I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

[trenty]

Is there a way to use points to stay onsite at Walt Disney World (excluding Swan and Dolphin)?

I just used PYB with my CSP UR's to buy Disney gift cards to pay for park tickets. I suppose the same could be done for resort stays/packages. CSR would give a better rate for PYB.

Caution: When I called to buy the park tickets (DVC MS) only two forms of payment could be applied. I had two gift cards and the remainder was to be put on a CC. They could not do that. Luckily, I had exactly the right amount on gift cards for 3 of the park tickets. So I was able to split the 4 tickets into 2 transactions: 3 tix on GCs, the third on my CC. Not sure if the same holds true for non DVC transactions. (Ticket paid for with CC was for a non-family member who will be joining us and paid for her own tix.)

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Working on MSR for Amex Hilton Biz. I stupidly added my offer for $25 off $100 at Staples to that card. Can I risk a $100 GC once if I make sure I meet spend by at least $100 over?

 

[smallsy]

I just used PYB with my CSP UR's to buy Disney gift cards to pay for park tickets. I suppose the same could be done for resort stays/packages. CSR would give a better rate for PYB.

Ooo, how had I not thought of this!? DH just went to Publix so I told him to add a $25 GC to test it out.

 

[Limes96]

I’ve tried several times this week to register vgc I bought at Kroger on the prepaid gift balance website, but for whatever reason the website hasn’t been working for me. I finally went to one of those websites where you can check if it’s down for everyone or just me and it said the site was down for everyone. So I called the phone number and registered that way, which did work. Since I’m using them to pay tuition online, they must be registered or they won’t work. But it’s a pain in the rear. The first time I tried the website and it didn’t work was Tuesday, so it seems this site has been down since then at least (?) Just thought I’d mention it in case others are stuck unable to register their cards as well.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

So I finally decided to try for the Amex offer for the Biz Gold for 90k MR's. I clicked to apply this morning and the offer comes up, but when I hit the apply but I received a message "offer no longer available." Has anyone experienced this? Do you think it will come back?

 

[babyready]

Southwest has FINALLY announced their next schedule extension release date:

Here's your friendly reminder that Southwest Airlines next schedule release is expected to occur on THURSDAY April 22nd. For those planning to snag flights, set those calendar reminders so you don't forget! I'll post additional reminders as the date draws nearer.

• Currently SW is offering flights through 8/16/21 and this next release will take their schedule out to 11/6/21.

For those that care about "release timing" it's been all over the board recently (all times Eastern):

• The release on 12/10/20 went live at 7:15am.
• The release on 8/13/20 went live at 9:15am.
• The release on 5/28/20 went live at 9:06am.
• The release on 3/12/20 went live at 9:40am.
• The release on 12/11/19 went live at 9:10am.
• The release on 10/30/19 went live at 7:15am.
• The release on 9/26/19 went live at 7:30am.
• The release on 8/15/19 went live at 10:41am.
• The release on 5/30/19 went live at 9:20am.

I was so excited about this as we are planning a large family trip at the end of the year and I am wanting to get a great deal for the rest of my family (we have lots of SW points, so my family is good and I hope to cover some other tickets if I can). And then I saw the dates. Guess I will be waiting for a while...

We just now realized that the CSP has the Doordash credit too . We used it last month on my CSR but we each have a CSP, so how do we use those too? Do we have to make 3 different accounts?

I didn't know this either! And we ordered a bunch of Doordash last month while on a trip. Oops. I am guessing you can just change the card you pay with each time?

 

[smallsy]

Ok more SW questions. We are finally taking advantage of our points and CP (yay, thanks disboards fam!)

I know SW was doing a bunch of changes but that should be done now, yes? DH booked our flights a couple days ago and now the departure has be changed from 1 stop in ATL to 2 stops ATL and BNA (we live 2 hrs from ATL). He's frustrated because that was an early afternoon flight (ideal with young kiddos in tow) that got in late afternoon, but now it's not getting in till almost 10pm on a school night. Would you keep this flight hoping it'll be changed back? Book an early morning to ensure you get home in time? Or book the later flight that still gets in at 10pm but is only 1 stop? Also how do we make sure my CP seat is transferred?

