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

[NewbieMom]

We just used the hotel car service. It's very reliable and nice, but I wouldn't say it's reasonably priced.

I'm not sure when you're going, but when we were there earlier this year I saw whales from the hotel pretty much every time I glanced towards the ocean. Never seen so many in any one place, even Maui.

What month did you go? I'm looking at Feb.

 

[StephPlum]

I didn't pay alot of attention to the AMEX Biz Plat changes. I thought my AF would post in Dec at the higher amount but it just posted at the old AF. I have to keep it until Dec (at least) due to taking an upgrade. I'm good keeping another year until the AF goes up.

When can I get the new benefits? In particular the $300 semi-annual hotel credit. Would that be available now? or not until 2026?

 

[wanderlust7]

I didn't pay alot of attention to the AMEX Biz Plat changes. I thought my AF would post in Dec at the higher amount but it just posted at the old AF. I have to keep it until Dec (at least) due to taking an upgrade. I'm good keeping another year until the AF goes up.

When can I get the new benefits? In particular the $300 semi-annual hotel credit. Would that be available now? or not until 2026?

You can use it now. I've already used mine.

 

[AndreaDM]

Just a PSA for those of you with the AMEX Plat and the new UberOne credits. Make sure you unselect your Uber credits as payment for UberOne and select the AMEX card. I found out the hard way, placed an UberEats order last night and had only $5.01 in credits to use instead of $15. Figured out I was charged for UberOne and it used my credits to pay for it.

 

[wanderlust7]

There is some speculation on what might happen after the transition to Citi that is concerning. Link

If the Barclays Red shows as closed and the converted Citibank shows as new (but backdated), then you'll have added 2 cards to your 5/24.

It might reset your Citi AA counter. If you got the Citi AA recently, then it doesn't really matter. If you're close to waiting out the 48 months, then it would.

Ha, I do have a Barclays, guess I need to pay better attention. Aviator Red, so that one will not be changed?

Aviator Red will be converted to a Citi card at some point next year. There are some potential risks with that (quoted myself above).

I just canceled DH's that he got a waived AF on last year. If this wasn't happening, I might have tried for another waived AF.

Red is pretty identical to their current $99 card. They might try and force people to that one but the Red has wifi credits that I don't believe Citi's current card has.

That's an interesting point. The Aviator Red was official discontinued on 9/30. So guessing they either do a phased conversion or everyone gets converted after 9/30/26. I would think they can't take away any promised benefits the first year.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Anyone do any bank bonuses lately? Darn Wealthfront is down to 3.75%. I am eying the US bank business one. Sounds like there is one for $1200 and one for $1500.

Recommendations for Los Cabos?
1. Does anyone have a reliable airport transfer that you've used before and reasonably priced?
2. Rec for a good whale watching tour? Preferably kid-friendly. This is on my kids' #1 to-see list.

We actually rented a car. It was a super easy drive, and the rental was like $40! Parking was free at the Waldorf. And the car came in handy since I got the flu, we had to run to Walmart a few times.

I wish I knew who we booked with. We came across them walking around the pier area. They were near a statue. Looking at photos I think it was EcoCat tours. They did an awesome job tracking a mom/baby/nurse. We went at the end of February. And yes, you could see them just off the coast. It was INSANE!

Since our trip was only 2 days last year and I had the flu, we're thinking of going again this February. Right now I have Dec booked, but we're going to bail on that for when we can fly Delta direct, LOL.

 

[elgerber]

Has anyone had Chase support points post recently? P2 was approved with my link on 10/1 (before the change to new customers only) and they have yet to post.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Has anyone had Chase support points post recently? P2 was approved with my link on 10/1 (before the change to new customers only) and they have yet to post.

I had support points go "pending" last week (10/14). DH was approved on 9/25. Didn't the change go into effect a few days early? Did you get in before that?

 

[eticketplease]

Has anyone been able to login to https://amex.point.me/ ? It has been erroring out on me for awhile.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Trip Planning Starting!!!! Not in 2025 but 2026.

2026 is the year of our 30th Wedding Anniversary. We are thinking of doing an around the world Disney Trip to all 5 parks!!!!!!!!!!!

