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

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Congrats!!



Gas stations are hard for us now too with our new plug in hybrid. I've gone over 900 miles on 9 gallons, I haven't even put gas in since buying the car. I love it.

ETA: And we get Netflix included with our TMobile service so that's worthless to us. OTOH, since I'm working on 3 MSRs for $15K I guess it's better that I'm not sidetracked with the CFs for the next 3 months. Just the Discover 5% on Paypal haha.

Yeah, I think the only thing CF will be used for will be Chase Offers. Gotta finish dh's CIP and start mine!

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

ATTENTION:
VERY IMPORTANT INTERPRETATION OF ZODIAC SIGNS
(MORE SO THAN THE TALK THE OTHER DAY)

The only Disney snacks I like are Dole Whip (and variations) and adult beverages

Gemini should be Dole Whip + boozy drink lol

 

[elgerber]

Did you get close to the limit and make a payment all during this cycle? It sounds similar to my issue.

I didn't get close, we were at about $475 and I paid off $400 and then charged another $500 or so.

I actually want to just call and cancel these cards now. That website is so terrible, And there is no lack of comments like yours about how ridiculously awful the whole card program is. I remember they were rude to me when I tried to activate the card too. Normally I'd keep something open a year but this one has me wanting to just cancel now and move on.

Agreed!!!

Ew--I got the gross turkey leg.

LOL, I got, what I think is a Dole whip float?

 

[AmyAnne]

AccchhhhKKK! The keeping your name part is wonderful. But then when you get to the kids, it can be a pain. Daughter kept her name.

Daughter's 2 kids have hyphenated names. I add them to our Disney and some airline reservations. Not enough room for the names on many applications. And on airline reservations you end up with a hodgepodge name. I'm not sure what the compromise is here.

This is an interesting discussion. I changed my name partly because I liked DH's surname better and mine was always getting misspelled, and partly because I wanted all of us (me, DH, future kids) to have the same name. But we got married young, before either of us had a professional identity, so that might have changed the balance.

Hyphenating makes me wonder what those kids will do when they have kids . . . My daughter says that she plans to keep her name and also to give her surname to any daughters that she has. I guess we will see if she sticks to that plan.

 

[speedyfishy]

ATTENTION:
VERY IMPORTANT INTERPRETATION OF ZODIAC SIGNS
(MORE SO THAN THE TALK THE OTHER DAY)

I’m a lollipop which isn’t the worst thing on there but kinda boring lol

 

[havaneselover]

When I think of you, I will always think of the turkey leg now

It's better than you in the unitard!

 

[snugglebug]

Ugh. Southwest is changing my flights. Do they not understand how much I agnozied over all of this?! I had a 9:30a back to Austin and they put us (I'm assuming all 6 of us, I need to check) on a 7:30a flight. That's just too early for me. Six people to pack out of a 2 night stay, having done Grand Canyon the day before. I just can't.

Then it looks like my OAK to PHX flight has new time adding 40 minutes to my layover there. Which I suppose is fine. Doesn't impact too much other than putting us to PHX a little later.

"In the event this new itinerary does not work for you, we are offering the one time opportunity to change your flight date(s) and/or time(s) by up to 14 days from original travel date at no additional cost in accordance with our established reaccommodation practices."

Does this mean I can choose any other flight, regardless of price vs what I originally booked? The 10:20 flight only has 2 seats left so it's either leave early or get home late. I guess 8:55a out isn't too bad, 1.5hr plane swap in ABQ though.

 

[schmass]

But what are you at 5/24 status? You could hurt drinking from the CIPpy CIP?

I'm 4/24 and DH is 2/24. Maybe I should try for the Hilton Biz for me and get the Hyatt card for DH. We could always transfer URs to Hyatt if we need more for Hawaii, and could still keep trying for Hilton for him if we really want the Grand Wailea.

Still not sure what I should do as far as the AFs we have coming up... why is Amex making this so hard!?!

 

[amalone1013]

I didn't get close, we were at about $475 and I paid off $400 and then charged another $500 or so.

I think overall it's the same issue. Sounds like your $400 payment is not reflected in your available credit, which is what happened to me...

5/31 AF charged
6/5 made $900 charge
6/7 made $300 payment

And STILL it says my available credit is $5

 

[wanderlust7]

DH's CIP #3 was by the door when we got home from the airport Tuesday night. Just met MSR! Over by $1.46, lol. The home insurance still had paid by third party even though I got rid of the escrow account some months ago. Sent off an e-mail yesterday, they didn't write back, but today it's fixed and I could pay online. I am way too happy to be paying bills. 80k URs here I come!

Boo. I never eat those lollipops. I used to call them unicorn pops but at Disney I feel like they're called something else.

What is Sagittarius? Is there such a thing as a Disney pickle?

