I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 (see first page for add'l details)

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I had thought most cc's don't even require that "activation" thing anymore..... I sometimes forget to do it and just use the card,is it an amex thing?

Maybe? I tried at the dealership and the transaction wouldn't go through. Got home, activated it and it worked fine for the utility bill.

 

[Haley R]

Our stay at Los Altos we were charged for an extra person/bedroom but they opened all 3 bedrooms. The man who checked us in was like 'if you book through Hyatt, you get all 3'

We gave DS his choice. Lol. The master is huge with en-suite bathroom. There is a bathroom for the other 2 bedrooms to share and a powder room. The place is huge and includes a full kitchen. They sell as condos, you can buy one for $700k.

DS has been to CR at ages 3 and 14. Plenty to do. We have never rented a car, on vacation neither of us wants the stress of driving. Last March we stayed part of the week in Guanacaste at Hyatt Andaz Papagayo and the other part in Manuel Antonio. Both are on the west coast. The only areas of CR I wouldn't spend much time in are Limon (very touristy and some crime due to being a cruise ship stop) and San Jose (very urban, lots to do but also higher crime but not the CR vibe we prefer) The international airports are in Liberia (more northern) and San Jose and both will require a drive to any resort areas.
In Guanacaste there are lots of tours involving animal sightings, short hikes, boat tours. Many resorts in the area are high end, some all inclusive. The Andaz was beautiful, nice beach and pool but nothing nearby so unless you drive or hire a driver you eat on property for all meals which was quite expensive. Guanacaste to me is very 'resorty.' Manuel Antonio has a huge national park which has more wildlife than you are likely to see elsewhere. We hiked the park, did a sunset sailboat cruise and toured a small plantation that grew coffee & vanilla. There are loads of tours on Viator and the Chase portal, maybe look to see what things you think you might enjoy and narrow down where to stay based on what there is to do. We booked all activities through the Chase portal. Los Altos is in a small town, so you can walk to shops or restaurant. The beach at the resort is small and quite a walk (the resort in built on a hill/cliff with the beach at the bottom) or they will drive you. There is one restaurant, with free breakfast, that also gives a cooking lesson on empanadas. There is a small grocery near by where you can buy a few things.
You are used to FL, so weather probably not an issue, but March is dry season in CR and we had weather in mid 80s to low 90s the last week of March.

I’m thinking the La Fortuna area looks the best for us.

 

[Nala83]

Does anyone know what the WOC dessert party at Disneyland codes as for Chase? I'd love to take advantage of the CFF 5% entertainment, but I'm wondering if it will code as dining.

 

[IFlossU]

I’m thinking the La Fortuna area looks the best for us.

La Fortuna is beautiful, and if you do get a car there are several day trips from the area. Lots of easy hiking, waterfalls, and the hot springs. Plenty of restaurants and large grocery stores in town. It is very busy with tourists, but we found it manageable.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I’m thinking the La Fortuna area looks the best for us.

Since we don't have beaches, we prefer the coastal areas. We went sailing on every trip there. Lots to do wherever you pick. Be aware it's 2.5-3 hours from the airports.

 

[Haley R]

Since we don't have beaches, we prefer the coastal areas. We went sailing on every trip there. Lots to do wherever you pick. Be aware it's 2.5-3 hours from the airports.

I did see it’s about a 3 hour drive. The good thing is it’s only a 3 hour flight for us so I think we could fly and drive in the same day depending on when we land. Looks like we would fly JetBlue

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I'm kind of annoyed with usps informed delivery... they do this a lot around here where it appears I'm going to get an important piece of mail today, but it doesn't show up. I'm hoping it shows tomorrow - anyone else have this happen?

This happens to me way too frequently with both our actual address and our PO Box--probably once every few weeks something goes "missing" for 1-7 days. I've been told that the informed delivery photos are taken at the main station, and that the substation is the one at fault, but who knows. I've also checked the box when something doesn't show up, which I've been told pretty much does nothing--they have no real way of tracking regular mail. The good news is that with over a dozen instances of delayed mail only one or two haven't shown up at all.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Does anyone know what the WOC dessert party at Disneyland codes as for Chase? I'd love to take advantage of the CFF 5% entertainment, but I'm wondering if it will code as dining.

Just checked, booked earlier this summer on our Freedom Flex although we ultimately decided to cancel: Food and Drink.

 

[IFlossU]

I did see it’s about a 3 hour drive. The good thing is it’s only a 3 hour flight for us so I think we could fly and drive in the same day depending on when we land. Looks like we would fly JetBlue

I’ll share our story. It is a solid 3hr drive from SJO. The sun sets early, and it’s dark by 6PM. It was strongly recommended not to drive there at night if you’re unfamiliar with the roads. I personally would take this advice. It’s a very twisty road going into Fortuna, and while perfectly fine during the day it could be rather daunting in the dark.

We decided that even though our flight landed at 1:30PM we would spend the night at The Hampton at SJO. I figured by the time we cleared immigration and got our car we wouldn’t be on the road until 2:30-3 and that was cutting close for me. I felt more comfortable just spending the night, and leaving at our leisure the next morning. Well I’m super grateful I made that decision because it took us 3 attempts to actually land, and a side trip to refuel in Liberia. A thunderstorm popped up directly over SJO and then just sat there making it impossible to land. What was supposed to be a 4hr flight turned into 7. When we were refueling in Liberia one of the flight attendants told me it happens often enough that they almost expect it. Sigh…Needless to say we were exhausted and SOOO extremely grateful we had a hotel room waiting for us at the airport. There was no panic because we had to be anywhere. Given my experience I wouldn’t plan to drive the same day unless I was being driven by a local, or arriving before noon. It will take a solid 1.5-2hrs from landing to driving off in your car.

