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

[sinnika]

That's what I'm thinking. And for the two of us it's about a third the cost of the 9-day for all three of us. So more money for more cruises

We did another Mediterranean DCL cruise at the end of June 2011 and there were definitely more crowds and heat! We love cruising DCL during the shoulder seasons. Rates are better! Doing the Norwegian fjords in September 2022 next. Grandson will be 10 months old. He’s not even born but already booked!

 

[Hoosier John]

Do the big bills take Amex? There's a 150k for $15k spend offer out there on the business plat. $595 AF, which can be somewhat mitigated by the $200 airline credit and $200 Dell credit.

Well, that's a great question I hadn't considered! I can't tell from their website if they take Amex or not. Will call and find out Monday.
And this is exactly the type of card I'm looking for ... the bill will be larger than that, sadly

 

[Hoosier John]

We did another Mediterranean DCL cruise at the end of June 2011 and there were definitely more crowds and heat! We love cruising DCL during the shoulder seasons. Rates are better! Doing the Norwegian fjords in September 2022 next. Grandson will be 10 months old. He’s not even born but already booked!

We did it the other way with DS, he wasn't born yet but still sailed DCL.
It was cheaper that way, but he lost out on building status with DCL

 

[wanderlust7]

I’ll look into this! I do have a small consulting business as an LLC and I’ve never gotten a business specific card so I could use it for this purpose. I also thought I read about transferring my MR to Hilton as well.

Thank you for your helpful feedback! I also like the 5, 5, 3-4 configuration. My travel party is just myself, DH, DD but while all of us really enjoy travel, none of us enjoy lots of people or frequent change

The Hilton biz is at 130k for $2000 spend, additional 50k for total $10k spend. The card gives a FNC if you spend 15k. So if you had the spend, you could get 3 nights at the Grand Wailea on this one card (standard nights are 95k). Standard nights can go fast, though September might be better. So that may be an issue how fast you can do this.

There is a 30% transfer bonus on MR to Hilton now, so 1000:2600 (through 9/30). If you did 5th night free, you would need 380k Hilton points, which would work out to about 146k MRs.

 

[sinnika]

We did it the other way with DS, he wasn't born yet but still sailed DCL.
It was cheaper that way, but he lost out on building status with DCL

Hoping to have Grandson reach platinum by the time he’s 18! We are fortunate to be eligible for military rates on most of our cruises. And with his mom stationed in Europe for a few more years, I see several more European cruises in store!

 

[wanderlust7]

Well, that's a great question I hadn't considered! I can't tell from their website if they take Amex or not. Will call and find out Monday.
And this is exactly the type of card I'm looking for ... the bill will be larger than that, sadly

P2 could do one too? Or you can also do a gold biz, maybe you can find this bundle offer:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/american-express-business-gold-90000-points-signup-offer/
AF is $295 and doesn't have much benefits to recoup that. So I prefer the plat biz when it's an either or. The plat biz also comes with 1.5x on charges over $5000.

 

[tink1970]

Are we just giving up on our amex dining credits from the beginning of the month? Mine from sept 3 still hasn't posted to my surpass.

Still need to pay cell phone, have those started working?

I've given up and paid off my bills-if they retroactively post and I have a credit, I'll just add more to my CFA app...not like I won't be using them.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Do you have the app? It said “in app” but I was able to book and use through desktop. It took off discount automatically (no code) at checkout. I do have the app though.

Yeah I do but nothing there. Maybe we'll be the chosen ones in the future.

 

[softballpooh]

Y'all are so helpful!! Thank you for helping me sort through this!

If you really want to see Pearl Harbor, that’s worth a visit, but tack on one night at the beginning or end (and fly into or home from HNL) and otherwise skip Oahu. Kauai was hands down the favorite island for all 4 of us, and the one we would all most likely return to.

Based on what I've read Kauai is going to be the best match for us as well. I'm settled on the Grand Hyatt for that one and have the points to make the reservation.

Reviewing all of the notes and excursions that you and @wanderlust7 have shared, Maui is definitely the second longest stay but I'm torn there on where to stay.

There is a 30% transfer bonus on MR to Hilton now, so 1000:2600 (through 9/30). If you did 5th night free, you would need 380k Hilton points, which would work out to about 146k MRs.

Good to note! I have the MRs to transfer over to book the Grand Wailea and reading the trip reviews are quite helpful. We could also get an extra night here for 5 nights.

