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

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Back from our adventures to French Polynesia. It’s so beautiful there and the people are nice. The Conrad Bora Bora in an overwater bungalow is my new favorite hotel stay of all time.

We flew economy SFO-PPT on United, using up most of my stored-up Travel Funds. I bought the Air Tahiti Bora Bora Pass for our interisland flights since it was only slightly more than roundtrip Tahiti to Bora Bora. Trip was Tahiti (1 night) - Moorea (4) - Raiatea (3) - Huahine (3) - Bora Bora (5) - Tahiti (1). Most people take the ferry from Tahiti to Moorea, but we flew since it was included in the pass.

I’m glad I put Bora Bora last. If I had put it first, the rest of the trip would have felt like a letdown. But I worried about one of us getting sick and having to miss it! Bora Bora is the most gorgeous, but I feel like I experienced more of the true French Polynesia on the other islands since we didn’t stay in resorts. Glad we did both.

I put up reviews here:
Conrad Bora Bora
Hilton Tahiti Hotel

My favorite sunset photo of the trip (Bora Bora):

View attachment 683826

What a great report; it looks amazingly beautiful. I loved that you scored such a great points find and were able to put together an incredible trip for your family. It's really getting harder as the kids "age out" and turn 13.

Um 54x!!!!! Holy moly. How many points do you think you'll end up earning? Love the idea of snorkeling right from your deck. Black tip sharks? I don't think I have the nerve, but what an experience that must have been!

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Okay I'm trying to plan Ireland. I figure it's time I stop delaying. My daughter's one request was at least business class, LOL. We're leaving from DTW. In looking at google flights, we either need to position here (on the east coast) or we need to connect in Europe. Aer Lingus is looking like a decent option as they have a flight from PHL that would work. I likely need 3 seats, but my searching is coming up w/ 2 seats in biz. Is there a chance other Biz seats might open? My mom might be open to sitting in economy. She's done it before to Europe, LOL. The trip is March 2023. I've been dragging my feet on figuring out the booking.

W/ the Chase transfer to BA, I'm assuming I can use the transferred BA avios w/ Aer Lingus still?

Also I know quite a few people have booked to Ireland recently. Are there other airlines to look at? I'm willing to go from DTW to wherever to position. Or I'm open to connecting if needed. Per google flights the options into Dublin are Aer Lingus, KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, Delta and United.

Another reason I'm open to positioning here, is I'm not springing for Biz class on all legs, LOL. My daughter can do peasant class on a short flight, then upgraded on the longer one.

I wouldn't recommend delaying any longer on this, as you want to go over St. Patrick's, and I can only assume that will mean a higher demand. I would really recommend paying the $12 and getting a month of the point.me membership. You'll be able to search a variety of routes with actual availability, without getting stuck in the decision paralysis that can plague these types of trips. BOS seems to have good non-stop availability and there didn't seem to be an issue with 3 biz class seats on Aer Lingus. That Chase transfer bonus is pretty sweet. But are you prepared to pay those hefty fees? I assume you already have these points already and a card you want to put the fees on? If there were several people sitting in economy, that'd be one thing, but it seems wrong to put your mom in economy alone.

 

[miztressuz]

Can anyone tell me some of their favorite things to do in London? I'll be there for four days at end of September into October. One day we'll be going to an NFL game but the other three we're looking for things to do. I really want to do the Harry Potter tour but not sure if that will happen as I doubt the other people we're going with will want to and I would like to stay together as much as possible but we'll see.

Would it be best to bring cash and have it exchanged or use a no foreign transaction fee credit card or a little of both?

I can't help much on the things to do. My plans got a little derailed, but the Tower of London was a good few hours. If you have interest in historical arms or the crown jewels it was interesting. Also saw a changing of the guard outside the jewel tower. I chose to walk through the Superbloom exhibit in the moat, but they have public viewing spots if you don't have enough interest for the separate charge to walk through it.

As far as cash, I personally bring a debit card and withdraw from an ATM. Has the best exchange rate and I don't have to wait in line at the exchange counters. I have both Fidelity and Schwab checking accounts that have no FTF and reimburse ATM fees, so I only take out a small amount of cash as backup. If I need more, I find the nearest ATM. Everything else, I put on a no FTF credit card.

