I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[GlamMistress]

I’m pissed that they think they can drive down here to go on vacation when I’ve been stuck in the house for over a week. They’re gonna go to our grocery stores and most likely our hospitals where I’ll be delivering at

You're right, driving does not apply to this ban.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1242256505702932481

 

[Haley R]

You're right, driving does not apply to this ban.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1242256505702932481

He’s mandating that they “observe” a 14 day quarantine. No one is actually making sure that anyone follows that. They need to put them somewhere for 14 days and not let them leave. This is just ridiculous. I don’t need more things to worry about

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I need to blow off some steam right now because I’m furious. I’m reading lots of reports of people in our area seeing tons of New York license plates. People are driving and flying down in packs to get away from New York and come hang out at our beaches because we haven’t closed them yet.

A lady posted that she was stopped on the street by a guy in his car asking where open hotels are at. He had 13 (13!!!) cars behind him all from New York. They stayed in Orlando for a night then decided they’d drive over here to stay by the beach

We see it here as well. People from NY and NJ arriving daily. Our club had to close the pool and basketball court because no matter how many loungers and chairs they took away people kept pulling them together in large groups; yesterday after a stern warning from the club (no games on the court), there was a full-on game on the basketball court. This morning they pulled the hoops off the backboards and the court is officially closed. Pools closed last night.

Dd and I were walking the dog this afternoon and a large group of boys were riding their bikes up and down the road (on the wrong side with no helmets) like it was summer break; no parent in sight. Beaches are supposed to be closed but people are still going. I don't know what it's going to take to get people to stop and stay inside.

I read that the FL governor said 190 planes arrive in Florida every day from NY and NJ. He thinks at least one infected person is on each plane. Said they are asking for all passengers to self-isolate for 14 days, but no word of how they are going to enforce it. Also a cruise ship with 42 sick passengers is expected to arrive in Fort Lauderdale on March 30th. They haven't been tested yet and all passengers have been asked to stay in their cabins.

I find myself wishing I had gone back to Toronto before the border closed.

 

[Haley R]

We see it here as well. People from NY and NJ arriving daily. Our club had to close the pool and basketball court because no matter how many loungers and chairs they took away people kept pulling them together in large groups; yesterday after a stern warning from the club (no games on the court), there was a full-on game on the basketball court. This morning they pulled the hoops off the backboards and the court is officially closed. Pools closed last night.

Dd and I were walking the dog this afternoon and a large group of boys were riding their bikes up and down the road (on the wrong side with no helmets) like it was summer break; no parent in sight. Beaches are supposed to be closed but people are still going. I don't know what it's going to take to get people to stop and stay inside.

I read that the FL governor said 190 planes arrive in Florida every day from NY and NJ. He thinks at least one infected person is on each plane. Said they are asking for all passengers to self-isolate for 14 days, but no word of how they are going to enforce it. Also a cruise ship with 42 sick passengers is expected to arrive in Fort Lauderdale on March 30th. They haven't been tested yet and all passengers have been asked to stay in their cabins.

I find myself wishing I had gone back to Toronto before the border closed.

Makes me wish I still lived in Iowa. This is not something I need right now thinking about delivering a baby in 4 weeks. I’m not sure what they hope to accomplish by coming here. Our numbers are only lower because we’re barely testing anyone

 

[amalone1013]

I think so too. Ugh.

Yesterday I was at Walmart and the nail salon was still open. I know people need jobs, but why? And who is thinking they need their nails done?

A lady out here posting in all the buy groups that she wants someone licensed to come to her house... they shut that down out here so you could lose your license for that but it doesnt matter, she needs them done now!

 

[afan]

I really hope that you can get an order through. It could be better in your area.

I tried and there wasn't nothing through the end of Wed which was as far out as it went. I'm not going to stalk the site, I can do without some of it if I have to I just prefer not to. Or I'll just head to the store.

@Haley R if you're worried it may be time to reevaluate your birthing plan and do it at home without any drugs. May not be what you want but at the same time, it seems you aren't high risk and if it gives you piece of mind that you will be away from the sick people it may be the better option. Or it's now time to start talking with the hospitals in the area and figure out which one suites you best. Find out how you can check in if you are in labor, what's their procedure because you want to avoid the ER etc. See if any of them are doing anything about separating these type of things. Obviously if it were a true emergency, regardless if it was your pregnancy or anything else any of us could have an emergency for we'd all be stuck in the ER.

