I love credit cards so much!

Albort · Feb 22, 2017

peel said:
I ordered a couple of magazines weeks ago to put me over the top, but they're taking their sweet time giving me the points. I've spent enough on the cards by now anyway, but those points won't be posted until the next statement closes.

congrats on the bonus! i recently got my 100K on my CSR. still not sure what to spend it on though lol.

mhartman09 · Feb 22, 2017

Will be booking our DW resort today using points from my CSR bonus and spend. I want to make sure I'm looking at this correctly. I'm looking at a POR preferred room. The Chase UR portal is showing $1612.00 + $212.04 (taxes) for a total of $1824.04. The Disney site is showing $1896.00 + $237.00 (taxes) for a total of $2133.00. That seems like a considerable difference between the 2 prices.

I'm totally great with the savings, but I guess I want to make sure I'm comparing apples to apples here. The entry in Chase UR shows Preferred Room 2 Queen Beds and 1 Full Sofa Bed 314-sq-foot (28-sq-meter) room with resort views. I selected the Preferred Room on Disney's site as well and it says Views of Landscaping, Courtyard, Garden or Bayou Close to Sassagoula Steamboat Company, Dining, Shopping and Transportation 2 Queen Beds and 1 Child-Size Pull Down Bed.

Is there any way to know for sure that these are the same rooms?

ski_mom · Feb 22, 2017

On Southwest's page, there are currently 2 offers for a personal (non-business card). They are both for 50,000 points. Can someone apply for both cards? I'm thinking of getting them in DH's name and getting the companion pass for him that way. I'm tempted to try for the business card, but he will not talk to anyone, so I'm nervous about needing to verify something and him not wanting to talk to anyone about it. I know I'd still have to get the 10,000 additional points to get up to the 110,000, but I think I'd be able to do that without too much effort if I try.

mhartman09 · Feb 22, 2017

ski_mom said:
On Southwest's page, there are currently 2 offers for a personal (non-business card). They are both for 50,000 points. Can someone apply for both cards? I'm thinking of getting them in DH's name and getting the companion pass for him that way. I'm tempted to try for the business card, but he will not talk to anyone, so I'm nervous about needing to verify something and him not wanting to talk to anyone about it. I know I'd still have to get the 10,000 additional points to get up to the 110,000, but I think I'd be able to do that without too much effort if I try.

I actually had my DH sign up for the personal premium card yesterday. This is our plan as well, but since he just got his CSR earlier this month, he isn't able to get the personal plus card yet. We'll try for that one in a few weeks. I originally wanted to shoot for the business card, but I'm over the 5/24 Chase rule and DH will not speak to someone to verify a business that's technically not an official business. This was the optimal way for us to go. I used a referral to apply.

peel · Feb 22, 2017

ski_mom said:
On Southwest's page, there are currently 2 offers for a personal (non-business card). They are both for 50,000 points. Can someone apply for both cards? I'm thinking of getting them in DH's name and getting the companion pass for him that way. I'm tempted to try for the business card, but he will not talk to anyone, so I'm nervous about needing to verify something and him not wanting to talk to anyone about it. I know I'd still have to get the 10,000 additional points to get up to the 110,000, but I think I'd be able to do that without too much effort if I try.

That's what I did. Both within a couple of hours of each other so that there is only one hard pull on the credit report. I was instantly approved for both. I know that doesn't happen for most people, I just got lucky. You might have to call to followup on one of the applications.

EDIT: Here is a link to a Reddit page that lays out the step by step process to follow.

CyndiLouWho · Feb 22, 2017

mhartman09 said:
Will be booking our DW resort today using points from my CSR bonus and spend. I want to make sure I'm looking at this correctly. I'm looking at a POR preferred room. The Chase UR portal is showing $1612.00 + $212.04 (taxes) for a total of $1824.04. The Disney site is showing $1896.00 + $237.00 (taxes) for a total of $2133.00. That seems like a considerable difference between the 2 prices.

