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

[wed100105]

Does anyone else have trouble pulling the trigger on using points and rewards? Is there a reason I wouldn't want to use Chase Ultimate Rewards for a car rental? I'm also considering pulling points out for cash or gift cards. We often travel and get better deals with military discounts or our timeshare. I just like hoarding points though!

Boring trip details---feel free to skip.

DH said yes to an Easter WDW trip! Fingers crossed that my boss approves my request for a day off as we have to fly out of STL now because Frontier is not extending service out of our local (1 hour away) airport and that change results in taking Tuesday off. I have 100,000 miles, and 50K Elite status (thanks to their Mastercard), and $250 in vouchers from our 2019 spring break trip to use. Total cost to me OOP - $14 for spring break after using the vouchers. I still have the 100,000 miles to use. The Elite status gives me free seat assignments and 1 checked bag on each flight. Come February I will have another $100 voucher, but a $79 fee to pay. I can't see me keeping this Mastercard now since it's no longer really convenient to fly out of our local airport.


Flights $14 (will be covered by my Amex travel benefits if I decide to stick with Frontier as my chosen airline).

Hotel - first night, Hilton points at Hilton Bonnet Creek
Remaining nights - Wyndham Bonnet Creek 2 bedroom deluxe; Wyndham timeshare (using our points - great deal! Our cost without discounts is $700 for 6 nights. I'm hoping to get an upgrade with the 1 bedroom I have booked, which would be even sweeter.)

Car Rental - debating using URs. I can't find a car big enough for us under $400. It would cost me about 38,000 Chase URs, and I have around 600,000 right now. I'm kicking myself that I didn't book the $300 car rental I found last week.

Tickets- military 4 days (debated 5 but really like an off day) - will have to pay this OOP - $1325

Parking - $100 (4 park days)

Food - I'm estimating (high I hope) needing $1200-1500 total. I have $1000 in gift cards saved, and we'll probably use them mostly for food. Does anyone know if I have to pay with my Disney Visa to get the 10% discount at participating restaurants? Can I just show it? The discount + gift card savings would be a pretty good chunk off the inflated Disney dining prices.

ETA: I'm also hoping to use our AMEX Hilton Ascend cards at the Hilton Bonnet Creek gift shop to purchase Disney gift cards. (I just saw on their website that they sell them.) That equals $500 ($250 for each of us) in Amex Resort credits.

 

[IFlossU]

Don't forget that there are links in the Misc Thread on DISchurners.

Oh my gosh I had no idea. I’m sorry, I would have been happy to support. It wasn’t even on my radar. Thank you for pointing it out. I had not even fully looked at that section before.

 

[WardFam]

Ha, I just realized that too! That’ll be good when DH starts to buy up every plant in the world again for our garden. He keeps claiming he’s buying perennials, but I think he’s lying.



Where did you stay in Kauai? Would love to hear a review!

our first 5 nights were at the Marriott Kauai Beach Club in an oceanfront 2 bedroom. The property is starting to show its age a bit, but honesty it was perfect for our family! We loved being able to sit on our balcony in the mornings and watch the ocean and the pools and beach were great for our kids. We are now up at the North Shore at the Wyndham Bali Hai. Not my favorite place - we had booked the Hyatt in Poipu which is one of my favorite properties, but my BIl decided to join us last minute so we needed a 2 bedroom. I do love the North Shore. Hanalei is the perfect beach town and Anini Beach is one of my favorite beaches Anywhere
Our favorite excursion has beena Zodiac Boat tour up the Napali Coast with Kauai Sea Tours. The zodiac raft is so much fun and we saw turtles, whales, and so many dolphins right off the boat.
it has been such a great trip and we never could have come at Christmastime without points!
Tomorrow is our last day on Kauai then we head to Aulani!

 

[NewbieMom]

Question. Does anyone know if Amex Biz Plat Green (free) employee cards (AUs) get global entry credit?

I had the same question. Perhaps @kidsfirsttrip could elaborate on this?

Just remember any AU will add to there 5/24 status since it’s a personal card. A better avenue for @ten6mom would be a biz plat. And then the green card with they would also get precheck

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

My AA booking is not linking to MDE

I had to call to get mine. Then somebody pointed out it’s in the confirmation. Are you sure you’re using the right number?

