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

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I realized that I never wrote about the Legian Resort in Seminyak. It was a lovely resort on the beach with stunning tiered infinity pools overlooking the beach. At just 66 rooms and only 3 stories it had a nice small boutique feel. What an absolute relief it was to enter my suite and feel the cool air blasting from the a/c after 6 nights of a near-boiling bedroom at the Umana lol. Sorry not sorry I like to sleep in a freezer when it’s hot outside. The resort is open-air, the only a/c parts are the rooms, the gym (which was nice and cold!) and the spa.

I will say that the rooms were a bit dated for my taste, but it works for the Legian and adds to their charm. Service here is outstanding in all aspects. The room had free snack jars which were re-filled daily (veggie chips, cookies and spiced peanuts), but I seldom touched them because I was rarely hungry here. The water pressure in the shower was amazing.

The gym here was AMAZING. I think that the hotel owners must be fitness buffs because it was huge and very well equipped. The best hotel gym I’ve ever seen bar none.

I booked on an AmEx FHR rate, which included a US$100 f&b credit. That covered dinner for me for 3 nights, 2 of which were in their fancy restaurant, the other at their bar on the beach (I couldn’t even come close to finishing the items that I ordered here). It also included breakfast, which while wasn’t as plentiful as the Umana, was still very good. The French toast was particularly good.

The sunsets here were the things that dreams are made of. Most days I’d workout for 2 hours, have breakfast, spend a few hours in a lounger facing the ocean, head into town for a bit, then head back to the Legian to watch the sunset. It was very relaxing!

There really isn’t much to do in Seminyak other than enjoy the sun (unless you want to do full day trips, which I did from Ubud), but it was extremely enjoyable. I’d definitely go back to Seminyak, not sure that I’d stay at the Legian, I would probably try to find somewhere a bit less expensive (the Oberoi was next door as were a few others that I’d research). All the rooms at the Legian were oceanfront, so it would probably be a top contender for me, plus I really enjoyed the small size of the resort and the pools, the gym and the overall ambiance.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

My overall thoughts on Bali? In one word: OBSESSED. I plan on returning in September, 2026. Would love to go back next year but ds and I are going to Hawaii and Australia in early October, I don’t want to go in rainy season and summer is not possible with dd home from uni. Which leaves 2 years from now. Something to plan for / look forward to! I highly recommend visiting —probably one of my favorite places. I wish it wasn’t so far away.

Maybe not for everyone, particularly with the insane traffic. I think the trick is to spend at least 5 or so nights in each area to really settle in and get the feel for it. Next time I’d like to spend at least 6 or 7 or more nights in Ubud, 5 or 6 nights in Seminyak and a few in Labuan Bajo (I must visit Komodo NP). Plus 3 or 4 nights in Tokyo on my way there and 4 nights in Taipei or Singapore on my way home.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

The EVA lounge in Taipei is nice. Food was quite good, MUCH better than what AC serves in their lounges. I’m super tired — only slept 3 hours last night and with a symphony of several crying babies on the 5 hour flight from SG—>TPE I wasn’t able to sleep a wink. Hopefully I’ll get at least a few hours on the flight tonight.

Not sure if I’ve mentioned that I’m heading to Rome / Florence and Bologna in 12 days. I had 4 FNCs expiring at the end of September (I had HH extend the to the end of October for me) and had originally booked myself into the Aleph Curio Collection for 4 nights in Rome using all 4 FNCs. However when HH merged with SLH I switched to the D’Inghiliterra in Rome, which just re-opened after an extensive renovation. I am super excited for this hotel — the cash rate is an obscene US$1,500.00 / night.

I’m then booked at the Leone Blu Suites in Florence, which I booked through AmEx using a Luxury Escapes offer (spend $1k save $200). It looks really nice, right on the river and only a handful of rooms.

