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

[Haley R]

I appreciate these thoughts so much. I hated to feel callous but it makes me somewhat happy to see that other people I’d consider reasonable feel similar to me.

I also like the phrase: “Your inability to plan for the future is not my responsibility.”

I sit in on all our financial meetings with our advisor but a lot of it goes over my head. I know we have term and permanent life insurance. I have no idea how much but I think it’s a decent amount? I think only Dh has permanent but again it all goes over my head. I try to understand it

 

[gottalovepluto]

All the warm and fuzzies I had towards DL? I take each one back. I booked my flight on miles and they will not allow me to exercise option 3 for a miles re-deposit. I don’t care if they expire 12/31/20 like the vouchers do but to allow cash flights to cancel now for a voucher they can use anytime on any flight until 12/31 and not allow mileage booking to do anything but change until their departure date... grrrrr....

 

[tink1970]

Virgin Australia
AKL-SYD
SYD-LAX

Lounges
Strata -AKL
Emirates The House- SYD

We arrived at the airport and I set something off so all my stuff had to be screened. Ugh.
Then we headed to the Strata Lounge which is the lounge for Virgin Australia's elite as well as business as well as a PP lounge.

Here's a good review:

https://thepointsguy.com/reviews/strata-lounge-auckland/
She was there during lunch-just as an addition, during breakfast the hot items were bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs and maybe oatmeal. Also for those who like things I don't, congee, miso soup and fried rice. For the English there were also baked beans and broiled tomatoes. All of the usual suspects for cold options-fruits, breads, cereal yogurt, etc. My favorite were jet plane dummies though-so quirky! The Strata's bathrooms were lovely and the large grouping of 5 had showers in each of them (there are 2 restrooms on the other side without showers). This was a very good lounge, imho. Reflecting the Kiwi attitude, on the gate monitor if a flight didn't yet have a gate assignment, the instructions were "relax." I loved that.

The 3 1/2 hour flight was very nice-only 8 seats in business and 6 of them were occupied-apparently Virgin Australia doesn't routinely upgrade which I found interesting. The FA was completely friendly and professional and breakfast #2 was good-I got the fruit, pastry and frittata with an amazing sauce (really fancy ketchup!). I had 2 wonderful cups of tea-I really enjoy hot tea but it's a treat I reserve for traveling to UK and UK influenced countries, lol. No setback entertainment but that wasn't an issue for me-I had a good book and was dozing a bit!

The transit was easy in SYD although we had to clear security again so out came liquids, etc. Although we'd been given transit cards for immigration we didn't clear immigration so I was a little confused by that.

The House/Emirates Lounge, SYD

The final not my review, lol.

https://www.thepointspro.com.au/the-house-lounge-sydney-airport/
I was so sad I'd already eaten twice since I saw some truly lovely dishes on the tables, oh well! This lounge had a mini fridge for diet coke and I should have grabbed more prior to my flight but silly me believed the reviews that the service on Virgin Australia was a wonderful and I didn't think I needed more than one. I was wrong...

VA1 SYD-LAX

I'm just going to put it out there-the best part about this 13 hour flight was the salt and pepper shakers.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Locatio...728931-i283425447-Virgin_Australia-World.html
The flight started off well-predeparture nuts and my diet coke. The FA seemed on top of things and took my lunch order as well as the breakfast order. He and I disagreed on the size I needed for my pjs (I deferred to him but I was correct-small was just a wee bit more fitted than I like). They were thin-a plus over qantas-but no pockets-a negative. The lavatory was smelly and not as nice as qantas...but functional at least!

There are 2 pillows but no blankets on the seat since VA says their FAs will come by and make your bed after meal service. This didn't happen and although I tried to get the FAs attention (they made up maybe half the cabin), they ignored me. I was in a passive aggressive mood so didn't go to the galley and request it so essentially I slept a little but very little and was cold. There was one bottle of water at the seat, but no other beverage service-likely explained by the bar area-use in lieu of-but that was hard since at 5 hours into the flight it still wasn't set up or staffed. Finally I broke down and asked in the galley for another and then before landing when I finally made it back to the bar, it was closed up but there were a few bottles out. I don't know if it was me or them but I thought the FAs were definitely not super interested in service and in the am much more interested in eating their breakfast in the galley.

