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

[Psychodisney]

EBCI and tax work for Amex airline credit, correct? I've been trying to browse through FT, but they're all about other strategies.

Since I have A-List for a bit, thinking of treating the others to EBCI to use up credits. I prefer to book on points rather than travel vouchers

Yes! Those should work! How nice of you to share!

 

[LB002]

So we made an executive decision regarding our 2021 Disney World trip. Our girls have MLK Jr. day AND the Friday later that week off...so it looks like we are going to be part of "holiday crowds" and go one week earlier. I was surprised to see that from a "cost" perspective it probably will only cost us about $300 more in hotels and tickets to that week (and I could offset that easily by just ratcheting down our "view" requirements).

Having the girls only miss 3 days of school AND still continuing our January trip tradition is too good of an opportunity to pass up. Our history of January/February trips is strong as 2021 would be our 13th Jan/Feb trip out of the past 14 years!! The only year we missed was the year my older daughter was born in March:
View attachment 471105
Seeing it laid out in my spreadsheet helps me realize how truly blessed we are! Those are JUST our Disney World trips, and doesn't even include our numerous other vacations each year.

Crowds were a whole different animal back in '07 through '09 so I don't think I've ever quite experienced "MLK" level crowds. We've also been to Disney in March and June but again that was back in 2014, and crowds were a whole different ballgame then.

I also realize that this decision means I'm going to miss 4 NFL playoff games the weekend of 1/16 & 1/17...but I guess sacrifices are going to have to be made to keep one of our most precious family traditions intact!

I do the same with School vacation weeks. We typically have a teacher training day on the Friday after Monday holidays. I think they know people go on vacation... We often go MLK week and crowds aren't too bad, especially later in the week. I think you mentioned Sea World as an option - head over there in the projected busiest WDW day of the week.

 

[marsh0013]

anyone had any luck extending at bonblah certificate?

I was just able to do this tonight via chat. I had tried about a week or so ago (definitely in January) and was denied, told they don't do that and that I should plan a staycation, as I mentioned I couldn't use it before it expired. Now today, no issue. This was for my husband's 35k night that was set to expire March 1, 2020. No idea if they have a canned response if it's too far in advance, as I know others have had luck trying earlier. I also have 1 on my account currently expiring April 1, 2020. I will probably wait until March to try to extend that one.

Using these in LA for 4 nights in August (already had 1 applied, will have 1 more coming as my biz card fee just hit) after 6 nights at Disneyland at GCV (super excited for this score at 7 months, which took some walking). The LA property isn't changing categories (thank goodness), and I have all the individual nights booked through the UR portal on my CSR just in case. Cancelling them individually as the free nights get applied. The first night has already moved up to "peak" so it's a good thing I already had that cert applied before that happened. The others are holding at 35k for now.

 

[LB002]

I can't see me asking the girls to sacrifice parks time so dad can watch a football game... That seems like one of things I'd regret down the line when they're older. Gotta take advantage of these years and go meet characters and do fun things!

I really appreciate the idea but I'm just not a fan of the financial commitment for DVC and the unknown timing of trips in the future. I realize it works for other people but I know that our January Disney trips are on life support at this point. We thought last year was the last time, then this year was the last time...and now luckily the school calendar is playing nice so next year will still work (albeit at a busier time).

My kids are approaching those years where you can't plan trips out a year ahead of time and I would not be ok with "settling" for accommodations because I could only book 4-6 months in advance (or less). We also might need to start making some tougher decisions about how many trips we can feasibly take in a year, will Disney get the nod over important family vacations with our parents, and siblings?? I'm not even sure I could answer that for 2021, let alone 22 years from now. Could buying in save me some money...perhaps, or more realistically yes, it probably would save me some money. But I just don't like to sacrifice flexibility and control - I'm willing to pay more for what I want and for flexibility. I also am not crazy about the studio layouts and bed setup (I've looked at them when thinking about renting in the past) but the cost of the 1 bedroom seems substantially higher.

