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

There was some discussion about this some time ago but it kind of went away: what's the latest on using the BILT card to pay mortgage?
 
afan said:
Home! Well arrivals waiting for my mom and Tux to pick me up.

Unpopular opinion around many places but aside from Disneyland, I don't care if I ever go back. Not my vibe and I did have fun but I also didn't always. Not being solo maybe would have helped a small bit but not really.
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Glad you made it home safely. It's always interesting what others love and you realize you don't and that's okay (I'm firmly in the you can't pay me enough to return to Japan camp lol). The beauty of travel is that there's a great big beautiful world out there and the even greater beauty of our hobby is that we do it at a reduced cost so hopefully you're not out much, cost wise. I'm sure your mom and Tux are happy to see you! Welcome home😃
 
I think I messed up (or got unlucky). I went ahead and used my Amex Plat to purchase from Saks while they were having their 10x thru Rakuten. It was TWO items that totaled $60+. However, they shipped separately and thus billed separately. So I think it won't trigger my $50 credit. I guess I need to purchase 1 single item that is at least $50?

EDIT: LOL, got the credits pending today. It was 2 credits, one for each charged amount. NVM.
 
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CyndiLouWho said:
You can do a lot in 2 days but definitely would get Genie + and expect to pay for Lightening Lane. Our absolute fave is Cars Land and Radiator Springs Racers ride. Its basically Test Track with Lightning McQueen and friends as the cars and racing through a canyon. We like to do it day and night as it looks so different but it's super popular and lines are long so definitely Lightening Lane. As for hotel, we have never stayed on property there. With the exception of Grand Californian resort, the DR resorts are a farther walk than the local hotels which are across the street (and can be booked through the UR portal). Grand Californian is $$$$ and beautiful but not being rich, I've never been able to afford it.
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Thanks. We will definitely get G+ & ILL. We always do at WDW also, I hate the extra cost for it, but it always ends up being worth it to us and we haven't missed out on any rides yet since we do have it. I am most excited about Cars Land, which is the biggest reason I want to go to DL. I know we won't make it to DL often just because it's just too easy for us to get a flight to go to WDW, plus having DVC & AP makes it a no brainer. I will look at booking through the UR portal. I have just been collecting UR's with no intended place to redeem them yet so that might be perfect.
 
FreeDiningFanatic said:
Ive flown from the midwest to Hawaii on SW and it was fine. I would do it again, especially since you have that promo and CP.
I would for sure price out DL before getting too far down that rabbit hole. I recall someone recently posting that one or two days in the park was cost prohibitive for them. Hawaii food can be so, so expensive. Could be two expensive trips in one...
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Oh my. I haven't even looked at pricing it out. I guess in my mind, I just pictured it being more cost friendly than WDW since it's smaller. But it is California, so that might factor into it. I was just thinking since we would be in the neighborhood, it would be an easy cost efficient visit there. I have heard about Hawaii food prices being high. This really is all overwhelming to me branching out and going somewhere new. I am a creature of habit.
 
calypso726 said:
Yes. This is absolutely doable. As previously mentioned, there are some attractions in DL with the same name as one in WDW but quite different in experience. POTC has a completely different scene at the end in DL that WDW does not have. The beginning is a different experience as well. It's a must do for us when we head to the left coast parks.




We have mostly used DVC to try and snag GC at the 7 month mark and have been successful more often than not. Plenty of hotels to choose from nearby. Hyatt and Marriott properties that can be had with points.

I think 2 days using Genie Plus and Lightning Lanes is a fair amount of time to make it worthwhile. The majority of our DL trips have been for 2 days in the parks.

