I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

[FloridaNative8]

Wooooo - caught up finally! Thank you @SouthFayetteFan for being a fantastic thread-keeper-upper!

Our 2020 plans:

March - WDW, staying at the Dolphin - CANCELLED (and wasn't able to get my AA points refunded even though the resort was shut down )
July - DL - CANCELLED - went to Sanibel instead and fell in LOVE with the place!
August - WDW, B Resort
September - WDW, Pop Century
November - WDW, CBR - Girls Weekend, supposed to be for W&D races but we still went and enjoyed the parks instead! @calypso726 - I actually saw you at Homecomin' during brunch one morning - I recognized that gorgeous hair of yours! Also, happy belated birthday (from a fellow Capricorn)!

2021 plans:

Jan - WDW, CBR
March - Spring Break cruise on RCCL - rescheduled to 2022 - still trying to figure out what we're going to do instead... may go to Destin to visit our old stomping grounds
May - I'm graduating from UCF! Only took me 20 years Will likely celebrate with a small trip somewhere
July - Maui, Grand Wailea for 5 nights - soooooooo hoping this happens
November - Girls Weekend trip for W&D (races or not!)
I'm sure there will be more WDW weekend trips sprinkled in, living an hour away has it's advantages!

I've said it before, this is really the greatest group in all the land. So helpful, kind, and inspiring! I hope that 2021 brings back travel and all the fun and memories that goes along with it!

 

[ski_mom]

Does anyone have a sense of how many biz cards Chase is allowing a person to hold now that they started issuing them again to SP?

I hold 2. Maybe people can give some numbers?

I have 3, but they were all obtained before 2020

 

[Disneyonmymind]

I have 3, but they were all obtained before 2020

I wonder if they would issue a 3rd or 4th card now, or if we would need to close a card first.

 

[disneyfan150]

New here! Thanks for the great thread! As a teacher, I have champagne tastes but a tap water budget. I am always on the lookout for a premium experience at a great price. My hobby is planning WDW trips. After reading this thread, my new hobby should be saving points for future travel.

We have a 2021 WDW summer trip planned. However, I am hoping to save for a 2022 vacation. It will hopefully be a cruise in the summer of 2022. Looking to cruise from a European departure port or just Miami if necessary. At the moment, I don't have more details as we are still throwing ideas around. We would probably cruise on Princess, Celebrity, RCL, or possibly MSC Yacht Club. Cruises are so iffy at the moment, I will save for a WDW trip as an alternative. I would be taking the cruise with my Mom and possibly college age DD and maybe even young adult DS. Mom would pay her portion of expenses.

-I can easily put $1400/mo. in expenses towards a SUB.
-As soon as I make a cc purchase, I transfer the money immediately.
I have no balance or interest payments. Presently, I use my bank cc for cash rewards. Each month I get my cash from the ATM machine and put it in my travel fund.
-I have used SW a great deal recently and fly out of Houston.
-I have only a few SW RR points left/redeemed for summer 2021 trip.
-I utilize HH.


My obvious question would be what is the best credit card for me?

Secondly, I have only read this updated thread. The question I am about to ask has probably been asked and answered many times. TIA to the person willing to respond! From reading the stickies on page 1, am I correct in thinking that it isn't possible to pay for a WDW onsite hotel with cc points?

Thank you for any help!

ETA: I have not opened any cc in the past 24 mo. at all.

 

[hsmamato2]

Welcome to my world. The ability to generate a support link has been down for weeks now. I even sent a SM to Chase asking about it. The response was unhelpful “system is currently down.” Others have suggested checking old emails to see if you were sent a support link. I’ve been waiting to apply hoping links would come back. Going to have to pull the trigger by Monday since I have some spend coming up. I’m planning to use a link on Dischurners if DH’s is still unavailable.

guess I'll do the same...