 

[Haley R]

I tried and there wasn't nothing through the end of Wed which was as far out as it went. I'm not going to stalk the site, I can do without some of it if I have to I just prefer not to. Or I'll just head to the store.

@Haley R if you're worried it may be time to reevaluate your birthing plan and do it at home without any drugs. May not be what you want but at the same time, it seems you aren't high risk and if it gives you piece of mind that you will be away from the sick people it may be the better option. Or it's now time to start talking with the hospitals in the area and figure out which one suites you best. Find out how you can check in if you are in labor, what's their procedure because you want to avoid the ER etc. See if any of them are doing anything about separating these type of things. Obviously if it were a true emergency, regardless if it was your pregnancy or anything else any of us could have an emergency for we'd all be stuck in the ER.

I’m not comfortable with a home birth but I’m curious what will happen with women coming in because as of right now we are supposed to go to the ER. I’m not at all comfortable going there if people are coming in sick. I’m hoping they let us go into the other entrance where the elevators to the labor and delivery floor are at.

ETA: I have an appointment tomorrow morning and I’m going to ask my doctor about it.

 

[amalone1013]

Denver is now stay at home until Apr 10, I expect the metro area will follow (otherwise what's the point?). Also sounds like a big part of it was people not listening and still gathering in large groups at the parks over the weekend

At work this morning I received a letter to carry saying I am in an essential business. We also had a policy from corporate saying if they had to close any locations they would guarantee up to 8 weeks of full pay. Reassuring on one hand, on the other it's easy to be generous when there chance of shutting down is next to nil for us.

 

[afan]

I’m not comfortable with a home birth but I’m curious what will happen with women coming in because as of right now we are supposed to go to the ER. I’m not at all comfortable going there if people are coming in sick. I’m hoping they let us go into the other entrance where the elevators to the labor and delivery floor are at.

ETA: I have an appointment tomorrow morning and I’m going to ask my doctor about it.

Good, then go read a book, color or something and stop worrying about something you have no answers for yet and no control over yet. And actually talk with them tomorrow and let them know all of your concerns, don't do what a lot of us often do at the dr and not speak up. You have to be your own advocate and they need to provide you with answers you like or you need to find somewhere else to go or a way for them to make it work. But seriously, in the mean time do something else

 

[Haley R]

Good, then go read a book, color or something and stop worrying about something you have no answers for yet and no control over yet. And actually talk with them tomorrow and let them know all of your concerns, don't do what a lot of us often do at the dr and not speak up. You have to be your own advocate and they need to provide you with answers you like or you need to find somewhere else to go or a way for them to make it work. But seriously, in the mean time do something else

I did color one picture in my book tonight lol. Dh got sick of hearing me be a worry wart so I had to find something to do. We were originally going to deliver at a different hospital where the birthing suites are isolated by themselves with their own elevator. We switched because I wanted a new doctor and she doesn’t deliver there unfortunately.

 

[Psychodisney]

Interesting thing about this whole mess is that I guess I never paid attention to how often we eat out.

I've only spent about $1700 toward the CIP MSR with a little under 2 months to go. Since there are no trips in my future and no eating out, I may struggle to make it!

I do of course pay some bills with it and there's the grocery store but it is still sort of weird to think about. I'd say the first 30 days of the MSR period we were still pretty "normal" so it will be interesting to see what the next 60 days will bring.

I hear you! My new CIP came today. I do have an HOA fee to pay and 3 cars worth of insurance coming up. That being said, we’re really paring down any spending we can. I switched all of my autopays such as cell phone and cable. Everything adds up.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Interesting thing about this whole mess is that I guess I never paid attention to how often we eat out.

I've only spent about $1700 toward the CIP MSR with a little under 2 months to go. Since there are no trips in my future and no eating out, I may struggle to make it!

I do of course pay some bills with it and there's the grocery store but it is still sort of weird to think about. I'd say the first 30 days of the MSR period we were still pretty "normal" so it will be interesting to see what the next 60 days will bring.

If you find yourself with only 30 days left and not close to hitting the MSR please reach out and we can talk about some MSR spend strategies that won’t have you wasting money. Lots of ideas out there to make it happen!

 

[IFlossU]

If you find yourself with only 30 days left and not close to hitting the MSR please reach out and we can talk about some MSR spend strategies that won’t have you wasting money. Lots of ideas out there to make it happen!

