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

[Lain]

Our next Christmas visit to Hawaii is coming together!

I booked 3 economy saver awards on UA this morning for 22.5k United miles + $5.60 per person, flying out of SFO on Christmas Eve. I don't even want to think about the cash price for these tickets over the holidays.

About a week and a half ago, I booked 7 nights at the Royal Hawaiian for 60k Marriott points a night, before peak pricing kicks in, for 360k Marriott points + resort fees total. Interestingly, the member rate here jumped up from $475/night when I booked to $802/night currently. We're also booked for 3 nights at Aulani to ring in the new year and finish off our trip.

Now I need return flights when they open up in a week or two.

 

[hsmamato2]

That's a tough one! Do you plan on using the pool? If so I would say AofA could edge out Pop. If pool isn't important, than the lower rates and room renovations at Pop would get my vote.

How much different would AKL-J be? AKL has a ton of fun child activities.

I'm not a fan of AoA bc of the prices...I feel like the theming is cute but it's a basic motel,much like Pop at 3x the price..... I'd pick Pop anyday for that reason- my first choice in this question would be SSR for the room tho

 

[alryan]

Disney - [/B]hope it warms up for you guys and us! We will be there the 7th for 2 days and then universal the 17th. Anyone else going on feb?

We'll be there the 5-12, hoping it warms up a little too. Although anything will feel nice to us, next week we have three days with negative numbers for highs!

 

[hsmamato2]

I think I know which Amex I'm applying for next. If the business card is going up to $125 and I only keep it for the FN cert then I will be applying for a personal SPG sans bonus since I've had it before and currently have other SPG and Marriott cards.

question...... how would you get the personal sans bonus? would you have a MSR if you did that? I am stuck with my biz which I know I'm going to ditch, but since I canceled the personal,I'm wondering if it would make sense to try to get another before my time runs out,or if I'm being ridiculous since I don't have any enthusiasm for the 35k night anyway...help

 

[MrsAlexis]

Since the dessert party came up and UT always does it might not be a bad idea to have somewhere we can keep track of what codes as what. Like tix bought through disney don't code as travel unless part of a package or charged back to the room but do from UT.

This would be useful to me too....just got a CIC and trying to remember ways to trigger 5X purchases (Gyft via PayPal I believe?). I've moved on from CIP but found myself looking for opportunities there too.

 

[amalone1013]

We did the free DVC equivalent of MK DAH last January and it POURED for almost the entire time. It was still a blast! We saved Big Thunder and 7 Dwarves until the rain slowed down.

We were there. It was just sprinkling when we got into line for Big Thunder at the start of the event... and when we made it to the top of the lift hill we could see the downpour out there. You'll be super surprised by this, but there was no one waiting to get on when we got back to the station, so I think we went three times in a row, because at that point, why not? And then we did Mine Train twice.

We're in the front.

That was a solid life call. It downpoured my last trip starting exactly as our train left the 7DMT station and stopped exactly as we left the exit line into Fantasyland. That ride was horrible, eyes closed, and all any of us wanted to do was get off the stupid thing. The only time I've ever thought 7DMT was too long! We were a soaked bunch of people walking off that ride because no one had their ponchos at that point.

See above.

mine said the same thing until he opened his shirt drawer today and I heard him say "WOW".... it's unbelievable how much extra space it opens up

hahahaha

You know what my sweet and thoughtful hubby got me for Christmas? A heated seat for my car!! So I plug it into the lighter thing and turn it on. It warms all the way down the back and under the seat It's AH-mazing!!!! I know some people have cars with these built in but I don't lol so I'm thrilled with it!

Heated seats and a sun roof were my must have for my car.

I would. But, that's because my denial resulted in no hp and a letter stating I'd already had the card so for me there was no harm done.

I think I'm gonna do it today when I have a moment.

Mine too, for the past 2 cars! DH thought it wasn't necessary when he was living in SoCal and ordering his car before he moved here-- I told him he would regret it...well guess who steals my car ALL the time and immediately puts on the seat warmers? Yep...he even turns it on for the dog

My DH made fun when that was a must have for me... then after started telling me his next vehicle would have to have heated seats (and remote start - also a must). And it did.

Well, let me tell you, in the midst of NE winter - that heated steering wheel is just about my favorite thing on the car. Must be old age but my hands get sooooo cold.

I've heard much love for the heated steering wheels. Is NE - northeast or Nebraska?

Yeah, DH's mom lives in PHX and we have never been. Maybe we will take a trip out there to stay at the Hilton...errrrr, I mean visit her.