I'm totally great with the savings, but I guess I want to make sure I'm comparing apples to apples here. The entry in Chase UR shows Preferred Room 2 Queen Beds and 1 Full Sofa Bed 314-sq-foot (28-sq-meter) room with resort views. I selected the Preferred Room on Disney's site as well and it says Views of Landscaping, Courtyard, Garden or Bayou Close to Sassagoula Steamboat Company, Dining, Shopping and Transportation 2 Queen Beds and 1 Child-Size Pull Down Bed.

Is there any way to know for sure that these are the same rooms?

Those should be the same since they only have the pull down bed in a few rooms. I believe they are all in Alligator Alley. The preferred are closest to the restaurants, etc.

Are you using points or $$?

mhartman09 · Feb 22, 2017

CyndiLouWho said:
Those should be the same since they only have the pull down bed in a few rooms. I believe they are all in Alligator Alley. The preferred are closest to the restaurants, etc.

Are you using points or $$?

I actually finished up the booking a few minutes ago. I went with the preferred room. I had 107,612 points posted on my account from the CSR bonus and spending. For the 7 night stay I used 107,602 points and paid $210 with my husband's CSR (which we are accumulating points on to use for another stay within 12 months). I know to some this isn't a great use of points, but for my family it works out great. We have yet to do any traveling abroad and my primary goal was a Disney World trip for us with our son. I know there are lots of other things this bonus could have gone towards, but I'm happy with what we booked.

Getting this deal has finally convinced DH it's worth it for us to sign up for new cards to be able to benefit from the sign up bonuses. Now I'm thinking he won't freak out as much when I tell him it's time to sign up for some new cards...LOL. It's actually bugging me right now since I finished spend on my CSR that I don't have another card in hand to use for minimum spend. I've been using his CSR for online purchases and such, but I am using my old cash back cards for in-person spending until I have another card. I just got approved for the Chase Disney Visa this week (primarily for the $200 gc bonus) and had him sign up for the SW Premier card yesterday (working towards the CP).

Lain · Feb 22, 2017

mhartman09 said:
I actually finished up the booking a few minutes ago. I went with the preferred room. I had 107,612 points posted on my account from the CSR bonus and spending. For the 7 night stay I used 107,602 points and paid $210 with my husband's CSR (which we are accumulating points on to use for another stay within 12 months). I know to some this isn't a great use of points, but for my family it works out great. We have yet to do any traveling abroad and my primary goal was a Disney World trip for us with our son. I know there are lots of other things this bonus could have gone towards, but I'm happy with what we booked.

No judgment from me! Vacations are personal experiences. As long as you're happy, it sounds like an amazing use of your points!

It's actually bugging me right now since I finished spend on my CSR that I don't have another card in hand to use for minimum spend. I've been using his CSR for online purchases and such, but I am using my old cash back cards for in-person spending until I have another card.

I feel the same way!!!

I completed my minimum spend on my CSR within the first month easily because it coincided with the holidays and a family trip to Hawaii. I'm sitting pretty on 112k UR points. I convinced my wife to sign up, begrudgingly, for her own CSR before the online bonus ended in January, and we're close to meeting the minimum spend on hers before the second month's statement closes. I've been reminding her to charge everything to the CSR and have been helping her along by charging all our online payments to her CSR. But it was bugging me that my everyday in-person spending isn't towards some new bonus.

Looking at the cards out there, I thought about the United MileagePlus Explorer card, which has an increased bonus right now of 50k miles/$3k spend (plus a $50 statement credit through a dummy booking), but an even higher targeted offer of 70k miles/$3k spend. Unfortunately, I wasn't targeted and couldn't get the 70k offer to pop up. I already have the United MileagePlus Select, which is kind of a legacy card for cardholders from before the United/Continental merger, and the Explorer just didn't offer enough benefits that I'd actually use in the next year for me to take the lower bonus right now.