Since it's been a year or two since I've put math to it: It looks like for my 4 nights at YC next year I'd need 120 points to change that to BCV in a 1 bedroom as a DVC member. So I found a 120 pt contract for $19,907 + estimated dues over the next 22 years of $26,685 (I'm assuming a 3% avg increase each year) = $46,592 all in cost to lock in 22 years of our 4 night portion of our trip. That is over $2,100 per year. If instead of purchasing DVC, I took those exact sums and invested them over that period I could have close to $150k in 2042. There's hundreds of ways to analyze it - but for me, DVC just doesn't add up.

Of course the biggest thing in all of this is that I simply don't have $20k laying around right now. And when I do, this house could use some new windows, I have a van that's probably going to need to be replaced in the next 5-7 years, Our HVAC isn't exactly new, we have interest in doing some stone veneer on our foundation, and probably a bunch of other projects I could come up with.

I certainly don't mean this as a knock to the DVC program, people who are members, or even the mere suggestion that I evaluate it. I'm just providing a window into why we are not going the DVC route. I might ultimately pay thousands more towards my Disney trips over the next 2 decades IF we continue to go to Disney the way we have been, but I am ok with that trade-off based on the time I've spent looking at it. It was good to go through the exercise again today though to see if my opinion had changed

I look at Disney/DVC similarly. We currently have 1 contract that DH bought before we met. For the last ~8 years we have "needed" more points and have to rent more (we have family friends who don't use all their points that we rent from). But whenever I look at buying more points, even resale, I remember that soon the kids won't be able to be out of school during the school year. And as much as I like Disney, there's a lot more of the world I want to see, and I want to show my kids. It just doesn't make sense for us to buy another contract. And, similarly, there's always a house to he painted, a new care to save for, etc. that's a more prudent use of any excess cash we may have.

 

[LB002]

Am I the only one that obsessively monitors Ebates/shopping portals and reports when it doesn't track?! I totally just submitted a ticket for $0.39 cents

Maybe bot obsessively, but I do review occassionally and submit anything that doesn't show up!

 

[calypso726]

Does anyone here know anything about the Hyatt Confidant in Miami Beach? Or Miami Beach in general? Considering a weekend getaway to use up my Hyatt Free night cert. @calypso726 maybe? Just wondering if it will be a good redemption for us. We are not butt on the beach people so hopefully will find something fun to do. Looking for a redemption somewhere warm. It will be the end of March.

Sorry I’m not much help. I only go to Miami Beach to teach CPR classes. I’d suggest checking trip advisor reviews. Alternatively, do a search for article or blogs on using the Hyatt FN very. That was how the Willard In DC got on my radar. I looked for blogs about us isn’t the FN cert.

 

[landscapelens]

Is your DH willing to open cards too? DH and I switch off every two years on who earns the CP for SW. It is his turn now and he just earned in mid Jan so we’ll have it until the end of 2021.

SW raised it so you now need 125k points for CP. (I am guessing you did the special CP they offered to only CA residents?)

If your DH is willing he could open the cards and earn CP. You could do this by either opening a biz and personal or 2 personals, but they need to be timed perfectly. I think there are still links available for the personal 75k offer. So if you can time the personals that‘s 150k and you have CP.

There’s lots of good info on the Dischurners (reddit) about SW and CP.
Just PM @SouthFayetteFan your reddit name and he can get you added.

thanks so much. Will do.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I was just able to do this tonight via chat. I had tried about a week or so ago (definitely in January) and was denied, told they don't do that and that I should plan a staycation, as I mentioned I couldn't use it before it expired. Now today, no issue. This was for my husband's 35k night that was set to expire March 1, 2020. No idea if they have a canned response if it's too far in advance, as I know others have had luck trying earlier. I also have 1 on my account currently expiring April 1, 2020. I will probably wait until March to try to extend that one.

Using these in LA for 4 nights in August (already had 1 applied, will have 1 more coming as my biz card fee just hit) after 6 nights at Disneyland at GCV (super excited for this score at 7 months, which took some walking). The LA property isn't changing categories (thank goodness), and I have all the individual nights booked through the UR portal on my CSR just in case. Cancelling them individually as the free nights get applied. The first night has already moved up to "peak" so it's a good thing I already had that cert applied before that happened. The others are holding at 35k for now.

