I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[pinkxray]

I am running quotes on travel insurance for the cruise I just booked. I forget- do I include the taxes and fees in the amount? I’m guessing yes since I would lose those if somethi happened? I have no idea why I can’t remember this.

 

[Alexle2007]

I always choose the free. Well most of the time. 1600 ain’t cheap. I actually try to maximize Hilton and Marriott points with status I have to get the free night with stay 4 nights and get the fifth free on points. Basically a 20 percent discount on points but in your case that isn’t possible.

Yeah, we have little flexibility since we are confined to Spring Break and getting on the cruise ship.

Any thoughts between Swan and Dolphin? We haven’t stayed at either.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I am running quotes on travel insurance for the cruise I just booked. I forget- do I include the taxes and fees in the amount? I’m guessing yes since I would lose those if somethi happened? I have no idea why I can’t remember this.

Do you have a CSR? It includes very good travel insurance. The only insurance I'd worry about on a cruise is emergency medical evacuation.

On our Peru trip I used the CSR for trip interruption / cancellation but purchased additional medical insurance, just in case one of us got really sick (it was only $70.00 or $80.00 for medical insurance only and I wanted to be 100% sure that we had very good medical coverage). However I purchased full trip insurance for our upcoming northern Europe trip (with Arctic cruise) since I want to have at least $500k medical evacuation insurance just in case something happens.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

DS has requested to go back to WDW as he is tired of USO. So I am now quickly turning something together for March to celebrate his 13th birthday before our Harmony of the Seas cruise.

I can use points to stay at Swan or Dolphin for basically free

Or Boardwalk Inn for $1600.

Our flight gets in at 6:30 pm on Thurs and we’ll check out on Sun to get to PC.
Fri and Sat will be our park days at DHS and Epcot.

Which one would you choose? I am leaning towards the free but can’t choose between the two. They are basically the same price.

I prefer to use Bonvoy points when I can get the 5th night free (to get max. value out of the points). Are you able to use any FN certificates? If you can make use of a few FN night certificates then I'd definitely stay at the Swan or Dolphin (we stayed at one, can't remember which, but it was quite nice albeit very busy). If you can't use a FN certificate then I'd stay at the BW. But that's just me -- I know many would apply different logic.

 

[DisneyMandC]

I got my Chase 1099 yesterday too. $995- oof. 2 Hyatt links plus $5 statement credit, 3 CIP links, plus 2 CFU links. It is what it is. I wouldn’t be able to travel like we do without this hobby, so it’s worth it!

 

[Judique]

I always choose the free. Well most of the time. 1600 ain’t cheap. I actually try to maximize Hilton and Marriott points with status I have to get the free night with stay 4 nights and get the fifth free on points. Basically a 20 percent discount on points but in your case that isn’t possible.

Anything is possible for @Alexle2007 . She can make it happen if she wants it.

 

[calypso726]

So I did a thing ...

 

[hsmamato2]

what i meant was how many referrals until you get a form lol

ahhhh...well that's what mine was- I have to sit down and make sure the numbers are correct....

 

[hsmamato2]

No way to be added without it counting against your 5/24....
You could have him request a replacement card saying the card was damaged...when I did this last year .both cards had the same number, expiration date etc, I also think some people add the card to apple wallet and use it that way

I've never heard of this..... it sounds intriguing

 

[miztressuz]

DH got the same offer emailed to him a few weeks ago. Not worth it to me for a $450 AF tradeoff.

Yep, same here. Have to be in the right circumstance for it to make sense. Basically in a position to be paying cash for $300 in Marriott purchases regardless of having the card and needing/wanting a 50k FNC that year. I'm sure it will make sense one year, but this isn't it.

Plus I haven't had the Brilliant before so it would lock me out of the better sign up bonus. I guess for people playing the up/downgrade game it's not terrible (half the points but half the spend) but I'd hold out for a better offer. That's a lot of AF for 50k Bonbons. (and yet if it were the delicious candy it'd be a steal for that price )

 

[disneybirds]

Yeah, we have little flexibility since we are confined to Spring Break and getting on the cruise ship.

Any thoughts between Swan and Dolphin? We haven’t stayed at either.

I would definitely choose the free Swan/Dolphin over the $1,600 BWV. They difference in distance isn't that much to DHS if you are walking. We have stayed twice at the Swan. They have queen beds vs the Dolphin that has double beds. The Dolphin has more CS options for food. I don't think it is that big of a deal to walk over to grab food in the morning at the Dolphin. There are some great restaurants at both for food. Shula's has a free birthday entree if you join their club, but not sure if that applies to a 13 year old. We paired the free entree with gift card deals for my bday dinner a few years ago. They also have Bluezoo and Il Mulino. Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[Judique]

Yeah, we have little flexibility since we are confined to Spring Break and getting on the cruise ship.

Any thoughts between Swan and Dolphin? We haven’t stayed at either.

I like Swan much better than Dolphin. Swan was under the Westin umbrella and Dolphin was a Sheraton. Not sure what they are now, other than Marriott, but Swan had larger standard rooms and 2 queen beds when I used to stay. It's been quite a while because after I bought DVC I had little need. Dolphin's beds may have changed. Swan had the sink outside the bath as well. It's also quite a few less rooms so not as big as Dolphin. They are close together so easy enough to access either. They also give a DVC discount in the quick serve - not sure about annual pass.

