I love credit cards so much! v7.0 - 2025 (see first page for add'l details)

[CyndiLouWho]

just got back. we did the entire park on our own. where are you stayng? which entrance are you using? we rented a nisssan rogue. some parts were scary driving! Nothing from Cody WY to east entrance. West yellowstone (wet entrance) is a cute town. Great Bar=b=que.
how long you spending? are you hikers?
we went from Rapid City SD (wall, Rushmoore, Crazy Horse) to Gillette WY to Cody WY to Yellowstone, to Grand Tetons to Bozeman

We are flying into Bozeman, starting at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel 1 night, then 2 nights Old Faithful Snow Lodge and 2 nights Canyon Lodge. Final night in Bozeman before flying home. We hike a bit. Have hiked at Grand Canyon and in Costa Rica but I can’t do longer than probably 2 hours due to a knee issue I have. DS and DH will be able to do more if they like. Rental car is Camry size and we plan to buy a cooler and food in Bozeman before heading to the park.

 

[StephPlum]

We are flying into Bozeman, starting at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel 1 night, then 2 nights Old Faithful Snow Lodge and 2 nights Canyon Lodge. Final night in Bozeman before flying home. We hike a bit. Have hiked at Grand Canyon and in Costa Rica but I can’t do longer than probably 2 hours due to a knee issue I have. DS and DH will be able to do more if they like. Rental car is Camry size and we plan to buy a cooler and food in Bozeman before heading to the park.

You are already doing one of the tips I would give. Pack/buy a cooler and groceries and have lunch from it. You never know where you’ll be when you get hungry in the middle of the day.

June is a great time with long daylight hours and lots of babies! Have fun!!

 

[georgina]

Of the five cities you listed, Budapest is my favorite! Salzburg's Old Town though, is also charming...and I did spend waaay too much on, yes, salt . I'd really love to return to both someday. Okay, back to regularly scheduled programming...

Salzburg has been on my list for a while. Going to do Munich and Salzburg before my solo Danube cruise this fall. Have been to Budapest and Vienna, 10 years ago when DD was doing a study abroad in Hungary, really looking forward to going back. (Did not know Salzburg was known for salt!)

 

[CyndiLouWho]

You are already doing one of the tips I would give. Pack/buy a cooler and groceries and have lunch from it. You never know where you’ll be when you get hungry in the middle of the day.

June is a great time with long daylight hours and lots of babies! Have fun!!

Yes I stole that tip from your trip report!
Ordered our park pass today.
I am a little concerned that we are renting a sedan and not an SUV, not sure what we’ll need.

 

[StephPlum]

Yes I stole that tip from your trip report!
Ordered our park pass today.
I am a little concerned that we are renting a sedan and not an SUV, not sure what we’ll need.

A sedan is fine. We did a few gravel roads in an suv. We didn’t need 4 wheel drive or anything. Higher clearance helped. That said all the main roads (the figure 8) are paved. The scary parts for most people are the mountain driving (narrow and tight turns) but a sedan is fine for that. Just drive slow and never after dark. Risk of hitting wildlife is high after dark.

 

[GZanta77]

Salzburg has been on my list for a while. Going to do Munich and Salzburg before my solo Danube cruise this fall. Have been to Budapest and Vienna, 10 years ago when DD was doing a study abroad in Hungary, really looking forward to going back. (Did not know Salzburg was known for salt!)

Yep - one of the things I learned on this trip - Salzburg literally translates to Salt Fortress (or Salt Castle)

 

[Breck]

20 days until our trip to Yellowstone. Re-reading trip reports.
Any last minute suggestions? I did get a travel guide and map to take. Anything I might be missing? Are the self guided driving audio tours worth it?

We used GuideAlong audio tour, highly recommend it!

 

[trenty]

Does anyone here use the Kudos app and browser extension for keeping track of which card to use for purchases?

It is a platform designed to help uses maximize their credit card rewards and manage their credit card information. Kudos uses AI to analyze your credit card spending habits and recommend the best card to use for each purchase, maximizing your rewards. Kudos claims to double your credit card rewards across over 15,000 merchant partners. Kudos is a free service, with merchants and card issuers covering costs through commissions and recommendations.

