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

[mmmears]

@mmmears What ryokan did you stay at in Hakone? Can you share more about it and the meals?

I looked at so many ryokans - my head was spinning. I finally landed on Fufu Hakone and we really liked it there. It's on the edge of Gora, so it did feel like we were far from civilization (but really it was less than a 5 min drive to Gora Station). I chose it because we wanted a private onsen and the ones at this place are indoor/outdoor (I was worried about mosquitoes so I liked that we could close it up). We chose to have a Teppanyaki dinner which was amazing, but more people choose the omakase dinner. Breakfast was really good, too. We had one Japanese breakfast and one "International" breakfast that was still pretty Japanese IMHO.

I hope this helps. There were a few others that were high on my list but one was a bit farther out from town and another seems to get really terrible reviews of their food from a number of posters.

 

[eticketplease]

View attachment 969369

I think I have seen this couple before!!

In all seriousness thanks for sharing. Happy you had a great trip!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

@*WDW*Groupie* Great trip report. Was hoping to book Grand Victoria for next May. Do you recall when you booked? I plan to stalk availability and I think I have an alert set. Because the hotel is seasonal, it makes this tricky to sort of watch how far out the award calendar is open until. RN, the last bookable date is October 2025, but again, that's because of seasonality.

Thinking of flying Emirates J back to JFK. I believe Chase to Emirates transfers were paused and not sure if they've restarted, so I'll have to look into that.

I think I booked around mid-June. The rooms on points disappeared quickly, so try to have your dates in mind, then grab a room as soon as it appears in inventory.

The hotel booked a transfer for me to Milan airport (300 euros) -- there was no easy transit option and I had a flight to catch, so I wasn't willing to risk anything going awry on transit.

On my way to the airport I stopped at Villa Balbianello for a guided tour (you have to book the tours in advance, but SO worth it). Scenes from Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and James Bond Casino Royale were filmed on the grounds. I left my luggage at the hotel, took a driver to the villa, then my driver to the airport picked up my luggage at the hotel and met me after my tour to take me to the airport. If you go to the villa, I highly recommend taking the water taxi 1 way -- that way you get to see the entire villa (it's built into the rock, so it's nearly impossible to appreciate it from the the grounds).



Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala were married under the tree below

Supposed to be one of the best views of Lake Como -- from the office of the villa


Area where Anakin Skywalker arrived at the villa by boat (cool fact: the most recent owner, Guido Monzino (the villa was donated to Italy after his death), had a secret staircase built from the library -- at the top of the villa -- to this area, so he could escape from the Red Brigades easily.


On the lawn in front of the loggia is where James Bond was recovering in Casino Royale (in the movie the loggia was a hospital) and where he kissed Vesper


If you're going to the villa you must get this shot (when I was there there was a line to get the pic!). This is on the loggia where a scene from Star Wars was filmed

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I looked at so many ryokans - my head was spinning. I finally landed on Fufu Hakone and we really liked it there. It's on the edge of Gora, so it did feel like we were far from civilization (but really it was less than a 5 min drive to Gora Station). I chose it because we wanted a private onsen and the ones at this place are indoor/outdoor (I was worried about mosquitoes so I liked that we could close it up). We chose to have a Teppanyaki dinner which was amazing, but more people choose the omakase dinner. Breakfast was really good, too. We had one Japanese breakfast and one "International" breakfast that was still pretty Japanese IMHO.

I hope this helps. There were a few others that were high on my list but one was a bit farther out from town and another seems to get really terrible reviews of their food from a number of posters.

Dd and her bf stayed at Fufu Hakone in May! I booked 2 nights for them there using URs. They weren't able to get the teppanyaki dinner (it was fully booked). They LOVED their stay there, even though it rained most of their 1 full day (they found a nice garden nearby to wander around and went into the little town to wander around). I also booked it because of the private onsen (dd has a few tattoos so wouldn't have been able to visit a public onsen). All 3 of us also looked at a lot of ryokans -- wasn't easy to find a nice one with a private onsen on their travel route.

I'm hoping to book here when I'm back in Japan in January -- I'm waiting for my nights to open on the UR website.

@FreeDiningFanatic Fufu has a few other locations, but I think the Hakone ryokan is the newest / nicest.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I think I booked around mid-June. The rooms on points disappeared quickly, so try to have your dates in mind, then grab a room as soon as it appears in inventory.

The hotel booked a transfer for me to Milan airport (300 euros) -- there was no easy transit option and I had a flight to catch, so I wasn't willing to risk anything going awry on transit.

