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

[havaneselover]

so snow> hurricanes? i dunno! ha

I'm not somewhere where we have hurricanes very often. Honestly the worst hurricane I've been through was in Connecticut when I was a child. For me the question is snow > humid summers. I'll take humid summers any day over dreadful winters. Chicago weather is just not my cup of tea.

 

[afan]

I'm not somewhere where we have hurricanes very often. Honestly the worst hurricane I've been through was in Connecticut when I was a child. For me the question is snow > humid summers. I'll take humid summers any day over dreadful winters. Chicago weather is just not my cup of tea.

I realize in comparison to other places our weekend was tame, but just getting up to freezing today was welcome. Seattle is not meant for highs of 22 and lows of 15 before the windchill. The only good thing is the bad weather either is either at the start of the cold front or the end. Barely got a dusting last week, I'm hoping it warms up enough before the precipitation gets here Tuesday that nothing happens. I'd like to be able to go to my Dr appt Wed am.

This is also why I always say I prefer rain in the winter over sun. It's generally warmer when it rains then when we have sun, too far away to warm things much and the clouds hold the heat in.

I don't know how you guys in the Midwest deal with winter, it's just too cold.

 

[reliev]

I'm not somewhere where we have hurricanes very often. Honestly the worst hurricane I've been through was in Connecticut when I was a child. For me the question is snow > humid summers. I'll take humid summers any day over dreadful winters. Chicago weather is just not my cup of tea.

yeah i can bare it hear i just hate august (I'm close to the mouse) I usually try to go somewhere then where its cooler.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Yeah, I am at least six months late planning this.

Usually at least economy (35K) shows up on AA after all the J award seats are taken on JAL. So I think JAL isn't going to happen for as soon as August now. I think the Delta flight is going to be the better bet now. ETA: though I'd keep my eye out for an alert from, say Frequent Flyer or Thrifty Traveler about award space opening up through AA af you get closer to the dates, I've seen that happen before.

Have you figured out your lodging? I am sticking with Hyatt outside of our nights at Disney, but was sad to learn I was too late to use my suite upgrade certificates (all award suite availability in Tokyo and Kyoto is gone for my dates in late November). But at least I was able to book standard rooms with points. We have one more night to book but not sure where to stay yet--we designated this night between our stays in Kyoto and Tokyo to try out an onsen ryokan but there are so many options and places, it's overwhelming to choose one.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I'm not somewhere where we have hurricanes very often. Honestly the worst hurricane I've been through was in Connecticut when I was a child. For me the question is snow > humid summers. I'll take humid summers any day over dreadful winters. Chicago weather is just not my cup of tea.

TBH the humidity kills me and the cold I hate but I can bundle up. Went to Disney in August once, never again. I can add clothes in winter but there’s only so much I can take off In summer. Without getting arrested. Even then I’d be sweating.

 

[AmyAnne]

Usually at least economy (35K) shows up on AA after all the J award seats are taken on JAL. So I think JAL isn't going to happen for as soon as August now. I think the Delta flight is going to be the better bet now. ETA: though I'd keep my eye out for an alert from, say Frequent Flyer or Thrifty Traveler about award space opening up through AA af you get closer to the dates, I've seen that happen before.

Have you figured out your lodging? I am sticking with Hyatt outside of our nights at Disney, but was sad to learn I was too late to use my suite upgrade certificates (all award suite availability in Tokyo and Kyoto is gone for my dates in late November). But at least I was able to book standard rooms with points. We have one more night to book but not sure where to stay yet--we designated this night between our stays in Kyoto and Tokyo to try out an onsen ryokan but there are so many options and places, it's overwhelming to choose one.

I need to figure out how to use the alert sites. Are Frequent Flyer and Thrifty Traveler the ones to use? I also recall seeing references to points.[something].

As for lodging, I have a reservation at Hilton Tokyo Bay with Chase UR points. I've looked at the Disney hotels and if the prices for our week in August are similar to the options available now for May, I'll likely switch. I still need to figure out a hotel for Tokyo that's in the city. I just got the Hyatt card a few months ago and need to figure out the whole Hyatt system. All of my Hyatt points are tied up in reservations for New Orleans (Taylor Swift) but it was easy to transfer UR points so I could get more. I need my kids to decide what they want to do for the two non-Disney Tokyo days that we have.

