I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 & 2024 (see first page for add'l details)

[afan]

Speaking of Uber credits, we used Uber in Mexico last month and it used my credit first. We were in Niagara Falls over the weekend, Canadian side and ordered Uber Eats and it did not take my credit for June? No big deal, I'll use it, but weird.

Credits only work if it's in US funds.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Portugal is high on my list of places to visit! Not sure if you collect HH points / FNCs, but there is a very nice Conrad there, which I will def visit if / when I visit Portugal.

Thanks for putting that property on my radar! I am just getting started learning about Hilton cards--never had any before, but we're getting to the point that Hyatt's footprint isn't cutting it.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

Yesterday went as was expected. It was both excrutiatingly painful and relieving. Thank you all for your kind words about my "Orange Crush". Minutes after we put him to sleep about five geckos showed up and frolicked around, and since that was his favorite thing to catch outside, it made my daughter extremely comforted by it and happy. She was talking about it this morning. He will be greatly missed by so many people.

Starbucks points - can you redeem your American Starbucks points in Europe? For things like mugs, tumblers, etc... (?)
Do you scan your app at Starbucks in Europe and get points while there?
A few days ago a barista told my husband that people with the Mexico Starbucks app have issues using it while in America...

 

[Judique]

Question for folks playing the game with fee free VGC from Staples: have you ever been blocked from checking balance/registering/setting pin for an extended period of time?

I will often get an error that my browser has been blocked if I go through and register several cards at once, but switching to incognito fixes this typically. Today, I get the error in regular Chrome, Incognito Chrome, Incognito Firefox, even after a full system reset. Not sure if I should just wait it out or if other folks have had similar experience and, if so, what was your resolution?

Me, Me Me! I don't know why but I'm blocked on Edge and Chrome. I just use my phone and call the automated system.

But, I was using the remainder of 3 cards at Safeway this morning and it drained the first 2 and left 3.60 on the 3rd. Don't know what's up with that either.

I had to use a credit card for the remaining $15 or so I owed since I didn't bring an additional card with me.

 

[sky13]

Apologies took a while to reply but it's finally Friday night and have time to sit down and type!!

We have stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Orchard Road which we thought was really good for a HI Express. Its located in a shopping area and was great over Christmas with all the lights and activities along Orchard Road at that time of year.

We also spent 3 nights at the Andaz which we booked on points prior to last years increase. Loved the hotel, especially the included breakfasts for Globalists. As @sky13 said, it is located above Bugis MRT station and you can take an elevator from the lobby of the Andaz down into the network of tunnels that leads to the station. Public transport is easy in Singapore and it also very walkable.

We also did the non-stop Singapore Airways from Newark in premium economy. I was dreading the flight but it actually wasn't bad at all with possibly the best cabin crew I have ever experienced.

The Holiday Inn Express on Orchard is a great location! I've never been inside the hotel but it's one of the hotels I always see as I wander along Orchard Road. And yes Christmas is a really nice time with the light up along Orchard Road. The lighting display and themes change from year to year... One year there was a Disney display (which I loved!) but that got criticised for being too commercial so there hasn't been a Disney one since...

I booked the Kempinski Singapore for 6 nights in September (I couldn't get an EVA flight on points any earlier). I booked through Luxury Escapes (LE), which had spend a $1,000 get $200 back promo on my plat AmEx. The deal with LE was amazing -- got a Stamford suite, full breakfast, $150 F&B credit, $150 spa credit for $408 / night. I also booked the Andaz Singapore on a cash rate through Visa Signature Hotels (with my CSR) for $348 / night including breakfast and a $25 F&B credit. Once the F&B & spa credits are taken off and the $200 savings, it's actually less to stay at the Kempinski lol, plus I'll have a suite. All this to say checking out LE is worthwhile -- there is currently another promo on my AmEx plat for them and they have some excellent promotions.

Looking for suggestions for 5 full days in Singapore @sky13!

