Opening new credit card(s) for son's class trip?

[Laura Ingalls]

My high school son is planning on going on a class trip to Europe in 2018.  There are multiple payment options and I am looking to maximize my points and/or cash back. 

I will use an existing card to pay the deposi this week but thoughts on cards to pay the remaining $4,000?

[boarder42]

My high school son is planning on going on a class trip to Europe in 2018.  There are multiple payment options and I am looking to maximize my points and/or cash back. 

I will use an existing card to pay the deposi this week but thoughts on cards to pay the remaining $4,000?

4k for what.  thats an insane amount of money for a trip to europe.  if you cant break out your airfare and book it separate ... then the cards i would get are

1. barclay arrival plus card spend 3k on this card and its worth 500 off travel (assuming whatever you're paying the 4k to logs as a travel company) you, your husband and maybe your son could get this for 1500 off
2. Capital one venture card spend 3k get 400 off travel same assumption as above - again 3 cards could be as much as 1200 more off.

[ooeei]

With the Chase Sapphire Reserve you'll get $300 of travel credit, and $1000 worth of cashback points for spending $4000.  That $1000 cashback can also be redeemed for $1500 in travel rewards if you book through Chase.  There's a $450 fee, but assuming you have $300 in travel expenses (that are coded as "travel" by Chase), you end up with:

$300 + $1000 - $450 = $850 in cashback

or

$300 + $1500 - $450 = $1350 in travel rewards

[boarder42]

the reason why 4k takes me back a few steps for 1 trip to europe for 1 person is b/c

this is what we have done this year/ plan to do for around 4k

1. 10 day trip to maui with jeep rental car and 5 star AAA diamond resorts for 2 with first class flight/ scuba diving / poke / dinner cruises/ whale watching etc.
2. 3 day trip to new orleans - stayed with friends bars bars bars
3. 3 day trip to chicago - hotels on mag mile lots of bars and sunset dinner cruise etc.
4. weekend in branson - theme park tickets eating out etc.
5. 3 day camping trip in state parks
6. 3 day vegas trip
7. 14 day european cruise in balcony cabin with booze and shore excursions etc.
8. lake bachelor party weekend - bars and food and booze and cabin.

and i'm probably forgetting something.

i mean 4k is insanely high.

[MrGville]

Boarder42...Do you mind sharing additional details on how you are doing all of that for $4k? I am very curious...I might be planning my vacations the wrong way if you're only spending $4k for 40+ days of vacationing....

[boarder42]

Boarder42...Do you mind sharing additional details on how you are doing all of that for $4k? I am very curious...I might be planning my vacations the wrong way if you're only spending $4k for 40+ days of vacationing....

travel hacking with credit cards. (sign up for credit cards for the sign up bonus rinse and repeat)

1.hawaii trip was AA miles, hilton honors points, Starwood Preferred guest points, Hyatt free nights, Barclay card mentioned above offset rental car and a couple activities including a 5 star resort dinner - this trip ended up around 1k including scuba which was 400 of that cost. 
2. AA vouchers b/c they botcher our HI flights - 200-300
3. Southwest points and HHonors points 500 (dont ask very unhappy)
4. borrow grandpa's time share going at really low time would be like 40 bucks if we paid him for his points we're spending - theme park tickets could be offset by barclay but likely not (200)
5. camping out of pocket (150)
6. free hotels / southwest flights - 300 for fun and rental est. (hasnt happened yet)
7. initial cruise price 2800 - knocked down to 700 with cards mentioned in first post - flights free AA points - excursions - 700-800 figuring out how to knock this down - ~1500(hasnt happened)
8. 180 bucks - no hacking

around 4130 is what i've got listed here.  some costs still variable.  working on knocking down the excursion prices on the cruise.

[ooeei]

the reason why 4k takes me back a few steps for 1 trip to europe for 1 person is b/c

this is what we have done this year/ plan to do for around 4k

1. 10 day trip to maui with jeep rental car and 5 star AAA diamond resorts for 2 with first class flight/ scuba diving / poke / dinner cruises/ whale watching etc.
2. 3 day trip to new orleans - stayed with friends bars bars bars
3. 3 day trip to chicago - hotels on mag mile lots of bars and sunset dinner cruise etc.
4. weekend in branson - theme park tickets eating out etc.
5. 3 day camping trip in state parks
6. 3 day vegas trip
7. 14 day european cruise in balcony cabin with booze and shore excursions etc.
8. lake bachelor party weekend - bars and food and booze and cabin.

and i'm probably forgetting something.

i mean 4k is insanely high.

True, but that's with travel hacking playing a pretty big role, and you're shopping for bargains.  If this is like most class trips I know of, it's probably 2 weeks to a month, and has plenty of activities and maybe multiple destinations planned out.  It may even include food.  Hunting bargains and being flexible is much easier with 1-2 people than with 30 minors. 

A plane ticket to Europe is about $1000, add in another $500+ for transport after the fact, food cost of $20/day or so for a month is $600, room and board for a month is probably another $500-1000 depending on where they're staying.  We're already up to $3100 without any activities.

I went on a similar thing to Australia in college, and had a blast.  It was $3000 I think, but that didn't include all of my food.  Well worth the trip.  Travel hacking and budgeting has its place, but I think a trip with a big group of similar aged friends in High School is a pretty damn awesome opportunity, even at $4k. 

