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

[speedyfishy]

Sorry for all the off topic posts!

For those that have Away carryon. How do the light colors last? Do they stay pretty clean?

My carryon does because it doesn’t get banged up. But the suitcase does. It come clean if I use a magic eraser but I get lazy and don’t clean it after every trip.

ETA I have the baby blue. I don’t think they have it anymore. Oh and I have the battery SO doesn’t. I figured because it’s the same price I might as well get it but he didn’t want to deal with it.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Moved into getting our old iphones quickly. I love the find my iphone app because I love stalking my children. I do think my daughter spends way too much time on social media.

My DS is 10, my ability to stalk him is the only reason he has a phone. No social media. Thankfully he’s not even remotely interested. And my sister was sure he be texting and calling all his friends all the time. Nope, just me, DH, and occasionally his cousins, but now that they’ve had iPods taken away, that’s gone too.

Why would they do Chase Pay if it's going away?

I kind of hate the Q4 CF categories. I had such high hopes. Paypal, department stores and Chase Pay. Sigh.

My CF will be sockdrawered for Q4. All my Christmas shopping will be on Discover. Even couch MS is too much for me and Chase Pay is pretty non existent. Even the rare places it is accepted, no one knows how to use it and it doesn’t work.

Guilty as charged! But an amazing hoarder

And so modest

But I wonder if downgrading to the discontinued, legacy SPG/Bonvoy Amex will let you (1) get the 50k FN cert (or will you get the 35k FN cert, since “your account must be open and not in default at the time of the Free Night Award e-certificate issuance”), and (2) get targeted for upgrade offers back up to the Brilliant (offering a lucrative 100k-125k Marriott points), which it seems you’re excluded from while still holding the Brilliant?

If yes to the above two, then the latter option seems to be the better strategy.

ETA or a third way, assuming you don’t get the 50k FN cert if you’ve downgraded the Brilliant to the legacy Bonvoy, I could hold the Brilliant long enough for the 50k FN cert to deposit, downgrade to the legacy Bonvoy, and hopefully open myself up to upgrade offers when I’m no longer holding the Brilliant.

I downgraded my Brilliant on 4/26 after AF posted. On 6/7, 50k FNA posted to my account. I was shocked. Still haven’t found a use for it, but inadvertently got it extended until 9/2020.

 

[Lain]

REMINDER that Marriott Bonvoy peak pricing goes into effect tomorrow, 9/14/19! Make your last minute speculative bookings now!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

And so modest

Or Maybe...

Yeah...one of those

 

[alryan]

My only concern would be if it is warm enough in late Dec to really enjoy DC. I haven’t been to SW at Christmas but we were there on Thanksgiving Day last year and it wasn’t busy at all. I love staying at one of SW resorts to get the free card for one front of the line at all of the major rides except the Falls and the dining discount. When we were there for Thanksgiving it was chilly like jeans and sweater but we did see some people going to Aquatica. No thank you.

Thanks @Alexle2007. I know weather is a problem too. I know there are wet suits for Discovery Cove, but I'm with you if I'm going in the water it better be warm.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I have stayed at the Radisson Blu Edinburgh Royal Mile at least three times and would recommend based on location and the fact that they specifically have family rooms. As mentioned in my post from a little while ago, if DD ends up at university in Edinburgh, I'm also going to give the Hilton that is just across the Royal Mile from the Radisson Blu a look, but I have not stayed there, so no first-hand knowledge as of now.

ETA: Just went back and fixed the formatting for my post on the previous page. Now all my replies aren't buried....

@bernina I second Calfan about the Radisson Blu Royal Mile. i've spent a lot of time Edinburgh, and I've stayed at the RB at least a half-dozen times, and the family rooms are HUGE and great. Highly recommend. You can't beat the location, too. I've stayed at the Balmoral and the Caledonian (Waldorf) a number of times, and both are very nice hotels as well. They are more upscale than the Radisson Blu, but we have a soft spot fo the RB. I'm bummed because my "kids" are over 18 and we can no longer stay in the family rooms. For our summer trip after DD's graduation from Durham in England next summer we are staying in an AirBnb in Edinburgh for a few days. You could look at that as well--there are a lot of good properties in Edinburgh.

