Monty
Forum Replies Created
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It just depends if you fly JetBlue a lot.
If yes, then it makes sense to get the credit card, since you will get more miles.
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I believe some people use Bilt for that because it has an ACH function specifically for paying rent.
However, it’s against the terms of service, so you could get banned.
Plus, most mortgage terms don’t allow payment with a credit card, so there’s a risk if they find out.
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I switched mine to United Airlines, but it kept changing back to my Aeroplan number.
When you check in, make sure it’s the correct frequent flyer number or program.
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It’s always a “your mileage may vary” situation, but let me tell you, the Wyndham Business Earner card is a real hidden gem.
It more than pays for itself, easily over 20 times.
My Caesars Diamond Status alone has scored me over $10-15K+ in value this year:
I’ve snagged over 20-30 free hotel nights.
No pesky resort or valet fees.
Enjoyed over $500 in food and beverage credits.
We’ve taken more than 10 cruises between me and my partner, averaging about $3k each.
Even a stay at Vacasa or Margaritaville in the Virgin Islands returned more than three times the value.
Wyndham has some amazing properties abroad, like in Bali, for example.
Trust me, I’ve seen some really nice ones.
Plus, I get 8 times the points back on gas, which translates to 8 times the rewards on all my Amazon, Starbucks, Ulta, AirBnB, etc purchases, because I buy gift cards from the gas station, which codes as gas.
My travel route might be out of commission now, but with a bit of creativity, my Wyndham card still keeps on giving!
My journey went something like this:
Caesars Diamond > HardRock Royalty > Unity Icon > Ocean Prime > MGM Gold (I even got the same perks for my partner without them having a Wyndham card) > Hyatt Explorist (though that’s now defunct) > American Airlines Platinum/OneWorld Sapphire Status (working my way up to Exec Plat now) > Southwest Airlines List > Delta Gold > JetBlue Mosaic.
I’m even considering an Alaska Airlines match.
And all of this was possible because I have my trusty Wyndham Biz Earner card.
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I do it all the time.
You have to call in.
But it’s better if you search for the deal yourself first, and then maybe put a hold on it, and then the Chase Travel agent will call the cruise line and transfer the booking to Chase so they can pay it from there with your points.
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Most companies will include the legally required minimum liability insurance.
Some (like Hertz at the Cancun airport) will hold you hostage for hours to pay for additional insurance if you want your reserved car.
My last rental there was over 3 hours waiting them out while they tried to extort me for “only an additional $30/day! (for insurance or ‘upgrade’)” before they gave up and gave me the car at the price I booked.
Everyone who got a car faster paid the extortion.
It probably would have taken longer, but I was making a pretty big scene at that point.
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We did 8 days in Portugal with 5 in Lisbon and 3 in Porto.
Porto is way more laid back and we did a Port wine tour of Sandeman’s.
We hopped on the train down to the north beaches but even in late September it was cold.
In Lisbon, we stayed in Alfama neighborhood which was a treat in itself.
We did a lot of walking around in the maze of Alfama getting lost quite often as it’s very easy to get turned around.
We went to a fado dinner which was great.
We even took in a concert at the monastery.
I would have loved to have gone to the Algarve area but we decided next time and we’ll go to both Algarve area, Gibraltar, and Malaga Spain.
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Download the app and use that.
I’ve had good luck with the app.
Also try a VPN set to Italy.
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My view – CPP should only be used if you realize that it is a seriously flawed formula, yet it is a helpful measure when there is nothing else.
CPP is a one-sided valuation measure, it only values what you spend in points/miles vs. would have spent in cash; it ignores the cost of the points/miles that you used.
For example, if I earned 100K UR points from a SUB, and another 100K from native spending, I now have 200K URs – if I spend 100K URs today, and 100K URs tomorrow, both for flights retailing at $3K, was the CPP equal for both award bookings?
Not in my view.
The first 100K URs were earned easily while the second 100K URs were earned the hard way.
Now, add to that inflow of miles and points earned via shopping portals, bonus offers, manufactured spending, and the valuation of the points used is ever more complex.
Think of it this way – if you find a $100 bill on the street and buy a set of headphones, and you also buy a second pair with $100 from your paycheck, did both headphones cost you the same?
On a “CPP” basis, they did; but in reality, one pair was “free,” while the second pair cost you hours from your life as well as the overhead of earning a living.
It’s the same for award travel – the valuation should include consideration of the value / cost of your inflow point/miles along with your purchased retail value – no one can come up with a universal formula that would work b/c we all have differing inflow costs.
So my approach is, I buy what I want, when I want it to travel when, how, and where we want to travel, on points/miles simply booking the best deal I can find – and never looking back.
30+ years totally “free” now.
And honestly, we care zero about CPP, of course I don’t act totally stupid or uninformed, but what I care about is inflow, if inflow > outflow, I’m winning.
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The Rick Steves rolling backpack is the best of both worlds and fits restrictions for any international flight.
store.ricksteves.com
Rolling Backpack | Wheeled Backpack | Rick Steves Travel Store
Rolling Backpack | Wheeled Backpack | Rick Steves Travel Store
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It’s only expensive when you rent an SUV, cuz only tourists want those.
If it were needed, every local would be driving those.
A normal car can get u to 90% of the places unless you plan to really go offroad.
We drove A LOT all over the place and there was always a route that didn’t require 4wd.
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A Chase Sapphire card pairs better with the next set of cards you would be applying for if you’re biz card eligible.
If you want lounge access you do the Chase Sapphire Reserve instead of the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
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I remember last time I did it, it took at least 2 weeks to get the cash refund.
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These situations aren’t related unless you’re worried about a credit hit.
Do NOT close the Venture X, Capital One will blacklist you.
For Chase, yes, your points are less valuable and you lost the ability to transfer to travel partners.
I would apply to the CSP instead of the CSR.
More points for the SUB and if you’re not a travel portal booker, then there is no point in having a CSR because you don’t need the 50% more points in the portal.
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I always enjoy going on the Hop-On Hop-Off buses when I go someplace.
In Singapore, I enjoyed the Singapore Flyer and the Zoo the most.