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

[Haley R]

The models are showing the storm turning so it might not hit (we hope!)

Just keeping watching the news and do what your local authorities tell you. If you haven't met your neighbors, it would be a good idea to meet them tomorrow and make a plan to check on each other.

Yep we’ve met them and they said they’d help put our shutters up and drain our pool. I’m wondering if we should just leave tomorrow and stay at wdw. I just need to see if they’ll let us go with cats

 

[Haley R]

Someone on another thread said they got to stay during Irma with their cat. I’m considering this but then what do I do with our fridge when we lose power and no one is here to run the generator?

 

[striker1064]

Someone on another thread said they got to stay during Irma with their cat. I’m considering this but then what do I do with our fridge when we lose power and no one is here to run the generator?

You pull out your grill and have a block party.

That's what we always did when we stayed, anyway. No power, so everyone eats. If you leave and everything goes bad... Well, that's not fun, but at least you're safe.

 

[Haley R]

You pull out your grill and have a block party.

That's what we always did when we stayed, anyway. No power, so everyone eats. If you leave and everything goes bad... Well, that's not fun, but at least you're safe.

We literally just bought some frozen meals today because they were on sale. That was a dumb idea. I’m just worried Orlando won’t be much better. Hotels aren’t cheap either because fall deals don’t start until 9/1 and I’d want to get there by tomorrow

 

[GlamMistress]

We literally just bought some frozen meals today because they were on sale. That was a dumb idea. I’m just worried Orlando won’t be much better. Hotels aren’t cheap either because fall deals don’t start until 9/1 and I’d want to get there by tomorrow

There's a prep thread on r/TropicalWeather - maybe some questions and answers there will help you?

https://www.reddit.com/r/TropicalWeather/comments/cwmdmu

 

[DisneyMandC]

Catching up here tonight like

 

[Haley R]

There's a prep thread on r/TropicalWeather - maybe some questions and answers there will help you?

https://www.reddit.com/r/TropicalWeather/comments/cwmdmu

I’m worried tomorrow might be crazy on the roads with it being Saturday. Idk if we should just stay or not.

 

[striker1064]

We literally just bought some frozen meals today because they were on sale. That was a dumb idea. I’m just worried Orlando won’t be much better. Hotels aren’t cheap either because fall deals don’t start until 9/1 and I’d want to get there by tomorrow

I really don't envy you. I don't know what I would do. There's still a chance (but that seems to be increasingly unlikely) that you will get nothing. There's a chance you get something, but not enough to be necessary to evacuate. And the nightmare scenario is still on the table as well. It's tough, and I get it. Evacuating only keeps you safe from the storm but there are so many other things to consider. It's, at best, inconvenient. At worst, it's unnecessary, expensive, and time-consuming. I guess the only thing I can think to tell you is, that frozen stuff will be on sale again someday.

 

[Haley R]

I really don't envy you. I don't know what I would do. There's still a chance (but that seems to be increasingly unlikely) that you will get nothing. There's a chance you get something, but not enough to be necessary to evacuate. And the nightmare scenario is still on the table as well. It's tough, and I get it. Evacuating only keeps you safe from the storm but there are so many other things to consider. It's, at best, inconvenient. At worst, it's unnecessary, expensive, and time-consuming. I guess the only thing I can think to tell you is, that frozen stuff will be on sale again someday.

I just watched Mike’s video that’s live and my county is showing mandatory evacuations for the majority of it. Dh is asleep but we may be making an early morning decision. We still need to put shutters up before we can leave. We have full tanks of gas and gas cans full that we could take with us along with food

 

[gottalovepluto]

Back from the coast! (And praying for our FL folk that y’all stay safe )

 

[Haley R]

I see AKL with an AP rate at $261/night but can't start it until 9/1. I don't really want to call tomorrow, but I guess I should to make sure they can take cats anyway. I wonder if they would give us the AP rate tomorrow night, too, even though it doesn't technically start until the next day

ETA: Should I book through Tuesday or Wednesday? I just don't know...

