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

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Planning future travel. I am behind on planning for 2024. So far I just have a trip to Yosemite planned for late summer. Still trying to decide on Spring Break travel - maybe Key West and the Everglades.

I am thinking of something big in 2025. I'll turn 60 and am planning to retire that year! Has anyone here been to Churchill, Manitoba? I'd love to see the polar bears. I am not sure if I can CC hack my way there other than flights to Winnipeg, bank bonus and PYB. Has anyone does this DIY or with a tour (looking for recommendations)? Not necessarily looking for points advice but general. I'm scouring TA as well for advice.

I have researched this trip many times in the past and it is something that I really, really want to do. If you want to see the beautiful bears, be aware that the window for these trips is limited -- they have to take place before the bears hop on the sea ice and head north for the winter. There is only 1 (maybe 2) companies that offer these trips, the duration of the trip is pre-determined and they are very expensive. Frontiers Northern offers polar bear expeditions in October and November.

There is a show that dd and I like to watch called Arctic Vet; it takes place in Winnipeg, but the main vet makes trips to Churchill when needed. The vets work at Assiniboine Park Conservancy (AZA, WAZA and CAZA accredited) which is a place that dd and I want to visit.

 

[ten6mom]

Amazing deal on a Mediterranean Virgin Cruise (source: Max Miles Points):

Enjoy a 7-night stay for two people on a Mediterranean cruise in either a Sea Terrace or Limited Sea View Terrace room. You can choose to sail from Barcelona or the ancient city of Athens. Departures are available between June 1st and July 31st, 2023. This package costs 80,000 points, but if you stack it with the Amex or Chase 30% bonus, the price drops to 62,000 points for TWO people!

1. Transfer Chase or Amex points to Virgin Atlantic
2. Link your Virgin Atlantic account with Virgin Red
3. Complete your booking with Virgin Red

Note: these cruises are adults only (18+)

https://www.virgin.com/en-us/virgin...nights-in-the-med-between-june-and-july-16042

Aggghhh I wish I could just pick up and do this... I probably have enough miles to get there (on some other airline...I have never even THOUGHT about flying into any part of Europe other than London) and I definitely have enough Virgin miles for the cruise... man oh man.

 

[DogCat]

For VRBO reservations, has anyone used VGC or MCGC to pay?

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Ok... so If Ioaded all my cc's that have free IC at once into an acct, they'' automatically stack to extend the free membership? I find this so confusing that I haven't even bothered with it, and yet I have so many cc's that will stack.....

Yes. You activate them from your Chase account into the same Instacart account and they will stack. You need to add your card through instacart.com/chase

 

[iujen94]

Yes. You activate them from your Chase account into the same Instacart account and they will stack. You need to add your card through instacart.com/chase

It worked!! Not that I doubted you but I’m shocked it was so easy!!! I added 3 CFF and 1 CFU and it extended my IC+ by a year! I don’t suppose there’s any way to stack those $10/quarter credits and use them all on one order?

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Aggghhh I wish I could just pick up and do this... I probably have enough miles to get there (on some other airline...I have never even THOUGHT about flying into any part of Europe other than London) and I definitely have enough Virgin miles for the cruise... man oh man.

Same! Our PTO for this year is already accounted for and tied up in travel we'd rather not change at this point. If this deal was for 2024, we could move things around. Darn

 

[StephPlum]

I have researched this trip many times in the past and it is something that I really, really want to do. If you want to see the beautiful bears, be aware that the window for these trips is limited -- they have to take place before the bears hop on the sea ice and head north for the winter. There is only 1 (maybe 2) companies that offer these trips, the duration of the trip is pre-determined and they are very expensive. Frontiers Northern offers polar bear expeditions in October and November.

There is a show that dd and I like to watch called Arctic Vet; it takes place in Winnipeg, but the main vet makes trips to Churchill when needed. The vets work at Assiniboine Park Conservancy (AZA, WAZA and CAZA accredited) which is a place that dd and I want to visit.

My research so far is 3 companies - Churchill Wild (can actually walk around where the bears are - sounds cool and scary at the same time); Natural Habitat Adventures and Frontiers Northern. They all have packages. Frontiers Northern also does day tours on their tundra buggies. The difference in prices is wide. Churchill Wild is 2x the cheapest, but I get that due to the more unique experience. I think it is possible to DIY this and save some costs but the logistics are cumbersome as it isn't as easy as just drive to Churchhill.

I am planning to try for the last week of Oct/first week of Nov, which right now is the peak season so best chance but no guarantees of seeing bears.

Now I'm going to have to add some Winnipeg sightseeing like the Assiniboine Park Conservancy!