Right now we are finishing up our stay at Wailea Beach Villas in Maui.

However, looking up the Wailea Beach Villas through Hyatt that's much more suited to our style and comfort level. BUT, it's 244K points for only 4 nights which feels like a lot although that's exactly the type of room we'd be looking for. One line in your review of the Hyatt Residence (people, people, people) took that one right off the list! It's so silly since we have the points to feel like I can't "spend" them but the whole reason I entered this game was to offset costs for this specific trip

Also, I'm not settled on the best route to fly in and out. Do we go to Oahu 2 nights at the beginning, head to Maui, then finish at Kauai? Or reverse and go Kauai, Maui, Oahu? Or Oahu, Kauai, Maui? Part of me wants to start with the touristy since we'll be adjusting to the time change and can be up and going and then end with the relaxing.

One I get the route in order, then I can go ahead and get the reservations made!

 

[afan]

I've given up and paid off my bills-if they retroactively post and I have a credit, I'll just add more to my CFA app...not like I won't be using them.

Agree am just meeting msr on another card so I'd rather put spend on it But I also generally wouldn't eat out so much if not for this credit, grubhub and uber. I did actually use my uber for actual uber at wdw last week so no food this this month. Still have mike 40ish door dash too.

 

[iujen94]

Y'all are so helpful!! Thank you for helping me sort through this!



Based on what I've read Kauai is going to be the best match for us as well. I'm settled on the Grand Hyatt for that one and have the points to make the reservation.

Reviewing all of the notes and excursions that you and @wanderlust7 have shared, Maui is definitely the second longest stay but I'm torn there on where to stay.



Good to note! I have the MRs to transfer over to book the Grand Wailea and reading the trip reviews are quite helpful. We could also get an extra night here for 5 nights.



However, looking up the Wailea Beach Villas through Hyatt that's much more suited to our style and comfort level. BUT, it's 244K points for only 4 nights which feels like a lot although that's exactly the type of room we'd be looking for. One line in your review of the Hyatt Residence (people, people, people) took that one right off the list! It's so silly since we have the points to feel like I can't "spend" them but the whole reason I entered this game was to offset costs for this specific trip

Also, I'm not settled on the best route to fly in and out. Do we go to Oahu 2 nights at the beginning, head to Maui, then finish at Kauai? Or reverse and go Kauai, Maui, Oahu? Or Oahu, Kauai, Maui? Part of me wants to start with the touristy since we'll be adjusting to the time change and can be up and going and then end with the relaxing.

One I get the route in order, then I can go ahead and get the reservations made!

When we did Pearl Harbor for our first trip, we started there, and that’s definitely what I’d suggest. Get Oahu out of the way . If Diamond Head is of interest, you could hike Diamond Head first thing in the morning, then do Pearl Harbor, and then fly on to Maui or Kauai that evening.
As to whether to go to Maui or Kauai next, based on the excursions we did, I’d go to Maui first, because we had several super early morning activities, so I’d want to do those before getting TOO adjusted to the time change. Specifically, the Haleakala crater bike ride and the boat trip on Calypso were early mornings. We didn’t do Road to Hana, but if that’s on your list, that’s another early morning. Oh, and if you are thinking about splurging on a helicopter ride, I’d 1000% suggest doing it at Kauai over Maui.

I know you’re not sure about doing too much hotel-hopping, but I’m really glad we split up out 6 days in Maui with 3 nights in Wailea and 3 nights in Ka’anapali. Both areas are so different that it would be hard to pick one or the other for an entire stay. Plus each is close to different activities.
I wonder if Wailea Beach Villas might be cheaper (fewer URs) if booked through the Chase portal rather than through Hyatt?

 

[wanderlust7]

Y'all are so helpful!! Thank you for helping me sort through this!



Based on what I've read Kauai is going to be the best match for us as well. I'm settled on the Grand Hyatt for that one and have the points to make the reservation.

Reviewing all of the notes and excursions that you and @wanderlust7 have shared, Maui is definitely the second longest stay but I'm torn there on where to stay.



Good to note! I have the MRs to transfer over to book the Grand Wailea and reading the trip reviews are quite helpful. We could also get an extra night here for 5 nights.



