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

[Sheree]

Thanks! We ended up booking this--150,000 Hilton points was too good to pass up, and we have been wanting to plan an AZ trip for a while.

I'd love to hear from anyone else who has survived the Hilton sales pitch. I understand that we've agreed to give them 2 hours, and my only worry is how to really end it then. I'm thinking of saying that we have a reservation somewhere at X time if it seems that it's going to go longer. (Fortunately DH and I are 100% agreed than we are not under any circumstances buying anything.)

I'd also appreciate any AZ trip tips. From Scottsdale, what national or state parks could we get in as day trips?

from scotrsdale I did an overnight in Sedona and an overight at the Grand Canyon. It'd be a long day trip! just the scenery around is beautiful though
damn I wish I'd get a 150k offer!

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

We did the Arashiyama scenic train and you don’t have to book it ahead of time. I would go there and book it right when you get there though because the times do fill up. We ended up having to do an afternoon time. Idk which cafes you’re doing but we did the Pokémon cafe and we did have to book that ahead of time before leaving for Japan. We bought the team lab tickets ahead of time but I think it was after we got to Japan. The bullet trains we booked right after we landed. There was a desk at the airport I believe that booked it and they helped us get seats so that we were on the side of mt. Fuji each time

Super helpful, thank you!! yes we are planning to do the Pokémon cafe, and some of the animal cafes - the mini pig and hedgehog ones. I kind of hate having to book specific times for stuff cuz I always worry we’ll miss the time slot if we’re doing something else beforehand and don’t make it in time.

 

[becauseimnew]

We’ll be there mid May. Honestly, I’m having a hard time figuring out what certain attractions actually need to be booked in advance, and what you can just show up to. For example, some of the different specialty cafes, restaurants, arashiyama scenic railway, teamlab attractions, shibuya sky, Tokyo sky tree, even the bullet trains! I’m still not understanding what trains I need to reserve and which I don’t. Every day I’m reading something new. I think I will be for the next 4 months

I've been watching Instagram Reels, book marking places I want to visit. I hope that once spring break comes along they'll be more reviews.
I'm just not ready for the long lines.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Ok I'm officially anxious now about our late January SWA flights after the big meltdown,and now what's going on today...

Same.

We just flew SW in the past week and it was smooth sailing all four legs. Not a single delay and even got the middle seat open on 3/4 legs. Here's hoping your travels are easy as well.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Side note, I had a wisdom tooth surgery today. It needed to be done as I’ve been dragging my feet on it for a few years. But the silver lining is that with the bill, I met my CIC spend today. Hello 90k URs!
Now I need to meet DH’s spend on his CSP, which I’ll be able to do next week with an insurance payment. Another 80k URs!

Starting to look at the next card we should get, although we may have to wait a few months since we just got these in Nov/Dec, got an auto loan in December, and we’re doing a home equity loan in March/April. Our scores are still great but both of our inquiries are “poor”, each with 6 right now, and probably soon to be 7-8 with the new loan.

 

[wdwpluto]

Super helpful, thank you!! yes we are planning to do the Pokémon cafe, and some of the animal cafes - the mini pig and hedgehog ones. I kind of hate having to book specific times for stuff cuz I always worry we’ll miss the time slot if we’re doing something else beforehand and don’t make it in time.

I think I'm having a hard time getting my head around all the various areas of Tokyo and what's where. I need to just do a brain dump, then play around w/ a map and group things that are close to each other.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

I think I'm having a hard time getting my head around all the various areas of Tokyo and what's where. I need to just do a brain dump, then play around w/ a map and group things that are close to each other.

Yeah, it takes some time. That’s what I was working on for the past week straight, just putting everything into maps and grouping things together. Then once I had the groupings together by day, I started adding restaurants into the mix that were on my list and close by too. I still don’t have it at 100%, but it’s about 80% there.
I will definitely do a trip report once we’re back for you guys that are going in June! Not sure it will help too much since you’ll likely have all plans finalized by then.

