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

[afan]

Mine never showed they said it should automatically come in 3 weeks (Canned response). Gave them 4 and SMd via that same message saying I haven’t gotten it yet - they expidited both mine and DHs cards and I had them in 3 days

I'll give them 3 weeks from today instead of from last week when I PC'd. I don't think it will come since your's didn't and @amalone1013 's didn't. Clearly there's something off in the system from how they think it should work to how it really works. Oct 7 gives me until the 30th to receive it so they wouldn't need to expedite it just get it here in 3 weeks


As for lounges, I'm flying back on DL and there's a lounge on the B side but I can't figure out which side DL flies from on the B side. Flights at 7am so I'm sure with DME p/u I'll have plenty of time to go back through precheck if I need to anyway, but does anyone have experience with the B side lounge at MCO? I only remember reading about A side with SW.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I saw a DP about stacking deals for ESPN+ yesterday:

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/d36990/_/f08g65y

Thanks but I paid it in August. At least I got 3x points on CIP. AHLTV got 1x points.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Good thought! I think we want the 6:45 show and maybe we will stand in the back for the 8pm. I'm "that mom" who goes to all my kid's performances. Three of my four kids are entertainers, whether dance, song or drama, and I've never, ever missed a single show (even when they had 4 shows of the same...). My youngest is the athlete and I go to every single practice and game. Anyways, I'll start checking what our best priced option is for the dining package!

Wow that’s so hard with 4. My sis can’t do it with 3. Just tonight I know Niece 2 has swim practice tonight at 5, Niece 1 has dive practice 45 minutes away starting at 6. No idea what nephew is doing but each parent has 1 daughter for tonight. My DS has soccer from 630-730 tonight, so I take him, squeeze in a Serve run, then back to watch practice. Kids schedules are so hectic.

 

[tink1970]

I'll give them 3 weeks from today instead of from last week when I PC'd. I don't think it will come since your's didn't and @amalone1013 's didn't. Clearly there's something off in the system from how they think it should work to how it really works. Oct 7 gives me until the 30th to receive it so they wouldn't need to expedite it just get it here in 3 weeks


As for lounges, I'm flying back on DL and there's a lounge on the B side but I can't figure out which side DL flies from on the B side. Flights at 7am so I'm sure with DME p/u I'll have plenty of time to go back through precheck if I need to anyway, but does anyone have experience with the B side lounge at MCO? I only remember reading about A side with SW.

I fly out of MCO on DL exclusively but all I can remember is the gates are close to Nathan's hot dogs and the SkyClub. Usually gates are in the 60s, if that helps?

 

[afan]

I fly out of MCO on DL exclusively but all I can remember is the gates are close to Nathan's hot dogs and the SkyClub. Usually gates are in the 60s, if that helps?

The PP app says it's gates 70-99. The MCO app shows gates to 59 and then again starting at 70. The Gate Guru App shows gates 60 to 99 but only shows the DL lounge, it doesn't show the club lounges anywhere. So confused. I'll have to do some googling I guess.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

@hsmamato2

Oh I get it. I just can’t afford it. Lol. I rarely buy clothes at all. I don’t buy thrift but I usually hit Kohl’s or Target on sale. Recently got rid of a pair of work pants that were 10+ years old. Forced myself to but a new pair but had 30% off a Kohl’s so... The only shoes I’ve worn that were worth paying for were the Merrill clogs I have. They are 5 years old because they no longer make the same ones and none of their others fit the same. I just keep buying new insoles.

 

[marsh0013]

I think it was here we had the discussion about how much better it was to fly into SNA than LAX for Disneyland. However, I need some opinions. We're going next year for a milestone bday for my husband. From EWR (Newark). Looks like United is our best option.

I was pricing out using URs to book through the portal (1.5x CSR), but we don't like the regular seats on United and would want to upgrade to the premium economy. So I started thinking well I may as well look at how much business costs. And apparently you can get business saver fares for 25-35k points. Which I could transfer from UR. So now I'm set on doing that.