 

[AmyAnne]

15k spend also gets you a fnc on the personal card which I think this offer is from.

It's a very misleading offer. It's not actually 30k more points, but 1 additional point until you hit $15k. So the total SUB would be 45k if you maxed out at $15k spend. The other 15k is points you'd get anyways.

That said, if I was chasing Globalist, I would spend to $15k to get the FNC and elite nights (2 elite nights per $5000 spend).

Keep in mind that if you plan to churn the card, the date of the last additional point transaction is the date of last SUB for the 24 months criteria. I'd say it's not worth churning though unless you're chasing status (5 elite nights from old card, 5 from new card).

I just realized I forgot to follow up with this. And I forgot about the free night, which probably does tip the scale in favor of the additional $15K. (Although is it an additional $15K or an additional $12K? Here is what the Chase website says: "30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 More Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent." So does the first $3K not earn the additional 2 points? At least it's clear that I have 6 months.)

I don't think Globalist is a realistic goal since the only Hyatt stays I have upcoming are on points.

 

[afan]

I just realized I forgot to follow up with this. And I forgot about the free night, which probably does tip the scale in favor of the additional $15K. (Although is it an additional $15K or an additional $12K? Here is what the Chase website says: "30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 More Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent." So does the first $3K not earn the additional 2 points? At least it's clear that I have 6 months.)

I don't think Globalist is a realistic goal since the only Hyatt stays I have upcoming are on points.

The fnc would just be another 12k but it's also based on calendar year so it would only count spend from Jan 1. I can't remember if you have the card or were looking to apply but this would be something to consider. The 15k has to be done in 6 months for the offer but if it splits years it won't have a fnc without more spend. In that case I don't know that I would do it unless I hadn't spent much on the card before the year switched.

 

[Best Aunt]

Anyone stay Swan/Dolphin recently? Are they still doing Mears buses that drop off at TTC and not Disney buses that drop at MK?

Some of my family members (but not me) stayed at Swan for Christmas 2023. Yes, still non-Disney buses that drop off at TTC.

To avoid the TTC:
- Walk from Swan/Dolphin to BoardWalk or Yacht Club, and take their bus to MK
- Pay to take a Minnie Van from Swan or Dolphin directly to MK
- At the end of the day, take a bus to BoardWalk or Yacht Club or Beach Club and walk back to your hotel from there
- At the end of the day, pay to take a Minnie Van from MK to Swan or Dolphin
- At the end of the day, walk to Contemporary and pay to take an Uber or Lyft back to Swan or Dolphin (cheaper than Minnie Van)

You can't take a regular Uber or Lyft from Swan or Dolphin to the Contemporary; the guard at the Contemporary gate can turn you away if you don't have a dining or hotel resie at Contemporary.

You can't taken an Uber or Lyft directly to MK; they drop off at TTC.

OP might know all this.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Disney's treatment of Swolphin right now is bizarre. They get Deluxe evening hours but then their busses have to go to the TTC with the riff raff.

Walk from Swan/Dolphin to BoardWalk or Yacht Club, and take their bus to MK

And aren't tons of people doing this? I have to assume Yacht's MK buses are getting clogged up from Swolphin guests. It was already a known trick leaving the parks to grab any crescent lake bus if yours isn't coming. Now there are just fewer buses for that crowd.

 

[wdwpluto]

Have any of you stayed in Tampa? We’re looking at doing a baseball game and the aquarium but aren’t sure where to stay. I didn’t realize they’re about 30 minutes away from each other. I’m leaning towards staying by the baseball stadium because it’s a night game

I'm not sure about the area by the stadium, but I've been to the aquarium for a wedding and it's by the cruise port and there's a walkable little downtown area (maybe bigger than I realize, I didn't see much other than the drive in/out)

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

I'm not sure about the area by the stadium, but I've been to the aquarium for a wedding and it's by the cruise port and there's a walkable little downtown area (maybe bigger than I realize, I didn't see much other than the drive in/out)

There's the Riverwalk which is a pretty good size walkable area along the river (close to the Aquarium). And you can take the streetcar between there and Ybor City for free, which is kind of neat. We had nieces with us when we did it and they got a kick out of riding it. Maybe @Haley R your son would like that.

