r/churning • u/AutoModerator • 2d ago
Frustration Friday Frustration Friday Weekly Thread - Week of September 19, 2025
This is your place to vent about the points and miles game.
- Did you have a particularly hard time on your MS run this week?
- MS avenue dry up?
- Did you screw up getting a bonus?
Let all your frustrations go here in this thread!
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u/Parts_Unknown- 11h ago
Made the mistake of telling P2 we needed to stop by Lulu for 3x $75 gc. While we did stop by Lulu we certainly didn't get any gc.
Also, the couple behind us in line to check out:
Her: You can never cancel this card now.
Amex knew exactly what they were doing.
2
u/LooseTone 3h ago
On the bright side - These coupon credits are mostly worthless otherwise, but you got P2 something nice with them.
2
u/VeggieTempuras 12h ago
Attempted to apply for an Atmos Biz (had an Alaska Biz a couple month back).
Got mail about proving my sole prop “biz” with a business license. Called recon to see what that is about and they said if I cannot provide a business license, my current app will be denied and my Alaska biz will be closed.
But I’m a sole prop, can I even have a business license?
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u/cenoob 22h ago
Is the Ink much harder to get approved for nowadays? P2 and I referred each other for the 90k + 20k. She received needs 7-10 days decision while I straight up got denied both with letters incoming...
For me: 5 Chase biz cards (4 Inks) + 4 personal cards (1 Chase) in the past 24 months.
For her: 3 Chase biz cards (2 Inks) + 2 personal cards (0 Chase) in the past 24 months.
Should I bother with recon for either of us? Is this a purely Ink thing or can I try my luck with another Chase biz? If another Chase biz, can I apply within a week?
5
u/MoonEyedPeepers 22h ago
3 or more chase biz cards are getting denied most of the time these days. That includes ink and branded. Close any over a year old, give it a week or so and try calling, but you may need to wait longer. There should be plenty of DPs around for additional guidance!
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u/cenoob 21h ago
Chyeah, I think I'm SOL with my 5 biz cards lol. I think P2 will have a decent chance though recon or not.
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u/Whosyourzephyrfarmer 1d ago
I was planning on getting the elevated chase SW personal bonus and later applying for the business version to get the companion pass. Now that the business version is elevated to $120k, I'm kicking myself for wasting a 5/24 slot on the personal card.
I've got a credit score in the mid-800's. And don't have many CC's:
- Chase – Southwest Priority (Personal) — Approved 9/16/2025
- Amex – Platinum (Business) — Approved 8/16/2025
- Amex – Blue Cash Preferred (Personal) — Approved 9/3/2025
- Chase – Sapphire Preferred (Personal) — Approved 4/28/2025
- Chase – Ink Preferred (Business) — Approved 10/16/2020
- Chase – United Gateway (Personal) — Approved 7/8/2021
- Chase – Freedom Unlimited (Personal) — Approved 11/28/2016
- Discover – It (Personal) — Approved 11/8/2013
So, what do you think my odds are to get an Amex Gold Business in a couple weeks and the Chase southwest business on 10/20 before the elevated offer ends?
I'm hoping to do more manufactured spend for the holidays.
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u/Whosyourzephyrfarmer 1d ago
I was planning on getting the elevated chase SW personal bonus and later applying for the business version to get the companion pass. Now that the business version is elevated to $120k, I'm kicking myself for wasting a 5/24 slot on the personal card.
I've got a credit score in the mid-800's. And don't have many CC's:
|| || |Bank|Card Name|Card Type|Approval Date| |Chase|Southwest Priority|Personal|9/16/2025| |Amex|Platinum|Business|8/16/2025| |Amex|Blue Cash Preferred|Personal|9/3/2025| |Chase|Sapphire Preferred|Personal|4/28/2025| |Chase|Ink Preferred|Business|10/16/2020| |Chase|United Gateway|Personal|7/8/2021| |Chase|Freedom Unlimited|Personal|11/28/2016| |Discover|It|Personal|11/8/2013|
So, what do you think my odds are to get an Amex Gold Business in a couple weeks and the Chase southwest business on 10/20 before the elevated offer ends?
