I love credit cards so much! v7.0 - 2025 (see first page for add'l details)

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

No, just one day. Funny, most of the people I've talked to aren't a fan of Venice. Everyone has told me that one day there is more than enough.

Oh wow! I have been there twice, I love getting lost in the narrow alleys.

 

[becauseimnew]

Why did I apply for that Amex Biz Gold? DH just got an upgrade offer on his Gold, 120K MRs/$10K MSR. That's way better than the lame 125K SUB/$15MSR that I just got on the Gold.

If only we could pull off $25K Amex MSR, but we can't.

 

[LynnTH]

Yes you would clear customs in Amsterdam. You get off the plane, pick up your checked bags & go to passport control/customs then there is a place to drop your bag off again and head to your gate.

Just chatted with Virgin Atlantic to see if they could change our AMS to VIE flight. They said they could not as they didn't show any open rewards seats right now and the 50 minutes is in the allotted time for transfers at that airport. He did say we would not go through customs. Our luggage would go straight through to VIE -we would only go through Passport Control.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Wow, I don't know how you find a job these days if you want to avoid using technology in your job search. I mean, I guess it's possible that a friend knows of a job opening in their company. But short of that, how would you find out about openings?

I wonder if he's aware that companies use AI in resume screening these days. If your resume doesn't have the right words in there, you may be rejected before a live person even sees it.

I suppose it all depends on the industry. I shouldn't be so negative. I'm a pessimist by nature. Sorry about that!

He doesn’t avoid technology in his job. He’s in sales and WFH so everything he did was by phone/online. No in person and his customers were national not local. He had the same job for 29 years, no use for LinkedIn. Personally I’m not fond of LinkedIn either. I have a LinkedIn account but didn’t find it helpful in my job search at all.

And the screening is exactly why keeping connections is especially essential currently. If you know someone they can get your resume into the hands of a person even if the screening would weed it out.

Keeping connections even if you aren’t currently job hunting is important too. My husband goes golfing, meals or coffee with people every so often. You never know what will turn up.

Sadly we neither one have friends in sales which is what DH has been doing for 30 years. So no “connections” there and his customers are not local so not much help there either.

 

[afan]

Sadly we neither one have friends in sales which is what DH has been doing for 30 years. So no “connections” there and his customers are not local so not much help there either

Unfortunately that's where linked in comes in. I don't like it and haven't updated mine in over 5 years. But it's a way to find people that work places he may want to work. If other places sell the same thing or similar, I'd start looking for their employees, see if he can get a meeting. It's about networking and you don't always know who people know.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

Sadly we neither one have friends in sales which is what DH has been doing for 30 years. So no “connections” there and his customers are not local so not much help there either.

I mean these people aren’t friends; they are connections. These are people he’s worked with on projects over the 40 years he’s worked. When my husband meets up he doesn’t speak about personal stuff, it’s business market talk. Many times now they are keeping in contact with him because he is at the point in his career where he’d be the one hiring for positions.

 

[kylenne]

Hey folks, I was out of the game for some time and forgot about this thread but got back into it for 2025 since I was looking at refreshing my lineup after getting a CSR last year.

I got a targeted offer last month for an Amex Plat, 100k, which I decided to take—doing the math it actually works out for me having both, as I can get outsized value out of the credits. I’ve been an UR girlie for years so this is my first foray into MR points and Amex Travel. I’ve never bothered booking through the Chase portal, just transferring pts to partners, because I never found it to be worth it. But I saw Swolphin is part of their Hotel Collection. I have the Swan booked for Labor Day weekend on an AP discount but after doing some napkin math determined I would come out slightly ahead with Amex between the hotel credit and the resort credit. I was wondering if anyone had any recent DPs regarding upgrades there when booked through Amex. I know Bonvoy status never really gets you any there but I’m curious.

 

[miztressuz]

He has Samsung Pay and Google Pay. I was thinking of giving him the physical card and using my phone and watch to pay as he uses a card more often.