That sounds like an amazing deal on the hotel!

Not sure if my suggestions are going to be that great though as my perspective is that of a local so there's a lot of tourist things I haven't done yet! But some suggestions (I'm sure I'm missing stuff though)...

Mandai area

This area of Singapore is a bit annoying to get to because it doesn't have great public transport links. The last couple of times I went there I either took taxi/Grab or there was someone else who was driving there! So I'd probably try to group the attractions in this area together to do on the same day.

Zoo, Night Safari, River Safari, Bird Paradise - set of zoos/animal parks. I haven't been to Bird Paradise yet (it's fairly new, think about a year old). The other parks are relatively fun to walk through, feels a little bit like the animal trails at Animal Kingdom. There's a Night Safari tram ride which I remember being decent though it's been many years since I've done this... There are two pandas at River Safari too.

Marina Bay area

Marina Bay, city, Orchard - these are all pretty close to each other and it's quite easy to get between them either by public transport or walking.

Gardens by the Bay, the two domes (Cloud Forest, Flower Dome), Satay by the Bay - all in the same area. Can take a bit of time to wander through the gardens and the domes. The domes are great because they are air conditioned, so the temperature is nice compared to the heat outside! There's also a treetop walk which is quite fun to do. Satay by the Bay is a hawker centre close by, which has satay and other local food. At night there's a free light/music show too.

Marina Bay Sands, Art Science Museum - I haven't yet been to the Art Science Museum so have no idea what it's like. Marina Bay Sands has both the shopping mall and the hotel. Shopping mall is full of very nice and also very expensive shops and restaurants. There is a cool Apple store that's on the water. There's also a Louis Vuitton store that's on the water. You can go up to the top of the hotel (should be options of either pay to go up, or alternatively eat at the restaurant/bar at the top).

Merlion - probably just go there and take a photo with the merlion and with the surrounding area?

City/heritage areas

There are a few places like Chinatown, Kampong Glam, Little India that have various heritage type activities. I don't know about them in huge detail so probably best to consult a guidebook. If you're visiting at certain times of the year there may be additional festivities e.g. around Chinese New Year there is an outdoor street bazaar at Chinatown and street lights/decorations for that.

And also places like the museums, CHIJMES, temples, St Andrew's Cathedral... Some of these are interesting because they're in older historic buildings - e.g. CHIJMES used to be a convent/school that has now been turned into a dining/shopping centre that you can wander around.

Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling. I'll be honest I have never done this but it seems to be very popular to do as a tourist in Singapore!

Lau Pa Sat / Maxwell Road hawker centres - lots of food options. If you want to go somewhere that's a lot less touristy but still nearby you can also try Tiong Bahru Market which has cheap and good food.

Orchard area

Botanic Gardens is pretty to wander through. Friends who have been here seem to like it... There's supposed to be a nice Orchid garden too though I've not been in yet!

Orchard Road is basically a shopping area with lots and lots of shopping malls...

Sentosa area

Universal Studios. It's OK, much smaller than the one in Florida, has a few decent rides, but probably only a half day park. Currently building a Minions land expansion which isn't open yet.

As part of the same area there is also an aquarium (nice to walk through though we only spent a couple of hours there when we went) and a water park (Adventure Cove). I haven't been to Adventure Cove since before COVID but remember it as a fun way to spend a few hours.

There are also various other activities on Sentosa that I'm less familiar with (luge and other things). Also a beach area.

Other areas

Some nature areas and parks and outdoor places - Pulau Ubin, Sungei Buloh, MacRitchie Reservoir, Fort Canning Park, Jurong Lake Gardens, East Coast Park, Rail Corridor
None of these parks or nature areas are going to be that big (Singapore is small) but can be fun to just wander through or explore. Jurong Lake Gardens and East Coast Park are more "locals parks" - lots of people running, cycling, walking in these parks.

Most of these (besides Fort Canning) are a bit further away from the city centre...