 

[PolyRob]

I see AKL with an AP rate at $261/night but can't start it until 9/1. I don't really want to call tomorrow, but I guess I should to make sure they can take cats anyway. I wonder if they would give us the AP rate tomorrow night, too, even though it doesn't technically start until the next day

Are the phone lines still slammed? The CRO is usually open until 11pm. I believe Disney also gives evacuation rates. You may not get your first pick of resort, but you could inquire.

 

[Haley R]

Are the phone lines still slammed? The CRO is usually open until 11pm. I believe Disney also gives evacuation rates. You may not get your first pick of resort, but you could inquire.

I could call I guess. I hate calling, but I probably should. Should I just call the resort line? My only thing is I want a resort that's all inside

 

[PolyRob]

I could call I guess. I hate calling, but I probably should. Should I just call the resort line? My only thing is I want a resort that's all inside

Ahh understandable, I would want an interior resort as well! AKL is pretty big and if they're offering it to APs, I imagine there is currently a decent of availability. It really is a hard choice. You don't want to lose the first night's deposit. I don't exactly know what the policy is regarding the weather, but I believe I remember people extending stays at highly discounted rates due to cancelled flights and people leaving early without penalty during Irma. Sometimes phone CMs are also very uninformed so IDK if someone in CRO would even 100% know right now.

 

[Haley R]

Ahh understandable, I would want an interior resort as well! AKL is pretty big and if they're offering it to APs, I imagine there is currently a decent of availability. It really is a hard choice. You don't want to lose the first night's deposit. I don't exactly know what the policy is regarding the weather, but I believe I remember people extending stays at highly discounted rates due to cancelled flights and people leaving early without penalty during Irma. Sometimes phone CMs are also very uninformed so IDK if someone in CRO would even 100% know right now.

I'm going to call and just see what they say

 

[wisconsinmom]

He’d probably be fine to do the personal card then I guess. But how do you earn the CP by the end of the year? You’re going to then need to go for a biz card approx 60 days after going for a personal card approx 20 days after getting a biz card. You might not get approved for the 3rd card and if you are you could still be in shutdown risk territory.

I’m not going to say don’t do it, but if you’re looking for an opinion, I’m not crazy about the pacing.

EDIT: another concern is that if you get denied for the Biz card in a couple months you have 50k SW points but no CP And you can’t get another SW personal card for 24 months.

Thanks for the honest opinion! I’ll hold off and consider doing it in Dec/January. We’ll book DS’s flight on points so that if we decide to go for a CP we could use that instead.

****

On a fun note, DD and I just arrived in DC for the weekend. Hotel paid for by UR points and flight with SW points and CP. I love free vacations!!

 

[gottalovepluto]

I just saw Haley pop up over there and if anyone else is looking for Dorian and Disney info there is a thread on the Resorts board here discussing the storm, Disney and MCO. They’re pretty quick on info and already found out MCO is closing early Mon.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thanks for the honest opinion! I’ll hold off and consider doing it in Dec/January. We’ll book DS’s flight on points so that if we decide to go for a CP we could use that instead.

****

On a fun note, DD and I just arrived in DC for the weekend. Hotel paid for by UR points and flight with SW points and CP. I love free vacations!!

I promise I really wanted to find a way to like the idea. I just really felt like I’d be doing you a disservice to recommend that many cards in less than a 3 month span. It’s possible that the 50k or 60k SW offers will return in the next few months and/or you could always use the “in-flight” link while not in flight

 

[AmyAnne]

A question for the Serve experts -- do you use the card to pay bills, like utilities or rent, or do you just transfer the money that you load onto the Serve account to your bank?

I'm about to sign up for a Serve card because the cashiers at the grocery stores where I usually have been fine getting money orders - so long as I don't ask to split the payment - are now recognizing that I'm using a gift card and not a real debit card when I swipe the card (I'm guessing because most real debit cards have a chip). I am definitely a small-volume MSer, mostly just enough to pay our property taxes because that's a huge bill that charges a fee to pay with a credit card, but with all of the recent Staples and Office Max promos I have kind of collection of gift cards that it's becoming harder to turn in to money orders.

 

[Albort]

A question for the Serve experts -- do you use the card to pay bills, like utilities or rent, or do you just transfer the money that you load onto the Serve account to your bank?

u shouldnt... just pay your utilities or rent with a credit card... :]
transfer money back to Bank account.