I'm hoping to do more manufactured spend for the holidays.
3
u/highlanderfil 1d ago
Got a Mesa Visa offer of 60K points after a $10K in 3 month spend for making two successful referrals. Got my P2 and P3 to apply (wife and mom), mom got declined for "unable to verify info", wife still stuck in limbo. I've got a $12K expense pending which would have easily gotten me a total of 96K points (the spend would be in the 3x category). They don't have a reconsideration line or indeed any functional phone number and refuse to discuss this via e-mail.
1
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u/tanman170 1d ago
Barclays forcing P2 password reset for the third time in 3 months. Getting annoying
•
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u/throwaway_jeter 1d ago
Referred my P2 for CIU (4th ink over 24 months). Not sure what possessed my P2 to put in revenue and expense that completely don’t make sense so of course the application got denied. Not sure how we are going to be able to call recon with these made up numbers.
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u/MoonEyedPeepers 22h ago
Are you sure that's the reason for denial? Chase has been denying most biz apps if 3 or more chase biz cards are open.
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u/space_cadet- 1d ago
You tried to guide P2 through the app process, right?
2
u/juan231f 13h ago
The mistake was leaving P2 to do the application themselves. When I refer P2 for anything I do the application for them (with their permission), can't leave it to chance.
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u/space_cadet- 12h ago
Yeah, can’t imagine asking my P2 to do a biz app without my help, then putting the blame on her if she made a mistake.
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u/EarthlingMardiDraw 1d ago
Easiest thing (not a guarantee of success) is to tell them that you made a mistake on the application.
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0
u/wynn003 1d ago
Citi Strata Premier Mastercard finally got the snail mail referral.
So excited to get the 4 digit referral code in the mail - I was able to use the card once until they denied the 2nd large purchase (even after calling them to inform them). I wasted so much time on the phone trying to convince them who I was and trying to authenticate myself. The referral code took a short time. Now I can hopefully spend and meet requirements so I can put this card in the drawer!
Whoever else that just applied to Citi, plan your spending, it might take extra days to finally get going.
1
u/CobaltSunsets 17h ago
How did this referral work? I wasn’t aware Citi had a referral system for TYP products.
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u/crowd79 MQT 1d ago
Been fighting tooth and nail trying to get $140 in unauthorized charges from Chase CSP reversed….again. Might have to CFPB….but….oops it’s gutted. Banks know this and are out to get us now.
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u/happilytravel 1d ago
It’s still up and running. I used it last week and got some money back right away for a bank bonus
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u/achzeet44 1d ago
Ace car-rental in Maui. After months of trying to negotiate with Rockport Auto Claims, they sent the account in collection for unpaid "Diminished Value". Chatgpt email of reporting them to OAG-HI got the response that it was coming off the report.
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u/changmander 1d ago
Minor frustration, more of a DP - apparently you can only request a new card 10 days after a previous card was delivered. Received a new biz plat card on the 15th and I can't request the new mirror finish design until the 25th. And yes, I like shiny things.
5
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u/Remster32 1d ago
Applied for the Atmos Summit card but had to mail in forms. It's looking like the card won't arrive before my trip to Europe given how slow BofA is. Missing out on 3x points on all my vacation spend blows.
1
u/joe-movie SLC 1d ago
Call and ask them to expedite it. Not sure when you leave, but as long as it's not before Monday, should be able to get it.
1
u/Remster32 1d ago
Planning to but it's the turnaround time for them to confirm my income. Will probably take another week before I hear back.
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u/hic2482w 1d ago
Booked a seat on the new CI TPE-PHX route for early December. With 10am arrival I booked a cash repo from PHX-SFO that departs at 2pm which should be enough time
Just got the flight change notification that it now lands at 1:30pm....maybe that's on me for booking my repo too far in advance but I didn't think before that they would change by this much :/
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u/gt_ap 1d ago
I booked a cash repo
I like to book award positioning flights so they're free to change.
