Update: Once again you guys have completely overwhelmed this post! Check out the comments for an alternate solution…
Post stickied: Scroll down for new posts.
It’s obvious that Dansdeals readers have a lot to ask and even more to share with each other.
While a forum is the best setting for sharing info, they are extremely tough to get going and keep active.
When a simple post on a great credit card offer (5% auto rebate on gas+wireless purchases) can yield incredible info about traveling to Venice, it’s obvious that it should all be gathered in a somewhat better place.
So, here it is.
Feel free to ask about or just talk about what’s on your mind in this post.
I’ve added a new comment feature to the site in order to make the discussion post more viable. Just click on the reply arrow located after the timestamp on each comment to reply to a specific commenter. This will make a link in your comment back to the comment that you are replying to. Please try it out and tell me what you think of it!
I let the first edition of the discussion post run a bit too long (it had 246 comments when I locked it down!) so I’ll try to cut off this edition before it gets so unwieldy.
Like I said the first time around, I don’t know the answers to every question asked here, so please go ahead and join in the discussion if you do!
Please post all comments not directly related to a specific post in this discussion post.
how old do i have to be to rent a car under chabads corporate account im 18 is that old enough
dan maybe start posting the receipt survey codes like gap’s is currently TSHIRT that would be good for 20% off one regular priced item
@Mom: DansDeals.com/forums will be the best place to ask that, there are many people there who love helping people with questions.
My family is very inexperienced w/miles programs. But, here’s are situation, maybe someone could offer advice.We are trying to accumulate enough miles to get my son to camp and back on Northwest Airlines. From what I understand we are short 5,000 miles. Is there a place on the web to network with someone willing to donate or sell 5,ooo Northwest miles? If anyone has some tips I’d be so greatful!
@Abbish: sell the points for $660
Guys it’s http://www.DansDeals.com/forums to find out such information.
If I want to transfer Amex reward points to an airline mile program, what is the best value? I have 400,000 points with AA but AMEX points don’t transfer to AA. Thanks in Advance
sorry i’m new, how do i find out my credit score?
Seriously dudes, get a life. Everyone in the world knows that a forum is the most helpful thing out there. If I have a problem with my computer, I don’t like sorting through hundreds of comments like these, I always find my answer in a forum because when I do a search it comes up, and there is a very high chance someone had the same problem as me and got it resolved.
The only way I am ever going to find the answer through a search is if it’s posted on a forum. You guys are a bunch of n00bs!
Besides, Comments are so pathetic, because if someone has a credit card issue and needs it resolved quickly he has to post in the latest deal or whatever comments to actually get an answer because no one looks at comments from 2 yrs ago.
@loyal reader: SO DONT GO THERE!!
@loyal reader:
give it some time you will get used to it
I dont like the forum. is there a place to vote?
@need help: I think you need an invitation in order to get the bonus.
anyone knows what I can do with 17,000 delta miles?
@R: no, you don’t need to register to comment on threaded comments.
@lg rumor:
Please join us at http://www.dansdeals.com/forums for all further “discussion-post” comments.
Thanks!
@R:
well said
1)can u use the lg rumor as a modem if yes please say how
2) can u unluck a lg rumor??????????
@simonsays:
I disagree.
1. DansDeals is not going anywhere, all this is doing is organizing all the off-topic posts & comments in a usable format.
2. once it’s set up properly you wont need to go to “2 places”
3. It may take a bit to get used to it, but eventually it will work out a lot better. (looking for travel tips for venice in the travel tips section of the forum makes a lot more sense to me then looking in the comments of a post about a credit card.)
4. what you’re suggesting -threaded comments- is basically a forum! it’s just missing the organized categories…
Dan, Eli, levi, & few but the CORE DansDeals loyalists, fans, dye hards, & would be supporters are missing the forum
– it doesn’t stand a chance.
P.S. Dan/Ctownbochur Says:
What I could do quite easily is make threaded comments, in which the replies to a comment would be placed within the original comment.
Any interest in trying that out guys?
YES
This is the answer to the problem – threaded comments!
Just my Opinion
we don’t like the forum, but we value & thank you Eli for the effort, people just do NOT want to go 2 places. besides, going to the forum is a distraction from the real thing – DansDeals!
If any of you were having problems registering, please retry now. Simply go to http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?action=register and it should work fine. If you are having any difficulties, post a comment here.
@loyal reader:
Please join us at http://www.dansdeals.com/forums for further off topic discussion.
Thanks!
dan, what is the best way to transfer starwood points to continental airlines and get the 5000 bonus? what I did in the past is transfer 20000 to amtrak where it would become 25000 and then transfer that to continental. is that still a viable option?
thanks
@CharlesLight:
it appears to be a bug (misconfiguration?) with the “quick register”
click on the “register” link (right above the quick register box on the left side) you should be able to register from there.
you’ll need to check both “I agree…” boxes. (quick register and standard)
you need to sign in to the forum in order to comment? whata pain!