 

[Psychodisney]

Ok unsolicited advice, but trampolines cause a huge percentage of kids’ visits to ERs. I wouldn’t do a trampoline anything with a little kid. Even my older kiddo has done the trampoline park parties and there is almost always someone hurt. My kid also almost got his teeth knocked out and was bleeding from the mouth from a bouncy place. Ymmv.

I totally agree. As a PT, I have seen some awful tramp injuries. I also have 2 nieces with elbow injuries from the trampoline. My kids were not allowed on a trampoline. Just not worth it.
@Haley R You sound like you’re going to be a great mom! My years as a stay at home mom were amazing. I hope you enjoy every minute!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Yes that’s the $25 offer I was credited even though I didn’t click through the Amex specific link. I was nervous it wouldn’t track because I used a different link, but ultimately I did receive the credit. It took about 5 days to receive the credit. I also used the $15 off $30 right after I received the $20 e-gift from Sams, which took a few hours after signing up.
ETA: my Amex offer had the same language must use that specific link. I did not and it still credited.

That’s what I was hoping. It will be really bad if mine doesn’t credit since it went on the wrong card and won’t get the other offer. Essentially $25 for a membership I didn’t need and regular Sam’s price for a Disney GC (which is way more than I usually pay)

 

[NewbieMom]

Have any of you taken your kids to a Gymboree type of place? It seems really engaging but also kind of expensive

I took my older son (now 15) to Gymboree. We probably went for about...a year maybe? For me personally it was all about him and most definitely not social hour for me (but I'm not necessarily sociable). He really enjoyed it. Where else can you run around and jump and tumble in a huge room with big thick mats? He also (at about age 2 or 3) had an eye for the pretty girl instructors!

I did. We loved it. It helped that they offered an unlimited option and it was during an El Nino year when it rained pretty much every day. We were going stir crazy and it was a great outlet.

My kids also loved it. I took both my older ones from 18-24 months. I think that's the age when they are mobile and running, and really need to release some energy. You can check if there are other similar, non-chain options in your area. There's another place here called My Gym that my kids also loved.

 

[mamathompson]

You're welcome. It seems do-able to me. I don't have kids so I couldn't comment on the kid friendly aspect with any first hand knowledge. While plenty of families visit the Keys, it strikes me as more adult centered with lots of bars and adult themed souvenirs.

Thanks, this gives me something to think about. The main goal DH has is driving the bridge and seeing the Fort. It's one of his bucket list items and my DS12 recently read about it and is super interested as well.

 

[Haley R]

My second had terrible eczema so I was never a big fan of chlorinated pools with him.

I liked MOPS (Christian ministry but you don't need to belong to a church to attend) when mine were little. We moved a ton and some groups were better than others but they were generally warm and welcoming (a few were a bit cliquey).

Our pool is a salt water pool so I wonder if that makes a difference

 

[havaneselover]

Our pool is a salt water pool so I wonder if that makes a difference

That should be perfect since it has less chlorine. DD swims year round in an ozone pool. That's another good option. Chlorine is just harsh on skin and hair.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

The people mover was briefly on fire tonight!!

Turns out it was probably just the escalator or something lol!

 

[Haley R]

I totally agree. As a PT, I have seen some awful tramp injuries. I also have 2 nieces with elbow injuries from the trampoline. My kids were not allowed on a trampoline. Just not worth it.
@Haley R You sound like you’re going to be a great mom! My years as a stay at home mom were amazing. I hope you enjoy every minute!

Thank you that’s very reassuring to hear lol. I’m just excited to get started! It’s almost like teaching but I only have to focus on one student! I even told Dh I plan to make some kind of schedule as the baby gets older to make sure we’re doing different things every day. Otherwise I could see myself getting stuck in a rut

 

[NewbieMom]

Ok unsolicited advice, but trampolines cause a huge percentage of kids’ visits to ERs. I wouldn’t do a trampoline anything with a little kid. Even my older kiddo has done the trampoline park parties and there is almost always someone hurt. My kid also almost got his teeth knocked out and was bleeding from the mouth from a bouncy place. Ymmv.