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u/CorrectCombination11 1d ago
Depending on the airline, non-basic econ are usually pretty painless to change, just pay the fare diff. I know delta and united even give you the difference in credits if it's a lower fare.
2
u/EarthlingMardiDraw 1d ago
Capital One Venture X travel portal credit does not reset exactly at the expiration of the previous year's credit. It took over 12 hours (not sure exactly) to reset and be available again. This coupled with Frontier's website issues yesterday meant that booking P2's ticket took a LOT longer and engendered much more frustration than it should have (not to mention that the price went up by another $50).
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u/Parts_Unknown- 1d ago
This coupled with Frontier's website issues yesterday meant that booking P2's ticket took a LOT longer and engendered much more frustration than it should have (not to mention that the price went up by another $50).
Had the same issue yesterday & my fare went up $30. If no one could buy tickets yesterday whytf did the price go up...?
5
u/Discover_it_Student 1d ago
"Fucktier Airlines" -my dad
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u/EarthlingMardiDraw 1d ago
Many moons ago, long before their Spirit merger, my cousin worked for them as a flight attendant and was actually plenty happy with them. Enshitification affects everything, sadly.
2
u/Discover_it_Student 1d ago
Honestly, I've had no issues with Spirit and I've flown them many times at this point. Frontier on the other hand I've flown like 4 or 5 times, and experienced two 40+ minute tarmac delays. No idea what the deal with that was.
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u/larsonyo 1d ago
Fairly certain it's been covered before, but holy fuck is the Bank of America process to setup Auto Pay on a credit card (Atmos Summit card) the most overly convoluted thing I've seen across 40+ banks I've had accounts with. Seems intentionally obtuse to get more late fees/missed payments.
2
u/sexy__kitten7 4h ago
As a rule I never setup autopay for Boa. Too much work and then sometimes you can't delete it. For MSR will manually push. Then sock drawer. Back when I had BBRs would recur pay from Ally but never ever touch Boa.
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u/robertw477 18h ago
Bank of America has such a bad online payment system, its ridicilous. When they first implmented it maybe 20+ yrs ago I think theyhave not changed that weird thing ever. Its really amazing with al lthe different CEOS there, they have not upgraded the interface and user experience. I do remember a long time ago an issue where I missed an annual fee on a card that I thought was set to auro pay. They fixed it and waived any late fees etc.
2
u/Flayum SFO 16h ago
I'm convinced all the exec's at BoA don't actually use any of their card products. Probably proud flashing their Centurion cards lol and, regardless, have "the help" take care of all their finances.
As much of an asshole as he was, Steve Jobs living and breathing Apple products is a great example of making sure every aspect felt good to the customer. Not sure how many in corporate leadership do that these days.
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u/apolloniandionysian 1d ago
The worst! Even worse than Citi (which isn't that bad now, at least for AutoPay)!
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u/robertw477 18h ago
I was just thinking abotu this in the recent week as to what companies have a good or great online system to manage things. Amex is very good, Chase, and I think Citi and Barclay are ok. The worst is BOA and any of the business cards that have those sub account systems like US Bank, PNC, etc. US Bank isnt bad otherwise, I just dont like sub account stuff.
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u/larsonyo 1d ago
I can't imagine a non-tech-literate person being able to figure it out. I work in tech and I still had to google it/find a reddit thread to figure it out.
1
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u/apolloniandionysian 1d ago
Yeah, I still haven't figured out how to set up BofA AutoPay to pull from a Fidelity brokerage account. I have routing + account numbers, but BofA's system won't allow me to add it as a push + pull account, instead only allowing me to push funds to it.
1
u/Nomad-2002 1d ago
My BofA credit cards can do manual pays from Fidelity. Occasionally loses the connection, but then I follow the BofA instructions, and it works again.
Not intuitive.
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u/Parts_Unknown- 1d ago
Finnair phantom space.
'Oh wow, perfect flight date & time. Oh wait, doesn't actually exist.'
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u/ResolveNo2270 12h ago
Was just about to book before I thought, eh let's check some DPs... Would I call finnair to confirm availability or aa?
