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

[*WDW*Groupie*]

HAPPY NEWS! Hamilton is coming to Toronto for 4 months starting February 11th. We will be in town on Feb. 14, 15 & 16 at the tail end of dd's winter break. I was in a virtual line from 9:00am (assigned number 23,079) and got in a few minutes ago. Was able to score tickets for February 15th at 8:00pm! Two tickets in second last row (for dd and her bf) and 1 ticket in orchestra section (for me!). I'm pretty happy as I was sure we wouldn't get tickets and that is the only weekend that we'll be in town before the show leaves (on May 17th). This will be dd's third time seeing it (London and Fort Lauderdale) and my second (just London). I'm so excited!

 

[happ]

I need to try this. We've been on the month-to-month plan for a few months because I was thinking that I would se if we could go month without using the prime shipping and then I'd cancel but now I'm resigned that we do use it enough to pay for it.

So I can just buy a gift membership and add it to my account? Can I use GCs already attached to my account?

I used the GCs attached to my account to purchase it and then let my prime "expire." I waited a day and then applied the gift membership to start again. This is the second time I've done it like this. The previous time I waited longer before applying it since I wasn't using prime as much then.

 

[ep1229]

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice on the Hilton FN cert. I will call Hilton to see if they are able to see the certificate. I'm trying to find a good redemption for it. We might be in LA during Christmas break. Any suggestions? Unfortunately the Waldorf Astoria doesn't have any standard room left. Anyone know if those open up sometimes closer to the date?

I have another question ... (btw, you guys are the best!) For our Disney Cruise to Alaska next year. I used 150K UR points for a panoramic view room at the Pan Pacific for 3 nights. Do you guys think that's a good redemption or do you think I can get it cheaper at another booking site?

 

[mmmears]

I refuse to allow the bank to escrow our taxes. I just put the money aside each month and pay them "early" (which gives a 3% discount) every year. Property insurance is paid 4 times per year (and they take cc payments).

I didn't even know this was a thing. We've never had anything in escrow since we closed on the house many years ago. Our property taxes come out twice a year (sometimes we just pay it all at once), and our homeowners insurance is just once a year. Or is there something about this I'm missing? I've never heard of it being lumped in with the mortgage payment.

 

[amalone1013]

I wouldn't even eat them if I saw that. I'm not into non stick except for eggs and I have 7 inch fry pans for that. I have 3 back ups still in package from Costco for when they get a scratch.

most of my cookware is all clad, and an odd cast iron pan or two.

I have some nonstick frying pans in my kitchenware stash. But I've learned a ton about cooking in stainless pans now so they will be for eggs and grilled cheese lol.

ETA: At least for DH, he is in this mindset that it is not okay to use metal on metal for the stainless because of scratches. But somehow it is okay on Teflon.... I won't lie, we had a pretty bad non stick frying pan growing up we used way too long, before it seemed to really get out that that was bad (or maybe I just got old enough to be aware myself). Maybe they missed that in Colorado lol.

 

[elgerber]

I didn't even know this was a thing. We've never had anything in escrow since we closed on the house many years ago. Our property taxes come out twice a year (sometimes we just pay it all at once), and our homeowners insurance is just once a year. Or is there something about this I'm missing? I've never heard of it being lumped in with the mortgage payment.

I have worked in Mortgage my entire life, and escrowing your taxes and insurance is standard. You have to specifically request not to, if you don't wan them included, and depending on your loan to value ratio and the program, it may cost a fee or not be allowed at all to waive them. It's very strange that yours were never included.

 

[amalone1013]

I'm so antsy to book a trip. I think I'm going to try and lockdown a weekend to use the BG/SW tickets we got last year with the Daily Getaways deal. I'm kind of debating if we do a 3 day weekend, maybe in Fri night, park Saturday, Sunday drive from Orlando to Tampa or vice versa and maybe see some non-full day things, Mon park... home Mon night or Tues morning? Maybe just make it 4 days lol.