My grandpa is a snowbird now and I had basically this same thought. I will say, I've never seen a scorpion in my visits nor has he mentioned them.

 

[MrsAlexis]

NON-expedited...what are people seeing as the turnaround time for receiving a CIC card?

That's our next application, and while we are holding our mail while gone, I don't want the card to get into that stack in case anything weird happens. I was going to try to time my application to have the card arrive no earlier than 2/5 (of course I'm assuming I'll get auto-approved which likely won't happen)...

At any rate, thoughts on that turnaround time (from approval to card in hand)?

I applied 1/14, status line said approved morning of 1/15. Received card and employee card same day on 1/22. No request to expedite.

 

[hsmamato2]

Ok I need to find this vid. If it can fix the mess that is my linen cabinet I will be in awe. It is a small corner cabinet. Folding bath towels to fit ina triangular cabinet is not easy.

enjoy

 

[1st*toright]

I drive a full electric Mitsubishi i-Miev. One of the smallest cars on the road. Crazy rare. They didn't take off but are big in Japan. I drive under 5k miles a year. I just go back and forth to work. I haven't pumped gas in 5 years!
The range is pretty short so this is a luxury car but people drive more than they need to... do not be scared away from small cars! I've always owned little cars and I can't imagine driving a big tank!

That sounds awesome! When my car was in the shop I drove a little Fiat rental for about a month - I loved it! It was even pretty good in snow. My Subaru has a bunch more years in it (my LO was a baby when we bought it - getting a toddler in and out of a 2 door didn't sound like much fun at the time). DH is next in the rotation for a new(er) car, which will likely happen later this year. Although my teen currently manages more of her own transportation than most kids in our town (actually uses the city bus system/walks a fair amount of the time), there are some activities that she just can't get to via bus, so I think the convenience of adding another car will be worth it. She's definitely getting DH's old Toyota - its safe, still pretty reliable and a few dings won't hurt it! DH really wants something manual (and my teen wants to learn how to drive stick), so we will see what we wind up with. He'd love a snazzy performance car, but he'll probably go for inexpensive and reliable. I'm seeing another small subaru in our future.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Heated seats and a sun roof were my must have for my car.

I was working my first job when I had to buy my current car and I had juuuuust enough cash to purchase it outright without taking out a car loan. That meant no sunroof or heated seats for me. I've actually gotten by fine without the heated seats, but I REALLY miss the sunroof. Almost four years without it has made me realize that it will be worth it for me to spend the extra money to get a car that has one next time!

 

[hsmamato2]

My first car was a Lexus RX300, so basically a Toyota since whenever anything broke on it I just put Toyota parts on it haha. I loved that car, still miss it. I sold it at 265,000 miles and it was still running.

DH and I are both in Hyundais now. Santa Fe and Sonata. I don't like DH's Santa Fe, but I do like my Sonata. I'm pretty hard on vehicles and it keeps getting the job done for me. Hoping to go to either Toyotas or Hondas for both of us next though.

I love my Sonata...... it's the first new car we've ever bought! Only wish is that we had sprung for backup camera.....

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Pop is cheaper...I'd do that and just use the food court at AoA. Or a 1-bdr at one of the others would be fine too! Split stays are so easy, imo, since Disney does almost everything for you.

What have you decided to do with that marriott cert? Are you considering using it offsite for one of your visits?

I am going to attempt to convert it/upgrade it at the same time. Was just reading up on it again last night. Hoping to get a new cat 6. Then could use at Swan/Dolphin or Maui...or most anywhere really.

If I can't upgrade it, I will have to decide between cancelling for the 75k points towards a 5 night stay somewhere I'd really like to stay (since 5th night free) or using it in chs for a week at a cat 4.

 

[amalone1013]

I can go 6 months past the date on the can. I've volunteered at our local food bank during the food drives where you are cleaning the cans and sorting out the expired stuff. They take stuff past the expiration date. Assume it is safe for me to do so as well.

Now leftovers are where I draw the line. DH will eat whatever is in the refrigerator. I don't remember when we put that in there or it's been a week, I'll toss it.

6mths seems like a good ground rule. Just nothing crazy haha. I will toss leftovers too like that.

