I love credit cards so much! v5.0 - 2022 (see first page for add'l details)

[becauseimnew]

We are almost home from our big summer vacation (Hawaii), booking for next summer opens soon hoping to visit Japan. Any word on when Japan will open for real?

 

[becauseimnew]

Free parking is only for Globalist on points. Resort fees are waived on point bookings.

Sorry for what is probably a terrible copy/paste/quote job.

I am a bit confused by some older mentions of parking at Hyatt when booking on points (I don't have ANY status with Hyatt)... and then this more recent one which I believe was also talking about a stay on points

Should I expect to pay for parking, or no? It's just one night so it's not going to kill me either way but I'd like to be prepared.

I did try reading the T&C but I was probably looking in the wrong place... I could not find, specifically, the answer to this.

Thank you!

 

[disneybirds]

I know there's been some discussions with booking Aer Lingus flights with Avios. If there's anyone who has completed award flights, maybe you could tell me what I did wrong

I just got back from a quick trip to the UK with a weekend in Dublin. For reasons, we flew RT between England and Ireland on Aer Lingus (IATA code "EI" for brevity) . These were short, hour flights and I had a small amount of BA Avios that's just been sitting forever that I was happy to finally find a way to use.

Little background before my observations and Q's -
Flight to DUB in saver economy paid cash for. EI must have an award chart since my £0 flight was 4500 Avios + £31 tax, so for obvious reasons I chose to save the points and just paid the cash taxes.

The return, DUB to LHR, was the same 4500 Avios + $12 taxes. Since my Avios were in BA to start, and EI and BA code share, I priced it out on the BA site and found the same flight was 6100 Avios +cash + higher taxes. My recollection was it only discounted the flight about $50 so I spent the time to transfer the Avios to EI and book on the Avios.com site. (FYI the taxes code as "Professional Services" through the avios.com site so no travel category reimbursements/multipliers)

That part all went well and quick. What I didn't put together was that in the PDF doc that is your "ticket" it states that you can't manage the booking online. Did not occur to me that means you can't check-in online either! The EI website is also maddeningly unhelpful with this as it doesn't throw an error when looking up the reservation, it just spins infinitely. I tried to call to see if they can check-in that way but it was a busy weekend with long hold times and I gave up before being connected. (For flights within Europe you can check-in 48 hrs in advance, so I tried a couple times but ultimately just planned to get to the airport early and check-in there.) It wasn't bad, I ended up in the back of the plane but got an aisle seat and empty middle so it could have been worse. So does anyone know if they can do check-in for award flights over the phone?

Another thing that wasn't entirely clear was the baggage allotment. It's booked as a saver flight, but an award ticket evidently comes with a carry-on on the plane rather than a carry-on that gets checked into the hold. I wasted time trying to get a bag tag for my carry-on since the self check kept coming back with an error. When I finally get an agent he looked at the boarding pass and said I should carry it on.
(This "carry on" means you bring your 10kg bag on the plane
View attachment 680964)

Now, the PDF did say clearly that I got a piece of checked baggage so I figured either way I could get a bag tag, but with that error coming up at self serve I suspect a full service agent may be advisable if checking a bag. Unless someone knows better? Would being able to check-in in advance have helped?

The website says for Transatlantic flights this 10kg carry-on bag is already included, so people booking the long haul this shouldn't be an issue. But if you're using EI within Europe then FYI, you don't check the 10kg bag.

Not sure I can answer your question, but I will let you know our process in case it helps someone else in the future. We paid cash for a ticket on AerLingus (El) that had a British Airways portion and an Aer Lingus portion. When I bought the ticket, it gave me the option to purchase a seat for our DD on the El flight. I paid the $5 for a window seat. I had to call in since the payment didn't process (took an hour before someone picked up) and the agent then gave me the British Airways reservation number (it was also on the confirmation email). I was then able to go in on the BA website and purchase a window seat on the British Airways portion as well. Since the BA portion was first, I checked her in online through the BA site. If I remember correctly, I think I tried to check her in on El and wasn't able to do it even though they sent me an email to check-in. In terms of bags the El confirmation and BA site had different bag allowances, but she didn't have any issues checking a bag and carrying on a bag.