The only reason I booked Bologna is to get home. I won’t try to fly BA out of Florence this year after the unmitigated disaster that was my trip from London to Florence on BA last year. I have a single room with balcony booked at the Hotel Corona D’Oro — I booked direct with the hotel and wanted to switch to using URs, but the rates had doubled, so I’ll be paying cash here.

I’m flying Toronto—>Montreal—>Rome (using AP points) and Bologna—>London—>Toronto (using Avios). Just 16 nights, but I am excited! Then I’ll be home for 6 weeks before ds and I head to London for 6 nights for the Arsenal game and Christmas lights / markets / shopping.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I can’t seem to stop posting today lol.

I did the HH upgrade from basic—> Aspire in early summer. I have now received 2 FNCs (one for the upgrade, one for the renewal!), plus I have another from the free basic card I got in early summer. I need to decide my best strategy to use them — might have to use them in Hawaii with ds, so will need to ask the diamond desk to extend them to the end of October.

If anyone knows of great HH redemptions in Honolulu please post! I’m not super fussy as long as the rooms are clean and quiet and the hotel is well-located. Though luxury certainly never hurts.

 

[hsmamato2]

...

 

[hsmamato2]

It's a good offer if you want the card long term and can use the FNCs. They do expire a year after they're earned.

But if the goal is just the bonus, then a CIU is better. A cat 4 is 12,000 points non-peak and 18,000 peak, so potential value of the SUB maxes out at 90k. AF $95, you'd need to spend $4000. A CIU with 90k SUB would be vastly more flexible and no AF, not to mention the 20k support, you'd just have to spend $2000 more.



You'd have to get past the pop-up to get the SUB on more than 1. You can PC into multiple though. It's a credit card (not charge card), most people can only have 5 of those open.

this makes sense....altho I think I'm inked out for awhile based on Dp's

 

[hsmamato2]

New elevated CSP offer via support link. Others have noted on r/churning that this link has disappeared from the public page, but I was able to pull it up via support. I'll pop it over on DISchurners if anyone needs it.

View attachment 900397

Thanks for posting! My dsis has been waiting for an offer to come along

 

[hsmamato2]

New elevated CSP offer via support link. Others have noted on r/churning that this link has disappeared from the public page, but I was able to pull it up via support. I'll pop it over on DISchurners if anyone needs it.

View attachment 900397

Thanks for posting! My dsis has been waiting for an offer to come along

Currently in the EVA lounge at the Taipei airport waiting for my flight home. I contemplated doing a quick tour of Taipei but decided against it because my total layover time is 6.5 hours and I didn’t want to rush and have to worry about traffic, going through security again, etc. Probably a good decision because when we landed there was another plane at our gate so we had to sit for 15 minutes and wait for the aircraft to clear, plus it’s hot and raining here and I’m super tired.

I wanted to post some thoughts about my stay at the Umana Ugasan LXR in Bali. I had read such positive things about it on FT so I had set my expectations high. I already posted pics of my villa and it was truly lovely. BUT there were some major shortcomings which had a drastic impact on my stay.

