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

[Albort]

relating to the ms stuff it’s the same. The load process and the monthly limit I’m pretty sure are the same and that Mastercard gift cards are YMMV so stick with VGCs. Also is fee free if you have a 0 statement balance. Im sure there are some differences but nothing that I can think of relating to loading them with GCs. You can have five bluebird cards and five serve cards two of each can be active at once so no need to close the bluebird card.

**yawn**
buy $200 MCGC at staples...
Create an account on safeway with a new number.
go buy 2x$100 VGC at Safeway, use MCGC.
repeat...

 

[Limes96]

@Limes96 I am sorry about the pop up. Are you carrying a balance on any 0% cards? That could be a reason too. Or maybe it is a theory like I think @gottalovepluto had that it depends on Amex generally and not anything more specific to the person.

No, we’re not carrying a balance on any of our cards. Amex recently raised my credit limit on one of my cards without me asking and they also emailed me a “special offer” if I applied for the gold. I only have two cards with them, a BCP (2/17) and HHBiz (12/18). My whole family (4 other than me) are AU’s on the BCP and it gets a ton of spend each month. On the HHBiz it takes more effort but I do get at least a couple hundred on there each month just to keep Amex happy.

 

[Lain]

Our first Japan vlog is up!!!

Link to channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC007X6kCgzr0NdSErd0Q5Tg?view_as=subscriber


Dh worked really hard on it so I want to promote his hard work lol. I'm gonna post whenever a new vlog is uploaded on this thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/japan-vlog.3761005/

Really dig the music! Thank you for being discreet with the tips and tricks we share and this thread. I’m sure all that information is already out there on thousands of other blogs and vlogs, but I appreciate yours not being another one.

P.S. Did you sign up for the SW Performance Biz? I don’t remember another 80k SW offer.

 

[gottalovepluto]

This is completely unrelated, but does anyone know where you can get cheap, lounge chairs? I'm talking the trifold ones that are super cheap. I've looked everywhere and can't find any under $40. My mom said she got hers at Dollar General but it was a couple years back. This is what I want:
View attachment 419058
Are these not a thing anymore?

My first instinct was Kmart as well, but the last time I saw one of these bought was over a decade ago when my Mom bought it. Darn thing, I put various extremities through all the holes in it so I would not be surprised in the slightest to find out they aren’t sold in the US anymore.

I found this one on sale at wayfair for $30.99 free shipping if order is over $49. I had NO idea lounge chairs had become so expensive!!

 

[Haley R]

Really dig the music! Thank you for being discreet with the tips and tricks we share and this thread. I’m sure all that information is already out there on thousands of other blogs and vlogs, but I appreciate yours not being another one.

P.S. Did you sign up for the SW Performance Biz? I don’t remember another 80k SW offer.

Haha Dh is very proud of the music! He says it gets stuck in his head since he had to replay the video so many times while editing. He had some other info in the video and I had to tell him to cut it out. He went too far in detail and I told him we try not to broadcast things.

No we just have the Southwest Biz. It's very possible some info Dh said was incorrect

 

[Lain]

**yawn**
buy $200 MCGC at staples...
Create an account on safeway with a new number.
go buy 2x$100 VGC at Safeway, use MCGC.
repeat...

This works if you have one of the Albertsons brands nearby, and if the cashiers don’t check your payment card. Unfortunately where I shop, a lot of cashiers check my credit card and ID when buying prepaid and gift cards. I guess you also turn 1 card (1 swipe) into 2 cards (2 swipes).

 

[Lain]

Haha Dh is very proud of the music! He says it gets stuck in his head since he had to replay the video so many times while editing. He had some other info in the video and I had to tell him to cut it out. He went too far in detail and I told him we try not to broadcast things.

No we just have the Southwest Biz. It's very possible some info Dh said was incorrect

Yeah, but at least the music is very soothing!

Pretty sure Priority Pass doesn’t get you into the Star Alliance Lounge, because a lounge like that would be packed and the food and drinks picked clean!

 

[Albort]

Really dig the music! Thank you for being discreet with the tips and tricks we share and this thread. I’m sure all that information is already out there on thousands of other blogs and vlogs, but I appreciate yours not being another one.

P.S. Did you sign up for the SW Performance Biz? I don’t remember another 80k SW offer.

im all for vloggers sharing information but i hate when they sell that information for a cost... ive seen some charge like $100 for membership.