Both lunch and breakfast were good and I have no complaints except the hot chocolate was powdered and no refills on any beverages were offered (I know there's a theme here!).

I was very disappointed in the service received and I was very glad I used my Amex Business card/MRs to book this since I spent 380K MRs (2X190) but received 35% back so spent a total for 247K on these seats. Since I used MRs via the Amex Biz Plat travel booking, they did count as cash tickets so we earned MQMs, MQDs and miles on Delta with this flight...so something good came out of it!

Once we landed, we quickly cleared customs and immigration at LAX (not a sentence I ever thought I'd type, lol), got our luggage and headed from TBIT to terminal 2-a short 10-ish min walk. Our flights were on a separate RT ticket on Delta, but we were able to check in and drop luggage at the sky priority area-a great perk of being gold medallion and the main reason I consciously worked last year to requalify for gold. Although DH's bag was overweight, he wasn't charged the fee, although I had my Amex (rose) gold out just in case!

The sky club terminal 2 LAX was fine-nothing like Qantas, Strata or The House, but I was able to eat and shower and have unlimited diet cokes so I was happy. Our flight to ATL was uneventful and notably we were served full beverages with snacks twice plus a coffee service plus water (hear that Virgin?).
I haven't flown economy long haul for quite a while prior to this trip and it really wasn't bad. I'm not sure why I remember it differently but it's good to know that as long as I'm in the back, in an aisle seat and bring my own large diet dr peppers/cokes, I'm going to be fine.

We were in several lounges since our gates/terminals kept changing but ATL is essentially my home airport so no biggie, no surprises. We had a small dinner in sky club in D (the smallest and worst but next to our gate) and boarding was quick and easy!


ATL-PNS was quick and we arrived 20 min early which was very nice after traveling for a total of 38 hours. It's good to be home!

Quick recap for those who like numbers:

Flights
Qantas 2 seats in F 220K AA miles (retails between 10-11K/pp)
Virgin Atlantic 2 seats in The Business paid 247K MRs (retails between $1800-$4200/pp)

Hotels
PH Sydney- 2 nights 30K Hyatt points/night-base rate is around $700/night but our upgraded room was close to $1100 when we were there
Auckland Hilton 1 night for 60K HHonors points- base rate is around $400 but our upgraded room often is higher (especially on the weekend) -around $350 up to $700 (crazy variations!)

Money-both the Australian and NZ dollars were running around .67 to $1US. Taxis were, as expected, expensive but in the end less than I thought since the conversion rate was good. As I mentioned, $96 NZ so around $65 from the harbor to the airport and in Sydney from the hotel to the port around $48 AUD so $32. From the airport in Sydney to the PH Sydney, according to Chase I paid $73.35-that one was a lot but it was easy and sometimes one pays for convenience.

I had received AUD and NZD cash from my parents for our trip and then took all of my 5% cash back from the 2 Discovers, deposited that in my BOA and then ordered more cash. We were able to really not worry about cash in NZD and used it for tips (drivers, guides, housekeeping), meals and souvenirs. In Australia I hadn't gotten as much so we used cc for dining out and souvenirs and cash for tips (guides drivers, housekeeping) and gelato. In retrospect I'm not sure I would have changed much-we ended up with about $7NZD in coins and a bill so I should have left more for housekeeping in Auckland I guess?

The 'net is divided about tipping in Australia and NZ but Viking recommended tipping the tour guides and operators so I did, plus housekeeping since I would hate that job so if I received a little surprise doing it well I think it would be nice. It's my thing and I feel that putting a little good karma out there isn't bad. Everyone is different though so that's just my philosophy.

I paid OOP for our cruise but I don't mind-I play this game so I can travel more comfortably in the style I desire. I'm one of those who would prefer to travel once a year well versus many times not well and I'm definitely willing to pay cash OOP for something I feel has value. Again, back to the theory that there's no wrong way to play the game.