I did jump on the Amex personal Platinum 75k MR/$5k spend incognito offer (which I see is now public). I know, I know, I know that Amex occasionally offers 100k MR points for the Platinum, but I've never been targeted for that high of a bonus and I'm wary of leaked links after reading about frozen MR points pending reviews and clawbacks. I'm halfway to meeting the minimum spend requirement and 75k MR points is good enough for me. MR points can transfer to Hawaiian Airlines (our preferred airline to Hawaii) at 1:1 (plus excise tax), and I'm holding out for a transfer bonus. I can also use the Platinum's $200 airline fee credit towards Hawaiian Airlines gift cards. All of which we'll use towards our next trip back to Hawaii. In my mind, this was a much better deal than signing up for the Hawaiian Airlines MasterCard from Barclay's, which offers just 35k miles bonus, or 50k miles in-flight or through a dummy booking. I might sign up for the Barclay's card sometime in the future for the additional bonus miles and one-time 50% off companion discount. Oh, and since the Platinum comes with Hilton Honors Gold Status, which offers a 5th night free, we'll probably use that benefit during our Thanksgiving week trip to Disneyland!

Edit: details, details...

calypso726 · Feb 22, 2017

peel said:
I ordered a couple of magazines weeks ago to put me over the top, but they're taking their sweet time giving me the points. I've spent enough on the cards by now anyway, but those points won't be posted until the next statement closes.

Oh I love when magazines dot com comes out with 50 and 60 AA miles per dollar deals. That's when I get all the magazine subscriptions I want and then gift a few to my family as well LOL

mhartman09 said:
I actually finished up the booking a few minutes ago. I went with the preferred room. I had 107,612 points posted on my account from the CSR bonus and spending. For the 7 night stay I used 107,602 points and paid $210 with my husband's CSR (which we are accumulating points on to use for another stay within 12 months). I know to some this isn't a great use of points, but for my family it works out great. We have yet to do any traveling abroad and my primary goal was a Disney World trip for us with our son. I know there are lots of other things this bonus could have gone towards, but I'm happy with what we booked.

Getting this deal has finally convinced DH it's worth it for us to sign up for new cards to be able to benefit from the sign up bonuses. Now I'm thinking he won't freak out as much when I tell him it's time to sign up for some new cards...LOL. It's actually bugging me right now since I finished spend on my CSR that I don't have another card in hand to use for minimum spend. I've been using his CSR for online purchases and such, but I am using my old cash back cards for in-person spending until I have another card. I just got approved for the Chase Disney Visa this week (primarily for the $200 gc bonus) and had him sign up for the SW Premier card yesterday (working towards the CP).

That is a beauty and value of variable points like UR and MR. They are useful for many different needs and preferences. I normally use mine to transfer straight to a mileage program. The CSR bonuses from my card and DH's card though, we wound up using to pay with points for airfare. We'd never done that before but the option came in handy for a specific trip and I was glad to have the option. It sounds like your family is well on their way to a couple of wonderful vacations. Enjoy!

Lain said:
No judgment from me! Vacations are personal experiences. As long as you're happy, it sounds like an amazing use of your points!

I feel the same way!!!

I completed my minimum spend on my CSR within the first month easily because it coincided with the holidays and a family trip to Hawaii. I'm sitting pretty on 112k UR points. I convinced my wife to sign up, begrudgingly, for her own CSR before the online bonus ended in January, and we're close to meeting the minimum spend on hers before the second month's statement closes. I've been reminding her to charge everything to the CSR and have been helping her along by charging all our online payments to her CSR. But it was bugging me that my everyday in-person spending isn't towards some new bonus.

Looking at the cards out there, I thought about the United MileagePlus Explorer card, which has an increased bonus right now of 50k miles/$3k spend (plus a $50 statement credit through a dummy booking), but an even higher targeted offer of 70k miles/$3k spend. Unfortunately, I wasn't targeted and couldn't get the 70k offer to pop up. I already have the United MileagePlus Select, which is kind of a legacy card for cardholders from before the United/Continental merger, and the Explorer just didn't offer enough benefits that I'd actually use in the next year for me to take the lower bonus right now.

I did jump on the Amex personal Platinum 75k MR/$5k spend incognito offer (which I see is now public). I know, I know, I know that Amex occasionally offers 100k MR points for the Platinum, but I've never been targeted for that high of a bonus and I'm wary of leaked links after reading about frozen MR points pending reviews and clawbacks. I'm halfway to meeting the minimum spend requirement and 75k MR points is good enough for me. MR points can transfer to Hawaiian Airlines (our preferred airline to Hawaii) at 1:1 (plus excise tax), and I'm holding out for a transfer bonus. I can also use the Platinum's $200 airline fee credit towards Hawaiian Airlines gift cards. All of which we'll use towards our next trip back to Hawaii. In my mind, this was a much better deal than signing up for the Hawaiian Airlines MasterCard from Barclay's, which offers just 35k miles bonus, or 50k miles in-flight or through a dummy booking. I might sign up for the Barclay's card sometime in the future for the additional bonus miles and one-time 50% off companion discount. Oh, and since the Platinum comes with Hilton Honors Gold Status, which offers a 5th night free, we'll probably use that benefit during our Thanksgiving week trip to Disneyland!

