I love credit cards so much!

[pillow]

Here is a question for all of you miles-savvy people: What is the best way to fly from the US to London using miles, without paying high taxes/fees? I know I've read that the taxes/fees on BA award tickets from the US are very high. We are thinking about taking the kids to London in summer 2019 so I'd like to start working on getting the right points/miles for that now.

Was just looking at this the other day out of Dulles. Check paying with UR points instead of transferring to a specific airline.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I booked our flights to CA for this summer today, all paid for with UR points! We're flying JFK->LAX on July 3rd and doing Disneyland the 4th-6th (I know, we're probably crazy but those are the dates that work best). Then we're driving down to San Diego on the 7th and staying with friends there, flying home from SAN on the 10th. I spent 93.2K UR points on Jet Blue flights that would've cost me ~$1400 cash for 4 tickets. I looked into American (using BA miles transferred from UR) but I was too late to get Saver awards so I'd have needed to use a lot more points. And we really like Jet Blue anyway.

Here is a question for all of you miles-savvy people: What is the best way to fly from the US to London using miles, without paying high taxes/fees? I know I've read that the taxes/fees on BA award tickets from the US are very high. We are thinking about taking the kids to London in summer 2019 so I'd like to start working on getting the right points/miles for that now.

I think it would be really cool to do 4th of July at Disneyland some day. They do special 4th fireworks! For the previous years, it's been quieter during the 4th than other parts of summer because of the AP block outs so maybe it won't be insane (top tip: MAX PASS. HANDS. DOWN. AMAZING!!!!) (Full disclosure: the week before Xmas, when APs are blocked, has been quieter until this year when it was freaking insanity (in case you can't tell I've done both over the last few years and had a system shock this year!) so prepare for insane & make your dining reservations 60 days out but hope for lighter crowds )

 

[Ava]

Was just looking at this the other day out of Dulles. Check paying with UR points instead of transferring to a specific airline.

Yeah, that's always an option if I can't figure out anything else. I'll have to hold onto our UR points, though, since we're running out of opportunities for big bonuses there.

I think it would be really cool to do 4th of July at Disneyland some day. They do special 4th fireworks! For the previous years, it's been quieter during the 4th than other parts of summer because of the AP block outs so maybe it won't be insane (top tip: MAX PASS. HANDS. DOWN. AMAZING!!!!) (Full disclosure: the week before Xmas, when APs are blocked, has been quieter until this year when it was freaking insanity (in case you can't tell I've done both over the last few years and had a system shock this year!) so prepare for insane & make your dining reservations 60 days out but hope for lighter crowds )

Oh, I definitely plan to buy MaxPass! It's included in the tickets budget on my spreadsheet. We'll have 3 full park days, so I think we'll have enough time even if it's crowded. And it will be fun to see a different park regardless. Now that it's "official" that we're going, I need to look more into dining, etc. I also have to figure out a rental car. We won't need one while we're at DLR, but will need one to drive down to San Diego. So it might be easier to just get it at LAX and keep it for the week, as long as it's not too much more expensive.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Oh, I definitely plan to buy MaxPass! It's included in the tickets budget on my spreadsheet. We'll have 3 full park days, so I think we'll have enough time even if it's crowded. And it will be fun to see a different park regardless. Now that it's "official" that we're going, I need to look more into dining, etc. I also have to figure out a rental car. We won't need one while we're at DLR, but will need one to drive down to San Diego. So it might be easier to just get it at LAX and keep it for the week, as long as it's not too much more expensive

We spent 5 days at DLR/DCA last Spring Break and could have stayed longer. Still felt I didn't see everything and wanted to ride Radiator Springs Racers more!
FYI there's an Alamo rental car office in Downtown Disney. We found a great price thru Costco.

 

[wendow]

I booked our flights to CA for this summer today, all paid for with UR points! We're flying JFK->LAX on July 3rd and doing Disneyland the 4th-6th (I know, we're probably crazy but those are the dates that work best). Then we're driving down to San Diego on the 7th and staying with friends there, flying home from SAN on the 10th.