This was likely one of the best trips I've taken in my life-it was amazing and I enjoyed both Australia and New Zealand so so much. I'd love to return someday but first I must explore some new places

ETA- to keep this relevant-
cards I packed and why

Barclay arrival (no fee) for chip and PIN-didn't really need it tbh
American Express Plat sky club (although they really Do Know Who I Am, lol-it's on their system, I'm not important, lol)
American Express (rose) gold- I have $100 airline credit so just in case our suitcases were too heavy (1 was but they didn't charge us)
American Express Hilton Aspire (so I can earn a zillion points on my mini bar coke zero)
Chase Hyatt Visa (for misc at the Hyatt Regency LAX and PHSydney)
Chase Sapphire Reserve-for dining and taxis

 

[ten6mom]

So all the talk of wills and life insurance has me thinking.... is there such a thing as a professional who will help us figure all this stuff out without charging an exorbitant fee? We don't have anything complicated but each of us has a prior marriage (and kids from those marriages... no kids together) and I'd prefer things not to go to probate if it's not necessary (if that's even a consideration).

The kids are 22 and 14 (his) and 15 and 13 (mine) but each of their other parents is still living so I would think that if something happened to me, my boys would automatically be their dad's sole responsibility, etc.

Do you think I need a real person or can this all be done on something like legalzoom?

And how do I find the right life insurance for us? We each just have the stuff through our jobs.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Coachella to October due to virus?... Bloomberg

Honestly... probably a good call. Gives people a bit more time to reschedule id they don’t sit in this. (And now that it’s “out” they won’t be able to sit on it very long...)

 

[Artygal90]

So all the talk of wills and life insurance has me thinking.... is there such a thing as a professional who will help us figure all this stuff out without charging an exorbitant fee? We don't have anything complicated but each of us has a prior marriage (and kids from those marriages... no kids together) and I'd prefer things not to go to probate if it's not necessary (if that's even a consideration).

The kids are 22 and 14 (his) and 15 and 13 (mine) but each of their other parents is still living so I would think that if something happened to me, my boys would automatically be their dad's sole responsibility, etc.

Do you think I need a real person or can this all be done on something like legalzoom?

And how do I find the right life insurance for us? We each just have the stuff through our jobs.

I can't help with life insurance, but I do work for an estate & probate attorney. I always tell people that it's cheaper to pay my boss to do your estate planning ahead of time than to pay her to untangle everything after you die. I can tell you she has had more than one person do wills & powers through LegalZoom that then did not hold up in court for one reason or another. Every state has their little quirks and the one-size-fits-all software can't always account for all of it. Of course, she is always thinking of the worst-case scenarios since she's been practicing for ages and has seen every complicated situation under the sun and I'm sure some people do LegalZoom and are fine.

What state are you in again? Probate is not always a huge PITA depending on where you are - here in TX it can be relatively painless as long as everything is set up right ahead of time. I recommend reaching out to friends for recommendations and sitting down for an appointment with someone to get a feel for what you might need. My boss at least won't charge people just to sit down and have an initial conversation, and will give a quote if clients want one before proceeding. If paying a lawyer to set up your estate planning isn't in the cards financially, reach out to your state bar and see what self-help resources they have available.

 

[wanderlust7]

And how do I find the right life insurance for us? We each just have the stuff through our jobs.

This was some years ago, but I used this site to get term life quotes:
www.quickquote.com

I liked that you don't have to give them your contact info before they give you quotes. They do ask, but you don't have to enter it at the quote stage.

For most people, term life is all you need. Whole life is very expensive and you'd be paying a lot to get the coverage you need. Here's a good explanation:
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/insurance/what-is-the-difference-between-term-whole-life-insurance/

 

[becauseimnew]

I have a “friend” that uses GoFund me for all her kids cheerleading stuff. Always asking people to pay for her girls’ camps, travel for competitions and the last one is a ring ($400) for her daughter since they won some competition in Dallas!
So tacky.

 

[WVMomof3]

To me, having debt with a $300K salary just implies mismanagement of money & living beyond one’s means It doesn’t sound like a lengthy, expensive illness was a factor. That one would get a hard pass from me.