@Dan/Ctownbochur: why not put a link to the forum on the front page?
When I try to register for the forum, I keep getting the following error message:
“The letters you typed don’t match the letters that were shown in the picture.”
There are no letters? Anyone else having this problem.
Hey everybody, please join us in the forums and let’s get some topics started. Remember that when you register for the forum, you need to give a valid e-mail address because it will send you an activation e-mail.
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums
Eli has gone ahead and created a dans deals forum!
For now we’ll call it Dans Deals Forum Beta 1.0
The purpose of the forum is to replace the need for these unwieldy discussion posts and miscellaneous comments.
We need your help to make it a success by registering and posting there!
Check it out at http://www.dansdeals.com/forums and contribute!
No further comments will be published in this post except for reporting problems with the forum!
Thanks!!!
@Jeff: Where did you find that offer?
I recently got an amex plus rewards gold card with a sign up bonus for fifty thousand points. Is it worth it to transfer them to starpoints at a 3:1 ratio (3 amex points = 1 starpoint?
Thanks dan,
P.S. I’m a huge fan.
I’m looking for tickets to Brazil for Jan. 2009. American wants 60000 miles. Anyone know any better alternatives with starwoods or other airlines.
@R: I run credit reports all the time. In my experience, the scores you get from FreeCrediReport.com do not match up with your real score when I run it (I work for a mortgage bank). I have seen FreeCreditReport off by as much as 100 oints when run on the same day.
MyFico always gives you the same score as my pull.
If you would like, I can run your credit for less than that.
Please email me at info@CharlesLight.com
anyone know of a cheap place to buy air condition filters (central)
@CharlesLight:
1. what’s the difference between myFico and all the rest of them? (e.g. citi identitymonitor etc.)
any way to get my complete fico score (not just equifax) without paying $50?
need help,
Call up Starwoods and ask them nicely for gold status you should have no problem. As far as Platinum status no shot.
1. Anyone know how you can get Starwood Gold Preferred or Platinum Preferred without hotel stays? I remember reading something about it here, but can’t find it.
2. Dan, remember the whole get to Israel with 32,000 Starpoints? Is that deal still on?
Yitzter,
Is it worth what? Get the annual fee waived after you receive the card.
CharlesLight,
Thanks for the info
@levi: http://www.FreeCreditReport.com
will NOT give you your real credit score.
The only site that you can get your REAL credit score is http://www.myFico.com
@Mordy: those are the list prices they really dont get much cheaper even on ebay, there are a bunch of similar laptops in the same price range heres one http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/28/3k-computers-gets-extra-official-with-razorbook-400-now-299/
@ls ill pay 124
what can I get with 20000 continental miles from chase? is it worth it?
Hey Dan, I’m trying to get the Wife a cheap Eee PC for her schoolwork (its perfect for what she needs, and darned cute). I’ve seen prices range from 299 for the basic model to $399+ for webcam enabled 4G models and up.
For such a low price, its become a game now to see how cheap I can find them.
What’s the best price you think I can pick one of these up for? Any advice?
@Dan/Ctownbochur:
I have also got 3000 points for the same mistake. Also, I have noticed that on MR AE card it’s much more easier to get points for mistakes, etc, then on SPG or Delta. Basically, I ask 5000 MR points for any mistake or an email unanswered within 24 hours and 80% of the time get 5000 points for it. When I ask for SPG, it’s usually more like, 500, 1000, may be 3000 sometimes.
Last year I got about 25k in MR points for their simple mistakes (I also spent like 100k on the card)
@LS:
I’ll pay $125
@yoizel:
try again with another rep, this advice goes almost every time your ever denied the service you want.
Tell them that you want to cancel, when they ask why tell them you don’t want to pay the fee, they will probably offer to wave it if not ask them to change cards…
Good Luck!@levi:
Will Do!
I have a $200 Continental voucher valid for any ticket on Continental. It expires in another year. I’m willing to sell it for $175. Please let me know if you’d like to purchase it.
@yoizel:
get chase to refund all $85
@Other Guy:
or freecreditreport.com just cancell before 30 days
i have starwood and citi advantage business cards ,and chase continental that i wanted to convert to no annual fee cards so i can keep the credit line (and open up these cards again to receive the bonus’).amex dit it ,no problem.citi said you cant switch,meaning id have to close it down b4 applying for another(i think).chase says that since im a new cardholder i dont have the “privelege” of converting out of this account (but they did offer to refund $45 (of 85) of the annual fee).any ideas? thanx
So the chase continental is better then the chase freedom?
@anon:
You can sign up for a free trial at sites like http://www.myfico.com/
@Other Guy:
You can start making all your comments now
@David:
Thanks just picked one up
TO follow up on dans post a while back for the free coffee from starbucks every wednesday, today was the last day those cards worked. If you go into starbucks today in CT, DC, MA, MD, ME, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT and WV you can get a card for free iced coffee every wednesday though the end of july. Got 2 this morning in MD. Good luck!