 

[mfly]

Ok more SW questions. We are finally taking advantage of our points and CP (yay, thanks disboards fam!)

I know SW was doing a bunch of changes but that should be done now, yes? DH booked our flights a couple days ago and now the departure has be changed from 1 stop in ATL to 2 stops ATL and BNA (we live 2 hrs from ATL). He's frustrated because that was an early afternoon flight (ideal with young kiddos in tow) that got in late afternoon, but now it's not getting in till almost 10pm on a school night. Would you keep this flight hoping it'll be changed back? Book an early morning to ensure you get home in time? Or book the later flight that still gets in at 10pm but is only 1 stop? Also how do we make sure my CP seat is transferred?

Personally, I’d change to the one stop that arrives at 10 PM.

I would be surprised if they change your original flight back from two-stops to one-stop, so I’d make plans based on the current flight list.

10 PM isn’t ideal on a school night with kids, but (in my opinion) it’s preferable to losing a whole day of vacation!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Ok more SW questions. We are finally taking advantage of our points and CP (yay, thanks disboards fam!)

I know SW was doing a bunch of changes but that should be done now, yes? DH booked our flights a couple days ago and now the departure has be changed from 1 stop in ATL to 2 stops ATL and BNA (we live 2 hrs from ATL). He's frustrated because that was an early afternoon flight (ideal with young kiddos in tow) that got in late afternoon, but now it's not getting in till almost 10pm on a school night. Would you keep this flight hoping it'll be changed back? Book an early morning to ensure you get home in time? Or book the later flight that still gets in at 10pm but is only 1 stop? Also how do we make sure my CP seat is transferred?

To change a flight with a CP tied to it, you need to first cancel the CP ticket. Then make the change. Then Re-Add the companion. I would not expect any further positive changes to a flight - if they come, that's great. BUT I would plan to make use of the flights that exist today and pick the best one for you guys.

 

[Disneyonmymind]

I’ve tried several times this week to register vgc I bought at Kroger on the prepaid gift balance website, but for whatever reason the website hasn’t been working for me. I finally went to one of those websites where you can check if it’s down for everyone or just me and it said the site was down for everyone. So I called the phone number and registered that way, which did work. Since I’m using them to pay tuition online, they must be registered or they won’t work. But it’s a pain in the rear. The first time I tried the website and it didn’t work was Tuesday, so it seems this site has been down since then at least (?) Just thought I’d mention it in case others are stuck unable to register their cards as well.

When you use the GCs for tuition does it get treated like a debit card (ie no fee?) Or a credit card?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I love the Fireside chat with @SouthFayetteFan. Any chance you have a thread going with links to all past and current fireside chats? Perhaps a youtube channel?

For starting out with Southwest cards, is there a particular rewards card I should apply for first? Or just go with the one with highest rewards possible?

I got a Delta Amex cards a couple years ago when we took our first Disney trip. Then signed my wife up when they had a great offer. This year, we got 2 of 3 free flights to Orlando for Disney trip in January, 3 of 3 free flights to Nashville, and 2 of 3 free flights to Hawaii. We're now out of Delta points, so I need to start saving up for next year and the year after, lol. Delta and Southwest are our 2 main airlines, so no issues with changing it up.

Well you want to weigh a lot of factors. If you want a companion pass, now is not an ideal time to get Southwest cards (because of the time of year, but more so because of the crummy personal card bonuses out there). BUT since they offer 4 cards... you could still grab one to get some points now and leave flexibility for the future.

If I was going to recommend one SW card right now, it would probably be either of the Business cards.

• PERFORMANCE BUSINESS - Via Support link, the offer is: Earn 70,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months PLUS, earn an additional 30,000 points after you spend $25,000 total in the first 6 months. That 2nd tier is lofty... so you might not want to go for that unless you can employ some sort of MS strategy to create some spend.
• PREMIER BUSINESS - Via Support Link, the offer is: Earn 60,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. Make sure to hit "APPLY NOW" on the correct card. No 2nd tier here, but a nice 60k points for a reasonable $3k MSR. This would get you over $900 in free flights.