The most appropriate response to an untimely passing is usually not online panhandling, but that does seem to be the go-to these days. I guess it’s better than “donate to my/my child’s study abroad fund!” Even funnier when they call it something like “spring break ecotourism service trip.” Donate to it yourself.

My DD went on a service fall break trip last year, that if anyone remembers went to pot before it even happened,. But anyway, when she signed up for it they said they would do fund raising. The only fundraising they promoted was to tell them to put it on Facebook. I was not happy about that and I told her NOT to do it. I do not like when people ask for money for stuff like that. She ended up paying for it all herself.

 

[first*toright]

My DD went on a service fall break trip last year, that if anyone remembers went to pot before it even happened,. But anyway, when she signed up for it they said they would do fund raising. The only fundraising they promoted was to tell them to put it on Facebook. I was not happy about that and I told her NOT to do it. I do not like when people ask for money for stuff like that. She ended up paying for it all herself.

Even better - my nephew's school team used a service that gathered email addresses from each player (they had to submit a certain number) and then sent emails, supposedly from the kid, to each email address with a link to where the person was supposed to donate. Then follow up emails putting pressure on so that the kid could meet their "goal". Such a scam - and the service got a cut of what was raised. Outsourcing panhandling (in a town that is really really well off, too). Needless to say, I did not donate a dime.

 

[Haley R]

So all the talk of wills and life insurance has me thinking.... is there such a thing as a professional who will help us figure all this stuff out without charging an exorbitant fee? We don't have anything complicated but each of us has a prior marriage (and kids from those marriages... no kids together) and I'd prefer things not to go to probate if it's not necessary (if that's even a consideration).

The kids are 22 and 14 (his) and 15 and 13 (mine) but each of their other parents is still living so I would think that if something happened to me, my boys would automatically be their dad's sole responsibility, etc.

Do you think I need a real person or can this all be done on something like legalzoom?

And how do I find the right life insurance for us? We each just have the stuff through our jobs.

The company we use is a local company in Iowa so that won’t help you much but our financial advisor doesn’t get paid from us. He takes a cut out of things like putting money in the market.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

So all the talk of wills and life insurance has me thinking.... is there such a thing as a professional who will help us figure all this stuff out without charging an exorbitant fee? We don't have anything complicated but each of us has a prior marriage (and kids from those marriages... no kids together) and I'd prefer things not to go to probate if it's not necessary (if that's even a consideration).

The kids are 22 and 14 (his) and 15 and 13 (mine) but each of their other parents is still living so I would think that if something happened to me, my boys would automatically be their dad's sole responsibility, etc.

Do you think I need a real person or can this all be done on something like legalzoom?

And how do I find the right life insurance for us? We each just have the stuff through our jobs.

I hesitate to weigh in on the legal side. I used somebody local and fairly inexpensive to do that work for us.

The life insurance comes down to a series of questions. In the event of an untimely death of either spouse, what would you need (and want) to have covered? How would it affect your household income? How might it affect the surviving spouse’s income (ie could they still do the same job)? Would you want to payoff the mortgage? Any other debts? Would it affect your ability to save and/or contribute to your children’s college education? ETC....

My wife is a SAHM so in our situation we have substantial policies on me that I renewed last year so they run through when my youngest is 24 and should be done with college. The goal of the policies are to cover my family’s living expenses without requiring my wife to go back to work. I have been rewriting the 20 year term every 2-3 years while I’m healthy (with a small uptick in premiums each renewal due to me being a little older).

We used to have a substantial amount on my wife also. Especially when the children were not of school age. The purpose was to be able to hire a full time nanny if necessary. As the children have grown (and we have no plans for more) I’ve reduced her policy somewhat since the expense of childcare would be far less at this point. Its purpose now would allow me to take a step back in my job if necessary to be more present at home or provide a safety net for a time if I was unable to work due to the grief around the situation.

So in general I advise that you have a purpose to your life insurance. While it’s not bad to have too much, it’s good to have a sense of what it’s there for and perhaps adjust as time goes along.

