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

[afan]

ANY help or pointers would be welcome.

I did such a good job booking airfare for my parents last Spring/Summer 2023 from Milan-Singapore-Bangkok-HongKong-Taipei-Dubai-JFK all in business class (except HKG-Taipei) that my parents want me to do it again this Fall 2024 without the complicated itinerary this time.

They want to start from NY to HKG and then end up home to Miami. They want to leave at the beginning of November 2024 and return anytime in January 2025. They don't mind stopping through any Asia country, basically repositioning in the US and/or Asia.

I can't find any available business class tickets redeemable for miles to Asia in November but I also don't know where to look. I looked at Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, and Emirates. Either no available flights on miles or it was 400k/pp each way (Emirates).

My parents have:
504,755 URs (min 120k more soon from the CIP SUB)
115,415 MRs
84,099 CapitalOne
37,804 BILT points

They are willing to use them all on airfare. However, I can't find anything that works and I'm getting a headache.

Business Class is a must due to their age, 80 and 89 this year.

I am tempted to have them pay cash for 2 business class rd trip tickets which will run them about $10-12K!

If they need to pay cash, I would get a new card and get a SUB out of the tickets. What card should they get to put the air ticket on? Unfortunately, neither of them qualify for a CSR. Mom has the CSR and Dad has the CSP and they both got the Sapphire SUB in Nov of 2021. Should they use a card that includes some travel insurance? Any suggestions for a new card? I think I will also look to purchase some sort of medical evacuation insurance for them, if available.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

No help with flights but given their ages and that it's international I'd get them travel ins and not worry as much about which card is used.

I normally don't worry about the card I use for flights when it's domestic buy trading with my mom next month I made sure to use my csr for the taxes. Only boston but she's 76 so needed more for my piece of mind then when it's just me.

 

[wanderlust7]

ANY help or pointers would be welcome.

I did such a good job booking airfare for my parents last Spring/Summer 2023 from Milan-Singapore-Bangkok-HongKong-Taipei-Dubai-JFK all in business class (except HKG-Taipei) that my parents want me to do it again this Fall 2024 without the complicated itinerary this time.

They want to start from NY to HKG and then end up home to Miami. They want to leave at the beginning of November 2024 and return anytime in January 2025. They don't mind stopping through any Asia country, basically repositioning in the US and/or Asia.

I can't find any available business class tickets redeemable for miles to Asia in November but I also don't know where to look. I looked at Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, and Emirates. Either no available flights on miles or it was 400k/pp each way (Emirates).

My parents have:
504,755 URs (min 120k more soon from the CIP SUB)
115,415 MRs
84,099 CapitalOne
37,804 BILT points

They are willing to use them all on airfare. However, I can't find anything that works and I'm getting a headache.

Business Class is a must due to their age, 80 and 89 this year.

I am tempted to have them pay cash for 2 business class rd trip tickets which will run them about $10-12K!

If they need to pay cash, I would get a new card and get a SUB out of the tickets. What card should they get to put the air ticket on? Unfortunately, neither of them qualify for a CSR. Mom has the CSR and Dad has the CSP and they both got the Sapphire SUB in Nov of 2021. Should they use a card that includes some travel insurance? Any suggestions for a new card? I think I will also look to purchase some sort of medical evacuation insurance for them, if available.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Nice job on the complicated itinerary! Was that booked almost a year out at calendar open?

The short lead time makes this harder. Another one to check would be JAL through BA. AA would be cheaper, but doesn't look like they have any AA miles? If they're willing to do last minute, things can open up within 2 weeks before. For cash, you might consider ZipAir from the west coast. I think you can get roundtrip lie flat for around $2000, but it doesn't have the usual frills of biz class and has a stricter cancellation policy.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Nice job on the complicated itinerary! Was that booked almost a year out at calendar open?

