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

Status
Not open for further replies.
I think they made it more difficult than actually reading the terms. With the terms, you select a card you want than read the terms that go with it. I think what confuses people a lot is the plethora of card names Marriott has had in the last couple of years. And in the terms they refer to cards that no longer exist under the particular name, despite the fact that most people have the new product in their wallet.

And this is why different strokes for different folks :) It works for me as a quick visual. Then I can deep dive into the card I'm interested in. Otherwise I'm wading through a 14 or 15 question checklist from the terms for each card. FM and now TPG have boiled that down into 3 options, really, so I can see the problem cards.

I'm looking at the Chase Boundless, so I look down that column and see my problem cards are my AmEx Bonvoy and Bonvoy Biz. I have to cancel or PC my Bonvoy and I have to be outside of 24 months from getting the Bonvoy Biz bonus. That took me 30 seconds rather than 3-4 minutes of reading and digesting the terms.

Now I can decide if I want to spend the extra couple minutes reading the terms or not. I'm good with the Bonvoy Biz bonus (or will be by the time I apply) so I could keep that card if I wanted. My main problem is the AmEx Bonvoy card. If I PC it to the Brilliant I get locked out of a sign up bonus. If I cancel it I have to hope I get out of pop up jail if I ever need an additional anniversary cert.
(And actually my real problem is I was going to cancel the AmEx Bonvoy Biz since I'm not sure it's worth the $125 for us. So I'd be completely out of AmEx and only have 1 FNC from the new Chase card. Now I have to decide if that's worth getting a boatload of points instead.)
 
We did the same. Better than waiting to find out all of the details, I guess.


I don't love using two factor authentication, but I use it when offered and appreciate the extra level of protection it provides.
I missed that. What article was that? I have never liked having the same PW for all my Disney accounts. Maybe I should be happy o signed up for Disney + with a different email. Also I had to change my PW the first time I tried to use it so it is set with a different one than my other Disney accounts. Maybe I am going to set up a new email just for Disney +. I was just waiting until I got home to try and change things. Still at Disney World right now. Finally warming up a bit!
 


*** is up w/ Serve? I have $1800 I'm waiting on transferring. It's only showing $800 transfer right now. So the $1000 isn't showing as a transaction at all. And my bank account doesn't have the money either. I have a CC bill I need to pay and I need the $1000 for it. Grrrrr.
 
And this is why different strokes for different folks :) It works for me as a quick visual. Then I can deep dive into the card I'm interested in. Otherwise I'm wading through a 14 or 15 question checklist from the terms for each card. FM and now TPG have boiled that down into 3 options, really, so I can see the problem cards.

I'm looking at the Chase Boundless, so I look down that column and see my problem cards are my AmEx Bonvoy and Bonvoy Biz. I have to cancel or PC my Bonvoy and I have to be outside of 24 months from getting the Bonvoy Biz bonus. That took me 30 seconds rather than 3-4 minutes of reading and digesting the terms.

Now I can decide if I want to spend the extra couple minutes reading the terms or not. I'm good with the Bonvoy Biz bonus (or will be by the time I apply) so I could keep that card if I wanted. My main problem is the AmEx Bonvoy card. If I PC it to the Brilliant I get locked out of a sign up bonus. If I cancel it I have to hope I get out of pop up jail if I ever need an additional anniversary cert.
(And actually my real problem is I was going to cancel the AmEx Bonvoy Biz since I'm not sure it's worth the $125 for us. So I'd be completely out of AmEx and only have 1 FNC from the new Chase card. Now I have to decide if that's worth getting a boatload of points instead.)

Yikes - the boatload of points is barely 2 free category 5 rooms!

I won't be looking at $125 until next August as I wasn't subject to the increase this year. And, as always the cards will come up for reevaluation as each year passes depending on the value attained.
 


When Amex offers an upgrade, do they do a hard inquiry? I have the Delta Gold Biz card and got an offer to upgrade to the Platinum. Does this make you ineligible for a SUB on that card later on? And what is generally considered a good upgrade offer? It would lock me into the $195 AF (increasing to $250 after Jan. 30 it says) for the first year and we would definitely use the companion cert, so it seems potentially worth the extra $100 AF to upgrade.
 
When Amex offers an upgrade, do they do a hard inquiry? I have the Delta Gold Biz card and got an offer to upgrade to the Platinum. Does this make you ineligible for a SUB on that card later on? And what is generally considered a good upgrade offer? It would lock me into the $195 AF (increasing to $250 after Jan. 30 it says) for the first year and we would definitely use the companion cert, so it seems potentially worth the extra $100 AF to upgrade.

