I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[Jax1023]

Jumping in to say this is my DD3 as well so you're not alone! She's 3.5. I spend yesterday changing a trip in early March from San Antonio to Austin. First priority: finding a room with 2 bedrooms because DD3 sleeps so poorly. One for me and DD3, one for DH and DD6. It will end eventually right?!

My coworkers inform me someday she’ll be a teenager and I won’t be able to drag her out of bed. But I’m not sure I can do this another decade lol.

I’ve shared the story where I took my kids to visit my parents in Florida over my sons Easter break when she was 9 months old. I think I got like 2-3 hours of sleep a night the whole week we were there. Screaming babies at 2 am are not well loved in retirement communities

 

[Albort]

Alright....help me out here, would love to bulk up on some free travel.
We have excellent credit, probably haven't opened more than 2 cards in the past 24 months. Typically I use my Chase preferred for everything except a few specific retailers. Pay off balance monthly. I have about 30k points for chase right now. We don't have any big plans right now except Disney (with APs) for the next year. We live in Tampa so we drive but do several long weekends throughout the year. Go to hotel is Swan/Dolphin (Marriott) or Disney. I don't have any specific travel cards right now. We tend not to fly more than 1 time per year (but still expensive for a family of 4) top airline choices are southwest and delta.

So what should I do?
TIA

It sounds like you can go for any marriott cards if ur set to do WDW.
otherwise with a family of 4, SW CP would work well if u travel more. One thing this hobby enables us to do is to travel more, so your 1 time per year of travel can change. I know ppl who travel once a month now after learning this hobby.

really up to u. Id probably get some Ink cards to help you earn for other plans, then move onto chase marriott and amex marriott for free nights at the Swan/Dolphin.

 

[apollodi]

My coworkers inform me someday she’ll be a teenager and I won’t be able to drag her out of bed. But I’m not sure I can do this another decade lol.

I’ve shared the story where I took my kids to visit my parents in Florida over my sons Easter break when she was 9 months old. I think I got like 2-3 hours of sleep a night the whole week we were there. Screaming babies at 2 am are not well loved in retirement communities

Maybe our kids are related. I took DD3 to North Carolina for her cousin's christening when she was 22 months old. Ended up driving her around in the middle of the night, then sitting awake in the car in the hotel parking lot all night while she slept in the car seat. After that, we didn't take her on another trip for over a year. I couldn't handle it. Now, she'll sleep for about 7 hours a night in a strange bed, so it is improving with time.

We want to go to Hawaii in summer 2021, and I was telling DH about the Grand Wailea. DH's first comment was, "where will DD3 sleep?" Hopefully by the time she's 5, we can all share one room!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Alright....help me out here, would love to bulk up on some free travel.
We have excellent credit, probably haven't opened more than 2 cards in the past 24 months. Typically I use my Chase preferred for everything except a few specific retailers. Pay off balance monthly. I have about 30k points for chase right now. We don't have any big plans right now except Disney (with APs) for the next year. We live in Tampa so we drive but do several long weekends throughout the year. Go to hotel is Swan/Dolphin (Marriott) or Disney. I don't have any specific travel cards right now. We tend not to fly more than 1 time per year (but still expensive for a family of 4) top airline choices are southwest and delta.

So what should I do?
TIA

Hi ...most of us here start with Chase cards....recommendations vary and would dependon how much you put on a credit card in 3 months, since the sign up bonus vary. If you would consider business cards, the Chase Ink Preferred CIP...has a 80k UR bonus after spending $5k in the first 3 months, other cards bonuses are 50k URs after spending $3Kin the first 3 months

 

[sweetmama17]

Hi ...most of us here start with Chase cards....recommendations vary and would dependon how much you put on a credit card in 3 months, since the sign up bonus vary. If you would consider business cards, the Chase Ink Preferred CIP...has a 80k UR bonus after spending $5k in the first 3 months, other cards bonuses are 50k URs after spending $3Kin the first 3 months

I have the chase preferred as my everyday card. I should have no problem meeting a required spending amount for the sign up bonus. But how often do you cancel cards and then re-open them? Is that something I should do with my Chase? Or just move on to a Marriott Chase or SW? Do I need to spend all my points before I cancel and if I open a different card should I cancel the preferred (to not have the annual fee)?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I have the chase preferred as my everyday card. I should have no problem meeting a required spending amount for the sign up bonus. But how often do you cancel cards and then re-open them? Is that something I should do with my Chase? Or just move on to a Marriott Chase or SW? Do I need to spend all my points before I cancel and if I open a different card should I cancel the preferred (to not have the annual fee)?