Changi airport

Jewel - this is the shopping mall that's directly connected to the arrivals hall of Terminal 1 and has link bridges to Terminals 2/3. The waterfall in the middle is very cool (even more cool when the Skytrain passes by). Though it doesn't run the entire day, think it only runs from something like 10am-10pm (or thereabouts). You can go up to different floors and get a different vantage point of the waterfall/Skytrain. There's also activities like a small indoor park (a bit like the Gardens by the Bay domes) at the top. Plus lots of shopping and dining...

Awesome, thanks! I'll look into it! Did you guys book with URs or pay cash rate?

We will definitely be using public transport. I thought the HI Exp Clarke Quay would be good b/c of it's proximity to the 3 different MRT stations. We don't mind walking 10 minutes any direction (we lived in NYC for 15 years). But maybe the Andaz would be more convenient for the reasons you mentioned, like having food/groceries really close! I'll have to evaluate more. But thanks for your input!! Super helpful.

We are also looking at the Premium Economy on Singapore Air nonstop. Glad to know it wasn't that bad of a flight!! I saw roundtrip is around 160K points. I believe URs can transfer, last I checked. I'll have to look into the cash prices to evaluate the value of using points versus cash.

Thank you! I'll add this one to the list to look into! We're also planning to go between Thanksgiving-Xmas time, so it would be cool with the lights/activities.

I'm glad to hear you had a good experience with the flight also! Two good reviews definitely eases my mind. Did you use points for the flight, or pay cash?

This is something I hadn't thought of, so I'll definitely have to look into it more! Thanks for the info!! I'll also be anxious to see suggestions from @sky13. I think I have all the "highlights" accounted for. But we'll be there 5 days too, so I'm sure we can fit more off the beaten path stuff in

I get scared of getting caught out in torrential rain in Singapore! So I like being in places that are directly connected (or with sheltered walkway connections) to MRT stations, or at the very least bus stations...

And yes definitely look at the cash price for the flights as I was very pleasantly surprised by how well priced it was (when I booked it it was cheaper to fly Premium Economy on this nonstop route with Singapore Airlines than Economy with additional stops with other airlines, so it was an easy decision to book this)!

 

[georgina]

Me, Me Me! I don't know why but I'm blocked on Edge and Chrome. I just use my phone and call the automated system.

But, I was using the remainder of 3 cards at Safeway this morning and it drained the first 2 and left 3.60 on the 3rd. Don't know what's up with that either.

I had to use a credit card for the remaining $15 or so I owed since I didn't bring an additional card with me.

So I just went to look and I can't even find my way to the website I used to use to register them. It used to be so easy! You call the blackhawk number on the card? There are several websites for online purchases where I have to have them registered to use them.

Nevermind, I was just able to get on giftcardmall/mygift on Chrome and register as usual. I have several more, maybe I will try to do them all.

Was able to do 4, then was blocked. Have never had to register to use at Costco in-store, so I guess I will use the unregistered ones there.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

The day time flight seems so awesome. Ds hates sleeping on the plane so I’d rather position and get one of those flights instead of fighting him on sleeping. Where do you fly out of and with who? It looks like British out of New York might be our only option to get business class seats with two seats together.

In October I flew on AA out of Charlotte and in December also AA, but out of Chicago. I stayed last time at the Sofitel in T5, since I had a flight on BA out of T5 to Florence early the next morning. In December I'm staying overnight at the HGI in T2/T3, then heading into London for the remainder of my stay. For me at least, it's WAY better than flying overnight since I can't sleep much on overnight flights (doesn't matter if I'm in biz or first, sleep eludes me). Now if I slept on planes I'd take an overnight flight to avoid the additional night in a hotel, but I need my sleep, so daytime flight for me whenever possible.

