I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

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I have 2 Sharks. Love them. We are 4-5 people and 3 cats, one being a long-hair. They clean nicely, rarely get stuck. Downstairs I have a self emptying one (IQ Self Emptying XL) and upstairs is just a basic Shark (Ion AV761). Both bought around Black Friday last year for much less than Roomba. The mapping feature on my downstairs isn't the greatest. I love that I can control them both by app. The upstairs one didn't quite dock one night, drained it's battery and blew the motherboard. Shark sent an entirely new machine. Other than that I love them and wouldn't hesitate to buy another. My friend has the same self emptying Shark and a Eufy upstairs, she likes both of hers, but feels the Shark is a bit better.
I feel like the mapping is a little better on the one I bought this year vs last year, both are the IQ self emptying. Usually only gets stuck on cat toys though... which reminds me, I think I forgot to pick the problem cat toy up today! I usually throw it on the coffee table and in the evening the cat pushes it off to play with :rotfl:
 


Adding to the Royal Caribbean/Puerto Rico discussion. We sailed on a 9 night Southern Caribbean out of Miami on Explorer in February 2020 (yes, right before lock down). We had already been on Liberty and Harmony. I do love the size of the Voyager Class ships (my favorite size is the Freedom class). We enjoy the putt-putt, rock walls, ice skating, and water slides. I will say though, Explorer was looking a little rough around the edges; nothing horrible, but we noticed some rust and maintenance that probably should have been dealt with. It would not stop me from sailing her if the itinerary was one I wanted though. Regarding leaving from Puerto Rico, we have done that twice - both times on Disney. I do agree completely with what a previous poster said about the family groups being quite large, i.e. they would kind of take over areas and walk ways. It is more of an inconvenience than anything, but one that did not change over the course of the cruise. We love Puerto Rico and have spent several days there pre-cruises and would do it again. But with the caveat that it is a different clientele from one that sails from say Fort Lauderdale or Miami.
Funny, we got off the RCCL Freedom in early March 2020, just before a Star Wars cruise left. They were decorating the ship as we departed. Maybe the last sailing before the end.
Thanks for the report. We have an 8 day booked leaving October 30th. I'll feel much better after our rapid tests come back negative! I was going to call around today and make sure they are not having any shortages on tests locally. Still tossing around the idea of buying one of those proctored tests so we will for sure have one available when we need it.
RCCL had a testing van outside in the garage where the separation queue started. Pricey at $105 per person, but got our friends onboard. For some reason they took the 3-day PCR test and didn’t get the results in time.
Ditto, thanks for this report! It was probably me who asked, and I'm glad to hear it went well! Our cruise isn't until first week of January, so I am watching and listening of how everyone's is going to get an idea.
Timing the tests can be a problem, and you might have to travel to get an appointment. I took my test in FL the day before sailing. Other families (who ended up backing out and doing an all-inclusive in Cancun) had their testing canceled the day before their scheduled appointment. There seemed to be more availability in FL.

On another note, I think cruising may be safer, travel-wise than flying out of country. One of the group who opted for the all-inclusive in Mexico, is still there quarantined by himself in a room he has no key for. Has to test negative on PCR before they let him leave. Doc said it sometimes takes a month.

On the cruise there was no testing for unsick, vaccinated passengers, and even if a child tested positive I think they would allow self quarantine in FL where you could hotel or rent a car and drive home.

ETA: his lunch one day:
 

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Anyone love their robotic vacuum? I need one to deal with all the stuff the puppy brings in the house. Sam's has the Roomba E5 on sale for $230 and Best Buy has the 694 for $250 (plus I can go through RMN).
We have a non-mapping Roomba. It does the job, but it drives me insane. It goes over the same areas 484737x and then never covers other areas.

I’d definitely invest a bit more to get a model with mapping in the future.
 
We have a non-mapping Roomba. It does the job, but it drives me insane. It goes over the same areas 484737x and then never covers other areas.

