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

[mmmears]

Learned something new tonight. GE expires on your birthday, not 5 years from the day you get it. DH had looked his up and said we had several months to renew, but then when looking more carefully, he found that DD's has already expired. It was really hard to get those interview dates 5 years ago, so I'm not looking forward to this. Here we GO(ES) again.

 

[snugglebug]

Learned something new tonight. GE expires on your birthday, not 5 years from the day you get it. DH had looked his up and said we had several months to renew, but then when looking more carefully, he found that DD's has already expired. It was really hard to get those interview dates 5 years ago, so I'm not looking forward to this. Here we GO(ES) again.

Thank you for pointing that out! I'm going to note that on my calendar now. How far in advance of expiration can you renew?

 

[Psychodisney]

Thanks all for helping me think it through. My family loves that I do all the planning. They don’t want to hear my what ifs and what should we do.

Should have added some information. DS23, AA airlines, just carryon luggage, Saturday July 31@11am. Next best option adds ~2 hours travel time and goes from Columbus to Charolette to Kalispell. I hate flying east and then west just on principle. Trying to use his credit from a cancelled COVID flight in 2020. Other wise I would pick Delta which has a better choice. I’ll probably go with my gut and go with the longer layover.

Not being United is a plus. 11am time is a plus as well. Summer late afternoons and evenings see more issues with thunderstorms.

 

[Alexle2007]

Learned something new tonight. GE expires on your birthday, not 5 years from the day you get it. DH had looked his up and said we had several months to renew, but then when looking more carefully, he found that DD's has already expired. It was really hard to get those interview dates 5 years ago, so I'm not looking forward to this. Here we GO(ES) again.

I think sometimes with renewals you don’t need the interview. I should look at ours since we are approaching the 5 year mark and DH’s bday is this month.

 

[pinkxray]

Be sure to check the chase travel portal. They have quite a few activities on there (at least for Oahu). Found some luau’s and other excursions. I’m holding off booking until I know for sure we are going!

Thanks for posting this. We are planning an Oahu trip next year too. I always forget to check activities on Chase. They have a couple things we had planned to do so this is definitely helpful.

 

[pinkxray]

@becauseimnew
Which luau do you plan on attending? I see the paradise cove one in the portal. I wasn’t originally going to do a luau but now I am kind thinking I should.

 

[Alexle2007]

@becauseimnew
Which luau do you plan on attending? I see the paradise cove one in the portal. I wasn’t originally going to do a luau but now I am kind thinking I should.

This is one thing we sadly did not get to do while we were there. They were all sold out.

 

[happ]

I have seen many issues with marriage certificates reported, seems to vary by state, do you have a passport? I am planning to take my passport and SS card, which both have my married name, and bypass the birth certificate altogether when I try for a real ID. Looks like Virginia says passport or birth cert required.

Unfortunately, my passport expired many years ago so they won't accept it.

 

[happ]

I have seen many issues with marriage certificates reported, seems to vary by state, do you have a passport? I am planning to take my passport and SS card, which both have my married name, and bypass the birth certificate altogether when I try for a real ID. Looks like Virginia says passport or birth cert required.

Unfortunately, my passport expired many years ago so they won't accept it.

I just checked the requirements for getting a passport and I don't see anything about having to prove a name change. It looks like all you need is an ID. So, I could get a new passport and then use that to prove my name for Real ID. Am I missing something?

 

[disfanforlife]

I got a card in the mail from Amex for Hilton Honors Card no fee card.
$100 statement credit and $100K bonus points.
is this a decent offer?

 

[ambgoph]

I just checked the requirements for getting a passport and I don't see anything about having to prove a name change. It looks like all you need is an ID. So, I could get a new passport and then use that to prove my name for Real ID. Am I missing something?

Another option when you get a passport, also get a passport card. You can use the passport card as the Real ID.

I didn’t want to go through all of the hoops of getting the Real ID, so when I renewed my passport, I added the passport card which was the same cost as updating my license to the Real ID. It means carrying another card in my wallet along with my license, but I don’t care.

 

[becauseimnew]

@becauseimnew
Which luau do you plan on attending? I see the paradise cove one in the portal. I wasn’t originally going to do a luau but now I am kind thinking I should.

