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

[tink1970]

Also, I'm looking at the list of cards on the Barclay website and I'm only seeing co-branded cards and not the Arrival Plus (or whatever it was called). Did I miss that this card was discontinued?

Yes, it's been discontinued for a while now. Most people thought/hoped it would be re-released in a "refreshed" form (myself included) so far it hasn't.

 

[tink1970]

I've never been into Houston, just driven by it on the freeways and it just seemed like such a cement jungle, so I've never wanted to go.

Pretty much- when I was in school it was a great place for shopping and eating and passing through. I wouldn't vacation there though. That said, if given the choice between Houston and San Francisco, Houston wins hands down every single time (referencing my 9 hour layover procrastinating my ILs visit in March ).

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

FYI - Southwest extended their schedule this morning for flights through August 10th, 2020.

Here is my usual Historical Southwest Release Dates (for planning purposes) comment:

• NEXT RELEASE: 2/13/20 - travel through October 7th, 2020
• 12/11/19 - travel through August 10th, 2020
• 10/30/19 - travel through June 6th, 2020
• 9/26/19 - travel through April 13th, 2020
• 8/15/19 - travel through March 6th, 2020
• 5/30/19 - travel through January 5th, 2020
• 3/15/19 - travel through November 2nd, 2019
• 1/31/19 - travel through October 1st, 2019
• 11/15/18 - travel through August 5th, 2019
• 9/27/18 - travel through June 8th, 2019
• 8/30/18 - travel through April 7th, 2019
• 6/28/18 - travel through March 6th, 2019
• 5/31/18 - travel through January 6th, 2019
• 3/8/18 - travel through November 3rd, 2018
• 2/15/18 - travel through October 1st, 2018
• 11/2/17 - travel through August 6th, 2018
• 8/28/17 - travel through June 1st, 2018
• 7/27/17 - travel through April 6th, 2018
• 6/22/17 - travel through March 7th, 2018
• 5/18/17 - travel through January 7th, 2018

This chart could be useful to approximate when your travel time may become available for upcoming releases, however they don't always follow the exact same pattern (as you can see above) They appear to be tightening the inventory a bit this year vs. prior year's releases.

RELEASE TIMES:

• The release on 12/11/19 went live at 9:10am.
• The release on 10/30/19 went live at 7:15am.
• The release on 9/26/19 went live at 7:30am.
• The release on 8/15/19 went live at 10:41am.
• The release on 5/30/19 went live at 9:20am.

If you want to search back for this post in the future - just search my name and "release".

 

[hsmamato2]

I was sitting her wondering the exact same thing. I remember no sushi or soft cheeses.

My doc told me no lunch meat and this was the 90's.....

 

[hsmamato2]

I’ve told DH our Orlando dates for February I don’t know how many times and of course now he’s like “I might have to work out of town that week.” Why would you have to work out of town if you have down on your calendar that we’re on vacation? “I forgot to put it on there.” And of course, Sheraton wants a $50 change fee now even though they let me change through the resort itself for free before. I emailed the same lady that changed it for me a couple months ago but she said the resort itself isnt allowed to do that anymore. At least I only booked the return flight on SW. He’s supposed to have a definite answer for me by next week so I can get everything taken care of.

Are you married to my DH? he always 'forgets' what vacation we have planned..... I finally told him last week I wasn;t giving him anymore info once I got the approval for time off from work.... it was going to be a surprise to him every time from now on!

 

[DaveL]

Got my flights back booked but the flights out of MCO were horrible, really only 1 afternoon flight and two evening, rest were 6AM~9AM. There was a nice direct flight but it was at 9AM so that would mean a 6AM departure from Disney... Booked Sunday anyway but have not canceled my Sunday night stay at the MCO Hyatt in case I need to switch to a Mon flight back.

 

[miztressuz]

So what to do? Is it worth spending an extra 6k RR points x2 (11-12k total) to save on a 4 hour drive?

We'll be within a 4 hour drive to some family when we travel next July so was going to take advantage to visit. We rarely see hubby's sibling cuz of the distance and so while he's fine with that , it'd be rude to be so close and not see the nephews (not to mention the minor family drama of the "snub" when the gossip chain makes its way around to them).

Was thinking of flying in for our concert, driving to family and then leaving from their airport, but I forgot how ridiculous flights are between there and here. It's the same 2 hour, non-stop flight but costs nearly double most times.

Right now it's a difference of about 6k each ticket and I'll need 2. Can't decide if it's silly to drive that 4 hours back to the original airport or silly to spend that extra money.

Although now I wonder what other airports are around 4 hours or less away that might be cheaper... maybe see some new scenery if we're going to be driving

 

[DisneyMandC]

Are you married to my DH? he always 'forgets' what vacation we have planned..... I finally told him last week I wasn;t giving him anymore info once I got the approval for time off from work.... it was going to be a surprise to him every time from now on!

He never knows what's going on lol. I verified again with him after this that he had put in our dates for Japan Thankfully he had, and his boss has been aware of it for a while now.

Speaking of Japan... I went to the dentist yesterday afternoon and at the end of my appointment she tried to schedule my next cleaning for June 17. I had to tell her that wouldn't work since we would be in Japan. Which means we are now officially 6 months from our trip!!!

