I love credit cards so much!

[StephPlum]

I don’t mind them because their flights are so cheap. Just go in with really low expectations. We’ve had a flight delayed for hours before leaving Orlando. We’ve also been told they oversold the flight by 7 passengers before so 7 people had to volunteer to not go on the plane. We swore never again but we continue to fly with them because it’s so cheap.

Oversells happen on almost every airline, though I don't remember on any of my SW flights.

I also got an email with flight numbers changing (but no time change). Very rare and weird!

I had that last year but I think Hurricane Irma was the reason as they were moving things around to get caught up. We flew the 2nd day the airport was fully open.

 

[Ava]

that usually means that want verification. talk to them.

If it's a personal card and it's your app what are you concerned with? Recon is brutal if you're doing a biz app, but not for personal apps. I had an extensive-ish personal recon and he walked through everything I put on the app but that was pretty much it. I'd go ahead and say hi to the person and tell them you're calling to find out the status of your Marriott Premier Plus app.

I talked to a woman yesterday and all she did was verify the address I listed on the application, then tell me it was still pending and it could take up to 30 days for a decision. She didn't seem willing to discuss the application with me any further. That was only one day after I applied, though. I'll give it until Monday, then call & ask if they will walk through the application with me to see if they need any more information. I just hate talking on the phone, lol.

 

[afan]

I have pics on a phone somewhere of the Discovery flying low over my job when they brought it in to Udvar-Hazy!

That museum is great! I went last year and we did a docent tour, which I think is the best way to do the museums and stuff in DC if you can make it work.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Well, I tried to help my dad get CIP #2 today referred by mom. Last time I helped my mom go for this she was solidly denied and we found out JCP had transitioned her old store card to a "new" credit card putting her over 5/24, no hope. I'm SO hoping it goes better for them this time. (Churning for/with fam is stressful but I know how much enjoyment they get out of their UR points so I keep trying to help.) Last time we called the status line a few mins after mom's cip#2 app and it had changed to 7-10 days super fast because of the 5/24 denial so now I'm scared to have Dad call- don't want unexpected bad news. Fingers crossed!!

 

[GusGus16]

You will be fine with SW. I've flown them since I was 7yo, and seriously never had any kind of problem at all (maybe an hour delay at most...ever!). They've been so accommodating over the years when we needed to get in to Orlando early cause there was a hurricane going to disrupt flights, or in the case of Irma, we had to move flights to get out early. We've accidentally booked a kid on a different flight and didn't realize until the week before and they moved her, no change in fee despite a much higher fare at that time. I love SW!

Now, Frontier...oh my...I only fly Frontier if I have to. They have changed our flights by hours the night before and not even contacted us. We've been delayed for 9+ hours with them and received no communication. If you are used to Frontier, you'll find SW a breath of fresh air

To echo, I love southwest and have flown more than 20 flights with them in the last few years, and only have ever had a flight moved maybe a half an hour later than original take off time a couple times, never cancelled outright and then placed on a different flight...that is why this morning's situation was so weird, hoping to hear back from SW in regards to why they moved us to an obviously inferior flight. I have always had good interactions with SW agents and typically they seem to put passengers first.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I talked to a woman yesterday and all she did was verify the address I listed on the application, then tell me it was still pending and it could take up to 30 days for a decision. She didn't seem willing to discuss the application with me any further. That was only one day after I applied, though. I'll give it until Monday, then call & ask if they will walk through the application with me to see if they need any more information. I just hate talking on the phone, lol.

Ahh, yeah your app is still processing then. Enjoy the weekend! (And you can enjoy watching me squirm about calling the status line instead now.)

 

[amalone1013]

I'm checking Universal Orlando ticket prices. Checking LMT and Undercover Tourist... anywhere else I should check?

 

[miztressuz]

Thank you!! I don't think I am going to go for the CIP again.. I was already sort of uncomfortable with the business side of it and I think I'll just get my feet wet with some personal cards first and re-evaulate in a year or so. So my credit line currently with Chase is 30% of my income, but I can easily reduce the Disney Visa line anyway as I never would ever use that much. I'll go ahead and do that, and also dispute the AU accounts to get them removed off my credit report ASAP.

So then my last remaining question is, do I go for the CSR alone now so that I can use it for my DVC rental, or do I put the DVC rental on another card, wait the 31 days and then try and double dip the CSR/CSP. That's $8K which I can easily do with all the furniture I need to buy. I guess I am just questioning the value of the double dip.. its nice to have the double sign up bonus but then you don't really need both cards right? Can you downgrade the CSP to a CFU or CU?

Correct, other than the bonus I see no value in having both Sapphires. As a keeper card you'd only want one or the other depending on your travel needs. You can downgrade either to a CF or CFU later.

