I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 (see first page for add'l details)

[MsOnceUponATime]

Global entry..... these appts seem difficult to find/get. Did I read here previously about passengers doing this when arriving at a destination airport,or did I imagine that?

I'm having the hardest time trying to get an appointment for a GE interview. I have been conditionally approved (which means that I need to interview) since November, but haven't been able to get an appointment. I wanted GE for my European trip in June, but it is NOT looking like that is going to work out for me if I can't get an appointment. If worse comes to worse I will just do an appointment, at the airport) on my return from Italy in July. Kinda defeats the purpose of what I wanted GE for though. Your struggle is not singular if you're trying to get an appointment. There are services that you can pay to scour the appointments to get email alerts. I haven't gone that route yet.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

We're on a direct red-eye from BOS->FCO on Delta. We're staying at the Optivm Hotel for one night and plan to sightsee on our own on the day we arrive. The next day I booked a pre-cruise tour so they will keep our luggage and we won't have to go back and forth to the hotel, and we'll do the Vatican then head to the cruise early afternoon. We're on the NCL Epic for 10 nights doing Italy and Greece. After the cruise we're flying to Paris (although I haven't booked those flights yet. Will likely use a low cost carrier into Orly). We're spending 2 nights in the city center. I've currently got two hotels booked and am trying to decide which one to keep: Hotel Tourisme Avenue and Hotel de la Motte Piquet. Planning a Seine cruise, Eiffel tower visit and taking the train out to Versailles. Then we're spending 2 nights at Disneyland Paris in the Sequoia Lodge, flying home on a direct flight from CDG->BOS on Air France. Signing up for a million cards as we work through all the spend to hopefully get us our Japan tickets

I'm going to look into those hotels. We arrive on a Wednesday and will spend two nights at the DisneyLand Hotel and then onto Paris proper on that Friday. I haven't decided whether we'll train to London mid Paris trip OR train to London after Paris and then onto Barcelona -- so that's honestly my biggest hold up. My husand is heehawing over spending the night in London while paying for a place in Paris. I don't see the big deal in it. Especially because we'll be staying on points. But I try to keep things happy in my marriage so I'm taking all things into consideration (even though they're all my miles and points and such!). lol Do I want to go to London on the back end of Paris or during Paris?? I just don't know... but I nee to figure it out! I'm also considering the Siene cruise and am def going to be at the Eiffel Tower on my birthday.

Also I saw Phantom of the Opera over the weekend at a local theater and now we both want to go to the Paris Operahouse where before we weren't sure.

 

[iujen94]

I'm having the hardest time trying to get an appointment for a GE interview. I have been conditionally approved (which means that I need to interview) since November, but haven't been able to get an appointment. I wanted GE for my European trip in June, but it is NOT looking like that is going to work out for me if I can't get an appointment. If worse comes to worse I will just do an appointment, at the airport) on my return from Italy in July. Kinda defeats the purpose of what I wanted GE for though. Your struggle is not singular if you're trying to get an appointment. There are services that you can pay to scour the appointments to get email alerts. I haven't gone that route yet.

If you’re willing to drive a bit, you may have better luck finding appointments. We are in Raleigh, NC. There’s no GE interview location here, and Charlotte was constantly booked up. My husband and son drove up to Norfolk, VA (up and back in a day - not much farther than Charlotte), where they had their choice of appointment days and times. (Meanwhile, younger son and I are still waiting on conditional approval 9 months later GRRRRR….).

 

[Budzooka]

I'm having the hardest time trying to get an appointment for a GE interview. I have been conditionally approved (which means that I need to interview) since November, but haven't been able to get an appointment. I wanted GE for my European trip in June, but it is NOT looking like that is going to work out for me if I can't get an appointment. If worse comes to worse I will just do an appointment, at the airport) on my return from Italy in July. Kinda defeats the purpose of what I wanted GE for though. Your struggle is not singular if you're trying to get an appointment. There are services that you can pay to scour the appointments to get email alerts. I haven't gone that route yet.

