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

[Nala83]

I was in Taipei many many years ago, so no idea where we stayed, but you have got to visit the National Palace Museum - I was 16 when I went there, and it is still one of the most amazing museums I've ever seen.

And eat all the food! So much yummy food there - it was the first place I ever ate bao and I'm still obsessed

I'd love to go back and explore more of Taiwan!

The National Palace Museum is definitely on my list!

 

[mmmears]

My mom loves Celebrity but she sales Aqua Class. I still think it's got to be cheaper than $10k for 8 days for a balcony for Norway!

We did a 7 night Norwegian Fjords cruise on the Apex. Happy to tell you more about it if you are interested. I think Aqua would still be cheaper than a DCL Balcony (I booked an Aqua Sky Suite and it wasn't much more than that and it came with a lot of perks).

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

How many MRs are folks here speculatively transferring to Hawaiian? We've got ~$800K MRs. I know I want to transfer 100K because of a specific trip need but not sure how much more to do for later. I do know we want to travel to Asia more

We transferred around 200k and got the Hawaiian card, which will get us 70k. May have a specific South America use for them.

90 days from approval for the same card.

Thank you! My targeted offer will expire before then, but hopefully Amex will continue to provide...

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

2. Any recommendations for guided tours for Rome - Vatican and Colosseum? I'm looking on the Chase portal but not adverse to booking OOP. On the portal I can't really see the name of the tour company (maybe I am not looking in the right place).

You can probably buy a guided tour for much cheaper through the official colloseum archeology site. This one includes the underground and the arena. I am not sure, do some research, but looks like they become available 30 days prior and availability seems like it goes quickly, as there is only one day available in the next 30 days. Note there are firm restrictions on the number of tickets you can buy, so if you have a larger group, have two different people buy the tickets from different accounts and different credit cards, or they will think you are a reseller.

What we liked is that it's a two day ticket, so we were able to do the Colosseum one day and then came back and did Roman Forum/ Palantine Hill the following day, which we were just mesmerized by. We did the Rick Steve audio tour for Roman Forum/Palantine Hill (free app) and it was just perfect for us.

 

[happ]

can the airline incidental be used for united tb like the amx plat? if so, it's intriguing

It was working but there's a recent dp of it not working. I follow comments on this page for updates. https://www.doctorofcredit.com/trig...um-rewards-100-travel-credit/#comment-1917829

 

[happ]

Maybe this is old news, but I'm seeing some WDW dvc resorts available for booking on the Chase portal. I booked AKL for April. I may talk myself out of it before then since it's still pricey even though significantly less than the current rack rates.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Maybe this is old news, but I'm seeing some WDW dvc resorts available for booking on the Chase portal. I booked AKL for April. I may talk myself out of it before then since it's still pricey even though significantly less than the current rack rates.

I have seen that on and off…unfortunately we want a 2br and all that I’ve seen are studios and 1BRs at to me crazy high prices

 

[KPK02090]

Just applied for the Barclay Aviator and got the under review message. I got a Barclay Jet Blue card just over three months ago (mod-June). Will that hurt my chances of approval?

 

[GZanta77]

Just applied for the Barclay Aviator and got the under review message. I got a Barclay Jet Blue card just over three months ago (mod-June). Will that hurt my chances of approval?

I thought that over 90days was OK for applying for another Barclay credit card. Might be worth giving them a call to find out what they need.

In other news - to me anyway -just found out Saks isn't selling Bombas anymore. That's been my goto for the Amex credit over the past few years.

 

[reliev]

I know you can cancel the AA Citi card over the phone via the automated machine, without talking to a person. We just did that recently. But Barclays I believe we have called every time. I'd be interested to know if anyone found a way to do this online also!

there is a card cancel request buried. I want to say it was under contact us. I didn't call to cancel they offered to do it over the messaging system. Im waiting to see if jetblue has a new card I might jump on the aa card but I am not 100% sure.

 

[disneybirds]

Ask for a couple of recommendations:
1. Hotel near JFK. Will have a positioning flight the day before a 9:30am flight to London next year. Where to stay close for the morning flight?

2. Any recommendations for guided tours for Rome - Vatican and Colosseum? I'm looking on the Chase portal but not adverse to booking OOP. On the portal I can't really see the name of the tour company (maybe I am not looking in the right place).