Might you be willing to provide info on Dischurners, or would you rather people PM? I have some of my own ideas about hitting an MSR, but always like to hear more experienced ideas.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Might you be willing to provide info on Dischurners, or would you rather people PM? I have some of my own ideas about hitting an MSR, but always like to hear more experienced ideas.

Nothing super secret here Just depends on somebody’s level of emergency cash and strategy and which card they’re using - so a personal conversation can help.

My general list:

• Gift cards to grocery stores, Walmart/target, gas stations to use on future month’s purchases
• Visa gift cards or MasterCard gift cards to use everywhere. (incur a small fee)
• Prepay bills: utilities, cable, cell phone, etc.
• Refundable travel (e.g. refundable flight or Disney hotel) and cancel once you’ve hit the actual MSR.
• Venmo or other P2P payments with a spouse or trusted friend who will repay you. (incur a larger fee)
• Bank account funding for a new acct (although these are getting harder to find).

There’s others I’m probably forgetting too.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

@Oscar Madison asked a good question today over the DISchurners CIP discussion thread, however I felt it was better addressed here out in the open since it does not necessarily pertain to any advanced strategy...

A @SouthFayetteFan Fireside Chat:
How long will the Chase Ink Preferred (CIP) 80,000 Ultimate Rewards Points (URs) Sign-up Bonus via DISchurners Support Links Last?
So as you might be aware by now, Chase has replaced the 80,000 UR offer (for $5k MSR) on the CIP with a 100,000 UR offer (for $15k MSR).

• Many are of course concerned about this as the 15k spend is beyond what many of us fine comfortable
• Additionally, the % return on the bonus is far less (7% vs 15% by my calculation methods)
• This is especially meaningful to our community as the CIP is often recommended as one of the first cards a new churner should grab and that $15k MSR will scare most new folks off

Of course we've also found out since then that the support links HERE still show the 80,000 UR / $5k MSR offer that is preferable to almost everybody! AND that also means that the cross-support strategy between P1 and P2 is alive and well meaning that P2's CIP (using P1's support link) is actually worth 105k URs all-in vs. 85k URs all-in (on P1's card) and still for that tasty $5k MSR. This doesn't even get into the details contained in our advanced strategies thread on the CIP which you can find HERE that makes this topic of even more interest to virtually all DISchurners under 5/24.

So the question on everybody's lips again is...How long will the Chase Ink Preferred (CIP) 80,000 Ultimate Rewards Points (URs) Sign-up Bonus Last. Let's go through some thoughts there:

• First off - nobody truly knows. We have nobody here who works for Chase or has any insider knowledge of what Chase is doing with this bonus.
• What we do know right now is that all of the links on DISchurners show the 80k/$5k MSR offer and all of the public links I can find right now show the 100k/$15k MSR offer.
• Additionally, we know that you can still generate a NEW support link offer on the appropriate Chase page (which I just tested right now). Be aware that the landing page when you generate the link mentions 100,000 URs BUT this is referring to YOUR cap, not what the person will earn - if you scroll down you'll see the 80k/$5k mentioned clearly OR you can test the link.

So if nobody truly knows...now what?? Well perhaps it's time for a bit of a history lesson:

• The CIP was launched in Oct of 2016 and has consistently offered 80k URs for $5k MSR at all times since then.
• Other higher offers have been seen, usually via targeted mailers or applying in branch but the 80k offer has been standard through normal public links and support links.
• Just one year ago we saw a very similar thing happen with a change to the CSP sign-up bonus.
  • On 3/17/19 the CSP public offer was announced to change the next day by DoC here.
  • It had consistently been at 50k URs for $4k MSR with AF waived to 60k URs for $4k MSR with $95 AF not waived.
  • This change was largely accepted as an improvement (and it clearly was since at a minimum it was worth $5 more in cash value.
  • This change took place on 3/18/19 as expected AND then on 3/31/19 the CSP support links switched to the new offer.
  • In one more good twist, the CSP support bonus (for the person you "supported") increased to 15k from 10k then on 4/3/19.
  • All of this has remained constant since then.
• This timing almost feels eerie ... considering that DoC shared this about CIP on 3/17/20...one year ago later to the day... So could the CIP offer be changing on 3/31/20??? It's certainly quite possible
• However, before we claim that the sky is falling... we also should note that over the years, Chase has also had periods where public offers and support offers did not match. This has occurred on numerous cards for long durations of time: Marriott, IHG, Hyatt, Southwest, and others I believe. Now, one pattern there though is that these examples are on co-brands. I don't remember any examples off the top of my head on Chase branded cards where the bonuses were different, but it's possible it occurred as my churning historian brain doesn't remember every single event, haha!