@Dan/Ctownbochur: Yes! I like that idea I also have a lot comments to make but I have no idea if anyone answered them yet (Ok so I’m joining late…) BTW Dan, remember I was a loyal user of the first forum, I even won your raffle.
I just canceled my AMEX Starwood Consumer card.
Any idea how long I should wait till signing up again?
Should I sign up on the computer or by phone?
Thanks all
How do u check your credit score for free I get the reports but they don’t tell me my actual number?
Yitzter,
I would go with the Continental card you should not have a hard time getting out of the $85 annual fee but even if you don’t get it waived 20,000 miles for $85 is a great deal
Jerry,
I belive 21
Yudi,
Any decision regarding your starwood points?
@levi
how old do you need yo be for chabad corporate
Hey, what do you think is the BEST chase card, I have a citi and I just canceled my amex cards due to financial review. I first want to know if Chase is a good bank. And are they’re credit cards any good. I’ve heard good things about the chase freedom, all input is appreciated. Thanks.
@Dan/Ctownbochur:
thanks aug 13 and 14 hotel stay in yerushalaim ????
Hey,
Anyone interested in a Belkin F5L001 Laptop Cooling Stand? Amazon has em for $13 (you might need to click to see other merchants) with free shipping, but I don’t need $12 worth of fillers. If you’re in the CH area and are interested, please let me know and I’ll order one for you too (obviously, I’ll expect $13 upon delivery).
First come first serve (I’m not looking to buy 10 of these and deliver em all over CH), just let me know.
AsherO
@jerry:
41m0174 (CHA)
whats chabad corporate account number
@YL:
Either you get the Continental Presidents Plus credit card ($375 annual fee) which guarantees you that status, or you rent alot and hope for an invitation from Avis. I dont understand is your company going to rent under Chabads corparate or are you looking to set up your own? I dont think you will be able to set up a corparate as good as Chabad.
@levi: how do i go about becoming a presidents club member? how often do i need to rent? based on my previous investigations the Chabad enterprise # usually gets me a good deal… do you find these corporate accounts to be better?
@YL:
I have a coparate with Avis and Thrifty. As far as Avis I really enjoy renting from them as a Presidents Club member I always get great upgrades and I’m very happy overall. But on the other hand the prices are not the same almost all the time the prices are higher, thats why I have an account with Thrifty I rent once a week with them although there cars are not as nice and its not as convenient the price is a big differance. So if your looking to save money I would say Thrifty is the way too go.
@liv:
Anyone have any info on this topic i know AA is extremly strict on selling miles but how about other airlines for example continental?
to whoever thought aa took away the miles for inactivity- they probably took it away because they thought you sold miles– good luck talking to them
@Reuven: Interesting I signed up for both consumer and business and got 40,000 miles. I wonder if signing up for the 2 AMEX’s would work…cool idea. So has anyone tried this?
Regarding those Citi AA cards.
I see a possibility of signing up for 4 of them (1 consumer for both AMEX and Mastercard, and 1 business for the same 2)
Has anyone tried this to see if you can really accumulate 100,000 miles that easily?
Thanks
@levi: thanks just got this one https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/cardDetail.do?screenID=941&origincontentId=FAMILY_AADVANTAGE&CONTENT_TYPE=family_detail
25,000 aa miles if you spend $750 in the first 4 months (shouldn’t be a problem )no fee first year
@levi: all over 25, and the renatals would take place all over the U.S. mainley in major cities….
it would not be dozens of rentals a year just a few, but I am also looking to get the best deal so that when I travel privately I can get a good deal
@R: I was thinking one of the following depending on the platform:
phpBB – PHP
Invision Power Board- PHP
Snitz – ASP
Web Wiz Forums – ASP
IkonBoard – CGI
Invision looks the best but it seems like they’re not offering it for free like they used to. I have to find out about that. I’ll check out SMF if I have time but I guess this is all a waste of time if Dan is uninterested.
Anon,
e,
Get the continental world mastercard 20,000 mile sign up bonus. There is an fee of $85 dollars per year but if you have good talking skills you can have them waive it year after year
@Eli:
just out of curiosity which forum software did you find to be the best?
personally I’ve been using SMF lately.
congrats AT&T has implemented its consumer-friendly prorated early termination fee, which enables new and renewing subscribers to have their $175 ETF drop by $5 each month they stick with the carrier and pay their bill. you’ll still owe $60 if you cancel with a month remaining but it’s certainly a move in the right direction.
@anon: The American Airlines World Mastercard from Citibank has no annual fee for the first year.
thanks aug 13 and 14 hotel stay in yerushalaim ????
Does anyone have any suggestions how do get free internet on my sprint phone?
Dan:
i’m going to israel soon. any fee-free World Mastercards? (the Amtrak one isn’t around anymore)
Dan, how bout it? get me access to the website and we can have dansdeals.com/forums up and running within a few hours. You might as well give it a try. I already did the research and found the best solution for the forum software, all completely free of course.
