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

[orangecuse]

I only looked in the DS area. We would be doing MVMCP one night and the next day would do Epcot/HS. Do you know which hotels nearby don’t have resort fees/parking? I just don’t want to deal too much with traffic but it might be worth it if it’s that much cheaper. It may just be these dates

We stayed at the Embassy Suites LVB and its great! Really nice reception and great breakfast. Its probably lower in points

 

[Haley R]

No resort fee for HH point stays, but pretty sure you still have to pay for parking.

Did you already see if you were targeted for the MR to HH transfer bonus? Also, HH points can be transferred between accounts, if that helps.

I know the last time we stayed at the double tree in DS we didn’t pay for parking. Maybe it was a fluke. I don’t see the targeted offer in my account

 

[wendow]

It’s really making me not want to go but Dh has that Friday off and I want to do at least a few holiday things. The weekend before didn’t look much better and he wouldn’t have that Friday off.

It's better if you can stay beginning on Sunday night. @disneymagicgirl was finding quite a few great bargains on PLE but they all began on the 15th. That doesn't work for us and I understand that won't work for you either because of your dh's Friday off. Thanks to SWGE opening, there just isn't going to be a good weekend in December, I'm thinking.

 

[Haley R]

@Haley R do you have 72K MR? That would transfer 1:2 to Hilton for 144K HH. If you have 36K MR check and see if you are taregted for the transfer bonus to Hilton right now which would boost you up! Some people have 40% and some have 1:3.

We only have 32k MR. I put 72k because I already have 8k Hilton points. I don’t see the targeted offer in my account. I might be looking in the wrong spot but I saw offers for things like jet blue

 

[wendow]

I know the last time we stayed at the double tree in DS we didn’t pay for parking. Maybe it was a fluke. I don’t see the targeted offer in my account

I've been trying to book that DoubleTree for Feb using UR's and it will not let me book. It's always available but when I go to book, it says it is sold out. So frustrating!

 

[gottalovepluto]

How do we feel about an off topic discussion of Turkey Gravy?.... I’m kinda desperate. Costco got rid of my Fra’mani Turkey Gravy (just warm it up and boom! Awesomeness!) and I’m lost because I’m more of a warm it up type cook lol. Basically I want a decent Turkey Gravy that requires warming up or at most adding water or broth from a box- something easy! I’ve got cooked Turkey Breast, just no Gravy for it (this isn’t a Thanksgiving Feast or anything stressful, just average dinner type meal). Favorite easy to do Turkey Gravy anyone?...

 

[Haley R]

We stayed at the Embassy Suites LVB and its great! Really nice reception and great breakfast. Its probably lower in points

The embassy suites is 50k per night

 

[Haley R]

I've been trying to book that DoubleTree for Feb using UR's and it will not let me book. It's always available but when I go to book, it says it is sold out. So frustrating!

That’s super frustrating. I’m not sure what we’re gonna decide. It’s almost like we should just drive home after lol. I hate driving in the dark though. The highway we take is somewhat wooded and people have hit deer on it. We’ll at least do the one night with Hilton points after MVMCP most likely at bonnet creek then we might just need to use chase points and find somewhere without resort fees

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

We only have 32k MR. I got 72k because I already have 8k Hilton points. I don’t see the targeted offer in my account. I might be looking in the wrong spot but I saw offers for things like jet blue

Why not look at one of the Hampton Inns or the Hilton Garden by Sea World. How many times will you really be driving back and forth (especially during busy traffic times?) You don’t have to listen to me but I am the “cheap voice that resides within all of us”! There seems to be quite a few available for less than 60k pts for the 2 nights combined.

 

[Lain]

We only have a personal Gold (DH) and An Aspire (me). I am 4/24 and don;t want to get another personal (I have plans for that last spot), but am open to getting a Bus Gold.

You know when we talk about the cards we regret not getting? I regret not following your advice in Aug and having DH refer me to a bus card from his Plat bus...

Do you have $5k-$15k worth of expenses in the next few months? Because you have a few options.

DH could still support you to an Amex biz card from his personal Gold for 10k MR.

The BBP is a no fee card that earns 2x MR on every purchase up to $50k spend/year. It’s a great daily driver and useful for keeping your MR points active if and when you decide you want to close your MR cards with AFs. The BBP SUB via supportal recently increased to 15k MR after $5k MSR in 3 months, expires 1/29/20. The SUB is not much for a hefty $5k MSR, but again this is a no fee card that earns 2x MR on everything. In addition, the BBP is valuable because it currently generates supportals worth 15k MR (its usual supportal bonus is 10k MR, although Amex increases it now and then).