Our biggest issue was when she missed her flight in London and the El agents kept telling her she had to go back to the BA terminal to get rebooked, but she wasn't allowed back on the BA terminal since she had a El ticket. The El agents finally helped her and got her rebooked.

 

[reliev]

We are almost home from our big summer vacation (Hawaii), booking for next summer opens soon hoping to visit Japan. Any word on when Japan will open for real?

I'm giving it until November/Dec I have 2 big point bookings that I will use suite nights with so I've been holding off but at some point, I think you have to stop hoping. the good news is those award flights should open right up once they have more flights

 

[Starwave]

I wouldn't think so, not room charges. It could happen but I don't think it's intended to. Since the category is Live Entertainment, I can't imagine charges that code as travel will trigger it. The intention is things like direct ticket sales since they code as Entertainment. The FAQ calls out "Purchasing from a hotel/concierge is not included nor excursions or purchases as part of a travel package." I imagine these type of purchases come through as travel and that's why they'd get excluded. But you never know until someone tries

I charged a payment for our Disney World vacation package (booked through Disney) to our Chase Freedom card this month and I can confirm it did not receive the 5% back. It was coded as "travel" and only received 1 point per dollar.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Yes,I become very 'stay off my lawn attitude on the 4th. I love fireworks but I love sleep and pets and people with ptsd to not have issues. It's just stressful.

I feel this. I am totally crabby old lady on this. TBF my DS13 is crabby teen about it so... There has been lots of fireworks leading to the 4th, we spend most of Sunday evening in the basement as it's quieter down there. We have one dog who's pretty chill, the other is terrified of all sorts of stuff. Seems she is getting worse as she gets older and I thought getting another dog might help but it didn't. We do give both dogs CBD/hemp treats, it helps a bit. Most suburbs in Chicago area canceled fireworks last night after what happened yesterday morning, so the fireworks crazies were left to their own devices and none of it is legal in IL, you have to go out of state to purchase the real stuff (not sparklers, snakes and the like).

 

[afan]

I feel this. I am totally crabby old lady on this. TBF my DS13 is crabby teen about it so... There has been lots of fireworks leading to the 4th, we spend most of Sunday evening in the basement as it's quieter down there. We have one dog who's pretty chill, the other is terrified of all sorts of stuff. Seems she is getting worse as she gets older and I thought getting another dog might help but it didn't. We do give both dogs CBD/hemp treats, it helps a bit. Most suburbs in Chicago area canceled fireworks last night after what happened yesterday morning, so the fireworks crazies were left to their own devices and none of it is legal in IL, you have to go out of state to purchase the real stuff (not sparklers, snakes and the like).

It sucks. I could still hear it a bit through my earplugs. Thankfully Tux didn't care except when we went outside and I was able to get him back focused. He apparently slept well too cause he hasn't napped yet this morning.

 

[wanderlust7]

We are almost home from our big summer vacation (Hawaii), booking for next summer opens soon hoping to visit Japan. Any word on when Japan will open for real?

I think we'll know more after their elections on 7/10. I'm still cautiously optimistic for our winter trip.

The exchange rate is crazy good right now. Hope we get to go!

 

[Albort]

Sorry for what is probably a terrible copy/paste/quote job.

I am a bit confused by some older mentions of parking at Hyatt when booking on points (I don't have ANY status with Hyatt)... and then this more recent one which I believe was also talking about a stay on points

Should I expect to pay for parking, or no? It's just one night so it's not going to kill me either way but I'd like to be prepared.

I did try reading the T&C but I was probably looking in the wrong place... I could not find, specifically, the answer to this.

Thank you!

yes, expect to pay for parking if you have no status. however, hotels may waive it maybe. i had this happen once when i had 0 status.
yes, older mentions of parking at hyatt was free (for all status) during a specific time during the pandemic but that has been long gone, if thats what your seeing.
if you have a friend who is globalist, u can ask them to book the room for u, their status transfer over to u and u will get free parking and free breakfast(if it didnt provide for everyone).