@Dan/Ctownbochur: dan any suggestions for a card with a good sign up bonus and no annual fee i dont spend so much on credit card(besides starwoods obviously)
any ideas dan? need a basic laptop for a decent price
@YL:
How old are the renters going to be? Where would the rentals primarily take place?
I am looking to sign my company up for a coorporate account with a rental company. Any ideas on which one is best? (for the company and for me)
@s modem:
I personally don’t like sites that do newest comments first, it ruins the flow of questions/answers.
@yitzi:
The best free non-AMEX card is probably the Chase Freedom card. You get $50 for signing up and 3% cash back at whatever was your top 3 categories of spending each month.
Personally if you really don’t like paying the Starwood AMEX’s $45 annual fee after the first free year I would recommend to just close it and reopen it every time the fee comes up on the bill. If you don’t want to lose your credit line just have a no-annual fee AMEX such as the Blue, Clear, Blue for Business, Simply Cash for Business, etc. to transfer your credit line to and use while you’re waiting for a new Starwood card.
@Michael:
What is his credit score? It can’t hurt to apply for a card with 12 months of 0% balance transfers and see what kind of credit line he can get, but with a poor credit score it may be hard to get a high credit limit.
@yudi:
I personally would pay 1.5 to 2 per point @yudi:
I accumulated 25 stays
Hey Dan,
maybe you can help me… my brother has a large credit card debt he has consolidated and is paying off at 12 % he needs to transfer the balance but he doesnt want to do it unless he gets a high credit balance that will really help him anything over 10 grand to start… can you please help thanx
@Dan/Ctownbochur:
yes that would be great .this way is too…..
@maven: are you a starwood member and collector of points? call them and keep playing with the dates, piecemeal. I did this for my boss. I wasnt able to get him a stay in Jerusalem for the whole week that he wanted, but I was able to get him 4 days while talking to a starwood rep and playing around with the days.
Dan, I believe that by creating something like dansdealsforums.com and using a free forums software, it will take off tremendously. And the users of the forums will be asked to post linkbacks to the forums in the comments on the standard blog. The forums can have different categories like Deals, Hotels, Airlines etc.
If you get the right forum software that does what you need it to, it will work well. It may take time, but it will work well.
You can even have on the blog a scrolling link to the hottest topics being discussed in the forum. All you need is a lot of people knowing about it (people who normally visit the forums) and it will be fine.
Hi Dan,
I have a Starwood Amex, I am looking for a 2nd credit card Visa or MasterCard. Can you suggest a card with no annual fee, possibly with some type of perks/mileage system?
Thanks
@Dan/Ctownbochur: i think thats a great idea
levi how did u get platinum status?
levi so if u sold them what is a good price to get
@Mordy: You forgot to mention the Apple TV thy failed and thy went for take 2 now, that’s more like it.
@Dan/Ctownbochur: Yes give it a try it dosent hurt.
How about listing comments in decending order, newest first, oldest at the bottom.
Dan,
In my opinion we try that I think it will take off pretty well
I have 30000 points on czech airlines and 20000 starwood points and 20000 points with continental is0it possible to combine somehow those points and get a ticket to israel
Yudi,
Everybody values points differently, to some it will be worth 1 cent a point and to others 3 cents a point.
@Mordy:
I hear ya’
What I could do quite easily is make threaded comments, in which the replies to a comment would be placed within the original comment.
Any interest in trying that out guys?
@e: I just took ur suggestion andregistered my card and didnt see an option for free anything. how do I go about getting the freebies?
ugh, well I personally would be more involved in a forum-style chat.
This comments thing has way too much going on, IMHO.
Can’t follow the conversation, or respond to someone without knowing if someone else has responded already…
And between you and me… I’ve used the dansdeals facebook forum. I know your forum didn’t work before, but I think your user-base wasn’t ready yet. I think with all your new users, it may be time to try again (look at Apple’s failed Newton vs the iPhone… don’t give up on a concept because it failed once).
levi what r the points worth?
also i know this starwood employee well she is from corpp\orate costomer service she told me she could do it for me before all these stay. so to answer your quetion its possible. i guess u need to find the right person
@maven:
Dates?
@shmaya:
Starwood status (similar to airline status) lasts until the end of February, 2 calender years from when it is earned. i.e. Status earned in 05/08 will last until 02/10.
Shmaya,
Just call starwoods and ask them to put you back to gold you should have no problem, just make sure you say please
Jerry,
Great deal you got, to bad I can’t get the same
first of all did anyone get their free starbucks card for the las vegas hyatt , second there are now many benefits to regestering ur starbucks card , free refills , free milk upgrades ,and free syrup . Additionally if u register ur card now u get an aditionall 5 dollars.