If it has been 48 months since you received the bonus on the CSP you can call chase and product change it to a CF or CFU...then apply for the CSP again. Yes you would lose the points if you close your current CSP without transferring them to another card

If it’s under 48 months you would have to look at different Chase cards....the CF and CFU are no fee cards that give a bonus after a $500 spend...but there are much higher bonus cards out there. The reason we recommend UR earning cards is they can be transferred to travel partners like Marriott or SW
If you can use SW or Marriott points those are good cards as well and the SW cards until 2/18, have a 75kRR bonus after spending $5k in the first 6 months...

For any card you are considering....don’t add your spouse as an authorized user...after you open the card, you can send them a support link to earn additional points.
If you’d like pm @SouthFayetteFan, @Lain or @Albort to join our private DISchurners group on reddit where other tips are discussed

 

[mamathompson]

@Jax1023 and @apollodi Hang in there! My first was a non sleeper. She didn't sleep through the night until somewhere in year 3. She is almost 14 now and still requires less sleep than the rest of the house BUT there does come a time when even the worst sleepers will let you sleep, I promise. According to her Fitbit she is still a terrible sleeper but she literally jumps out of bed at 6 am ready for the day.

 

[disfanforlife]

Hopefully not too crazy then! I feel like the week before and after Easter is always the worst combining the holiday with spring break!

Yes, I hope not! I think you are right - around Easter would be busier. I just know that this week we are going will be busier than when we usually go (the first week of March) Its ok, we will just make the best use of FP and maybe enjoy the pool too if the weather is nice!

 

[jenmsmith]

My coworkers inform me someday she’ll be a teenager and I won’t be able to drag her out of bed. But I’m not sure I can do this another decade lol.

I’ve shared the story where I took my kids to visit my parents in Florida over my sons Easter break when she was 9 months old. I think I got like 2-3 hours of sleep a night the whole week we were there. Screaming babies at 2 am are not well loved in retirement communities

My first two were really, really early risers. Up for the day everyday at 5:30 a.m.

Fast forward to the now 16-year-old and 18-year-old. I took a lot of joy during Christmas break waking them up from a dead sleep at 9 am (I did let them sleep until noon occasionally).

It will get better! It did take mine until the early teen years. But the good part was that by the time they were 6 or 7, they were self-sufficient enough to get their own breakfast and enter themselves so I didn’t need to get up at 5:30 with them.

But I know that doesn’t make it easier right now. There‘s a reason that sleep deprivation is used as a torture technique!

 

[gottalovepluto]

--

 

[first*toright]

A 14 hour time change with a one year old sounds like my own personal he**, but I hope for your sake that your child sleeps better and is more flexible than mine as a general rule anyway lol.

Babies and toddlers can be very circadian rhythm driven. You may be seeing Tokyo at 2 am when you baby is awake and happy and then they sleep all day. Cause that’s what they’re body clock is telling them.

At least with a long trip, they’ll have time to adjust.

We did a trip to Europe with my DD when she had just turned 1. We had a great trip, but oh my goodness we got no sleep. I remember getting up and walking her up and down in the middle of the night in a stroller because she was not going to sleep, under any circumstances at that hour. Trips with kids are just a totally different thing than trips without - there is so much more work involved in meeting their needs for food/sleep/whatever, esp. when you are not home and not set up with all your "usual" supplies. Thank goodness she would eat soup of pretty much any kind - all the foods she ate regularly were not available in Sweden, or tasted really different (like, all the baby food had extra starch in it, so the texture was weird and thick, or it had a bunch of sugar in it, and my DD wouldn't eat it). But we could generally find some kind of soup to give her - just took a little bit more effort. We enjoyed traveling with her, but "vacation" probably wasn't the right word for it for a good few years there at the beginning.