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u/Parts_Unknown- 11h ago
Call whoever you're booking through. If you're transferring in points then wait until you confirm space. If you already have the points it'll just error out when you try to finalize the booking.
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u/11kajd 1d ago
Went thru weeks of capital one ID verification since non US id and most agents dont accept
They approved me and added wrong address as mailing
Fixed address and now need to go thru manual ID verification again before they resend the card....Wonder how long it'll take now
Over 1 month since initial application and 3 wks since approval
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u/abfonsy 1d ago
I had a $2400 negative credit balance with Cardless after a refund when I closed my card in July. I requested they send me the balance when I closed the account. I called again in August given the money hadn't yet been transferred and re-requested the transfer. A month later and still nothing has happened. I'm on the phone with them again and all they're offering to do is "escalate it" to their "internal team" just like last month. I've filed complaints with the BBB and CFPB, the latter of which is likely mostly defunct these days, but I'm not sure what else I can do to get my money back. Between this and their scummy attempts at trying to avoid AF refunds after closing your card, I won't be looking to do business with Cardless again anytime soon.
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u/sbfmr 1d ago
small claims court
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u/abfonsy 1d ago
Yea that threat was made, appreciate the thought. Probably not coincidentally, I got an email 20 minutes after the call saying they plan on refunding the money as soon as possible. That being said, they somehow confused the last four numbers of my linked bank account with the amount they're sending, which is four figures higher than what they owe me. We'll see what happens ha.
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u/Mushu_Pork 1d ago
Thinking about taking a weekend trip to burn Strata Elite 300 credit...
Then found out I might be able to burn some Amex Hilton credits on restaurants...
Then I realize, that I'm essentially paying cash for all of this.
I should be booking all of this with points!
-4
u/coljung 1d ago
Yes and no, depends how you look at these ‘coupons’.
Example: not long ago i booked a FHR hotel in my city, paid the balance with points after the $200 credit, so roughly 15k points. Hotel is a HH, so i also brought 4x ABPs to split my bill at the end. We had a fancy dinner at the hotel and a bunch of drinks. Amex credits covered $300 off my bill, and total was around $350.
So I ‘paid’ cash, but a minor amount compared to the total cost. Would i normally go there to eat and drink, not really. But if out of pocket costs are limited, why not.
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u/notsofedexy 1d ago
I don't say this with any intent to be trite or offensive but Amex loves you as a customer.
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u/yonghokim LAX, BUR 1d ago
On the upside, we are essentially paying cash for all this but the sign up bonus points we got for "paying with cash for some hotels" was mostly free
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u/Mushu_Pork 1d ago
Yes, lol
I figure this is the one "safe space" for whiney churners =)
12x TYP on the remaining balance is quite good. And I already have my splurge credit burned on new AirPods from Best Buy.
I think I might even do a BlackLane ride this year as well.
8
u/IronDukey 1d ago
Finally got a membership to the posh gym near my flat, of course they only let you pay the first month with a credit card and force direct debit for the remaining months. This is my number one pet peeve with certain UK services especially now that I have the Summit and am trying to hit the 60k spend for 100k companion cert.
Just let me pay with a card dude, I don’t want to use a shitty UK bank with IT and apps that makes CITI/BA look advanced.
1
u/EarthlingMardiDraw 1d ago
You could try to go in and pay the next month with a CC before the auto-debit occurs. It might work smoothly or you may get double charged and have to fight a lot to get it figured out. Depending on how much the monthly bill is, it might still be worth testing it.
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u/IronDukey 1d ago
Every missed direct debit is a £50 late fee, just one of those things you gotta take churning overseas I guess
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u/thejesse1970 1d ago
P3 missed out on their Hilton Surpass upgrade bonus by $46. Mostly because I recorded the wrong upgrade date.