The short lead time makes this harder. Another one to check would be JAL through BA. AA would be cheaper, but doesn't look like they have any AA miles? If they're willing to do last minute, things can open up within 2 weeks before. For cash, you might consider ZipAir from the west coast. I think you can get roundtrip lie flat for around $2000, but it doesn't have the usual frills of biz class and has a stricter cancellation policy.

I booked their flights starting in mid-January for flights in June through Sept. Everything just fell in place and I planned their itinerary on the way to HK around the airfare in a way.

On the way back to the States, they were joining a tour group leaving from NYC to Dubai in Sept. I wasn't even able to book their flights back to the States through Dubai until almost May when I found out what days the tour would be and their flight times to/from Dubai. I timed their flights into Dubai about 4 hours before the flight of the tour group got in and was lucky enough to get them on the same Emirates flight home with the tour group. Both Emirates flight were booked with miles.

They each only have about 60k AA miles.

 

[wanderlust7]

I booked their flights starting in mid-January for flights in June through Sept. Everything just fell in place and I planned their itinerary on the way to HK around the airfare in a way.

On the way back to the States, they were joining a tour group leaving from NYC to Dubai in Sept. I wasn't even able to book their flights back to the States through Dubai until almost May when I found out what days the tour would be and their flight times to/from Dubai. I timed their flights into Dubai about 4 hours before the flight of the tour group got in and was lucky enough to get them on the same Emirates flight home with the tour group. Both Emirates flight were booked with miles.

They each only have about 60k AA miles.

If you can find the JAL availability, it would be exactly 60k AA from US to Japan one-way.

 

[leeniewdw]

For those of you with experience booking Aer Lingus with Avios, is 13K one way in economy a good deal?

Where are you going and from where? If that's from the US to Ireland, then I'd say yes. You aren't going to get anything cheaper using Avios to Ireland since that's a distance based points chart (for Aer Lingus anyway). With the MR to Avios bonus, I guess you can get that for 10,000 pts (if you've got MRs).

 

[SleepyatDVC]

If you can find the JAL availability, it would be exactly 60k AA from US to Japan one-way.

Yeah, unfortunately, no availability on JAL. AA has their own flights for lots of points. Too bad Chase URs don't transfer and they don't have enough AA miles...

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Also, through 8/8, I see an Aldi Doordash coupon STOCKUP50 for 50% off $80 orders (up to $50 off). Cannot stack with other promos, like the $10 above. But I believe you could use your $5 credit. Pickup isn't an option for me, but for $40 off and no delivery or service fees, I don't mind the gratuity for the savings!!

I did schedule an Aldi order for today with stock up items. I had a $96.95 total, no service or delivery fees. Used the $5 DD credit and it gave me $53.48 discount, no idea how but I’ll take it. With a $15 tip my total is $54.
I did notice the STOCKUP50 code until 8/8, but later it changed to 8/14 so I’ll have time to shop at least once more with that code.

 

[Haley R]

We logged into our allegiant account today to find our Christmas flights cancelled. No idea what’s going on. The flights are still showing as available on their website but our reservation is cancelled.

ETA: Just tried calling and it said the wait time is over 30 minutes. After staying on the phone for 20 minutes it said my wait time was over 45 minutes I left my number and am hoping they call me back. I think they screwed a lot of things up because when I look at our first flight only 6 seats are taken and there’s no way only 6 people booked this flight.

 

[becauseimnew]

ANY help or pointers would be welcome.

I did such a good job booking airfare for my parents last Spring/Summer 2023 from Milan-Singapore-Bangkok-HongKong-Taipei-Dubai-JFK all in business class (except HKG-Taipei) that my parents want me to do it again this Fall 2024 without the complicated itinerary this time.

They want to start from NY to HKG and then end up home to Miami. They want to leave at the beginning of November 2024 and return anytime in January 2025. They don't mind stopping through any Asia country, basically repositioning in the US and/or Asia.

I can't find any available business class tickets redeemable for miles to Asia in November but I also don't know where to look. I looked at Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, and Emirates. Either no available flights on miles or it was 400k/pp each way (Emirates).