The reason I like the biz cards right now is because it leaves flexibility to grab the personal cards down the line when they are featuring a better bonus. AND you could MDD those personals in late 2021 with eyes on a 2022/2023 companion pass. But it can be nice to have a stash of SW points so the biz cards can fit that need now without even affecting your 5/24 status.

If you can't grab biz cards now... it's hard to recommend any SW card. The 30k+ 1 year of CP offer really isn't that good IMO, unless you can get a lot of use out of that companion pass in the 10 month window between May and February.

 

[elgerber]

...Triggered... Okay - honestly I don't even know the answer, lol!

I know, I can't even believe I asked. But here is why, I still have a small pile of AA miles, and because of the cancelled Hawaii trip, dh has a TON of them. Gift cards are no longer an option, and AA flights are not a good option out of MSP. So that leaves cars and hotels. We both got preapproved offers for Citis no fee AA card, with 15k miles after one purchase. I thought IF that would get us discounted point values for cars/ hotels, maybe it might be worth it to get the most out of the miles we have.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Hey friends,
I had gotten a room at Marriott Lakeshore Reserve for another friend who is now unable to travel. It is from March 4-11. I am not allowed to rent as it is an Interval International exchange so come as a guest. I have a 3BR townhouse for myself so I have no use for it and it will go to waste. SFF will post link on our other site. I’m not so useful there so PM works best for me. We are here now so I’ll check a few times a day.

 

[Albort]

@SouthFayetteFan in your expert SW opinion when do you think SW will end their extremely amazing free change windows?

in my opinion, i believe the free change window will continue for at least a year.

why? I believe the reason it started was due to the Max8 incident. There are still some people who arent comfortable flying the plane so the free change windows would likely help those that still dont want to fly it to change routes to NGs until people get comfortable with the planes.

 

[IFlossU]

I know, I can't even believe I asked. But here is why, I still have a small pile of AA miles, and because of the cancelled Hawaii trip, dh has a TON of them. Gift cards are no longer an option, and AA flights are not a good option out of MSP. So that leaves cars and hotels. We both got preapproved offers for Citis no fee AA card, with 15k miles after one purchase. I thought IF that would get us discounted point values for cars/ hotels, maybe it might be worth it to get the most out of the miles we have.

I did a quick search to see if I could help answer this for you. We have the Barclay cards, and from my search results on both AAvacations and UseAA miles I’m not seeing any discounted rates as a card holder. I searched both logged in and logged out and the rates were the same. AA vacations had 4 nights rental car and Swan for $1086 or 108,600 AA miles. Search results were the same logged out of my account. To answer your question I’m not seeing any advantage to holding an AA card. I didn’t take a really deep dive, but at best you MAY earn more AA miles for the booking.

 

[wanderlust7]

We just now realized that the CSP has the Doordash credit too . We used it last month on my CSR but we each have a CSP, so how do we use those too? Do we have to make 3 different accounts?

I think CSP just gets DashPass, not the credit.

 

[smallsy]

I think CSP just gets DashPass, not the credit.

Ok thanks for the heads up. I'm going to check that before we buy again.

 

[elgerber]

I did a quick search to see if I could help answer this for you. We have the Barclay cards, and from my search results on both AAvacations and UseAA miles I’m not seeing any discounted rates as a card holder. I searched both logged in and logged out and the rates were the same. AA vacations had 4 nights rental car and Swan for $1086 or 108,600 AA miles. Search results were the same logged out of my account. To answer your question I’m not seeing any advantage to holding an AA card. I didn’t take a really deep dive, but at best you MAY earn more AA miles for the booking.

Thank you, that is VERY helpful!

 

[stitchfan18]

DH got this letter from AMEX today apologizing for the delay in issuing his SUB points. I just figured the RAT was combing through his purchases with a fine tooth comb, causing the 2 month delay. Interestingly enough, he does have some AMEX cards he uses for work that he’s been putting a lot of spend on in the last couple weeks after not much spend on those since last March. I thought we’d burned a bridge with AMEX, so hopefully this means at least DH is still old terms

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Another Amex question - are people still getting the AF waived on Amex Plat Biz cards that received the email in Dec? My email said to apply by 4/30/21 if that matters. Thanks!