• The a/c in the villa was set at 78 degrees and guests cannot change it (unless they want it hotter). I told them it was waaaay too hot for me and they sent eng to ‘check’ it; I was told everything was fine. But I persisted because I can’t sleep in an oven. So the front desk sent 2 eng guys who spent upwards of 45 mins in the villa and on the roof so that the temp on the thermostats (3 in total) could be lowered.
• They are SUPER stingy with upgrades. I checked the HH website before I arrived and all room types were showing as available. But when I arrived I was told the hotel was fully occupied. Two days later they offered me an upgrade, but due to some miscommunication on their part I turned it down (it had shade by villa pool all day — I wanted all day sun and had discussed this with them a few times). So I had to pack and then unpack
• Next day I was offered an upgrade to a panoramic ocean view and the view was amazing, so I took it. But that entailed packing and unpacking yet again. But….
• The a/c at the new villa had the thermostat was set at an absurd 84 degrees (does anyone enjoy sleeping in a room that hot? But I digress). So a call to the front desk for eng
• But eng could not get the thermostats below 78 degrees after 3 lengthy visits. At this point the front desk thought it might be better to ignore me than to deal with the issue, but if I can’t sleep then no one is going to be happy lol. I had already arranged with the front desk to have them call me prior to eng coming to my room lest I be in my bikini by the pool when they arrive.
• So I am in the shower after spending the day by the pool and thought I heard someone in the room. To discover that eng was in the bedroom WHILE I WAS SHOWERING (there is no door to the bathroom from the bedroom — it’s a large open area). No whatsapp, no doorbell, nada and this was with the DND on, mind you it was daylight so I didn’t have the deadbolt engaged. I was too mad to call the front desk, so had to wait an hour or so to gather myself. Their response was along the lines of ‘we thought you wanted the temp adjusted’ and never acknowledged their egregious behavior (I don’t blame eng — I’m sure it was the front desk that sent them).
• The gym also had the temp set at 80 degrees and despite asking at least 6 times for it to be turned down it never was.
• No beach club — apparently it won’t be ready until November. If one wants to go to the beach you would have to pay to use a private beach club with a few hundred strangers
• There is construction surrounding the resort — a new condo complex being built beside (adjacent to the spa) and a new road (or road construction) down to the beach. If one wants a villa with daytime sun you are going to get a good dose of construction noise to go along with it (it didn’t bother me, but something to be aware of)
• Nothing was left at turndown and no welcome amenity in the room (this was the only hotel that I stayed at the didn’t offer anything and that includes the Bali Novotel airport hotel)
• There is nothing within walking distance and nothing worth visiting in Uluwatu except the Temple on the cliff. That involved a nail-biting half hour ride on the back of a scooter in each direction.

For comparison I stayed at 5 hotels over the past 28 days and all but the Umana had the thermostats set at 66 degrees. I have no idea why the Umana thinks that 78 degrees is a comfortable temp to sleep in. Ugh. Suffice it to say that I won’t be returning there.

There were some good things. The staff at Commune, their main restaurant, was amazing as was the food. I had a massage which was maybe one of the best I’ve ever had. Despite the gym being 1,000 degrees it was very well-equipped with modern equipment. And the Japanese toilets in the room were amazing (if I ever custom build a house every bedroom en-suite will have one).

I had a macaque troop visit me in my upgraded villa one day — here’s an an action shot with the view in the background)

.View attachment 900447

love it!

 

[hsmamato2]

@*WDW*Groupie* you are a travel inspiration for sure! I love all the pics and descriptions..... you made me realize I never shared much about my Fiji trip, but I can say for sure that Malolo Leilei was a place I dream about daily still.....

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I'm not sure if you can GOH to yourself, you'd have to ask.

Sharing a DP regarding legacy GOH to oneself:

Called last night to try to add it to 3 reservations I have next year that are after my status lapses. The rep was able to add it to the first one I gave her after putting me on hold (and I see it on my account now). I asked for the next one and she said that she read it was "one time." I told her I didn't see that in the terms but she insisted that she saw that on her end. I didn't argue because I wasn't even sure if it would be possible to do it for oneself and I worried she would keep digging and take away the one she gave me, lol.

For my other two stays, I will have earned 2 GOH certs by then (one after I reach 40 nights this year, and the other next year) so I'll be fine anyway and this works out. But it would be good to know if the rep was wrong in case other reservations where it would matter come up. I have globalist through the Bilt promo in 2023 which doesn't have access to concierge, so I couldn't use that avenue to ask.

 

[wanderlust7]

Sharing a DP regarding legacy GOH to oneself:

Called last night to try to add it to 3 reservations I have next year that are after my status lapses. The rep was able to add it to the first one I gave her after putting me on hold (and I see it on my account now). I asked for the next one and she said that she read it was "one time." I told her I didn't see that in the terms but she insisted that she saw that on her end. I didn't argue because I wasn't even sure if it would be possible to do it for oneself and I worried she would keep digging and take away the one she gave me, lol.