Like @calypso, my favorite underground tour is the Mary Kings close.

Here are some pics of the RB family rooms from 2013:

Seriously! Would love to know what Chase's algorithm is for instant approval on the biz cards. Between DH and me, we have (or have had) 7 Chase biz cards, and not a one of them has been through an instant approval. But never been denied either. DH's latest CIP app was the quickest yet for a non-instant approval. Applied yesterday morning, automated status line was at 2 weeks a few hours later and yesterday end of day, and he was approved as of this morning. Just mystifying to me what criteria Chase uses for instant approval vs. "we need more time."

Me, too! I think the only time I've been instant approved was when I used a flyer for my first business card. I've had 6 Chase business cards and they've never been easy. DH has had three. I can't remember whether he was approved instantly for the first one.

I was actually coming on here to post an update/DP. We have more first class bookings in our future as we will soon have 210k URs, but it wasn't easy. DH and I have both been approved for CIPs#2, but it took 2 weeks. We applied on 8/30. Had the 2 week message and then it changed to 7-10. I resisted the panic urge and waited for the letter. It arrived on Monday. For some reason--despite our numerous Chase cards--they needed proof of mailing and physical address (we have a PO Box). Ugh. Faxes were sent and DH's card showed up on his account this morning. Mine still isn't there, but I called the auto line and it said I was approved. Yay! I did this one under my new ebay business rather than my LLC.

David and Moira were definitely my favorites from the beginning. Alexis really grew on me as it developed. I agree it takes a few episodes. Episode 7 is one of my favorites in the 1st season! I barely paid attention to the 1st episode and went back and rewatched it once I got hooked.

I love them all, but Moira and Alexis are my faves. It's one of our favorite shows. Moira has some of the best lines, and they've worked the way into the family lexicon. I'm a germ phobe so my kids tease me all the time about "That's the spirit." (What Moira tells Alexa when she's sick from across the room, LOL), and we always caution DD about a "podunk baby," LOL!!!! What has surprised me most about a show that has such a naughty title is that at its heart, the show is about a family who loves each other. It's really surprisingly heartwarming. I love that Dave is his real son, too (and the waitress is his real daughter). Sorry ... too lazy to look up names right now.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

0.o.

Citi double cash turning into a typ earning card? Citi trying to make a trifecta too?

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/citi...points/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Update to previous rumor...Citi Double Cash Cash Rewards Will Be Convertible To Citi ThankYou Points at a 1:1 Rate starting on 9/23??

Quoting @Albort since he initially reported this rumor way back in July. This update to the previous rumor is based on an "updated rumor" (wow that's a mouthful) so it's still hard to say how credible this is. DoC posted the update:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/citi...-will-be-convertible-to-citi-thankyou-points/
But his source for the update is a redditor on r/creditcards (not r/churning) who had this to say:

I reached out to Citibank customer service asking about the ability to convert cash back obtained with the Double Cash card into ThankYou points. This is what they said:​

​

"I do see that has recently changed. It does appear that you can also convert your cash back to ThankYou Points, with as little as $1. No smaller amounts can be converted. $1 = 100 ThankYou Points. This will go into effect 9/21/19."​

​

This could be awesome for those invested into the ThankYou point ecosystem and have either a prestige or premier card.​

At any rate - something to keep an eye on. Double Cash is a nice card for the non-churner but never has had a large sign-up bonus. I'm not sure this will really affect most of us. Thank You points are great to use for Disney but the problem is there's no easy way to earn a TON of them. They just don't have a large card assortment like Chase does with URs or Amex with MRs. And, Perhaps I'm missing an angle for MSers that this would be a good thing for.

 

[Haley R]

Thanks @Alexle2007. I know weather is a problem too. I know there are wet suits for Discovery Cove, but I'm with you if I'm going in the water it better be warm.

We went in February a couple years ago and wore the wet suits. The pool with the tropical fish was so cold! The lazy river is heated and that was really nice.

 

[PolyRob]

Update to previous rumor...Citi Double Cash Cash Rewards Will Be Convertible To Citi ThankYou Points at a 1:1 Rate starting on 9/23??