On my way to the airport I stopped at Villa Balbianello for a guided tour (you have to book the tours in advance, but SO worth it). Scenes from Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and James Bond Casino Royale were filmed on the grounds. I left my luggage at the hotel, took a driver to the villa, then my driver to the airport picked up my luggage at the hotel and met me after my tour to take me to the airport. If you go to the villa, I highly recommend taking the water taxi 1 way -- that way you get to see the entire villa (it's built into the rock, so it's nearly impossible to appreciate it from the the grounds).

View attachment 969674

Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala were married under the tree below
View attachment 969675
Supposed to be one of the best views of Lake Como -- from the office of the villa
View attachment 969676

Area where Anakin Skywalker arrived at the villa by boat (cool fact: the most recent owner, Guido Monzino (the villa was donated to Italy after his death), had a secret staircase built from the library -- at the top of the villa -- to this area, so he could escape from the Red Brigades easily.
View attachment 969677

On the lawn in front of the loggia is where James Bond was recovering in Casino Royale (in the movie the loggia was a hospital) and where he kissed Vesper
View attachment 969680

If you're going to the villa you must get this shot (when I was there there was a line to get the pic!). This is on the loggia where a scene from Star Wars was filmed
View attachment 969681

Love this so much. High on my list of things to do when I eventually get over there Thanks for posting.

 

[calypso726]

We are in Switzerland! Put this trip together a little over a month ago. Not my typical style. I like to plan 2 years out. It started with plans to go to Lake Como. I set some parameters just to see if I could make it happen. They were no more than 150k each way in business or first lie flats with no more than $200 pp in taxes/fees. I found a flight back to Miami from Milan using Alaska miles and booked that. I figured we could take a train from Lake Como to Milan. I was stumped with trying to get flights to Milan. I widened the search for basically anything in Europe. Using Alaska miles again, I found the absolute stupidest way to get to Milan. I booked a flight to LAX, overnight connection with a hotel stay to SEA the next morning, onto Condor with the next connection in FRA and then landing in Zurich.

I kept searching for something better and then transferred Chase URs to book a flight on United to Zurich. It turned out to be phantom award space. There were tons of flights from different airports to position to and none were bookable even with an agent. The agent could see them all but was unable to get the booking to process. Then I found flights using Air Canada miles but had to change airports upon connecting. I booked and canceled those too. I eventually decided to take a peek at Delta which I never do because … SkyPesos. Much to my shock, they had a flight that worked with no positioning. 100k miles each way pp and a total of $143 in taxes. So I canceled the Lake Como idea and now it’s just Switzerland.

Hotels were a no go on points. I did find the one we are at on the Chase UR portal but we paid OOP instead of UR points. We are on Lake Lucerne in a village called Beckenried at the Nidwaldnerhof Hotel & Restaurant. Our room has a view of Mt. Rigi




We are here for two nights then it is off to Murren for 2 nights and then Zermatt for 2 nights. We have one night in Zurich before our flights and that is the only one booked using a FN cert from our $49 AF IHG card. When you get used to not paying anything for hotels and doing everything with points, the sticker shock is a bit much But I think the views will be worth it.

We are located about the middle of Lake Lucerne. Today we took a boat ride to Lucerne proper. The views were stunning! We visited Old town and Musegg area in Lucerne today. Tomorrow we will go the opposite direction and head towards Flüelen to see the other side. Here’s a few more pics from visiting Lucerne today.

 

[leeniewdw]

We are here for two nights then it is off to Murren for 2 nights and then Zermatt for 2 nights. We have one night in Zurich before our flights and that is the only one booked using a FN cert from our $49 AF IHG card. When you get used to not paying anything for hotels and doing everything with points, the sticker shock is a bit much But I think the views will be worth it.

We stayed in Murren for 3 nights 2 weeks ago! It was a little sleepy, which was fine for us, but it would have been nice to have some add'l restaurant choices. We stayed at the Edelweiss. We had the Berner Oberland pass, so took the gondolas up to Schilthorn on a beautiful morning. Curious if things have picked up a little in the recent days.

We had plans to stop in Lucerne for lunch on our way between Murren and Zurich (flying home from Zurich), but there was some sort of issue on the track between Interlaken and Lucerne, so we had to go Interlaken-Spiez-Bern (changing trains each time, it ended up being 6 segments from Murren to Zurich!) and we just decided to head direct to Zurich instead of Lucerne and then Zurich. I regret it now, but it was at the end of the trip and I'd had enough of dealing with trains that didn't run as expected.

 

[calypso726]

We stayed in Murren for 3 nights 2 weeks ago! It was a little sleepy, which was fine for us, but it would have been nice to have some add'l restaurant choices. We stayed at the Edelweiss. We had the Berner Oberland pass, so took the gondolas up to Schilthorn on a beautiful morning. Curious if things have picked up a little in the recent days.