For my other two stays, I will have earned 2 GOH certs by then (one after I reach 40 nights this year, and the other next year) so I'll be fine anyway and this works out. But it would be good to know if the rep was wrong in case other reservations where it would matter come up. I have globalist through the Bilt promo in 2023 which doesn't have access to concierge, so I couldn't use that avenue to ask.

I've done 2 Legacy GOH this year. I've had good experiences with the Twitter Hyatt Concierge. I think you can also do Facebook Messenger, maybe it's the same team.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I've done 2 Legacy GOH this year. I've had good experiences with the Twitter Hyatt Concierge. I think you can also do Facebook Messenger, maybe it's the same team.

But legacy GOH to oneself? I haven't seen anything about that working anywhere... worked for me once! I wondered if maybe there's some unwritten rule about it only working once. But I definitely planned to try again some other time. I will will also try both Twitter and FB to see if either works

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

• So I am in the shower after spending the day by the pool and thought I heard someone in the room. To discover that eng was in the bedroom WHILE I WAS SHOWERING (there is no door to the bathroom from the bedroom — it’s a large open area). No whatsapp, no doorbell, nada and this was with the DND on, mind you it was daylight so I didn’t have the deadbolt engaged. I was too mad to call the front desk, so had to wait an hour or so to gather myself. Their response was along the lines of ‘we thought you wanted the temp adjusted’ and never acknowledged their egregious behavior (I don’t blame eng — I’m sure it was the front desk that sent them).

.

This is so, so not okay. I'm disgusted; it's a complete breakdown of the trust you have in your expectation of safety and privacy, as they are hosting you. While the FD may be at blame for sending them, engineering needs training that if the DND is on and no one answers AND there is someone naked in the shower, you do not belong there. I do hope that you'll post reviews far and wide on Google and TA

It sounds like an overall amazing trip. I'm exhausted just reading about it; I don't know how you do it! Looking forward to hearing about Rome and Florence!

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

New elevated CSP offer via support link. Others have noted on r/churning that this link has disappeared from the public page, but I was able to pull it up via support. I'll pop it over on DISchurners if anyone needs it.

View attachment 900397

Reports of 70k +$300 in-branch offer for the CSP

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

So I'm a big dummy and activated the $100/$500 Chase travel portal offer for P2, and made a travel purchase. The $100 credit posted 5 days later. Because we've used the P2 account to book portal travel, I didn't think to check for the mybonus offer. Then someone mentioned there's a secondary offer of 10k/$500. Well that card was targeted for the 10k/$500 offer.

I've completed the portal transaction (before activating the offer), but haven't actually completed travel yet. I think I've heard the mybonus offers are retroactive? Like, when it's 7x on gas and dining, it doesn't really matter when you activate the offer, as long as you do sometime that quarter. Not sure if that's correct, AT ALL. I guess I'm wondering if anyone thinks the portal offer will be triggered?

 

[wanderlust7]

But legacy GOH to oneself? I haven't seen anything about that working anywhere... worked for me once! I wondered if maybe there's some unwritten rule about it only working once. But I definitely planned to try again some other time. I will will also try both Twitter and FB to see if either works

Ah, I see the distinction. No, I've never tried to GOH to oneself. Hope you can get the others to work too!

 

[miztressuz]

So I'm a big dummy and activated the $100/$500 Chase travel portal offer for P2, and made a travel purchase. The $100 credit posted 5 days later. Because we've used the P2 account to book portal travel, I didn't think to check for the mybonus offer. Then someone mentioned there's a secondary offer of 10k/$500. Well that card was targeted for the 10k/$500 offer.

I've completed the portal transaction (before activating the offer), but haven't actually completed travel yet. I think I've heard the mybonus offers are retroactive? Like, when it's 7x on gas and dining, it doesn't really matter when you activate the offer, as long as you do sometime that quarter. Not sure if that's correct, AT ALL. I guess I'm wondering if anyone thinks the portal offer will be triggered?