Edit: details, details...

Every so often Amex will release a public offer for 100,000 points for a limited time. The year DH and I got ours it was up for only 48 hours. I've got DH helping me with the spend on my Amex Plat business card. He would rather be spending toward a new bonus. I convinced him that an additional 100K MR that we would both be using is the new bonus

I was going to go for another Citi AA card but now with the new 24 month rule I have to try and figure out exactly when I opened and closed the last ones. The Barclay AA is another one to consider too.

Lain · Feb 22, 2017

calypso726 said:
Every so often Amex will release a public offer for 100,000 points for a limited time. The year DH and I got ours it was up for only 48 hours. I've got DH helping me with the spend on my Amex Plat business card. He would rather be spending toward a new bonus. I convinced him that an additional 100K MR that we would both be using is the new bonus

Oh, that's one of the beauty of spouses and shared finances, right? You can be sure if a 100k MR Platinum offer comes up, I'll have my wife apply and I'll more than gladly help her meet the spend!

CyndiLouWho · Feb 22, 2017

mhartman09 said:
I actually finished up the booking a few minutes ago. I went with the preferred room. I had 107,612 points posted on my account from the CSR bonus and spending. For the 7 night stay I used 107,602 points and paid $210 with my husband's CSR (which we are accumulating points on to use for another stay within 12 months). I know to some this isn't a great use of points, but for my family it works out great. We have yet to do any traveling abroad and my primary goal was a Disney World trip for us with our son. I know there are lots of other things this bonus could have gone towards, but I'm happy with what we booked.

Getting this deal has finally convinced DH it's worth it for us to sign up for new cards to be able to benefit from the sign up bonuses. Now I'm thinking he won't freak out as much when I tell him it's time to sign up for some new cards...LOL. It's actually bugging me right now since I finished spend on my CSR that I don't have another card in hand to use for minimum spend. I've been using his CSR for online purchases and such, but I am using my old cash back cards for in-person spending until I have another card. I just got approved for the Chase Disney Visa this week (primarily for the $200 gc bonus) and had him sign up for the SW Premier card yesterday (working towards the CP).

We stayed at POR last year. It is lovely. I used the 100k bonus from CSR for our trip to Disneyland next month. Last fall we took a trip to DisneyWorld on SPG bonus at Dolphin hotel & flight with SW bonus. So far, two Disney trips with sign up bonuses.
I did look for trips to Hawaii with the CSR bonus but was no where near enough miles from the Midwest. But we love WDW and I'm already looking at a trip for next spring. Already bought WDW tickets (helped reach our spend for AA card) & will likely get another SPG Amex for another stay at Dolphin.

peel · Feb 22, 2017

calypso726 said:
Oh I love when magazines dot com comes out with 50 and 60 AA miles per dollar deals. That's when I get all the magazine subscriptions I want and then gift a few to my family as well LOL

I found something even better. I signed up for WSJ and had 700 RR credited, and then I found a listing for 650 RR on Meredith print magazines (it's kind of hidden). I followed the link and there are a handful of magazines that have 1 year subscriptions from $5.99-$7.99. When you start the subscription process and roll over the browser header, a "Last Chance" offer pops up for a shorter subscription at a lower price. I placed orders for 5 issues of Living Magazine for $5 and 6 issues of Better Homes and Gardens for $3! Each should net me 650 points.

calypso726 · Feb 22, 2017

peel said:
I found something even better. I signed up for WSJ and had 700 RR credited, and then I found a listing for 650 RR on Meredith print magazines (it's kind of hidden). I followed the link and there are a handful of magazines that have 1 year subscriptions from $5.99-$7.99. When you start the subscription process and roll over the browser header, a "Last Chance" offer pops up for a shorter subscription at a lower price. I placed orders for 5 issues of Living Magazine for $5 and 6 issues of Better Homes and Gardens for $3! Each should net me 650 points.