I would just see if they could extend now and apply before anything changes. I had 2 certs that were expiring before the trip I wanted to use them on. I waited until a few months before then called. They extended both, then applied both to my existing points reservation Then I changed my mind lol. I decided to apply only 1 FNC for the 6 night stay so they returned one FNC which had been extended a year.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I do the same with School vacation weeks. We typically have a teacher training day on the Friday after Monday holidays. I think they know people go on vacation... We often go MLK week and crowds aren't too bad, especially later in the week. I think you mentioned Sea World as an option - head over there in the projected busiest WDW day of the week.

So the Sea World trip is our November destination. When we do Disney we ONLY do Disney

Those "other parks" are for our long weekend trips haha!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

thanks looking forward to it

Hey - so you've gotten so much great advice from people here! I don't really have much to add along those lines.

Normally I'd also send you a PM at this point inviting you to our DISchurners group and asking you for a reddit username BUT you haven't made 10 comments on the DIS so I can't PM you.

You can still join by just responding here with a reddit username and I can get you all setup!

There's a whole thread over there about the SW companion pass and a lot of other great info! AND we love to see folks pay it forward to the community by using a support link of somebody who helped them when signing up for a new card!
Thanks for jumping out of lurkdom and saying hi!!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Well, it's my turn to get in on the companion pass fun... Gosh, I've been talking about it long enough! You guys are all like "geez SFF, we get it, you love the CP, shutup already!"

So tonight in preparation I had to cancel an old friend...SW plus, been a steady pal since March of 2016 She'd been with me through a lot, was my 4th oldest open card...she brought my my 3rd companion pass ever...but now it's the scissors and a trash can for her. I'm okay...I just need a minute...I might love my cards a bit too much........

 

[landscapelens]

Hey - so you've gotten so much great advice from people here! I don't really have much to add along those lines.

Normally I'd also send you a PM at this point inviting you to our DISchurners group and asking you for a reddit username BUT you haven't made 10 comments on the DIS so I can't PM you.

You can still join by just responding here with a reddit username and I can get you all setup!

There's a whole thread over there about the SW companion pass and a lot of other great info! AND we love to see folks pay it forward to the community by using a support link of somebody who helped them when signing up for a new card!
Thanks for jumping out of lurkdom and saying hi!!

Thanks so much. I was pinging my friend asking why I could not send you a PM. I have so very much to learn and really looking forward to it.
My user name is landscapelens for reddit.

And so sorry about having to let go of your SW Plus card.

 

[havaneselover]

Anyone have a Fort Lauderdale hotel recommendation pre-cruise? I'm thinking about Oasis (changed from Symphony since it was a little cheaper and goes to St. Thomas) for spring break 2021. I'd love to use my Marriott 35,000 point certificate if possible (which I guess means it can't be higher than a cat 4).

 

[Alexle2007]

Anyone have a Fort Lauderdale hotel recommendation pre-cruise? I'm thinking about Oasis (changed from Symphony since it was a little cheaper and goes to St. Thomas) for spring break 2021. I'd love to use my Marriott 35,000 point certificate if possible (which I guess means it can't be higher than a cat 4).

We stayed at the Embassy Suites and really liked it. Good breakfast and free evening reception. Nice pool. There were some nearby restaurants to walk to dinner. It was an easy cab ride to the port when we did the Allure.

ETA: We are did a couple of days at the Marriott that is on the beach but that is definitely not a 35k cert. It was nice though but the pool got crowded.

 

[smallsy]

Baby Miles was born this morning at 7:45 AM...arrived at the hospital at 6:45 so it was VERY quick. Everyone is doing great!

congrats!

Dh and I just got 3 sleepers at target for $10! They had a 20% off on Gerber and then we got another 5% with our red card. It’s a lot cheaper than the carter ones I wanted from amazon

With zippers I hope

 

[disfanforlife]

I am in Montreal on a business trip staying at the Westin ( Marriott) very nice hotel. Earning my first Marriott points!

 

[striker1064]

View attachment 471553

From Hawaii to Washington D.C.... IF I can't make Hawaii happen I still need to burn 150K bonbons.
Second option is to use them for fall break instead of Hyatt Place National Mall.