It's going to wind up being a longer trip because we don't want to hit one park and then run to the next park. It's going to be in the Fall 2026, aiming for Sept/Oct 2026, if possible....

I know nothing about any of the other parks except WDW and a lot of WDW has changed and I have not kept up. Last time I was at DL in CA was in 2017 and forgot all my planning. I'm off to look for trip reports!

If anyone has any links to some good reports or advice, I'm all ears! I'm just starting and only have the idea of the trip at this point.

We are thinking of driving up to Orlando from Miami at the end of Aug or the beginning of Sept 2026 and spending at least 4 days there to do 1 park, 1 day. We could stay at our DD's house, or my Aunt's house, or some DVC resort. We are the most flexible on this part of the trip.

We would then fly from Orlando to Anahiem and spend 2-3 nights? We will try to get into the DVC there or at a walkable hotel as a 2nd choice.

We have some family thinking about a 16 night cruise from the west coast to Japan, which is how we started thinking about this trip. Not sure if we will join them but there is a small possibility.

If not, we will fly from somewhere on the west coast to Japan. Is 2 days per park enough? So, maybe a week in Tokyo max? Not going to visit other places in Japan other than Tokyo, otherwise, we will never get home! Although, DH mentioned the Bullet Train as a maybe on his wish list.

Fly from Tokyo to Shanghai. I think they give you 10 days in transit before requiring a visa? Not sure, will double check, Anyway, is 2 park days enough? How many days to visit the sights in Shanghai?

I think DH said that there was a high speed train to Hong Kong from Shanghai? If so, we may do that, or fly.

2 nights near the Hong Kong DL? How many park days needed? We haven't been to Hong Kong since 1997. Haven't decided how long to stay. 5-7 nights?

Onward to Paris DL by air. The Marriott has a timeshare near Disneyland Paris, will try to exchange into it. Want to do some day trips to Versailles and other places from there in addition to DL. Is 2 park days enough? We want to do the Louvre, Notre Dame (I think the repairs are completed?) and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Not sure I want to do day trips from the Disneyland area. Was thinking of adding a few nights in Paris either before or after the week in the Disneyland timeshare.

After Paris, we are looking to do a transatlantic cruise from Europe (Barcelona most likely) back to Miami, FL. We found a few westbound cruises to choose from, beginning on 10/23/2026 all the way to 11/23/2026. So, depending on when actually we start the trip in WDW and how long we take in each country and where else we go in Europe, we will see which cruise fits when we can or want to go back.

We are looking at a minimum of 2 months and up to 3 months. We have a budget in mind but no clue how much we will be going over the budget!

We are in the dreaming stage where we are planning our DREAM trip, if time and money was not limited. When we actually add up the time and $$$, the trip may very well shrink!! Lol.

I'm off to watch some YouTube Videos tonight. Please point me in the right direction to help me plan this epic trip!

TIA!

Thought I would update you all that the round the world Disney trip will have to wait...
But that is because we are doing a totally different trip for our 30th Anniversary - going over to Europe and will still get to go to Disneyland Paris!
We finally sold our house in August! I then started vacation planning... the cruise that family was going on from the west coast to Japan went up in price and then sold out, so joining them was out (we started seriously thinking of doing so). DH started looking at other cruises. I think all the hard work the last 9 months made him REALLY want to cruise.

To make a loooong story short we found a great 22 night westbound transatlantic cruise in June 2026 and just had to book it. Here is the map of the itinerary from Southampton to Miami, going up through Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Canada, and then to the US.

View attachment 1009979

Then we needed to find flights to Europe but then, wth, why not cruise east bound as well? We found an 11 night cruise from Miami to Lisbon in May 2026 at an acceptable price.

View attachment 1009991

Before I could research how to get from Lisbon to Southampton before our TA cruise home, DH suggested we just stay on the ship as it would be continuing onto Southampton from Lisbon. The port of calls looked interesting as well. The cruise fare for this 10 night leg was more than double the TA. We did the math of transportation and lodging for the next 10 nights getting from Lisbon to the UK and it made sense to pay the hefty price. We did downgrade to the lowest inside cabin that wasn't steerage and treat the ship and cabin basically as a floating hotel, as the cruise was also very port intensive.