Recently we made an impromptu trip to DL for just a few hours due to a long layover in LAX. We didn't get to the park until after 11 am. DH said he didn't think we would be able to do much. I said to DH if we can get on Mission Breakout and nothing else, I would be happy. We left around 6 pm. We still managed to do Radiator Springs Racers as single riders, Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Incredicoaster, Webslingers and watch a few shows in Avengers Campus. This was on a Sunday in June. We also wound up meeting up with some FB friends we'd met on a cruise some years back and saw we were there and chit chatted with them for a while as well. We ate lunch at Flo's. Our pace was very leisurely and we had no real plans. I was kind of surprised at how much we were able to do.
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Thanks for that info. That gives me lots of confidence that we can make this happen and have a good experience at DL. I love to make itineraries and my family laughs at me, but more often than not, we have gotten a lot accomplished over the years on our trips because I plan so well. POTC is one of my faves at WDW, so I can't wait to ride at DL.

On a side note, I booked a conference for my coworkers, 4 rooms for 4 nights each (around $4200 total). I booked it on my Marriott account. Fingers crossed, I will get the points for their stay, which will be nice to use toward our DL hotel. They all checked out yesterday and the app says the points will be in my account within 72 hours. I sure hope so!!

I have transferred UR's for Hyatt MCO recently, which was a nice tip I learned here and saved me some money.

Also, I must say I always enjoy reading about your adventures on the Dis. You get a lot done and go so many places!
 
I'm on my 4th experience with a defrauded $500 vgc from a Kroger store. Ugh. And I had to send in my documentation via fax instead of just uploading to a website (I tried to go the online route but got errored out). Double ugh. Fortunately I have a combo printer/scanner/fax machine from Dell (thanks Biz Amex) but it's still annoying. We have a "land line" (it's actually a VOIP service with Ooma) so I was able to do the actual faxing from home. If things go like they have in the past, I should be getting a replacement one with my name imprinted in a month or two. Just sharing in case anyone ever wonders about having this happen to them.
 
magickingdomprincess said:
How long after closing a Chase biz card is it safe to apply for a new one without them reopening the old one? Or does that not apply to Inks? I have 2 CIC's and 2 CIU's and I'd like to close one before applying for a new CIU in a few weeks when I'm back under 5/24. Trying to decide which to close. Thanks!
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Wow, that never crossed my mind. Closed one of DH's CICs on Aug 27 (just looked at the SM to check the date), he was just approved for a new CIP yesterday. So that was 3 weeks exactly!

I guess in my mind (no data) I would not close a CIU and then reapply so soon for a CIU, maybe close one of the CIC's?
 
disneylover81 said:
Oh my. I haven't even looked at pricing it out. I guess in my mind, I just pictured it being more cost friendly than WDW since it's smaller. But it is California, so that might factor into it. I was just thinking since we would be in the neighborhood, it would be an easy cost efficient visit there. I have heard about Hawaii food prices being high. This really is all overwhelming to me branching out and going somewhere new. I am a creature of habit.
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Being able to use points or pay less for a room and still walk to the parks is huge and affects the cost for sure. But DLR ticket prices are just as bad as WDW. One advantage is you can still buy genie with your tickets there instead of day of.

My 4 single day tickets at TDL were less than my 3 day hopper with genie at DLR the beginning of Aug. It was 495 which is insane.
 
afan said:
Being able to use points or pay less for a room and still walk to the parks is huge and affects the cost for sure. But DLR ticket prices are just as bad as WDW. One advantage is you can still buy genie with your tickets there instead of day of.

My 4 single day tickets at TDL were less than my 3 day hopper with genie at DLR the beginning of Aug. It was 495 which is insane.
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You are right. Location makes a huge difference. I LOVE being able to walk to MK when we stay at VGF or BLT (I don't love the BLT rooms, but the points cost and how close to MK it is helps me to overlook that). But I do love the walkway to GF, even though it's a little longer than BLT.

Ticket prices have gotten to be insane, especially on a shorter visit. I was so glad when we were finally able to buy DVC AP's this year. I know I have gotten my money's worth out of it, where before when we didn't have an AP, we didn't go to WDW but once a year. I have been 3 times this year so far and trying to convince DH to go one more around Christmas time. He's not agreeing so far since we can't use our AP's the week between Christmas and New Year's, which is when we would both be off work without having to ask off work. I just want to go on a quick Thurs-Sun trip maybe the week before . . .