It sounds great, in theory, but I am leery of uploading all my cc info.

 

[reliev]

Everything from that chase sapphire rumor has been launched like the 2 stores no one heard of I think its not going to be a rumor for much longer, and I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm so worked up over something not finalized.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Normally I’m a night owl but we were in Gatlinburg and I was so exhausted each night.

Oooh, did you guys have a nice time? Like it?

20 days until our trip to Yellowstone. Re-reading trip reports.
Any last minute suggestions? I did get a travel guide and map to take. Anything I might be missing? Are the self guided driving audio tours worth it?

Rental car is Camry size and we plan to buy a cooler and food in Bozeman before heading to the park.

Yes I stole that tip from your trip report!
Ordered our park pass today.
I am a little concerned that we are renting a sedan and not an SUV, not sure what we’ll need.

We had a compact rental, no issues whatsoever, and we flew into Tetons for 2 days, then up through to Yellowstone Lake then Canyon, to Lamar Valley, then back down to Old Faithful, Mammoth, and out through Bozeman. Didn't need an SUV for any of it.
If you are entering North entrance, there are a bunch of stores and shops right before. Get some huckleberry ice cream on your way in or out, it's so good!!
One of the best things I got was a wilderness guide... it's like a laminated sheet front and back with pictures of the most common animals, and cost $5 two years ago. (ETA: Just checked mine, it’s called “Macs Field Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks”.) I got it at our second hike in Tetons actually, and then used it the rest of our trip religiously. Best thing I bought!! I loved having it to identify birds, snakes, small mammals, etc. So if you have kids, I'm sure they would love that! (I am a 40 yo woman and loved it, LOL. But I did see it first from a kid using it hiking). We saw it in most visitor center gift shops.
Have a blast! We also went the week before memorial day and thought it was the best time... would go again at this time for sure!

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

For the first time ever, I'm getting ready to do the Chase bank bonus (Both checking and savings). How easy is it to close the savings account after the 90 days? We want to keep the checking account open, however, as we intend to start using Chase as they are expanding footprint in our area now.

 

[Arcades]

Amex Hilton Credit DP: I had called Hawaiian airlines the other day for something and the agent said blah blah blah bonus points I can transfer you and I said sure and he transferred me to Hilton. I quickly realized it was about the timeshare presentation. The guy was super super nice and I ended up giving in even though I have no intention of buying the Hilton timeshare and I likely won’t even use the discounted stay, I was just like charity you made a sale because you’re super nice and I felt he deserved it (yes, weird I know). Also deep down I was thinking I’m gonna use my platinum and then maybe I will get that $50 credit . The charge was $149 plus tax. Just got notified that I got the $50 credit for the quarterly Hilton statement bonus!

So if you’re interested in the offers they send you in the mail for Hilton discounted stay for timeshare presentation and you don’t care about attending that presentation and think it’s worth it you can get the $50 credit. Also, since I wasnt thinking I would move forward and actually go I did the cheapest option $149, there are more expensive options $199, $699, $899 depending on what location you choose. Like Hawaii is $899. He said I can upgrade to those later if I decide, so if I do that I can snag that $50 credit again as long as Amex is still offering it.

I've been thinking about buying one to use up credits too. Usually, given my travel needs, I upgrade to a 2 bedroom unit before traveling, so I wonder if I could use up two credits, one on the initial buy and one on the upgrade. I also wonder if they would agree to a split form of payment at either stage.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Oooh, did you guys have a nice time? Like it?