Pay for the service. I was unable to get an appointment on my own for a few weeks and then bit the bullet and paid and has an appointment scheduled within a few days. You still have to move quickly as they don’t stay open very long but I received several options. I don’t remember the cost but it wasn’t prohibitive and definitely worth it to relive the frustration.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Okay I never pay attention, how do I book an AA flight w/ Avios. We need to get to PHL for our Ireland trip. My mom has extra Avios. So I figure might as well use those! It would be DTW to PHL. Her avios are in her "aer lingus" account I think. So is step one transfer back to Avios?

I've been wondering about upgrading also. But don't want to forgo a SUB and I haven't had the other Delta cards. I guess I'm mostly writing this to help the universe manifest an Amex upgrade offer for my Delta Biz Gold, lol

Someone just posted on one of my FB Groups that they were told there would be some upgrade offers after February 10th. Take it with a grain of salt - but just in case...

Remember don't upgrade if you haven't had the card before, unless you don't have a slot, or it's a great offer!

 

[mmmears]

We're also going to Paris and London in June! (We also booked a cruise to Italy on the back end.) I moved 105k AMEX miles to AF in October for three nonstop premium economy flights IAH>CDG and then moved 172k Chase UR points to AF with the 25% Chase bonus in November for the FCO>IAH flight home. I think what you found was an excellent deal.

Our total days in Europe is 21 days. I have had my eye on an Airbnb in Paris for two months and the price has gone down. I"m still considering a hotel though. I need to make a decision soon. I waiver back and forth each day. We're also oing to Eurostar to London and stay on points there and going to train to Barcelona (where we'll stay on points for one night) for the beginning our cruise. We'll also stay in Rome two nights. It'll be my first time in all of the above countries!!! ( but I've traveled to Switzerland, Amsterdam, Germany, and Austria several times before.)

I'm excited for you! I'm looking forward to seeing everthing that you share here.

Us, too, but in July. Spending a few days in Paris and Amsterdam then taking a Norwegian fjords cruise and ending up in London for a few days. I've had the flights (AF outbound and BA return) and hotels booked (all on points) for a while although I'm still debating the Amsterdam and London hotels. Eurostar is great, and so quick.

I still have to decide on what to do in Paris (since were there for a week in 2023 I need to come up with new ideas or narrow down our favorites).

We did a Barcelona to Rome cruise last summer and it was amazing. And I love Rome - so much history and art all in one city it's amazing.

We're going in June, too! We're doing an Italy/Greece cruise and then heading to Paris after. We're at 16 days. I'm hoarding points for flights to Japan next summer, though, so I just cried a bit as I paid cash for our 4 plane tickets

We did Paris and then an Italy & Greece cruise last summer. It was an amazing itinerary - such beautiful places to visit.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

I'm having the hardest time trying to get an appointment for a GE interview. I have been conditionally approved (which means that I need to interview) since November, but haven't been able to get an appointment. I wanted GE for my European trip in June, but it is NOT looking like that is going to work out for me if I can't get an appointment. If worse comes to worse I will just do an appointment, at the airport) on my return from Italy in July. Kinda defeats the purpose of what I wanted GE for though. Your struggle is not singular if you're trying to get an appointment. There are services that you can pay to scour the appointments to get email alerts. I haven't gone that route yet.

Depending on the airport, they seem to be taking walk-ins too, even if the website says appointments only.

I got my parents appointments at the Miami airport in January, there were a lot of appointment availability at that time. I think they release them in batches.

In any case, while we were there, a lot of people would stop in, some had appointments and they would get next availability, but there were a lot of walk-ins that came in too.

Some obviously flew in because they had their luggage in tow but unless they asked for their boarding passes or looked at their luggage tags, there was no way of knowing if they flew in internationally or domestically as the Global Entry room was outside security at MIA, across from the Lufthansa check-in counters. There were some walk-ins with no luggage at all. They did not ask for proof of anything. You were either on the list of people with appointments or you were a walk-in.