 

[IFlossU]

Southwest flights down again this morning. I assumed I had booked the lowest fares during the “free change” period, but my flight to LAX is down to $45/2400RR this morning

 

[first*toright]

I hesitate to weigh in on the legal side. I used somebody local and fairly inexpensive to do that work for us.

The life insurance comes down to a series of questions. In the event of an untimely death of either spouse, what would you need (and want) to have covered? How would it affect your household income? How might it affect the surviving spouse’s income (ie could they still do the same job)? Would you want to payoff the mortgage? Would it affect your ability to save and/or contribute to your children’s college education? ETC....

My wife is a SAHM so in our situation we have substantial policies on me that are I renewed last year so they run through when my youngest is 24 and should be done with college. The goal of the policies are to cover my family’s living expenses without requiring my wife to go back to work. I have been rewriting the 20 year term every 2-3 years while I’m healthy (with a small uptick in premiums each renewal due to me being a little older).

We used to have a substantial amount on my wife also. Especially when the children were not of school age. The purpose was to be able to hire a full time nanny if necessary. As the children have grown (and we have no plans for more) I’ve reduced her policy somewhat since the expense of childcare would be far less at this point. It’s purpose now would allow me to take a step back in my job if necessary to be more present at home or provide a safety net for a time if I was unable to work due to the grief around the situation.

So in general I advise that you have a purpose to your life insurance. While it’s not bad to have too much, it’s good to have a sense of what it’s there for and perhaps adjust as time goes along.

Piggybacking on this - for people who are young and healthy, the time is NOW. We didn't get on the ball until we were having kids (I was already pregnant). We have a term policy on DH that is super cheap, that will carry us through the time our kids are grown. It was based on our salary expectations 15 years ago, so its probably less than we should have gotten, but its enough. By the time we talked to the insurance people, we had found out (through pregnancy complications) that I have a genetic condition that makes me pretty much uninsurable - its easily managed with cheap medication, but insurance companies take one look and jack my premiums up so high there is no point. If I had gotten insurance before I knew about that, it would have been nice. Fortunately I'm able to get insurance through my work without having to do the health stuff. I'm eligible because I signed up as soon as I joined the company. If I were to try to increase the salary multiple, or if my coverage exceeds a certain dollar value, I would need to get a health exam, so thank goodness for the HR person who advised me when I first started to max it out. Its not enough that DH would be able to stop working forever, but its enough that it would give him a cushion to be able to adjust if anything were to happen to me. Depressing stuff, but very important.

 

[hsmamato2]

Virgin Australia
AKL-SYD
SYD-LAX

Lounges
Strata -AKL
Emirates The House- SYD

We arrived at the airport and I set something off so all my stuff had to be screened. Ugh.
Then we headed to the Strata Lounge which is the lounge for Virgin Australia's elite as well as business as well as a PP lounge.

Here's a good review:

https://thepointsguy.com/reviews/strata-lounge-auckland/
She was there during lunch-just as an addition, during breakfast the hot items were bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs and maybe oatmeal. Also for those who like things I don't, congee, miso soup and fried rice. For the English there were also baked beans and broiled tomatoes. All of the usual suspects for cold options-fruits, breads, cereal yogurt, etc. My favorite were jet plane dummies though-so quirky! The Strata's bathrooms were lovely and the large grouping of 5 had showers in each of them (there are 2 restrooms on the other side without showers). This was a very good lounge, imho. Reflecting the Kiwi attitude, on the gate monitor if a flight didn't yet have a gate assignment, the instructions were "relax." I loved that.

The 3 1/2 hour flight was very nice-only 8 seats in business and 6 of them were occupied-apparently Virgin Australia doesn't routinely upgrade which I found interesting. The FA was completely friendly and professional and breakfast #2 was good-I got the fruit, pastry and frittata with an amazing sauce (really fancy ketchup!). I had 2 wonderful cups of tea-I really enjoy hot tea but it's a treat I reserve for traveling to UK and UK influenced countries, lol. No setback entertainment but that wasn't an issue for me-I had a good book and was dozing a bit!

The transit was easy in SYD although we had to clear security again so out came liquids, etc. Although we'd been given transit cards for immigration we didn't clear immigration so I was a little confused by that.