 

[jaysraptor]

Do you need to have a United Card to transfer UR's to or do you just need to create a United Airlines United Plus account to transfer UR's to?

 

[gottalovepluto]

Wish me luck guys! I'm going for a US Bank Altitude Reserve retention offer when I work up the nerve today. I haven't put much spend on the card so this could be an awkward conversation lol...

 

[gottalovepluto]

Do you need to have a United Card to transfer UR's to or do you just need to create a United Airlines United Plus account to transfer UR's to?

You just need a United Airlines MileagePlus account. That's their frequent flier program and accounts are free to create.

 

[elgerber]

.

 

[jaysraptor]

You just need a United Airlines MileagePlus account. That's their frequent flier program and accounts are free to create.

That's what I thought. I tried to move a small amount to see how long it would take and I initially got an email saying the transfer request was in progress. About a minute later, got another email saying there was a problem with the request and the UR's would go back to the Chase rewards balance.

 

[wanderlust7]

Maybe our kids are related. I took DD3 to North Carolina for her cousin's christening when she was 22 months old. Ended up driving her around in the middle of the night, then sitting awake in the car in the hotel parking lot all night while she slept in the car seat. After that, we didn't take her on another trip for over a year. I couldn't handle it. Now, she'll sleep for about 7 hours a night in a strange bed, so it is improving with time.

We want to go to Hawaii in summer 2021, and I was telling DH about the Grand Wailea. DH's first comment was, "where will DD3 sleep?" Hopefully by the time she's 5, we can all share one room!

LOL, same here! I think my DD had sleep regression on the trips at 9 and 13 months. She'd go to sleep, but then wake up every hour or two. The next trip we left her at grandma's, lol. Trip after that at 2 years old was all good.

 

[Oscar Madison]

I know Netflix triggers the 5% cash back on the CIC. What about YouTube TV on the CIC? I know YTTV works for the CF quarterly bonus.

 

[Sarah_B]

We did a trip to Europe with my DD when she had just turned 1. We had a great trip, but oh my goodness we got no sleep. I remember getting up and walking her up and down in the middle of the night in a stroller because she was not going to sleep, under any circumstances at that hour. Trips with kids are just a totally different thing than trips without - there is so much more work involved in meeting their needs for food/sleep/whatever, esp. when you are not home and not set up with all your "usual" supplies. Thank goodness she would eat soup of pretty much any kind - all the foods she ate regularly were not available in Sweden, or tasted really different (like, all the baby food had extra starch in it, so the texture was weird and thick, or it had a bunch of sugar in it, and my DD wouldn't eat it). But we could generally find some kind of soup to give her - just took a little bit more effort. We enjoyed traveling with her, but "vacation" probably wasn't the right word for it for a good few years there at the beginning.

I like to say with little kids it's not vacation - it's just parenting in a new location.

 

[ten6mom]

If you have Amazon Prime - there is a new series touring Japan with James May (Top Gear/The Grand Tour). It is an enjoyable watch if you can tolerate James May's particular brand of British humor.

Oooh I'll have to tell my husband about this. I don't know James May but I know my husband loves Top Gear!

With ANA it kind of depends on if we get a new plane or not. The older design is a little more restrictive and would be harder to see the baby unless he’s in the window seat. The newer design has a partition in between the two middle seats that can be dropped down and would work perfect for us. I’m hoping by next May they would have them on the majority of the routes. Dh is completely against PE for whatever reason (I think he’s spoiled).
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Do we have a new Plane Princess in our midst?

We talked long and hard about which seats to choose for our upcoming trip. We'd rather sit next to each other but ended up going with window seats in the end since even the seats next to each other didn't seem like they'd be easy to communicate. Guess we will find out!

I wonder if the plane has free (and reliable) wifi. Then we'll just text each other the whole trip...