Which of these hotels would work for a museum centered vacation? We won't have a car, we will use public transpiration and Uber to get everywhere.
View attachment 471557

Are those the only options for Marriott award? That's... Kinda sad. Truthfully I don't love any of these for museum-centric since those are more centered around the mall. If you like the National Portrait Gallery (and you should, it's awesome), the Fairfield to the east on H St would give you close access. Then you could also walk straight down 5th past the old Newseum and would be at the east end of the mall. Worth noting, this is the edge of Chinatown and even one more block east and/or north is not the nicest part of DC. It's generally safe but it's still worth pointing out.

I'm not entirely sure which hotel that is in Dupont Circle, but that's an interesting choice if you like the idea of being around a bunch of good restaurants. Lots of fun things to do in Dupont. Mall access would be 2 stops south on the Red to Metro Center, then a few blocks south walk.

The Foggy Bottom hotel isn't a terrible choice as you'd be on the blue/orange/silver lines, so you'd have access to the Smithsonian metro from there. Foggy Bottom is a very busy area with lots of people coming and going due to the hospital. Because of the density of people and proximity of services, there are more homeless people than you would expect living on the street.

The last hotel between Downtown and Logan Circle - I'm not sure which one specifically that is, but it would likely be my last choice just because it's the furthest from the metro. When you're talking downtown DC you're never that far of a walk away from anywhere, but it's still good to be close to a station.

Very important: food.

Fairfield Chinatown - Underneath is Irish Channel (we play trivia here). Overpriced drinks, good Irish food though (fish and chips, shepherds pie, etc) but avoid non-Irish stuff. Across the street is Royal Thai, and further down H to the west is Crimson. Crimson is tasty diner-style food and good cocktails, with a whiskey bar downstairs. China Boy is one of the best Chinese restaurants in the city, and it's a cash-only hole in the wall on 6th. Chinatown Express is famous for making their dumplings in the street-facing window and they are awesome, but the entrees are otherwise mostly just okay. Sushi Capitol is one of the best sushi restaurants in the city and their $50/pp omakase is one of the better sushi deals you can find.

Dupont Circle - City Tap House has tons of draft beer and above average bar-style food. The Halal Guys are the same from the famous 53rd and 6th Halal Guys cart in NYC. It's not quite as good but it scratches the itch. Board Room is a bar with board games you can rent for a nominal fee. They don't sell food but you can bring your own takeout from elsewhere. City Lights of China is your usual somewhat overpriced, average Chinese fare common in DC, but their hand-pulled noodle dishes are among the best. Really, in Dupont Circle, there are far too many good places to list.

If you're looking for any other specific recommendations, let me know.

 

[first*toright]

View attachment 471553

From Hawaii to Washington D.C.... IF I can't make Hawaii happen I still need to burn 150K bonbons.
Second option is to use them for fall break instead of Hyatt Place National Mall.

Which of these hotels would work for a museum centered vacation? We won't have a car, we will use public transpiration and Uber to get everywhere.
View attachment 471557

DC is always my fall back destination - I love visiting. Any of those options would be ok, but the closer to a metro stop, the better, in my opinion. I can't tell how close to the Foggy Bottom metro stop (orange line) the hotel on the left side of the map would be - but if you're planning to do the museums on the Mall, orange line is the easiest option. You have an option up by Dupont Circle too - lots of great restaurants in that area, and changing from the red line to the orange is easy to do. The metro is super easy, and parking is terrible, so no car is an asset! My family has rented bikes to explore - it was really fun. The mall is HUGE, and the monuments are pretty spread out (and worth visiting), so bikes can be a good way to do that. Sounds like a great trip!

It's about 95% certain that college dd will be interning in Vienna this summer (!!) but it's killing me that she doesn't have an official start date yet so I can't look at flights

Anyone ever fly to Vienna from PHL, DC metro, or NY metro?