I’d definitely invest a bit more to get a model with mapping in the future.
I'm curious on these things. I would want it in my kitchen, I'm sure it could go around the island, but can it manage the dining table and chairs?
 


Got my outbound booked in biz but couldn't get it on sept 1 or Aug 31 as I wanted so moved back to Aug 24. Will be one more day vacation but I'll get one more day over there. Fingers crossed I can get biz on the Sunday return but will do economy if I have to go come back on the day I need.

The wait ended up about 30 min.
Are you headed to Japan? I can't recall.
 
I feel like the mapping is a little better on the one I bought this year vs last year, both are the IQ self emptying. Usually only gets stuck on cat toys though... which reminds me, I think I forgot to pick the problem cat toy up today! I usually throw it on the coffee table and in the evening the cat pushes it off to play with :rotfl:
I've got one kitty that loves string so she has a few laying around. We have to remember to pick those up.

That poor little baby fell from upstairs Sunday night (not the first time) and broke a tooth. Had a trip to the emergency vet to get half the tooth removed from her bottom lip and a trip to the vet tomorrow for a follow up and probably scheduling to have the rest of the tooth removed. All this money and I have no MSR at the moment.
 
Anyone love their robotic vacuum? I need one to deal with all the stuff the puppy brings in the house. Sam's has the Roomba E5 on sale for $230 and Best Buy has the 694 for $250 (plus I can go through RMN).
I loved my Roombas when they worked. I had two and they both died. One died shortly after the warranty ended and the other lasted about another year after that. This was several years ago though, so hopefully they have improved. Kind of silly, but what I liked most was the psychological trigger. While the Roomba was cleaning the floor, I was more motivated to clean something else in the house. 😊
 
Funny, we got off the RCCL Freedom in early March 2020, just before a Star Wars cruise left. They were decorating the ship as we departed. Maybe the last sailing before the end.

RCCL had a testing van outside in the garage where the separation queue started. Pricey at $105 per person, but got our friends onboard. For some reason they took the 3-day PCR test and didn’t get the results in time.

Timing the tests can be a problem, and you might have to travel to get an appointment. I took my test in FL the day before sailing. Other families (who ended up backing out and doing an all-inclusive in Cancun) had their testing canceled the day before their scheduled appointment. There seemed to be more availability in FL.

On another note, I think cruising may be safer, travel-wise than flying out of country. One of the group who opted for the all-inclusive in Mexico, is still there quarantined by himself in a room he has no key for. Has to test negative on PCR before they let him leave. Doc said it sometimes takes a month.

On the cruise there was no testing for unsick, vaccinated passengers, and even if a child tested positive I think they would allow self quarantine in FL where you could hotel or rent a car and drive home.

ETA: his lunch one day:
I guess I better read up on this. I didn’t realize you needed to test if you have a vax card. I wonder if that’s true out of PR also. I have two flights booked while I wait to see when DS can go. So the earlier flight we would need to test in PR instead of at home.
 
So I am thoroughly confusing myself about hotel status. My hyatt status says good through Feb 2023. Is that a special covid policy or is it always like a companion pass where you earn for the rest of that year plus the whole following year? I couldn't find an end date for my Marriott status.
 
So I am thoroughly confusing myself about hotel status. My hyatt status says good through Feb 2023. Is that a special covid policy or is it always like a companion pass where you earn for the rest of that year plus the whole following year? I couldn't find an end date for my Marriott status.
Yes to this part, I mean you attain that status in the current year, it carries through the Feb of the year two years from now.
 
Timing the tests can be a problem, and you might have to travel to get an appointment. I took my test in FL the day before sailing. Other families (who ended up backing out and doing an all-inclusive in Cancun) had their testing canceled the day before their scheduled appointment. There seemed to be more availability in FL.

On another note, I think cruising may be safer, travel-wise than flying out of country. One of the group who opted for the all-inclusive in Mexico, is still there quarantined by himself in a room he has no key for. Has to test negative on PCR before they let him leave. Doc said it sometimes takes a month.