Everyone who walked in, put their name on the list with a guy checking people in. Whenever, there was a lull between people with appointments, he would pull people off the walk-in list.

The process was super fast. My parents waited less than 5 minutes. There were at least 6+ walk-ins on top of those with appointments while I was waiting for them. After their appointment, they needed to use the rest room. By the time they finished and we walked past the room again, everyone who had been on the walk in wait list had been processed. The last couple I saw signing in as a walk-in, was exiting the interview room at that time.

If you have time to make the trip and to try to just walk-in, it is worth a shot, IMO.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

If you’re willing to drive a bit, you may have better luck finding appointments. We are in Raleigh, NC. There’s no GE interview location here, and Charlotte was constantly booked up. My husband and son drove up to Norfolk, VA (up and back in a day - not much farther than Charlotte), where they had their choice of appointment days and times. (Meanwhile, younger son and I are still waiting on conditional approval 9 months later GRRRRR….).

Oh I'm willing to drive! But Austin and San Antonio have even longer waiting times than Houston does. That said, when you click on all three cities you are not even given the option to make an appointment. I've never seen one apointment in all of these months. I've even looked into Louisiana to no avail. I could fly to like... PA or something, but geez...

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

Depending on the airport, they seem to be taking walk-ins too, even if the website says appointments only.

I got my parents appointments at the Miami airport in January, there were a lot of appointment availability at that time. I think they release them in batches.

In any case, while we were there, a lot of people would stop in, some had appointments and they would get next availability, but there were a lot of walk-ins that came in too.

Some obviously flew in because they had their luggage in tow but unless they asked for their boarding passes or looked at their luggage tags, there was no way of knowing if they flew in internationally or domestically as the Global Entry room was outside security at MIA, across from the Lufthansa check-in counters. There were some walk-ins with no luggage at all. They did not ask for proof of anything. You were either on the list of people with appointments or you were a walk-in.

Everyone who walked in, put their name on the list with a guy checking people in. Whenever, there was a lull between people with appointments, he would pull people off the walk-in list.

The process was super fast. My parents waited less than 5 minutes. There were at least 6+ walk-ins on top of those with appointments while I was waiting for them. After their appointment, they needed to use the rest room. By the time they finished and we walked past the room again, everyone who had been on the walk in wait list had been processed. The last couple I saw signing in as a walk-in, was exiting the interview room at that time.

If you have time to make the trip and to try to just walk-in, it is worth a shot, IMO.

I hesitate to do that unless anyone here has proof that IAH will allow you to walk in and wait?

I live (and work) an hour from the airport. And there's so much construction going on. And I THINK that the GE place is INSIDE of the international security (?) -- but if I'm wrong I'm happy to be wrong if someone knows for certain. Also, I work... so to take a half a day to go up there and chance it ... I will do it if someone were to say that I could def get in!!

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

Us, too, but in July. Spending a few days in Paris and Amsterdam then taking a Norwegian fjords cruise and ending up in London for a few days. I've had the flights (AF outbound and BA return) and hotels booked (all on points) for a while although I'm still debating the Amsterdam and London hotels. Eurostar is great, and so quick.

I still have to decide on what to do in Paris (since were there for a week in 2023 I need to come up with new ideas or narrow down our favorites).

We did a Barcelona to Rome cruise last summer and it was amazing. And I love Rome - so much history and art all in one city it's amazing.

We did Paris and then an Italy & Greece cruise last summer. It was an amazing itinerary - such beautiful places to visit.

Oh-- I'm excited for you!! The Norwegian fjords are something that I'd love to do. If you're comfortable please post what you plan to do in Paris as you figure it out (if you're comfortable with that). I think that we will do only one touristy site per day even if that means that we don't see everything. Then we'll walk about and eat cheese and bread and shop and entertain ourselves that way. That will give me an excuse to go again soon.