My parents have:
504,755 URs (min 120k more soon from the CIP SUB)
115,415 MRs
84,099 CapitalOne
37,804 BILT points

They are willing to use them all on airfare. However, I can't find anything that works and I'm getting a headache.

Business Class is a must due to their age, 80 and 89 this year.

I am tempted to have them pay cash for 2 business class rd trip tickets which will run them about $10-12K!

If they need to pay cash, I would get a new card and get a SUB out of the tickets. What card should they get to put the air ticket on? Unfortunately, neither of them qualify for a CSR. Mom has the CSR and Dad has the CSP and they both got the Sapphire SUB in Nov of 2021. Should they use a card that includes some travel insurance? Any suggestions for a new card? I think I will also look to purchase some sort of medical evacuation insurance for them, if available.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

There is usually plenty of last minute availability through AirCanada. This is 08/05/24 departure


You could book a fully refundable fare and then change it last minute. This is 11/06/24

I know that's a big gamble, but early November is low travel season so you'll probably be able to switch to business/first

 

[Psychodisney]

So the Xfinity monopoly in our neighborhood is finally broken as Verizon has put in fiber optic for internet. But what to do about TV? I think I have seen people here mention using YouTube TV. As an old person who fears change, would love to hear good experiences with it! Would certainly be cheaper.

We have been using YouTube TV for about 3 years now and switched to Verizon home internet in Chicagoland 2 years ago. YouTube TV is very easy to navigate. The only hiccup for us occasionally is the location gets mixed up. My Verizon unit was able to pick up the signal from a north facing window. Somehow, it occasionally picks up signal from Wisconsin. Hence, YouTube TV thinks our local stations are Milwaukee stations vs Chicago. It is easy enough to get it back on track but frustrating at times. IMO, the frustration is worth the significantly lower bills for TV and internet!
On line and phone support from YouTube TV (google help) is terrific!

 

[georgina]

We have been using YouTube TV for about 3 years now and switched to Verizon home internet in Chicagoland 2 years ago. YouTube TV is very easy to navigate. The only hiccup for us occasionally is the location gets mixed up. My Verizon unit was able to pick up the signal from a north facing window. Somehow, it occasionally picks up signal from Wisconsin. Hence, YouTube TV thinks our local stations are Milwaukee stations vs Chicago. It is easy enough to get it back on track but frustrating at times. IMO, the frustration is worth the significantly lower bills for TV and internet!
On line and phone support from YouTube TV (google help) is terrific!

Thanks. It is significantly lower price, glad to hear you have had good support experience. We have Verizon cell service so it's an even better deal on the internet price. Think we're going to give it a shot.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

There is usually plenty of last minute availability through AirCanada. This is 08/05/24 departure
View attachment 882292

You could book a fully refundable fare and then change it last minute. This is 11/06/24
View attachment 882300
I know that's a big gamble, but early November is low travel season so you'll probably be able to switch to business/first

Hmmm... something to think about...

There goes my set and forget strategy! Let me go check the fully refundable fares... ouch!

Thank you for helping me think outside the box!

ETA: If I get a fully refundable ticket that I HOPE to replace, I guess I shouldn't get a new AMEX and use it towards the MSR for the SUB... Maybe I have to double up on the MSR for any card.

 

[mmmears]

We're looking at 2026 European fjords cruises. The fjords that I am mostly aware of are the Norweigan fjords (that's the Disney fan in me). If any of you have any preferences on which European fjords would be the cream of the crop my ears are wide open. My cruise line preference is now Princess, but open to others, of course. I know some of you have gotten great cc deals on cruises...

We had been thinking Alaskan cruises intially, but I've been to Alaska twice by land and have done two fjords day cruises out of Whittier so I was thinking of "going a little bigger".

Thanks in advance!