Thanks.

We used What a Life for the Vatican and Colosseum. We paid OOP for the Colosseum tour since we wanted to do the Underground area. We booked the Vatican through the Chase portal. Vatican tour On the Vatican tour, we only saved time by going straight into St Peter's Basilica. A couple of people in our group were late, so even though we had the 7:45 am tour we didn't get to the Vatican until probably 8:30 and then the lines were really long and it was very crowded. I have read reports that going at night to the Vatican is better, but then you won't be able to get into St Peter's because it closes early. Romewise is a great resource for info. She has a video on how to go straight to the Sistine Chapel and then circle back around to see the rest of the museum. Happy to answer any questions!

 

[happ]

Just applied for the Barclay Aviator and got the under review message. I got a Barclay Jet Blue card just over three months ago (mod-June). Will that hurt my chances of approval?

I applied for a Hawaiian biz card last week and got the same message. I called recon today and the first rep approved me but it had to go through a second rep for security. If I want the card I've got to mail them copies of my id, social security card, and a utility bill. I asked about sending the stuff digitally and she said it had to be mail. I mentioned that I currently have a JB biz acct with them and questioned why I needed to send them the info (I've sent them this info several times in the past for other cards) and she said it didn't matter. Barclay is so annoying! I'm not sure if I'll follow up with this or not. I have something to pay that I wanted a new card for and this card's probably going to take too long. I can't do Chase right now because it's too close to my last card (already tried). I'm in Amex pop-up prison and have been there for months, but there's a targeted 80k plat offer in my account. That seems way too low to be worth doing. I already get the WM+ benefit with my biz gold and Disney+ with my BCP, so those benefits would be wasted. Does anyone think the 80k plat is worth doing just to try and get out of jail?

 

[StephPlum]

Would love to hear what NPs you liked best on this trip... all of those are on my list, as we're also trying to make it to all 63 NPs, but they're probably a few years out for us! I know Yosemite is pretty far up on all the lists I've seen of best parks. We've only done 9 parks so far. We'll be hitting up 5 more next month (Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and Mesa Verde), and several more hopefully next year - New River Gorge, Olympic, Mt. Rainier and North Cascades.

First caveats: I'm 59 and only do easy hikes, 2 miles or less. So there are lots to do in each park that I didn't attempt.
It is hard to rank the parks as they were all so different from each other. But I'll try.

1. Crater Lake. WOW this is one you have to see to believe. The lake is so blue. You need to drive all around the lake to see it from the different views. I did 1.5 days here. If you wanted to do some of the longer hikes or take the boat tour, 2-3 days would be good. Note: if you want to go to the lake, they are closing the one trail to the lake in 2025 for maintenance and rebuild the boat dock. Expected to open in 2026. Highlights:

• Rim - it is paved around the lake at Rim Village. Great walk. See the lodge if you are interested in Parkitecture.
• Sun Notch - easy hike with amazing views of Phantom Ship
• Godfrey Glen - easy hike through old-growth forest
• Castle Crest - would be an even better hike in the summer with the wildflowers but I still liked it.
• Lady of the Woods - nature hike near Steel Visitor Center
• Pinnacles - different side of Crater Lake showing remnants of the volcanic activity
• Plaikni Falls - 2 miles to a waterfall.

2. Redwoods. WOW again - big, big trees. I only did the central and northern sections of Redwoods due to travel time. 2 full days Hikes/stops:

• Fern Canyon - Normally need a reservation during busy season. Davidson Road to get there is an adventure in itself - narrow, windy, gravel and small stream crossings. Saw sedans to pickup trucks making the trip fine. The hike is across streams as well.
• Gold Bluff Beach - not a hike, just a stop on the same road as Fern Canyon.
• Lady Bird Johnson Grove - easy hike through nice grove of redwoods
• HWY 101 - stopped at several overlooks. Interesting Redwoods NP goes out into the ocean to protect marine life.
• Klamath Beach drive to overlook
• Crescent Beach
• Stout Grove - easy hike through nice grove of big redwoods
• Newton B Drury parkway - scenic drive. Some hikes off this including Big Tree Wayside (1500 year old tree).

