Airmiles Armchair Chatter

[Donald - my hero]

I squeezed out 55 miles at Lawtons and 109 miles at Sobeys and on my receipt was an offer for next week: Spend $150, get 100 miles. Hopefully there are good flyers deals on Easter candy as I have been holding out until Tuesday's flyer delivery

If we're lucky our flyers get delivered Thursday -- or Friday -- or not at all --- or maybe 1/2 of them show up --- or double of a few... Get the picture??

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

While I love getting the flyers early, I hate having to wait until Thursday morning for my PC Plus offers to load for the week. I like having my grocery shopping strategy all ready to go asap LOL

DH dies laughing at me over this and sometimes his eyeballs roll so hard I tell them they are going to stay that way eventually LOL

 

[bababear_50]

O/T
anyone ever been the appointed Power Of Attorney of an estate?
I am facing complications and overwhelming anxiety right now. I went to the Royal Bank this morning and met with a few people and I think I will have them help me through this process. I know there will be a fee but good golly miss molly this stuff is involved.
Any one willing to share their advice for me?
Thanks Hugs Mel

 

[kerreyn]

I spent $124 at Safeway yesterday, and managed to get 112 airmiles. They didn't even have the usual spend $95 get 95 airmiles. Hopefully this week is better.

 

[kerreyn]

O/T
anyone ever been the appointed Power Of Attorney of an estate?
I am facing complications and overwhelming anxiety right now. I went to the Royal Bank this morning and met with a few people and I think I will have them help me through this process. I know there will be a fee but good golly miss molly this stuff is involved.
Any one willing to share their advice for me?
Thanks Hugs Mel

Mel - my DH is an attorney in Alberta. If you have any questions, I can certainly ask him for you.

Kerrey

 

[ottawamom]

O/T
anyone ever been the appointed Power Of Attorney of an estate?
I am facing complications and overwhelming anxiety right now. I went to the Royal Bank this morning and met with a few people and I think I will have them help me through this process. I know there will be a fee but good golly miss molly this stuff is involved.
Any one willing to share their advice for me?
Thanks Hugs Mel

It is a lot of work. Unless you are a details oriented, love working with numbers and tracking things down kind of person you are best to engage someone to at least steer you through the process. In Ontario there are deadlines for filing paperwork that must be adhered to. My brother took care of my fathers estate with my sister. They are an accountant and a lawyer so they had both sides covered.

My FIL has everything set up (re his estate) with someone who will do all the filing etc and my DH will go in and review things with him. There are many different professionals out there who can help you through all this. You are going through enough on the personal side, engage someone to help you through the paperwork. There is likely a provision in your brothers will to pay for all such expenses out of the estate.

Good luck,

 

[ottawamom]

@Donald - my hero , I didn't post anything last weekend because for the first time in forever I didn't go AM hunting on the weekend at all. There wasn't anything worth the trip. I'm now thinking I may go and pick up a few Sears GC at Sobey's and I'm off to Rexall for my weekly trek but it was kind of a bust weekend.

edit to add: Just got back from Rexall. Spent $50 got 212AM. I had the weekly email plus my load and go and a coupon from the cash receipt from last weekend (available regionally). Picked up a few makeup items and some milk and bread. It was a good day...

 

[Pumpkin1172]

No miles for this hunter this weekend. I only have a safeway to get miles unless I make an hour drive ( northern Alberta here ). Just not worth it for me. But I did get 8250 pc points this weekend. Not my best record, but we really didn't need a lot of groceries this week. And I did pull back a bit as hubby heard rumblings of doors closing at his work...he's worked there for 15 yrs. So this news is a little unsettling. So just hanging tight and only getting what we need. My pantry and freezer are pretty stocked for now.

 

[damo]

O/T
anyone ever been the appointed Power Of Attorney of an estate?
I am facing complications and overwhelming anxiety right now. I went to the Royal Bank this morning and met with a few people and I think I will have them help me through this process. I know there will be a fee but good golly miss molly this stuff is involved.
Any one willing to share their advice for me?
Thanks Hugs Mel

My MIL passed away in November and DH was her Power of Attorney. He finally engaged a lawyer because it was just too overwhelming. There are so many things that need to be done that aren't obvious.

