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

[softballpooh]

I'm working on meeting my MSR for my Sapphire cards. I'm putting the room payment in full for an upcoming WDW Nov trip on the card. What happens if we end up not going and cancel that reservation? Are the points "taken back" when a refund is issued?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I'm working on meeting my MSR for my Sapphire cards. I'm putting the room payment in full for an upcoming WDW Nov trip on the card. What happens if we end up not going and cancel that reservation? Are the points "taken back" when a refund is issued?

This can vary by issuer. For example, with Amex this could cause significant issues and a clawback of points.

The good news is, with Chase - you'll be fine! They will show "negative points" for the base portion of that transaction but they will not clawback your bonus points. You will also end up with a credit balance on your account. I recommend that you do the "right thing" and re-spend that amount (even if it's months later) vs. asking them to refund you with a check. This has happened to me on many occasions and I've never had any issue.

 

[mmmears]

Does anyone here have any of the masks from the Disney store? If so, how do you like them? From reading the reviews, it look like the sizing has been improved but the fabric is now all polyester (from what i can tell, cotton is preferred).

Any other suggestions for masks?

We've tried a bunch of different ones here, from Etsy to Old Navy and Disney. Hands down the favorite of my entire family are the silk ones from JohnnyWas. I think they cost more than the cotton now, but didn't when I ordered the first set. Honestly they are the most comfortable ones we have tried. The Disney ones are cute, but they tend to not get worn around here, so I guess the consensus is that they aren't all that comfortable.

 

[wanderlust7]

We've tried a bunch of different ones here, from Etsy to Old Navy and Disney. Hands down the favorite of my entire family are the silk ones from JohnnyWas. I think they cost more than the cotton now, but didn't when I ordered the first set. Honestly they are the most comfortable ones we have tried. The Disney ones are cute, but they tend to not get worn around here, so I guess the consensus is that they aren't all that comfortable.

I bought the Johnny Was ones with my Saks credit! I love the patterns. They were comfortable the one time I wore them. Don't get out much these days, lol. On the thin side though, was thinking I should get some filter inserts.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

For women's masks I highly recommend Tory Burch--five for $35, free shipping, very light and breathable, has nose wire. The reviews don't lie.

I’ll second this...love them

 

[wendow]

Under 5/24 Churners everywhere right now...

CIP?
CIU?
CIC?
CSP?
CSP/CSR MDD?
CFF?
CFU?

Well...this is a fun time Here is what I have been up to -

I did the MDD of the SW cards and am now at 5/24
Dh app'ed for the CIU, and I thought he'd been denied, but lo and behold, the card showed up in his account (thanks SFF for schooling me )
Dd20 app'ed for a CSP and was instantly approved (too bad it was over the weekend and before support links were up).

So, I have 11k in MSR to work on and am looking forward to 117k UR's and 134k RR's + CP for me

 

[alryan]

Well...this is a fun time Here is what I have been up to -

I did the MDD of the SW cards and am now at 5/24
Dh app'ed for the CIU, and I thought he'd been denied, but lo and behold, the card showed up in his account (thanks SFF for schooling me )
Dd20 app'ed for a CSP and was instantly approved (too bad it was over the weekend and before support links were up).

So, I have 11k in MSR to work on and am looking forward to 117k UR's and 134k RR's + CP for me

That's awesome!! It's so nice talking about good offers and hearing people getting new cards. Now hopefully all these points everyone is earning will be used for some great trips in 2021

 

[wendow]

Does anyone here have any of the masks from the Disney store? If so, how do you like them? From reading the reviews, it look like the sizing has been improved but the fabric is now all polyester (from what i can tell, cotton is preferred).

Any other suggestions for masks?

We have a ton of the Disney masks - all from the parks but I think they are the same as the ones at the store - and those are the only ones I wear. They are thicker than others so need to be aware of that. The sizing is wonky. They run very small and I need the L sizing. My dd20 wears a size L and both my boys (11 & 9yo) wear a M. They will shrink if you put them in the dryer.

 

[familyman123]

Hey guys, longtime lurker getting back in the game after a Covid hiatus. Need some help - I just picked up the Barclay AA Business card. Is there any reason / downside to having spouse as the "employee" for a "business"?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Hey guys, longtime lurker getting back in the game after a Covid hiatus. Need some help - I just picked up the Barclay AA Business card. Is there any reason / downside to having spouse as the "employee" for a "business"?

First: welcome back out of lurkdom
Second: good luck with that lovely Barclays website lol (it is sooooo bad)
Third: adding a spouse as an employee is ok. It won’t hit their credit report or cause any negative issues.

 

[DaveL]

Unfortunately I am not able to apply until December 15th. I received the 100,000 URs for my CSR on December 14, 2016. I hope the 80K offer is still around in mid-December!