Quoting @Albort since he initially reported this rumor way back in July. This update to the previous rumor is based on an "updated rumor" (wow that's a mouthful) so it's still hard to say how credible this is. DoC posted the update:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/citi...-will-be-convertible-to-citi-thankyou-points/
But his source for the update is a redditor on r/creditcards (not r/churning) who had this to say:

I reached out to Citibank customer service asking about the ability to convert cash back obtained with the Double Cash card into ThankYou points. This is what they said:​

​

"I do see that has recently changed. It does appear that you can also convert your cash back to ThankYou Points, with as little as $1. No smaller amounts can be converted. $1 = 100 ThankYou Points. This will go into effect 9/21/19."​

​

This could be awesome for those invested into the ThankYou point ecosystem and have either a prestige or premier card.​

At any rate - something to keep an eye on. Double Cash is a nice card for the non-churner but never has had a large sign-up bonus. I'm not sure this will really affect most of us. Thank You points are great to use for Disney but the problem is there's no easy way to earn a TON of them. They just don't have a large card assortment like Chase does with URs or Amex with MRs. And, Perhaps I'm missing an angle for MSers that this would be a good thing for.

I almost applied for a Double Cash card before getting advice over here. No shunning please

 

[snugglebug]

All this ebags talk...
I need a good travel blanket. I am cold all the time. It can be 100 degrees out and I'm under a blanket with a jacket on. I currently travel with 2 jackets and on the last trip I even borrowed DD2's. I'd love something warm, but easily packs down small so I can just shove it in my bag. I'm not sure it exists. It would be used for car travel, plane travel and in the hotel room where I often sleep in my jacket after too many frozen nights.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

New IHG Premier card offer: 125k for 3k spend, $89 AF not waived, plus bonus earnings in the first year -

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/cnk6mi/_/ewbzdpy

If you have paid stays at IHG in the next 12 months, it's a pretty good earnings rate offer on top of the bonus points -
Earn 40X total points at IHG® Hotels & Resorts worldwide for the first 12 months from account opening when you combine IHG® card benefits with existing IHG® Rewards Club member benefits

• Earn 25X points for the first 12 months as an IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Cardmember - after that, 10X points at IHG® Hotels and Resorts*jumps to associated footnote
• Earn 10X points from IHG® for being an IHG® Rewards Club Member
• Earn 5X points from IHG® with Platinum Elite Status, a benefit of this card*

(Normally it's 25 total between the card and the rewards program.)
Also doubled the category spend from 2x to 4x.

After quick search on DoC I think the previous best for this card was 100k + $50 statement credit for the same spend. There was a tiered offer for 120k, but that was after 5k total.

Edit: And the good people on r/churning found the link for 125k + $50 statement credit offer version.

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/cnq8qa

And I updated the post with the dummy booking link r/churning found for the 125k + $50 statement credit version. That's now the best offer ever.

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/cnq8qa

However, I did forget to point out that IHG is moving to dynamic award pricing, similar to Hilton. I kinda forgot about it myself This could change the value of the bonus depending on where you want to use it. But I'd like to think even if it matches Hilton, you could still get at least 2 decent nights out of that and more likely could still find somewhere to get 4-5 out of it; especially when you get the 4th night free on award stays with this card.

Another update - this time regarding the IHG Premier best ever offer of 125k IHG points + $50 Statement Credit:

Per DoC this offer may end on 10/31/19 - this is based on some targeted mailers that were sent out.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-ihg-premier-up-to-125000-points-50-statement-credit/
@miztressuz originally reported this offer back in early August. I'd read both of her quoted posts above which contain a lot of great details.

IHG is certainly a lesser talked about chain around here. Like Hyatt, there are limited card opportunities and thus it's hard to earn "a ton of points". In many people's minds, this places it behind Hilton with it's broad Amex portfolio and to a lesser extent Marriott who despite all the restrictions still offers multiple cards. However, as recently mentioned, Hyatt points have a tremendous value placing it ahead of all 3 of the other chains for many folks. I point this out to say that despite this being an "all-time high" offer it may not be worth applying for some (most?) folks. It is a personal card, you need to be under 5/24 to apply AND it will add to your 5/24 count. Luckily it seems that if you're potentially interested, you likely have 6 more weeks to debate it, haha!