 

[mechteach1]

Okay, I'm just going to stand up for Houston here, since I've lived there three times in my life! When you are coming through on the highways, it's easy to just see the concrete, but there are very few places where a highway or convention center area will give you a true view of a city.

Houston has a range of large parks throughout the city, including Hermann Park and Buffalo Bayou; an amazing restaurant scene, both on the high end and the low end; world-class opera, symphony, and theatre options; a huge range of museums; a constant parade of shows from top performers; and excellent basketball and baseball teams (as well as pretty good football and soccer teams). It is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the United States, which also enriches all of the above. There are three official languages in the Houston Independent School District. You can probably guess two of them - English and Spanish. But can you guess the third? It is Vietnamese.

So, hmph.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

A sad day has come... booked our summer vacation which is my last "Family Boarding" ever as my younger daughter will turn 7 at the end of next summer... Hello $200 in EBCI expenses next time I book, lol! Luckily we don't ever pay for the flights due to points so this just means my flights will cost $200 RT instead of $0 RT,

 

[hsmamato2]

A sad day has come... booked our summer vacation which is my last "Family Boarding" ever as my younger daughter will turn 7 at the end of next summer... Hello $200 in EBCI expenses next time I book, lol! Luckily we don't ever pay for the flights due to points so this just means my flights will cost $200 RT instead of $0 RT,

ya know I was watching the two home alone movies last week...and how the parents ran onboard and told the kids to go find whatever seat was empty in the plane... And immediately thought of the many threads on the Dis dedicated to EBCI and kids sitting with their parents.... ( I wanted my kids next to me when they were young too!) That said I rarely bought EBCI even when they were little and never had problems sitting together,not once in many years. It just made me laugh watching those scenes.....

 

[AmyAnne]

Yes, it's been discontinued for a while now. Most people thought/hoped it would be re-released in a "refreshed" form (myself included) so far it hasn't.

Thanks. Any thoughts about why I might want to keep the downgraded, no-fee version? I'm trying to close the cards I'm not actively using (or need to keep b/c less than a year) but I could keep this one open if there's any reason to.

 

[havaneselover]

So I'm very happy. We are doing DCL to Alaska in August and I was trying to figure out flight options but wasn't seeing the non-stop from BWI to SEA. Well I'm now seeing it with the most recent release. So got our tickets to Seattle for 26,000 RR points. Now have to wait until the next release (although still toying with flying back from Vancouver).

 

[LB002]

A sad day has come... booked our summer vacation which is my last "Family Boarding" ever as my younger daughter will turn 7 at the end of next summer... Hello $200 in EBCI expenses next time I book, lol! Luckily we don't ever pay for the flights due to points so this just means my flights will cost $200 RT instead of $0 RT,

I was in such a rush booking our Aug flights (2 with points, 2 with GCs, kids on a snow day bickering in the background) that I forgot! Our Aug trip will be our first with NO FAMILY BOARDING. I will have to look into adding early bird seating to the 2 I paid cash for, or wait it out and see if I use the SE CC upgrades.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Boeing has been squawking about getting MAX recertification this month. FAA solidly said no CNBC

 

[elgerber]

piping in here.
My first was born in 93 and I was told about the no lunch meats back then. I probably still ate some occasionally.
We do buy the precooked Johnsonville, the Turkey ones, with Cheese. Super yummy. But I still think the uncooked one, cooked on the grill are the best LOL.
I buy the French's crispy Jalapenos at Target in a little bucket. Probably not as cheap as Aldi or Costco, but it lasts him quite awhile.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Wow - I've made 10,000 comments. Not sure if I should be proud of that or ashamed of how much time I waste while at work!

 

[platamama]

Thanks. Any thoughts about why I might want to keep the downgraded, no-fee version? I'm trying to close the cards I'm not actively using (or need to keep b/c less than a year) but I could keep this one open if there's any reason to.

If you have plans for international travel, it's a chip and PIN card which is useful for unmanned ticket kiosks.

I don't know how Barclays is about accepting a retention bonus and then closing the card, so I can't give you any info there. Since it doesn't cost you anything, if I were you I would put a reminder on my calendar to close that account in July 2020 and then be done with it. Barclays doesn't seem to like people to have more than 2 of any of their cards, and their CL are stingy compared to Chase or Amex.

 

[jhoannam]

Boeing has been squawking about getting MAX recertification this month. FAA solidly said no CNBC

I hope this means that the SW trick is still alive and well, because I missed the 9:10 booking window and the WGA fair I need is 23K RR.

 

[MrPTato]

A sad day has come... booked our summer vacation which is my last "Family Boarding" ever as my younger daughter will turn 7 at the end of next summer... Hello $200 in EBCI expenses next time I book, lol! Luckily we don't ever pay for the flights due to points so this just means my flights will cost $200 RT instead of $0 RT,

Thoughts...oh wise one...

Do you bother with checking in 24hrs before your flight while in WDW? I trend to stress over the check in while in the parks the day before we leave but do I really need to bother with family boarding between A & B? Curious on your thoughts and what you do. My youngest just turned 3 so we still have some years there.