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

[wanderlust7]

Instant approval on a CIU (75k+40k support), successful match to 90k via SM. A little short of 3 months from the last Chase card, but I wanted to have it approved while the 90k offer is still live. Offer is probably ending 1/18.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Instant approval on a CIU (75k+40k support), successful match to 90k via SM. A little short of 3 months from the last Chase card, but I wanted to have it approved while the 90k offer is still live. Offer is probably ending 1/18.

Did you SM matching message mention not having a SUB in the past 24 months? Mine did, but it was a long copied/pasted message so I'm hoping that doesn't really apply.

 

[wanderlust7]

Did you SM matching message mention not having a SUB in the past 24 months? Mine did, but it was a long copied/pasted message so I'm hoping that doesn't really apply.

No mention of 24 months this time, but I've gotten it on a past match and it was fine.

 

[reliev]

Honestly even flying from Chicago isn’t great. Lots of choices, lots of delays. I mean I love having access to loads of direct flights and 2 airports to choose from but weather delays especially can be epic.

I think I read somewhere that chicago has more international direct flights than any other city in the us (for non-stops not connecting). The cold cant be that bad, can it? I went last year and loved it.

 

[becauseimnew]

DH has an Amex Biz Plat - the wireless $10 credit somehow stopped posting for the last few months. Is there some trick to get it to work? He is legitimately using the card to pay for our AT&T wireless (but it's bundled with our cellular so perhaps that's the issue?)

I learned how to get it to work a while back on this thread, so I'm hoping someone here can help me with this.

Thanks!

My credit from this month hasn’t posted, I used it to pay my Verizon bill same as always.

 

[mmmears]

My credit from this month hasn’t posted, I used it to pay my Verizon bill same as always.

Ours stopped working a few months ago.

 

[havaneselover]

Picked up a Saks gift card today with my Platinum card. My Saks is beyond pitiful. They've barricaded off the second floor. The jewelry section is 20% of what it used to be. I'm guessing they're just waiting for their lease to be over but I'm surprised Saks doesn't want to protect its brand because this store is embarassing.

 

[orangecuse]

Anyone else ever stress plan a vacation? Like, wow it was a bad week, let me see what points we have lol

We could use a new card (working on our 2nd Marriott biz now).

Unfortunately, I'm 5/24 until July, and P2 is 6/24 until June. I can't decide if we should sit tight to go for Chase cards in the summer, or grab the Barclays AA (if we can get it) and that would delay going under 5/24 until August for me (which isn't a hug difference) but February 2025 for P2, which is a long time.

If we do Alaska 2025, or national parks, we have enough points to sit and wait for Chase. If we want to do Hawaii instead, we need more airline miles, and ideally wed have those in hand by this summer then.

I guess our options are

1. A personal card and delay 5/24/Chase

2. A biz airline card, but I'm not seeing many great bonuses on airlines we use

3. A biz non-airline card, maybe the biz plat? But those spends are a little high for what I am usually comfortable with.

Time for a night of football and spreadsheets I guess! Haha

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I closed an INK earlier this month--do I need to wait to get another or does it not matter for these? Want to try to get one more 90K SUB in.

 

[djmeredith]

We've stayed at MiraCosta in a Venice room and DLH in a standard room. I loved the Venice view. So cool to look out into an empty park. I have pictures of both in an old trip report here. It's in Day 10 and 11.

The Beauty and the Beast room looks beautiful. I'd be tempted to try that one, but only because we've already done the Venice view.

Is your flight arriving at noon or do you anticipate getting to TDR around then? I think the Disney hotels are strict about the 3 pm check-in time.

Thanks for this info! Disney is our last stop before heading home. We are flying from Okinawa to Tokyo and I anticipate our arrival at the hotel to be around noon. I have read about the strict check-in times, so I knew we would just be able to drop off luggage but not get into the room.

I closed an INK earlier this month--do I need to wait to get another or does it not matter for these? Want to try to get one more 90K SUB in.

I closed an INK and got one in the same month recently.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I was looking at Venice side rooms last night. Those seem to be easier to get than the Porto Paradiso side.

Japan Disney veterans, I would love your opinions based on your experience. I'm having decision paralysis on which hotel/room to book and I have to book on the 26th. We will arrive around noon and are staying at Toy Story our first night. I then want to move to one of the Deluxe hotels for 2 nts. I will splurge for the Harbor View at Mira Costa if I can book it, but that does not seem likely. So I am making my back up plan. I'm leaning towards staying at DLH if I can't get Harbor View because I like the overall theming of the hotel better. I love the look of the Beauty and the Beast room, but those do not have park view. I also think it would be really cool to have the Grand Park View. I'm also thinking maybe the Venice side at Mira Costa would be good since it is in the park (even though I don't love the overall theming). What would you do: DLH Beauty and the Beast, DLH Grand Park View, or Venice Side?

Dd and I stayed at the DLH at Tokyo Disney in 2019 and I did not enjoy it. I thought the rooms were outdated and the breakfast was a zoo (and the food was awful). I’d definitely stay at the MiraCosta if we go back. Take my opinion with a grain of salt — I’m fussy when it comes to hotel rooms!

Happy to say that I landed in Bangkok on time at 5:30am! I was at my hotel by 6:15am (no traffic at that time on a Sunday). ANA biz class hard product was quite nice and the FAs were so nice!

