Wow! I think it that is amazing that you were able to get 4 trips all on UR points and the SW companion pass!
That sounds amazing! Seeing Disney at Christmastime is on my bucket list, but with the kids’ school schedule and traveling to see family for the holidays it’s tough to find a time. Someday!
I’m also impressed that you were able to get 4 WDW trips on points. I started out very modestly in this hobby; 6 nights hotel in western PA, most of 3 nights hotel in Philly, bought Wyndham points to save on hotel in Newport, RI, our flights to WDW this summer. That’s about all I’ve done so far on points. Now I have more of a stash so am hoping to get a Feb trip to DC and summer trip to
Disneyland/San Diego paid for mostly with points & CSR travel credits. I also have a counsin’s wedding in August; it’s in Maryland so I’ll need train tickets down there for me & DW and one night hotel, so hopefully I can do that on points as well.
Thanks! We're really happy we decided to use our UR points on these trips this year. It's been amazing. We constantly have friends and family saying "Y'all are going again?!?! You must be spending a fortune!" DH is usually the one who chimes in to let them know we only paid about $33 for 3 roundtrip flights (I'm actually using swagbucks cash outs turned SW gift cards for that too...LOL) and nothing for our resort stay. We are planning a long weekend
I may have to look into this whole Swagbucks thing as I keep seeing it mentioned and Disney gift cards are something I can always use.
You really should look into swagbucks. I've saved a ton using cash outs from there. Like amalone1013 said, you should check out the swagbucks thread here on the DIS. I see lots of familiar faces there from this thread and the gift card deals thread. I won't lie, sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get lots of points, and it can feel like I have another full time job. However, I've been fortunate in that I can run some of the automatic earning activities on the site in the background while I'm working. The earning can be very slow at times, but I feel it's worth it considering how much we've been able to cash out for WDW.
I know exactly what you mean! Most of my friends and family know about my travel hacking hobby and most don't get it which is fine. I've had people tell me it sounds exhausting. I tell them that working the extra amount of time required to pay for our trips with real money would be more exhausting and there aren't enough hours in the day for me to do that anyhow. I understand that when the concept is explained to them it sounds overwhelming. My next question when confronted with the idea that "It's too much work and too complicated" is always, "Do you have a credit card that you buy things with?" Invariably they say they do and I explain they are already doing what I do, they just aren't getting the same return on their card application and spending that I get on mine.
Yup! "Which card do I get" is the hardest question to not really answer. Keep us posted on their progress!
I don’t think anyone I know in real life really “gets” the credit card travel hacking. I get the impression people think I must be financially irresponsible. My parents understand that is how we are managing to go to WDW so much with the girls, but actually have no interest in it. All they use is a Marriott Card and Amex Delta. That is it. They book flights based on whenever they decide too without regard to prices at all. It makes me a little sick to think how much money they could be saving. I try not to think about it. It is just a little frustrating though because they say they want to go with us like on our trip in a month but “can’ t afford it.” I am like you could afford it if you would take some basic steps which aren’t that terribly hard!
I got my MIL to sign up for the CSR last Thanksgiving because she and FIL had several trips upcoming. I have to be careful about encouraging her (and other family members) to sign up for more credit cards because I know she carries a balance on at least one credit card and I'm not comfortable really stressing how important it is to pay off balances every month,
Calypso, I love your response! It makes total sense. It would definitely take more time to work at my actual job and earn the equivalent.
My mom actually got SW CP recently after she saw how many flights we've been able to take with ours. She's definitely not going to run out and get tons of cards, but she was ok with getting both SW cards to get the CP. My parents fly quite a bit more than us, and it's almost exclusively on SW, so it works great for her. Public offer was better than referral at the time though, so no SW referral bonuses for us. Boo!
My MIL has inquired about the CP as well, but every time we try to explain it she immediately tenses up when I say she should go for 2 SW cc. My in-laws are very conservative when it comes to cc and I truly get the feeling they thought I was ruining DH's credit and financial stability when we first started doing this. DH wasn't too keen on it all at first either, but he quickly came around and is now very willing to talk to just about anyone about it.
As far as SIL, they have several cards already, but it's mostly store specific (SIL loves to shop and has Gap, Kohl's, Victoria's Secret, Target, etc.) and they just use their Discover for all normal spending. After our texting the other night, I don't really get the impression she'd be willing to invest the time it takes and the attention to detail. I'll definitely explain more if she's interested though.
I've had several friends ask about this hobby and while I do give them some basic info, I usually direct them to some online references. I'm a little leery about going into too much detail because I know for a fact several of them carry balances on cards and wouldn't manage new cards well. I ALWAYS be sure to tell anyone not to carry balances and pay interest on their cards because it can negate the benefits of the points and really defeats the purpose. I wouldn't want anyone coming back to me complaining that I convinced them to do this and they ended up in debt up to their eyeballs.
So glad to read you had such a great time! Christmastime is our favorite time in the parks, sans the crowds; everything is dressed up so magically!
Sounds like you’ve got two potential referrals coming your way. Time to step up your A-game!
Thanks! It was amazing!! I really didn't find it as crowded as I expected it to be based on everything I had been reading. However, we did not do MK on Christmas Day. Instead we went to the World Showcase in Epcot for a few hours before we had to catch ME back to the airport for our 5:30 pm flight.
The referrals would be great. I'll give her more detail if she's really interested, but I'm thinking it was just a quick reaction to the cash prices for their flights.
I get irritated with SB's from time to time but overall I'm willing to put up with the annoyances for the free money!!