 

[WVMomof3]

Any thoughts on best airline/route from Pittsburgh to Hawaii? Ideally we'd fly into Maui. We can do SW but wow we would have a lot of stops! I've searched all the major airlines and it doesn't seem like there's an easy way to get there from PA, so looking for ideas on what others have done. Would love to plan a trip for Aug if DS's internship is over in time for us to squeeze in a trip before he and DD start their fall semesters. I've already booked GW for a week with Hilton 5th night free and 2 FNC in hopes that it works out.

Probably not the best at all, but our plans for October that were cancelled were to fly into San Francisco and spend a few days there before flying into Honolulu. On the way back we were going to just spend one night by the airport. Actually writing it out our plans were kind of crazy, lol. So feel free to ignore this. We were going to hit all 3 San Francisco area airports, just the way it worked out best. All of the flights were on Southwest because of our Companion Pass.
Pit-SFO - with layover in Denver
OAK- HNL
HNL-LIH
LIH- SJC
SJC - PIT - I think the layover was in Denver again

 

[djmeredith]

I used BIL's support link for my SW Performance app. He is going to close his personal card and apply for a Performance as well. Can I refer him from my personal SW? Or is "cross-referring" like that frowned upon?

 

[georgina]

Any thoughts on best airline/route from Pittsburgh to Hawaii? Ideally we'd fly into Maui. We can do SW but wow we would have a lot of stops! I've searched all the major airlines and it doesn't seem like there's an easy way to get there from PA, so looking for ideas on what others have done. Would love to plan a trip for Aug if DS's internship is over in time for us to squeeze in a trip before he and DD start their fall semesters. I've already booked GW for a week with Hilton 5th night free and 2 FNC in hopes that it works out.

We did it about 4 years ago, I'm sure the schedules are still reduced because of covid. Pretty sure we flew United. When I want to explore flights I go to expedia just to see what they come up with, looks like both United and American have some 1 stop options, which may or may not work for you.

 

[platamama]

I used BIL's support link for my SW Performance app. He is going to close his personal card and apply for a Performance as well. Can I refer him from my personal SW? Or is "cross-supporting" like that frowned upon?

The r-word is verboten here, so I fixed that in the quote. You can cross-support with no problem. He should make sure he gets his points first before he closes his account. I'm not sure when they will post, I imagine it will be at statement close.

 

[Minnie368]

Probably not the best at all, but our plans for October that were cancelled were to fly into San Francisco and spend a few days there before flying into Honolulu. On the way back we were going to just spend one night by the airport. Actually writing it out our plans were kind of crazy, lol. So feel free to ignore this. We were going to hit all 3 San Francisco area airports, just the way it worked out best. All of the flights were on Southwest because of our Companion Pass.
Pit-SFO - with layover in Denver
OAK- HNL
HNL-LIH
LIH- SJC
SJC - PIT - I think the layover was in Denver again

I keep going back to SW too because DH and I both have CP. So hard for me to book with another airline when we save so much that way! But looks like your route was going to be similar to what we're looking at, so maybe we're crazy too!!

We did it about 4 years ago, I'm sure the schedules are still reduced because of covid. Pretty sure we flew United. When I want to explore flights I go to expedia just to see what they come up with, looks like both United and American have some 1 stop options, which may or may not work for you.

You're right, it looks like United may be our easiest route to get there after looking further. We just have nothing with United- no reward points, no United credit cards, so flying United is totally new to us. Any suggestions on the best way to get there with points/transfer partners? We have a fair amount of UR and MR.

 

[platamama]

A question on using Hilton FNC - It has to be a "standard room," but how do you determine this? Do all standard rooms say "standard" on the Hilton website?

I came across this view when I was searching for where I'd like to use my Hilton FNC. I like that you can see how many points a Standard Room takes depending on the day. When using a FNC it doesn't matter how many points it costs, but I would feel more triumphant if I got a 60,000 point room vs. a 28,000 point room.