The House/Emirates Lounge, SYD

The final not my review, lol.

https://www.thepointspro.com.au/the-house-lounge-sydney-airport/
I was so sad I'd already eaten twice since I saw some truly lovely dishes on the tables, oh well! This lounge had a mini fridge for diet coke and I should have grabbed more prior to my flight but silly me believed the reviews that the service on Virgin Australia was a wonderful and I didn't think I needed more than one. I was wrong...

VA1 SYD-LAX

I'm just going to put it out there-the best part about this 13 hour flight was the salt and pepper shakers.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Locatio...728931-i283425447-Virgin_Australia-World.html
The flight started off well-predeparture nuts and my diet coke. The FA seemed on top of things and took my lunch order as well as the breakfast order. He and I disagreed on the size I needed for my pjs (I deferred to him but I was correct-small was just a wee bit more fitted than I like). They were thin-a plus over qantas-but no pockets-a negative. The lavatory was smelly and not as nice as qantas...but functional at least!

There are 2 pillows but no blankets on the seat since VA says their FAs will come by and make your bed after meal service. This didn't happen and although I tried to get the FAs attention (they made up maybe half the cabin), they ignored me. I was in a passive aggressive mood so didn't go to the galley and request it so essentially I slept a little but very little and was cold. There was one bottle of water at the seat, but no other beverage service-likely explained by the bar area-use in lieu of-but that was hard since at 5 hours into the flight it still wasn't set up or staffed. Finally I broke down and asked in the galley for another and then before landing when I finally made it back to the bar, it was closed up but there were a few bottles out. I don't know if it was me or them but I thought the FAs were definitely not super interested in service and in the am much more interested in eating their breakfast in the galley.

Both lunch and breakfast were good and I have no complaints except the hot chocolate was powdered and no refills on any beverages were offered (I know there's a theme here!).

I was very disappointed in the service received and I was very glad I used my Amex Business card/MRs to book this since I spent 380K MRs (2X190) but received 35% back so spent a total for 247K on these seats. Since I used MRs via the Amex Biz Plat travel booking, they did count as cash tickets so we earned MQMs, MQDs and miles on Delta with this flight...so something good came out of it!

Once we landed, we quickly cleared customs and immigration at LAX (not a sentence I ever thought I'd type, lol), got our luggage and headed from TBIT to terminal 2-a short 10-ish min walk. Our flights were on a separate RT ticket on Delta, but we were able to check in and drop luggage at the sky priority area-a great perk of being gold medallion and the main reason I consciously worked last year to requalify for gold. Although DH's bag was overweight, he wasn't charged the fee, although I had my Amex (rose) gold out just in case!

The sky club terminal 2 LAX was fine-nothing like Qantas, Strata or The House, but I was able to eat and shower and have unlimited diet cokes so I was happy. Our flight to ATL was uneventful and notably we were served full beverages with snacks twice plus a coffee service plus water (hear that Virgin?).
I haven't flown economy long haul for quite a while prior to this trip and it really wasn't bad. I'm not sure why I remember it differently but it's good to know that as long as I'm in the back, in an aisle seat and bring my own large diet dr peppers/cokes, I'm going to be fine.

We were in several lounges since our gates/terminals kept changing but ATL is essentially my home airport so no biggie, no surprises. We had a small dinner in sky club in D (the smallest and worst but next to our gate) and boarding was quick and easy!


ATL-PNS was quick and we arrived 20 min early which was very nice after traveling for a total of 38 hours. It's good to be home!

Quick recap for those who like numbers:

Flights
Qantas 2 seats in F 220K AA miles (retails between 10-11K/pp)
Virgin Atlantic 2 seats in The Business paid 247K MRs (retails between $1800-$4200/pp)

Hotels
PH Sydney- 2 nights 30K Hyatt points/night-base rate is around $700/night but our upgraded room was close to $1100 when we were there
Auckland Hilton 1 night for 60K HHonors points- base rate is around $400 but our upgraded room often is higher (especially on the weekend) -around $350 up to $700 (crazy variations!)