View attachment 1009993

So, we will be on a cruise ship for 44 nights, starting 5/4/2026 from Miami and ending 7/6/2026 back to Miami.

Here is where I need help planning! We will need to plan for the 18 nights between the eastbound and westbound TA cruises into and out of Southampton from 5/26/2026 to 6/14/2026. I definitely want to visit London and Paris (via the Eurostar) and Disneyland Paris. Any other recommendations of places to visit?

I will need hotel lodging for all 18 nights. DH has the CSR and I have the CSP and we each have about 800k UR saved up for this trip, so about 1.6 mil URs. I have the WOHBiz card with only about 900 points and 2 nights stayed this year (so no status except Discoverist). I downgraded my Hilton Honors Amex card to the no annual fee card last year but I have accumulated 201k points ready to be used.

I looked at the MarriottVacationClub near Disneyland Paris and there is no availability for exchanges into it past late April 2026. I believe that inventory just hasn't been released and loaded into Interval yet and it may be available later on. DH doesn't think staying there without a car to got the DLP makes sense and a week is too long in the boonies. Which hotels are recommended near DLP? I doubt I can use points?

I looked at Paris Hotels using Hyatt points and the Hyatt Etoille or the Madeleine are not available on points for our dates. The Park Hyatt Paris Vendome is available for 45k/night and the Hotel du Louvre is available for 35k/night. I watched some videos on the Park Hyatt and I think the area it is in is too POSH for me? All that designer shopping nearby is wasted on me. My MIL gifted me a LV bag over 25 years ago. I have used that bag twice. I purchase my clothes at Costco!

I thought I would use the UR points for aspirational travel and I do! But I also want to use them to stay at places I would want to if I can afford it and not just to get a good CPP, kwim? Any thoughts on the Hotel Du Louvre? I'm off to watch videos on it after this post.

I am also open to opening new CCs to accumulate other hotel points (maybe to add to the Hilton points I have) or to get some FNC. But time is short because I do want to try to finalize travel and lodging soon. I am so clueless about earning and using FNC. I read all your posts but I kind of skim them because we usually stay at DVC or with family and the only hotels we tend to stay at these past few years have been along the drive to and from NY/FL.

Perhaps I should use some of those URs through the Chase Travel portal for more boutique hotels in Paris and London? But as I understand it, time is of the essence, and I would have to do it asap because the 1.25 boost on the CSP and the 1.5 on the CSR is going bye bye? Any recommendations on hotels? While we want to visit all the sights in Paris and London, I think we just want to wander and soak in the vibes around where we are staying.

We spent a lot on the cruises and will be spending a lot more money on all the excursions, so I am trying to minimize the OOP we need to spend on the 18 nights of lodging we will need. This seems to be the easiest to try to work on. I doubt we can save on spending real money on food or the Eurostar during those 18 days.

ANY help on trip planning those 18 days from 5/26/2026 to 6/14/2026 would be very much appreciated! It is currently still a blank page. Let me know if you need any more information.

Okay! I have to share or I will burst!!! The Disney around the world for 2026 is back on!! But it will not be all on one continuous trip.

We had the cruising to Europe and back trip planned with a trip to DLP.

DH got an email with the sale on cruises that he checked out. The cruise from Vancouver to Tokyo that his uncle and aunt will be on in August 2026 is available again. We asked our cruise agent to get us a quote out of curiosity. We didn't have any real plans to go since we are having a mega trip from May to July 2026 already. His agency got us a "covert sale" not available to the public that priced lower than the awesome deal his uncle got like 8 months ago.

The agent put a hold on it for us. We kept going back and forth today. So many pros and cons... On a lark, we looked at airfare available on reward points.

We hit the lotto. I used seats.aero to check availability for the first week of October 2026 which would give us 3 weeks in Asia after the cruise. It found Biz Class seats from HKG to JFK with a connection through DOH for 95k Qatar miles each.

I had to do a quick internet search on how to even do this. I was poking around on the Qatar website, I found Biz class seats from HKG directly back to MIA on the same days with even more availability! I could not replicate my findings on seats.aero at all.