 

[orangecuse]

For those that hold the Disney Visa- worth it if you have an upcoming Disney trip? I know its a 5/24 slot but P2 only lets me get him 1 business card a year so it doesn't much matter for him anyway.

 

[Haley R]

I’ll share our story. It is a solid 3hr drive from SJO. The sun sets early, and it’s dark by 6PM. It was strongly recommended not to drive there at night if you’re unfamiliar with the roads. I personally would take this advice. It’s a very twisty road going into Fortuna, and while perfectly fine during the day it could be rather daunting in the dark.

We decided that even though our flight landed at 1:30PM we would spend the night at The Hampton at SJO. I figured by the time we cleared immigration and got our car we wouldn’t be on the road until 2:30-3 and that was cutting close for me. I felt more comfortable just spending the night, and leaving at our leisure the next morning. Well I’m super grateful I made that decision because it took us 3 attempts to actually land, and a side trip to refuel in Liberia. A thunderstorm popped up directly over SJO and then just sat there making it impossible to land. What was supposed to be a 4hr flight turned into 7. When we were refueling in Liberia one of the flight attendants told me it happens often enough that they almost expect it. Sigh…Needless to say we were exhausted and SOOO extremely grateful we had a hotel room waiting for us at the airport. There was no panic because we had to be anywhere. Given my experience I wouldn’t plan to drive the same day unless I was being driven by a local, or arriving before noon. It will take a solid 1.5-2hrs from landing to driving off in your car.

That’s great advice. Thank you!

 

[EACarlson]

For those that hold the Disney Visa- worth it if you have an upcoming Disney trip? I know its a 5/24 slot but P2 only lets me get him 1 business card a year so it doesn't much matter for him anyway.

I don't think so. All of the perks of the card are available with a Disney Debit card except the 0% financing for 6 months. More lucrative options are available for earn than the Disney Visa. SUB is $150, but the SUB for a Freedom Flex or Freedom Unlimited is $200.

 

[Number-nerd]

I have read that getting Cap one bus cards will count towards 5/24. is this just for bus cards tied to a ssn? what if I got a Cap one bus card tied to a S-corp EIN, would that also count towards 5/24?

Thanks guys!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I have read that getting Cap one bus cards will count towards 5/24. is this just for bus cards tied to a ssn? what if I got a Cap one bus card tied to a S-corp EIN, would that also count towards 5/24?

Thanks guys!

I haven’t applied for a Capital One business card…but if the application is like Chase and Amex they would require your SS number as well

 

[Nala83]

Just checked, booked earlier this summer on our Freedom Flex although we ultimately decided to cancel: Food and Drink.

Thanks! I'll choose a different card.

 

[KPK02090]

Anyone know if there is a way to book Ahwanee hotel in Yosemite on points? I didn’t see it in the Chase portal, but maybe I just missed it?

 

[leeniewdw]

Anyone know if there is a way to book Ahwanee hotel in Yosemite on points? I didn’t see it in the Chase portal, but maybe I just missed it?

I don't think I've seen any of the National Park lodges available via points. I'd be very curious (and surprised) if anyone has.

 

[Judique]

For those that hold the Disney Visa- worth it if you have an upcoming Disney trip? I know its a 5/24 slot but P2 only lets me get him 1 business card a year so it doesn't much matter for him anyway.

I've been doing the Disney Premier since they have the $300 sub. My player 2 for this is my DD, and she sends me a link that results in $100 credit. Fee is $49 and spend is $1000 which is minimum of $10 in Disney rewards, so final profit is $361 plus. One year later, product change to the no fee and refer to DD's card. I use the rewards to pay my DVC dues by buying Disney gift cards for the spend.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

For those that hold the Disney Visa- worth it if you have an upcoming Disney trip? I know its a 5/24 slot but P2 only lets me get him 1 business card a year so it doesn't much matter for him anyway.

The two meets we did with the card this summer in Anaheim were great. (Stitch and Darth, neither of which is available otherwise.) The 10% on certain restaurants and merch over $50 is good, although we tend to collect our DGCs at around that savings % so not the most amazing deal. If you aren't collecting DGC, that becomes more competitive.

This one tends to hit the chase random quarterly bonuses pretty often for us, so we'll use it when those are a good value. Otherwise, sock drawer card for sure but if you've got a slot and you want the (limited) benefits...

 

[StephPlum]

Anyone know if there is a way to book Ahwanee hotel in Yosemite on points? I didn’t see it in the Chase portal, but maybe I just missed it?

I don’t see Ahwanee but Yosemite Valley Lodge is there. I think Chase gets access to rooms later than the public so might be sold out on Chase.

I don't think I've seen any of the National Park lodges available via points. I'd be very curious (and surprised) if anyone has.

I have booked rooms in Death Valley (the ranch), Yellowstone (canyon area) and Sequoia (John Muir) Through Chase.

I have seen accommodations in Grand Canyon, grand Tetons and Mt Rainier listed. Always good to check to see.

I did book Yellowstone through xanterra and later when I saw an opening on Chase portal, I canceled xanterra and rebooked through Chase.