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

[kmc8826]

I enjoyed both of these coasters BUT I think they are getting rougher with age. They aren’t as smooth as I remembered them being 5 years ago or so.

Not to offend but it seems possible that they are just seeming “rougher” for you as you age...

 

[amcc]

I'm heading down to Miami Beach for a couple days in January (assuming AA doesn't cancel my flights). Has anyone gone to Everglades for a day? Any suggestions? Also, Any manatee viewing spots in Miami Beach?

We love the Everglades. The National Park in Homestead has a great boardwalk and nice trails. Shark Valley is great with a bike or tram but I find it more monotonous. I rode an airboat for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it was super fun. The environmental damage bothers me but it was an awesome one and done experience. There are a couple of places near Shark Valley for the rides. They have the Micosukee villages and exhibits but I found that part kind of sad and I really disliked the alligator show.

Look at me...actually spending some money...

I bought tickets to Frozen 2 and Star Wars for 12/23 and 12/26 next week. I typically only see about 2 movies a year so 2 movies in a 4 day span will he a RARE treat for our family. The first one is with my whole family and the second one is with a large portion of my wife’s family. So that’s fun too!!

I took 4 little ones to see Frozen today - guess who loved it most of all and cried half the movie - yes, this mom. That’s not a spoiler, I’m sure most people don’t cry but I found the themes and story very moving. Treated everyone to tickets and concessions because there was a great promo with Go Gurts and Fandango (still eating through all the boxes of yogurt Lol).

Can we talk about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker?!

I didn’t hate it. There are parts I even really liked.

What I liked most about The Rise of Skywalker was how it rendered The Last Jedi completely inconsequential. Quite literally, you can forget The Last Jedi ever happened and you’ll have missed nothing important to the story.

My son JUST arrived home from watching it and said. The. Exact. Same. Thing. About The Last Jedi. That annoyed him but he really liked the film.

 

[PolyRob]

Not to offend but it seems possible that they are just seeming “rougher” for you as you age...

Maybe I rode them in MY prime then

 

[DaveL]

You do know that the SW change option will close tonight, right? (I think).

Do you have estimations on the next window? Looking at the late May early June schedule there are still MAX8's on the schedule, don't see them getting them back in the air by then so want to be on the lookout for the next window.

 

[mmmears]

Today's been busy and I'm just catching up now (6 more pages to go!) but I figured I'd start responding now.

We had a fun day baking cookies and taking DD to the one restaurant she asked us to go to during her visit (a great dumpling place that is unfortunately placed in one of those awful mega-malls) and we managed to get in and out without dealing with the crazy shopping hoard that was all around us.

Don't worry I'm not a fan of cheesecake either (which is why it's not on the shun corner-that and it's so far away, lol). But...

https://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/menu/desserts/specialty-desserts/lindas-fudge-cake/
Wow, I really wish it wasn't > an hour away now

I have friends who go there just for Linda's Fudge Cake. It's really good - I know because they had a big party for 200 people and used those cakes instead of what the caterer could make because they are that good. Now you have to get down to one and try it!

I thought you couldn't get shingles if you've never had chicken pox and were vaccinated? I also got the vaccine and never had chicken pox.

DH was vaccinated for Chicken Pox almost 20 years ago (never caught it as a child) and was told to still go ahead and get the Shingrex.

I use Google spreadsheet so I can access it anywhere. First column is store alphabetized so I can quickly locate the store. Then each card has 2 columns- offer and exp. I strikethrough when I use an offer on a card, delete them when they expire. I have a second page where I track offers credited so I can see my yearly (card member year) savings via offers.

DH does the same thing, but with the columns reversed, but he still sorts by card. That way it's the same at home on the laptop and on our phones.

 

[IFlossU]

Congratulations on approval and welcome! What will you do with your useless wooden block?!

Sadly I think the useless wooden block has been discontinued. I didn’t get one last month. Just another way AMEX is sticking it to us

 

[wendow]

Ahhhhh… anyone have an local Colorado food items to recommend for a gift basket? I am putting together boxes for my grandpa and uncle of things we like, snacks/foods/candies... some are Colorado things, and some are things we've come across while traveling (or in snack boxes ). I feel like I definitely need another savory thing or two, extra points for something bbq related as my uncle is into that. Currently have various candies, and a green chili sauce they used at a restaurant we frequented in college...

Boyer's coffee if they like to drink coffee. And of course, we have plenty of local brews....

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Not to offend but it seems possible that they are just seeming “rougher” for you as you age...

That could be a factor I guess - but I’ve watched this happen with other Coasters though too. Magnum at Cedar Point is a good example, lots of others too that just seem to get rougher over time. I’m a huge fan of coasters, rode pretty much all of them at Cedar Point just a couple months ago (most of which are taller, faster and more intense than the two at USO).

There’s certainly a lot of factors that can go into the roughness of a coaster. It seems many enthusiasts have strong feelings about certain manufacturers and their ability to build a coast that not only runs well on day 1 but also 10 years later - I’m not that die hard lol. I’d also say that the time of day, air temperature, maintenance schedules, etc could also have an affect on the smoothness if the ride.

At any rate, I’ve seen a lot of recent feedback that people feel these USO coasters are not aging well from an “enjoyment” perspective. I’d somewhat agree, I wasn’t jumping for joy to get back in line as compared to Mako down the street that I’d gladly ride 20 times in a row. The restrictive restraints they use also probably play a part - I’ve never been crazy with Hulk’s restraint.

I hope Hagrid’s ages well. That ride is built on speed and tight corners. If it develops some roughness, that could really wreak havoc on a very enjoyable ride.