The Biz Gold is a $295 AF card that earns 4x MR on the 2 categories in which you spent the most each billing cycle, among the following categories:

• Airfare purchased directly from airlines
• U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
• U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions
• U.S. purchases at gas stations
• U.S. purchases at restaurants
• U.S. purchases for shipping

The Biz Gold also gets you a 25% rebate of MR points used to redeem for any class flight with your selected airline, or a First or Business class flight on any airline booked through Amex Travel, making these flights a 1.33 cpp redemption.

The Biz Gold SUB via supportal recently increased to a tiered 50k MR/$5k MSR and an additional 25k MR after another $5k MSR in the same 3 months (so, 75k MR for $10k MSR in 3 months). That’s not bad considering the more expensive $595 AF Biz Plat call-in offer is 100k MR/$10k MSR/3 months, and P2 can’t earn a support bonus on the offer. (Yes, the Biz Plat has Dell credits and the Biz Gold does not.)

The real value of the Biz Gold is its supportals are the most lucrative of any Amex card. Biz Gold supportal bonuses are typically worth 20k MR, but is currently increased to 25k MR. As with all other Amex MR cards, the Biz Gold is limited to 55k MR worth of supportal bonuses per year, so you’d get only 2 full support bonuses at 20k or 25k MR before the 3rd one is worth whatever is left of the cap. But if you don’t plan to support P2 to too many Amex cards in the next year, two full supportals may be enough and the Biz Gold will have paid for its AF with the value of its support bonuses.

If you have the BBP or Biz Gold, you can use them to support DH to the Hilton Aspire or almost any Amex card (except certain co-brands like the Charles Schwab and Morgan Stanley Platinums).

ETA: The Biz Green also recently increased its supportal SUB to 25k MR/$3k MSR/3 months with the first year AF waived. It’s worthwhile to support to the Biz Green if you’ve never had it, depending where you are in your game and your ability to meet MSR. However, neither you nor P2 has a strong supportal card to support to the Biz Green, and the Biz Green itself isn’t a strong supportal card (I think the bonus is something like only 5k MR). But I guess some people would look at the $0 AF in the first year as hey, an opportunity to earn 25k MR for free. It’s sweeter if you can get a big supportal bonus from it. Aside from that, the Green has very poor earning category bonuses and isn’t necessarily a card you will want to spend on or keep past the first year, which could cause problems with pop ups so do know what you’re signing up for and make some effort to spend on it and maybe take an upgrade offer if one presents itself.

 

[wendow]

That’s super frustrating. I’m not sure what we’re gonna decide. It’s almost like we should just drive home after lol. I hate driving in the dark though. The highway we take is somewhat wooded and people have hit deer on it. We’ll at least do the one night with Hilton points after MVMCP most likely at bonnet creek then we might just need to use chase points and find somewhere without resort fees

We drove that drive when we went from VB to MCO back in July. It is very wooded and there is no way I'd want to drive that too late either. Hitting a deer is just one thing that would concern me.

So, if you book using HH points, you don't have the resort fees? I don't have any HH points but I have a lot of MR's. I've not wanted to book Hilton Bonnet Creek on UR's because i find the resort and parking fees completely ridiculous. We stayed a night at WBC (the hotel not the timeshare) and we paid like $35 in resort fees and $25 in parking. We were not staying on points either so while I got the room for like $135 night, the other fees added up real fast.

 

[gottalovepluto]

How do we feel about an off topic discussion of Turkey Gravy?.... I’m kinda desperate. Costco got rid of my Fra’mani Turkey Gravy (just warm it up and boom! Awesomeness!) and I’m lost because I’m more of a warm it up type cook lol. Basically I want a decent Turkey Gravy that requires warming up or at most adding water or broth from a box- something easy! I’ve got cooked Turkey Breast, just no Gravy for it (this isn’t a Thanksgiving Feast or anything stressful, just average dinner type meal). Favorite easy to do Turkey Gravy anyone?...

@SouthFayetteFan my lazy rear is desperate man!!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

@SouthFayetteFan my lazy rear is desperate man!!

Gravy is outside of my area of expertise. I will have to politely decline to opine on this one.

 

[Haley R]

Why not look at one of the Hampton Inns or the Hilton Garden by Sea World. How many times will you really be driving back and forth (especially during busy traffic times?) You don’t have to listen to me but I am the “cheap voice that resides within all of us”! There seems to be quite a few available for less than 60k pts for the 2 nights combined.

