus from not having to wear glasses - you can pick sunglasses that don't have to cover your regular glasses or hang on the front of them!!

This was such a pleasure for me! I started out by raiding my daughters supply and picked out a pair or two of her designer ones that I wouldn't pay for myself. She's got too many nice ones! I remember getting dedicated prescription sunglasses years ago and getting insulted by a coworker because of my prescription's requirement - not sure she meant to hurt my feelings, but I've never let it go. Which is not the norm for me.

Yes, would really LOVE to go back to regular sunglasses. I have the over the glasses kind that my friends make fun of. lol But my eyes are soooooo sensitive, sunglasses are a must for me. My new progressives are slightly different in size than my old ones and the sunglasses I have do not fit over them as well. They really hurt my nose to wear the double glasses. My DH has prescriptions that look nice, have thought about going that route but I can't tell you how many times he ends up wearing them inside because he switches them out in car and forgets to bring the other pair inside. I rarely carry a purse so this would be an issue with me as well. His eyes are not bad so he eventually just takes them off. I would never be able to function without mine.

 

[Etonduf]

OMG. Cirque shows! My wife’s fav is Ka. I loved The Beatles LOVE! We’ve also seen O, Mystere, Zumanity, Viva Elvis, and Criss Angel Believe (the latter two have ended their run, I believe). Lots of great restaurants. Eiffel Tower Restaurant and request a window seat for views of the Bellagio fountains at night? Name a celebrity chef and they probably have a restaurant in Vegas.

No recommendations on the Strip hotels. My wife is from Hawaii, and they like to stay in Downtown Vegas.

I second the recommendation for Cirque du Soleil. We have seen many (most?) of them and have never been disappointed.

 

[DisneyMandC]

So here is a question for you all... even though I don't see too much mention of Capital One around here. (I posted this same question elsewhere awhile back but since you are all credit card aficionados I thought you'd have more experience with it).

I got a Capital One card last fall before we went to Japan specifically to avoid foreign transaction fees (this is of course before I knew about all the other options out there!). Card worked great; the Capital One app is great (much better than the Chase app IMO), all that. But TWICE in 6 months they decided that my payment was late. I use bill pay through my credit union with them just like I have for all my other bills (including Chase) for years, and on two separate occasions they did not process my payment in a timely manner.

I've stopped using the card (which is fine... I don't actually need or want it any more anyway) but I am just curious whether any of you have had a similar experience specifically with them.

I think there was actually a post on the Budget Board about this not too long ago. My best friend has also had this problem with Capital One. She has her checking account with them and a credit card. She set the CC to pay the day it was due, as many people too, and it came back as a late payment on a couple occasions. I think she finally set it to pay 10 days in advance of the due date to try to avoid that. It was very frustrating for her. I think at one point Capital One even tried to tell her the bank sent her payment late and she was like "YOU are the bank!"

 

[platamama]

So here is a question for you all... even though I don't see too much mention of Capital One around here. (I posted this same question elsewhere awhile back but since you are all credit card aficionados I thought you'd have more experience with it).

I got a Capital One card last fall before we went to Japan specifically to avoid foreign transaction fees (this is of course before I knew about all the other options out there!). Card worked great; the Capital One app is great (much better than the Chase app IMO), all that. But TWICE in 6 months they decided that my payment was late. I use bill pay through my credit union with them just like I have for all my other bills (including Chase) for years, and on two separate occasions they did not process my payment in a timely manner.

I've stopped using the card (which is fine... I don't actually need or want it any more anyway) but I am just curious whether any of you have had a similar experience specifically with them.

I think there was actually a post on the Budget Board about this not too long ago. My best friend has also had this problem with Capital One. She has her checking account with them and a credit card. She set the CC to pay the day it was due, as many people too, and it came back as a late payment on a couple occasions. I think she finally set it to pay 10 days in advance of the due date to try to avoid that. It was very frustrating for her. I think at one point Capital One even tried to tell her the bank sent her payment late and she was like "YOU are the bank!"

I think the key is to set up the payment from the Cap1 credit card side, as a "pull," rather than "pushing" it out of the checking account. I ran into an issue years ago with using Bill Pay for an Amex payment, and ever since making my credit cards pull the payment (instead of a push), I've not had any problems. I've never had issues with Cap1.