No experience with trampolines because I avoid taking my kids, but I would agree on the bouncy places. My kids have had "run ins" and accidents with other children at bouncy houses even with me watching them. (Keep in mind adults cannot go in with them at most places.) The difference between a 2 year old and a 5 year old is still pretty great, and 5 year olds don't always know to watch for the little ones especially when they're having so much fun bouncing around.

 

[NewbieMom]

Begin planning how to visit the Galapagos and not pay real money for it.

Looking forward to reading about your planning for this trip. This is my ultimate bucket list trip.

 

[DaveL]

The membership offer I had specified it must be used at a web address listed. I used it on a different membership offer (like the one you posted). Hasn’t credited yet. View attachment 462091

I also had $15 off 30 on another card. I just realized both the membership and order posted to the same card, despite me adding the second card and double checking it was on the order I placed. Apparently I should have triple checked.

Yes that’s the $25 offer I was credited even though I didn’t click through the Amex specific link. I was nervous it wouldn’t track because I used a different link, but ultimately I did receive the credit. It took about 5 days to receive the credit. I also used the $15 off $30 right after I received the $20 e-gift from Sams, which took a few hours after signing up.
ETA: my Amex offer had the same language must use that specific link. I did not and it still credited.

I had both the $15 and $25 offers on my card last year and this year, Last year when I did my renewal I got the $15 then like two months later the $25 showed up... So tried it again this year, added both the $15 and $25 then did a renewal online. When you click that link it forwards to the renewal site if you are already a member. The $15 offer is showing up as used but the credit has not hit yet. So I'll give it two months again and see if my luck continues.

Edit: Just checked my card and sometime today the $15 posted. The $25 still shows unused but it did that last year and then posted months later without a single additional charge from SAMs on that card.

 

[chattadisser]

I’ve done Gymboree for 2 years with my toddler. I think its fun and social for the babies! I’m not a stay at home mom but my husband and I have flexible schedules so we enjoy going. There is another brand called Little Gym and I felt like that one helped more with motor milestones and such. I plan on enrolling our new guy after flu season!

We had a Little Gym when my kids were younger and we LOVED it. Great for birthday parties too!

@Haley R - look into swimming lessons in your area. I took all 3 of mine at 6 months. It’s a great “mommy/daddy and me” activity where you can meet other parents with babies. And your child will learn a very important life skill.

I can't agree with this more. I swam competitively growing up and in college and also taught swim lessons in college. I taught all age groups and my first goal for them, no matter how old they were, was so that if they fell in water, they wouldn't panic and could get themselves safely out of the water. Overcoming any fear they had was the hardest part. So start him early just playing with you in the water.

Now having said all that, I couldn't teach my own kids to swim! They wouldn't listen to me so off to paid swim lessons we went.

 

[orangecuse]

I had to call to get mine. Then somebody pointed out it’s in the confirmation. Are you sure you’re using the right number?

I tried the confirmation # and the # disney gave me on the phone when I called and neither work.

 

[IFlossU]

That’s what I was hoping. It will be really bad if mine doesn’t credit since it went on the wrong card and won’t get the other offer. Essentially $25 for a membership I didn’t need and regular Sam’s price for a Disney GC (which is way more than I usually pay)

I do hope this all works out for you. I’m hopeful you’ll at least get the $25 membership credit.

Our pool is a salt water pool so I wonder if that makes a difference

So all this pool information is news to me. We’re in Arizona and both our kids were born in August. Ummm...we took our babies in the pool by around 2 weeks of age, daily. We also have a salt water pool, and in August it’s naturally sitting around 90-95 degrees. It never occurred to me we shouldn’t take the babies in the pool, and my OB/Pediatricians’ certainly never cautioned us against it. My babies seemed to always like floating around in our arms out there. And well, here we are 12 years later and my kids SEEM ok

 

[miztressuz]

Yes. I just checked my link and it's still working so your mom should be able to generate one for you to use.

I've been looking around trying to find it to see if it was still the same promo and finally found it! (it is - $20 for your friend, $10 for you) On phone and on the mobile site I couldn't figure it out, but switched to desktop view in the browser and easy peasy under the "Your account" drop down.

We'll be flip flopping this year. Mom had a membership for ages that I would use on occasion. Convinced her to do the trade off, so I got a new one last Jan and now in the next month or so we'll get a new one for someone this year. If another stackable deal doesn't come out, $30 in eGC + the Amex offer seems pretty good.