Resort fees are waived on all status if points are used.

 

[afan]

If I got retention on my gold July 22 last year I just need to wait until Aug 21/22to ask again right?

My af will hit on the 1st a day this is the make or break on whether I keep the card. Yes I use gh and Uber credits but I wouldn't be eating out if I didn't have them so I'm not worried about losing them.

 

[afan]

I think we'll know more after their elections on 7/10. I'm still cautiously optimistic for our winter trip.

The exchange rate is crazy good right now. Hope we get to go!

Glad it's sooner than later, I had read July 25 somewhere so that's what I've been going off. I had hoped something would have come out of the G7 week. I'm sure it was discussed.

 

[platamama]

They'll usually keep you in the same room with 2 separate reservations. You might need to have the room card rekeyed the second day. You probably won't get the $100 dining credit twice.

Sounds like a good plan to make it a 2 night trip. Then you don't have to worry about using up the other credit some other time.

@havaneselover YMMV on the $100 dining credit. We stayed at a FHR hotel in June, booked with two separate Plat cards to use $400 of FHR credit, but made sure that the reservations were the same type of room. We did rekey the room card on the 2nd day, and got $100 credit twice.

 

[georgina]

Having a hard time deciding on a 2.5 day London itinerary for next week. Anyone ever use the London Pass? Says we can bypass the timed ticket system and just show up for the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and St Paul's. It would save me trying to time it all out, but my skepticism wonders how well it works in practice.

 

[Psychodisney]

Tried resolving my double billing with the Dolphin over the weekend to no avail. They are saying that AMEX fine hotels must have made an extra reservation. I called AMEX this morning to start a dispute. Hopefully it will get resolved sooner than later.

 

[OhhBother]

Oops - replied to wrong message.

 

[OhhBother]

Which card is it on? I keep eyeing GTY rate for late Aug but I applied for a special program at work and won’t find out until Aug if I have been selected and we have orientation 8/26-30. Although I do question those dates since it is over the weekend and since when do Feds work on the weekend????

It's on my Amex Platinum.

 

[havaneselover]

@havaneselover YMMV on the $100 dining credit. We stayed at a FHR hotel in June, booked with two separate Plat cards to use $400 of FHR credit, but made sure that the reservations were the same type of room. We did rekey the room card on the 2nd day, and got $100 credit twice.

Thanks! This makes sense. I’m going to book a second night tonight.

 

[wanderlust7]

@havaneselover YMMV on the $100 dining credit. We stayed at a FHR hotel in June, booked with two separate Plat cards to use $400 of FHR credit, but made sure that the reservations were the same type of room. We did rekey the room card on the 2nd day, and got $100 credit twice.

That's great! Were the 2 plats under different people?

Last time we used 2 plats both under DH. We didn't have to rekey and didn't get the credit twice. I would think it's more likely to get the credit twice if the reservations are under different people. Then it would have to be separate folios.

 

[platamama]

That's great! Were the 2 plats under different people?

Last time we used 2 plats both under DH. We didn't have to rekey and didn't get the credit twice. I would think it's more likely to get the credit twice if the reservations are under different people. Then it would have to be separate folios.

Good question. Both reservations were under DH's name, both Plats used were DH's too (vanilla and CS). This was the 2nd time we've been to this hotel, so we were returning customers and we were recognized for that too (food gifts in room) so perhaps it had to do with this particular hotel's level of service. The first time we were there in 2020, the first night was an FHR night (in DH's name with his Plat) and the 2nd night was a Hotels.com booking (in DH's name), but the hotel extended the free FHR breakfast to our 2nd breakfast there. In other words, they treated the Hotels.com night as if it were a FHR booking (and we were upgraded to a suite bc of the FHR benefit), which I was really surprised about. So it might have just been this particular property?

 

[becauseimnew]

Trying to stay awake for a couple more hours to help with jet lag so I figured I would share about our trip to Hawaii
We were a party of 8, we paid for my parents' hotel room and flights, my sister paid for niece and nephew.