 

[Haley R]

Congrats And you can ask to have it expedited via sm

They SM’d back and said it’s been sent out. Now I’m hoping it comes in by Wednesday at a good time to pay for our termite bond

 

[Alexle2007]

Am I mistaken here or are there NO Uni onsite hotels in Chase portal right now? I tried a variety of date configurations to test this and found nothing onsite... tell me it ain't so... are you guys finding anything at all at any date? This is going to seriously impact my planning

I was looking last night since I have an Aug trip to now book and didn't find them either. I wanted to compare my AP price with using URs. So it looks like AP for the win.

 

[PolyRob]

I hate the extra one MR per dollar offers. lol

I got a 2x MR points for Cheesecake Factory offer and I was dining there the week after so I added it. That was two weeks ago. It never tracked and the offer just expired. I didn't spend much and I don't even feel like chatting Amex for 25-ish MRs

 

[Kawnipi]

Am I mistaken here or are there NO Uni onsite hotels in Chase portal right now? I tried a variety of date configurations to test this and found nothing onsite... tell me it ain't so... are you guys finding anything at all at any date? This is going to seriously impact my planning

I just looked and they show for me. I just picked a random date in November.

 

[PolyRob]

I finally have MRs points!!! IDK why, but this sad little number just makes me happy. Soon there will be a 10 in front

 

[Haley R]

Aww...what kind of car is this? One of my mechanics fixed my ac and I expected a huge bill. When I got there to pick it up, his response was that most people shouldn't be allowed around an ac system. He was able to fix it by draining or purging the system and simply refilling it with the correct amount of refrigerant. He said it had been overfilled at some point. My ac is ice cold and has worked well in Florida on 3 trips. And the cost was very little.

It’s a 2008 Pontiac g6. My car is a 2005 and has been much better than dh’s. He did email me and said he’s taking it in on Friday for about $99. That’s not too bad so I guess we’ll see what they say

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Am I mistaken here or are there NO Uni onsite hotels in Chase portal right now? I tried a variety of date configurations to test this and found nothing onsite... tell me it ain't so... are you guys finding anything at all at any date? This is going to seriously impact my planning

I was looking last night since I have an Aug trip to now book and didn't find them either. I wanted to compare my AP price with using URs. So it looks like AP for the win.

I just looked and they show for me. I just picked a random date in November.

I also can see them. It looks like they aren't sorting to the top though, I had to filter for them by typing "Universal's" in the filter box.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Ok, I looked into the Amex Gold, BoA, and Capital One Venture card this morning. Right now, it's looking like the best option for me currently is Capital One since it's AF waived the first year, GE credit, and I see that their miles can be instantly transferred to Jetblue. Jetblue is our preferred carrier to MCO, and I can usually get there on 10k miles per person, so I can potentially get a couple round trips to MCO on just the signup bonus! We are planning another trip to Orlando over the winter, and I don't have a plan lined up for airfare for that yet, so this would be helpful.

Is there anything I need to know before applying to Capital One? I haven't had a personal card since December, not sure how much that matters with them since I think maybe they're inquiry sensitive too?

 

[hsmamato2]

I also can see them. It looks like they aren't sorting to the top though, I had to filter for them by typing "Universal's" in the filter box.

I tried that too...no love! I'm gonna try clearing cookies etc- glad you
re still seeing them!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I tried that too...no love! I'm gonna try clearing cookies etc- glad you
re still seeing them!

If you share your dates I can check on my end

 

[Killer Fish]

Does anyone know if you can do the same with Hyatt as you can with Marriott in terms of calling the hotel directly and paying a portion towards an upcoming stay? I see there's the spend $300 at Grand Hyatt and get $60 back on Amex. I have a Grand Hyatt stay in November, but the offer expires 9/30. I'd love to be able to use it!

I would think if you booked a type on Prepaid rate (advanced purchase) it would work as the charge would be done right away (if hotel has it configured properly). As far as calling the hotel directly I would say that it is possible but all hotels went to a new CC authorization method recently that is supposed to all be more or less automated and I don't think it charges the card until day of arrival but obviously worth a phone call to try and see.

 

[hsmamato2]

If you share your dates I can check on my end

sometime April 2020...maybe 11-18? or possible early December dates too. I cleared cookies, used two different browsers- different account logins,filtered by name...nothing.I wonder what's going on.... why can I get NO results when you guys are seeing them?