That sounds amazing! What a cool thing to do. We are doing Vienna for spring break. There is a nonstop from Newark, and maybe one from DC? Pretty sure the ones I saw out of PHL were not direct. We are actually doing Newark/Amsterdam/Vienna on the way over and Vienna/Zurich/Newark on the way back. Chose that over the nonstop because I couldn't get business class seats on the non-stop, and I thought that doing the long haul lie flat (United Polaris), then a hop would be better than arriving at 7am in Vienna after being up all night in economy, and then possibly having to wait hours for our room to be ready. Better to arrive late morning, with at least some chance of having gotten a few hours of sleep on the way over.

 

[Judique]

I am in Montreal on a business trip staying at the Westin ( Marriott) very nice hotel. Earning my first Marriott points!

How do you like that pool? I was looking at the website.

I attended a wedding in Montreal at a Westin downtown many years ago but it is no longer a Westin. It was high rise with maybe 35 or more stories. My youngest ran into the elevator as we were waiting for people to get off. The doors closed and she rose 34 stories and then back down. We had pushed the button again immediately but were too slow. Talk about a moment of panic as she was 4 years old at the time.

I love visiting Montreal but it's been some time since I've been there. I need to go again soon.

 

[Judique]

Are those the only options for Marriott award? That's... Kinda sad. Truthfully I don't love any of these for museum-centric since those are more centered around the mall. If you like the National Portrait Gallery (and you should, it's awesome), the Fairfield to the east on H St would give you close access. Then you could also walk straight down 5th past the old Newseum and would be at the east end of the mall. Worth noting, this is the edge of Chinatown and even one more block east and/or north is not the nicest part of DC. It's generally safe but it's still worth pointing out.

I'm not entirely sure which hotel that is in Dupont Circle, but that's an interesting choice if you like the idea of being around a bunch of good restaurants. Lots of fun things to do in Dupont. Mall access would be 2 stops south on the Red to Metro Center, then a few blocks south walk.

The Foggy Bottom hotel isn't a terrible choice as you'd be on the blue/orange/silver lines, so you'd have access to the Smithsonian metro from there. Foggy Bottom is a very busy area with lots of people coming and going due to the hospital. Because of the density of people and proximity of services, there are more homeless people than you would expect living on the street.

The last hotel between Downtown and Logan Circle - I'm not sure which one specifically that is, but it would likely be my last choice just because it's the furthest from the metro. When you're talking downtown DC you're never that far of a walk away from anywhere, but it's still good to be close to a station.

Very important: food.

Fairfield Chinatown - Underneath is Irish Channel (we play trivia here). Overpriced drinks, good Irish food though (fish and chips, shepherds pie, etc) but avoid non-Irish stuff. Across the street is Royal Thai, and further down H to the west is Crimson. Crimson is tasty diner-style food and good cocktails, with a whiskey bar downstairs. China Boy is one of the best Chinese restaurants in the city, and it's a cash-only hole in the wall on 6th. Chinatown Express is famous for making their dumplings in the street-facing window and they are awesome, but the entrees are otherwise mostly just okay. Sushi Capitol is one of the best sushi restaurants in the city and their $50/pp omakase is one of the better sushi deals you can find.

Dupont Circle - City Tap House has tons of draft beer and above average bar-style food. The Halal Guys are the same from the famous 53rd and 6th Halal Guys cart in NYC. It's not quite as good but it scratches the itch. Board Room is a bar with board games you can rent for a nominal fee. They don't sell food but you can bring your own takeout from elsewhere. City Lights of China is your usual somewhat overpriced, average Chinese fare common in DC, but their hand-pulled noodle dishes are among the best. Really, in Dupont Circle, there are far too many good places to list.

If you're looking for any other specific recommendations, let me know.

The Foggy Bottom one is the only area I would consider. I'm glad to see @striker1064 chimed in because I was reluctant to say not the safest walking areas because I haven't walked on the east end of the city much and it may have changed. It's super busy and very busy traffic wise but since you are not driving not as much of a concern. The Dupont area is a 'drive up there' area for me so I don't get over that way much anymore. Also, my experience is when I spent most of my time in Bethesda and was coming in off McArthur Blvd to the M street area for shopping and eating and then down onto the Mall or the river from there. I also lived on Bolling for a time and we didn't walk. That was when there was parking to be had.