 

[mmmears]

I have worked in Mortgage my entire life, and escrowing your taxes and insurance is standard. You have to specifically request not to, if you don't wan them included, and depending on your loan to value ratio and the program, it may cost a fee or not be allowed at all to waive them. It's very strange that yours were never included.

Huh. Thank you for explaining. Maybe we asked to be released from it at the beginning? It's been a long time, so I don't remember much except that I had to keep signing and initialing things. I do know that our taxes and insurance have been separate payments from the start though because they are due around the same time and it's something we needed to plan for.

ETA - I know there wasn't an issue with it, and no fee either. We were really young and naive when we bought, so we weren't the most savvy buyers.

 

[mmmears]

I wouldn't even eat them if I saw that. I'm not into non stick except for eggs and I have 7 inch fry pans for that. I have 3 back ups still in package from Costco for when they get a scratch.

most of my cookware is all clad, and an odd cast iron pan or two.

Mine's all clad, too. Love them, and they look as nice as when we got them (wedding gifts) many years ago. My non-stick (yes, they are for eggs and pancakes) ones have needed to be replaced a few times. I just keep my eyes open for deals on the little omelet pans since I still like to buy all clad but the nonstick ones are really expensive considering they don't last forever.

 

[wendow]

This happened to us and it was annoying and of course it was in Orlando. I had purchased ECBI for the 4 of us and got in the B Boarding group. There had to be at least 30-40 people let on board for family boarding. Guess I get grouchy about this too. I think maybe the family boarding age should be down to 4. 5 and 6 years old go to school and should be able to board a plane and get in their seats just fine. Just my "get of the lawn" opinion. My kids flew since they were under 1 and we never had family boarding on any flights and they did just fine.

Edit - I don't mind if older kids with younger kids all board together as a family. But when the Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents start boarding too - it gets a bit much.

I absolutely agree that it should be parents and their children only.

However, I disagree about lowering the age to 4. I have every confidence that *most* 5 and 6 yo's could board by themselves but what if the flight is filled and they cannot sit with their parents? You really want kids that young sitting by themselves? Like I posted earlier, I don't mind my teens sitting by themselves or my dh & I splitting up, but our boys should be sitting with a parent.

Btw, not all kids that age go to school. Here in CO, compulsory age for school is 7.

 

[hsmamato2]

For all those that don't escrow. Do you put away money yourself then for all of those bills? My mortgage payment keeps going up thanks to escrow. They "need" to have a $1500 balance in the account at all times. Well, single mom here, I'd like that $1500! The only perk of course is that I am not scrambling to find the money come tax times, since it's automatically taken out each month. But I don't like that my monthly payment keeps going up. Grrrrr!

I started escrowing for myself years ago b/c I hated the changing mortgage payment... I caluclate tax cost for year,divide by 52, set aside that amount per weekly paycheck for my 2x year payments.

 

[hsmamato2]

Thanks for the response!! It does just say ‘will call’. I wonder if it’s cause they currently don’t have an on-site stay...?

this happend a couple of weeks back to my friends, they bought a one day off disney website, and it went to will call with no way to input in mde...(stupid disney IT) so they had to call in to attach. Sigh.

 

[orangecuse]

I flew by myself at 8 and was fine. My brother would have been lost in the airport had my parents let him fly alone at 8 Every kid is different and FWIW I think its better to let kids and parents board together until at least 10, I think I’m just too anal to not have an assigned seat haha

So - Amex won’t link our BA accounts They initially blamed BA before deciding it was their website and to just try later. There are now 5 seats left and we need 4.

 

[hsmamato2]

We don't escrow. We just pay are property taxes twice a year. I would just open another savings account with your bank and put 150.00 a month in there to cover property taxes.