3. Yosemite. I am surprised it wasn't higher on my list. If I had to do again, I would have gone earlier in the year. I didn't realize that Yosemite Falls is not a year round fall. By September, it is dry. 3 days Highlights:

• Mariposa Grove. Since I skipped Sequoia NP, I was glad I could see sequoias here.
• Glacier Point - scenic drive with overlooks at Washburn Point and Glacier Point. There are also popular hikes here but I didn't do those.
• Valley
  • Tunnel View
  • Bridal Veil Falls. Walk to one of the few year round waterfalls
  • Vernal Falls - walked to the footbridge. Vernal and Nevada Falls are also year round waterfalls.
  • Yosemite Village - welcome center, museum, replica Indian village, food
  • Happy Isle
• Tioga Road
  • Tenaya Lake
  • Parson's Lodge and Soda Springs
  • Olmsted Point - liked this as it was a view of the valley (like Glacier point but from the other direction)
  • Tuolumne Meadow - standing there seeing the meadow that Muir was in love with was indescribable

4. Lassen Volcanic. Last on my list because it is out of the way, small. You have to intentionally decide to go there because it isn't on the way to anywhere. 1 day.

• Subway Cave. Lava tube you hike through. It is outside the park in the National Forest.
• Lily Pond Trail - start the trail across from the visitor center. Look for the trail entrance where the leaflet is available so you can read about the stops.
• Devastated Area - interpretive trail through the area the last volcanic eruption devastated.
• Sulphur works - a few mud pots and thermals.
• Bumpass Hell - thermal area similar to Yellowstone

There was a lot of driving. Yosemite to Lassen was 5 hours; Lassen to Redwoods 4 hours; Redwoods to Crater Lake 4 hours.
Good luck in your planning and all our NP visits.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

First caveats: I'm 59 and only do easy hikes, 2 miles or less. So there are lots to do in each park that I didn't attempt.
It is hard to rank the parks as they were all so different from each other. But I'll try.

1. Crater Lake. WOW this is one you have to see to believe. The lake is so blue. You need to drive all around the lake to see it from the different views. I did 1.5 days here. If you wanted to do some of the longer hikes or take the boat tour, 2-3 days would be good. Note: if you want to go to the lake, they are closing the one trail to the lake in 2025 for maintenance and rebuild the boat dock. Expected to open in 2026. Highlights:

• Rim - it is paved around the lake at Rim Village. Great walk. See the lodge if you are interested in Parkitecture.
• Sun Notch - easy hike with amazing views of Phantom Ship
• Godfrey Glen - easy hike through old-growth forest
• Castle Crest - would be an even better hike in the summer with the wildflowers but I still liked it.
• Lady of the Woods - nature hike near Steel Visitor Center
• Pinnacles - different side of Crater Lake showing remnants of the volcanic activity
• Plaikni Falls - 2 miles to a waterfall.

2. Redwoods. WOW again - big, big trees. I only did the central and northern sections of Redwoods due to travel time. 2 full days Hikes/stops:

• Fern Canyon - Normally need a reservation during busy season. Davidson Road to get there is an adventure in itself - narrow, windy, gravel and small stream crossings. Saw sedans to pickup trucks making the trip fine. The hike is across streams as well.
• Gold Bluff Beach - not a hike, just a stop on the same road as Fern Canyon.
• Lady Bird Johnson Grove - easy hike through nice grove of redwoods
• HWY 101 - stopped at several overlooks. Interesting Redwoods NP goes out into the ocean to protect marine life.
• Klamath Beach drive to overlook
• Crescent Beach
• Stout Grove - easy hike through nice grove of big redwoods
• Newton B Drury parkway - scenic drive. Some hikes off this including Big Tree Wayside (1500 year old tree).