 

[wdwpluto]

Yeah, it takes some time. That’s what I was working on for the past week straight, just putting everything into maps and grouping things together. Then once I had the groupings together by day, I started adding restaurants into the mix that were on my list and close by too. I still don’t have it at 100%, but it’s about 80% there.
I will definitely do a trip report once we’re back for you guys that are going in June! Not sure it will help too much since you’ll likely have all plans finalized by then.

I would love your report when you're back! I always try to leave some room for flexibility when I travel so it could help!

 

[wanderlust7]

Super helpful, thank you!! yes we are planning to do the Pokémon cafe, and some of the animal cafes - the mini pig and hedgehog ones. I kind of hate having to book specific times for stuff cuz I always worry we’ll miss the time slot if we’re doing something else beforehand and don’t make it in time.

Pokemon Cafe reservations was pretty competitive, you might want to do a test run to familiarize yourself to the website. But at least only one day is released at a time, so there can be multiple chances.

We missed out on Kirby Cafe because they release the entire month on the 10th of the month before (at 6 pm Japan time). I didn't do a test run and didn't know that I should just click each time option as fast as possible until one goes through. I got confused why every option I clicked on gave a pop-up. Only after all the slots was gone did I realize that just means I didn't click fast enough and the slot was gone already.

 

[Haley R]

Super helpful, thank you!! yes we are planning to do the Pokémon cafe, and some of the animal cafes - the mini pig and hedgehog ones. I kind of hate having to book specific times for stuff cuz I always worry we’ll miss the time slot if we’re doing something else beforehand and don’t make it in time.

The thing that helped us was to not over plan. Maybe pick 1-2 things a day so you aren’t rushing around. Definitely book a time for the Pokémon cafe. It’s popular and I remember them turning people away that didn’t have a reservation

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

So I finally pulled the trigger and I bought one way flights on JB for $150 for all 3 of us. It's the blue basic, so it doesn't come w/ carry-ons. But it did show that I get 3 free checked bags. Originally I was going to do 1 checked bag for my 17yo and I to share and then have us each do a carry on. Now I think we'll either check a carryon size to BOS, or we'll just do 3 checked bags, LOL. My mom said she's going to do a checked bag. I think the issue w/ carry on only would be shoes (everyone says you need boots and I don't want to wear those on a flight) and souvenirs. So now we should all be okay, LOL.

My hope is to get the points from the SUB fast enough to use those on the return flights (since those weren't on sale anyways, LOL).

But I'm happy that task is done!

Now last task is booking our hotel in Cork. I'm going to have my mom use some of her URs. She has the CSP. So we can use the $50 credit, right? Just make sure to leave $50 to "pay", right?

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Pokemon Cafe reservations was pretty competitive, you might want to do a test run to familiarize yourself to the website. But at least only one day is released at a time, so there can be multiple chances.

We missed out on Kirby Cafe because they release the entire month on the 10th of the month before (at 6 pm Japan time). I didn't do a test run and didn't know that I should just click each time option as fast as possible until one goes through. I got confused why every option I clicked on gave a pop-up. Only after all the slots was gone did I realize that just means I didn't click fast enough and the slot was gone already.

Very helpful info, thanks! Planning to do both of those cafes. Your suggestion of familiarizing myself with the website is a great one and I’ll probably take it even farther to check out the website for every attraction and go through a fake booking so I know what to expect.
Man, this is one trip that is just kicking my butt with planning! I love to plan, and I feel like most trips are easy to plan, but this one has so many layers and complexities…. I feel like I’m doing a back in the old days WDW itinerary, running to fast pass machines and planning the rides and next fast passes to cram all the rides into our 1 day at that park

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

The thing that helped us was to not over plan. Maybe pick 1-2 things a day so you aren’t rushing around. Definitely book a time for the Pokémon cafe. It’s popular and I remember them turning people away that didn’t have a reservation