Now my conundrum. Looks like there's only 1-2 nonstop flights into SNA each day, and they're on the "old" style first class type seats, 737-700 I believe. Not that we need lie flat seats for a flight during the day, but the options into LAX look much nicer. Now, it's 25k points to SNA and 35k to LAX. Either way we'd be flying home from LAX since we're ending the trip in LA.

So we could fly into SNA on the older style, then have the nicer seats coming home from LAX. At least it wouldn't be going the other way around, I'm sure that'd be a letdown. But my husband knows nothing of any of these options, so any of them he'd think we're amazing I'm sure. I would be hoping I could hold out and surprise him. Not sure I could though, he knows we have to pay for checked bags on United. Although maybe I could fib a little and tell him I booked some fare that allows 2 checked bags each, but he may get suspicious.

Anyway, long story short, worth it to fly into LAX for the better biz class options, or save some points and take the ease of SNA? This is all assuming there's availability for saver fares when I need to book later this week. Today there were options for Aug 16 (my understanding is release is 11 months to the day? Just like DVC!), I'll keep an eye on the next few days to try to get a feel for it.

 

[StephPlum]

I figured someone would ask.
View attachment 436437
You cover pickles in cream cheese then wrap meat around them. We use the thin sliced corn beef. They are one of my favorite foods

Thanks for sharing. I would have never thought of that. I have never had that.

 

[afan]

I think it was here we had the discussion about how much better it was to fly into SNA than LAX for Disneyland. However, I need some opinions. We're going next year for a milestone bday for my husband. From EWR (Newark). Looks like United is our best option.

I was pricing out using URs to book through the portal (1.5x CSR), but we don't like the regular seats on United and would want to upgrade to the premium economy. So I started thinking well I may as well look at how much business costs. And apparently you can get business saver fares for 25-35k points. Which I could transfer from UR. So now I'm set on doing that.

Now my conundrum. Looks like there's only 1-2 nonstop flights into SNA each day, and they're on the "old" style first class type seats, 737-700 I believe. Not that we need lie flat seats for a flight during the day, but the options into LAX look much nicer. Now, it's 25k points to SNA and 35k to LAX. Either way we'd be flying home from LAX since we're ending the trip in LA.

So we could fly into SNA on the older style, then have the nicer seats coming home from LAX. At least it wouldn't be going the other way around, I'm sure that'd be a letdown. But my husband knows nothing of any of these options, so any of them he'd think we're amazing I'm sure. I would be hoping I could hold out and surprise him. Not sure I could though, he knows we have to pay for checked bags on United. Although maybe I could fib a little and tell him I booked some fare that allows 2 checked bags each, but he may get suspicious.

Anyway, long story short, worth it to fly into LAX for the better biz class options, or save some points and take the ease of SNA? This is all assuming there's availability for saver fares when I need to book later this week. Today there were options for Aug 16 (my understanding is release is 11 months to the day? Just like DVC!), I'll keep an eye on the next few days to try to get a feel for it.

As much as I like a nice seat, the LA traffic isn't worth it when you are flying during the day. I'd fly into Orange County, you'll be happier with a decent enough seat and not having to potentially sit in traffic or at least drive/be driven at least an hour. In this case, to me it's not all about the plane but the ease once I get there. LA can be stressful and having a nicer seat is now gone because I've got to deal with it all.

 

[marsh0013]

The PP app says it's gates 70-99. The MCO app shows gates to 59 and then again starting at 70. The Gate Guru App shows gates 60 to 99 but only shows the DL lounge, it doesn't show the club lounges anywhere. So confused. I'll have to do some googling I guess.

I've been to both PP lounges at MCO. When we flew Southwest, we had to go to the different train to the different set of gates to get to it. That seemed a more international area. Then when we flew Jetblue, that lounge was right by our gates. I'm not sure which is which though. And I'm not sure if this helps at all. I don't think all A terminals go through the same security though. Looking at maps, it's a weird setup.