3. Yosemite. I am surprised it wasn't higher on my list. If I had to do again, I would have gone earlier in the year. I didn't realize that Yosemite Falls is not a year round fall. By September, it is dry. 3 days Highlights:

• Mariposa Grove. Since I skipped Sequoia NP, I was glad I could see sequoias here.
• Glacier Point - scenic drive with overlooks at Washburn Point and Glacier Point. There are also popular hikes here but I didn't do those.
• Valley
  • Tunnel View
  • Bridal Veil Falls. Walk to one of the few year round waterfalls
  • Vernal Falls - walked to the footbridge. Vernal and Nevada Falls are also year round waterfalls.
  • Yosemite Village - welcome center, museum, replica Indian village, food
  • Happy Isle
• Tioga Road
  • Tenaya Lake
  • Parson's Lodge and Soda Springs
  • Olmsted Point - liked this as it was a view of the valley (like Glacier point but from the other direction)
  • Tuolumne Meadow - standing there seeing the meadow that Muir was in love with was indescribable

4. Lassen Volcanic. Last on my list because it is out of the way, small. You have to intentionally decide to go there because it isn't on the way to anywhere. 1 day.

• Subway Cave. Lava tube you hike through. It is outside the park in the National Forest.
• Lily Pond Trail - start the trail across from the visitor center. Look for the trail entrance where the leaflet is available so you can read about the stops.
• Devastated Area - interpretive trail through the area the last volcanic eruption devastated.
• Sulphur works - a few mud pots and thermals.
• Bumpass Hell - thermal area similar to Yellowstone

There was a lot of driving. Yosemite to Lassen was 5 hours; Lassen to Redwoods 4 hours; Redwoods to Crater Lake 4 hours.
Good luck in your planning and all our NP visits.

They all sound amazing, thank you!! Can't wait to get to that part of the country... not sure if we'd do these parks together though, since yeah, that seems like a LOT of driving! In my notes, I was thinking to do Lassen and Crater Lake together on a trip, and then Yosemite, Sequioa, and Kings Canyon on a different trip together. Redwoods isn't on my immediate radar (in my 5 year plan), but maybe I could loop that into Lassen/Crater Lake trip for a longer trip. I'll have much to consider.
What parks will you be tackling next??

 

[disneybirds]

First caveats: I'm 59 and only do easy hikes, 2 miles or less. So there are lots to do in each park that I didn't attempt.
It is hard to rank the parks as they were all so different from each other. But I'll try.

1. Crater Lake. WOW this is one you have to see to believe. The lake is so blue. You need to drive all around the lake to see it from the different views. I did 1.5 days here. If you wanted to do some of the longer hikes or take the boat tour, 2-3 days would be good. Note: if you want to go to the lake, they are closing the one trail to the lake in 2025 for maintenance and rebuild the boat dock. Expected to open in 2026. Highlights:

• Rim - it is paved around the lake at Rim Village. Great walk. See the lodge if you are interested in Parkitecture.
• Sun Notch - easy hike with amazing views of Phantom Ship
• Godfrey Glen - easy hike through old-growth forest
• Castle Crest - would be an even better hike in the summer with the wildflowers but I still liked it.
• Lady of the Woods - nature hike near Steel Visitor Center
• Pinnacles - different side of Crater Lake showing remnants of the volcanic activity
• Plaikni Falls - 2 miles to a waterfall.

2. Redwoods. WOW again - big, big trees. I only did the central and northern sections of Redwoods due to travel time. 2 full days Hikes/stops:

• Fern Canyon - Normally need a reservation during busy season. Davidson Road to get there is an adventure in itself - narrow, windy, gravel and small stream crossings. Saw sedans to pickup trucks making the trip fine. The hike is across streams as well.
• Gold Bluff Beach - not a hike, just a stop on the same road as Fern Canyon.
• Lady Bird Johnson Grove - easy hike through nice grove of redwoods
• HWY 101 - stopped at several overlooks. Interesting Redwoods NP goes out into the ocean to protect marine life.
• Klamath Beach drive to overlook
• Crescent Beach
• Stout Grove - easy hike through nice grove of big redwoods
• Newton B Drury parkway - scenic drive. Some hikes off this including Big Tree Wayside (1500 year old tree).