 

[dancin Disney style]

O/T
anyone ever been the appointed Power Of Attorney of an estate?
I am facing complications and overwhelming anxiety right now. I went to the Royal Bank this morning and met with a few people and I think I will have them help me through this process. I know there will be a fee but good golly miss molly this stuff is involved.
Any one willing to share their advice for me?
Thanks Hugs Mel

I work everyday with people who have POA. Get yourself a lawyer. In the end it will be well worth the cost.

 

[bababear_50]

Mel - my DH is an attorney in Alberta. If you have any questions, I can certainly ask him for you.

Kerrey

It is a lot of work. Unless you are a details oriented, love working with numbers and tracking things down kind of person you are best to engage someone to at least steer you through the process. In Ontario there are deadlines for filing paperwork that must be adhered to. My brother took care of my fathers estate with my sister. They are an accountant and a lawyer so they had both sides covered.

My FIL has everything set up (re his estate) with someone who will do all the filing etc and my DH will go in and review things with him. There are many different professionals out there who can help you through all this. You are going through enough on the personal side, engage someone to help you through the paperwork. There is likely a provision in your brothers will to pay for all such expenses out of the estate.

Good luck,

My MIL passed away in November and DH was her Power of Attorney. He finally engaged a lawyer because it was just too overwhelming. There are so many things that need to be done that aren't obvious.

I work everyday with people who have POA. Get yourself a lawyer. In the end it will be well worth the cost.

Thank-you everyone,I think I was having a moment of panic...I am an excellent Educational Resource Facilitator BUT I know my limits when it comes to certain legal and financial planning. I also am not a patient person and want things done now instead of later ,,I think I am going to learn a bit about patience in this matter. This estate is just too complex and detailed for me to do it on my own. I am going to go with RBC estate planning and a lawyer.
I have been told I can access funds to pay for the estate assistance and lawyer which is a great relief to me. Tomorrow I head to the accountant to file taxes and hopefully as time goes on I will have a clearer understanding of the whole process.
All of this is making me rethink my own plans for a Will.
Thanks for letting me divert this thread.......now back to airmiles hunting.
Hugs Mel

 

[ottawamom]

@bababear_50, wise choices. My fathers RBC financial planner/broker was a key resource for my brother in settling the estate. You sound like you're on the right path. The team you have chosen will guide you through the process.

 

[Days In the Sun]

i'm really grateful to the people who've posted about their experiences upgrading/trying to upgrade tickets redeemed for discounted miles.

i'm not sure what to do right now--my account just hit 6500 miles, which means i could redeem another set of tickets. the tickets seem like a pretty decent use of miles. but it would mean a second set of hopper-free touring, and we've always hopped in the past. i'm not sure if i should redeem or just keep saving with no goal in mind. hmm.

For our family, I am cashing in for another 5d am ticket before may 20. As long as we can live with not hopping, the value of the ticket is currently $394 us x 1.33 exch = $524 cdn which is 17.76 cents per point. When the next increase comes, it will be worth more. I'm expecting after May 20, the airmiles required to cash in for a 5d ticket could be around 4500 since the pre promo amount was 3950 am (someone correct me?) and disney increased the 5d ticket price 15%.

Our family has always hopped. We see value in splitting time between epcot and dhs since we can walk between these two parks, we usually go back to the resort during the day for a break and will return to a close park in the evening to minimize crowds and transit. And while I just added hoppers to a number of tickets at the $55 cdn rate, I don't see purchasing hoppers in our future. Current Disney rate for family of 5 $79.87 x 5 = $399.37 x 1.33 exch = $531. Just to hop. It's not in our budget.

 

[Days In the Sun]

Thanks for the update. Not quite the answer I was hoping for but it was the amount I originally feared it would be. I guess we will be moving forward without Hoppers in 2018. I'll just pay OP for one day to the water park.

Sorry it wasn't better news, I was thinking of you when I was getting the prices at guest services.

 

[ottawamom]

For our family, I am cashing in for another 5d am ticket before may 20. As long as we can live with not hopping, the value of the ticket is currently $394 us x 1.33 exch = $524 cdn which is 17.76 cents per point. When the next increase comes, it will be worth more. I'm expecting after May 20, the airmiles required to cash in for a 5d ticket could be around 4500 since the pre promo amount was 3950 am (someone correct me?) and disney increased the 5d ticket price 15%.