 

[afan]

All this ebags talk...
I need a good travel blanket. I am cold all the time. It can be 100 degrees out and I'm under a blanket with a jacket on. I currently travel with 2 jackets and on the last trip I even borrowed DD2's. I'd love something warm, but easily packs down small so I can just shove it in my bag. I'm not sure it exists. It would be used for car travel, plane travel and in the hotel room where I often sleep in my jacket after too many frozen nights.

Probably not helpful, but I use a fleece blanket. I shove it in my travel pillow case. I have a grey one that's a bit thicker that came with a travel pillow I no longer use and then I use the buy with purchase one I got from DLP which goes in my suitcase. I use the DLP one at the hotel on the bed and the grey one on the floor so I don't have to sit on the laminate to stretch etc, the towel wouldn't be long enough. Then the grey goes in the suitcase home and the DLP one is my plane blanket since it's not really dirty. I get cold easily and find both sufficient.

One thing that might help, I have fleece slippers I wear on the plane too. They are simple but they keep my feet warm. I wouldn't leave my seat with them on because they don't have a hard bottom but I find having warm feet really helps me stay warm. I also normally wear a zipper sweatshirt so I can take it off on the rare occasion the plane's actually warm.

 

[snugglebug]

Probably not helpful, but I use a fleece blanket. I shove it in my travel pillow case. I have a grey one that's a bit thicker that came with a travel pillow I no longer use and then I use the buy with purchase one I got from DLP which goes in my suitcase. I use the DLP one at the hotel on the bed and the grey one on the floor so I don't have to sit on the laminate to stretch etc, the towel wouldn't be long enough. Then the grey goes in the suitcase home and the DLP one is my plane blanket since it's not really dirty. I get cold easily and find both sufficient.

One thing that might help, I have fleece slippers I wear on the plane too. They are simple but they keep my feet warm. I wouldn't leave my seat with them on because they don't have a hard bottom but I find having warm feet really helps me stay warm. I also normally wear a zipper sweatshirt so I can take it off on the rare occasion the plane's actually warm.

I always have socks in my bag so if I'm wearing sandals or flipflops I just slip them off and socks on. Yes, I take my shoes off sometimes, but my feet rarely touch the floor and only my family is beside me I don't put my feet near anyone else (that's just weird). I use my motherlode under the seat as a foot rest.

I'm trying hard to minimize what I lug around. I was hoping to find something that would be smaller than the current fleece blankets I have. We have a car trip tomorrow so I need to figure out which blanket I'm taking.

 

[Albort]

I almost applied for a Double Cash card before getting advice over here. No shunning please

I would hold off of apping for CitiDC. There’s rumors of Amex like rules hidden behind it.

 

[PolyRob]

I would hold off of apping for CitiDC. There’s rumors of Amex like rules hidden behind it.

Thank you! It has not been on my radar since I learned a 2% return was nothing compared to the bonuses you could get

Curious though... do you mean there is a double cash RAT!? Or it excludes things like GCs, PayPal, etc?

 

[wendow]

I went to buy a Sam's GC from raise with their 7% promo and TCB 5% cb but my account is locked! I've used raise for like 5 years with no problems. ANyone have this happen?

 

[disfanforlife]

Me, too! I think the only time I've been instant approved was when I used a flyer for my first business card. I've had 6 Chase business cards and they've never been easy. DH has had three. I can't remember whether he was approved instantly for the first one.

[/QUOTE

Maybe the difference for my fast approval is that I didn’t use a sole proprietorship. I used my family business which is an actual corporation.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Maybe but I have a legit LLC with plenty of schedule c income for the other apps so it’s strange. Have you applied for more than one business card with them? I think that’s more the issue.

 

[disfanforlife]

Maybe but I have a legit LLC with plenty of schedule c income for the other apps so it’s strange. Have you applied for more than one business card with them? I think that’s more the issue.

I have, I recently got the SW Biz about 3 months ago. That was my first chase biz card ever. I’m sure whatever one I get next will take longer.

 

[NewbieMom]

I went to buy a Sam's GC from raise with their 7% promo and TCB 5% cb but my account is locked! I've used raise for like 5 years with no problems. ANyone have this happen?

Did you use a VGC to buy from raise? They have been known to lock accounts for those who use VGCs to purchase from them.