 

[Haley R]

In October I flew on AA out of Charlotte and in December also AA, but out of Chicago. I stayed last time at the Sofitel in T5, since I had a flight on BA out of T5 to Florence early the next morning. In December I'm staying overnight at the HGI in T2/T3, then heading into London for the remainder of my stay. For me at least, it's WAY better than flying overnight since I can't sleep much on overnight flights (doesn't matter if I'm in biz or first, sleep eludes me). Now if I slept on planes I'd take an overnight flight to avoid the additional night in a hotel, but I need my sleep, so daytime flight for me whenever possible.

I don’t see any day flights for next year from Charlotte on google flights. I’m only seeing New York, Boston, and Chicago. It looks like last year there were more cities offering day flights unless I’m just looking at it all wrong.

I don’t sleep well on planes either and ds fights even if we give him melatonin. The flights to and from Japan were really hard because he didn’t want to sleep but was tired. If we do a daytime flight leaving in the morning I think he’ll do just fine.

 

[miztressuz]

Question for folks playing the game with fee free VGC from Staples: have you ever been blocked from checking balance/registering/setting pin for an extended period of time?

I will often get an error that my browser has been blocked if I go through and register several cards at once, but switching to incognito fixes this typically. Today, I get the error in regular Chrome, Incognito Chrome, Incognito Firefox, even after a full system reset. Not sure if I should just wait it out or if other folks have had similar experience and, if so, what was your resolution?

You can also be IP blocked. Have you tried using your phone data plan or a computer in a different location (work, coffee shop)? If it works elsewhere for you then your home IP address may be temporarily blocked.

 

[DogCat]

Question for folks playing the game with fee free VGC from Staples: have you ever been blocked from checking balance/registering/setting pin for an extended period of time?

I will often get an error that my browser has been blocked if I go through and register several cards at once, but switching to incognito fixes this typically. Today, I get the error in regular Chrome, Incognito Chrome, Incognito Firefox, even after a full system reset. Not sure if I should just wait it out or if other folks have had similar experience and, if so, what was your resolution?

I buy the VGC and the MCGC from Staples and routinely call the number on the card to verify my transactions/balances. I have never gone online to register them, though. Why would I want to do that? Is it a protective action, in case they get lost or stolen?

 

[Judique]

So I just went to look and I can't even find my way to the website I used to use to register them. It used to be so easy! You call the blackhawk number on the card? There are several websites for online purchases where I have to have them registered to use them.

Nevermind, I was just able to get on giftcardmall/mygift on Chrome and register as usual. I have several more, maybe I will try to do them all.

Was able to do 4, then was blocked. Have never had to register to use at Costco in-store, so I guess I will use the unregistered ones there.

I have never registered any of my cards. Maybe I'm living dangerously. Online use is Amazon, Chewy, Costco, plus Pepco, water and gas.

Edit: in the extremely tiny print on the card is the web address you've mentioned and that's where I'm blocked.

 

[mmmears]

Question for folks playing the game with fee free VGC from Staples: have you ever been blocked from checking balance/registering/setting pin for an extended period of time?

I will often get an error that my browser has been blocked if I go through and register several cards at once, but switching to incognito fixes this typically. Today, I get the error in regular Chrome, Incognito Chrome, Incognito Firefox, even after a full system reset. Not sure if I should just wait it out or if other folks have had similar experience and, if so, what was your resolution?

DH registers the cards when we get them, but I know that he can only do so many at one time until he gets locked out for a while, but he can usually do more the following day.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I don’t see any day flights for next year from Charlotte on google flights. I’m only seeing New York, Boston, and Chicago. It looks like last year there were more cities offering day flights unless I’m just looking at it all wrong.

I don’t sleep well on planes either and ds fights even if we give him melatonin. The flights to and from Japan were really hard because he didn’t want to sleep but was tired. If we do a daytime flight leaving in the morning I think he’ll do just fine.

Obv my preferences are the NE airports, so that is where I look first. If you book far enough in advance you should be able to get flights on AA metal -- the daytime flights aren't nearly as popular as the overnight ones.

