I love credit cards so much! v5.0 - 2022 (see first page for add'l details)

[jenmsmith]

One more try. There are 2 lounges at MCO. There are 2 TSA checkpoints at MCO. One checkpoint is for gates 1-69. Once you are through that you can take either people mover, to gates 1-29 or to 30-69. You can go to the lounge in the 1-29 area, take a tram back and catch the tram to the other gates 30-whatever on that side. No extra TSA involved. They will not have any questions to ask. Simple.

The other security checkpoint is for gates 70-129. Again, once you are past security you can go either way. The lounge is in the 70-99 side, the SW gates 100-129. No additional security needed or TSA questions. However, half of the 70-99 gates are for international arrivals and you would not want to get on that side of the people mover after leaving the lounge because it would take you outside of security. If you pay attention and get on the correct tram back to the gates 100-129 you are fine. If taking 2 quick trams is not worth it to you, fine. I don't care.

My first time last week at the smaller lounge on the American side was interesting. There was a small (15 min) waiting list but I had extra time. The bartender basically gave me a bottomless gin & tonic until I told him to stop. Salad, sandwiches, decent soup, a quieter place to wait, all worth it to me.

Perfect explanation. I always fly SW and I have been going to the lounge at MCO (at gates 70-99) about every six weeks for the past few years. Yes, extra trams are involved, but as you said, not extra security unless accidentally using the international arrivals tram. Worth it, IMO.

 

[Judique]

One more try. There are 2 lounges at MCO. There are 2 TSA checkpoints at MCO. One checkpoint is for gates 1-69. Once you are through that you can take either people mover, to gates 1-29 or to 30-69. You can go to the lounge in the 1-29 area, take a tram back and catch the tram to the other gates 30-whatever on that side. No extra TSA involved. They will not have any questions to ask. Simple.

The other security checkpoint is for gates 70-129. Again, once you are past security you can go either way. The lounge is in the 70-99 side, the SW gates 100-129. No additional security needed or TSA questions. However, half of the 70-99 gates are for international arrivals and you would not want to get on that side of the people mover after leaving the lounge because it would take you outside of security. If you pay attention and get on the correct tram back to the gates 100-129 you are fine. If taking 2 quick trams is not worth it to you, fine. I don't care.

My first time last week at the smaller lounge on the American side was interesting. There was a small (15 min) waiting list but I had extra time. The bartender basically gave me a bottomless gin & tonic until I told him to stop. Salad, sandwiches, decent soup, a quieter place to wait, all worth it to me.

This would make a great 'stickie' somewhere. Copying for DD's just in case it helps out.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Well, I'm glad y'all started discussing Instacart here too.... I just needed some TP, and I can swing by my local Aldi to pick it up later today for free! I think without the CSP membership they'd charge me 1.99 to do this...(?) I wonder if it's possible to use multiple cards instacart benefits,or you're limited to just one?

It's my experience you have to have a unique account for each card. I did try to use two cards on the same membership and the quarterly credit only worked for one card.
DH and I each have an account, but we have 3 cards, so I might go for a third account.

One more try. There are 2 lounges at MCO. There are 2 TSA checkpoints at MCO. One checkpoint is for gates 1-69. Once you are through that you can take either people mover, to gates 1-29 or to 30-69. You can go to the lounge in the 1-29 area, take a tram back and catch the tram to the other gates 30-whatever on that side. No extra TSA involved. They will not have any questions to ask. Simple.

The other security checkpoint is for gates 70-129. Again, once you are past security you can go either way. The lounge is in the 70-99 side, the SW gates 100-129. No additional security needed or TSA questions. However, half of the 70-99 gates are for international arrivals and you would not want to get on that side of the people mover after leaving the lounge because it would take you outside of security. If you pay attention and get on the correct tram back to the gates 100-129 you are fine. If taking 2 quick trams is not worth it to you, fine. I don't care.

My first time last week at the smaller lounge on the American side was interesting. There was a small (15 min) waiting list but I had extra time. The bartender basically gave me a bottomless gin & tonic until I told him to stop. Salad, sandwiches, decent soup, a quieter place to wait, all worth it to me.