Money-both the Australian and NZ dollars were running around .67 to $1US. Taxis were, as expected, expensive but in the end less than I thought since the conversion rate was good. As I mentioned, $96 NZ so around $65 from the harbor to the airport and in Sydney from the hotel to the port around $48 AUD so $32. From the airport in Sydney to the PH Sydney, according to Chase I paid $73.35-that one was a lot but it was easy and sometimes one pays for convenience.

I had received AUD and NZD cash from my parents for our trip and then took all of my 5% cash back from the 2 Discovers, deposited that in my BOA and then ordered more cash. We were able to really not worry about cash in NZD and used it for tips (drivers, guides, housekeeping), meals and souvenirs. In Australia I hadn't gotten as much so we used cc for dining out and souvenirs and cash for tips (guides drivers, housekeeping) and gelato. In retrospect I'm not sure I would have changed much-we ended up with about $7NZD in coins and a bill so I should have left more for housekeeping in Auckland I guess?

The 'net is divided about tipping in Australia and NZ but Viking recommended tipping the tour guides and operators so I did, plus housekeeping since I would hate that job so if I received a little surprise doing it well I think it would be nice. It's my thing and I feel that putting a little good karma out there isn't bad. Everyone is different though so that's just my philosophy.

I paid OOP for our cruise but I don't mind-I play this game so I can travel more comfortably in the style I desire. I'm one of those who would prefer to travel once a year well versus many times not well and I'm definitely willing to pay cash OOP for something I feel has value. Again, back to the theory that there's no wrong way to play the game.

This was likely one of the best trips I've taken in my life-it was amazing and I enjoyed both Australia and New Zealand so so much. I'd love to return someday but first I must explore some new places

ETA- to keep this relevant-
cards I packed and why

Barclay arrival (no fee) for chip and PIN-didn't really need it tbh
American Express Plat sky club (although they really Do Know Who I Am, lol-it's on their system, I'm not important, lol)
American Express (rose) gold- I have $100 airline credit so just in case our suitcases were too heavy (1 was but they didn't charge us)
American Express Hilton Aspire (so I can earn a zillion points on my mini bar coke zero)
Chase Hyatt Visa (for misc at the Hyatt Regency LAX and PHSydney)
Chase Sapphire Reserve-for dining and taxis

That was an awesome report!!! thanks for all the details.... amazing!

 

[hsmamato2]

I'm sure we did things the 'wrong way' back in the day..... when we had babies, we did one of those legal zoom type wills (got it specifically for our state supposedly) b/c I was worried about who would take guardianship of the kids.... at the time we also got a really cheap term life policy for DH.... it'll run out soon,since I did it to pay for the mortgage etc if something happened to DH (I'm SAHM) looking back it would have been wise to get one for myself too since I was homeschooling etc, but at least I could always be comfortable knowing that if something happened to DH I could still keep the house and raise the kids... it was like $170 per year back when we started (so cheap but it covered our basic needs) now we're at a completely different stage in our lives....

 

[disneybirds]

We stacked two term life insurance policies for DH. We have a 20 year that runs out after the youngest is out of college and then a 30 year that expires 10 years later. We did have a small 15 year policy on me, but we didn't renew it when it expired last year. I would also recommend getting these policies when you are young so they don't cost as much.

 

[disfanforlife]

Southwest flights down again this morning. I assumed I had booked the lowest fares during the “free change” period, but my flight to LAX is down to $45/2400RR this morning

Wow! That is great! Good for you! I just checked and mine are still high, but I am flying this weekend so I wasn't expecting they would go down. Waiting on booking window to open for our next flights which wont be until november.

 

[punkin]

DH's and my insurance runs out next March. My DD will be out of college (all going to plan) but my circumstances right now are such that I will need to find another policy for 53 YO DH for at least anothr 10 year term. I will probably need a very small one for me as well. Given DH's weight and cholesterol, I will be paying through the nose.

 

[becauseimnew]

Southwest flights down again this morning. I assumed I had booked the lowest fares during the “free change” period, but my flight to LAX is down to $45/2400RR this morning

wow! ours didn't drop anymore, I was able to save 3K last week. I hope these low prices stick until after I book our flights on Thursday.