Just checked and in October I flew out of JFK on AA4357 (loving the TripIt app). Charlotte must've been an overnight flight to London prior to that.

 

[georgina]

I buy the VGC and the MCGC from Staples and routinely call the number on the card to verify my transactions/balances. I have never gone online to register them, though. Why would I want to do that? Is it a protective action, in case they get lost or stolen?

I had some trouble using them for online purchases, more than one store rejected the card until I registered it and had a name to put in to match with the credit card number. I don't remember exactly which ones, but it was enough that I usually just register them now before making and online purchase.

 

[georgina]

I don’t see any day flights for next year from Charlotte on google flights. I’m only seeing New York, Boston, and Chicago. It looks like last year there were more cities offering day flights unless I’m just looking at it all wrong.

I don’t sleep well on planes either and ds fights even if we give him melatonin. The flights to and from Japan were really hard because he didn’t want to sleep but was tired. If we do a daytime flight leaving in the morning I think he’ll do just fine.

Hope you find something suitable! I strongly prefer day flights also and we flew from Dulles to London on United a few years ago. I haven't seen any British airways/AA codeshares from Dulles during the daytime. I don't even see that flight any more, looks like the United daytime flight now goes out of Newark.

 

[djmeredith]

The day time flight seems so awesome. Ds hates sleeping on the plane so I’d rather position and get one of those flights instead of fighting him on sleeping. Where do you fly out of and with who? It looks like British out of New York might be our only option to get business class seats with two seats together.

You might want to consider flying premium select (or the equivalent on another airline) instead of biz if you do the day flight. Might be worth saving the points (x3 tix) if you don't need to sleep on the flight.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

You can also be IP blocked. Have you tried using your phone data plan or a computer in a different location (work, coffee shop)? If it works elsewhere for you then your home IP address may be temporarily blocked.

I did see the IP block but wasn't in a position to try different locations today. Thankfully, it opened up for me a few hours later, so not a huge deal.

I buy the VGC and the MCGC from Staples and routinely call the number on the card to verify my transactions/balances. I have never gone online to register them, though. Why would I want to do that? Is it a protective action, in case they get lost or stolen?

We do a lot of online purchasing so want to have the address registered correctly. Also do debit transactions and prefer to set our own pin so it's always the same number we expect it to be. It's also my opportunity to confirm that the balance has been loaded correctly and not pre-drained or something. I haven't had it happen personally but I know others have experience that kind of fraud so I like to get eyes on the full balance before I start using it in the world.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Is it just with one particular card or with any card you try? I've had that happen lots of times and incognito or switching browsers has typically fixed it. Had it happen once though when it was just one card and when I called the number on the back it had already been registered and used by someone.

In this case, it was before I even entered a card number. The site was blocking me before I could even load it. It has since opened back up, thankfully.

 

[Haley R]

You might want to consider flying premium select (or the equivalent on another airline) instead of biz if you do the day flight. Might be worth saving the points (x3 tix) if you don't need to sleep on the flight.

That’s actually what I mentioned to dh. I said at least on the way to London when the flight can be as short as 6 1/2 hours we could easily do that in premium. On the way back it’s a little longer so maybe we would try business. We aren’t even set on going to England after how Japan went with ds. We may stick to domestic trips next year.

 

[djmeredith]

That’s actually what I mentioned to dh. I said at least on the way to London when the flight can be as short as 6 1/2 hours we could easily do that in premium. On the way back it’s a little longer so maybe we would try business. We aren’t even set on going to England after how Japan went with ds. We may stick to domestic trips next year.

IIRC, he did fine on the Germany flights last year. The Japan flights might have been difficult for him, but those were probably almost double the length of the Europe flights. The time adjustment isn't near as bad in Europe either. So it might not be as big of a gamble for next year as you think. Plus he will be a whole year older. As you know, a year at that age is a huge difference. All that being said, there are lots of great domestic destinations too. You could do domestic next year and save some flight pts for a big international trip in '26.