3. Yosemite. I am surprised it wasn't higher on my list. If I had to do again, I would have gone earlier in the year. I didn't realize that Yosemite Falls is not a year round fall. By September, it is dry. 3 days Highlights:

• Mariposa Grove. Since I skipped Sequoia NP, I was glad I could see sequoias here.
• Glacier Point - scenic drive with overlooks at Washburn Point and Glacier Point. There are also popular hikes here but I didn't do those.
• Valley
  • Tunnel View
  • Bridal Veil Falls. Walk to one of the few year round waterfalls
  • Vernal Falls - walked to the footbridge. Vernal and Nevada Falls are also year round waterfalls.
  • Yosemite Village - welcome center, museum, replica Indian village, food
  • Happy Isle
• Tioga Road
  • Tenaya Lake
  • Parson's Lodge and Soda Springs
  • Olmsted Point - liked this as it was a view of the valley (like Glacier point but from the other direction)
  • Tuolumne Meadow - standing there seeing the meadow that Muir was in love with was indescribable

4. Lassen Volcanic. Last on my list because it is out of the way, small. You have to intentionally decide to go there because it isn't on the way to anywhere. 1 day.

• Subway Cave. Lava tube you hike through. It is outside the park in the National Forest.
• Lily Pond Trail - start the trail across from the visitor center. Look for the trail entrance where the leaflet is available so you can read about the stops.
• Devastated Area - interpretive trail through the area the last volcanic eruption devastated.
• Sulphur works - a few mud pots and thermals.
• Bumpass Hell - thermal area similar to Yellowstone

There was a lot of driving. Yosemite to Lassen was 5 hours; Lassen to Redwoods 4 hours; Redwoods to Crater Lake 4 hours.
Good luck in your planning and all our NP visits.

Thanks for posting all this detail! I have saved this for future reference. We have been twice to Crater Lake and it is truly spectacular.

 

[lsutigers03]

Happy that it should be working. Even if it starts next month I will still be happy

I haven't seen the credit for September which is making me a bit worried. The terms don't specifically mention prepaid carriers not being eligible so hopefully it is just Amex being slow with the credit.

 

[WinterSolider]

We transferred around 200k and got the Hawaiian card, which will get us 70k. May have a specific South America use for them.

The Hawaiian card also lowers the price of award fares, so everything stacks.

When you have the Hawaiian card, a 30,000 point redemption only costs 26,250.

I transferred 437,500 MR to 525,000 HawaiianMiles, which was good for 10 round-trip tickets from Boston (5 to Kona and 5 to Honolulu).

 

[VGCgroupie]

I haven't seen the credit for September which is making me a bit worried. The terms don't specifically mention prepaid carriers not being eligible so hopefully it is just Amex being slow with the credit.

I was going to chat and inquire but terms said it can take 6 weeks to post so I figured that’s the response they would give me if I asked. My gold card office supply credit posted within 2 days so it’s not all credits lagging. Fingers crossed it’s just a fluke and will end up crediting for us.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

My BF and I were hoping to hop some random flight to Europe on D1, but I guess every employee is still doing that, and there are very few seats to be found too. So we ended up in Cancun again. Sadly Saturday night my son decided to spiral. He was staying with my mom, who thinks she can parent better than me....whole other issue, LOL. But she's also been dealing w/ back pain (having surgery this week) and her cancer is back. So we cut our trip short and hopped on a plane home Sunday morning . Looks like Marriott is going to reissue the FNC we used for the trip. Oh and when we got to the resort on Friday afternoon, my 19yo called me crying as she got into an accident, damaged the front end we just had repaired and blew out her tire we just got. Sigh.....We travel to escape the craziness that is my life, but we can't escape it

One would think when your kids are 19 and 15 you can travel MORE. But mine seem to always fall apart when I leave . They both have basically cut out their dad. I was trying to navigate getting my 19yo road side assistance from Cancun while her dad was 5 min away ignoring all her calls, my calls, my moms calls, etc. My BF was going to come to San Diego next month when I present at a conference, but now he's going to stay home w/ my son. At the end of the day, I'm grateful for a partner who's more willing to be there for my kids than their dad . But I wish there was a way we could get away without them falling apart.

My daughter's car needed another new tire and another alignment (lovely $320). So I have to be getting close to my spend on the CIP. I guess that's the "good" part. But also scary that I spent $8k in 30 days. UGH.

 

[lsutigers03]

I was going to chat and inquire but terms said it can take 6 weeks to post so I figured that’s the response they would give me if I asked. My gold card office supply credit posted within 2 days so it’s not all credits lagging. Fingers crossed it’s just a fluke and will end up crediting for us.

I'm checking daily so when I see it post I'll be sure to update here.