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

[havaneselover]

I have zero interest in GoT. My brother got my dad into reading them (my dad is a voracious reader). They wanted to get them the DVDs for Christmas (as if my parents can work a dvd player) and I pointed out that my mom would be mortified (as would I) by it. I think they showed them how to stream it and thankfully my dad was told not to turn it on while the kids and I were there (my dad's judgement isn't the best and thinks Two and a Half Men is family friendly).

 

[disfanforlife]

I’ve never read a word of it either. But I do love those movies

I’ve read all of the books and seen all the movies. My kids are big fans. My oldest DD has read the entire series at least 5 times.
I have never taken the test though, no idea what house I would be in.

 

[wed100105]

In 14 years of teaching 6th grade (reading no less!), I had never read nor seen the HP movies. I wasn’t against them, just uninterested. Oh I recommended them to students, and had loads of HP fans pass through, but I had never joined them. Shockingly enough I knew nothing of spoilers either.

My daughter was in fifth grade last year, turning 11, and a fellow teacher recommended them to me. I read all 7 books in less than a month! I was hooked as was my daughter. I second so much of what many people have said in this thread ~ the books are amazing, the audio books with Jim Dale narrating are outstanding, the entire family loves listening to them, and every HP event I’ve been to has been a blast. I’m a Griffendor seconded by Hufflepuff, as is my oldest DD11. DS8 is still undetermined though suspect Griffendor for bravery. We recently just listened again to HP Deathly Hallows on audiobook because he requested it again.

I had never watched the movies, and it was so funny to me to watch the first one. Film has really come a long way in 20 years!

We became pretty obsessed with HP last year so fair warning for those of you who have never given it a try and are going to now based on all of our recommendations. It turned out to be a pretty expensive habit for us~~~wands, robes, clothes, Legos, movies, books, magical creatures, matching Halloween costumes, etc. It was totally worth it though for the literary benefits for my kids and students!

 

[first*toright]

I read books 1-4 of HP in book format, but when I read all of book 4 in one day on the day it came out (was on a business trip - read on the plane, then stayed up late reading in a new time zone), I decided to switch to audio books for the rest of the series so that I wouldn't gobble them up so quick (and have to wait a year or more for the next book to come out), so I have a lot of affection for the Jim Dale narrated books. My little one has listened to books 1-3, but we are holding off on the others because she's only 7, and it gets pretty dark all of a sudden in book 4. We've watched some of the movies - not a fan, for the reasons others have mentioned - the loss of nuance and important parts of the story make it hard. Even my LO thinks the books are way better (although she likes the movies too).

GoT - I read the first one (before the series came out) and was annoyed with it by the end - all the characters I liked were dead and I had no idea where it was going. Apparently the author doesn't either. Also, it was a little beyond my violence/ickyness tolerance. DH has read most (all?) of the books and has enjoyed them. We haven't watched any of the series.

I feel like Divergent and the Hunger Games suffered from the same issue - the author had a kind of interesting idea about an alternative world, and the first book works pretty well, but then they don't really know where to go from there. I really enjoyed the first book in each series, but the later books fell apart.

I just finished the Arc of a Scythe series by Neil Shusterman - same kind of young adult, futuristic (maybe distopian?) trilogy thing, but he seemed to know where he was going, and I like the way he tells stories. I really really enjoyed it - nice to read a trilogy that doesn't fall apart in the middle.

Oh, and Twilight was terrible, but I did read the whole series...

 

[DisneyMandC]

I've watched Game of Thrones tho

But have you read it?

My favorite chapter is the opening of book 6
*minor spoiler alert*

When the muggle prime minster finds out about the wizarding world my PoliSci obsessed International Relations major self squealed like a 13yo! ...the depth of my anger that they did not include that chapter in the movie was... embarrassing...

Yes! And you know that’s definitely Margaret Thatcher who was throwing things at him.

Cheat sheet...

Gryffindor: good but they break the rules often- for good lol
Slytherin: bad
Ravenclaw: smart
Hufflepuff: nice

First two are featured prominently in the movies. Ravenclaw pops up when brains are needed. I’m still unsure of why Hufflepuffs exist.

As Hagrid said, Hufflepuffs are a lot of dudders

Based on the way this discussion is going I feel the need to ask... team Edward or Jacob?!?

Personally I am team Alice

Edward, obvs

I just finished the Arc of a Scythe series by Neil Shusterman - same kind of young adult, futuristic (maybe distopian?) trilogy thing, but he seemed to know where he was going, and I like the way he tells stories. I really really enjoyed it - nice to read a trilogy that doesn't fall apart in the middle.