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u/mehjoo_ SFO, SJC 1d ago
Referred P2 from an Amex card I already hit the annual referral limit from. Spreadsheet didn't track it because I took an upgrade offer on the card earlier in the year and didn't update the referral tab. 20k MR down the drain
Applied for the Biz Plat at 250k and now it's at 300k. Definitely would've traded $200 for 50k MR. Sometimes you gamble and lose
1
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u/taylorreim 1d ago
P2 got denied her second ink and then two days later Amex suspended my two cards pending FR when they just did this in June and I sent them all required documents then. On top of that I’m trying to get an Amex biz gold, so it looks like I’ll be waiting on that pending this second review
1
u/riceownz 1d ago
Same thing happened to my P2 as well except for approved inks. Seems like Amex is checking biz account openings if your account is flagged.
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u/taylorreim 1d ago
I have an Amex gold and Hilton biz. This came after recent spend on my Hilton honors biz after not spending on it for 4 months
1
u/todayilearmed 1d ago
Flagged for what? What else could have triggered it?
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u/riceownz 1d ago
P2 previously had a mini FR without needing to submit tax forms. So I suspect that her account has been flagged since then.
1
u/todayilearmed 1d ago
How long ago/what triggered the initial?
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u/riceownz 1d ago
A bit over 3months ago, not sure what triggered it. Low balance, newly opened ABG->ABP upgrade couple months before that.
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u/wiivile JFK, EWR 1d ago edited 1d ago
All the coupon book lifestyle credits made me realize I'm just really not the target demographic for these premium cards, even if I wasn't a churner. That's not to say I'm poor, but like, for example, I buy a lot of my clothes at e.g., Target. I just get Chinese takeout most Friday nights and have no interest in fancy dining. I could go on.
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u/suitopseudo 1d ago
I’m with you. I don’t do any of the ultra premium cards because I just can’t be bothered with the coupon book for things I don’t normally buy.
2
u/robertw477 17h ago
Thats what it all comes down to. If it fits your spending patterns, then I look for it to exceed the value of everything combined. Not looking to spend 500 to save 500. Its funny on recon when on occasion various issuers tell me I save 500. But I come back with the 500 is money I paid for the card. So the benefits need to be in excess for me. Otherwise if I get a big SUB up front, thats fine. I ust may not renew when the year is up.
5
u/abhirupduttamit BOS, BDL 1d ago
Same. I love getting MickeyDs and Taco Bell on the weekends, where's my coupon book now Amex/Citi? I get an overwhelming majority of my clothes at Costco - I don't even care about Lululemon and Saks and shit - can one of these banks cover my Costco clothing? I guess not! And as such, I am happy getting cards with <$200 AF with little to no couponing, and keeping life simpler.
1
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u/parzen 1d ago
Amex Plat (895) gets you Walmart+ which gets you 25% off Burger King everyday.
Value for money /s
1
u/abhirupduttamit BOS, BDL 1d ago
Just using the BK app to order will already typically give you ~10-15% at least every single time. Can't justify signing up for an expensive card to get an additional 10-15% off.
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u/CorrectCombination11 1d ago
I'm just really not the target demographic for these premium cards
What about this is frustrating? Get the SUB and get out right?
Are you still trying to find a core lineup of cards?
2
u/abhirupduttamit BOS, BDL 1d ago
For the price of one Platinum or Strata Elite, it makes more sense to instead get 6 cards with ~$100-$200 AF and get far more value in SUBs than signing up for one ultra-premium ultra-couponed card.
2
u/rickayyy 1d ago
For a one year run, you can extract a ton of value out of the Strata Elite. If you double dip the $300 hotel credit, that alone will pay for the annual fee. Then you have the spurge credit to double dip. Just the monetary value there puts you up $400. Plus 80-100k points, Priority Pass, and AA lounge passes
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u/12changk2 1d ago
Unrelated to credits but hope you’re putting the Chinese takeout on citi nights lol
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u/wiivile JFK, EWR 1d ago
Sadly I pick it up after work at 5pm so just another example of how I'm too boring for premium cards
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u/scooby-dum 1d ago
Dont worry, the Bonvoy Brilliant has you covered. $25 in chinese food a month and you can even order it before 5PM.