 

[Alexle2007]

DS is going to University of Alabama for 4 nights in July. He will be staying on campus but I am going with him. Any thoughts on staying at the HR in Birmingham vs Embassy Suites in Tuscaloosa? Flights were ridiculous into Birmingham so we are flying in Jackson, MS and making the drive over.

 

[wweazel]

Same! Our PTO for this year is already accounted for and tied up in travel we'd rather not change at this point. If this deal was for 2024, we could move things around. Darn

This is the 3rd time a similar offer has been available in the past year or so - I still can't go but still hopeful the next one will work for me!

 

[eticketplease]

It worked!! Not that I doubted you but I’m shocked it was so easy!!! I added 3 CFF and 1 CFU and it extended my IC+ by a year! I don’t suppose there’s any way to stack those $10/quarter credits and use them all on one order?

I couldn’t figure it out but hopefully some has been able to do it.

 

[iujen94]

I couldn’t figure it out but hopefully some has been able to do it.

Try this link: https://www.instacart.com/chase - click “Add Chase Card” and follow the prompts.

 

[Zhoen]

You can go into your Chase account and activate the benefits there. It should take you to Instacart where you login to your existing account. You only need to use the card when you want the Chase credit. Otherwise you can use any card and the Instacart membership still applies.

Oh wow, I hadn't noticed this! I am not an instacart kinda girl, but with a free membership, $15/quarter statement credit, 4% rakuten and instacart 5% credit if I pick-up (vs delivery, saving a tip, too...) How could I *NOT* put some of my Aldi spending on our 2 CSPs??? Almost looking forward to the next time I need groceries... ALMOST...

Thanks, y'all!!!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

It worked!! Not that I doubted you but I’m shocked it was so easy!!! I added 3 CFF and 1 CFU and it extended my IC+ by a year! I don’t suppose there’s any way to stack those $10/quarter credits and use them all on one order?

I couldn’t figure it out but hopefully some has been able to do it.

I have not seen a way to stack the credits from multiple cards. Instacart doesn't let you split payment as far as I can tell. I have a spread sheet to keep track as we have CSR, CS, CFF & CFU.

 

[newski_mom]

I have not seen a way to stack the credits from multiple cards. Instacart doesn't let you split payment as far as I can tell. I have a spread sheet to keep track as we have CSR, CS, CFF & CFU.

On the quarterly credits, I assume the are the standard quarters - Jan, Feb, Mar - April, May, June - etc?

 

[VickieMouse]

On the quarterly credits, I assume the are the standard quarters - Jan, Feb, Mar - April, May, June - etc?

Yes they are

 

[newski_mom]

Yes they are

Thank you!

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

This is the 3rd time a similar offer has been available in the past year or so - I still can't go but still hopeful the next one will work for me!

But if it's short notice it's going to keep not working for me, sadly. DH gets 5 weeks PTO per year and we plan them out in advance so he can request the dates before someone else in his team takes them. And we get the points in order, etc... we're currently planning into the second half of 2025

 

[Nala83]

For those that have been to Tokyo Disney, how did you plan your days? I’m thinking of buying the TDR Explorer guide, has anyone bought it? Is it worth it?
We will be there 3 days, I’m thinking Sea, Disney, Sea… I was originally only going to do 2 park days but I think we want to take it slow and enjoy Sea a second day. Any recommendations for planning?

@becauseimnew I'm late to respond because I was at Tokyo Disney the week this was posted. I did 4 days, 2 at each of the parks. I read all of Tom Bricker's stuff, but he hasn't updated most of it. I did get the new TDR Explorer guide. I thought it was worth it. It was the most comprehensive guide I found. Chasing YouTube videos was frustrating!
The uber planner in me still felt like I was lacking a lot of info going into things. Recent trip reports on here (Other Lands) helped. I'm planning to write one soon.

 

[Nala83]

Thank you, that's a good point about both of us getting a card, we could get 2 FNC to use. The only problem is that we are working on so many MSRs. I still have $5K on my Biz Plat, $2.5K on Citi AA, $3K on the SW Biz I was just approved for today, we could totally add another $4K but I don't know if we can pull off the AMEX $8K. We spend a lot but most of the places we do our big spending don't take Amex (Costco, kid activities, utilities).

DH and I are both Gold.

I stayed at the Hilton Tokyo Bay earlier this month. I only have Gold status (Surpass card) and booked my stay on points. They consider that to be "excellent" status there, meaning you get a room upgrade, executive lounge, and free buffet breakfast each day. Note that you can't buy park tickets at the hotel any longer (unless you reserve a special room package in advance).

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

For VRBO reservations, has anyone used VGC or MCGC to pay?

I couldn't figure out a way to make a partial payment and my balances are higher than the card value.

I didn't try too hard, but I did noodle around a bit and got nowhere.