 

[Lain]

im all for vloggers sharing information but i hate when they sell that information for a cost... ive seen some charge like $100 for membership.

Depends on the blogger/vlogger and what kind of information.

 

[mmmears]

Safeway is running a deal on Visa Gift Cards now until 8/3/19. This time it's fixed value $50 and $100 VGCs:

• Save $10 on 2x $50 VGC ($4.95 activation fee/each, $0.10 savings)

• Save $15 on 2x $100 VGC ($5.95 activation fee/each, $3.10 savings)

Add the Just4U coupons to your account(s) on the Safeway app. Limit 1 per account.

Sometimes it's the same deal on fixed value $50 and $100 MCGCs. Safeway seems be running these deals more frequently, about once a month and even sometimes concurrently. Last month, Safeway had a $10 off deal on $100+ VGCs that worked on variable load VGCs up to $500 ($5.95 activation fee, $4.05 savings).

As you can see, these deals are slight moneymakers. When paying with Amex cards, I always throw in random grocery items that I need to buy anyway so the transaction isn't a telltale $xxx.95 charge that's a giveaway to the RATs. I treat the savings on the VGC/MCGC like a coupon on my grocery.

The real boon comes with paying with a credit card that earns a high bonus at supermarkets, like the Amex Gold for 4x Membership Rewards Points, Amex Hilton Surpass for 6x Hilton Honors Points, or Amex Blue Cash Preferred for 6% cash back; another card that has supermarkets as its quarterly bonus category; or a card on which you're working on the MSR.

I think you mentioned you're working on your Amex Gold MSR? If you do both deals, your Gold would earn 4x MR on $396.80 (for $400 in VGCs) plus make that amount of a dent in your MSR. If DH or DD have Safeway accounts, you can add this deal to their accounts and type in their phone number at checkout to do it again. I wouldn't worry about buying prepaid or gift cards at Safeway to meet an Amex MSR. Safeway doesn't report L3 data to Amex. Add this deal with your regular grocery shopping if you want to obscure your purchase further. I've personally done it for several of my Amex MSRs. I've... catered many big dinners and company parties at Safeway on my Amex cards.

While you've made progress on your MSR and/or earned 4x MR (or whatever bonus multiplier), and can spend down the VGC/MCGC anytime without a deadline, the problem is liquidating these cards. Unless you have a way to MS, you're floating money in the VGC/MCGC. I mostly use the VGCs at Costco where I spend a hundred+ dollars per trip since Costco doesn't accept Amex, and get 4x MR on my Costco spend that way. I use the MCGCs to pay bills on Plastiq since they've been coding as debit with only a 1% fee, and since I bought the MCGC at 4x MR that still puts me ahead.

Since you'd be floating money in VGC/MCGC, be vigilant that your gift card's packaging hasn't been compromised. There have been increasing reports of gift card fraud tied to tampered packaging, i.e., scammers gain access to a gift card's numbers before it's sold and wait until they're activated to drain them remotely. I've previously written up some tips here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...t-page-for-addl-details.3729982/post-60519331

Just let me know if you have any more questions.

Thank you so much, as always, @Lain. Ironically it's DH who has the Safeway account, not me. I just hate all this online stuff. Yes, we are working on the small MSR for DD's Gold AU card, which we can easily meet with our real grocery bills. I think she might be taking that card abroad in a week, but if she does I won't be able to use the deals anymore. I read it will give 4x now on restaurants out of the US, but I'm not sure about grocery stores. In any case I want to make sure she's covered in case something goes wrong with her Chase card so I'm telling her to take her Plat and her new Rose Gold. I was thinking about trying the VGCs at Safeway for a while now. There is one really close to us and I like the idea of getting 4x for stuff we only get 1x for now. I think we are going to slow down a lot and maybe not even have an MSR for a little while, so getting the 4x for places like Costco would be great. Thanks for the advice - I remembered that there were fraud issues with some of these cards so I've avoided them in the past.

They're vintage now I guess

Wow! Welcome to the old-timers club!
I'm looking forward to viewing your vlog!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Depends on the blogger/vlogger and what kind of information.

I'm gonna start a vlog...it'll be me in my recliner wearing the South Fayette helmet just yelling about churning stuff in an angry grandpa voice. I think it could really be a hit!