This was a super helpful and clear explanation. Thank you!

 

[AmyAnne]

It's my experience you have to have a unique account for each card. I did try to use two cards on the same membership and the quarterly credit only worked for one card.
DH and I each have an account, but we have 3 cards, so I might go for a third account.

Do you recall about how long it took for the credit to show up? I just did my first pickup order today and I'm wondering when I should start looking for it.

The Instacart account I created was using my CSR. I think sometime this week I will create another account with one of my Freedoms. I'm assuming the quarterly credit is good until the end of September, so with the 3-month membership, that should cover two $10 orders. I'm not sure if I'd create another account for one order but two is probably worth the hassle.

 

[Lorana]

Yes the gene+ fees will count 5x on the CFF….just used it last week

Awesome, thank you! We head back to Disney on Tuesday so wanted to make sure I would get the extra earnings.

Sadly I discovered that Cabanas at Typhoon Lagoon code as *dining* rather than tickets or recreation.

 

[afan]

This would make a great 'stickie' somewhere. Copying for DD's just in case it helps out.

I think the confusion is from the construction that meant you may have to go back through security if there was an international arrival at the time. I remember lots of posts about a wall that would move.

Am guessing they finished whatever it was during covid because I don't remember anyone asking specifically about sw and lounges since before the shutdown. I also think a lot of the lounge goers that flew sw to mco aren't posting much/at all latelt either.

Also why I didn't answer which is good because I'd have been wrong with the old info

 

[newski_mom]

Brand new to Instacart, these 2 posts are conflicting. Do you need to order $35 worth for pickup? Or will over $15 suffice. My first Instacart attempt in Aug was completely messed up, and they ended up crediting my account $35.xx. So I have to order over $50 in Sept in any case to get the $15.

Well I will have to pay $0.93 more for my order lol but my total at Aldi was $15.99

We only have Thyme and Aldi available for pickup

At my Aldi, if I didn't have a $35 order, it would have been an additional $4.99 for the pickup fee. Seems like that varies by location.

Can someone remind me what the minimum credit limit for chase business cards is? I want to decrease mine so I can apply for a new card next week.

Do we even think holding 5 open chase business cards is a possibility?

I was just recently approved for my 4th. I now have 2 CICs and 2 CIUs. Not sure about 5 though! Good luck!

 

[Judique]

I think the confusion is from the construction that meant you may have to go back through security if there was an international arrival at the time. I remember lots of posts about a wall that would move.

Am guessing they finished whatever it was during covid because I don't remember anyone asking specifically about sw and lounges since before the shutdown. I also think a lot of the lounge goers that flew sw to mco aren't posting much/at all latelt either.

Also why I didn't answer which is good because I'd have been wrong with the old info

DD may have this down already as she flew in and out of MCO in April, but often she is too busy to research, although she's pretty good at churning and holds CSR, Amex Plat and too many of the higher value cards. Meanwhile I drove myself both ways and my dates were slightly different as they did the Disney cruise and came a bit earlier but stayed on the coast, picking them up at the ship on the day we checked into Poly.

 

[calypso726]

Can someone remind me what the minimum credit limit for chase business cards is? I want to decrease mine so I can apply for a new card next week.

Do we even think holding 5 open chase business cards is a possibility?

I currently have 5 Chase business cards. Chase Ink Plus, Hyatt biz, CIP, CIC and CIU. I'm not sure Chase has a minimum.

 

[pinkxray]

Is anyone else having issues with credits from Chase offers.

I used the 20% off at Staples on Aug. 13. Nothing yet.

Spend over $100 on instacart on my CSR Aug. 6 and no $15 credit. What the heck. I am working on a MSR for my CIU and it’s annoying to use other cards when the offers don’t even work.

 

[happysavermp]

Is anyone else having issues with credits from Chase offers.

I used the 20% off at Staples on Aug. 13. Nothing yet.

Spend over $100 on instacart on my CSR Aug. 6 and no $15 credit. What the heck. I am working on a MSR for my CIU and it’s annoying to use other cards when the offers don’t even work.