So I will again reiterate that nobody truly knows what will happen here...So what should I do now @SouthFayetteFan??? Good Question!

• If you are ready to grab a CIP now and your pacing suggests that the timing is right... DO NOT DELAY...go for it!!
• If you are VERY close to being within the pacing recommendations...you might consider accelerating that next card before the end of the month. Be cautious here though, one bonus is NOT worth risking a Chase shutdown.
• If you are not close to getting your next card then you sit tight and hope things work out in your favor. Again...one card is not worth a shutdown!! (Ask the people who got a 4th card from a particular airline if it was worth it in retrospect...)

Hopefully this helps somebody here figure out what to do about this potential upcoming change. For now...it's business as usual (and don't we all need that in some aspect of our life right now!) Good luck to all my DISchurners friends on any upcoming applications!!! Pay it Forward with DISchurners if you have no other link available to you and don't forget to PM your lucky benefactor if you use a link.

 

[ten6mom]

I am tasked with "providing a meal" for one day, both shifts during National Telecommunicator Week (April 12-18) and providing a $20 "gift basket" to be used in a raffle. I was thinking of ordering 2 platters (one for day shift and one for night shift) from a local Mexican place for the food and a just a basket of candy bars for the other. What do you all think? I don't cook, so I definitely won't be cooking for my crew (and I can't be there for 24 hours anyway) so I am hoping that by April 12 I'll still be able to even order platters for pickup. And everyone loves chocolate, right?

 

[afan]

I am tasked with "providing a meal" for one day, both shifts during National Telecommunicator Week (April 12-18) and providing a $20 "gift basket" to be used in a raffle. I was thinking of ordering 2 platters (one for day shift and one for night shift) from a local Mexican place for the food and a just a basket of candy bars for the other. What do you all think? I don't cook, so I definitely won't be cooking for my crew (and I can't be there for 24 hours anyway) so I am hoping that by April 12 I'll still be able to even order platters for pickup. And everyone loves chocolate, right?

Sounds good as long as it will feed the number of people there and offer the options needed to feed the people, vegetarian, picky eaters etc. Probably better than pizza, sandwiches or pasta which is what most think of.

Last place I worked would order pizza for everyone and not bother to get plain cheese or pepperoni which I never understood as those two will feed most everyone regardless of whether they like fancy or not. Plus they are cheaper than the others they'd ordered. I gave up and would just bring my lunch like always on pizza day.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

What I’m looking forward to:
Being able to see my mom
Traveling to see our DD or having her come home
Not waking up every morning happy for like the first 30 seconds and then remembering and feeling a pit in my stomach
Being able to use the companion pass. I have genealogy trips to take!
Being able to walk into a grocery store any time I want and feeling safe to look around
Being able to meet friends for lunch
THE NCAA TOURNEY 2021!
Going to the garden center to buy things to plant. We brought our hibiscus in for the winter and it’s started blooming! I’m looking forward to when it’s warm enough all the time to put it back outside.
Oh yes, I realize these are first world problems. I really am thankful for so much.

 

[wendow]

I suspected it was highly likely my kids were out of school for the year but hearing it was seriously disappointing. Mainly concerned about DS and algebra. I may have eaten a lot of peanut butter cups after I heard the announcement. I can't imagine how I'm going to keep him busy for 5.5 months and I'm guessing summer jobs will be hard to come by. DD can lifeguard if the pool opens but she doesn't want to (she was having nightmares last year about kids drowning). I'm getting ahead of myself.

Still struggling with August Alaska cruise. I think DCL will have to cancel but I'm better off if they cancel than if I do. But I also feel like I want to take control of something!

I second Khan academy. My teens have used it a ton. We have a lot of other resources that if you were homeschooling full time, I'd recommend but in the short term, I'd suggest Khan.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Do any of you feel like you’re using your credit cards less than normal right now? With DH working from home, we’re saving quite a bit on gas and commuting costs, parking etc. also his lunches. On the flip side, since he is home, I know the grocery bill will be higher. So it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.