I did the WSJ trial for $1 through the AA portal and got 500 miles for it. I'll have to look for some more like that.

mhartman09 · Feb 23, 2017

CyndiLouWho said:
We stayed at POR last year. It is lovely. I used the 100k bonus from CSR for our trip to Disneyland next month. Last fall we took a trip to DisneyWorld on SPG bonus at Dolphin hotel & flight with SW bonus. So far, two Disney trips with sign up bonuses.
I did look for trips to Hawaii with the CSR bonus but was no where near enough miles from the Midwest. But we love WDW and I'm already looking at a trip for next spring. Already bought WDW tickets (helped reach our spend for AA card) & will likely get another SPG Amex for another stay at Dolphin.

So glad to hear you enjoyed POR. My SIL and BIL will be staying there next week also. I"m looking forward to it. We have a trip scheduled for early June and plan to schedule our next one to coincide with our son's Mardi Gras break or Easter Break next year. My intention is to upgrade our 7 day park hopper tickets to APs when we go in June. DH said if we do that, he'd be open to doing another trip for our son's fall break this year also. That makes me very happy, as this type of trip is really ideal for us right now. We really loved our first trip to Disney and would love to do it over and over. We live in Louisiana, so we're close to Florida which makes driving a breeze. Of course if we can get CP soon, we'll definitely utilize that as well. I figure there's always plenty more years for me to try to venture out and do different types of trips once I really get this all figured out and make sure I can manage it all. So far so good. Eventually I'd like to check out the Swan or Dolphin. I've heard such great things about both.

The only problem I'm encountering right now is with my booking number for the resort. I booked yesterday, then tried to link the booking to MDE. The system said the hotel confirmation number in my email is not a valid Disney booking number. I tried calling Chase UR last night, but was told the confirmation number I was provided is the only number they have for the booking and they recommended I call Disney to ask about this. I called and the CM told me Chase has to give me a number that can be converted to a Disney booking number. I'm super confused with this. I ended up sending an SM to Chase about it to see if they can help me that way. I received a response asking me to call in to speak with someone to figure this out. The number they provided in this message is different from the number I called before. Hoping someone will be able to help me with this when I call today. I really want to get the booking linked in MDE.

calypso726 · Feb 23, 2017

mhartman09 said:
The only problem I'm encountering right now is with my booking number for the resort. I booked yesterday, then tried to link the booking to MDE. The system said the hotel confirmation number in my email is not a valid Disney booking number. I tried calling Chase UR last night, but was told the confirmation number I was provided is the only number they have for the booking and they recommended I call Disney to ask about this. I called and the CM told me Chase has to give me a number that can be converted to a Disney booking number. I'm super confused with this. I ended up sending an SM to Chase about it to see if they can help me that way. I received a response asking me to call in to speak with someone to figure this out. The number they provided in this message is different from the number I called before. Hoping someone will be able to help me with this when I call today. I really want to get the booking linked in MDE.

I went through the same thing when we booked the Tivoli hotel in Copenhagen through Chase UR. The hotel couldn't find my reservation and the booking number was a number issued by Chase UR not by he hotel. I wound up having to call and email a reservation manager at the Tivoli so they could find our reservation and printed out the email exchanges in case there was an issue. I am not sure how that would work with UR/Disney/MDE. Keep playing HUCA until you get the right person with the right info to get it sorted out for you.

wendow · Feb 23, 2017

@mhartman09 I think your use of your points is awesome! We will be using ours similarly

Please post after your get the confirmation number stuff figured out. I am interested in how that all works booking through UR.