I also am waiting for a credit from a Best Buy purchase on 8/13. My husband made several purchases that same day with various Chase offers. (Best Buy, Staples, and Home Depot). All of his credited. I called Chase because I could see in my dashboard that my offer was saved however it wasn’t showing up under redeemed in the App. The representative said it can take up to 14 business days to credit and wasn’t concerned that it wasn’t showing as redeemed. I figure I will have to call back Friday if it doesn’t post by then.

 

[amcc]

Question about travel insurance: I've never purchased before but with a big cruise next year and our parents getting older, it seems like a good idea. I used insure my trip and found a policy I like. It asks for the total cost of the trip for the 6 of us that I'm insuring (cruise, excursions, airbnb) but then on the certificate, it divides it by 6 for a maximum benefit to each person. Since it's a cruise, our fares vary quite a bit - from 3rd and 4th person in a balcony at 75% off, to an inside cabin 3rd person, and then the main travelers in each cabin. That maximum per person number is about the cost of Passenger 1 and 2 in the balcony cruise fare only, while it's significantly more than the cost for all the others. Should I purchase insurance separately for the expensive fares passengers and then for the others? It just seems that if I cancel the trip, 2 people will only get back their cruise fare and lose all the excursions costs, etc., while the others would lose some of the value of their insured amount.

I'm sorry if I'm rambling, maybe I'm overthinking it, but thank you for any insight and sharing any experiences.

 

[belle032]

Apologies if this is super off-topic, but I thought someone here might know!

I need to book 3 rooms for a wedding and I wanted to book a Hampton and use my Honors Discount for all 3 rooms. I'll be in one room, but other couples (who are not Hilton members) will be in the other two. I would book and pay for all 3 before arrival. Does anyone know if that's a problem? I didn't know if they'd have to show proof of membership or something upon arrival.

Thank you for any help!

 

[AndreaDM]

Quick review of a 3 days NYC trip we took last week. This was a trip to see Billy Joel at MSG postponed from May 2020! We also saw Come From Away on Broadway, 10/10 recommend!

Anyway, here's what we spent on travel in points/miles:

Flights from CLE to LGA for 3: $289 total, minus $80 Amex credit. We flew AA but booked through JetBlue because of the $80 credit, so spent just $209.
Flights from JFK to CLE for 3: 30K (10K each) Amex MR transferred to KLM which we used to book Delta.
2 nights at the Conrad Hilton Midtown: FREE, one reward night and one night on Hilton points. Cash price was over $600 a night. We also had a $50 a day credit for either room service or the onsite restaurant. Used the $50 one day for 2 room service breakfasts, total with service fee was $89, so it cost $39. Totally overpriced!! The 2nd night we got a few apps and drinks in the restaurant, the bill was over $150, so the $50 didn't go far. What I found most insulting, even more than the overpriced bar drinks, was that my daughter ordered a Sprite and they charged us $10 for ONE CAN of Sprite. Not room service or the mini bar, just at the restaurant. I know NYC is crazy expensive but come on, $10 for a can of soda!?

All in all we had a great trip, saw so much, did soooo much walking, I was briefly on the Today Show on Friday lol. One evening my DD and I wanted to do some (window) shopping on 5th Ave so DH went to the bar down the street from the hotel. He started talking to a pilot who was staying nearby and next thing I know I'm getting a text from him saying he's going to the Mets game with this guy he just met lol. So, everyone got to do what they wanted to and we ate and saw a lot! Olivia Rodrigo joined Billy Joel for Uptown Girl so that was an awesome surprise too.

We grabbed a quick breakfast at The Club in CLE before catching our flight out, and hit both Wingtips and The Centurion Lounge on our way out of JFK. So those were also perks in addition to our great deals on flights/hotel.

ETA: All 3 of us were able to get through security quickly due to "free" GE/Precheck/Clear offers from various cards as well.