We will just miss you guys at DLR! We'll be there June 29-July 2 and then we head down to San Diego to finish our vacation down there We are driving from Denver. I'm forgetting which it was but IIRC, your family was either at WDW right before or right after this past Aug/Sept.

 

[wendow]

Someone was considering the Amex BRG a couple of days ago....cannot remember who it was... I got targeted for the 75k MR again, even though I *just* opened one, and I'm happy to see if the code can be used by someone else.

 

[wendow]

We spent 5 days at DLR/DCA last Spring Break and could have stayed longer. Still felt I didn't see everything and wanted to ride Radiator Springs Racers more!
FYI there's an Alamo rental car office in Downtown Disney. We found a great price thru Costco.

We are currently planning 4 park days but I've considered staying another night and adding a 5th day. I don't expect us to be DLR regulars so I want to make sure we get to do it all.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Someone was considering the Amex BRG a couple of days ago....cannot remember who it was... I got targeted for the 75k MR again, even though I *just* opened one, and I'm happy to see if the code can be used by someone else.

I would also consider calling AMEX to ask them to match. They won't match it BUT they may give you some courtesy points for the issue.

EDIT: I see you said "again" so my comment makes no sense, lol!

 

[Lain]

Someone was considering the Amex BRG a couple of days ago....cannot remember who it was... I got targeted for the 75k MR again, even though I *just* opened one, and I'm happy to see if the code can be used by someone else.

@peel?

I would also consider calling AMEX to ask them to match. They won't match it BUT they may give you some courtesy points for the issue.

I think @wendow got the 75k MR offer. Was it for a $5k or $10k spend?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I think @wendow got the 75k MR offer. Was it for a $5k or $10k spend?

Yeah - I see now she said "again" so that comment was just stupid, haha!

 

[Lain]

Yeah - I see now she said "again" so that comment was just stupid, haha!

It’s late. I remember now that she applied for the BRG last month when the offer was 75k MR for $5k spend. Good deal!

 

[wendow]

@peel?



I think @wendow got the 75k MR offer. Was it for a $5k or $10k spend?

I was thinking it was @peel also. 5k spend.

 

[snugglebug]

Anyone have experience with disputing a charge on CSP (or I guess any card) with Chase? I've never disputed a charge with any card before and just didn't know if there was anything I needed to know/if I was wasting my time.

Side note: Never order anything from Wen by Chaz Dean!!

I did, I think last month. It was a $350 from a plumber in Dallas (I'm in Austin). There was a form to fill out in my account somewhere, then someone called me within about 15 minutes. They reversed the charge and that business has so many days to fight it. It was quick and easy though.

 

[platamama]

Here is a question for all of you miles-savvy people: What is the best way to fly from the US to London using miles, without paying high taxes/fees? I know I've read that the taxes/fees on BA award tickets from the US are very high. We are thinking about taking the kids to London in summer 2019 so I'd like to start working on getting the right points/miles for that now.

One path to consider is spending Avios on Aer Lingus - There's a good primer on this here https://milecards.com/1588434411/ho...lights-with-avios-and-save-big-on-surcharges/

You'd want to check out the Avios off peak calendar to plan your travel accordingly.

The nice thing about Avios is that it accepts transfers from UR, AMEX MR, and SPG. There's also a BA card that sometimes has great sign-up bonuses. I got a 100,000 Avios bonus years ago; last year around April there was a 100,000 bonus offer, looks like it's at 75,000 now which is better than its usual 50,000.

ETA: United has low fees but one way costs 30K in Saver fares so the trade-off might be parting with more points/miles.

 

[Angrose]

Someone was considering the Amex BRG a couple of days ago....cannot remember who it was... I got targeted for the 75k MR again, even though I *just* opened one, and I'm happy to see if the code can be used by someone else.

I would be interested if no one else is. That's a great offer!

 

[calypso726]

I booked our flights to CA for this summer today, all paid for with UR points! We're flying JFK->LAX on July 3rd and doing Disneyland the 4th-6th (I know, we're probably crazy but those are the dates that work best). Then we're driving down to San Diego on the 7th and staying with friends there, flying home from SAN on the 10th. I spent 93.2K UR points on Jet Blue flights that would've cost me ~$1400 cash for 4 tickets. I looked into American (using BA miles transferred from UR) but I was too late to get Saver awards so I'd have needed to use a lot more points. And we really like Jet Blue anyway.