Aanna · Feb 23, 2017

mhartman09 said:
The only problem I'm encountering right now is with my booking number for the resort. I booked yesterday, then tried to link the booking to MDE. The system said the hotel confirmation number in my email is not a valid Disney booking number. I tried calling Chase UR last night, but was told the confirmation number I was provided is the only number they have for the booking and they recommended I call Disney to ask about this. I called and the CM told me Chase has to give me a number that can be converted to a Disney booking number. I'm super confused with this. I ended up sending an SM to Chase about it to see if they can help me that way. I received a response asking me to call in to speak with someone to figure this out. The number they provided in this message is different from the number I called before. Hoping someone will be able to help me with this when I call today. I really want to get the booking linked in MDE.

calypso726 said:
I went through the same thing when we booked the Tivoli hotel in Copenhagen through Chase UR. The hotel couldn't find my reservation and the booking number was a number issued by Chase UR not by he hotel. I wound up having to call and email a reservation manager at the Tivoli so they could find our reservation and printed out the email exchanges in case there was an issue. I am not sure how that would work with UR/Disney/MDE. Keep playing HUCA until you get the right person with the right info to get it sorted out for you.

This is a bit concerning: I just booked our pre-cruise Barcelona hotel through Chase UR... I'd hate to get to the hotel at 8:30 at night and find out that they didn't have our reservation. Was it that the reservation did not exist on the hotel side, or that there was difficulty finding it by Chase's ressie number?

Aanna · Feb 23, 2017

CyndiLouWho said:
We stayed at POR last year. It is lovely. I used the 100k bonus from CSR for our trip to Disneyland next month. Last fall we took a trip to DisneyWorld on SPG bonus at Dolphin hotel & flight with SW bonus. So far, two Disney trips with sign up bonuses.
I did look for trips to Hawaii with the CSR bonus but was no where near enough miles from the Midwest. But we love WDW and I'm already looking at a trip for next spring. Already bought WDW tickets (helped reach our spend for AA card) & will likely get another SPG Amex for another stay at Dolphin.

Did you check booking Delta through Korean Air? I was able to book my family at 25,000 UR each for round trip economy that way. I think I booked around Thanksgiving for our end of January Hawaii trip. The tickets from New York would have cost around $900 each otherwise.

mhartman09 · Feb 23, 2017

calypso726 said:
I went through the same thing when we booked the Tivoli hotel in Copenhagen through Chase UR. The hotel couldn't find my reservation and the booking number was a number issued by Chase UR not by he hotel. I wound up having to call and email a reservation manager at the Tivoli so they could find our reservation and printed out the email exchanges in case there was an issue. I am not sure how that would work with UR/Disney/MDE. Keep playing HUCA until you get the right person with the right info to get it sorted out for you.

wendow said:
@mhartman09 I think your use of your points is awesome! We will be using ours similarly Please post after your get the confirmation number stuff figured out. I am interested in how that all works booking through UR.

Aanna said:
This is a bit concerning: I just booked our pre-cruise Barcelona hotel through Chase UR... I'd hate to get to the hotel at 8:30 at night and find out that they didn't have our reservation. Was it that the reservation did not exist on the hotel side, or that there was difficulty finding it by Chase's ressie number?

I'll definitely post as I get more info on this. I was able to find one post over on reddit from several months ago where someone booked DW through Chase UR and had to call Chase to get the Disney reservation number. The CM I spoke to last night told me the hotel confirmation number I received from Chase was nothing close to an actual Disney confirmation number. The number I received is 9 digits dash 12 digits. She said that's far off from a Disney number. She told me to call Chase back and explain the situation, but if they couldn't not help me she wanted me to call Disney back again to be transferred to Guest Relations and get this all sorted out. I found it odd that she didn't try to look up the reservation using my other details to let me know whether or not it was even showing on their end. Maybe I should have pushed hard for that, but it was pretty late when I called. I suppose if Chase is unable to help today, when I call Disney again I'll ask them to at least try and pull the reservation using my other details. It would seem if the booking is there, Disney should have access to it through their side. Here's to hoping I can get a quick resolution.

calypso726 · Feb 23, 2017

Aanna said:
This is a bit concerning: I just booked our pre-cruise Barcelona hotel through Chase UR... I'd hate to get to the hotel at 8:30 at night and find out that they didn't have our reservation. Was it that the reservation did not exist on the hotel side, or that there was difficulty finding it by Chase's ressie number?

Our reservation was there they just couldn't find it with the number Chase gave me. It took a few phone calls and emails but all was fine.

I love credit cards so much!

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