I think that’s good advice, and I was realizing that… our days were all just jam packed with things, and after looking at all the transit we’d have to take, time to get from here to there, etc. I had to chisel down not only shrines/temples, but also some other stuff that wasn’t super important.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Very helpful info, thanks! Planning to do both of those cafes. Your suggestion of familiarizing myself with the website is a great one and I’ll probably take it even farther to check out the website for every attraction and go through a fake booking so I know what to expect.
Man, this is one trip that is just kicking my butt with planning! I love to plan, and I feel like most trips are easy to plan, but this one has so many layers and complexities…. I feel like I’m doing a back in the old days WDW itinerary, running to fast pass machines and planning the rides and next fast passes to cram all the rides into our 1 day at that park

I'm not going to Japan, but when I read everyone's posts, it literally sounds like you guys are speaking another language sometimes. Maybe some of the words that are used are actually the Japenese word, so that would explain it? But it sounds complex for sure.

 

[wanderlust7]

Very helpful info, thanks! Planning to do both of those cafes. Your suggestion of familiarizing myself with the website is a great one and I’ll probably take it even farther to check out the website for every attraction and go through a fake booking so I know what to expect.
Man, this is one trip that is just kicking my butt with planning! I love to plan, and I feel like most trips are easy to plan, but this one has so many layers and complexities…. I feel like I’m doing a back in the old days WDW itinerary, running to fast pass machines and planning the rides and next fast passes to cram all the rides into our 1 day at that park

Good luck with Kirby Cafe! Would love to hear about it if you go. Planning to go to S. Korea and Japan again in 2024, so we'll have another chance. Thinking we'll go to Fukuoka, the Kirby Cafe there should be easier to get than the Tokyo one, plus it's super close to the Grand Hyatt there (Hyatt fan here lol).

When you make the Pokemon Cafe reservation, you'll have the opportunity to pre-order some exclusive merch. This is stuff that you can only buy if you pre-order. You can't add it later or change it without canceling your reservation, so take a look beforehand. It's under Goods -> Special.

teamLab Planets was awesome! I had seen pictures, but it's so different experiencing it. Not what I expected at all. You have to take off your shoes right at the entrance (there are free lockers). I knew that parts were in water, but thought barefoot was just in sections. Did not expect the entire thing to be barefoot!

ETA: Oh one more thing, the Pokemon store in Tokyo has a gashapon machine with miniature versions of the Pikachu and Eevee plates served at the Pokemon Cafe (complete with miniature food). They are super cute!!

 

[Haley R]

I think that’s good advice, and I was realizing that… our days were all just jam packed with things, and after looking at all the transit we’d have to take, time to get from here to there, etc. I had to chisel down not only shrines/temples, but also some other stuff that wasn’t super important.

There were a lot of times we would wander after doing something on our list because there are so many cool areas to walk around in and explore. So it’s a good idea to only have a couple things per day otherwise it might make you more stressed

 

[Haley R]

Are Dh and I able to merge our AA accounts? When I applied I put his AA number on the application but they created a new account for me instead so now our points are separate

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

teamLab Planets was awesome! I had seen pictures, but it's so different experiencing it. Not what I expected at all. You have to take off your shoes right at the entrance (there are free lockers). I knew that parts were in water, but thought barefoot was just in sections. Did not expert the entire thing to be barefoot!

I’m VERY excited for teamlab planets. I read that it’s best to wear shorts or a dress with something underneath, because of the water element. How many hours did you spend there? I’m budgeting it as a half day activity.

We’re also planning to do teamlab botanical gardens in Osaka… not sure I’ve heard of anyone here doing that one?

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Are Dh and I able to merge our AA accounts? When I applied I put his AA number on the application but they created a new account for me instead so now our points are separate

I haven’t heard of being able to merge accounts for two different people. You can transfer points between your accounts, but they charge to do so, and it’s not that cheap.

 

[Haley R]

I haven’t heard of being able to merge accounts for two different people. You can transfer points between your accounts, but they charge to do so, and it’s not that cheap.

Oh shoot I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know why they created a separate account for me. This might mess up booking our flights