Edit: A1-29 and B30-59 share a security. Then A100-129 and B70-99 share a security. So southwest and jetblue are both A but have different security. That just seems confusing. And I have no idea where the lounges are within those areas. I know I looked in the PP app and chose whichever matched up to the gate I was through security for.

 

[wendow]

Thanks but I paid it in August. At least I got 3x points on CIP. AHLTV got 1x points.

Wow that’s so hard with 4. My sis can’t do it with 3. Just tonight I know Niece 2 has swim practice tonight at 5, Niece 1 has dive practice 45 minutes away starting at 6. No idea what nephew is doing but each parent has 1 daughter for tonight. My DS has soccer from 630-730 tonight, so I take him, squeeze in a Serve run, then back to watch practice. Kids schedules are so hectic.

It helps with my kid’s spread out ages! My oldest is in college and no longer performing. She was my theater kiddo. Dd17 is a dancer and singer but parents can’t really sit in the studio and watch classes so I really only see dress rehearsals and performances. My boys are young enough that I do stay at practices and unless games are overlapping, go to all their games. My ds11 golfs now though too and that’s hard to go and watch so I don’t get to see much there.

My mom never came to a single track meet of mine (I ran for 5 years) and she only came to one theater performance of the many I did. I even competed at state and she didn’t go. So, it’s important to me to be at everything I can to show support to my kids

 

[marsh0013]

As much as I like a nice seat, the LA traffic isn't worth it when you are flying during the day. I'd fly into Orange County, you'll be happier with a decent enough seat and not having to potentially sit in traffic or at least drive/be driven at least an hour. In this case, to me it's not all about the plane but the ease once I get there. LA can be stressful and having a nicer seat is now gone because I've got to deal with it all.

True. Driving from LAX on a Friday afternoon is one of my worst memories! Even though we'd probably Uber and not rent a car this time, it would still be a rough trip. I guess we'll see when I go to book what's available. If SNA is an option, I think it's my best bet.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Churning fail. Got my CSR in the mail today plus onr for my middle name AU. I totally forgot I had an AU on the CFU. The rep never mentioned it just the fee and I was like no prob I don't have an AU. I sent an SM though I'm sure I need to call.

My dh called last night to PC his CF to a CSR. The CF was a really old card and I was an AUer. The whole time he’s on the phone, I’m writing notes to him to make sure he tells them to remove the AUer. The rep still kept talking about the $75 fee for AUers. So I won’t be surprised if the card shows up with me still on the account. Another call may be in my dh’s future lol!

We did this. The CSR came with an AU card for me. The website clearly said ‘no fee’ for the AU. It did eventually post with the CSR AF. Called to cancel it and they sent an envelope to retune the AU card before they would refund the $75.

 

[tink1970]

Anyway, long story short, worth it to fly into LAX for the better biz class options, or save some points and take the ease of SNA?

I completely agree with @afan. Avoiding the hassle of LAX is worth slightly demoted seats, plus you'll save on saver rates. Complete win. SNA is so manageable it's my preferred airport when visiting DL definitely-I'll even pay MORE to fly into it v. LAX.

 

[wendow]

The PP app says it's gates 70-99. The MCO app shows gates to 59 and then again starting at 70. The Gate Guru App shows gates 60 to 99 but only shows the DL lounge, it doesn't show the club lounges anywhere. So confused. I'll have to do some googling I guess.

There is one lounge by gate 90-something iirc. It’s by the xpress spa (or something like that). There’s a sign and the you take an elevator upstairs to check in. You’ll need to go through the security for gates 70-99 and 100-129 but take the train for 70-99. When you return, you may need to go back through TSA so allow time for that!