I personally run a unofficial AT&T phone gemach… between me and my family, I have over 15 old phones, and over 6 phones out on loan to friends at the moment, does anyone have anything similar for Sprint?
anyone have an old sprint phone laying around that they are willing to give away? (any working phone with a good ESN is fine) my sis-in-law lost her phone…
or does anyone know of a good deal on one? depending on the phone she may be willing to pay a few dollars for it
please email mendel@temporaryforwarding.com, I will provide you with a pre-paid shipping label if needed.
Dont know how but i have been a starwood gold for a while, without ever staying at a starwood hotel, then i just found my status back to simply preffered. whats the deal with that?
i need a hotel stay in israel yerushalaim in aug everything nice seems booked
any ideas?
i was just in venice and stayed in the westin europa and regina in san marco square great location like a 25 minute walk to the ghetto it was the second to nicest hotel in venice and i got it for 12,000 points a night bec i reserved it a day before they changed the catagores (thanks to dans post) now they want like 20,000-25,000 a night and becuase i was gold i also got a suite for 3 nights
GOOD JOB ABISH KEEP WRITING
i know about myself that i just stayed in a bunch of starwood hotels and being a gold member i asked for a suite
and got it no problem so fersure if your platinum you will get a suite
After 24 hours and close to 100 posts, nothing spoken about Avis!!? I would have thought that Avis would have been one of the first topics.
Lets have some fun here lets see how many Presidents Club members we have here or for Dan should I say how many Chairmans Club members:-)
@yudi:
I can just tell you after speaking with a Starwood employee who I know, there is no such way that they can upgrade someone to platinum without 25 stays or 50 night UNLESS they do it illegally!(by posting 25 stays manually) Now as far as your 70 night within 5 days I must say you got very lucky because that is not there standard policy.
Whats with your points you mentioned before how much do you want for them?
@e:
Yes that was a statement
I SPOKE TO A LADY AT STARWOOD COSTOMER SERVICE AND SHE SAID “THAT THEY CAN UPGRADE TO GOLDEVERY YEAR. BUT THEY CAN ONLY UPGRADE TO PLATINUM ONCE IN A LIFETIME(BY REQUEST) THEREFORE BEING THAT THEY CAN ONLY UPGRADE U ONCE IN A LIFETIME THEY TRY NOT TO DO IT. BUT TO ANSWER YOUR QUETION THEY CAN! SHE WAS WILLING TO DO IT FOR ME BUTI BOOKED 30 HOTEL ROOMS AND GOT PLATINUM THROUGH THAT
P.S. STARWOOD HAS A CLAUSE THAT YOU CAN ONLY GET CREDIT FOR UP TO THREE ROOMS AT ONE STAY, THAT IS NOT TRUE. I SPOKE TO THE MANAGER OF THE HOTEL AND I CAN SHOW U MY ACOUNT I GOT CREDIT FOR CLOSE TO 70 NIGHTS WITHIN A 5 DAY PERIOD!!!
@levi: is that a statement or a question . i think we discussed this before and said theres no way they’ll just upgrade you to platinum, not really sure how yudi did it i tried asking many times.
@e:
No way possible they will upgrde to Platinum
anybody with any info about filling in credit card applications?
house, rent, own
income, how much can i put if i do not file tax returns?
any info wold be appreciated!
@YL: they’ll for sure upgrade u to gold i dont know about platinum though
@Shmiel: I think he meant external and portable.
yl. yes tell them that u want to use spg allot and that they upgraded one of your friends and that they said they wil upgrade once. they can.
i would call corporate costmer service. when u call starwood ask them for corporate costomer serice.
it should work!
@Mordy:
The facebook forum is there and not being utilized. People seem to just have an aversion to checking a new site, so comments it is.
@loyal reader:
Citi, Chase, and AMEX all do random checks on people. This is often caused by having very high credit lines or by using too much of your available credit.
@Abbish:
Did you explain that you have points coming in from Starwood? As long as you have a mileage number they should be willing to put an award on hold for you if you have points coming in.
@Abbish:
Yes, you can apply for the Starwood Consumer and Business AMEX on the same day without any problem.
@First Time Credit Card: Every credit card that I can think of allows a joint user.
You can just ask a family member who has a good credit history to add you as a joint user. (If they dont want to, they dont even need to give you the actual card- you will still get the history).
Or you can apply for a new card jointly with someone who already has a good history. Just put both of you names on the initial application- or you can call after and add you as a joint user (as opposed to authorized user).
@yudi: So in theory all I have to do is call up starwood reqard and ask them to upgrade me to platinum? that is it? or is there anything else? what is the #?
to in dire need:
Buy this 320 GB disk
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00165OLI0?tag=ctownbochur-20
and then find a cheap 2″5 Sata drive enclosure to put it in.
@in dire need: This stuff is pretty good
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013FVZXC?tag=ctownbochur-20
Its a bit bigger then the WD hard drives but its better as well.