 

[Narnia_girl]

All this talk about airport lounges reminded me of a recent Bloomberg article I read.
"Good Luck Finding a Seat in that Fancy Airport Lounge"

 

[Narnia_girl]

Adding another DP for Venture X.
One of its benefits is Cell Phone Protection
"Protect your cell phone every time you pay your bill with your Venture X card. If it’s stolen or damaged, you’ll get reimbursed up to $800. Certain terms, conditions and exclusions apply."

However U.S. Cellular really wants their customers to pay by debit or bank ACH, so this summer they started charging $15 a month if you pay by credit card. I guess you have to decide if the phone insurance from Venture X is worth it to you.

I may keep it while our daughter is doing a semester abroad, but it's definitely not worth it to me in the long run.

 

[leeniewdw]

Adding another DP for Venture X.
One of its benefits is Cell Phone Protection
"Protect your cell phone every time you pay your bill with your Venture X card. If it’s stolen or damaged, you’ll get reimbursed up to $800. Certain terms, conditions and exclusions apply."

However U.S. Cellular really wants their customers to pay by debit or bank ACH, so this summer they started charging $15 a month if you pay by credit card. I guess you have to decide if the phone insurance from Venture X is worth it to you.

I may keep it while our daughter is doing a semester abroad, but it's definitely not worth it to me in the long run.

I think I'll probably keep Venture X because of the other benefits, but Verizon is also offering discounts for paying via debit. I think it's $10 a line. We're trying to get our mobile bill down because it's ridiculous. Our married DS moved his to an account with his wife (she was having her's paid directly by her employer previously, so it made sense to keep him with us and pay us), but Verizon gives a "discount" for 5 or more phones lines, and this dropped us to 4 (we have 1 DS still on our plan + my apple watch). Anyway, the "savings" was less than $20 to drop a line. The chat rep said I could save $30 if we switched to debit (apple watch doesn't count as a line since it's like $10 month), which we'll probably do.

 

[elgerber]

Is anyone else having issues with credits from Chase offers.

I used the 20% off at Staples on Aug. 13. Nothing yet.

Spend over $100 on instacart on my CSR Aug. 6 and no $15 credit. What the heck. I am working on a MSR for my CIU and it’s annoying to use other cards when the offers don’t even work.

I used Gamestop on 3 cards. 2 CC and debit card, on 8/20. the two CC credited on 8/22, the debit has yet to credit.
Also used a Staples online 8/19, still haven't seen that one yet either.

Quick review of a 3 days NYC trip we took last week. This was a trip to see Billy Joel at MSG postponed from May 2020! We also saw Come From Away on Broadway, 10/10 recommend!

We saw that in January! I knew the full story, I had seen the documentary, but I was blown away by the musical. Best new musical I have seen in many years. My husband has watched it twice on Apple +, and when musicals came up at dinner Saturday, he said Come From Away is his favorite musical.

 

[becauseimnew]

I think I'll probably keep Venture X because of the other benefits, but Verizon is also offering discounts for paying via debit. I think it's $10 a line. We're trying to get our mobile bill down because it's ridiculous. Our married DS moved his to an account with his wife (she was having her's paid directly by her employer previously, so it made sense to keep him with us and pay us), but Verizon gives a "discount" for 5 or more phones lines, and this dropped us to 4 (we have 1 DS still on our plan + my apple watch). Anyway, the "savings" was less than $20 to drop a line. The chat rep said I could save $30 if we switched to debit (apple watch doesn't count as a line since it's like $10 month), which we'll probably do.

If you have a convenient Verizon store, you can pay with a credit card at the kiosk and still keep the debit/auto pay discount.
I have one next to next to our grocery store so it is easy for me to stop by.

 

[chattadisser]

I used Gamestop on 3 cards. 2 CC and debit card, on 8/20. the two CC credited on 8/22, the debit has yet to credit.
Also used a Staples online 8/19, still haven't seen that one yet either.

We saw that in January! I knew the full story, I had seen the documentary, but I was blown away by the musical. Best new musical I have seen in many years. My husband has watched it twice on Apple +, and when musicals came up at dinner Saturday, he said Come From Away is his favorite musical.

Love, love, love Come From Away. We saw the touring production in 2019 and I would highly recommend it to anyone. I'd love to see it on Broadway.