Here is a question for all of you miles-savvy people: What is the best way to fly from the US to London using miles, without paying high taxes/fees? I know I've read that the taxes/fees on BA award tickets from the US are very high. We are thinking about taking the kids to London in summer 2019 so I'd like to start working on getting the right points/miles for that now.

You don't want to use BA Avios to fly AA to London. You will still incur huge taxes and fees. Flying on AA metal using AA miles would be my suggestion. There are other ways though. Here is a pretty good post on options that also list the taxes and fees. https://upgradedpoints.com/best-ways-to-fly-to-london-with-points

Tip: Use your CSR to pay for for the rental car and decline the insurance since the CSR comes with primary car rental insurance. I always hear the best rates coming from Costco.

Someone was considering the Amex BRG a couple of days ago....cannot remember who it was... I got targeted for the 75k MR again, even though I *just* opened one, and I'm happy to see if the code can be used by someone else.

@Angrose beat me to it

I would be interested if no one else is. That's a great offer!

If you decide not to use it, feel free to pass it on to me. Thanks!

 

[WVMomof3]

Thanks for this idea, this is definitely worth checking out! I love the Express pass too, that's the main reason I'd like to stay at RP. We stayed one night before and it was really nice, although it was freezing cold and we didn't get to use the pool! I looked at the AP and since our trip is in June, it seems like I could get the cheapest AP - the Seasonal pass, which I believe is only $30 more than the 2 day park-to-park ticket. I also called to see what the room discount would be but the discounts weren't available for June yet, the latest they had was March. I'll keep checking on this though. It looks like I could also get a discount on my family's tickets if I got the annual pass. If so that would help save even more. I'd really like stay two nights to get to enjoy the hotel and have a more relaxing time at UO, we've only done one day before and always feel rushed. I know we could just stay one night to get the EP, but then it feels like you're barely in the room at all.

You should get the 2+1 day tickets at UT. They are $254. They should come as 3 day tickets. After you use the tickets, upgrade them in the park to APs. Now when I did this last year, the price for 3 day tickets at the park were $274 and the Seasonal was $284. It cost me $10.60 to upgrade. However now, it looks like the 3 day online is $274, it is usually $20 more at the gate, so it would be $294 at gate for a 3 day, $10 cheaper than the seasonal. So do they now give you $10 to upgrade?? Lol I am not sure! But, it will save more money to buy all from UT than to use your discount on gate prices. You can check the AP hotel prices yourself by putting in APH in the code box.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

All you folks doing DL/San Diego are making me jealous. I have been watching flights from BNA for months and months to go visit my snowbird inlaws in Palm Springs for spring break. I have had no luck. Flights have just been outrageous. We need 5, maybe 6 tix, although one is a CP if we fly SW. I have checked every airport in southern Cali. So frustrating. Best I have found is thurs-wed (3/22-28) which makes the kids miss 2 days of school. They have already missed 6 for vacations this year so that isn’t ideal. Uughhh, the Easter holiday is making this seem unlikely. I have plenty of points but I look at them as money, so I still try to stretch them as far as possible. I don’t want to go badly enough to spend $3k in points on it.

 

[elgerber]

All my angst over my SPG biz card and informed delivery has it being delivered today. Or at least an envelope from Amex that shipped on the right day and cost $0.88 in postage. This hobby has made me a mail detective! Fingers crossed!

Was it your SPG? I think mine is being delivered today too (the day after I spent $303 on concert tickets :-( )!!

 

[gottalovepluto]

...Now that it's "official" that we're going, I need to look more into dining, etc. I also have to figure out a rental car. We won't need one while we're at DLR, but will need one to drive down to San Diego. So it might be easier to just get it at LAX and keep it for the week, as long as it's not too much more expensive.

Don't forget parking in your budget if you get a car at lax. Some hotels charge, some don't, up to $20/night.