Also, just a word of caution about cash, don't hang on to it for 15 years! The last time one of us was in London, it was my husband and he had to leave under unexpected circumstances. London had a terrorist threat the day before he was supposed to leave that shut down the airports. Fortunately, they reopened for his flight the next day, but it was chaos as they were advised to get to the airport so many hours ahead of the flight - which for him put it around 3 or 4 am - but they didn't open the airport so it was just hundreds of people loitering outside the terminals for hours. When they did open it, it was just a crush of people and you weren't allowed to take any bags as carry-on so lots of repacking at the check-in desks. Last thing on his mind was exchanging his cash - if the desks were even open! Well, we didn't think much of it as we expected one of us to be back for work in the next few years AND didn't realize how much he actually had in his pockets (about £50, not too terrible but more than we remembered!) We pulled it out for this trip and made the interesting discovery that nearly all of it was withdrawn, i.e. not accepted tender, so couldn't be spent!

Not something we're used to here in the States. When money changes it gets pulled out of circulation and we don't think much of it. In the UK you're supposed to exchange it for the new currency and after a certain point it's not valid anymore. Now bank notes are easy enough, the Bank of England guarantees all genuine notes indefinitely, you just have to exchange it at the Bank of England Counter. We were also stuck with a bunch of withdrawn £1 coins, which are from the Royal Mint and has no such policy. For people with a UK bank account, it's easy enough to exchange, most banks will let you deposit them into your account. However, if you don't have an account, at this point you're fairly SOL since they were withdrawn 5 years ago. I got lucky and found a Barclay's bank with a sympathetic money exchange teller who was kind enough to exchange mine!

My long winded way to say, I wouldn't bring/withdrawal a bunch of cash. The exchange rate back to $$ isn't favorable, either at the ForEx counters or your bank on the return. And you never know what will happen to it later, so you don't want to hang on to it. Plus, some of the tourist places only accepted card payments and it was hard to find a line that took cash. I like having some as backup in case something goes wrong - like the one pub that disliked every single one of my husband's cards, even the true chip + PIN one - but just enough to get by.

What did you do for cell data? Did you add an international plan to your existing cell plan or get a local sim card for the trip?

For data I got a local SIM. Made it cheap and easy for the few local calls and texts I needed. The lowest price PAYG Sims at the airport were £30 but had unlimited calls, texts, and a large amount of data - like 100 GB. Way more than I needed for a week. I stopped at an EE store near my hotel and picked up a £10 pack with 5GB of data, 500 call minutes, unlimited texts. (they had a promotion and gave an extra 15GB of data but I don't know how often they do that. I don't think I even used 2GB though) I couldn't text/call US numbers without adding credit to the pack but I just used an IM app to communicate with everyone over data. My husband was there for work so he just used his company phone, otherwise it would have been just £20 for the two of us. Cheaper than adding the international passes to our Vzw phones and only added an extra 20 minutes or so to my itinerary.

 

[wanderlust7]

What a great report; it looks amazingly beautiful. I loved that you scored such a great points find and were able to put together an incredible trip for your family. It's really getting harder as the kids "age out" and turn 13.

Um 54x!!!!! Holy moly. How many points do you think you'll end up earning? Love the idea of snorkeling right from your deck. Black tip sharks? I don't think I have the nerve, but what an experience that must have been!

Thank you! I'm so glad I grabbed the availability, almost on a whim, since I was still holding out for Japan then.

I already got the stay points, which was 135k. Looks like it includes all spend minus the taxes. When the cc points posts, should be about 55k. I value Hilton points at 0.45 cent per point, so it's like getting almost 25% off. Oh, I forgot to mention that I also used up the $250 resort credit on both our Aspires! DH's reset just in time, the day before check-out lol.

I think it's fairly safe to be around blacktip sharks. The one I saw was not that big. It kind of looked at me and then swam away lol.

 

[atxbound]

Can anyone tell me some of their favorite things to do in London? I'll be there for four days at end of September into October. One day we'll be going to an NFL game but the other three we're looking for things to do. I really want to do the Harry Potter tour but not sure if that will happen as I doubt the other people we're going with will want to and I would like to stay together as much as possible but we'll see.

Would it be best to bring cash and have it exchanged or use a no foreign transaction fee credit card or a little of both?

We took a bus tour to Stonehenge and Oxford. A few tours a day are allowed to be inside the stones at Stonehenge. It was amazing.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

Back from our adventures to French Polynesia. It’s so beautiful there and the people are nice. The Conrad Bora Bora in an overwater bungalow is my new favorite hotel stay of all time.