BACK IN MY DAY WE USED TO OPEN 3 BANK OF AMERICA CARDS AT A TIME UNTIL SOME IDIOT BLOGGER WITH A BOWTIE TRIED TO OPEN 10! ​

​

BACK IN MY DAY WE USED TO EARN 3X URs ON CIP WITH PLASTIQ UNTIL SOME JERK WROTE AN ARTICLE ABOUT USING IT TO BUY A TESLA.​

There would be nothing of substance...just basically a ton of complaining about how great churning used to be, haha!

 

[afan]

I'm gonna start a vlog...it'll be me in my recliner wearing the South Fayette helmet just yelling about churning stuff in an angry grandpa voice. I think it could really be a hit!

BACK IN MY DAY WE USED TO OPEN 3 BANK OF AMERICA CARDS AT A TIME UNTIL SOME IDIOT BLOGGER WITH A BOWTIE TRIED TO OPEN 10! ​

​

BACK IN MY DAY WE USED TO EARN 3X URs ON CIP WITH PLASTIQ UNTIL SOME JERK WROTE AN ARTICLE ABOUT USING IT TO BUY A TESLA.​

There would be nothing of substance...just basically a ton of complaining about how great churning used to be, haha!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

We'll call it "Beligerant Dictations of a Benevolent Dictator - a salute to all things but mostly churning!"

 

[Lain]

We'll call it "Beligerant Dictations of a Benevolent Dictator - a salute to all things but mostly churning!"

So we’ll shorten your blog to the acronym BDBD?

 

[wendow]

This is completely unrelated, but does anyone know where you can get cheap, lounge chairs? I'm talking the trifold ones that are super cheap. I've looked everywhere and can't find any under $40. My mom said she got hers at Dollar General but it was a couple years back. This is what I want:
View attachment 419058
Are these not a thing anymore?

I've not seen those kind of chairs in forever! I'd think maybe a Big Lots might sell them but I really have no idea. I don't think they are a thing anymore and probably haven't been for many years. I still have two lawn chairs that are the old style that fold and have the woven plastic/fabric. They are falling apart but I love them and I don't think they are a thing anymore either,. I hold onto them cause pretty sure I cannot replace them.

 

[afan]

I've not seen those kind of chairs in forever! I'd think maybe a Big Lots might sell them but I really have no idea. I don't think they are a thing anymore and probably haven't been for many years. I still have two lawn chairs that are the old style that fold and have the woven plastic/fabric. They are falling apart but I love them and I don't think they are a thing anymore either,. I hold onto them cause pretty sure I cannot replace them.

Might still be in store, there are some by me and some are out. Target had some. https://www.target.com/p/variegated-stripe-webstrap-chair-red-yellow-blue-sun-squad-153/-/A-54079954

I thought it was cool they brought that style back and would have gotten one if I'd had the need.

 

[wendow]

Might still be in store, there are some by me and some are out. Target had some. https://www.target.com/p/variegated-stripe-webstrap-chair-red-yellow-blue-sun-squad-153/-/A-54079954

I thought it was cool they brought that style back and would have gotten one if I'd had the need.

Oh those colors are cute! Our stores don't appear to have them but that makes sense cause I was in Target two days ago and all the summer stuff is like 70% off.

 

[afan]

Oh those colors are cute! Our stores don't appear to have them but that makes sense cause I was in Target two days ago and all the summer stuff is like 70% off.

That's a bummer there aren't any near you. I hope they bring the sun squad stuff back next year, it had some cute stuff. But who knows with Target what they'll do. They made their clothes for women worse when they changed the brands and got rid of merona so I don't look for them to keep anything going any more.

 

[wendow]

That's a bummer there aren't any near you. I hope they bring the sun squad stuff back next year, it had some cute stuff. But who knows with Target what they'll do. They made their clothes for women worse when they changed the brands and got rid of merona so I don't look for them to keep anything going any more.

They are desperately trying to change their image. The latest store remodels have the clothing, accessories and makeup areas looking more department store than discount store. They do have some cute clothes right now, especially dresses, but the price is higher than it should be for Target.

 

[Haley R]

Yeah, but at least the music is very soothing!

Pretty sure Priority Pass doesn’t get you into the Star Alliance Lounge, because a lounge like that would be packed and the food and drinks picked clean!

Oh geez did he say the PP got us into the lounge? lol