Oh, there is, there is. Saw a whole family crunching on them at California Adventure. Even their little girl in a stroller (kids eat that??). At first thought they brought it in themselves. Then I saw other people eating them.

 

[PolyRob]

ATTENTION:
VERY IMPORTANT INTERPRETATION OF ZODIAC SIGNS
(MORE SO THAN THE TALK THE OTHER DAY)

Mickey pretzel is perfect! My favorite!!

 

[brownhaired_girl]

ATTENTION:
VERY IMPORTANT INTERPRETATION OF ZODIAC SIGNS
(MORE SO THAN THE TALK THE OTHER DAY)

Happy to see Mickey bars for me

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Well I finally got approval today for CIP2 that I applied for on 6/3. I hope my future approvals don't take this long as it was oddly stressful.

Now that the CIP is approved I can move on to the next Citi Biz card.

Congrats

 

[striker1064]

I keep hearing that Poly contracts will be up for resale - can you tell my what's going on there? I'm not even in the market but I'm curious.

No one really knows for sure, it's all speculation, but there are two prevailing ideas:

1) Poly is all studios + a few bungalows. There are no 1/2/3 bedrooms. Studios are popular because points-wise, they are the cheapest. However, lots of people buy DVC without ever staying in a villa and understanding how large (or small) each room type is. So maybe you're a family of 4, and the studio sleeps 5, so that's great! But then you find out you'd really rather have more room. Or maybe you become a family of 5 or 6 in the future and now suddenly a studio won't work. We're now far enough away from direct sales of Poly ending that people have had time to try the resort once or twice and form an opinion on the studios. There's nothing at Poly to move up into, except a bungalow... which is very expensive, and brings me to the next idea.

2) The bungalows are points hogs. These are rough figures from what I remember reading in the past, but approximately 25% of Poly's points are tied up in ultra-expensive bungalows, and less than 10% of Poly owners have enough points to book bungalows on a regular basis. This means that 90% of Poly's owners are gunning for 75% of the resorts units. It's not always immediately apparent that this causes problems - it's still possible to get a Poly studio at 10, 9, 8, and sometimes even 7 months, simply because there are so many - but sometimes, capacity is an issue. This is exacerbated in Copper Creek, where you have a nice selection of room types, plus the cabins acting as points hogs. There are major, major availability problems with studios at Copper Creek. Most people are trying to book studios, which make up less than 40% of the resort's units. This type of thing is happening to a lesser extent at Poly.

 

[StephPlum]

Now that I am going to US in October, I've started getting excited about the new HP ride. It opened today and I was just looking at some videos. It looks amazing. Can not wait to try this one. If anyone goes before Oct, please share experiences!!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

It's better than you in the unitard!

Touché!!!!

 

[bernina]

Now that I am going to US in October, I've started getting excited about the new HP ride. It opened today and I was just looking at some videos. It looks amazing. Can not wait to try this one. If anyone goes before Oct, please share experiences!!

We’re tossing around the idea of an Oct trip too. Just trying to line up dates with the other folks we’re traveling with. They’re looking at Oct 30 - Nov 3 but not sure I really want to be there over Halloween as the kids are all too young for HHN.

 

[mmmears]

I'm 4/24 and DH is 2/24. Maybe I should try for the Hilton Biz for me and get the Hyatt card for DH. We could always transfer URs to Hyatt if we need more for Hawaii, and could still keep trying for Hilton for him if we really want the Grand Wailea.

Still not sure what I should do as far as the AFs we have coming up... why is Amex making this so hard!?!

I'm not sure how long you plan to stay on Maui, but if it's for more than a few days you could always do a split stay. It's a nice drive between the two and they are on different parts of the island. It's something I've considered trying if we go back. I have a friend who was at the GWR when we were, but split her week between our hotel and the 4S next door so they actually just walked their luggage over. And this was with little kids. It was fun to hear her comparing the two.

 

[schmass]

I'm not sure how long you plan to stay on Maui, but if it's for more than a few days you could always do a split stay. It's a nice drive between the two and they are on different parts of the island. It's something I've considered trying if we go back. I have a friend who was at the GWR when we were, but split her week between our hotel and the 4S next door so they actually just walked their luggage over. And this was with little kids. It was fun to hear her comparing the two.

That is a good point! We plan to do 5 nights in Maui and then 5 nights at Aulani.

 

[miztressuz]

Totally not missing anything CC related if you skip it

Awesome! What did you do for your DD? I think we are hyphenating. With mine first lol

Not that you asked me, but I'll butt in anyway. As this game is all about data, I'll throw some your way.