I'm so happy to hear that Barcelona to Rome was amazing. That's what we are doing -- on the brand new Sun Princess ** aka LOVE BOAT **!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

If you’re willing to drive a bit, you may have better luck finding appointments. We are in Raleigh, NC. There’s no GE interview location here, and Charlotte was constantly booked up. My husband and son drove up to Norfolk, VA (up and back in a day - not much farther than Charlotte), where they had their choice of appointment days and times. (Meanwhile, younger son and I are still waiting on conditional approval 9 months later GRRRRR….).

Pay for the service. I was unable to get an appointment on my own for a few weeks and then bit the bullet and paid and has an appointment scheduled within a few days. You still have to move quickly as they don’t stay open very long but I received several options. I don’t remember the cost but it wasn’t prohibitive and definitely worth it to relive the frustration.

Are these for initial interviews or renewals? I had forgotten ours all expire this year and was prompted to check by all this talk of appointments. Luckily, happen to be holding 3 cc right now that cover GE so I applied for renewal for DS and myself today. (DH can do his own.)
Anyone renewed lately and can give me an idea if the process is pretty much the same as initially? (Initially, DH and DS got conditional approval within a few days, I waited months.)

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Are these for initial interviews or renewals? I had forgotten ours all expire this year and was prompted to check by all this talk of appointments. Luckily, happen to be holding 3 cc right now that cover GE so I applied for renewal for DS and myself today. (DH can do his own.)
Anyone renewed lately and can give me an idea if the process is pretty much the same as initially? (Initially, DH and DS got conditional approval within a few days, I waited months.)

For our recent renewals, neither DS, DD or myself required another interview. I think it goes from something like "in process" to "renewed or approved." You could be prompted for another interview, but that wasn't the case for us. I am in the habit of renewing these as soon as they become available for renewal bc I often have GE credits for cards I know I'll be closing.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

We're also going to Paris and London in June! (We also booked a cruise to Italy on the back end.) I moved 105k AMEX miles to AF in October for three nonstop premium economy flights IAH>CDG and then moved 172k Chase UR points to AF with the 25% Chase bonus in November for the FCO>IAH flight home. I think what you found was an excellent deal.

Our total days in Europe is 21 days. I have had my eye on an Airbnb in Paris for two months and the price has gone down. I"m still considering a hotel though. I need to make a decision soon. I waiver back and forth each day. We're also oing to Eurostar to London and stay on points there and going to train to Barcelona (where we'll stay on points for one night) for the beginning our cruise. We'll also stay in Rome two nights. It'll be my first time in all of the above countries!!! ( but I've traveled to Switzerland, Amsterdam, Germany, and Austria several times before.)

I'm excited for you! I'm looking forward to seeing everthing that you share here.

I've been a little slow on booking things. I normally am not like that. This is such a big trip for us that I'm taking extra time to do more research than I normally do. I just bought trip insurance last week (I bought an annual package because we take a lot of trips). Better late than never. I have been having the food/meals discussion with my husband. It consists of how much are we really going to want to go back to the Airbnb and cook? We're going to be on vacation -- who's going to want to cook? But I really want to be able to do laundry and I do enjoy an apartment like space. The boutique hotel comes out cheaper -- even for two hotel rooms. I need to think more on it...

With 21 days in hotels or on a cruise ship, I would for sure try for an airbnb for part of the trip. I think Paris is a great AirBNB location bc like you said, there's so many markets and bakeries. We had a routine of popping out in the morning, grabbing coffee, croissants and baguettes at the bakery, then head to the fruit market and getting the rest of our breakfast items there. It was the perfect morning routine.

For June in Paris, be sure to filter for places with A/C.

 

[Good Ol Gal]

Hi everyone! I am thinking of cancelling our Chase Sapphire I've had since 2019 as I don't want to pay the $95 annual fee (renewal in March). We don't travel outside of DVC so I don't feel like we take advantage of it.