ETA: making an assumption you’re flying SW.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

It helps with my kid’s spread out ages! My oldest is in college and no longer performing. She was my theater kiddo. Dd17 is a dancer and singer but parents can’t really sit in the studio and watch classes so I really only see dress rehearsals and performances. My boys are young enough that I do stay at practices and unless games are overlapping, go to all their games. My ds11 golfs now though too and that’s hard to go and watch so I don’t get to see much there.

My mom never came to a single track meet of mine (I ran for 5 years) and she only came to one theater performance of the many I did. I even competed at state and she didn’t go. So, it’s important to me to be at everything I can to show support to my kids

That’s great you’re so supportive. And sorry your mom never saw you perform. I never participated in anything in HS, so my mom had no worries there. Lol. Either DH or I are at DSs games and practices. If one works, the other is there except for soccer I’ve started leaving for 15-30 minutes since practice is 3x per week plus weekend games. My sister’s kids are 10, 10, and 13 so it’s a bit harder. My nephew played soccer with DS the past few years so I’d often drive him to practice or games if the girls had conflicting stuff. 10 yo niece just finished the performances for Little Mermaid and there were a lot of practices plus 4 performances over a weekend.

 

[smallsy]

Scotland is expensive to fly on $$ or miles. No doubt. Also the exorbitant fees for the UK apply. I've found for Delta the best method is to wake up around 1 or 2 am CST 330 days prior to when I want to book if I want to book biz on Delta miles and hope that there are 2 seats. Often, there aren't. For some reason, it's much more challenging to find award flights TO Edinburgh than FROM Edinburgh, although they are still very difficult, unless you're flying out of JFK, I believe, since it's a direct flight.

One option, if you have your mind set on Scotland, is to fly to London and take a train (about a 5 or 6 hour journey) but that isn't necessary super cheap, either.

Other airlines that fly to EDI/GLA/other Scotland airports are Virgin Atlantic (VS), KLM, AF, BA (so via AA), and United. That said, I've never seen reasonable routing on a saver fare for United and my 1st class tickets in BA had taxes of $1700 for 2 award tickets. KLM also has expensive taxes on award flights, Air France's taxes and award flights are usually less, but not always what you might consider reasonable...and having raced through CDG it's often my last choice.

Good luck making a decision, and I'll reiterate that when flying somewhere like Scotland, timing is very important when you're looking to make flight arrangements, especially on award tickets.

If you transfer URs to an airline program it's usually at 1:1, but for the flights we've booked it's so much cheaper that way. This is for J-class to Europe, not domestic coach. The flight I just took home cost $8,000 one way (yeah, that's crazy), so it would have been a ton of URs through the Chase portal, even with the 1.5 redemption on the CSR. Alternatively, it was 56K Flying Blue points, which meant it was 56K URs.

We stalk the flights before they open (so a couple of weeks before) and see what flights look good, which ones take URs or MRs as transfer points, then check to see what the points cost + taxes and fees are. Those taxes and fees really add up when flying J or first. If you find something that looks good, figure out what time/day those flights are released and be ready. If they pop up, and have available seats on points, you can transfer the URs and grab them.

There are different things to consider - then you can figure out what works best for you. Lately I've been avoiding any stops at LHR (even with the great MR>Avios deal out there) because the taxes and fees are pretty much the price of a coach flight. Also, while I'd love to try different airlines and go with whatever seems the fanciest, I'm also a "bird in the hand" kind of person, so I pretty much grab whatever is acceptable and available (for me it's lie flat) instead of waiting to see if something better comes along.

As @tink1970 said above, getting to/from Edinburgh is a little complicated. I do think the train looks nice. We were thinking about going there after our cruise next summer, but getting to/from CDG is just so much easier for us, so we'll fly from there instead. That will depend on which airport you're flying out of and what your options are.

I hope this helps. Please ask your questions here - I'm not an expert, but I'll try to help and I'm sure others will, too. It's a bit nerve-wracking when doing it, but if you are flexible I think you will find something that works for you.