 

[Haley R]

There's the Riverwalk which is a pretty good size walkable area along the river (close to the Aquarium). And you can take the streetcar between there and Ybor City for free, which is kind of neat. We had nieces with us when we did it and they got a kick out of riding it. Maybe @Haley R your son would like that.

The street car looks fun! I think he might like that. My plan was to do a Friday night baseball game and then the next day do the aquarium or something in that area like the zoo. I was thinking a 6 pm game but that might be too late to drive 30 minutes to the river walk after the game. Maybe we’ll look for an earlier game

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I just realized I forgot to follow up with this. And I forgot about the free night, which probably does tip the scale in favor of the additional $15K. (Although is it an additional $15K or an additional $12K? Here is what the Chase website says: "30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 More Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent." So does the first $3K not earn the additional 2 points? At least it's clear that I have 6 months.)

I don't think Globalist is a realistic goal since the only Hyatt stays I have upcoming are on points.

Oh yeah, there are several sites where you create specific alerts for what you need. But I meant the miles bloggers. For instance, this message from Thrifty Traveler on Jan 10. I think they're all gone but if I hadn't gotten our seats at the 11 month mark, I could have used this. So it's good to keep an eye out

 

[reliev]

Oh yeah, there are several sites where you create specific alerts for what you need. But I meant the miles bloggers. For instance, this message from Thrifty Traveler on Jan 10. I think they're all gone but if I hadn't gotten our seats at the 11 month mark, I could have used this. So it's good to keep an eye out
View attachment 826019

I wish I got on this earlier I snagged 3 great deals last year.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I wish I got on this earlier I snagged 3 great deals last year.

Here's hoping for another great deal to New Zealand!

 

[Jsharp13]

I'm sorry I tried to do a search, so I apologize if I missed this.

I am getting ready to get the standard Disney Visa card (not the preferred). The last time I looked, I saw a $100 new cardmember offer. Today, I see $150.
Does this fluctuate often? Do I need to jump on that $150? Will it ever go higher?

I am only considering the card with no annual fee at this time as I'd like to mainly capitalize on the few Disney shopping and dining discounts. (The new cardmember reward is a plus! But mainly I'm interested in the small discounts).

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I'm sorry I tried to do a search, so I apologize if I missed this.

I am getting ready to get the standard Disney Visa card (not the preferred). The last time I looked, I saw a $100 new cardmember offer. Today, I see $150.
Does this fluctuate often? Do I need to jump on that $150? Will it ever go higher?

I am only considering the card with no annual fee at this time as I'd like to mainly capitalize on the few Disney shopping and dining discounts. (The new cardmember reward is a plus! But mainly I'm interested in the small discounts).

I've seen $300-500 before, especially around the holidays. But that may have been for the preferred card, I'm not sure. I would do a higher offer, though, because you can always downgrade tot he no fee after a year. So, if you find/wait for a $300 offer, and the AF is $50, you're still ahead by $100.

 

[reliev]

I've seen $300-500 before, especially around the holidays. But that may have been for the preferred card, I'm not sure. I would do a higher offer, though, because you can always downgrade tot he no fee after a year. So, if you find/wait for a $300 offer, and the AF is $50, you're still ahead by $100.

I got 300 on the preferred card. @Jsharp13

 

[LynnTH]

FOMO - Had to try for one more INK. Applied for DH. Instant approval, only $4000 Credit Limit, but I can transfer Credit from other INKS. Still working on a AMEX Gold for DH but we have 6 months to meet the spend on that one. Going on a cruise next month, can easily cash out some $ in the casino towards the SUB on the INK.

DP on AMEX Plat Biz Credits. SW - purchased 2 flights under $100 on 1/3 was credited on 1/12. Purchased Dell stuff on 1/10 - so hopefully next week to see that credit.