On the cruise there was no testing for unsick, vaccinated passengers, and even if a child tested positive I think they would allow self quarantine in FL where you could hotel or rent a car and drive home.
I do feel better about going on a cruise out of FL than flying out of the country right now. And we're driving, so it's only 6 hours drive for us. We'll try to get appointments at Walgreens in our hometown on Tuesday, we drive down Wednesday, and we board on Thursday. It sounds easy, but I know the testing aspect can throw a wrench into things. Testing appointments have been hard to come by around here. I know people that are waiting until midnight when the appointments go live online, to get appointments 2 days out.
We have a non-mapping Roomba. It does the job, but it drives me insane. It goes over the same areas 484737x and then never covers other areas.

I’d definitely invest a bit more to get a model with mapping in the future.
Okay so we have a eufy, non-mapping. So it's not "Smart". Got it on Prime Day I think for $100 bucks, so it was cheaper or as cheap as a regular vacuum. That thing picks up a TON of junk, and goes places we never vacuumed before. But agreed, the thing will go over the same area 5,000 times, and miss other spots completely. Our next one will definitely be a smarter edition, lol.
 
For anyone buying Walmart gift cards online for 5x bonus this quarter. Normally I would just
buy 500 each month to use at Sams Club. I see though it is 5.95 charge shipping is not free.

Are you buying all in one order? Every Walmart near me is supercenter and i just read where
some are coding at groceries in store? I know no matter what i purchase it reads groceries
on my statement. So that will not count if i get gift card in store? Just order online?
 
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So I am thoroughly confusing myself about hotel status. My hyatt status says good through Feb 2023. Is that a special covid policy or is it always like a companion pass where you earn for the rest of that year plus the whole following year? I couldn't find an end date for my Marriott status.

My Marriott is Feb 2023. I got platinum first in December 2020 which was good until Feb 2022. Then, I auto earned platinum in January 2021 which took me to Feb 2023. That was earned using 2 credit cards and 25 nights for being platinum the previous year. So, if you had it in 2020, and have a biz and a personal Marriott card, you would have it until Feb 2023. Or if you didn't have it and earned it in 2021.

Your Hyatt status follows a similar formula - 1/2 the nights needed, but you would have had to actually rent a room to get beyond discoverist. The credit card gave 5 nights for discoverist.
 
I do feel better about going on a cruise out of FL than flying out of the country right now. And we're driving, so it's only 6 hours drive for us. We'll try to get appointments at Walgreens in our hometown on Tuesday, we drive down Wednesday, and we board on Thursday. It sounds easy, but I know the testing aspect can throw a wrench into things. Testing appointments have been hard to come by around here. I know people that are waiting until midnight when the appointments go live online, to get appointments 2 days out.

Okay so we have a eufy, non-mapping. So it's not "Smart". Got it on Prime Day I think for $100 bucks, so it was cheaper or as cheap as a regular vacuum. That thing picks up a TON of junk, and goes places we never vacuumed before. But agreed, the thing will go over the same area 5,000 times, and miss other spots completely. Our next one will definitely be a smarter edition, lol.
If your cruise is out of Miami-Dade County, testing here is very easy and very quick. This past month was busy with testing for us and we had rapid tests back within an hour and PCR tests back within 24 hours (if not within hours) every single time. Plus the largest testing place near me is now 24 hours and same-day daytime testing appointments are readily available. All the info is on the miamidade dot gov website.
 
Going to transfer 100k to Delta as a precaution.

(Edit) Sent 100k miles to Delta....I really hate the tax thing where I need to pay $60 to transfer my miles. Wonder if there are any other good MR redemption to transfer out just in case. I would use points to offset charges but the value is soooooo bad.

I didn’t know there was a transfer fee.
I like to transfer to Hilton, 2 Hilton pts for every MR pt.
Virgin Atlantic has some decent non-peak awards to Europe with reasonable taxes. Could be another option.
 
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