@Dan/Ctownbochur: Should I wait between applying for a starwood personal card (which was instantly approved already) and a starwood business card which I want to do now (same day)?
hey dan and every one else on this forum i am in dire need of a 300 plus gb portble hard drive i need it to be small and compact the only problem i am having is that i can only be from amazon cuz i have like 250 in amazon gc thanks
starwood told me that they can upgrade anyone to platinum just for asking. once in a persons lifeteime. so that is why they dont do it so easy. but if u ask thm they should!!!!
levi i booked the stay at a hotel for my freinds wedding for the hole group.
what is a good price?
@Dan/Ctownbochur: Dan, except for possibly Continental I was told by all the reps I spoke with that award flights can’t be held w/o points
@🙂: Go to FlyPorter.com. It’s a Canadian airline that just started service from newark to Toronto. They fly to Toronto’s smaller downtown airport, and there is shuttle service to public transportation. My wife and brother both flew with them Pesach time and were very happy, plus the flights were at least $100 dollars cheaper than anything else.
@Rabbi: I was told it’s okay as long as I don’t leave the airport until after tzais. I’m not sure about doing melocho in the airport. Basically it’s a topic discussed in the gemara about being on a ship that lands on Shabbos – you get only daled amos which also works out as the whole building you are in, namely the airport.
@Schneur: oy…did I have a problem with what we wrote as income! I wanted to build up my points, so, I used my card for my bosses expenses…always getting reimbursed, and paying the bills in a timely fashion, usually before I even got the bill. Now amex is asking for a copy of our 2007 income tax return!
dan and all readers, do you have any helpful hints re that?
You know… a forum might be tough to get going, etc., but you already have a forum series built into your facebook group.
You might want to take advantage of that so that we don’t have to sift through a singular-linear set of posts like this…
@yudi:
yudi,
I am Platinum too, just curious how did you become platinum? You are not garanteed to get an upgrade, from my experience i always call the hotel a day or two in advance and 9/10 i get upgraded. It also depends how long the stay is obviously the shorter the stay the more chance of an upgrade
How much do you want to sell your starwood points for?
anyone have an old sprint phone laying around that they are willing to give away? (any working phone with a good ESN is fine) my sis-in-law lost her phone…
please email mendel@temporaryforwarding.com, I will provide you with a pre-paid shipping label
dan i got platinum on spg. am i pretty much guranteed to get a suite every time i stay or can they just say there is no availibility.
also i have 300000 starwoos points what is the best way to sell them and what is considerd a good price
@Yitzter:
no
can I transfer the remaining lan miles back to starpoints?
@Yitzter:
It would, but it would be easier to deal with domestic airlines to just get to Cali.
@Dan/Ctownbochur: and 50000 lan miles will for sure get me to cali right?
@jackie:
Definitely miles are the way to go. It’s hard to tell you which airline without knowing where you want to go.
@First Time Credit Card:
Not sure…try calling your current credit card and see if you can add a joint user.
@Yitzter:
20,000 starpoints gets you 50,000 on LAN. I have personally done this great transfer.
SPG.com says that Lanpass.com has a ratio of 1 to 2. Does that mean 25000 starpoints is 50000 Lanpass klmtrs? And how do I found out how much miles I need to get a lanpass ticket to cali?
Thanks
Where can you get a joint credit card? I cant seem to find any links.
I know I keep asking but I have not received any good answers. What is the best way to use AMEX MR points. Right now I’m thinking Home Depot gift cards. Anyone else?
anonymous: go to craigs list its easy, and you can save the hefty eBay and PayPal fees.
@🙂: try porter air
@Anonymous:
Ebay’s not that dificult to figure out-give it a shot and see what happens!
@Bz:
AMEX is very fickle about signup bonuses, you just have to keep calling up until a rep gives it to you!
@Abbish:
Call up the airlines. The reps have access to all kinds of partner awards and have the ability to hold it while the points transfer.
@laxcle:
AMEX, citi, and chase will give extra scrutiny for cards with limits that are excessive. For AMEX and Chase keep each card under 25K, for Citi if you keep each card under 45K you should be OK.
@sa:
Utilize as little of your available credit as possible, the lower your utilization ratio the higher your credit score.
@CharlesLight:
Good to know!
I need to fly to toronto in june and cant seem to find tikets cheaper then like $350 from any airport in the NY area to the toronto airport (not buffalo). Can anyone help?!
Authorized users still help.
There was talk of getting rid of it, and they probably are, but as of today it still works. I see it all the time.
@Eli:
Eli,
your right $236.86 but after tax it comes out to $1,042.19 and the $236.86 is only when you search for 4 nights. I am looking for 3 nights.
Hotel ai Mori d’Oriente Guest Rating 4.4 14 Reviews
4 Star $236.86
0.2 Miles From The Ghetto
Cannaregio / Venice
@loyal reader:
loyal reader,
Thanks, (Hotel ai Mori d’Oriente) but it seems that for my dates 6/10-6/13 they want a total of $885.86
@levi: I dont have the info with me here…but something il morai? go to hotels.com and click that u want venice near the landmark the ghetto. then click on to sort by distance.