We had plans to stop in Lucerne for lunch on our way between Murren and Zurich (flying home from Zurich), but there was some sort of issue on the track between Interlaken and Lucerne, so we had to go Interlaken-Spiez-Bern (changing trains each time, it ended up being 6 segments from Murren to Zurich!) and we just decided to head direct to Zurich instead of Lucerne and then Zurich. I regret it now, but it was at the end of the trip and I'd had enough of dealing with trains that didn't run as expected.

I don’t mind sleepy and quiet. We will leave for Murren on Monday. DH aka Planeprincess is in charge of the logistics and transportation parts of the trip. Once I have booked fights and hotels, I’m pretty much tapped out.

6 segments sounds like a lot. He hired a car to pick us up from Zurich airport to Beckenried. The drive was lovely. I believe we also have a hired car for Monday. Somewhere between Murren and Zermatt there are trains and gondolas before we head back to Zurich. Then another hired car. He must have looked at the trains and changes involved and decided on private car service. This actually tracks for PlanePrincess

 

[leeniewdw]

Somewhere between Murren and Zermatt there are trains and gondolas before we head back to Zurich. Then another hired car. He must have looked at the trains and changes involved and decided on private car service. This actually tracks for PlanePrincess

There is definitely a gondola in your future getting to Murren (only local residents can have cars and I'm not even sure how they get up there, lol). It's a quick gondola and little train from Lauterbrunnen to Murren.

 

[calypso726]

Today we took the boat going in the opposite direction to Fluelen. The views through the fjord like arms are simply stunning.

 

[hsmamato2]

cruise experts- I want to book a cruise,and prob just gonna use UR to credit statement (I think) I see I can book thru Bj's warehouse and get a discount/gc- I see a lot of chatter here about a down payment then paying off in another way.... can anyone point me in the direction to figure out best bang for the buck(points)? I can also look at UR portal to book as an option (CSP) The one I'm eyeing is Princess lines but I'm open to suggestions!

 

[Sheree]

what are thoughts on IHG premier offer? 5 fnc for 60k each night after 5k spend. Haven't had ihg bonus since 22 and I'm 3/24 with one dropping off this month.
I have no MSR currently

last MSR was for amex biz plat which I easily met with income tax

with new csr changes coming not sure what I'll do with that.

thanks

 

[StephPlum]

what are thoughts on IHG premier offer? 5 fnc for 60k each night after 5k spend. Haven't had ihg bonus since 22 and I'm 3/24 with one dropping off this month.
I have no MSR currently

last MSR was for amex biz plat which I easily met with income tax

with new csr changes coming not sure what I'll do with that.

thanks

Just my opinion. Some love the free nights as SUB but I prefer points. Be sure you have a redemption in mind for the FNCs. FNCs will usually expire 1 year after awarded and you can't top them off (ie can't book a place for 70K with a 60K cert and 10K points). As long as you have a specific redemption and time in mind, FNCs are ok. But if you want to be more flexible, points are better. Ending with Just my opinion.

 

[calypso726]

Just my opinion. Some love the free nights as SUB but I prefer points. Be sure you have a redemption in mind for the FNCs. FNCs will usually expire 1 year after awarded and you can't top them off (ie can't book a place for 70K with a 60K cert and 10K points). As long as you have a specific redemption and time in mind, FNCs are ok. But if you want to be more flexible, points are better. Ending with Just my opinion.

Chiming in to second this opinion.

 

[havaneselover]

cruise experts- I want to book a cruise,and prob just gonna use UR to credit statement (I think) I see I can book thru Bj's warehouse and get a discount/gc- I see a lot of chatter here about a down payment then paying off in another way.... can anyone point me in the direction to figure out best bang for the buck(points)? I can also look at UR portal to book as an option (CSP) The one I'm eyeing is Princess lines but I'm open to suggestions!

So I have two Princess cruises booked (September 2025 New England/Canada and October 2026 Mediterranean/Greek Isles). I paid for the first one with points and will do the same for the second one (did book both through Princess initially and paid deposits using my CSR). I'm not familiar with using URs to credit the statement. I do know I can book through Costco (don't belong to BJs) or transfer to Costco witihin 60 days of booking and then I'd get about 8% as a Costco cash card after sailing (plus access to discounted trip insurance). Newegg (I think) sometimes sells $500 Princess gift cards for eitehr $460 or $465. I want to say that AARP does or did sell Princess gift cards. haven't paid that much attention since I'm using URs.