It does lock you out of the SUB. I believe the preferred strategy is to sign up for the Plat and then immediately accept the upgrade offer. Highly unlikely they hardpull for just an upgrade, new accts are YMMV for hard pull with Amex.
 
Just curious how others treat this. Do you only redeem your points if it is a best redemption or do you sometimes take a less than the best redemption for something that is more convenient? I am still looking for flights to Glacier for next July. I had to choose my dates and hotels before flights were available. Now the dates I picked, have the highest cost for the flights I want. I am looking at different days and may be able to move things around. But I am finding I am not willing to take a less than optimal flight for less points. Example: the flight I want is from Columbus to Minneapolis to Whitefish. It is a total of 6 hours with 1.5 hour layover in MSP. Also the first flight is at 9:30 AM. I could pick a flight with 2 layovers or something where the first flight is at 6 AM for less points. But don't want to add a lot of travel time (up to 2+ hours) or have to get up well before dawn to get to the airport. It might because I am older, but I do feel like my time and comfort is worth something and I don't want to compromise too much. Anyone feel the same way?
I absolutely agree with this. I think our days of taking the earliest & cheapest flights are over, unless we can stay at an decent airport hotel the night before.

I spent a long time searching and waiting for Australia flights because I didn't want a really long routing or multiple layovers. Some options were more than 28 hours long!

My brother is going on 90 days for the conditional approval, it's crazy.
Mine came through in, no lie, 36 hours. Dh is still waiting, 2 months later. I had hopes we'd be able to do Enrollment Upon Arrival last week.
 
@Haley R DH's Serve transfer that was initiated on 11/12/19 posted yesterday 11/18/19. Hope yours shows up soon!
Ours posted today!

I bought $400 more in gcs at OD today so a total of $800. I took them all to Walmart after. I did 2 swipes at a normal register and 2 swipes in the Garden Center. This was my first time using the garden center and I'll definitely be doing that again. No lines!
 
Just curious how others treat this. Do you only redeem your points if it is a best redemption or do you sometimes take a less than the best redemption for something that is more convenient? I am still looking for flights to Glacier for next July. I had to choose my dates and hotels before flights were available. Now the dates I picked, have the highest cost for the flights I want. I am looking at different days and may be able to move things around. But I am finding I am not willing to take a less than optimal flight for less points. Example: the flight I want is from Columbus to Minneapolis to Whitefish. It is a total of 6 hours with 1.5 hour layover in MSP. Also the first flight is at 9:30 AM. I could pick a flight with 2 layovers or something where the first flight is at 6 AM for less points. But don't want to add a lot of travel time (up to 2+ hours) or have to get up well before dawn to get to the airport. It might because I am older, but I do feel like my time and comfort is worth something and I don't want to compromise too much. Anyone feel the same way?
Agree with previous comments. As long as it isn't outrageous, if I have the points available I'm going with convenience. I try to analyze the same way as if I was spending actual money. Although I am more likely to spend the points than actual money!

I'm with @alryan except I'm crazy and think about spending money to save points (it's bizarre, I fully admit. but this is why hubby and I are yin and yang, he'll blow points without much a thought, so we find balance :) ) But I evaluate everything the same as if I were paying cash for it. Would I take this flight if I were paying cash? Nope? Then I'm not paying points for it either regardless if that means I'm spending more or less points to do it.
 
Yikes - the boatload of points is barely 2 free category 5 rooms!

I won't be looking at $125 until next August as I wasn't subject to the increase this year. And, as always the cards will come up for reevaluation as each year passes depending on the value attained.
I'm not eligible for a while yet and I'm holding out for a 100k or higher offer. 100k with spend would get us 3, 35k nights worth of points. Since we're boring and haven't yet booked anything over 35k anyway, and don't tend to travel during peak seasons, and having a few other FNC's, that'd hold us for a while. So for me it's a boatload - for others it's a drop in the bucket :laughing:
 
*** is up w/ Serve? I have $1800 I'm waiting on transferring. It's only showing $800 transfer right now. So the $1000 isn't showing as a transaction at all. And my bank account doesn't have the money either. I have a CC bill I need to pay and I need the $1000 for it. Grrrrr.
I’ve had this happen...a transfer disappear on serve..then .it was deposited into my account the next day..
It’s taking a while for the transfers now...I did a few last week.
.11/11 transfer was deposited 11/15
11/13 & 11/15 transfers were deposited today 11/19
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top