Thanks for the tips. I finally figured out how to search the partner sites for reward flights, but I didn’t even think about the fees. Had no idea they could be that much . Is there a way to check what the fees are when searching?

I’m really hoping for Scotland, but we are open to other destinations too. We’ve never been to Italy or France (we’ve never been anywhere really). A typical tropical vacation really isn’t our thing, but Hawaii is appealing since at least there are some hikes and things we could do. The good news is our dates are flexible, assuming my parents are free to watch the kids. We’re looking at late May-early June or early August but honestly could do almost anytime.

What really appeals to me about Scotland is:

• A tourist destination that’s not too touristy (sites to see but nothing we HAVE to see— if we went to Italy DH would HAVE to see Rome and do all the things).
• I adore the culture and love the idea of just being laid back and immersed in the community with no big plans other than drinking whisky, seeing a castle here and a puffin there (Puffins!)
• English speaking (ok I know, but I have an irrational fear of being the dumb, lost American that doesn’t know the language)
• ETA also DH and I both have Scottish clan heritage and would love to visit the highlands

 

[tink1970]

What really appeals to me about Scotland is:

• A tourist destination that’s not too touristy (sites to see but nothing we HAVE to see— if we went to Italy DH would HAVE to see Rome and do all the things).
• I adore the culture and love the idea of just being laid back and immersed in the community with no big plans other than drinking whisky, seeing a castle here and a puffin there (Puffins!)
• English speaking (ok I know, but I have an irrational fear of being the dumb, lost American that doesn’t know the language)

I totally get it-I've been to Scotland around 8 times in 6 years and have another trip planned-it's where I'll spend my 50th!

Another thought is flying to Dublin-often much cheaper fees/fares/miles wise and Ireland also actually meets your criteria above--although puffins are more seen on the West Coast of Ireland. It's also easy and cheap to fly to Scotland if you wanted to spend 2 or 3 days there-I've done that before, too. I'm spending a night in Dublin when I return from the London/Paris ABD because I couldn't find flights I wanted from CDG.

Honestly, once you get across the Atlantic you can use one place as a jumping off point and go other places.

 

[disfanforlife]

My dh called last night to PC his CF to a CSR. The CF was a really old card and I was an AUer. The whole time he’s on the phone, I’m writing notes to him to make sure he tells them to remove the AUer. The rep still kept talking about the $75 fee for AUers. So I won’t be surprised if the card shows up with me still on the account. Another call may be in my dh’s future lol!

Question about PC to CSR. I know you can only the bonus for a sapphire once every 48 months. Does PC effect being able to apply for a new CSR later down the road when you are eligible for the bonus?

 

[EACarlson]

Can anyone help me decide what to do for our pre-nights in Lima (3 total before the ABD starts).

The JW Marriott overlooks the ocean and can be booked on AA Vacations for 26,100 points / night (cash price total $862.00). The hotel is apparently huge and older, though recently updated.

Hilton is a few blocks from the ocean but newer (I think brand new in 2014 or 2015) and smaller with a boutique feel (and according to TA still a great location). I have Hilton Diamond with my Aspire, so will get free breakfast and possibly an upgrade. Available on AA Vacations for 18,000 points / night (cash price $560.00).

These will be booked from dh's account and he has 365,000 AA points; I don't have any upcoming trips where I will need them so I am okay to spend a few points for these nights. Plus he is traveling with AA until the end of this month (when he switches back to AC until the spring), so he will easily accumulate 50,000 or so more points.

I am fine with walking a few blocks to the shopping area (by the ocean), but dd and ds are not always willing to venture outside with me to shop, so location is sometimes key for me in foreign cities (I am always very aware of my surroundings and have been known to shop after dinner when they want to "chill" in the room). Other than shopping I will be with them for tours (I will book a few with Tours by Locals) and meals.

Which hotel would you choose?

Will Hilton honor your Diamond status if you book through AA? I know a lot of times they won't if you book through an OTA. Might be something else to consider.