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

[DisneyMandC]

Can I just rant for a second?

I was at Costco yesterday restocking our pantry and fridge after coming back from vacation, where I passed by the Citi Costco credit card booth offering up a cooler bag for signing up, and a young techie wearing his company swag t-shirt (some machine learning startup) actually signing up with a big grin on his face! I can only hope that he’s well past 5/24 and really needed that cooler bag to store some brews for a nice picnic at a park somewhere. Because otherwise...

One more /facepalm story. I live near a popular brunch spot (like, every neighborhood in San Francisco has one or several popular brunch spot(s)). When the weather is nice, like it was this past weekend, they do al fresco dining out front. And as I was walking past with my kiddo on the way to the park, I saw a couple of yuppies paying their check with an Amex Platinum card. Sure, it’s flashy, but it’s got a terrible earn rate—especially when so many other cards earn nice bonuses for dining! I really hope he was working on the MSR. Like seriously, I have 3 Platinums right now and the only time they ever see the light of day is when I’m headed to a Centurion Lounge. I don’t need to drop a Platinum on a check to show off if that’s all it does for me. (Besides, Rose Gold is much prettier. ) And nope, this brunch spot isn’t part of the the Resy program or promo, so no extra MRs there.

I think I’m in too deep when I pay attention to what cards other people are applying for and using. I was sorely tempted to intervene, but I’ll settle for silently judging people.

I'm the same as you! I was out to lunch with someone the other day and I saw they pulled out a CF to pay. IT'S NOT EVEN RESTAURANTS THIS QUARTER, COME ON!!

The worst though...I was in Costco the other week and someone with a cart slam filled with stuff pulled out $400 cash to pay their bill...

 

[Albort]

Can I just rant for a second?

I was at Costco yesterday restocking our pantry and fridge after coming back from vacation, where I passed by the Citi Costco credit card booth offering up a cooler bag for signing up, and a young techie wearing his company swag t-shirt (some machine learning startup) actually signing up with a big grin on his face! I can only hope that he’s well past 5/24 and really needed that cooler bag to store some brews for a nice picnic at a park somewhere. Because otherwise...

One more /facepalm story. I live near a popular brunch spot (like, every neighborhood in San Francisco has one or several popular brunch spot(s)). When the weather is nice, like it was this past weekend, they do al fresco dining out front. And as I was walking past with my kiddo on the way to the park, I saw a couple of yuppies paying their check with an Amex Platinum card. Sure, it’s flashy, but it’s got a terrible earn rate—especially when so many other cards earn nice bonuses for dining! I really hope he was working on the MSR. Like seriously, I have 3 Platinums right now and the only time they ever see the light of day is when I’m headed to a Centurion Lounge. I don’t need to drop a Platinum on a check to show off if that’s all it does for me. (Besides, Rose Gold is much prettier. ) And nope, this brunch spot isn’t part of the the Resy program or promo, so no extra MRs there.

I think I’m in too deep when I pay attention to what cards other people are applying for and using. I was sorely tempted to intervene, but I’ll settle for silently judging people.

heh, one of my other groups had an interesting thought of buying the Mexico Costco membership and using it here in the states... its about half the cost of the US version haha.
i told my parents that and my mom did mention u dont get the mailers though.

As for your what ppl apply for, i made the mistake of telling an apple fan boy that the apple card sucks and isnt worth it.
oh man,

 

[afan]

Sky pesos question. I want to try and get bavk to wdw in oct. I have miles on AS and DL I can use for the flight.

But can I turn those DL miles into a hotel?

 

[afan]

heh, one of my other groups had an interesting thought of buying the Mexico Costco membership and using it here in the states... its about half the cost of the US version haha.
i told my parents that and my mom did mention u dont get the mailers though.

As for your what ppl apply for, i made the mistake of telling an apple fan boy that the apple card sucks and isnt worth it.
oh man,

Use the app the mailer stuff is there. Cashier told us the mailer is going away and to use the app. Not sure.how accurate but at least I'm in the home of costco so maybe a better source than a bus driver. The app is good though been using it over a year.

 

[PolyRob]

Can I just rant for a second?