Those seem like good options to me! It’s only a 10 minute drive. I’ll talk to Dh and see what he thinks

 

[smmco]

How do we feel about an off topic discussion of Turkey Gravy?.... I’m kinda desperate. Costco got rid of my Fra’mani Turkey Gravy (just warm it up and boom! Awesomeness!) and I’m lost because I’m more of a warm it up type cook lol. Basically I want a decent Turkey Gravy that requires warming up or at most adding water or broth from a box- something easy! I’ve got cooked Turkey Breast, just no Gravy for it (this isn’t a Thanksgiving Feast or anything stressful, just average dinner type meal). Favorite easy to do Turkey Gravy anyone?...

I can appreciate your style of cooking. When I first got married I loved to cook. Then I had kids and worked part-time. When they hit school age I started homeschooling. Now I work full time and have homeschooled teens. I'm a huge fan of all Costco pre-made meals.

 

[wendow]

How do we feel about an off topic discussion of Turkey Gravy?.... I’m kinda desperate. Costco got rid of my Fra’mani Turkey Gravy (just warm it up and boom! Awesomeness!) and I’m lost because I’m more of a warm it up type cook lol. Basically I want a decent Turkey Gravy that requires warming up or at most adding water or broth from a box- something easy! I’ve got cooked Turkey Breast, just no Gravy for it (this isn’t a Thanksgiving Feast or anything stressful, just average dinner type meal). Favorite easy to do Turkey Gravy anyone?...

I'm sure someone will have a recommendation. I actually don't really like turkey or turkey gravy so I can't give a rec. I will eat almost anything that isn't nailed down but something about turkey is wonky tasting to me lol.

But I love OT discussions of any sort so no argument from me there!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Wow - a comment on r/churning discussion thread reached -100 today! I’m not quoting it because I honestly don’t want this username on our thread (it’s a bit vile). At any rate, it takes a lot of idiocy to reach -100 so congrats random internet guy!

here’s a link to today’s DD thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/e0x6v3

EDIT: wow in general it was a terrible day on r/churning. Tons of crap comments downvoted into oblivion

 

[Haley R]

We drove that drive when we went from VB to MCO back in July. It is very wooded and there is no way I'd want to drive that too late either. Hitting a deer is just one thing that would concern me.

So, if you book using HH points, you don't have the resort fees? I don't have any HH points but I have a lot of MR's. I've not wanted to book Hilton Bonnet Creek on UR's because i find the resort and parking fees completely ridiculous. We stayed a night at WBC (the hotel not the timeshare) and we paid like $35 in resort fees and $25 in parking. We were not staying on points either so while I got the room for like $135 night, the other fees added up real fast.

I know you for sure don’t pay the resort fees. When we stayed at the double tree in DS we didn’t pay for parking but idk if that was just a fluke or what happened

 

[mmmears]

On a completely separate note, Dh and I have pretty much decided we'd like to fly to London instead of doing a Norwegian cruise. We would spend some time in London and then take the train to Edinburgh and do some things in Scotland. Our goal is summer 2021 (so baby will be a little over a year old). If possible, we would like to get nonstop flights from MCO in business class by using Chase points. I would like to get a seat for the baby so 3 seats next to each other would be best. We have lots of time to plan so I'm curious which airlines might be our best options. What do some of you think that have been before?

I think other posters have more experience with this than I do, but I'll share what I've done in first/biz to LHR. AA in first is in a 1-2-1 config (or it was on the plane we flew). BA in J class on the big A380 was 2-4-2, so you could get 3 seats together in the middle, but know that the 2 in the middle 4 will face one way and the 2 on the aisle will face the other (it's really weird). We did have a Mom sitting in those middle seats with a baby and a small child and when lowered it made a pretty big "bed" for them to all sleep.

I'd check really carefully (you tube videos of plane configs are great for this) because many planes we don't make it easy to take care of a child. The seats on some (AF comes to mind) are just far apart and you wouldn't be anywhere near the baby, which is probably why we never see little kids on those flights. The only time DD was a "lap baby" was when we were on a first class flight that wouldn't work with her in her own seat since she was 12 mos old and still needed a lot of care and attention.

I hope this helps a bit.

Glad you made a decision and I'm looking forward to hearing more about it!

 

[PolyRob]

How do we feel about an off topic discussion of Turkey Gravy?.... I’m kinda desperate. Costco got rid of my Fra’mani Turkey Gravy (just warm it up and boom! Awesomeness!) and I’m lost because I’m more of a warm it up type cook lol. Basically I want a decent Turkey Gravy that requires warming up or at most adding water or broth from a box- something easy! I’ve got cooked Turkey Breast, just no Gravy for it (this isn’t a Thanksgiving Feast or anything stressful, just average dinner type meal). Favorite easy to do Turkey Gravy anyone?...

LOL I just happen to be looking at a Target ad right now. What about this? Heinz? Doesn't sound as fancy, but looks ready to serve. It even says "homestyle"