I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

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Is anyone holding on to the IHG card anymore with the restricted free nights? I feel like there are still some OK options at least for a $49 annual fee. I am pretty excited that I have 3 last unrestricted nights at the Kimpton Seafire Grand Cayman in October.

Me. But I use them for mostly boring stays. We travel a few times a year just within the state, usually visiting family, so spending $49 on a night is better than $100-200 when we just need to sleep.

But even most of the places we'd want to visit for a vacation have options in the 40k or less range that we'd be happy at. All comes down to how you travel yearly.
 
Is anyone holding on to the IHG card anymore with the restricted free nights? I feel like there are still some OK options at least for a $49 annual fee. I am pretty excited that I have 3 last unrestricted nights at the Kimpton Seafire Grand Cayman in October.

You will have to pry that $49 free night from my hand. I'd like to have another.
 
Me either! I am not sure why Clark Howard would say to use cash to buy a MO and deposit it into your bank...? I am clearly missing something here.
Hahahahaha, just for something to do. Kidding!

It is the work around for depositing cash in the bank if you only have online accounts. Like me...only ally.
 
WHOA hold the phones and shut the front door! I just looked at my Bonvoy acct and I have 2 35k nights to use! how did this happen? The first was from my spg personal that I canceled and they refunded the $95 fee! the 2nd was from the biz card,which I was expecting....
 

:offtopic:Well two hour in on the ten hour drive. Didn’t have time to write up the character meals. So here goes... it’s been 2 adults and 3 kids each meal. Also we have had others join us at time and that hasn’t changed our experience. We used the dining plan most of the time but have paid for some out of pocket. Also we have food allergies.
Listed in no specific rating.

Bon Voyage at trattoria al forno- character interaction is great. They spend time talking and stay in character. Youngest dd loves playing hide and seek with Flynn every time. Ask to see the crown as he has it in his satchel. The dancing around the restaurant is fun for the kids. Food has been great. Chef has made most of the items to meet our allergies. We do this every trip.

Storybook dinner at artist point- evil queen was great. Snow White came by smiled for a picture but didn’t really interact with us. She didn’t answer the kids questions or bother to try to listen to a quick story. She definitely rushed. Dwarfs were animated with their actions and didn’t seem to rush off like Snow White. Food was great. Apps and dessert are small portioned so you get each one for everyone in your party no sharing required. Chef was very friendly and accommodating. We will definitely do this again.

Tusker house at animal kingdom- kids love the safari outfits and dancing in the conga line with the characters around your area is the dining room. Buffet style and decent assortment. Food has been good here and we look forward to eating here as it’s a break in the day for lunch or dinner. Characters have spent time and then some times it felt rushed. They have had the same chefs for lunch and dinner for years. Not sure if it’s good that they remember us. We do this every trip.

Crystal palace at MK- buffet style. We did dinner once and haven’t been back. Characters rushed by for a quick pic and no interaction. We did dinner. Other reviews said good things so we tried it. Food was same nothing special. Chef wasn’t the friendliest. They do cross contaminate so two of us didn’t eat. He wasn’t willing to try to make anything for us because they were too busy.

Be our guest at MK- great food! Pic with beast was nice and there was a line but they didn’t rush you with interactions. Kids each got to dance with him and talk. Now that it’s 2 credits on the dining plan not sure if we would repeat. Especially since we like doing breakfast and lunch here. But definitely was worth it once. If money wasn’t an issue we would do it again. You can request which room to eat in, rose room did have a longer wait but only 5 minutes when we went.

Cinderella royal table at MK- it’s the castle. We have done this several times just because it’s in the castle. Princesses have been great and sometimes rushed. Food has been good but smaller portion compared overall to other table service. Kids like getting their wand/sword and wishing star. They have played with them at home which is nice. Cinderella pic seems rushed and not much interaction. The princesses that come around the table do interact more and make it worth it. Kids enjoy going and ask for it every visit but for the price we try to do this every couple years vs every visit.

Hollywood and Vine at HS- well we have done breakfast, lunch, and dinner several times. Food is never anything to jump up and down. If it’s the only way to meet a character then it is worth it maybe. After the last two times here we won’t be going back. Service is poor and just not like other Disney table service. Also doesn’t help that the server lost my gift card when we were paying and the manger was awful. Out $590 and they wouldn’t do anything about it. Same manger is still there after two years. We went just for vampirina for dd birthday as it was the only way to meet her. Gave to another shot and the food and service is just not good. Plus characters always seem rushed here.

Garden grill at EP- moving restaurant sometimes doesn’t rotate. We have only done breakfast here and it’s been good. Characters are fun and chip and dale played games with the kids. Family style but had no problem getting more of certain foods. We eat here every couple of trips.

Akershus in EP- we have done breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We like dinner the best. Great way to meet the princesses without paying for Cinderella royal table. They do little parade around the restaurant. Characters have been good with the interactions. Only once did it seem rushed. The buffet for apps and then individual main dish. Shared dessert. We eat here every other trip.

1900 park fare in grand Floridian- breakfast and dinner. We prefer dinner here. The interactions with the step mother and sisters are never disappointing. Prince charming always makes the girls feel like true princesses. Food is good for a buffet. If you can get there when they open the wall plays music. This is one we do at least every other trip if not every.

Ohana in Polynesian- breakfast for characters. Stitch is fun and why we come here. Food is good for family style. Service always seems slow here but we normally aren’t in a rush when we come here so it’s not too bad. We eat here every other trip.