Have you read any of his other stuff? I read Unwind many years ago. It’s a great book but one scene of it is so haunting to so many readers that I’ve never been able to reread it or read any of the other books in the series.

By the way, for anyone who’s a reader, please join the rest of us on Goodreads!!

 

[LovesTimone]

I normally just sit on the side lines of this thread it really does move along...
Thanks for all the info... I try to follow along and I am getting an education on the best ways to use my CC points...

so when I saw GoT mention... I had to post...

DH and I both enjoyed GoT.... I was so aggravated on the way it ended.... so I decided to rewatch the series... it was still up on HBO on demand... and at no point did I see Brandon as a major character or really anyone important, basically he was so boring... they took everyone on a journey with these complex characters, they built the stories, the back stories, and wove them all together and in the end they total dropped the ball... there was no way in how they built the characters of Sansa or Aria... that they would have let them ship their brother the who was the rightful king off to the wall!!!!... honestly... that made no sense at all...what was the purpose of finally telling us Jon was the rightful king, and not having him fulfill his birthright or dying in some heroic moment... Dan and Dave should never be allowed to be involved in another series or movie really anything, they did not deliver the goods... and If they thought that GoT fans were tough... Let them mess with Star Wars...


Oh yeah .... I did have a question in all this... I am thinking about getting a Hilton Honors Surpass gold card... 130,000 points for a 2,000 spend in 3 months... and 95 dollar yearly fee... I really want a Hilton Gold for the fact you get breakfast free, and better point values... and that will be a really benefit for our trip to Japan...and we normally stay at with Hilton...

Thoughts...

Please and Thank you...

 

[havaneselover]

But have you read it?



Yes! And you know that’s definitely Margaret Thatcher who was throwing things at him.



As Hagrid said, Hufflepuffs are a lot of dudders



Edward, obvs



Have you read any of his other stuff? I read Unwind many years ago. It’s a great book but one scene of it is so haunting to so many readers that I’ve never been able to reread it or read any of the other books in the series.

By the way, for anyone who’s a reader, please join the rest of us on Goodreads!!

Is there a group on Goodreads to join?

 

[Alexle2007]

SW via FB DM says DH should be able to add DS as his companion sometime tomorrow. I hope they are right!

 

[jhoannam]

So in poking around the United site (for my parents this time)... my goodness. If that's typical redemption cost for free tickets, no wonder the ANA redemption is considered such a fantastic deal! A RT business class ticket (no "saver" awards available for whichever dates I am putting in) is 155K PER PERSON!

Obviously I'm only in the preliminary stages but good grief!

United can have some good last minute saver deals, I’ve been tracking United to Europe for almost 2 years and the best time to book is a few weeks out during the school year. Have you learned about the excursionist perk? If not, google it. United can be a great deal.

 

[calypso726]

saw this on tpg today
https://thepointsguy.com/news/reader-hall-of-fame-tom-savage/ can we say point dreams?

 

[DisneyMandC]

Is there a group on Goodreads to join?

No group! Just several of us on there. I think Haley and amalone are both on there, and a few others I’m forgetting. Happy to send a link to anyone who wants to be friends on there

 

[jhoannam]

OMG So I have to eat my former words... I just texted them to ask if their card has an AF and he said it DOES! "It started in the second year"!!! I'm in shock.

So now I'll have to find out precisely which one it is, what benefits it has, whether they use said benefits, and find out if a PC is a good idea for them. Wow. Wow wow wow.

If they have the annual fee card, they get 2 club passes per year so if they already paid the fee might as well keep it for the year and use the passes.

 

[calypso726]

Just saw a comment on reddit award travel that said that (maybe) ANA passengers arriving at NRT from a first class flight get some sort of expedited procedure or line for immigration. Any chance @calypso726 can shed any light? The ANA website doesn't specifically answer that question. Might be nice if it'll shave a few minutes when we land there.

I believe we did but that is typical of many international business and first class flights. You get to bypass the long queue. I'd have to ask PlanePrincess to see if he remembers specifically.

 

[KPK02090]

It will not affect the others, but you have to call to cancel the one person off the reservation

@KPK02090 Twitter might work if you’re phone call averse.

Thanks! I’ll give them a call Monday (I’m fine with calls, although I prefer email). Glad to know the other reservations won’t be effected in anyway. I was mostly worried about the EBCI.