@Abbish: Abbish, you should ask a Shaila about that. As far as I know, if you will be arriving to Toronto before Tzeis on June 10th, that would not halachically be allowed. You cannot do any Melocho in a place that holds two days EVEN b’tzina. Only Tefillin is allowed. But again, there are different pesakim from different rabbanim. This is the psak that I got.
@Dan/Ctownbochur: @me:
Try improving your credit score and don’t apply for any AMEX cards for a 120 days or so.
dan :How does one improve credit score-I have now like 685-690?
@Abbish: I tried calling you yesterday about the el al / continetal trade.
are you still interested?
I left you a message but didn’t hear back from you
@chulent: I made my reservations piecemeal…but I called up and paid the fee to have someone help me. for the $15@ person they have alot of patience.
@Yitzter: check out the starwood site. it tells u what the exchange is.
loyal reader
it says on ba’s website milage for 1 way is the sme as round trip do you know otherwise?
I’ve been trying for weeks to put together a reward flight from tel aviv – toronto right after Shavuos. Being as I keep one day I can leave on the 10 or 11 of June and return on 15 or 16. I have 25,000 in flying blue, 51000 in starpoints, 31000 in Amex rewards, 41000 in Continental and 5000 in Lan and Delta. Being as it takes time to transfer points , it’s hard to guarantee availability even if I were to find it. Any suggestions? (Lufthansa said I can’t book with miles b/c I only have a temp membership card, CO wants 105000 miles b/c the return is only available at 70000 does anyone know if/when they open seats?, BA only has one way available on a partner and won’t book a oneway w/points unless it’s BA, Flying blue doesn’t have avlblty on the promo, just has 50000 each way. etc etc)
How do I find out which airlines do that 25k bonus? I have never done this before!
Please help me out. Is there a time limit with these airlines?
hi i recently purchased the nintendo wii on amazon and wanted to resell them… does anyone knnow what the best way is?… i have no idea how to use ebay…. or anyone wanna buy them….
i just heard that although the promotion is no longer going on if you get an additional cardholders added to your account (starwoods) they’ll give u 2500 starpoints for every one, up to two obviously you have to call them and not all reps will do it for you additionally if u cancel those additional and resign them it is possible to get another 2500 for each if you do it enough times im sure they’ll catch on, results not guaranteed have fun!
@Yoko:
Wow-3K Starpoints just for compensation is awesome!
@loyal reader:
loyal reader,
Thanks, what is the name of the 4 star hotel in Venice that you got
anyone have any australia deals such as for qantas?
levi, check around on hotels.com. prices vary by date..
I got a 4 star for 4 nights, double occupancy at a little under $800, all fees included .02 from the ghetto.
I got ba biz 60,000, each way, each, jfk to venice and rome to jfk. Italy is a different category than france and switzerland.
@chaim: I got 3000 points as compensation.
@loyal reader:
loyal reader,
Which was the best hotel you fouund in Venice? I am still looking for Venice. As far as rome i booked the Westin Excelsior, on C/P 8000/$150 I know its a really nice hotel but i dont think its worth it I’d rather save the points.
I must share my flight information I belive i got an amazing value out of my Continental miles. EWR-PAR on Continental (2 days) PAR-VCE on AirFrance (4 days) (train to Rome 2 days) FCO-LHR on Alitalia (2 days) LHR-EWR on Virgin Atlantic. Thats 4 flights with 2 stopovers!! all in biz/first for 100,000 miles!!
tell me if im wrong but it looks like all the reply thing does is put an @ symbol at the beginning of the post
if anyone signed up for an amex starwood card and the 10000 bonus signup miles took over 3-4 months to get posted call them up and try to get some extra points as compensation. i got 1000 for one card and 2500 for another…
Due to inactivity, AA just took away the 100,000 AAdvantage miles I had in my account.
Anyone have advice as to how I can get AA to put them back?
Hey everyone, I have 20000 Starpoints. I want to fly to Cali in a week, can I get a ticket with those starpoints, how much will I need, what airline is the best? Thanks a lot to anyone who can get me that information.
Cheers.
@CharlesLight: that method of gaining credit was ended a few months back by fico due to the nation wide credit crisis. and for a first time card if your in school a student card is always an option
@me:
me,
I am in the same situation as you are so if someone can please comment with some helpful advice i would really appreiciate it
@First Time Credit Card: The best way to get your first credit card is to get added as an authorized user on someone elses card who has a good history.
Once that hits your credit, you should be able to apply for your own card.
Another option is to get a secured credit card, use it and pay it off in full every month. Within a few months, you will be able to get a regular credit card.