However, looking up the Wailea Beach Villas through Hyatt that's much more suited to our style and comfort level. BUT, it's 244K points for only 4 nights which feels like a lot although that's exactly the type of room we'd be looking for. One line in your review of the Hyatt Residence (people, people, people) took that one right off the list! It's so silly since we have the points to feel like I can't "spend" them but the whole reason I entered this game was to offset costs for this specific trip

Also, I'm not settled on the best route to fly in and out. Do we go to Oahu 2 nights at the beginning, head to Maui, then finish at Kauai? Or reverse and go Kauai, Maui, Oahu? Or Oahu, Kauai, Maui? Part of me wants to start with the touristy since we'll be adjusting to the time change and can be up and going and then end with the relaxing.

One I get the route in order, then I can go ahead and get the reservations made!

I would have a hard time spending 61k Hyatt/UR per night. That's $915 with a CSR PYB. I feel like you can get a nice vacation rental for less than that.

Going most touristy to least is good, so Oahu, Maui, Kauai. Assuming you can get direct flights to Oahu and from Kauai. You can also consider where you'll be doing things that require getting up early. Maui seems to have more of those - if you want to do sunrise at Haleakala or getting an early start on the Road to Hana.

 

[Hoosier John]

P2 could do one too? Or you can also do a gold biz, maybe you can find this bundle offer:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/american-express-business-gold-90000-points-signup-offer/
AF is $295 and doesn't have much benefits to recoup that. So I prefer the plat biz when it's an either or. The plat biz also comes with 1.5x on charges over $5000.

Thank you! With two cards total between us, it should cover that bill plus normal stuff.
I think I'll try for the Biz Plat and Biz Gold, to keep P2 closer to 5/24.

What's the velocity on Amex card applications? Think I can get 2 in a row?
All my cards lately have been Amex:
08/20 Amex Gold
11/20 Amex Plat
06/21 Amex CS Plat

 

[kmc8826]

Thank you! With two cards total between us, it should cover that bill plus normal stuff.
I think I'll try for the Biz Plat and Biz Gold, to keep P2 closer to 5/24.

What's the velocity on Amex card applications? Think I can get 2 in a row?
All my cards lately have been Amex:
08/20 Amex Gold
11/20 Amex Plat
06/21 Amex CS Plat

Amex doesn’t really care about velocity. I have been getting Biz Plat’s and Biz Gold’s this year for both of us. If it is the exact same card you have to wait 90 days.

 

[softballpooh]

I wonder if Wailea Beach Villas might be cheaper (fewer URs) if booked through the Chase portal rather than through Hyatt?

Nope, $1500 per night or 102K points per night. That makes my 61K look like a good deal

 

[808blessing]

Y'all are so helpful!! Thank you for helping me sort through this!
Based on what I've read Kauai is going to be the best match for us as well. I'm settled on the Grand Hyatt for that one and have the points to make the reservation.

Reviewing all of the notes and excursions that you and

/USER][/QUOTE]

The Grand Hyatt Kauai is one of my very favorites!!![

 

[wanderlust7]

Thank you! With two cards total between us, it should cover that bill plus normal stuff.
I think I'll try for the Biz Plat and Biz Gold, to keep P2 closer to 5/24.

What's the velocity on Amex card applications? Think I can get 2 in a row?
All my cards lately have been Amex:
08/20 Amex Gold
11/20 Amex Plat
06/21 Amex CS Plat

These biz cards won't add to your 5/24. Not sure if that's what you meant? Don't forget to check your cross supports to see if it's a better deal than pulling the higher pubic or targeted offer.

Amex has some velocity rules for credit cards, but these are charge cards, so apply away!

 

[iujen94]

Nope, $1500 per night or 102K points per night. That makes my 61K look like a good deal

WOW. We paid just over $1000/night in July. Not cheap by any means, but the place was sooo nice that we felt the price was warranted.

 

[Hoosier John]

Amex doesn’t really care about velocity. I have been getting Biz Plat’s and Biz Gold’s this year for both of us. If it is the exact same card you have to wait 90 days.

Excellent! Thank you!

These biz cards won't add to your 5/24. Not sure if that's what you meant? Don't forget to check your cross supports to see if it's a better deal than pulling the higher pubic or targeted offer.

Amex has some velocity rules for credit cards, but these are charge cards, so apply away!

Ahhh, forgot we were talking Biz cards ... Thanks again!

 

[Alexle2007]

Thoughts on this Alaska itinerary? Would you choose late May or late June? It’s a smaller ship than we are used but I am thinking we are there to see Alaska and not the ship.