Lol...in NY my car couldn’t pass the yearly inspection with the check engine light on...my son lives in Florida and they don’t require inspections.....as my sister who has lived in Florida 30 years tells me ...we can put any old piece of crap on the road and people do....sort of scary

Same here. Thought I will say, I think at least here in CO the inspections are just a racket to make another $20 off everyone. I don't know how many times I've heard stories of people failing for one thing, fixing it, and the failing for something else that passed the first time. DH drove an old Dodge van in college, and carried two gas caps and two air filters in it, because it was guaranteed the first time they would fail the gas cap (no matter which one) then he'd switch it and they'd pass the cap but fail the filter that they passed the first time. A couple times he even just took the filter out completely and they passed it It was nonsense and he also ran into the testers not knowing how to drive a stick a lot and hurting things on the van trying to figure it out. I will fully admit I don't know how to drive a stick, but I don't work with cars for my job...

Disney - hope it warms up for you guys and us! We will be there the 7th for 2 days and then universal the 17th. Anyone else going on feb?

We are still trying to make it a weekend in February!

 

[Eeyore2142]

Congratulations! My statement closed yesterday and shows my necessary points from my Priority card.. How long did it take to get the CP once your points hit? Our trip starts March 2! I have 3 flights to cancel and rebook!

It was only a couple days. I was really shocked that it was so fast. My trip also starts March 2

 

[apollodi]

For anyone who's done the Discover savings bonus, did you use the "cancel" trick mentioned in the DOC comments or just do normal deposits? I see it referenced a lot but not sure how it really works. DH and I both opened accounts for DS and DD, both have about $6700 we want to actually end up in the accounts. Was thinking I'd just deposit/withdraw 3x to get to $15k for $150 bonus each, but now I'm wondering if I should combine the money and do larger deposits into to try for the $25k/$200 bonus. Is it better to push deposits from our BoA accts to Discover or pull from Discover? Also, on savings accounts isn't there a limit to the number of withdrawls you can do in a month? Sorry for so many questions, any suggestions would be appreciated!

I did the cancel trick in the fall and it worked. I had already gotten the $150 bonus with cumulative deposits, but I didn’t have time to deposit/redeposit enough for the extra $50 bonus (to earn the full $200) by the deadline. So I figured I had nothing to lose.

The Discover bonus is cumulative. Once you hit $15k in deposits, you get the $150. If you add another $10k in cumulative deposits to that afterward by the deadline, you get another $50. So I got the $150 bonus with deposits, then tried my luck on the last $50 with the cancel trick.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Best Buy via SB is up to 4% today

wow!

 

[elgerber]

I will jump back in to the car discussion. My dad was a lifer at Ford, so we have almost exclusively driven Fords, or their subsidiaries, because we get a great hassle free discount. I had 2 Ford Windstar Mini Vans, LOVED them to death, nothing beats a minivan for seating/storage/price combo. Then had a Mazda minivan when they were part of Ford. Hated that one, not comfy and the ride was awful. At that point, graduated to the Ford Edge, of which I have had 3. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the Edge, soooooooooo much. Went to an Escape for a couple years, gave it to my dh and got another Edge LOL. He then got another Escape, cuz he loves it LOL.
HOWEVER, when our lease came due on the Edge this month, I just cannot do the price of these anymore. Ford has gotten insane in their pricing, and their selection has decreased immensely. They are still really nice, but I just can't do it. So, for the first time in my life, I have purchased, outright, a Kia LOL!! I hoped my dad wouldn't disowned me (really didn't care at this point). Got a 2018 Kia Soul Exclaim, a rare orange special edition. We can't even find evidence it actually exists LOL, except a few internet posts and the one in our garage. It's barely been driven because the Edge was so under mileage for the 2 months after we got the Kia, we drove the heck out of the Edge and left the Kia parked. Now I am driving it, and it's dirty :-(. And too cold to wash it. It doesn't have the luxury ride that the Edge does, nor even close to the space, but it's sooooo much fun to drive!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I would recommend POP just for the renovated rooms - the Little Mermaid rooms are okay, and the theming of the whole resort is super cute, but I'd rather have a renovated room!

I've done a resort change by myself with the kiddos - I just called bell services and had them take care of the luggage - so it's possible!

thank you!

 

[elgerber]

Got the direct deposit notice for my PNC account, got the debit card yesterday, time to get those reloads done!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I've searched the boards and can't really find the answer to my question so I'm hoping that one of you can help. For our May trip, we fly in at 9pm so we're staying at the Hyatt MCO for the first time. I want to take an early ME to the resort in the morning. Do I just find a flight with an arrival time that matches when I want to get on the ME? I feel kind of weird putting fake information!

You can put in fake info, but I have read before that you don't need to. Apparently, as long as you have a resort ressie you can hop on whenever you want.