I've not applied for a card since 2020, but DH put me as an authorized user in 12/23 - Captial One BJs

We pay all cards off in full each month and I'd love earn cash back to help pay for trips. I looked at Southwest to work on the Companion pass as DH and I are starting to look into flying to MCO instead of driving, but don't know if we'd charge enough in a year to get it.

Thanks for any insights you have.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Hi everyone! I am thinking of cancelling our Chase Sapphire I've had since 2019 as I don't want to pay the $95 annual fee (renewal in March). We don't travel outside of DVC so I don't feel like we take advantage of it.

I've not applied for a card since 2020, but DH put me as an authorized user in 12/23 - Captial One BJs

We pay all cards off in full each month and I'd love earn cash back to help pay for trips. I looked at Southwest to work on the Companion pass as DH and I are starting to look into flying to MCO instead of driving, but don't know if we'd charge enough in a year to get it.

Thanks for any insights you have.

SW just came out with a new offer on their personal cards…spend $4,000 in the first 3 months and get a CP through 2/28/2025 and 30,000RR points…that may work for you

 

[CyndiLouWho]

For our recent renewals, neither DS, DD or myself required another interview. I think it goes from something like "in process" to "renewed or approved." You could be prompted for another interview, but that wasn't the case for us. I am in the habit of renewing these as soon as they become available for renewal bc I often have GE credits for cards I know I'll be closing.

for that but I'll believe it when I see it. We all had an address change and I had a job change. No idea what triggers a new interview but since we had changes, I won't be surprised.

 

[Good Ol Gal]

SW just came out with a new offer on their personal cards…spend $4,000 in the first 3 months and get a CP through 2/28/2025 and 30,000RR points…that may work for you

wow! I hadn't seen that

 

[disneybirds]

I'm going to look into those hotels. We arrive on a Wednesday and will spend two nights at the DisneyLand Hotel and then onto Paris proper on that Friday. I haven't decided whether we'll train to London mid Paris trip OR train to London after Paris and then onto Barcelona -- so that's honestly my biggest hold up. My husand is heehawing over spending the night in London while paying for a place in Paris. I don't see the big deal in it. Especially because we'll be staying on points. But I try to keep things happy in my marriage so I'm taking all things into consideration (even though they're all my miles and points and such!). lol Do I want to go to London on the back end of Paris or during Paris?? I just don't know... but I nee to figure it out! I'm also considering the Siene cruise and am def going to be at the Eiffel Tower on my birthday.

Also I saw Phantom of the Opera over the weekend at a local theater and now we both want to go to the Paris Operahouse where before we weren't sure.

We did this exact thing on our trip to Scotland. We paid for a room in Edinburgh for 4 nights. During that time we took 2 days/1 night to travel up to the Highlands. I was afraid our luggage wouldn't fit in the rental car since our daughter had been studying abroad! I didn't have any regrets about paying for that night we didn't use, but everyone's situation is different. It was nice to only take what we needed for one night with us.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Ho boy, Hubby and I just finished up our double CP years and then they drop this offer. I just checked and our last bonuses hit in January 2022 so we could both do the SW offer and be a double CP family for another year if we want. But, that makes us both ineligible for a SW bonus again until 2026 meaning we definitely wouldn't have the CP 2/2025 to mid-2026. Hmmm...

 

[leeniewdw]

We did this exact thing on our trip to Scotland. We paid for a room in Edinburgh for 4 nights. During that time we took 2 days/1 night to travel up to the Highlands. I was afraid our luggage wouldn't fit in the rental car since our daughter had been studying abroad! I didn't have any regrets about paying for that night we didn't use, but everyone's situation is different. It was nice to only take what we needed for one night with us.

We did something similar in Ireland. We booked 3 nights in an Airbnb in Kenmare but ended up staying night 1 in Cork (used Cap 1 points) at a hotel so we could go to a concert there (The 1975) and then moved on to our Airbnb the next morning. It worked out well, we got into our place around noon, took a nap. Things we couldn’t have done with a 3 or 4pm checkin. We just messaged our host and all was well.