We had a compact rental, no issues whatsoever, and we flew into Tetons for 2 days, then up through to Yellowstone Lake then Canyon, to Lamar Valley, then back down to Old Faithful, Mammoth, and out through Bozeman. Didn't need an SUV for any of it.
If you are entering North entrance, there are a bunch of stores and shops right before. Get some huckleberry ice cream on your way in or out, it's so good!!
One of the best things I got was a wilderness guide... it's like a laminated sheet front and back with pictures of the most common animals, and cost $5 two years ago. (ETA: Just checked mine, it’s called “Macs Field Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks”.) I got it at our second hike in Tetons actually, and then used it the rest of our trip religiously. Best thing I bought!! I loved having it to identify birds, snakes, small mammals, etc. So if you have kids, I'm sure they would love that! (I am a 40 yo woman and loved it, LOL. But I did see it first from a kid using it hiking). We saw it in most visitor center gift shops.
Have a blast! We also went the week before memorial day and thought it was the best time... would go again at this time for sure!

I just ordered the guide. Looks great. I will for sure use it, my kid is 16 and probably less excited

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

I just ordered the guide. Looks great. I will for sure use it, my kid is 16 and probably less excited

You'd be surprised how into identifying wildlife you get, lol. I'm not a birdwatcher, but every time I saw a bird I had to know what it was on the field guide. And the small rodents/mammals that we saw a lot of that looked identical, I had fun figuring out the differences and identifying them. Have a great trip!!!

 

[hsmamato2]

We are flying into Bozeman, starting at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel 1 night, then 2 nights Old Faithful Snow Lodge and 2 nights Canyon Lodge. Final night in Bozeman before flying home. We hike a bit. Have hiked at Grand Canyon and in Costa Rica but I can’t do longer than probably 2 hours due to a knee issue I have. DS and DH will be able to do more if they like. Rental car is Camry size and we plan to buy a cooler and food in Bozeman before heading to the park.

and each "stop" around the Yellowstone look has the usual gift shops,and general store for restocking your food too...easy peasy. You'll enjoy short hikes at each stop no doubt it's all gorgeous- be ready for HEAT at the mammoth hotel ,when we went it was a really great experience, the hotel was old school,no a/c.

 

[hsmamato2]

Yes I stole that tip from your trip report!
Ordered our park pass today.
I am a little concerned that we are renting a sedan and not an SUV, not sure what we’ll need.

a sedan is fine unless you plan to go onto one of the more bumpy backroads

 

[CyndiLouWho]

You'd be surprised how into identifying wildlife you get, lol. I'm not a birdwatcher, but every time I saw a bird I had to know what it was on the field guide. And the small rodents/mammals that we saw a lot of that looked identical, I had fun figuring out the differences and identifying them. Have a great trip!!!

Oh I am a total animal person. Used to work in vet med and interned at a zoo. The wildlife is the part I most look forward to.

and each "stop" around the Yellowstone look has the usual gift shops,and general store for restocking your food too...easy peasy. You'll enjoy short hikes at each stop no doubt it's all gorgeous- be ready for HEAT at the mammoth hotel ,when we went it was a really great experience, the hotel was old school,no a/c.

The weather is a bit concerning as it could be 50s or 70s and I prefer to take carryon only and not pack a ton of clothes.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Oh I am a total animal person. Used to work in vet med and interned at a zoo. The wildlife is the part I most look forward to.

The weather is a bit concerning as it could be 50s or 70s and I prefer to take carryon only and not pack a ton of clothes.

Be prepared for anything, weather wise! We had 6 inches of snow that shutdown the south entrance for several hours towards the middle of our trip, and we were hiking in fresh powder, and then we had 70 degrees at the end of our trip. We went from wearing beanies and heavy Cotopaxi fleeces and thermal base layers, to t-shirts in a matter of 4 days. Layers are your friend!!

 

[hsmamato2]

Oh I am a total animal person. Used to work in vet med and interned at a zoo. The wildlife is the part I most look forward to.

The weather is a bit concerning as it could be 50s or 70s and I prefer to take carryon only and not pack a ton of clothes.

It's interestiing that each part of that giant loop road is it's own ecosystem.... layers I guess!

 

[havaneselover]

Trip insurance comment: if you’re traveling with a senior and have a Costco membership, their trip insurance rates are decent. It’s 5% if you book through Costco and 6.5% otherwise. The rates I was getting from insure my trip were more in the 8-12% range with the 8% policies having much lower limits. When I’m traveling with my daughter, squaremouth or insure my trip are fine/economical.