 

[WVMomof3]

Oh perfect! I didn’t realize we had some hometown experts. Convince me why I should/shouldn’t plan a last minute spring break trip there with the kiddos. DH let on that he wanted to take me there for my birthday since I’m on a big Fred Rogers nostalgia kick right now and that turned into a let’s see if we can make it a family trip. Looked at the Heinz center, children’s museum, PNC stadium, and the science center. Also how’s the transportation and walkability? We have some limited experience with NYC subway system with kids from visiting my sister when DS was a baby but that’s it.

We are 1.5 hrs away so when we do stuff in the city we drive up and back same day. It has been a long time since we have done the Science center or the Children’s museum but we did always like them. Besides the statue of Mr Rogers (which I didn’t really care for), I don’t know that you will get much in the way of Mr Roger nostalgia. I would look into the Hyatt North Shore as a place to stay. It is close to all the places you mentioned, I think you could walk to the Science center from there but I’m not sure about the children’s museum. I have never been to the Heinz center. The other Carnegie Museums are near Pitt and Carnegie Melon Campuses. I would think you would need to Uber to them. I have never done any public transportation in Pittsburgh since we just drive to where we are going.

 

[spacerangerqueen]

I started reading Harry Potter in high school before book 4 came out and played the waiting game with every book after that. Then the movies started coming out every year or so on my birthday. Went to the midnight showing on my birthday of whichever one came out in 2005. Was a surprise gift from my now DH who I had just started dating. Love all the Parks HP stuff too. However at this point it's been 20 years (OMG!!) since I first got into HP so it's more of a thing I know exists and less of something I'm really into. I can see my fondness ramping up when DS5 is old enough to start reading/listening to them though.

Totally agree on Divergent and Hunger Games. Both those series I got the third book the day it came out and both were disappointing. Also have never watched the final movies in either series as I just had no interest anymore.

I need to go load up some more books on my To Read list on Goodreads!

 

[happ]

Does anyone have (or have any thoughts about) a Bank of America business card? They have two that I am considering: one that earns 1.5 points per dollar and has a 25,000 point SUB and one that earns 1% cash back and has a $300 SUB. For various reasons, Chase and AmEx are not options at the moment, and I am seriously missing having a SUB.

I have the BoA CR Biz card. I got it in 2018 when it had an elevated bonus of $500. I'm not sure if it helped with approval, but I already had a biz and personal checking with them when I applied. I think BoA likes you to have a banking relationship.

 

[first*toright]

As Hagrid said, Hufflepuffs are a lot of dudders

Have you read any of his other stuff? I read Unwind many years ago. It’s a great book but one scene of it is so haunting to so many readers that I’ve never been able to reread it or read any of the other books in the series.

Hagrid may say Hufflepuffs are duffers - (not dudders) but I'm very happy being married to my sweet Hufflepuff - nice guys don't always finish last

I have read the Skinjacker series by Neil Shustermann as well, which was pretty good, but not as good as Scythe. My daughter is the one who found him, and gives me his books as gifts. She said she looked at the unwind series and thought it would be too upsetting for me . She knows me well.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

I don't know about the app, but last time I went to universal I scanned the email bar code at the gate. Originally tried to scan a screen shot of the email, and it wouldn't work. They had me open the email and scan that instead.

Great, thanks!

Thoughts on Disney After Hours Villains?... playing around with the idea of giving it a go while I still have my AP...

We decided to do the regular DAH instead of the VAH (both are offered our week in March) purely because we'll have a first-timer with us.

Based on the way this discussion is going I feel the need to ask... team Edward or Jacob?!?

Personally I am team Alice

My older dd was obsessed with Twilight, like in forums and wrote fanfic. I drove her and a close friend to the third book release party at Borders (moment of silence, please) and hid in the stacks

Very much a HP fan (Ravenclaw), a moderate SW fan, and haven't seen/read any GoT.

 

[GlamMistress]

I normally just sit on the side lines of this thread it really does move along...
Thanks for all the info... I try to follow along and I am getting an education on the best ways to use my CC points...

Oh yeah .... I did have a question in all this... I am thinking about getting a Hilton Honors Surpass gold card... 130,000 points for a 2,000 spend in 3 months... and 95 dollar yearly fee... I really want a Hilton Gold for the fact you get breakfast free, and better point values... and that will be a really benefit for our trip to Japan...and we normally stay at with Hilton...



Please and Thank you...

I really enjoy my Surpass card. You get 10 visits to Priority Pass lounges and can earn a free night after $15k spend as well. I've really knocked down my AF cards but I plan on keeping the Surpass. The gold status does come in handy as you say. Be sure to enroll in Hilton Honors dining to grab a few more points too. (not connected to card, just helpful to earn more points).