I have two sister-in-laws that kept their name (married to hubby's brothers). All the kids are in the father's name alone. Moms kept their names for professional reasons, which made sense, especially when one of them is in the mental health field. (Although nowadays it's much easier to link people together even with different names so for the savvy crazy it's not much of a barrier now). At school and social gatherings with the kids' friends they are just Mrs Kid's name or Kid's Mom and it's easy and it works. For the parents that they interact with on a more regular basis, the other parents know her actual last name but it's easier for kids to just call them by the kid's last name. SIL's are part of that family, whether they like it or not! , so it doesn't hurt them to be associated with the name in those situations. Their kids don't think it's weird or anything with Mom not having the same name. AFAIK they just explained that sometimes Moms have the same name and sometimes they don't. (Happens with divorce and remarriage and all, so that's just the easiest explanation that covers all situations)

I had friends growing up that had two last names or hyphenated names. They generally went by whatever their first, last name was for simplicity. One friend's parents went a little different and she had a different last name than her whole family, likewise with her brother. She got First, Middle, 1st Last Name (Mom's), 2nd Last (Dad's). No hyphen, both names were her last name. Her brother was First, Middle, 1st Last (Dad's), 2nd Last (Mom's). Both her and her brother just used their 1st Last Name for everyday purposes. It got complicated when they all needed to fill out forms and do things officially, especially if they had ID in just one name. A few thought about changing it to just be the name they used most. Others didn't mind.

And not that you should make name decisions based on current IT trends, but long names do pose a wrinkle in electronic records. Especially for institutions that are working with old processes when everything needed to be fixed length.

This is exactly my reasoning. I have accomplished so much with my last name and it’s who I have been. I don’t want to change it. Our last names are short so hyphenating won’t be super crazy. But I’m not 100% sure that’s what we will do.

ETA your reasoning for wanting her to keep it is adorable and I’m telling SO to say this anytime his family or something rolls their eyes lol.

Just some food for thought I'll give you what I did.

I didn't have strong feelings if I changed my name or not. I really didn't think about it much until closer to the wedding and then thought, hm, we should probably discuss this in case we need to know for the license (turns out in PA you don't). So I asked hubby what he thought about it and if he had a preference. He said he always thought we'd have the same last name, just never thought of it any other way, but thinking about it now it doesn't really matter, it's just a name. You know how you can feel one way but think other because logic trumps irrational feelings? I could kinda see this was where he was, and since I didn't care much I decided I'd change it as irrationally it'd make him feel better and I don't have any real compelling reasons to keep it. Sure it felt like an identity at that point and felt weird to think about changing it, but it's a little thing in the grand scheme of things and I am happy I could do it for him. But I'm practical and when I looked into what I'd need to do to change everything and how much it'd cost to get official documents to do it I decided on the slow approach. The big one was that I was outside of the free passport change window. So we decided I'd just change it for when my passport renewed that way I'm not paying for it twice.

This throws people off
I thought it would make everything easier at work by keeping my name as none of the clients has to be inconvenienced to change mailing lists, we don't have to order new business cards, don't have to wait for the IT guys to change all my stuff. What's the first thing everyone says when I get back from the honeymoon? "Congratulations! What's your new email address?"
I think I spent more time explaining that I made it easy, you don't have to change anything, than actually changing stuff. But that's fine, you do what you do.

So FF several years later when I finally get around to updating everything with the Feds and need to finally change it at work so my W2 info matches my SSN info. In the past when you changed your name it was two separate processes for updating your official employee record and getting your email/system accounts changed. Most people were bothered by this but this would work out great for me since I wanted to keep my email and everything the same. At some point they decided to get efficient and streamlined the process so when I put in for my employee record to be changed, it was tied to our system ID and then that change automatically triggered IT to update the email address too. So randomly I start sending out emails in a completely foreign name to some people.

At that point I then had to send out updates about my name and email address change, which prompts a flurry of "Congratulations" emails from folks that didn't realize I had been married and confusion from the others who met me after the wedding so didn't realize I didn't already change the name (and worse, thought I got divorced). So a bit of a headache but nothing game changing and everyone adapts. I have some certifications in my previous name but that's just paper, in fact for one of them I just go in and print a new Cert with the name change if I wanted to. There are easy ways to link paper together. Even if you're in a field that publishes, cross reference will pick all that up now.

A very long winded way to say these two things
I thought changing the name would just be a formality. Like I'd say "Y" but deep down feel I'm "X" and it'd be like an actor speaking in a role. But then I changed it and the name just became a word - both of them, actually. My identity isn't tied to a single word. (A rose by any other name, if that makes sense) Could just be me but I got a different perspective once I actually did it.

And it's not like you're stuck with your decision forever, if you want to change later you can and it shouldn't diminish any previous accomplishments nor erase record of them. But if you had any desire whatsoever, no matter how small or for what reason, I'd consider it hard and do it while you're starting your career rather than later. While it feels like forever to get to this point, it's just a blip in the full timeline of your life and it's easier to move past it now. Also nothing wrong with keeping it Much cheaper in the long run.

(although I could probably change my name to Gift Card Recipient right now too and not care so could be a good time to take advantage )