We flew economy SFO-PPT on United, using up most of my stored-up Travel Funds. I bought the Air Tahiti Bora Bora Pass for our interisland flights since it was only slightly more than roundtrip Tahiti to Bora Bora. Trip was Tahiti (1 night) - Moorea (4) - Raiatea (3) - Huahine (3) - Bora Bora (5) - Tahiti (1). Most people take the ferry from Tahiti to Moorea, but we flew since it was included in the pass.

I’m glad I put Bora Bora last. If I had put it first, the rest of the trip would have felt like a letdown. But I worried about one of us getting sick and having to miss it! Bora Bora is the most gorgeous, but I feel like I experienced more of the true French Polynesia on the other islands since we didn’t stay in resorts. Glad we did both.

I put up reviews here:
Conrad Bora Bora
Hilton Tahiti Hotel

My favorite sunset photo of the trip (Bora Bora):

View attachment 683826

I'm so glad that you posted this! I have been looking at a similar trip for a few months now and it's nice to see someone here post about it. I'm going to read your reports this morning!! Thanks for sharing!

 

[pinkxray]

I am cleaning out cards I have no use for and cards with high annual fees. I am usually a low/no annual fee person that only gets easy cards. The last 2 years I hit new cards heavy to pay for a once in a lifetime trip to Hawaii. I think I burnt myself out bc I just don’t want to deal with fees or getting new cards.

Just went to cancel my Amex Plat. I upgraded from the Amex gold last year for bonus MRs. I was just going to cancel bc I just don’t love MRs like some here do. I don’t use my gold as much as others.
I got the offer of 20,000 MR for $3000 spend. No thanks. I did end up switching it back to the gold though. I’ll that for a year and see if I still like it.

 

[lsutigers03]

We just got back from London. We visited the Churchill War Rooms, Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London. My boys did a stadium tour at the Chelsea soccer stadium. I highly recommend getting tickets to see a show. The tickets are quite a bit cheaper than Broadway. We had lunch at Borough Market one day. We took 100 pounds out when we got to the airport and honestly we had to force ourselves to spend it. Using a credit card was so much easier. We made sure that everyone in the family (4 of us) had a card with no foreign transaction fees that they could use with tap and pay for public transport. It was SO easy!

As far as phone service, we ordered a free sim card from GiffGaff and used it in an unlocked phone. We were able to pay 10 pounds for 15 gigs of data.

Thanks for the suggestions. A show would be fun and it never crossed my mind. I've only checked two of our cards so far but both had no fees for foreign transactions so we'll be bringing those with us. As for the GiffGaff sim. Did you order it ahead of time and then put it in when you got there? What kind of setup is involved and what network does it use?

 

[elgerber]

Thanks for the suggestions. A show would be fun and it never crossed my mind. I've only checked two of our cards so far but both had no fees for foreign transactions so we'll be bringing those with us. As for the GiffGaff sim. Did you order it ahead of time and then put it in when you got there? What kind of setup is involved and what network does it use?

I can't even remember all of what we did. We did Harry Potter, which was amazing. We really enjoyed the Tower of London also. We saw a show, but this was 5 years ago, so not sure what is playing now. The Mamma Mia recommendation is a great one if it's currently showing. I have seen it 6 or 7 times, I love it.
We did a sim card too, but my dd was already living there, so we had it delivered to her place.

 

[chattadisser]

My AF on my CSP posted and I'm trying to think if there is a reason to keep it open. I don't really want to downgrade it to a Freedom as between DH and I we already have 4. DH has a CSR so we transfer most of the UR's to there. Anything that I'm missing? I really just did it because of the sign-up bonus and I was eligible again.

Also I noticed that there are some Chase offers out there for Office Depot. They appeared as "old" offers but I swear there weren't there the other day when I looked.

 

[nycdisneygal]

Ok. so what woud be best use here> November Universal hotel already booked. Looking at flights. I have delta amex and chase reserve as my 2 main cards. Got a lot of UR pts from our recent hawaii hotel (booked through chaseportal for the extra pts ). Just got notice of the companion voucher for delta (which I could never use in past as never available for flight i want). if I get 2 tickets direct so can use companion and then 3 tix through chase points can I upgrade only the ones through chase points using my delta miles? The companion is not upgradeable right?
also, would this even be best use of UR points? We plan for italy in dec (air b n b and then likely delta or united whichever cheaper) and then hoping japan next june (but looks like the flights I want will likely cost arm and leg).