I am all about saving a dollar, even if I have to work for it. Most people in my circle of family and friends, would rather pay full price for something then to go take a few extra steps and save some money. For instance, we went on a Carnival cruise for my sister's 40th birthday in July. Well I done found out I could join AARP for $12, purchase it through Rakuten for $8 cash back, and then I also had a Chase offer for $8 off of that - so in the end I made money for joining, plus they had $500 Carnival gift cards for $450. So I bought 3 of them to cover the cost of my cruise, giving me a free $150! I was stoked and I was telling my sister that she should do the same thing and she looked at me like I was an alien and said naw, I will just pay for it cause that's a lot of work. It wasn't even that much work. I don't get it. But then that's the same sister that asks me how I can afford to keep going on all these vacations . . .
 
disneylover81 said:
You are right. Location makes a huge difference. I LOVE being able to walk to MK when we stay at VGF or BLT (I don't love the BLT rooms, but the points cost and how close to MK it is helps me to overlook that). But I do love the walkway to GF, even though it's a little longer than BLT.

Ticket prices have gotten to be insane, especially on a shorter visit. I was so glad when we were finally able to buy DVC AP's this year. I know I have gotten my money's worth out of it, where before when we didn't have an AP, we didn't go to WDW but once a year. I have been 3 times this year so far and trying to convince DH to go one more around Christmas time. He's not agreeing so far since we can't use our AP's the week between Christmas and New Year's, which is when we would both be off work without having to ask off work. I just want to go on a quick Thurs-Sun trip maybe the week before . . .

I am all about saving a dollar, even if I have to work for it. Most people in my circle of family and friends, would rather pay full price for something then to go take a few extra steps and save some money. For instance, we went on a Carnival cruise for my sister's 40th birthday in July. Well I done found out I could join AARP for $12, purchase it through Rakuten for $8 cash back, and then I also had a Chase offer for $8 off of that - so in the end I made money for joining, plus they had $500 Carnival gift cards for $450. So I bought 3 of them to cover the cost of my cruise, giving me a free $150! I was stoked and I was telling my sister that she should do the same thing and she looked at me like I was an alien and said naw, I will just pay for it cause that's a lot of work. It wasn't even that much work. I don't get it. But then that's the same sister that asks me how I can afford to keep going on all these vacations . . .
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Ha, I get the "how do you afford all of these vacations" question from family members all the time. I tell them the vacation budget hasn't increased, but the cost efficiency has thanks to CC points and knowing how to maximize them. But I still look like an alien to them... haha

I'll third the location comment. We love BLT for the same reasons you mentioned, and like the spaciousness of the 1BRs. But mostly it's the proximity! Can't wait for those rooms to get their refurbs, though.

ETA: at Disneyland, the onsite hotels are about BLT's distance. Then there are the ones across the street that are even closer to the main gates. I don't know how Disney hasn't managed to buy those properties all these years. Such prime real estate!
 
Duckbug.Ducktales said:
Ha, I get the "how do you afford all of these vacations" question from family members all the time. I tell them the vacation budget hasn't increased, but the cost efficiency has thanks to CC points and knowing how to maximize them. But I still look like an alien to them... haha

I'll third the location comment. We love BLT for the same reasons you mentioned, and like the spaciousness of the 1BRs. But mostly it's the proximity! Can't wait for those rooms to get their refurbs, though.

ETA: at Disneyland, the onsite hotels are about BLT's distance. Then there are the ones across the street that are even closer to the main gates. I don't know how Disney hasn't managed to buy those properties all these years. Such prime real estate!
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I am happy to look like an alien to them while I am living my best life on vacation and they are stuck at work!!! That's why I feel like I fit in on the Dis. It's great to have people that understand me and also can help me travel for less OOP. Just in the last year or so, we got CSP and 2 SWA cards to maximize our traveling budget. In that same time we have bought 2 DVC contracts using our new CSP for cash back, and we have earned SWA CP until the end of 2024. We have also been able to get the DVC AP's! All of this was possible for us because of all the tips and tricks I learned from you guys!