Mickeys backyard - we did this once. Food was ok. Characters had lines to see them. The dancing was fun for the kids. For a evening it was a nice change from the parks. (FWIW if I had to choose this or hoop de doo I’d do hoop de doo. Kids seemed to enjoy that more)

Cape May - breakfast. One and done for us. Characters barely walked by and only two stopped for a pic. Kids didn’t have a chance to even talk with them. Food was typical breakfast buffet. Chef was useless. Didn’t know what was in half the dishes. Wasn’t willing to accommodate allergies.

Chef mickeys in the contemporary - dinner only here for us. I could take it or leave it here. Kids love it more for the characters and desserts. Typical buffet. Characters have been good here. They take their time and it’s not rushed. Food has gotten better the last time we went this past March. Service has been good and chefs have been changing. Had three different chefs between April and October 2018 and March 2019. They don’t have the Mickey plate statue anymore :-( kids liked getting their picture before we ate.

Sorry for all the edits but since I’m on the phone didn’t want it to lose the post.

Thank you for posting all of this! We do several (2-3) character meals each trip but very rarely any outside the parks, just because of transportation issues. I'm going to think about how to work in something like 1900 Park Fare for our next trip.

I also have to say that the times when the chef wouldn't accommodate allergies makes me mad/sad -- that's just totally unacceptable to not have anything to eat.
 
Woo-hoo, I just paid a property tax bill with Plastiq with DH's CIP because I wanted to meet the MSR before the statement closing. I'm excited to hear that I'll earn 3x points. :) I need to figure out how I'd like to pay the rest. I have Plastiq credits, but I've met the MSR on all the cards I have right now. With the updated 60,000 Southwest offer, I may just bite the bullet and go for the companion pass.

I'm waiting to hear back from AMEX. I had a bonus 150,000 point offer to upgrade from Ascend to Aspire. I chatted last week asking when the points would likely be deposited, as I had met the MSR and the statement closed. The rep told me that the offer wasn't on my card! What?! They said they escalated the inquiry and I could contact AMEX again in 10 days. I have the chat history where I inquired about the offer, but I seriously hope I don't have to argue much or even worse, lose out on 150,000 Hhonors points. I used the link in my offers that specifically stated that I was selected to upgrade to the Aspire and would earn 150,000 bonus points if I met the minimum spend.

My kids are totally spoiled with the trips we take. I camped with my family and my mom took us on one "big" trip a year. She pinched her pennies, too. My husband never went on a family vacation. He was the youngest of 7. He did go on a Boy Scout trip with his dad once though. I love vacationing. I should do it for a living. My daughter (11) tells people she's going to be a tourist when she grows up. :)
 
Plastiq kicked the last one I tried back saying I couldn't pay mortgage with a visa. I waited a month and was going to try again and then the 3x stopped so I never tried again.
I remember that. I was grateful they hadn't caught me yet but bummed for you. Also, I want to say I'm really glad to hear the new meds are working for DD. :)
 
I booked caring for giants last night on my 50th birthday in august. Woohoo! Rhino tour was sold out for our whole trip but i am okay with seeing the elephants. Got 10% off for using disney visa.

Getting ready to book flights and i have a few points in UR so i could play in the portal. Exact same amount of points for jetblue flight in the portal as booking through jetblue. I thought i would get 25% further with ur than jb points. Am i missing something?

Both dh and i got targeted mailers to upgrade our disney visas. I didnt use them.
 
Soooo did anyone who signed up for a Lux/Brilliant separately get targeted to upgrade their SPG Personal with the new round going out?
 
Got some pages to catch up on, but an update on my CIC app. I have been approved!! I did have to speak with someone though. I called the status line this morning, and it had changed from two weeks to 7-10 days. It was a strange feeling to hear that for the first time, lol, but I figured it had to do with my fraud alert, so I hit 0 to speak with a rep, and that is what it was. I got transferred to verification, and once their checks were satisfied, the rep congratulated me on being approved. The thing I found odd, though, was that one of the verification checks was to text a code to my cell. Not unusual, but what I found strange was that she asked me to tell her the number they should text to. I assume she was double checking that against their info, but wouldn't it have made more sense just to text to the number they have and see if I got it? Seems weird to ask me for the number they should text a verification check to. Whatever, glad to be approved....
 
Do I have to be under 5/24 to get either the Citi AA Biz or the Barclay Aa Biz? I am 4/24 until Aug and I think I might go the the Amex for the 6% on groceries. Is the usual offer 200 and is now 250?
Not sure what order to go for these cards. Would like the AA for my Disney hotel but also like the 6% on groceries and streaming. (Of course this is if I can get post the no bonus pop up I have gotten for my last Amex apps)
 
Well, now I'm looking at IHG NYC hotels again, and I'm seeing more that are 40k, which I don't think I knew - HI Express Manhattan Midtown West, HI NYC Wall Street, HI Express NYC Wall Street, and HI NYC - Lower East Side. We've stayed at the HI LES and while the rooms are very small, it's very nice and clean, around the corner from a subway station and just blocks from Doughnut Plant (very important). That HIE Midtown West is particularly interesting, located in Hell's Kitchen... it was only a block away from the Ink48. How'd we miss that walking by? I'm surprised to see a 40k hotel that close to Midtown/Times Square given how IHG bumped up the value of all of the NYC hotels not that long ago.

sighs

Guess I'm calling Chase to re-open the card.
 
Omg, I think I just convinced DH to stay at the airport hyatt on points on our arrival night in June :faint:
That's what my boys actually requested that we do in June since our flight arrives at 10 pm. We'll pick our rental car in the am and head to Clearwater Beach for 3 nights then head back to Orlando for the rest of the stay.
 
We should still definitely wait 90 days, right? That’s the 16th for me. I can wait 2 weeks... I don’t want to, but I can.
 
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