I'm sort of at the point (after 7 Disney cruises with another one this August) where I am picking cruises for itinerary (and have very little interest in the Caribbean). I did toy with booking Celebrity next October and it was considerably cheaper apples-to-apples, but I really preferred Princess' itinerary (and there aren't a lot of options in the Mediterranean in late October). One thing I do like about Princess is that they don't charge you more for a refundable deposit.

And for Princess you do have to pick which package, if any, you want (although you can always add or change it). One other thing I like about Princess is you can book excursions immediately (but you pay for them when you book them). There's so much drama on the FB group for my Disney Cruise (Norwegian Fjords) about all of the excursions being sold out for the people without status.

 

[mmmears]

Dd and her bf stayed at Fufu Hakone in May! I booked 2 nights for them there using URs. They weren't able to get the teppanyaki dinner (it was fully booked). They LOVED their stay there, even though it rained most of their 1 full day (they found a nice garden nearby to wander around and went into the little town to wander around). I also booked it because of the private onsen (dd has a few tattoos so wouldn't have been able to visit a public onsen). All 3 of us also looked at a lot of ryokans -- wasn't easy to find a nice one with a private onsen on their travel route.

I'm hoping to book here when I'm back in Japan in January -- I'm waiting for my nights to open on the UR website.

@FreeDiningFanatic Fufu has a few other locations, but I think the Hakone ryokan is the newest / nicest.

Small world. We were there in May and it poured on our one full day there. Bad timing with the weather but the area was really nice. There is another Fufu that I heard about that sounds nice, too (I think it's Kawaguchiko but I'm not 100% certain).

I'm sort of at the point (after 7 Disney cruises with another one this August) where I am picking cruises for itinerary (and have very little interest in the Caribbean). I did toy with booking Celebrity next October and it was considerably cheaper apples-to-apples, but I really preferred Princess' itinerary (and there aren't a lot of options in the Mediterranean in late October). One thing I do like about Princess is that they don't charge you more for a refundable deposit.

And for Princess you do have to pick which package, if any, you want (although you can always add or change it). One other thing I like about Princess is you can book excursions immediately (but you pay for them when you book them). There's so much drama on the FB group for my Disney Cruise (Norwegian Fjords) about all of the excursions being sold out for the people without status.

I choose primarily based on itinerary, too. It's the main reason why I travel. I also care about the ship, but I'm definitely not sticking with just one cruise line at this point.

Celebrity was the same. We were able to book any speciality dining or excursions we wanted as soon as we booked the cruise. That got rid of all the drama DCL creates with their ridiculous booking dates where hundreds of people are all trying to get into their system at the same time. Sorry - can you tell I find that really annoying?

 

[hsmamato2]

Thanks! So I could begin the booking the booking on princess, then how do I transfer? (I'm thinking BJ"s is somewhat like costco maybe?) They're offering a $500 GC for using them- by statement credits I just meant pay myself back using UR at 1-1 after I pay for cruise. I know 3rd party airfare can get messy using portal, how about cruises?

 

[KPK02090]

AF on my CIP just posted and I was thinking of downgrading to a CIC. What are the rules/best practices for cancelling after a downgrade? Do you have to wait a full year or could I cancel it after a couple of months? I’d like the CIC now, but also plan to apply for a new one in early August. I’ve been denied my last two inks, so would like to have only one open when I try again. (I have another CIP still open).

 

[havaneselover]

Thanks! So I could begin the booking the booking on princess, then how do I transfer? (I'm thinking BJ"s is somewhat like costco maybe?) They're offering a $500 GC for using them- by statement credits I just meant pay myself back using UR at 1-1 after I pay for cruise. I know 3rd party airfare can get messy using portal, how about cruises?

Feel free to dm me because I’ve done this recently and learned from my numerous mistakes!

Yes, you can book with Princess. Then call BJs. Princess has a form to send them telling who you are transferring the booking to. I got the run around from Princess about the form and someone on a Princess fb group finally sent me the correct one. From bjs you need the agency name (probably bjs travel), phone number, etc. BJs may be able to do this for you but Princess told Chase I had to do it. Once they had the form, the cruise was almost immediately transferred. As long as it’s not paid in full and done within 60 days of booking, you should be good.

And my issue with booking cruises has been refunds. Princess canceled a cruise on me that was almost paid in full. Chase takes at least two months to refund the points. Once I realized I could rebook then transfer to chase once the points were refunded I was slightly less irritated.

The other thing I’ve learned with Princess is you have to watch the fare. The price on the trip I booked for my mom’s birthday dropped $400 so I rebooked. With Disney you generally just watch the price rise.