I always got an upgrade at Swan to a balcony room on the 6th floor overlooking the canal. Why 6th I don't know, but I probably stayed there 20 times, counting 1 night stays before checking into DVC also. Once they added the ridiculous resort charge and parking fee they lost me.

I've stayed at Dolphin 3-4 times when I couldn't get Swan.

They used to have a teacher's/nurse's/government/firefighter/police rate for $129 plus taxes. Loved this rate as I would pay it rather than give up 10K spg points. Cash and points was 4K plus $60 if I could get that. I usually used my military dependent ID card, but also qualified under gov.

 

[hsmamato2]

Epcot Mexican food Q! (Yeah, lol as a Californian I would normally never eat MX food at theme park but my poor bro has been living in CT for the last few years so this happening...) San Angel Inn or Hacienda? We're going for dinner so seeing fireworks is a potential but it's not necessary as I have Spice Road Table booked for fireworks glimpsing one night. Menus are quite different, both look to have good atmosphere. (Seafood Platter for 2 at Hacienda is very tempting.)

as someone who has ferreted out some of the best Mexican food in CT I can say without hesitation that I would NEVER eat at San Angel Inn again...(It's been 18 years now lol) no no no. We have gotten some qs at the place near the water in Epcot and that is passable for theme park eats....

 

[Judique]

I've never heard of this..... it sounds intriguing

lol, this has been repeated here numerous times, but history shows it's always new to somebody! Some times I don't answer because I think in my head 'everybody knows that'. Shows how wrong I can be.

 

[Judique]

I would definitely choose the free Swan/Dolphin over the $1,600 BWV. They difference in distance isn't that much to DHS if you are walking. We have stayed twice at the Swan. They have queen beds vs the Dolphin that has double beds. The Dolphin has more CS options for food. I don't think it is that big of a deal to walk over to grab food in the morning at the Dolphin. There are some great restaurants at both for food. Shula's has a free birthday entree if you join their club, but not sure if that applies to a 13 year old. We paired the free entree with gift card deals for my bday dinner a few years ago. They also have Bluezoo and Il Mulino. Enjoy your trip!!!

I was part of Shula's free birthday club but it is ending in May and they said in my email they will let me know what the next plan is. You also have to buy one to get one for the free birthday dinner. I'm not sure what the next promo will be. They no longer have as many out of state options. The two I've enjoyed were New York and Baltimore but they've closed these.

 

[hsmamato2]

I'm no @SouthFayetteFan but I do keep a detailed spreadsheet of all of our Chase UR activity. I pulled up DH's CIP which paid out a bonus in November. Our graph looks the same and I agree it's super confusing with the 80K earned and then removed. I can confirm that my points balance on that card is fine and I have the full 80k plus whatever I earned on the $5k spend. Looking through the detailed activity I can see the 80k earned on the purchase in November that put us at the $5k spend and there is no negative amount (except where I transferred the full balance over to my CSR to get 1.5x).

View attachment 468143

They list what account they came from. Does he have 2 different ones for same account? Or did you do bank bonus? Actually, you did the mortgage if I remember correctly, one could be from that also.

Thanks for the info- I can see the accts listed now.... these are supports...now I need to figure out what the "#17.... notes are attached to each item..... I think it has to do with tax forms.....I'm a bit lost here, if mine says $600 on the form how do I calculate?

 

[hsmamato2]

...

 

[hsmamato2]

1) not always. Ive gotten a $300 from citi before.
2) you need to double check and make sure the company did not issue one out. Your best bet would be to call and ask. if they dont know, and u see no tax forms on your account, then u "can" not report it. If they do in fact have a form out, then the IRS will penalize you saying that you "should" of known. its a really bad situation to be in, safe side, report it. take the risk, save some money.

Note: i am not a CPA and everything i have said is based on what ive seen from my own tax returns and others. For a better response, its best you ask a CPA.

wait...what??? if I had like,$200 support from last year,(we got not forms) and didn't go looking or report it,we could be in trouble now????

 

[hsmamato2]

DS has requested to go back to WDW as he is tired of USO. So I am now quickly turning something together for March to celebrate his 13th birthday before our Harmony of the Seas cruise.

I can use points to stay at Swan or Dolphin for basically free

Or Boardwalk Inn for $1600.

Our flight gets in at 6:30 pm on Thurs and we’ll check out on Sun to get to PC.
Fri and Sat will be our park days at DHS and Epcot.

Which one would you choose? I am leaning towards the free but can’t choose between the two. They are basically the same price.

free for sure..... I LOVE swan and dolphin

 

[hsmamato2]

I got my Chase 1099 yesterday too. $995- oof. 2 Hyatt links plus $5 statement credit, 3 CIP links, plus 2 CFU links. It is what it is. I wouldn’t be able to travel like we do without this hobby, so it’s worth it!

so is each account a different line with the acct number? I'm just wondering how to calculate this on our taxes.... any tips?