It’s also possible that I’m holding these coasters to a higher standard. With coasters like Steel Vengeance, Mako and even Hagrid’s out there now; some of these older rides just can’t hold a candle anymore!

 

[wendow]

Update on my Disney+ saga....As far as the 'free' account, they are putting in a refund request to billing AGAIN but said they have 'no idea' how long it will take. Also, our 'free' account is being extended another 30 days. And for the 3 year subscription that we bought that has never worked, they are "working on it" and they "appreciate" our patience

 

[jhoannam]

So we tried her pulling up behind me but I didn’t think that would work. Worked better for her to pull up next to me facing the opposite direction. This was a long awaited day!

We paid $1.99 at Costco today. Cheap gas is one of the few benefits of living in Oklahoma

 

[miztressuz]

I just click on the savings tab on the website for this.

The savings tab shows me from the beginning of time and I don't know how to only show the last year. Now I don't use a lot of offers so it's not hard to collect the data, but for someone more active it's not a fast calculation after the first year.

 

[mmmears]

I have been perpetually behind here for the past 3-4 weeks. Trying to catch up.. .

New job has been great. Holiday stuff pretty much in hand. But my Grandma, who I have always been particularly close, passed last weekend. I am glad I visited 2 weeks ago and spent time with her while she was still lucid. Her funeral was yesterday and we are spending a week in my hometown for Christmas. It's been heartwrenching to say goodbye to the family traditions as we know them. She really was the glue... This time with my family has been very special though. Watched the Bills game together today. It's been decades since we we've all been together for a game (like we were every game as kids). Going skiing with all brother/cousins and our kids tomorrow. Made dozens of cookies today and trying to keep Grandma's traditions alive for one last holiday together in her home.

I definitely want to look at my upcoming SW flights, thanks for that update @SouthFayetteFan

I'm so sorry for your loss, and glad that you had a chance to visit a couple weeks ago.

 

[wendow]

Wow. That’s at a Kroger? Our Kroger is $1/gal off max.

Ours is too. We had like a 3 mo stretch where we could redeem up to $2 but that was super short-lived and about 3-4 years ago. Sad that didn't last.

 

[LB002]

I posted on Reddit as well, but need a quick answer:
Has anyone had to reschedule a SW flight with a minor's flight linked? I can't do it online and would rather not call. Should I just cancel and rebook completely?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I posted on Reddit as well, but need a quick answer:
Has anyone had to reschedule a SW flight with a minor's flight linked? I can't do it online and would rather not call. Should I just cancel and rebook completely?

I PMed you like 30 minutes ago

 

[jhoannam]

I posted on Reddit as well, but need a quick answer:
Has anyone had to reschedule a SW flight with a minor's flight linked? I can't do it online and would rather not call. Should I just cancel and rebook completely?

I did it. I did the girls first and then mine, no issues.

 

[mmmears]

My unsolicited advice, make sure you don’t get too many newborn diapers or clothes (unless you have a preemie). Babies grow like weeds and will outgrow them quickly.

Yep. That's how I ended up with lots of newborn and stage 1 diapers for free. All the moms in my Mom's Group had babies that outgrew them right away and they had a bunch they couldn't use. Having one of the smaller babies worked in my favor.

We didn’t buy any newborn clothes or diapers. We got all 3-6 month onesies. The diapers we got one box of size 1 and three boxes of size 2.

I did the same thing. DD was swimming in that onesie we had taken with us to the hospital, and DH had to go buy newborn diapers when we got home. She wasn't tiny or anything, but she just wasn't big enough for most of what we had. I guess you never know.

Another interesting note about AA lockdowns HERE

I'm going to continue to recommend we keep this info on DISchurners. Most of it is being learned through private channels so we might as well follow suit and use our private channel too. It definitely seems like paranoia...but if you have been reading up on this, you know why people are paranoid!

I'd just keep checking that AA thread on DISchurners for any new comments.

Thanks for posting updates so we can keep up with what's going on.

 

[wendow]

Haven't had a chance to post this until now. I applied for my first Amex Biz Plat last week and was approved a few hours after applying. Always hard to stomach the AF but the MRs should be worth it and I had saved up enough from bank bonuses to cover. Now I'm looking at a large MSR in 3 months so I'm thinking some grocery store visits for GCs will be in my future. I also added DH as an AU (free green card for him) so he can help with the spend. I'll be paying our $2K property tax bill via Plastiq which will help.

Congrats on your new card!! I'm considering a Biz Plat for my next card too. I need a card super fast though as I have 3k in spend in the next week. I've already put $1500 on random cards in the last couple days and it's killing me.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Do you have estimations on the next window? Looking at the late May early June schedule there are still MAX8's on the schedule, don't see them getting them back in the air by then so want to be on the lookout for the next window.

It feels like about once a month they do the next 4-5 weeks worth of flights. So maybe we’ll see something near the end of January?

I know that I track this closely and so do others.

 

[Haley R]

Yep. That's how I ended up with lots of newborn and stage 1 diapers for free. All the moms in my Mom's Group had babies that outgrew them right away and they had a bunch they couldn't use. Having one of the smaller babies worked in my favor.



I did the same thing. DD was swimming in that onesie we had taken with us to the hospital, and DH had to go buy newborn diapers when we got home. She wasn't tiny or anything, but she just wasn't big enough for most of what we had. I guess you never know.



Thanks for posting updates so we can keep up with what's going on.

I’d rather have big stuff since you know eventually it will wear them. We also weren’t sure if people would get us anything so we just didn’t get any newborn or 0-3 Month stuff