 

[newski_mom]

My AF on my CSP posted and I'm trying to think if there is a reason to keep it open. I don't really want to downgrade it to a Freedom as between DH and I we already have 4. DH has a CSR so we transfer most of the UR's to there. Anything that I'm missing? I really just did it because of the sign-up bonus and I was eligible again.

Also I noticed that there are some Chase offers out there for Office Depot. They appeared as "old" offers but I swear there weren't there the other day when I looked.

We only have one CSR between DH and me, but sometimes it's a pain when I need to get Hyatt points into my account without having a Chase card that I can transfer points from. I transfer them to DH's CSR and then to his Hyatt account, but from there, it sometimes takes awhile for Hyatt to move them from his account to my account after we send in the request.

Otherwise, I'm not sure why you'd need it with the CSR in your family already.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

What did you do for cell data? Did you add an international plan to your existing cell plan or get a local sim card for the trip?

T-Mobile international is included. We just had to make sure it was activated.

 

[chattadisser]

We only have one CSR between DH and me, but sometimes it's a pain when I need to get Hyatt points into my account without having a Chase card that I can transfer points from. I transfer them to DH's CSR and then to his Hyatt account, but from there, it sometimes takes awhile for Hyatt to move them from his account to my account after we send in the request.

Otherwise, I'm not sure why you'd need it with the CSR in your family already.

We do the same thing with Hyatt. It's kinda a pain but at the same time, I don't feel like we transfer often enough to make it worth keeping another card open.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

My AF on my CSP posted and I'm trying to think if there is a reason to keep it open. I don't really want to downgrade it to a Freedom as between DH and I we already have 4. DH has a CSR so we transfer most of the UR's to there. Anything that I'm missing? I really just did it because of the sign-up bonus and I was eligible again.

Also I noticed that there are some Chase offers out there for Office Depot. They appeared as "old" offers but I swear there weren't there the other day when I looked.

DHs CSP account is coming up on a year this month also. I have one, need to downgrade one. I know CFF and CFU are possible. Is there still a plain Freedom available for downgrade?

 

[becauseimnew]

I'm thinking about upgrade the first leg of our Delta flight to 1st, we have plenty of miles and relatively inexpensive. I assume we'll have access to the Delta Lounge on during our connection?

 

[LynnTH]

I need to transfer some UR's from DD's account and DH's account to mine. When I SM Chase - do I need to give them the full CC # or just the last 4 digits on the cards that I am transferring from?

 

[Babars_Wife]

Does anyone know what happens if you have a negative points balance for Capital One (specifically Ven X)? We cancelled and rebooked a hotel stay several times on my DH's card, and we ended up with negative 10k mile balance. My DH is worried about making it up. I don't have any Cap One experience to know whether it's a big deal or not. TIA!

I’ve had a negative miles balance for over a year so doesn’t seem to be a big deal.

Me too. Negative points balances for the win.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

I wouldn't recommend delaying any longer on this, as you want to go over St. Patrick's, and I can only assume that will mean a higher demand. I would really recommend paying the $12 and getting a month of the point.me membership. You'll be able to search a variety of routes with actual availability, without getting stuck in the decision paralysis that can plague these types of trips. BOS seems to have good non-stop availability and there didn't seem to be an issue with 3 biz class seats on Aer Lingus. That Chase transfer bonus is pretty sweet. But are you prepared to pay those hefty fees? I assume you already have these points already and a card you want to put the fees on? If there were several people sitting in economy, that'd be one thing, but it seems wrong to put your mom in economy alone.

View attachment 683869

I was trying to remember the site to search via! I will likely spring for it when I hear from my mom that she's 100% in or not. She's now upset it's only 5 days. UGH! As a teacher I'm already pushing this hard to get days off to do this at all. But I promised my DD back when she was 5, LOL. My mom's grandpa is from Ireland, so I know there's lots she wants to see/do. I thought she had accepted that this was a quick trip and she needs to do a longer one later w/ her sisters. This trip was ALWAYS for my daughter's 18th. She's mentioned a few times doing it in the summer instead. My 17yo wants to be there on her Bday....I will be there on her bday, LOL. I have a feeling it might end up just being the 2 of us. But I want to get in on the BA deal if I can. I do have the URs (I think I have 600k and my mom has 100k). As for the fees, if you book Aer Lingus vs BA it's cheaper. But I guess I'll look at flights to BOS too, LOL

 

[IFlossU]

I need to transfer some UR's from DD's account and DH's account to mine. When I SM Chase - do I need to give them the full CC # or just the last 4 digits on the cards that I am transferring from?

Last 4 has always worked for me