I agree. To be fair, I'm not sure I even looked very hard at DOC, I mainly went off of everyone here mentioning the card. I'm glad I even read the fine print! I was looking to see if I goofed on also going for the bank bonus. I'm still unclear on that one!

I probably missed a post, but if it helps, bank and CC bonus are separate. And biz vs personal. So getting a personal checking account bonus doesn't make you ineligible for a CC bonus or a biz checking or any combo of vice versa. You'd look at like-to-like for the eligibility rules. I recall USB verbage being ambiguous in that regard.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Has anyone narrowed it down to when is a low cost time to go? September was the slow time of year way back when. I'm not sure if there even is one now. I desperately need a Disney trip. Even if it's a last minute Disney trip.

If you are looking at lower cost times of year, you can look at the calendar view for park tickets and you'll see the costs vary widely by time of year. That is where I would start. Mousesavers (if they are still around) has a great list of cheapest room rates.

I don't want to be in Disney with my spouse, kids, grands, siblings, etc., and have to use my phone all.of.the.time. And to me, that's been my last two-three experiences. Maybe just the hubs and myself on a quick weekend it wouldn't be that way (?) ... I'm not sure.

I am desperate for a WDW trip, but dread being tied to my cell phone. I've got cc points to spend, but Disney needs to give me more motivation to get me there.

Disney recently moving individual LL out to 7 days in advance really helped cut down on our need to be doing high stress stuff on our phones the morning of. I do think you could have an enjoyable limited cell experience this trip if you wanted to.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Need hotel recommendation in Venice. Want to use all our hilton points.
Option 1: 30K brand new Hampton by Hilton Venice Isola Nuova
Option 2: 46K Hilton Molino Stucky Venice
Our plan: night one - later arrival, day 2 tour venice, day 3 afternoon train to Milan.
The Molino looks amazing, the Hampton is still being constructed, expected to open May1.
WWYD?

View attachment 934361

Definitely not the Hampton- that is super far away from the main tourist areas. I've heard great things about the Molino Stucky, so if those are your two options, I would go with that. We really, really loved Venice so much. If there's any way to steal another night for Venice, I would. It's everything a vacation should be- charming, culture, food. Being pedestrian only is absolutely amazing.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

We really, really loved Venice so much. If there's any way to steal another night for Venice, I would. It's everything a vacation should be- charming, culture, food. Being pedestrian only is absolutely amazing.

You said it so much better than I did above! Totally agree.

I would add that by contrast, Milan is not very charming outside of the Cathedral square. It's a big city, feels like NYC in a lot of ways, and it's loud. If OP happens to be staying several nights there, I would take from there to add to Venice

 

[spacerangerqueen]

I probably missed a post, but if it helps, bank and CC bonus are separate. And biz vs personal. So getting a personal checking account bonus doesn't make you ineligible for a CC bonus or a biz checking or any combo of vice versa. You'd look at like-to-like for the eligibility rules. I recall USB verbage being ambiguous in that regard.

Thanks! That's what I figured when I opened it. However my bonus tracker is stuck at "In Progress" for All account owners must qualify to receive this offer. So I went and re-read the terms and it just says you can't have received "other US Bank bonus offers" in the past 12 months. DOC has added in consumer checking account to their post, but it isn't in the actual terms. I figure I'm probably fine, but it was stressing me out anyway.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Just chatted with Virgin Atlantic to see if they could change our AMS to VIE flight. They said they could not as they didn't show any open rewards seats right now and the 50 minutes is in the allotted time for transfers at that airport. He did say we would not go through customs. Our luggage would go straight through to VIE -we would only go through Passport Control.

While the guidelines indicate that 50 mins is enough to clear passport control and get to your next gate, if you land at the same time as a few other international flights then there could be lengthy queues. If it were me I’d call Virgin Atlantic and ask what they can do to afford you and your family more time to clear customs. They should have the ability to open seats on their metal, if your connection is on another airline then it becomes a bit more difficult for them. If you don’t check luggage, you could book seats on a cheap European airline as backup if you were to miss the connection.