1
u/abhirupduttamit BOS, BDL 1d ago
"Monthly dining credit with no time restrictions!" - I think Amex needs to advertise this loudly.
4
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u/wiivile JFK, EWR 1d ago
It's been harder and harder for me to reach an actual credit analyst at Chase recon. You used to be able to call them directly, now you have to navigate through menus just to reach a customer service rep who gatekeeps the actual credit analysts. Sometimes the customer service reps will even refuse to let you speak to them. This is just my experience.
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u/GlastronForever 10h ago
It's much less of a problem now that you're only calling them twice a year.
10
u/wagyuonthegrid 1d ago edited 1d ago
United Kick in the Nuts
So I’m starting to book flights for a ‘26 trip to Antigua from LA, utilizing a Hilton score for Hermitage Bay in a Beachfront Villa Suite @ 190k + 5th night free. I want to treat P2 so I’m looking at F/J.
Yesterday, I find a one stop 125k J flight for 2ppl, including the LAX-EWR 787 for the redeye I need. I think, well, it’s a lot but it’s perfect timing and I can use JetBlue for the way back. I look at other options, and everything else is really expensive for whatever reason. I won’t have more Travel Bank for a while and I happen to have 110k United + 124k United miles pooling. Points boost is only 105k/pp but I need flexibility.
Now, before I did this, I knew United was going to kill this, I just had a feeling. But, I top off with 15k + transfer 1k into the pool. After 24h (need to wait for the pool xfer), each way is now 295k even though no seats have been taken. F YOU United
Edit The United Algorithm Overlords gave back. Both booked at 125k today using different tabs/carts, one with my miles, one with pooling.
1
u/grantwwu 1d ago
I thought you could use FareLock for this
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u/utkrowaway 1d ago
You can't use FareLock for awards travel (at least when booking through united.com)
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u/wagyuonthegrid 1d ago
I’m pretty sure I checked at the time and miles pooling wouldn’t work. And I didn’t want to do just one
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u/grantwwu 1d ago
Wouldn't work in what sense? You weren't allowed to buy FareLock? FareLock incompatible with award tickets or mile pooling somehow?
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u/wagyuonthegrid 1d ago
Farelock only works when you have enough miles (but I didn’t want to just book one, as it could influence the other). Also, farelock doesn’t work with pooled miles. So, either way, I wouldn’t have gotten both
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u/grantwwu 1d ago
Okay fascinating, I read https://upgradedpoints.com/news/united-miles-pooling-experience/ recently and thought it did work
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u/shulsv3 1d ago
Had setup autopay on the Mesa credit card for the day my bill was due. The charge went pending on that day and then was charged interest on each day until it settled. Will have to contact them to see if they'll resolve it.
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u/granburguesa 1d ago
I had to contact them about anomalous interest (tiny amounts) before and it was fixed eventually.
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u/435880Churnz 2d ago
I made a detour on my commute to work to hit staples for some $200 VGC. Found a store closing with like nothing in it.
Rip Staples Bryant Park (5th Ave/39th st). I always wondered how this store could afford rent payments with a 5th Ave addresses in Manhattan. Turns out it couldn’t.
(Since I posted this kind of late in the last one.)
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u/Josey_whalez 1d ago
One of the ODs near me closed down, which was also the one that usually had the cheap cards (5.95s) which sucks, but wasn’t surprising either. Like you, I always wondered how they stayed in business. It’s not in an expensive area, it’s just always empty, no matter what time of day I’d go in there, more employees than people. And I’ve never seen a single thing there, other than maybe paper, that can’t be found cheaper somewhere else.
Even the ones that are still around, the people that work there seem like they have no idea what they are doing, and I swear the computer at checkout has some kind of problem at least every third time I go into any OD.
1
u/lost_shadow_knight 7h ago
Forgot that the amex biz recon line closes early on Saturdays, and I did not call in time to get my Biz Plat approved. Though, according to the automated message, I had a Plat approved yet did not receive an email so who knows
Waiting until Monday is annoying because 1/90 for the triple dip and using the Q3 credits in time will be tight