Portals for GCM
 

I think we should start our own portal. --- let's get GCM to pay up and earn $$$ on our own transactions. LOL ---- that should work!!!

Thank you for the overview Mamibear. Not familiar with app groups, do you means you have to sign up/in via a dedicated app? If so can you use in on a PC?

I'm sure this might vary based on area, but if you/others have participated in both local and private groups, do you find one more beneficial over the other? I haven't participated in either.

This might be a bit catch 22-ish. Once you've been in this hobby for a bit you realize that certain pretty good deals die soon after going public, especially from smaller-medium/regional banks/stores. So I assume someone that'd be a good candidate for private groups doesn't share much of any such deals in public. But overall it absolutely makes sense that the main criteria for participation would be contributing and a sense that people will behave somewhat responsibly, i.e. won't someone else's discovery from a private group and post it on their blog or share it with their 50 'friends' on another platform. On the other hand deals don't pop up on a regularly schedule and most of us have day jobs so I'd also see how this might feel like a 2nd job via the pressure to keep churning deals in order to be in the in of things. I'm always mindful of overspending time in this hobby in as much as it can become an addictive 'extreme couponing' type of thing.

Let's see what happens in a day or two, my guess is we will find out this coming week regardless. For your transaction, like Delta said it could be due to weekend. I haven't monitored the transactions religiously, I know people say it typically shows up on TCB a day aft the transaction shows processed on GCM, but it could be that it is the transaction showing processed/posted on the card's site that makes this happen (which might correlate with when it shows processed on GCM). Another variable of the timing might be the card/bank. For instance I did an in-store transaction at a local store on the 19th, still showing pending on the card's website, prob due to weekend. Edit: Logged to Mint for further DPs, different bank at a diff local store, a transaction from Thu still shows pending.

I don't know all the apps out there that are being used by different groups to communicate with each other.

For those invites I accepted, I registered via desktop and then later via app so I can catch discussions that may need to be acted upon asap or else they'd be dead in just hours. I don't join all the rooms especially the ones with a lot of members, most of whom are just lurkers; by that I mean they may be always present but do NOT contribute anything of value to the group. It's easy to spot them and when let's say 14 out of 20 are just lurkers, I exit out of that group.

If I'm the one who discover/find a loophole that I've tried and it works, I share it with others I trust but if I just learned it from others, I don't share it even with close buddies. I don't share it at rooms where lurkers abound and don't care about protecting a deal.

I prefer groups that I don't have to compete with, meaning they're far from my area because it becomes so difficult to operate in areas super saturated with MS-ers with different agenda. I learned from a trusted friend's experience where she shared a great spot for VGCs with the least fees and sold MOs for a minimal fee. She was just new then and didn't realize the person she was sharing it with had millions of miles to burn. Needless to say, that HH went to her state/city/town, went to the store and ruined it that long weekend. Hindsight is 20/20, best to keep your sweet spot to yourself and let others find theirs.

I'm all for mutual sharing, I shun groups where most are just lurkers. We allocate the time we want on this 'hobby' and we all know it takes a lot of time researching and doing trial n error; to each his own on what they feel about lurkers who just take and never contribute anything to the group.

Not much difference in my limited experience. The deals do get posted to FT, but typically as single posts which are quickly blasted over. There is more intelligent discussion about the lesser known deals in private forums, whereas they may just be mentioned in passing on FT. Additionally, the deals will often end up well discussed on FT at a slightly later time (eg. FB, which was well known by myself and others for months before the thread blew up on FT)

So much fun seeing everybody collaborate. We should get together for a drink...

This is like deja vu of my law school experience. Law school is on a curve, so it was to your benefit to have inside info that others did not have. So the top students would form highly selective and small study groups so that the best info could be openly shared or discussed without that info getting out to everyone (which erases that marginal advantage you need to be at the top in law school).

And usually the quiet ones know best, and the group later find that there is a bad apple or that they paired with the wrong people.

Usually it turns out that there are more wanting to know than the ones that "know how." hehehe --- You gotta love the psychology behind this... It's like inbreading...LOL

Thanks for sharing your experience. It sounds like if you're into heavy MS, or have a ton of min spend but no easy way to MS that, it might be worthwhile due to seeing the deals before they go public. Otherwise prob not weighing in the extra time monitoring & contributing the private discussions. Is that a fair assessment and, is it fair to say most all deals eventually surface in public sites like FT & Reddit?

any update on this? Two of my last orders from two different acts. haven't tracked either on TCB. Didn't do anything different than what has worked. Waiting for the "7 day waiting" period to file a missing claim. They need to get their sh*t together and stop f*cking with our business, it's annoying :D

Consensus on filing a ticket sometime late today or tomorrow for no tracking from last week?

No notification from TCB regarding my Saturday order of 3 pre-designed VGCs (order went to processed on GCM yesterday afternoon).

there's gotta be a better way than TCB.

In case anyone is interested...
AMEX PPC are free for this month on their site.

No Purchase Fees
When You Spend $200 Or More: Code MAY200
Expires 6/30/17. Shipping Fees Apply. See More.

Enjoy! -- Just wanted to share the info.
These are the ones that work with VENMO by PayPal.

XOXO ;)

Precisely my thinking as well, there are already plenty of "small reward" activities hijacking our lives as it is : )