I’m staying at the Rosewood and it’s gorgeous. I booked a base level room and they upgraded me 3 categories to a studio. I chose the Rosewood because the BTS station is attached to the hotel making getting around the city (hopefully) easy.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I think I read somewhere that chicago has more international direct flights than any other city in the us (for non-stops not connecting). The cold cant be that bad, can it? I went last year and loved it.

I'm born and raised in Chicago so I'm kind of used to it. Honestly I hate the cold weather but also hate hot weather. DH calls me Goldilocks.
For flights, the location and number of flights is great but the quickly changing weather leads to lots of delays. We had 6 inches of snow overnight Thursday to Friday morning, the commute was terrible and loads of flights were cancelled. By Friday afternoon when I came home from work it was raining/sleeting. Today was 15-20 degrees and windy, tomorrow expected high of -2 will make de-icing planes difficult.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I think you meant to reply to @hsmamato2 ?

I don't even understand how that happened. I definitely replied from the current page, not 200 pages ago. Not to mention, I looked where your post was originally and I doubt I even read that page because much of it was talking about Verizon which I don't have so scrolled on by. Weird.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I don't even understand how that happened. I definitely replied from the current page, not 200 pages ago. Not to mention, I looked where your post was originally and I doubt I even read that page because much of it was talking about Verizon which I don't have so scrolled on by. Weird.

So odd! Lol

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I'm born and raised in Chicago so I'm kind of used to it. Honestly I hate the cold weather but also hate hot weather. DH calls me Goldilocks.
For flights, the location and number of flights is great but the quickly changing weather leads to lots of delays. We had 6 inches of snow overnight Thursday to Friday morning, the commute was terrible and loads of flights were cancelled. By Friday afternoon when I came home from work it was raining/sleeting. Today was 15-20 degrees and windy, tomorrow expected high of -2 will make de-icing planes difficult.

DH wants to buy a summer home in Chicago. Y'all have lovely summer weather, at least the three years we spent summers there that we the case. Do DH talks about buying a condo in the corncob buildings next to the river downtown. Too bad we could never afford that!

This November on our return from Japan were flying TYO->ORD before going home. Hopefully the weather will cooperate because we have to go to work the next day.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I closed an INK and got one in the same month recently.

Good to know. Did you go for the same INK type? I was thinking they could just ask: why didn't you just keep the other one open?

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

The Chase AP card SUB of 75k points is ending soon (100k points if you spend $20k the first year lol). I was just approved for a new CIP in early December; does this preclude me from getting the AP card? I am under 5/24 and since you have 12 months to meet the SUB I don’t have to worry about how to meet it. I cannot recall the rule for spacing between personal and biz cards. And I don’t want to miss out on this SUB because the Cdn AP cards have monthly spend requirements and the current offers are very weak.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Today was wonderful! I purchased a day pass on the BTS for 150THB ($4.30) and got amazing value from it. I went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market, Jim Thompson House and the Erawan Shrine. I also managed a quick visit to a Marks & Spencer food hall for some snacks. It’s hot here, 95 degrees, but there is a nice breeze which helps.

The Chatuchak Weekend Market is massive, 15k stalls spread across 35 acres, with 200k people visiting every weekend. I got there about a half hour after it opened so the crowds weren’t too bad. I knew which sections I wanted to visit and really enjoyed them! I picked up some carved soaps, elephants pants (except they have cats) for dd, some gorgeous custom leather key chains for people at home and a really nice skirt for me (for US$7.00). I forgot my sunglasses and picked up a nice pair of polarized sunnies for US$1.40 (crazy!). So glad that I went.




I wasn’t brave enough to try any of this food!



Next up was Jim Thompson House, which was beautiful. You have to purchase a tour to go through the house and the tour lasts around 45 minutes; it was very worthwhile. Jim Thompson shipped several houses from across Thailand and assembled them together to form a compound (he was an architect). Afterwards you can wander through the gorgeous gardens. I highly recommend this for anyone visiting Bangkok. When I was leaving here I saw a Viking Tour leader wandering around while waiting for her group to finish their tour!


Jim’s bedroom



Erawan Shrine aka the Buddha with four faces. It is stunning. The leis are offerings; other offerings included elephants of all sizes, candles, incense and even food. This is a very popular shrine. People come here to make wishes and if / when the wishes come true, they come back for a dance (which they pay for). There was a rather long line of people waiting for a dance. It was fascinating to watch.


Pics are allowed, but I don’t feel right posting anyone else’s face without their permission. The cost of the dance depends on how long the music is and the number of dancers you choose. The first one that I saw was quite long and the couple praying during the dance were around my age. I don’t think I’d have been able to get up after kneeling for that long!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Tomorrow I booked a private tour “Bangkok IG favorites”, or something to that effect. I had asked a while ago about adding on Jim Thompson house because I wasn’t sure how much I’d get done today. They responded recommending that I do on my own, which I did. The tour of the house cost US$5.73. The tour company uses WhatsApp and depending on the day different people respond and always include a few people in their responses. Today I got a message saying that if I wanted to add Jim Thompson House tomorrow it would be an additional US$50.00. I understand that there is always a markup, but that much of a markup seems absurd.

If you don’t enjoy crowds you probably wouldn’t like the Skytrain! But it is air conditioned and is a welcome respite from the heat. Plus it’s a super cheap way to get around the city.

 

[hsmamato2]

I think I read somewhere that chicago has more international direct flights than any other city in the us (for non-stops not connecting). The cold cant be that bad, can it? I went last year and loved it.

I always visit family in the midwest and every flight from my home routes thru Chicago.... it's always a weather thing in Chicago