Select your hotel, and then select "Flexible Dates" to see that view.

 

[djmeredith]

The r-word is verboten here, so I fixed that in the quote. You can cross-support with no problem. He should make sure he gets his points first before he closes his account. I'm not sure when they will post, I imagine it will be at statement close.

Thanks for answering, and for letting me know about the "r-word" rule. I fixed it in my original post.

 

[570traveler]

Any thoughts on best airline/route from Pittsburgh to Hawaii? Ideally we'd fly into Maui. We can do SW but wow we would have a lot of stops! I've searched all the major airlines and it doesn't seem like there's an easy way to get there from PA, so looking for ideas on what others have done. Would love to plan a trip for Aug if DS's internship is over in time for us to squeeze in a trip before he and DD start their fall semesters. I've already booked GW for a week with Hilton 5th night free and 2 FNC in hopes that it works out.

We are in the same situation living in central PA. DH sister moved to Hawaii in June and we’d like to see her this summer. We would be flying to Honolulu. Southwest flies direct (well with 2 stops) from Regan but there’s no direct flights back. So we have to book a flight to CA then another flight home the next day.
This is our current plan. Dulles to San Jose to Honolulu the next day.
Return-Honolulu to San Jose to Dulles the next day.
Still researching other options...

 

[georgina]

I keep going back to SW too because DH and I both have CP. So hard for me to book with another airline when we save so much that way! But looks like your route was going to be similar to what we're looking at, so maybe we're crazy too!!

You're right, it looks like United may be our easiest route to get there after looking further. We just have nothing with United- no reward points, no United credit cards, so flying United is totally new to us. Any suggestions on the best way to get there with points/transfer partners? We have a fair amount of UR and MR.

It's fairly easy to book through the Chase website using URs. It's a pain if you have to change/cancel though, it all has to be done through Chase. I don't use MRs so know nothing about them!

If you want to use your SW CP I would look into what has been posted about including an overnight stay somewhere on the west coast. We had to spend an overnight each way in Ft Lauderdale when flying PIT to Aruba on SW.

 

[disfanforlife]

We aren't flying anytime soon, but I need to make a purchase through my husband's Rapid Rewards account before the end of this month to keep his 65K points. The problem is that I can't login. I know the RR account number and password (from a spreadsheet), but it doesn't work. Even the security question answers are wrong. Have any of you had to call because you couldn't login?

I thought that Rapid Rewards points did not expire anymore? Sorry no help about the log in but I would call or try to send an email.

 

[WVMomof3]

It's fairly easy to book through the Chase website using URs. It's a pain if you have to change/cancel though, it all has to be done through Chase. I don't use MRs so know nothing about them!

If you want to use your SW CP I would look into what has been posted about including an overnight stay somewhere on the west coast. We had to spend an overnight each way in Ft Lauderdale when flying PIT to Aruba on SW.

Are you excited to be closer to better airport options when you move?? That is something I told DH when we retire I would like to be closer to major airport (PIT is 1 1/2 hours for us and it is not the best, though I do like the convenience of their PP lounge! lol).

 

[georgina]

Are you excited to be closer to better airport options when you move?? That is something I told DH when we retire I would like to be closer to major airport (PIT is 1 1/2 hours for us and it is not the best, though I do like the convenience of their PP lounge! lol).

I almost added that to my post! When we did a family trip to Hawaii, DD flew out of DC and had a non-stop to Hawaii. My DH the scuba diver likes the idea, and it should help with visiting our kids on the west coast. We'll be about 10 minutes from Reagan.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Hey all....what's the general "rule" w/ Chase and credit lines? I've got $45k in credit on personal, $51k w/ the CIP. I want to go for the IHG but I'm thinking I need to lower some of my credit limits. I'm thinking moving my CF would be the one to play with. My newest Bonvoy I didn't lower anything prior, and I got $8500 limit. My IHG I moved down before the CIP so it's at $8k. I think my CSR is $18k. Which would leave my CF which is $11k.