The leg from DOH to MIA were in QSuites! After a super quick discussion, we decided if we could actually book the tickets, the cruise would be a go! I was actually able to book Biz tickets from HKG-DOH-MIA with the 2nd leg in QSuites for a total of 190k miles transferred from AMEX and about $730 taxes and fees!!!

It happened super fast and I am shaking!! I had to post here before I slept!

So, we will go to DL in LA in August before the cruise, travel up to Vancouver to catch the ship to Tokyo, do Toyko DL & Sea, fly to Shanghai, then down to Hong Kong. We decided to do WDW last maybe after Thanksgiving and before Christmas.

So, we will hit all the DIsney Parks in one calendar year!

 

[CoP Luv]

We did Paris this summer and while we stayed at the Hyatt Etoile and really liked it, if you can get one of the other ones for those point values, I would book that! Paris hotels are expensive and we got a nice little hotel for $350/night near Rue Cler. It wasn’t anything fancy at all for the price but in a central location. So if you can get the Park Hyatt for just a little more, I would jump on that!

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Okay! I have to share or I will burst!!! The Disney around the world for 2026 is back on!! But it will not be all on one continuous trip.

We had the cruising to Europe and back trip planned with a trip to DLP.

DH got an email with the sale on cruises that he checked out. The cruise from Vancouver to Tokyo that his uncle and aunt will be on in August 2026 is available again. We asked our cruise agent to get us a quote out of curiosity. We didn't have any real plans to go since we are having a mega trip from May to July 2026 already. His agency got us a "covert sale" not available to the public that priced lower than the awesome deal his uncle got like 8 months ago.

The agent put a hold on it for us. We kept going back and forth today. So many pros and cons... On a lark, we looked at airfare available on reward points.

We hit the lotto. I used seats.aero to check availability for the first week of October 2026 which would give us 3 weeks in Asia after the cruise. It found Biz Class seats from HKG to JFK with a connection through DOH for 95k Qatar miles each.

I had to do a quick internet search on how to even do this. I was poking around on the Qatar website, I found Biz class seats from HKG directly back to MIA on the same days with even more availability! I could not replicate my findings on seats.aero at all.

The leg from DOH to MIA were in QSuites! After a super quick discussion, we decided if we could actually book the tickets, the cruise would be a go! I was actually able to book Biz tickets from HKG-DOH-MIA with the 2nd leg in QSuites for a total of 190k miles transferred from AMEX and about $730 taxes and fees!!!

It happened super fast and I am shaking!! I had to post here before I slept!

So, we will go to DL in LA in August before the cruise, travel up to Vancouver to catch the ship to Tokyo, do Toyko DL & Sea, fly to Shanghai, then down to Hong Kong. We decided to do WDW last maybe after Thanksgiving and before Christmas.

So, we will hit all the DIsney Parks in one calendar year!

Sounds like a dream trip, congrats on being able to pull it together! If you're wanting to stay at one of the Tokyo Disney hotels, be sure to read up on it in advance as booking is competitive

 

[calypso726]

Okay! I have to share or I will burst!!! The Disney around the world for 2026 is back on!! But it will not be all on one continuous trip.

We had the cruising to Europe and back trip planned with a trip to DLP.

DH got an email with the sale on cruises that he checked out. The cruise from Vancouver to Tokyo that his uncle and aunt will be on in August 2026 is available again. We asked our cruise agent to get us a quote out of curiosity. We didn't have any real plans to go since we are having a mega trip from May to July 2026 already. His agency got us a "covert sale" not available to the public that priced lower than the awesome deal his uncle got like 8 months ago.

The agent put a hold on it for us. We kept going back and forth today. So many pros and cons... On a lark, we looked at airfare available on reward points.

We hit the lotto. I used seats.aero to check availability for the first week of October 2026 which would give us 3 weeks in Asia after the cruise. It found Biz Class seats from HKG to JFK with a connection through DOH for 95k Qatar miles each.

I had to do a quick internet search on how to even do this. I was poking around on the Qatar website, I found Biz class seats from HKG directly back to MIA on the same days with even more availability! I could not replicate my findings on seats.aero at all.