I only saw 2 options, the Toa Luau and Chief's Luau, and they both have 5 star reviews on Trip Advisor so we will probably go with Toa Luau only due to the cost. We have to pay for 5A & 1C.

 

[becauseimnew]

I got a card in the mail from Amex for Hilton Honors Card no fee card.
$100 statement credit and $100K bonus points.
is this a decent offer?

Yes!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I think sometimes with renewals you don’t need the interview. I should look at ours since we are approaching the 5 year mark and DH’s bday is this month.

When I did my bosses renewal online 2 years ago they didn’t require her to go for another interview...not sure how they decide who does or does not need one..she was 78 at the time

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Is getting a Real ID that much hassle? I have an enhanced driver's license so I can cross the border w/o a passport. When you live in MI, and Canada is closer than Ohio, it just makes sense, LOL. I now have the passport too though.

My DD just got her driver's license. I decided to pay the extra $15 to get her the enhanced license (since she doesn't have a passport yet). It took all of 30 extra seconds to get that vs the regular license. I know it requires more "papers" but we had her birth cert and everything else for her license anyways.

I've had the enhanced for years...essentially since MI started to offer them. And the enhanced is essentially the same as a passport card so it's already a Real ID. I'm just shocked if it's that much of a PITA in other states.

 

[havaneselover]

Is getting a Real ID that much hassle? I have an enhanced driver's license so I can cross the border w/o a passport. When you live in MI, and Canada is closer than Ohio, it just makes sense, LOL. I now have the passport too though.

My DD just got her driver's license. I decided to pay the extra $15 to get her the enhanced license (since she doesn't have a passport yet). It took all of 30 extra seconds to get that vs the regular license. I know it requires more "papers" but we had her birth cert and everything else for her license anyways.

I've had the enhanced for years...essentially since MI started to offer them. And the enhanced is essentially the same as a passport card so it's already a Real ID. I'm just shocked if it's that much of a PITA in other states.

So the issue here (Virginia) is going to the DMV is still pretty difficult due to COVID. I got a real ID a few months before COVID shut everything down because my regular license was expiring. But yeah, in normal cirucumstances it shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[becauseimnew]

Is getting a Real ID that much hassle? I have an enhanced driver's license so I can cross the border w/o a passport. When you live in MI, and Canada is closer than Ohio, it just makes sense, LOL. I now have the passport too though.

My DD just got her driver's license. I decided to pay the extra $15 to get her the enhanced license (since she doesn't have a passport yet). It took all of 30 extra seconds to get that vs the regular license. I know it requires more "papers" but we had her birth cert and everything else for her license anyways.

I've had the enhanced for years...essentially since MI started to offer them. And the enhanced is essentially the same as a passport card so it's already a Real ID. I'm just shocked if it's that much of a PITA in other states.

In Oklahoma, there is a 3 month wait for an appointment. Many people are driving around with expired DLs because of the backlog.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

So the issue here (Virginia) is going to the DMV is still pretty difficult due to COVID. I got a real ID a few months before COVID shut everything down because my regular license was expiring. But yeah, in normal cirucumstances it shouldn't be a big deal.

That makes sense. Yeah, I booked my daughter's license appointment 6 mos in advance, LOL. But I would have booked it either way to save me from having to spend 57 hours at our Secretary of State, LOL. But now everyone has to have an appt, and so you almost have to book it 3+ months in advance, or hope you get lucky w/ the handful of appts they drop daily.

I think I can simply renew my DL for now, I expire this year. I remember when I got it, I joked that for 8 years I'll get to rock an ID w/ braces, LOL.

ETA: I just checked and my enhanced will be good with or without the Real ID star. Which means I can save the nightmare and just renew mine online

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

I just checked the requirements for getting a passport and I don't see anything about having to prove a name change. It looks like all you need is an ID. So, I could get a new passport and then use that to prove my name for Real ID. Am I missing something?

When I had to get a new passport after getting married and changing my name, I had to send in a certified copy of my marriage license in order for my passport to show my married name. If your expired passport already shows your new name, I would assume you already proved it. Also, I second a PP that suggested you get a passport card when you renew. So much more easy to get than the Real ID. I was born in another country and my original birth certificate is not in its best shape so I can just imagine what they would say to that as evidence of my identity!

 

[elgerber]

I figured my passport is good for another five years, I will just use that instead of bothering with a REAL ID.