 

[havaneselover]

While the guidelines indicate that 50 mins is enough to clear passport control and get to your next gate, if you land at the same time as a few other international flights then there could be lengthy queues. If it were me I’d call Virgin Atlantic and ask what they can do to afford you and your family more time to clear customs. They should have the ability to open seats on their metal, if your connection is on another airline then it becomes a bit more difficult for them. If you don’t check luggage, you could book seats on a cheap European airline as backup if you were to miss the connection.

My experience with VA customer service was dreadful. They honeslty were extremely incompetent. Hopefully @LynnTH has better luck. But I agree, 50 minutes would stress me out.

 

[miztressuz]

Thanks! That's what I figured when I opened it. However my bonus tracker is stuck at "In Progress" for All account owners must qualify to receive this offer. So I went and re-read the terms and it just says you can't have received "other US Bank bonus offers" in the past 12 months. DOC has added in consumer checking account to their post, but it isn't in the actual terms. I figure I'm probably fine, but it was stressing me out anyway.

Yep, that's the offending language! I see they're still freaking people out with it. It's probably why DOC added what they really mean based on practice.
Is there a time component to qualification? I wonder if it stays In Progress during the qualification period. Been a while since I opened my accounts so I don't remember the tracker.

 

[georgina]

I didn't do a good job tracking our Chase referral bonuses for 2024, so now I'm going to have to wait for the 1099's to arrive. Ugh.

 

[IFlossU]

I didn't do a good job tracking our Chase referral bonuses for 2024, so now I'm going to have to wait for the 1099's to arrive. Ugh.

Me too. I want to file next weekend, hoping they show up this next week.

 

[tink1970]

Just chatted with Virgin Atlantic to see if they could change our AMS to VIE flight. They said they could not as they didn't show any open rewards seats right now and the 50 minutes is in the allotted time for transfers at that airport. He did say we would not go through customs. Our luggage would go straight through to VIE -we would only go through Passport Control.

I agree with @*WDW*Groupie* above...I wasn't going to correct your terminology because I didn't realize you were going to call VA...but Customs is what everyone walks past in the airport when they exit if they have "nothing to declare" (ie LOTS of cash or goods), whereas Passport Control/Immigration is where you stand in a long queue and have your passport examined--and yes, you will do that arriving in a Schengen country and progressing to another. In AMS, it can be quite long (as previously mentioned) and 50 minutes will be tight. You can ask to be allowed to go to the front for a close connection but whether that occurs or not is of course, variable (or there even might be a separate line for close connections). VA is a codeshare with KLM so that might help if things go sideways (hopefully not!).

 

[georgina]

He has Samsung Pay and Google Pay. I was thinking of giving him the physical card and using my phone and watch to pay as he uses a card more often.


I agree. To be fair, I'm not sure I even looked very hard at DOC, I mainly went off of everyone here mentioning the card. I'm glad I even read the fine print! I was looking to see if I goofed on also going for the bank bonus. I'm still unclear on that one!

US Bank is awful! I recently opened the triple cash card and the silver checking accounts too. I had to call and request a debit card so I could do my 5 transactions for the checking.

I did just notice as I was cleaning out my January screenshots, when I googled the Triple Cash card, right there fairly large it says spend $6000 on the account owners card. I hadn't really paid attention either, I just give DH my card to use if he is buying something.

 

[jujubiee4]

My experience with VA customer service was dreadful. They honeslty were extremely incompetent. Hopefully @LynnTH has better luck. But I agree, 50 minutes would stress me out.

I thought about the experience you posted when I was tempted to book VA low points for a Europe
flight. I have heard plenty of negative stories lately so I passed and stuck with AA/United. But it was
beyond tempting. lol