I was a late to the game back then, I applied and completed the MSR in Feb '17 so have a few more months to wait.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I was a late to the game back then, I applied and completed the MSR in Feb '17 so have a few more months to wait.

You are way better off than I am, didn’t find this group until May2019

 

[Alexle2007]

@kidsfirsttrip @brownhaired_girl Did you have access to the club/lounge during your stay to the Hyatt Regency Aruba? If so, any alcohol in the evenings for free? Trying to decide whether to stay there for a couple of nights in Dec or not.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

@kidsfirsttrip @brownhaired_girl Did you have access to the club/lounge during your stay to the Hyatt Regency Aruba? If so, any alcohol in the evenings for free? Trying to decide whether to stay there for a couple of nights in Dec or not.

We had gotten the wonderful completely unexpected upgrade to the Governors Suite. We had club access during this time. There was food available in the morning and evening. I don’t remember any alcohol. I definitely have had thoughts that I would return some day with my granddaughter.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Unfortunately I am not able to apply until December 15th. I received the 100,000 URs for my CSR on December 14, 2016. I hope the 80K offer is still around in mid-December!

I’m locked out until Dec 21st. Hoping the offer is still around then.

 

[linzjane88]

APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2 CIC's coming our way.

DH applied as 'guest' (not logged in). App 9/26, approved within about 30 minutes (although I didn't know it at the time)
I applied under my CIU (logged in). App 9/26, approved 10/5.

The countdown starts for DH's MDD after that

 

[Alexle2007]

We had gotten the wonderful completely unexpected upgrade to the Governors Suite. We had club access during this time. There was food available in the morning and evening. I don’t remember any alcohol. I definitely have had thoughts that I would return some day with my granddaughter.

That sounds awesome! Now to decide if we split our stay between the two.

 

[mhartman09]

We have a ton of the Disney masks - all from the parks but I think they are the same as the ones at the store - and those are the only ones I wear. They are thicker than others so need to be aware of that. The sizing is wonky. They run very small and I need the L sizing. My dd20 wears a size L and both my boys (11 & 9yo) wear a M. They will shrink if you put them in the dryer.

We have several also and find the same about sizing and they are definitely thicker. However the new Halloween theme one I got from a friend recently is much thinner material and more breathable. I prefer that one.

 

[wendow]

We have several also and find the same about sizing and they are definitely thicker. However the new Halloween theme one I got from a friend recently is much thinner material and more breathable. I prefer that one.

Interesting! My dd was there last weekend and she got a halloween one. I'll have to take a look at hers. She brought me home the Tiki room one and I find it just as thick as the ones we bought at the park back in July. So, maybe only certain ones are thinner...? I did read they were going to make them thinner and I hope that is the trend. I really want a Christmas one lol!!

 

[Artygal90]

The second tier of my Hyatt SUB posted, so I went ahead and transferred over the last 4k points I needed to book our Tokyo hotel. I now have our flights and hotels 100% booked for next year's tentative Japan trip in mid-May. Yay!

For fun here is what I've spent so far on AFs vs the cash price of what I have booked. I used Google flights and the best available prices on Hotwire/Expedia/Priceline to price out the hotels since that is what I would do pre-churning. This is still a rough accounting - I gave up on the spreadsheet tracking every cent a while ago:

Retail price, 2 RT tickets in first class on ANA from IAH to HND = $45,496 (this number is so big it's practically imaginary)
My cost - $550 (DH's Plat) + $95 (my CSP)+ $100 in change fees + $100 in fuel surcharges= $845

Retail price, 5 nights at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo = $1,230
My cost = $95 (my personal Hyatt)

Retail price, 5 nights at the Park Hyatt Kyoto = $4,450
My cost = $190 (DH's CIP, my CIP)

Retail price, 3 nights at the Hilton Tokyo Bay = $648
My cost = $190 (1 Hilton Biz each for me and DH)

Total "cash value" of our two-week trip =$51,824
Out-of-pocket costs to date = $1320

Which puts us ahead by $50,504.

I have definitely taken international trips for close to $1300 before...for one person, for 6 nights, scoring some super-cheap airfare in economy in the off-season, and sleeping in hostel dormitories with ten other loud people. So saying "I have plans to fly first class to Japan next year and stay in four-star hotels for two weeks" is just...something else. Gosh, I love this hobby

I am trying not to get too worked up about this trip in case it doesn't happen, so I am firmly sitting on my hands and not looking into the JR pass, or planning daily itineraries, or buying tickets to anything, or spending *any* more money on this trip until the future is more certain. But I wanted to write up this little report and allow myself some excitement about this big redemption, which is my first one in almost a year!