Our family has always hopped. We see value in splitting time between epcot and dhs since we can walk between these two parks, we usually go back to the resort during the day for a break and will return to a close park in the evening to minimize crowds and transit. And while I just added hoppers to a number of tickets at the $55 cdn rate, I don't see purchasing hoppers in our future. Current Disney rate for family of 5 $79.87 x 5 = $399.37 x 1.33 exch = $531. Just to hop. It's not in our budget.

Pre Canadian discount AM 5 day was 3550AM, 7 day was 3775AM.

And your hopping cost is before any potential annual price increase is added on to your upgrade (assumes an upgrade happens before you go again)

Thanks for the info re upgrading its crazy expensive like you said. I think we'll do 2 days at each of MK, EP, AK and one day at HS (new lands won't be open yet). Our day at HS we'll do a half day at the water park which I will pay for separately. That will free up hundreds of dollars to do something else with.

 

[Days In the Sun]

Pre Canadian discount AM 5 day was 3550AM, 7 day was 3775AM.

And your hopping cost is before any potential annual price increase is added on to your upgrade (assumes an upgrade happens before you go again)

Thanks for the info re upgrading its crazy expensive like you said. I think we'll do 2 days at each of MK, EP, AK and one day at HS (new lands won't be open yet). Our day at HS we'll do a half day at the water park which I will pay for separately. That will free up hundreds of dollars to do something else with.

Thank you for correcting the numbers. So 5d and 7d am ticket may be 4100 and 4300 respectively on May 21, this is just an expectation lol. And yes, I agree, the family of 5 $531 to hop is a minimum.

 

[marchingstar]

Thanks, ottawamom and Days in the Sun! You're both raising good points about what to do with these air miles! And about the added costs if we did choose to add hoppers. I think I'm going to keep saving them for now, and once the end of the Canadian sale on tickets gets closer I'll reconsider: we've always hopped, but maybe we would be okay for a couple of trips without the hoppers? We've always hopped, but we've also always only gone as 2 adults who tend to hit the parks pretty hard. It's very early still, but it looks like we might have a little peanut on the way, which would really change the way we structure our vacations. Maybe with a baby the hopper won't feel like such an important feature?

 

[marchingstar]

Oh and I'm also in the same spot as everyone--no AM-focused shopping last weekend/this week. There's just nothing worth it right now for me. I have a Rexall close, and it's usually decent (so long as we can still double up on the emailed coupons and load and go!), but I feel like I've build up a decent stock of drug store products, and I don't want to shop just for the sake of miles. Safeway isn't even offering the spend 95$/earn 95 miles, so it's just not worth a visit. I'll just wait patiently until next Blue Friday and let my pantry shelves clear out a bit at home to make space for the bulk purchases then.

 

[Days In the Sun]

Thanks, ottawamom and Days in the Sun! You're both raising good points about what to do with these air miles! And about the added costs if we did choose to add hoppers. I think I'm going to keep saving them for now, and once the end of the Canadian sale on tickets gets closer I'll reconsider: we've always hopped, but maybe we would be okay for a couple of trips without the hoppers? We've always hopped, but we've also always only gone as 2 adults who tend to hit the parks pretty hard. It's very early still, but it looks like we might have a little peanut on the way, which would really change the way we structure our vacations. Maybe with a baby the hopper won't feel like such an important feature?

I sometimes think of Disney decisions like flavours of ice cream, there is no one best way really, just different. Honestly, some kids are happy with one day at MK and the rest of the time at the pool.

Congrats to both of you, enjoy your new journey in life!

 

[ottawamom]

Oh and I'm also in the same spot as everyone--no AM-focused shopping last weekend/this week. There's just nothing worth it right now for me. I have a Rexall close, and it's usually decent (so long as we can still double up on the emailed coupons and load and go!), but I feel like I've build up a decent stock of drug store products, and I don't want to shop just for the sake of miles. Safeway isn't even offering the spend 95$/earn 95 miles, so it's just not worth a visit. I'll just wait patiently until next Blue Friday and let my pantry shelves clear out a bit at home to make space for the bulk purchases then.

I double dipped this week (well triple actually but the coupon on the receipt is a regional thing). The Rexall near me has a fairly decent grocery section so I usually get milk, eggs, bread, cheese. By the time I stock up on that for my family of 5 I usually find a little something I need (cosmetics, household cleaning etc) to get me up and over the threshold.

Those days of bulk purchasing may soon be in your future.