The leg from DOH to MIA were in QSuites! After a super quick discussion, we decided if we could actually book the tickets, the cruise would be a go! I was actually able to book Biz tickets from HKG-DOH-MIA with the 2nd leg in QSuites for a total of 190k miles transferred from AMEX and about $730 taxes and fees!!!

It happened super fast and I am shaking!! I had to post here before I slept!

So, we will go to DL in LA in August before the cruise, travel up to Vancouver to catch the ship to Tokyo, do Toyko DL & Sea, fly to Shanghai, then down to Hong Kong. We decided to do WDW last maybe after Thanksgiving and before Christmas.

So, we will hit all the DIsney Parks in one calendar year!

That's amazing!!! I love it when vacation plans all come together with an unexpected bonus!

 

[NewbieMom]

Has anyone had Chase support points post recently? P2 was approved with my link on 10/1 (before the change to new customers only) and they have yet to post.

DH used my link on 10/2 (instant approval) and I have not seen the support points post yet.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

DH used my link on 10/2 (instant approval) and I have not seen the support points post yet.

The language on the support changed early... was it 10/2 or 10/3 that it changed? I hope you get the points!

 

[calypso726]

After booking a NYC trip for next month and another next May, we decided to switch gears on our February NYC trip. We had 2 Aspire FN certs to use. So we focused on Hilton. Shockingly, we found standard room availability at the Waldorf Astoria Park City for 4 nights during peak ski season. We were able to book two rooms so we can bring my mom along to go see some snow. The rates were 130K per night or $1957 a night once the taxes/fees were factored in. That's not a bad value for the points or a FN cert. This particular WA does fall under the list of eligible resorts for the Aspire resort credit which will come in handy.

I'm super excited to bring my mom along on this trip.

Quoting myself with an update and DP. We have various cards that get a Hilton credit, the Hilton biz card ($60), Amex Plat biz card ($50) and the Aspire cards get $200 for qualifying resorts. As I mentioned in the previous post, the Waldorf Astoria Park City is on the list of eligible resorts for the Aspire credit.

This stay is not until next year. However, I had Aspire and Hilton credits that had not been used for this half of the year, expiring in December and I did not want them to go to waste. So, I thought perhaps I would try the same thing that I did a few years back for our trip to the Maldives and stay at Conrad Rangali which was to contact the resort and see if I could make pre payments to our room for future incidentals. The WA said that I could do that and they sent me a secure credit card authorization link for each card. I was able to get the exact amount I needed charged on each card and tied to the reservation. The charges worked as expected and the credits have posted.

I had read a number of threads online that not all resorts will do this. So I am happy that it worked out for this one.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Quoting myself with an update and DP. We have various cards that get a Hilton credit, the Hilton biz card ($60), Amex Plat biz card ($50) and the Aspire cards get $200 for qualifying resorts. As I mentioned in the previous post, the Waldorf Astoria Park City is on the list of eligible resorts for the Aspire credit.

This stay is not until next year. However, I had Aspire and Hilton credits that had not been used for this half of the year, expiring in December and I did not want them to go to waste. So, I thought perhaps I would try the same thing that I did a few years back for our trip to the Maldives and stay at Conrad Rangali which was to contact the resort and see if I could make pre payments to our room for future incidentals. The WA said that I could do that and they sent me a secure credit card authorization link for each card. I was able to get the exact amount I needed charged on each card and tied to the reservation. The charges worked as expected and the credits have posted.

I had read a number of threads online that not all resorts will do this. So I am happy that it worked out for this one.

Does your AmEx plat have the below offer, which would add another $200 to your stockpile of credits:

Earn a one-time $200 statement credit after using your enrolled eligible Card to spend a minimum of $1,000 USD in one or more purchases on room rate and room charges at participating Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, LXR, NoMad & Signia properties in the US & globally from 8/11/2025 to 12/31/2025. See terms.

I have been trying to contact the Conrad Dubai to see if they allow prepays on upcoming stays but they haven't responded to my e-mails grrrr (ds is going to Dubai in late February).