$150...... I wish.... but that's the general idea...just save it yourself for when it's due. we did it on our first mortgage refi,as soon as our PMI dropped off we were allowed to do it. (refi's were good to us over the years)

 

[hsmamato2]

cookware? glad you asked! seriously OT again but Iove my kitchenware.... I use either cast iron or old 1970's era Revereware exclusively.....can't beat a well seasoned cast iron skillet for eggs or whatever, ours sits on the stove and never gets put away.... and the old rRvereware with copper bottoms..... oh it's magical, it never wears out! nonstick surfaces y'all.... so many better choices out there! Oh, I also use my instant pot a million times a week,I love that the liner is stainless steel,I've noticed some of the 'off' brands don't have that. I tried some ceramic ware nonstick stuff but that lasted about a minute before it was destroyed,so back the old standbys! Ok I'll stop now.....

 

[Lain]

FYI - The Barclays Uber Visa credit card has been NERFED!

https://viewfromthewing.com/uber-cr...-5-back-across-all-uber-spend-rides-eats-etc/
Ignore the spin that VFTW is trying to put on this refresh. It’s BAD.

The Uber card earned points that were worth $0.01/point and could be redeemed for CASH starting at 2,500 points ($25) into a bank account, as well as Uber Cash and gift cards. The refreshed Uber card earns ONLY "UBER CASH" that can only be used on Uber services. The new Uber card is already live, and current Uber cardholders will be force converted to the new card in the first half of 2020.

Previously, the Uber card was a solid all-around card for someone like a college student or young adult just starting to build their credit profile and wallets, or for non-churners more interested in getting some cash back on their spend without dealing with complicated points and miles programs or constantly chasing new MSRs. I've even recommended the Uber card to some who fit the description.

Along with a $100 CASH SUB for a $500 MSR in 90 days, the old Uber card earned:

• 4% back on dining (restaurants, fast food restaurants, takeout, bars, and UberEATS)
• 3% back on hotel and airfare (including vacation home rentals, travel agencies, and home share exchanges like AirBnB)
• 2% back for online purchases (including online shopping, video and music streaming services, certain online services, digital purchases of apps and media, and Uber)
• 1% back on everything else.

It also had no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees and cell phone protection (arguably even better than the CIP's). These three benefits look to stay the same.

However, the new Uber card will earn a $100 UBER CASH SUB for a $500 MSR in 90 days, and have a new bonus structure:

• 5% on all Uber purchases including Uber rides, Uber Eats orders, and JUMP bike and scooter rides
• 3% on restaurants, bars, hotels (including Airbnb), and airfare
• 1% on other purchases

As you can see from the bonus category changes, the refresh is good if you use Uber a lot, but bad for just about everything else – most notably 4% cash back on dining has been decreased to earning only 3% back and as only Uber Cash, and the 2% cash back for online purchases has been eliminated entirely.

I linked VFTW only because I caught the news there first. I'm holding back a gag reflex when I read stuff like "This is one of the richest cash back cards for Uber customers. It remains one of the richest no annual fee cash back cards," or "Uber Credit Card 5% Back Category is Extremely Rich." VFTW concedes, "Uber credit shouldn’t be considered as valuable as cash (you can spend cash at Uber or anywhere else)." NO SH*T SHERLOCK. Uber Cash is a major nerf over, you know, ACTUAL CASH, especially when Uber controls the pricing of the goods or services as well as the currency that's only useful to pay for them. I wonder how rich this card is making Gary Leff?

 

[jhoannam]

So - Amex won’t link our BA accounts They initially blamed BA before deciding it was their website and to just try later. There are now 5 seats left and we need 4.

Did they say why? Is it because your names don't match exactly?

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Look into Capital one savings accounts. Easy to electronic transfer and for balances over $10,000, they currently earn 1.9%.

I have a discover account and I might jump onto the Simple Finance offer that was just post.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Property taxes is the one thing I MS -- I buy the MOs every few months and then use them to pay at the end of the year.

OOOH I like this idea! Give me a legit reason for MS! And some "real" action on my Serve acct!

 

[orangecuse]

Did they say why? Is it because your names don't match exactly?

No the names match exactly (well BA made me include Mrs which Amex doesn’t have but neitehr end thought that was an issue). No one could figure out why! I’m so annoyed right now