I was at Costco yesterday restocking our pantry and fridge after coming back from vacation, where I passed by the Citi Costco credit card booth offering up a cooler bag for signing up, and a young techie wearing his company swag t-shirt (some machine learning startup) actually signing up with a big grin on his face! I can only hope that he’s well past 5/24 and really needed that cooler bag to store some brews for a nice picnic at a park somewhere. Because otherwise...

One more /facepalm story. I live near a popular brunch spot (like, every neighborhood in San Francisco has one or several popular brunch spot(s)). When the weather is nice, like it was this past weekend, they do al fresco dining out front. And as I was walking past with my kiddo on the way to the park, I saw a couple of yuppies paying their check with an Amex Platinum card. Sure, it’s flashy, but it’s got a terrible earn rate—especially when so many other cards earn nice bonuses for dining! I really hope he was working on the MSR. Like seriously, I have 3 Platinums right now and the only time they ever see the light of day is when I’m headed to a Centurion Lounge. I don’t need to drop a Platinum on a check to show off if that’s all it does for me. (Besides, Rose Gold is much prettier. ) And nope, this brunch spot isn’t part of the the Resy program or promo, so no extra MRs there.

I think I’m in too deep when I pay attention to what cards other people are applying for and using. I was sorely tempted to intervene, but I’ll settle for silently judging people.

I used my Plat to pay for a <$20 Cheesecake Factory lunch during my MSR period so I am forgiven. I had the double MR point offer too. WHAT A DEAL!!! lol

...pulled out $400 cash to pay their bill...

The sheer amount of time it takes for that to be counted drives me insane the most! The only thing worse is a check writer

 

[elgerber]

.

 

[Lain]

UCT codes as travel and earns 3x UR on the CIP, if that helps your decision any.

 

[ten6mom]

UCT codes as travel and earns 3x UR on the CIP, if that helps your decision any.

Oooh I knew I was forgetting something! Thank you!!!!

There is a reason I post my stuff here before actually purchasing. I know one of you experts will stop me from missing out on something!

 

[wanderlust7]

Great info - thank you!! We were looking at the Hilton card last night, and weren't sure if we could apply for 2 Hilton cards at a time since we'd need 250,000 points to book 5 nights in order to get the 5th night free (super annoying rule, why do I need points for 5 nights when I'm only redeeming for 4 nights....)

You can have 1 approved Amex credit card every 5 days and 2 every 90 days. You can also only hold 5 Amex credit cards at once. Charge cards do not count.

You'll want to be careful about adding to your 5/24 count (5 new accounts that report to your personal credit report within 24 months), so you're not locked out of Chase. The Hilton cards - no fee, Surpass, Aspire, will all add to your 5/24. The Hilton Business card will not. The biz card bonus is currently 130k points and a free weekend night. I would do that for both you and your DH (assuming the spend requirement is not a problem). The Surpass is currently also at 130k points and a free weekend night. So you could do that one if you want enough points for the 5th night free. Probably for you instead of your DH since you're only 2/24 (your DH looks like 3/24 or 4/24). Both offers are set to expire 8/28.

If you have any non-cobranded Amex cards or a Hilton card not listed in your post, you can cross support (i.e. use your DH's link for your app and vice versa). DO NOT use your own link for your own app as Amex has been clawing that back.

 

[Lain]

I'm the same as you! I was out to lunch with someone the other day and I saw they pulled out a CF to pay. IT'S NOT EVEN RESTAURANTS THIS QUARTER, COME ON!!

The worst though...I was in Costco the other week and someone with a cart slam filled with stuff pulled out $400 cash to pay their bill...

Sometimes I consider carrying change so that I can offer to take their cash and give them change if they’ll let me charge it to my card(s). That’s not shady at all, right?

 

[ten6mom]

Thank you @Lain for the reminder on UCT. Just bought them.

Side note: I got the tickets emailed to me right away and was able to link them to my Disneyland App by "scanning" the barcode from my email on the computer screen! Handy dandy and all set to go. Now we just need to wait until October!!

 

[Haley R]

Oooooh sorry. IDK why I thought you had already applied for it. I am also waiting until early September. I keep wavering back and forth of CIP3 or CIU

I have the CIP2, but I'm gonna hold off from the CIPs for awhile. I'm not sure if I'll even go for a CIP3

 

[gregorykicks]

Well...I'm starting slow enough that I had to read your reply out loud a couple of times to get the lingo and make sure I understood. I'm not jumping into the deep end of the pool with this, so it sounds like your suggestion for Chase is up my alley.