I can't wait for BLT to get a refurb too. When we went for Labor Day, we had the opportunity to book there in a 1 BR and I almost did since it had the second bathroom (and I could have saved some points), but DH didn't want his brother sleeping on a sofa bed so we kept our 2 BR at BCV. We thought BCV was okay, but it just didn't do it for us. We are MK resort people and I wanted to branch out and try an EPCOT resort, but we both figured out really quick, we are MK resort people. I do want to try out all of the DVC resorts over time, but I don't think they'll make me as happy as the MK resorts.

I am glad to know the DL resorts are so close to the gate. I do look forward to going to DL. When it's closer to time for booking reservations, I will definitely need some tips on the best hotels. I hope to be able to book with transferring UR's to Hyatt or maybe Marriott points.
 
disneylover81 said:
I was telling my sister that she should do the same thing and she looked at me like I was an alien and said naw, I will just pay for it cause that's a lot of work.
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I think we have the same sister. My sister won't even get a cashback cc because her husband likes debit cards and if she had her own card she'd have to log in and pay it herself. 😱

disneylover81 said:
I am glad to know the DL resorts are so close to the gate. I do look forward to going to DL. When it's closer to time for booking reservations, I will definitely need some tips on the best hotels. I hope to be able to book with transferring UR's to Hyatt or maybe Marriott points.
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The closest 'hotels' to DLR are motels built in the 50s. If you're super picky, you probably won't like them but Best Western has a couple decent ones very close. There is a Marriott which is pretty walkable but at the end of the night when my feet are killing me, I felt like walking that far was torture. 😂 Anything else is too far for me. Plus it made it super easy to go back for a break if we needed one (last year we went and it was pretty hot plus I had broken my shoulder and was in a big black sling, so we took an afternoon break every day.) Look on Google maps and you'll see the line of motels/hotels right across the street to get an idea of distances.
 
Expressing similar sentiments as above. My family all thinks we're "rich" because we take all these vacations. I try to tell them we use cc points, our travel budget has not increased, etc. and they think it's an absolute crock. They think we are secretly "hiding money", lol. Meanwhile, I've tried to help them before get into the cc/points games, and these same family members either left bills unpaid, made late payments, didn't pay off in full, left cc's with AFs open for years, etc. after advising them of everything they needed to do, in detail, with reminders! They let 160,000 AA points just "expire", and when the points were recently expired I told them to call in and ask about reinstating them and they said "that's too much work". They will use debit card for everything, and honestly it drives me insane!

I refuse to even help anyone anymore with the points game. I've told people they will have to learn themselves because of getting burned/blamed by my family for "messing up their credit score". *sigh* Those in my friend group don't really understand the whole points thing either except for one couple, so I really feel like there's no one to talk to about good redemptions, sign up bonuses, meeting MSRs, etc. You guys are my lifeline and my venting space for all things credit, haha.
 
disneylover81 said:
Thanks for that info. That gives me lots of confidence that we can make this happen and have a good experience at DL. I love to make itineraries and my family laughs at me, but more often than not, we have gotten a lot accomplished over the years on our trips because I plan so well. POTC is one of my faves at WDW, so I can't wait to ride at DL.

On a side note, I booked a conference for my coworkers, 4 rooms for 4 nights each (around $4200 total). I booked it on my Marriott account. Fingers crossed, I will get the points for their stay, which will be nice to use toward our DL hotel. They all checked out yesterday and the app says the points will be in my account within 72 hours. I sure hope so!!

I have transferred UR's for Hyatt MCO recently, which was a nice tip I learned here and saved me some money.

Also, I must say I always enjoy reading about your adventures on the Dis. You get a lot done and go so many places!
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You are most welcome. POTC is one of my favorites and I definitely like the one at DL more than the one at WDW.

Oh wow! Nice job!

It really took me a long time to appreciate the UR/Hyatt fans but I am happy to be on the bandwagon. Better late than never.

Oh thanks! I am glad to know you enjoy them. I love reading about everyone's trips and experiences here. Some have inspired me to travel to places that weren't on my radar. I have appreciated that a great deal. I share in hope that it serves to inspire someone else in turn.
 
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