We flew TUL to Maui on Southwest, using a combination of Luv Vouchers, miles, Amex Plat airline credit and 2 companion passes.
Stayed 5 nights at Marriott Wailea Beach resort followed by 4 nights at Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach.
We really LOVED Maui, would love to go back to do some real hiking, we didn't get much hiking because my parents were with us. I'm okay never going back to Oahu.

At Wailea Beach Resort we were in building 7 ground floor, the pool was right off our patio it was perfect for us. DH and I are both platinums,no room upgrades but each room received breakfast vouchers for everyone. The breakfast is at Starbucks or the Beach bar, includes a tall drink, cup of fruit and a pastry, all which can be upgraded at Starbucks. You can upgrade the drink size, pastry to a sandwich and fruit cup to a parfait. Starbucks opens at 5:30AM which is perfect for all those early mornings.
The first day we watched the sunrise at Haleakala, we left the hotel at 3AM made it there at around 4:30, we didn't get a parking spot at the top crater parking area but plenty of parking at the second lot. The temperature was in the upper 30s, so pack a jacket. Stayed until about 6ish, then went back to Wailea for breakfast. We spent the rest of the day at the resort.
The next day we did Road to Hana, used the Shaka App and it was perfect. We left the hotel at 7AM and got back to Paia at 7PM, where we had dinner. Didn't make it to the resort until 9PM. Very long day.
On day 3 the kids took surf lesson in Lahaina, booked through the Chase portal. I called all the vendors to confirm our reservations. Kids liked it but they aren't in a hurry to surf again.
Day 4 we did a morning snorkel tour to Molokini and Turtle town booked on the Chase portal, the weather didn't cooperate so we didn't make it to turtle town. It was nice, they had pastries for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch, nothing special but kept us from starving.
Day 5 we slept in and moved to Oahu. I am Hyatt Globalist, both rooms were upgraded to Ocean View and we all had access to the lounge. We took advantage of the free valet benefit. That night we had dinner in Waikiki and enjoyed the area.
Day 6, spent the day at Waikiki Beach and Paradise Cove Luau for dinner. We booked the Luau and Kualoa Ranch through the Navy's MWR office so we saved a little money. For those able to use the MWR make sure you call them at least 6 weeks in advance, the current call back wait is 2 weeks. The Luau food was not good, I didn't enjoy it at all. The show was nice, glad we did it just because of FOMO, but never again.
Day 7 we booked an Intro to Scuba Diving tour on the Chase portal for everyone but my parents. We all loved this, thinking about getting certified, we just need to find time to do it.
Day 8 we headed to Kualoa Ranch for the Hollywood Movie set tour, I had originally planned on doing the Jurassic adventure tour but it was sold out by the time the MWR got to my order. The tour was fun, wasn't impressed. Then we tried to hit some beaches on that side of the Island but the weather was terrible. It was raining and the tide was strong.
Day 9 was our last day, our flight departed at 7PM. We started super early with a 6AM hike at Diamond Head. Then we went back to the hotel to shower, finish packing and check out. We had 11:30AM reservations for the Arizona Memorial, I am so grateful we were able to experience this.
How we paid for this:

Marriott Wailea Beach Resort	2 rooms	480,000	$400
Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach	2 rooms	178,000	$0
Cars - Chase portal	2 Suburbans	130,000	$131
Scuba - Chase portal	6 people	32,000	$0
Snorkel - Chase portal	8 people	59,000	$0
Surf Lesson - Chase portal	4 people	15,000	$0
SW Flights TUL to OGG	6 people	46000	$0
SW flight to HNL	8 people	7920	$0
AA flights home	6 people	135000	$34
Hawaiian Luau	8 people		794
Kualoa Ranch	8 people		339
			$1,698

Our family of 4 spent about $3,000 on food, gas, parking, souvenirs and clothes shopping. Because my parents were with us we spent more time in Waikiki instead of hiking, therefore spent more money shopping then we normally spend on vacation.

Glad to have checked off Hawaii from our travel list. Next big vacation in Paris & Disneyland Paris.