That's a tough decision Having both bonuses is pretty sweet. The bonus for a CF or CFU is only 15000 (17,500 if you can add an AU) in comparison. If it were me I'd probably risk it and wait until I could do the double dip. But then again, I did the double dip myself so I might be biased

The CSR has a minimum approval amount of a 10k credit limit and the CSP is 5k. So you'd want to make sure you have enough room CL wise for that. I was roughly 30% of CL to income before the double dip. They gave me a crazy high CL on the CSR first and then gave me the minimum CL on the CSP, both through instant approvals. After those cards I was 61% CL to income so I reached a threshold with Chase. I reduced limits and applied for another Chase card since then and I'm back to about 60% again.

 

[afan]

I'm checking Universal Orlando ticket prices. Checking LMT and Undercover Tourist... anywhere else I should check?

Tickets at work if you have access. The last time we went to UO it was actually the best price for the 2 day 2 park. I have access through my sorority, it's one of our membership perks, or at least it was, so it doesn't have to be through your work necessarily.

 

[amalone1013]

Just as a datapoint... I was a bad person and didn't call Discover after they froze my savings account... I can get into it today. I'll have to try a transfer.

 

[Lain]

Ugh, I just called the Chase status line and it transferred me to a person again! I just hung up this time but I wonder if my SSN is now flagged or something and I'll get transferred every time I try to call in. I guess I just have to be patient and wait for an e-mail about my Marriott Premier Plus app.

If you’re approved, your new card should automatically show up in your personal Chase online account. Just log in periodically to check if you don’t want to call. Good luck!

 

[spacerangerqueen]

Tickets at work if you have access. The last time we went to UO it was actually the best price for the 2 day 2 park. I have access through my sorority, it's one of our membership perks, or at least it was, so it doesn't have to be through your work necessarily.

I second this. I bought my Universal AP through Tickets at Work. It was slightly cheaper than AAA (another place to check if you have it). I also just saw some on the UR portal.

 

[Calfan]

I thought GC were excluded? We need some for Disney, but other than getting a Visa GC, I don't think any they sell can be converted. DH would be happy with Starbucks though!

Technically yes, and in reality Amazon gift cards are excluded most (but not all) of the time. The best way to see is to put it in your cart and start the checkout process. If you see the discount being taken off after you apply the 1 MR point then you're good to go, you don't need to complete the checkout process just do it up to the point where you say you want to pay with a point.

We used the deal to pay $400 for $500 worth of Whole Foods gift cards last week. I thought it was just Amazon gift cards that were excluded.

I can be the DP. I got in early on the promo when it dropped and generally followed it through the "evolution" as Amazon probably caught on to what people were buying (i.e. Amazon GCs). When it dropped, I was able to buy $400 of Amazon GCs and $100 Whole Foods for $400.

Then, when word came out that the promo was working a second time for the same account (presumably after Amazon had to perhaps rewrite a few things once they caught on to the "scheme" ), I went in again and was able to get another $300 of third party GCs (SB and Whole Foods again) with the 20% promo applied AGAIN and using the Amazon GCs I bought from the first time Since I didn't use the full $500 max (I have a hoard of GCs and no matter what the deal was, I didn't need THAT many GCs I thought at the time), and as I was reading some more, others started reporting the promo appeared to be cumulative, I figured I'd give it another try (nothing to lose), I figured I could give my mom some WF GCs since she loves shopping there. I bought the remaining $200 in WF GCs again, but this time, it was hard coded that I couldn't apply my Amazon GCs anymore, BUT the promo applied again. I made a last test purchase just to see if it was capped, and surely, $100 was max, but to churn the first set of Amazon GCs and utilize the 20% twice and on a cumulative basis.

I was able to trigger both promos by purchasing Albertsons gift cards with the Amazon gift card balance in my account. I was out of the country on vacation when the promos were first announced, so I was kind of clueless and just clicked through links on the blogs. The first purchase I did was a $100 Albertsons gc that triggered the $30 off $60 promo. So the total showed up in my cart as $70, and I paid with my Amazon gc balance. Just a couple of days ago, I purchased five $100 Albertsons gift cards, again using the Amazon gift card balance in my account. That showed up in my cart as owing $400. In between the two transactions, I had purchased Amazon gift cards at Walgreens with my CF to replenish my Amazon gc balance.

Has anyone heard anything about not receiving SPG points on purchases between June 24-29? When I look online, I don't see any points for purchases during that time period, but starting June 30th I'm seeing them for recent purchases. I hope this isn't like what happened at the beginning of April, because although it's now July (when they said I'd receive the points), I still don't have my points from purchases made April 3rd.

Nothing on June, but I am still waiting for my missing points from the April time period when points weren't crediting ): I am giving it one more billing cycle and then will contact Amex again.

You will be fine with SW. I've flown them since I was 7yo, and seriously never had any kind of problem at all (maybe an hour delay at most...ever!). They've been so accommodating over the years when we needed to get in to Orlando early cause there was a hurricane going to disrupt flights, or in the case of Irma, we had to move flights to get out early. We've accidentally booked a kid on a different flight and didn't realize until the week before and they moved her, no change in fee despite a much higher fare at that time. I love SW!