Hm, for the quarterly spend bonuses being retroactive for the time period, it is listed in the terms. This doesn't list a start time only end times -

10,000 Bonus Points Through Chase Travel: With this bonus offer, eligible cardmembers who activate this offer can then earn 10,000 bonus points when they purchase a hotel stay through Chase Travel totaling at least $400 in a single transaction. Purchase must be made by 01/31/25 11:59 PM ET with the same eligible card used to activate and travel must be completed by 08/31/25 11:59 PM ET.

I don't see anything in the terms that distinctly says one way or the other. I would generally assume that it would be a purchase completed after activation, however, a slim chance exists that activating it on the same card and completing the stay by 8/31/25 may work. Lazy programing would look at card used for the stay once it was completed, and if the promo is active and purchase date before 1/31/25, post the points. Who knows yet which way that will go.

Someone also asked about the cardmember terminology I thought, my offer seems explicit that it's a one time bonus regardless of how many cards you may activate it on -

This bonus can only be earned once per cardmember, regardless of how many eligible cards a cardmember has, and will be awarded to the eligible card used to activate this offer.

 

[mmmears]

I can’t seem to stop posting today lol.

I did the HH upgrade from basic—> Aspire in early summer. I have now received 2 FNCs (one for the upgrade, one for the renewal!), plus I have another from the free basic card I got in early summer. I need to decide my best strategy to use them — might have to use them in Hawaii with ds, so will need to ask the diamond desk to extend them to the end of October.

If anyone knows of great HH redemptions in Honolulu please post! I’m not super fussy as long as the rooms are clean and quiet and the hotel is well-located. Though luxury certainly never hurts.

Hopefully someone will chime in with a good redemption in Honolulu. We use the Hilton FNCs and points in Maui, but I know there is a Hilton in Waikiki. We walked past it when staying there for a weekend getaway earlier this year (chose to try the Halekulani through FHR, which was lovely).

 

[djmeredith]

I was just in Waikiki in May and researched HIlton properties. There are not great Hilton options in Waikiki/Honolulu except the "new" LXR (former Trump Hotel). I stayed at the Doubletree in Waikiki. It is dated, but was clean. Doubletree is not on the beach; it is across the street from Hilton Hawaiian Village. We were only there 2 nts to do Pearl Harbor, so the Doubletree was fine for our purposes. However, I wouldn't want to stay there for a true beach vacation.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I was just in Waikiki in May and researched HIlton properties. There are not great Hilton options in Waikiki/Honolulu except the "new" LXR (former Trump Hotel). I stayed at the Doubletree in Waikiki. It is dated, but was clean. Doubletree is not on the beach; it is across the street from Hilton Hawaiian Village. We were only there 2 nts to do Pearl Harbor, so the Doubletree was fine for our purposes. However, I wouldn't want to stay there for a true beach vacation.

Thank you! I don't enjoy being on the beach as much as I enjoy looking at them from afar, so I'm fine with a block or two from the beach. I'm interested in the LXR property -- seems like a good place to use the FNCs.

This is so, so not okay. I'm disgusted; it's a complete breakdown of the trust you have in your expectation of safety and privacy, as they are hosting you. While the FD may be at blame for sending them, engineering needs training that if the DND is on and no one answers AND there is someone naked in the shower, you do not belong there. I do hope that you'll post reviews far and wide on Google and TA

It sounds like an overall amazing trip. I'm exhausted just reading about it; I don't know how you do it! Looking forward to hearing about Rome and Florence!

I got a survey from the hotel after I checked out and reiterated my thoughts about the situation, but the same front desk supervisor that I spoke to responded and he clearly didn't seem to think there was an issue with eng coming into the bedroom while I was showering (to work on the thermostat in the bedroom); I asked him to have the hotel manager contact me (no point in trying to continue a discussion with him) -- that was 3 days ago and I haven't heard anything. I plan on calling the diamond desk either tomorrow or Sunday -- they were amazing in the past when I had issues with the LXR Biltmore.