We just returned home from a Norwegian fjords cruise - it was gorgeous there and I highly recommend it. I liked it even more than our cruise to Alaska. We went with Celebrity, but most of the major cruise lines go there. One thing to note - the 2 fjords that are considered to be the best ones aren't going to allow large cruise ships after next summer - we visited both of them this July and they were spectacular (Geiranger & Flam).

 

[becauseimnew]

Hmmm... something to think about...

There goes my set and forget strategy! Let me go check the fully refundable fares... ouch!

Thank you for helping me think outside the box!

ETA: If I get a fully refundable ticket that I HOPE to replace, I guess I shouldn't get a new AMEX and use it towards the MSR for the SUB... Maybe I have to double up on the MSR for any card.

I would track the last minute availability for a couple of weeks. If things are looking good, then maybe just book a refundable premium economy flight that way you don't end up with too many miles stuck in AirCanada.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

ANY help or pointers would be welcome.

I did such a good job booking airfare for my parents last Spring/Summer 2023 from Milan-Singapore-Bangkok-HongKong-Taipei-Dubai-JFK all in business class (except HKG-Taipei) that my parents want me to do it again this Fall 2024 without the complicated itinerary this time.

They want to start from NY to HKG and then end up home to Miami. They want to leave at the beginning of November 2024 and return anytime in January 2025. They don't mind stopping through any Asia country, basically repositioning in the US and/or Asia.

Sent you a PM

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Thanks for all the great advice from everyone about a new (to us) car. We are going with a Honda CR-V, which will be downsizing! My hubby pulled out all the stops and got them to pricematch a car a few hundred miles away, saving $1600 AND they'll let us charge any amount, with 3% fee.
And as luck would have it, our new Ink showed up today. So we are going to put $13,000 down across 2 MSR cards. After AFs and CC fees, our we'll net $3,665 in cc point value on that 13,000 spend.
@Judique I'm going to see if we can finance the difference at a low rate for 36months, ideally as good as your son's 0%, but I know that's a long shot.

Today is really one of those "I love credit cards so much" days Kinda wish I had a third MSR card to put it on, but then I'd look like a crazy person.

 

[djmeredith]

Where are you going and from where? If that's from the US to Ireland, then I'd say yes. You aren't going to get anything cheaper using Avios to Ireland since that's a distance based points chart (for Aer Lingus anyway). With the MR to Avios bonus, I guess you can get that for 10,000 pts (if you've got MRs).

It would help if I had provided the route. It was from Chicago to Dublin.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Thanks for all the great advice from everyone about a new (to us) car. We are going with a Honda CR-V, which will be downsizing! My hubby pulled out all the stops and got them to pricematch a car a few hundred miles away, saving $1600 AND they'll let us charge any amount, with 3% fee.
And as luck would have it, our new Ink showed up today. So we are going to put $13,000 down across 2 MSR cards. After AFs and CC fees, our we'll net $3,665 in cc point value on that 13,000 spend.
@Judique I'm going to see if we can finance the difference at a low rate for 36months, ideally as good as your son's 0%, but I know that's a long shot.

Today is really one of those "I love credit cards so much" days Kinda wish I had a third MSR card to put it on, but then I'd look like a crazy person.

Congrats! Can't remember, are you going used or new? If used, then I'm impressed you got them to take a CC!

 

[reliev]

For those of you with experience booking Aer Lingus with Avios, is 13K one way in economy a good deal?

Has anyone stayed at the Conrad Orlando yet? If so, any tips on making the most of the resort? Taking my 16 yo nephew for a quick fall break Disney trip. We are only doing Epcot and MNSSHP. Then 2 nts at the Conrad resort (using FNC and $200 Aspire resort credit). I thought he would enjoy the pool area, it looks amazing.

im 10-15 min away i want to know also.. but to cheat on hyatt it won't be easy but it looks amazing. (its right across from the regency we staycation at)

 

[DogCat]

im 10-15 min away i want to know also.. but to cheat on hyatt it won't be easy but it looks amazing. (its right across from the regency we staycation at)

Is that the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress? I always wanted to stay there.