Now, Frontier...oh my...I only fly Frontier if I have to. They have changed our flights by hours the night before and not even contacted us. We've been delayed for 9+ hours with them and received no communication. If you are used to Frontier, you'll find SW a breath of fresh air

While I love SW too and fly them a lot, just a caution that big delays on SW do happen, depending on your route. There is a Friday evening non-stop from Boise to Oakland that is delayed about 50% of the time. The worst experience I had was trying to get to the Bay Area to join my parents and sister for a birthday dinner for my sister, and my scheduled 6pm flight left after 9pm. I had a colleague trying to get to Las Vegas on SW that same night (the Boise airport is another small one, so we bumped into each other multiple times), and he never got out after hours of delays. They ended up cancelling his flight.

Started listing the rest of my pile of things on Ebay... that buyer accusing me of outrageous shipping ended up contacting Ebay to cancel her bid.

Anyways, last year I bought one of the Disney Dooneys for myself. Lots of people were having orders cancelled for that bag, so I ended up buying it for $275 through the Shop Disney site and $215 through the Shop Parks app with my AP discount. I ended up receiving both of my orders. They were going to charge me $30+ to send back the extra one, and I was busy so I let it sit and figured I'd sell it online instead because it was so popular.

Imagine my surprise when I pull up similar listings this morning and it's selling for $400-$500 I almost feel bad...

I had this same thing happen with a DCL Dooney tote that I bought a number of years ago. While I loved it, I just didn't find myself using it because it was too big and heavy to use as a purse, and I didn't want to use it as a beach bag because of the material and not wanting it to get wet. So I ended up selling it on eBay for more than the original purchase price, which is a first for me on eBay (just selling stuff out of my closet that I no longer use).

 

[amalone1013]

Why are Universal tickets so expensive? It's probably mostly because our tickets were $0 out of pocket thanks to UR points.

I was looking at the 2 days plus 1 day free tickets on Undercover Tourist, I guess I've been secretly hoping AMEX would have a $30 off offer for them. Last year we debated doing Halloween Horror Nights and decided not to on top of everything else, so we were looking at that this year... $93pp for one night, or for $102pp we could do both nights and even part of the 3rd night, which is when we switch to Disney... Want Express Pass? That will be $106 each for one night, thanks!

I guess this makes up for saving the $1k on Disney tickets with points!

ETA: All of these prices are for 2 adults, so it's total savings NOT per ticket.

So far LMT has beat out Perks at Work by $15 on 2 day and 3 day, and UCT by $25 on 2 day tickets. But 3 day tickets are $3 less on UCT than anywhere else. Going to check AAA and UR portal next.

UR portal is coming up about $10-$20 more than Universal directly.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Started listing the rest of my pile of things on Ebay... that buyer accusing me of outrageous shipping ended up contacting Ebay to cancel her bid.

Anyways, last year I bought one of the Disney Dooneys for myself. Lots of people were having orders cancelled for that bag, so I ended up buying it for $275 through the Shop Disney site and $215 through the Shop Parks app with my AP discount. I ended up receiving both of my orders. They were going to charge me $30+ to send back the extra one, and I was busy so I let it sit and figured I'd sell it online instead because it was so popular.

Imagine my surprise when I pull up similar listings this morning and it's selling for $400-$500 I almost feel bad...

Don’t feel bad..lol eBay and PayPal will take their fees..and if it’s the large Dooney the shipping may be high due to the size of the box you’ll need....also not sure if your looking at active listings or actual sales ...usually best to look at sales that have ended

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I don’t mind them because their flights are so cheap. Just go in with really low expectations. We’ve had a flight delayed for hours before leaving Orlando. We’ve also been told they oversold the flight by 7 passengers before so 7 people had to volunteer to not go on the plane. We swore never again but we continue to fly with them because it’s so cheap.

Thanks for the info...as long as I’ve got the miles and CP sounds like I should stick with SW

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Just entered 2 player mode! We met the spend on my CIP and the 80,000 bonus points are listed under earnings on next statement. So I was able to convince DH to apply for one too. He did yesterday, got the 30 day message. I called the line this morning and it said he was approved!!! Woo Hoo!

Congrats...

 

[vanjust14]

I'm checking Universal Orlando ticket prices. Checking LMT and Undercover Tourist... anywhere else I should check?

If you could let me know what you find I'd appreciate it. I checked UT but couldn't log in to LMT to check their prices for some reason.

ETA: just saw your post with your findings, thanks!

 

[amalone1013]

If you could let me know what you find I'd appreciate it. I checked UT but couldn't log in to LMT to check their prices for some reason.

ETA: just saw your post with your findings, thanks!

I can add the actual adult prices if you'd like

 

[amalone1013]

@vanjust14

2 Adults, 3 day 2 park P2P tickets/2 day 2 park P2P tickets

Universal Direct: $607.04/$564.43
LMT: $544.66/$545.54
UCT: both $541.90 (2 days plus 1 free offer, so same price)
Perks at Work: $560.24/$530.29 (earn $10ish in rewards on this site)
UR portal: $617/$584
AAA: $607.04/$564.46