[boarder42]

the reason why 4k takes me back a few steps for 1 trip to europe for 1 person is b/c

this is what we have done this year/ plan to do for around 4k

1. 10 day trip to maui with jeep rental car and 5 star AAA diamond resorts for 2 with first class flight/ scuba diving / poke / dinner cruises/ whale watching etc.
2. 3 day trip to new orleans - stayed with friends bars bars bars
3. 3 day trip to chicago - hotels on mag mile lots of bars and sunset dinner cruise etc.
4. weekend in branson - theme park tickets eating out etc.
5. 3 day camping trip in state parks
6. 3 day vegas trip
7. 14 day european cruise in balcony cabin with booze and shore excursions etc.
8. lake bachelor party weekend - bars and food and booze and cabin.

and i'm probably forgetting something.

i mean 4k is insanely high.

True, but that's with travel hacking playing a pretty big role, and you're shopping for bargains.  If this is like most class trips I know of, it's probably 2 weeks to a month, and has plenty of activities and maybe multiple destinations planned out.  It may even include food.  Hunting bargains and being flexible is much easier with 1-2 people than with 30 minors. 

A plane ticket to Europe is about $1000, add in another $500+ for transport after the fact, food cost of $20/day or so for a month is $600, room and board for a month is probably another $500-1000 depending on where they're staying.  We're already up to $3100 without any activities.

I went on a similar thing to Australia in college, and had a blast.  It was $3000 I think, but that didn't include all of my food.  Well worth the trip.  Travel hacking and budgeting has its place, but I think a trip with a big group of similar aged friends in High School is a pretty damn awesome opportunity, even at $4k.

pretty wasteful as most of those cost could be optimized ie the plane tickets. can easily be hacked out. esp if you're talking a month.

[ooeei]

the reason why 4k takes me back a few steps for 1 trip to europe for 1 person is b/c

this is what we have done this year/ plan to do for around 4k

1. 10 day trip to maui with jeep rental car and 5 star AAA diamond resorts for 2 with first class flight/ scuba diving / poke / dinner cruises/ whale watching etc.
2. 3 day trip to new orleans - stayed with friends bars bars bars
3. 3 day trip to chicago - hotels on mag mile lots of bars and sunset dinner cruise etc.
4. weekend in branson - theme park tickets eating out etc.
5. 3 day camping trip in state parks
6. 3 day vegas trip
7. 14 day european cruise in balcony cabin with booze and shore excursions etc.
8. lake bachelor party weekend - bars and food and booze and cabin.

and i'm probably forgetting something.

i mean 4k is insanely high.

True, but that's with travel hacking playing a pretty big role, and you're shopping for bargains.  If this is like most class trips I know of, it's probably 2 weeks to a month, and has plenty of activities and maybe multiple destinations planned out.  It may even include food.  Hunting bargains and being flexible is much easier with 1-2 people than with 30 minors. 

A plane ticket to Europe is about $1000, add in another $500+ for transport after the fact, food cost of $20/day or so for a month is $600, room and board for a month is probably another $500-1000 depending on where they're staying.  We're already up to $3100 without any activities.

I went on a similar thing to Australia in college, and had a blast.  It was $3000 I think, but that didn't include all of my food.  Well worth the trip.  Travel hacking and budgeting has its place, but I think a trip with a big group of similar aged friends in High School is a pretty damn awesome opportunity, even at $4k.

pretty wasteful as most of those cost could be optimized ie the plane tickets. can easily be hacked out. esp if you're talking a month.

True, but I doubt they're allowing that for high school kids.  Yes it would be cheaper for some people, although most people wouldn't take advantage of it.

What would inevitably happen is someone wouldn't be able to get on the same flight as everyone else, and would end up arriving at a different time/day.  Then they have to coordinate picking them up and changing things around if a flight gets delayed.  For a group of college kids or adults who are going somewhere it's no big deal if they have to navigate on their own and get separated from the group.  A 17 year old high school kid who's supposed to be on a supervised trip and is in a foreign country by himself or herself is another story.  That's liability and scheduling headaches waiting to happen.

[Laura Ingalls]

Ooeei-- nice summary.
Boarder42--I know it is way more expensive than it needs to be.  It is pretty inclusive except for lunches.  Mostly he has been a cheap kid so I am ok with it.

I probably will have to revive this thread later.  I paid the deposit and don't have to pay anything more til 3-2018.

[Hotstreak]

You might see about getting on the planning committee, if there is one, to try and negotiate lower prices.  I bet the planners look at the budget and say "okay, we have $4,000 per kid, lets spend it all", since that's the attitude that most people approach life with, especially for a so called once in a lifetime opportunity.

[bacchi]

Laura Ingalls, now that you're paid the deposit, what is the merchant code? You'll be able to see it by looking at the details online.

Also, what's your spend each month that can be charged?

[Laura Ingalls]

I was going to look at the merchant code, but usually I just wait til I get a paper bill.  It is a private company that does group school trips.

The remaining amount is about $3700-3800.  I just need to pay this by 3-2018.

[Goldielocks]

I was going to look at the merchant code, but usually I just wait til I get a paper bill.  It is a private company that does group school trips.

The remaining amount is about $3700-3800.  I just need to pay this by 3-2018.

Ack, say it ain't so.   'Break out' and another private school trip company are almost scams and the chaperones are 20 year old that often care more about spring break style fun than student safety.  A few families here were burned by this sort a couple of years ago. 

What company? I forgot the name they go by now, but was told last month.

Check it out now. And cancel the charge on your cc if needed.