New here! Thanks for the great thread! As a teacher, I have champagne tastes but a tap water budget. I am always on the lookout for a premium experience at a great price. My hobby is planning WDW trips. After reading this thread, my new hobby should be saving points for future travel.

We have a 2021 WDW summer trip planned. However, I am hoping to save for a 2022 vacation. It will hopefully be a cruise in the summer of 2022. Looking to cruise from a European departure port or just Miami if necessary. At the moment, I don't have more details as we are still throwing ideas around. We would probably cruise on Princess, Celebrity, RCL, or possibly MSC Yacht Club. Cruises are so iffy at the moment, I will save for a WDW trip as an alternative. I would be taking the cruise with my Mom and possibly college age DD and maybe even young adult DS. Mom would pay her portion of expenses.

-I can easily put $1400/mo. in expenses towards a SUB.
-As soon as I make a cc purchase, I transfer the money immediately.
I have no balance or interest payments. Presently, I use my bank cc for cash rewards. Each month I get my cash from the ATM machine and put it in my travel fund.
-I have used SW a great deal recently and fly out of Houston.
-I have only a few SW RR points left/redeemed for summer 2021 trip.
-I utilize HH.


My obvious question would be what is the best credit card for me?

Secondly, I have only read this updated thread. The question I am about to ask has probably been asked and answered many times. TIA to the person willing to respond! From reading the stickies on page 1, am I correct in thinking that it isn't possible to pay for a WDW onsite hotel with cc points?

Thank you for any help!

ETA: I have not opened any cc in the past 24 mo. at all.

Welcome, I'm a teacher too And I play the credit card game to take my kids on trips (single mom, on top of it). I'm not one to help much, as I don't do cruises for points. Good Luck and welcome

 

[platamama]

Happy 2021! Ahh new thread smell!

So at the beginning of December I was officially laid off from Disney. I have started up my own design business with my former coworker and our LLC went into affect yesterday. I have our EIN and am trying to get us a business card. We have already paid for the biggest upfront costs over the past few months as the design software we need went on sale during the holidays so we won't really be charging big numbers. I want to legitimately use the card to keep business expenses separate. I decided to apply for the jetBlue business card since it only had 1k MSR, but was denied for too much credit (I have 2 jetblue personal cards and my business partner has one) so then I tried for an Amex BCP and got my first pop up! Then I thought I would have DH support us to a CIC and at least get his support points, but can't generate a link!

Any suggestions? Also any recommendations for a good business bank account?

And if anyone knows of anyone needing some theme design work done, let me know!

Sorry to hear about your layoff, but I admire you for taking charge and starting up your own business. Best of luck to you!

For business accounts/cards, I'm old-school and would suggest you start by looking at banks that have a local footprint so that you can get personal assistance if you ever need it. I was going to suggest looking for bank bonuses (taxable income for the EIN) and SUBs but I have no idea how that would play out fairly with your coworker, like who gets the bonus etc. If you have Chase branches near you, they often offer bonuses on checking and savings accounts, and the CIC card with 5% for office supply, cell phone, internet categories that could be a nice way to go for a business card for a design business.

 

[WVMomof3]

Hey all....what's the general "rule" w/ Chase and credit lines? I've got $45k in credit on personal, $51k w/ the CIP. I want to go for the IHG but I'm thinking I need to lower some of my credit limits. I'm thinking moving my CF would be the one to play with. My newest Bonvoy I didn't lower anything prior, and I got $8500 limit. My IHG I moved down before the CIP so it's at $8k. I think my CSR is $18k. Which would leave my CF which is $11k.



Welcome, I'm a teacher too And I play the credit card game to take my kids on trips (single mom, on top of it). I'm not one to help much, as I don't do cruises for points. Good Luck and welcome

I believe it is about 1/2 your income or max $70kish.