I do have a small business. I've never even contemplated business cards and will learn more about them before deciding.

A little of both, in my case. I also never learned/was taught how to budget. That, on top of unexpected monumental medical bills, pulled us under. And we stayed there, overspending until I cut the cord. If you pop over to the Debt Dumpers board, I've been (and will stay) active on that board. I learned so much and the posters there have a heart for helping others. But having gritted my teeth and laying out several snowball charts until I'm finally here on this board, I've learned that debt happens in many different ways. I'm grateful to be looking at the finish line with ours. Technically, if I wanted to just grind it out, I could pay off our house next year. But we are choosing a few different options, since that will happen within three years (because of our planning) regardless.

I just would like to earn rewards, at this point, moving forward, while we continue to build our savings and pay off the car and house.

I recommend doing the CIP (Chase ink preferred). You can do one with your business EIN, meet your spend and get your 80k UR points, invite yourself to another CIP with your SSN (as a sole proprietor). You can repeat the last step with your spouse's SSN as well if you're comfortable at that point. Also, be sure to refer your spouse for a CSP (Chase Sapphire Preferred) as you'll get 15 UR and they can get 60k when they hit their spend as well.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Anyone recently get a DL card that can confirm the instant account number can only be used on delta.com ? that's what the terms say...

 

[Haley R]

We have (in 2013 on the Fantasy), and LOVED it.... what are the ports? We had St. Thomas, San Juan, and Castaway Cay - I really enjoyed having 3 sea days to enjoy all that the ship had to offer.

ETA: I would definitely go for it - we had that itinerary booked on the Fantasy for November 2017, which obviously got changed to Western (booooooo!!!) because of the hurricanes. We have a non-Disney Eastern Caribbean 7 day cruise planned for 2021, and I cannot wait to get back to St. Thomas!

Everyone has made me so excited for this cruise! I can't wait to go now. I never even thought to go to St. Thomas before on a cruise because I haven't heard much about it. I think having the 3 days on the ship will be really nice so we won't feel rushed to try things and can relax more. I would think by November 2 the hurricane chances would be dropped dramatically.

 

[smmco]

Thank you @Lain for the reminder on UCT. Just bought them.

Side note: I got the tickets emailed to me right away and was able to link them to my Disneyland App by "scanning" the barcode from my email on the computer screen! Handy dandy and all set to go. Now we just need to wait until October!!

I always buy from them. I’ve booked Disney hotels from them also. You do have to pay in full, but if you need to cancel money was back on cc within 3 days, Ive used them mostly for last minute short stay bookings when Disney had no availability but they did.

 

[gottalovepluto]

The worst though...I was in Costco the other week and someone with a cart slam filled with stuff pulled out $400 cash to pay their bill...

Nah. The worst was when the person in front of me at Costco paid about on about $300 worth of stuff with cash in denominations of $1 and $5. I kid not

 

[wanderlust7]

I saw a couple of yuppies paying their check with an Amex Platinum card. Sure, it’s flashy, but it’s got a terrible earn rate—especially when so many other cards earn nice bonuses for dining!

LOL! Maybe they were just trying to avoid the pop-up? Although I'd still never use it for dining, only non-category spend.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Sometimes I consider carrying change so that I can offer to take their cash and give them change if they’ll let me charge it to my card(s). That’s not shady at all, right?

I was going to say I should have offered to pay and taken their cash

 

[snugglebug]

Looking for advice on traveling to Hawaii. I have family in Sacramento area, so we would like to fly there first for a few days and then go to Maui for a week. Hubby has never flown that far and this is my idea to break up the trip plus visit family too. The airport we usually fly out of is Albany, NY. I searched a bit just to get ideas and saw Hawaiian airline pop up and when I checked flights it was about $1100 round trip for two from Sacramento, but there was also a pop up saying I could apply for a Hawaiian airline credit and and get 60,000 miles and 50% off a companion ticket. I was going to try and book with SW because I already have CP with them. We also have some URs 80,000 and both of us have ... Any suggestions?

I'm in Hawaii right now. Flew my family of 6 on Southwest using 2 CPs. We went from Austin to San Francisco for 2 nights, then on to Honolulu. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I booked my Oak-HNL flights as soon as they were released at promo rates so around 99-125/ ticket (one way) if I recall.