@YL:
re: to yl just tell them that you dont want it anymore like what you wrote
no biggy they close it for you on the spot
now question i have 37000 points on north west dan
anything?
dan heres a Q:
got a bunch of amex cards. after applying for too many-got a financial review.
waited 3 months and applied again, and was told i had to send in tax documents.
what do you think i could do to get a card again?
thanx inadvance
(my cscore is 695 does that play a role?)
once again i will ask a question i have asked before but never really been answered (since this seems to be the best place)
If i want to cancel a credit card, mainly b/c I just dont want to have so many open cards for practicality and security reasons, I want to cancel a newer card that I already used up its sign up incentives(in this case it is my citibank card)
what is the vest way to go about canceling a card? especially keeping identity security in mind.
thank you
@chulent:
you can get a business class award ticket on alitalia
for 80,000 miles (i think thats 65,000 starwood points)
they have some dates available!
hatzlacha
What ways are there for a beginer (no credit history) to get approved for a credit card?
What way can you recommend (besides churing) to accumulate points?
Hey everyone and Dan,
Love the stuff,
2 questions,
Any updates on CC’s? A lot of the old links are down, and there appear to be fewer deals then in the past. I’m planning on making aliyah in 16-20 months and want to accumulate miles. (already have AMEX consumer and business, AA advantage, just canceled my Continental)
Secondly, I’m planning on going to St. Thomas in September. I have a 500$ Continental voucher (got bumped in Tel Aviv), live in Cleveland (saw your dad last week), but Continental prices are in the 800 range for the week I’m hoping for. Other airlines have the price 200 less. Any ideas on the best way to get there/ best stuff to do there?
Thanks all
Hey, which laptop will provide the best bang for my buck? I’m not looking for anything particularly fancy, and am partial to Macs, but would love some advice…
@loyal reader:
FYI-
I just tried to transfer to Amtrak and they said you don’t get the 5,000 bonus and it could take 14 days.
dan and other loyal readers, might you have any suggestions about my trip to venice and rome? sightseeing? restaurants? kaylim of the beis hamikdash?
tea with the pope? 🙂
chulent, BA allows points for a one way flight. their points travel is reasonable.
ps…I found the best price for hotels in venice at hotels.com. in rome I meanwhile have the option of using cash and points with starwood. I am thinking if this is a good option or should I just search for a hotel at hotels.com and save my starwood points for a future flight.
we are going BA biz class a la starwood points. We are so excited we can hardly wait!
I also bought tickets to Israel with continental for succos and upgraded to biz with my onepass points!
a huge advantage os hotels.com, there is no penalty if you want to cancel, or change your itinerary!
Dan, do you have a better suggestion?
All this education thanks to Dan!
might be a better suggestion to transfer 20000 starwood miles to amtrak…that becomes 25000 and then transfer that 25000 to continental. I have done that and it worked out well.
dan…thank you for this new discussion thread:-)
does anyone have a tried method (not theoretical as many dont have any dates available) of going from israel to america on the least amount of starpoints???
@Dan/Ctownbochur:
Thanks Dan!
On what you just said-
If I’m missing lets say 10,000 to 20,00 for a 100,000 CO reward, how would transferring to a SkyTeam partner help? Can I transfer from them to CO or could I combine miles to book a ticket through one of them?
@DanielHochman:
It depends on what you are trying to change.
If you are just changing a flight segment that would not require a change in the number of miles required for the award then you will not lose the other segments.
If however the segment you are changing will change the amount of required miles (due to change in zone/easypass/sat. night stay, etc.) then you will need to redeposit the miles and find availability for each segment again.
Sometimes when you redeposit the award the mileage availability for the segments ticketed will return, but there is definitely no guarantee.
I believe that Starwood direct deposit will only transfer 1:1 to Continental from the day it is set up, but not for current balances. Why not transfer Starpoints at 20,000:25,000 to a SkyTeam partner for travel on Continental?
I don’t think that either of the transfer options ever make too much sense…
@DanielHochman:
DanielHochman,
As far as your first question, if the same reward class is available then they can just make a change but if its not, and you have to add more miles to the reservation, then you would have to redeposit and rebook
@levi:
Thanks Levi. I never said I wanted to transfer from CO to starwood. I said “to CO FROM starwood”.
If I had AMEX points I would use them, but alas I don’t.
DanielHochman,
Yes you will have to rebook the whole ticket based on current reward availability.
Neither transfer options are smart, the best option is to transfer Amex points to continental. 1:1 (no fee)
I could be wrong and if I am someone please correct me on this but I don’t think you can transfer Continental mile to Starwoods
P.S. Dan, Thanks for the great new discussion post
Hey Dan,
Thanks for the new discussion post.
Does anyone know if when you book a reward ticket with continental and then want to change one of the flight segments, will you be guaranteed to keep the other segment, or is it as if you are re-depositing the miles and then you have to rebook the whole ticket based on current reward availability?
Also, if someone needs more miles is it smarter to transfer them from a family member’s account for $7.50/ 500 miles or buy them from CO for $32/ 1000 miles?
Is there anyway to transfer to CO from Starwood at a 1:1 ratio after the points are already in the account?
Thanks,
Daniel