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

We have stayed a few times on points and/or free night certificates.
I'm trying to use a couple of Hilton FNCs this winter/spring before they expire. As much I'm trying to convince my DW to go to Park City, Punta Cacique, Maui, or a similar Waldorf Astoria (high end) location that we can get to via SWA (b/c of the companion pass), she's leaning toward WDW (where we would just drive).

Would you recommend the Conrad or WA Orlando? We haven't stayed at either. We'll probably visit a park one or two days.

TYIA
 
I'm trying to use a couple of Hilton FNCs this winter/spring before they expire. As much I'm trying to convince my DW to go to Park City, Punta Cacique, Maui, or a similar Waldorf Astoria (high end) location that we can get to via SWA (b/c of the companion pass), she's leaning toward WDW (where we would just drive).

Would you recommend the Conrad or WA Orlando? We haven't stayed at either. We'll probably visit a park one or two days.

TYIA
I have not stayed at the Conrad Orlando, but I have stayed at the WA. The WA is older and more classical in style; the Conrad is brand new and more modern. I can't speak to the location of either since it's been at least 10 years since I was at the WA, but when I was there I had a car and was golfing, not visiting the parks. Tagging @calypso726 who has stayed at both and can provide you with a good comparison.
Can you talk your dw into a few days in Cabo? The WA there is very, very nice and an excellent use of FNCs. Or Monarch Beach? Perhaps a few days at the WA in Beverly Hills? What about the newly-renovated and apparently tdf WA in NYC?
 
I have a WWYD: heading to Japan at the end of the month. Poor planning on my part leaves me mid-trip deciding between Kanazawa (never been before, 3h30m from Nikko where I'll be staying for 4 nights) and Kyoto (been a there twice, always enjoy it, 4+ hours from Nikko). Leaning towards Kanazawa since I've never been and it provides me a way to get to the Jigokundani Monkey Park. Plus the Hyatt Centric there is only $100 and change / night and looks very nice.

But that's not my main WWYD. On my way home from Japan I have a 4 night stopover in Singapore (sometimes this happens when booking flights with points -- can't get the dates we want). I've been to Singapore twice and been to all the sites that interest me and eaten all the amazing foods. Not that I wouldn't stay again, but there are other parts of the world that I'd like to see. Which leads me to this:
  • do I fly from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City (never been to Vietnam) for 3 nights, then back to Singapore for 1 night before heading home via Taipei (3 hour layover)
  • do I just stay in Singapore and try to occupy my time (I am not one that enjoys being idle -- I like to be doing things when I'm traveling).
  • cost-wise it's a wash; flight and hotel in HCMC work out to the room rate that I have booked at the Fullerton Bay Hotel in Singapore (I *could* stay at the Conrad for much less, but I've always wanted to stay at the FBH and AmEx FHR had a 4for3 promo, making it more affordable
  • part of the dilemma stems from the fact that I am planning on taking a checked bag this trip (first time in several years), and I'd have to grab my bag at Changi, them presumably re-check it. I'd be flying on Singapore Air from Haneda and to HCMC, but on different tickets, so not sure if a CSR could somehow link the tickets and check the bag through to HCMH. I really don't want to just have carry-on this trip since I'm planning on doing some outdoor activities in Nikko (hiking and fat tire snow cycling), meaning I'll need a base layer and my gore-tex pants, plus clothing for a tropical climate.
So, WWYD. Singapore or HCMH?
we absolutely LOVED HCMC. had the best tour guide I've ever had. Even got to see the ladder on top of the building that was used for last evacuation. Underground tunnels etc. Even a crazy ride thru the city on a bike pulled pedicab.
 

I looked on the reddit thread (Official Misc) for Marcus but didn't find anything. If anyone has posted there, can you direct me?
 
For anyone that uses the United Travel Bank credits that come with the IHG Premier card... just a reminder that it's that weird bi-annual time where we have two $25 credits actively overlapping, for a total of $50 right now. Only lasts a few days... get it while it's hot! lol
Ok, these always go to waste for me. There's probably some hack I don't know about. I see I have $50, with $25 expiring on 1/15. Anyway to keep the funds if I don't have an immediate United need rn?
 
GF->All-Stars: it was not bad! Just me and my mother (she wanted to see the Xmas decor at WDW and do the holiday parties), not a lot of luggage and we had her car since she lives in SoFL. The GF days were pretty chill with lots of enjoying the resort, character dining (she loves that), and only at the parks at night/for parties. Then the two days at All-Stars Movies we were on full park mode because we're not going back to WDW until late 2027 or 2028 so we were like "let's do all our favorites one last time." Plus, we took advantage of the free water park upon check-in. That meant that we were hardly in the room, we really didn't need something nice, just somewhere to sleep for those two nights... and All Stars is totally fine for that purpose. Good use of the credit imo, though it took a lot of checking the Citi travel portal to get a good rate.

Too bad you had to cancel your trip to see Snaefelsness, but it does seem like Iceland will be crazy around the eclipse. If you decide to do it in the future, I highly recommend Vidgelmir Lava cave (not in the peninsula but western Iceland and easily part of the itinerary) over the various others. There are a lot of lava caves in the area but this particular one is the largest in the country and I believe in Europe. This was one of the highlights of the trip for us; the smaller caves are more crowded because they are more "on the way" but they're basically just any cave/lava tube, like the ones one can find in Hawaii or elsewhere.

The trip was good, only 5 day so kind of fast but a nice way to spend Christmas just the two of us after a year of a lot of family drama, lol. The Edition is a nice hotel, some critiques: it's a bit overpriced (but so is everything in Iceland), the rooms a bit dark (it's fine until you want more light for packing), and the staff seems to be getting used to all the various CC credits and how to apply them in conjunction to the credits from the destination fee, so it took a couple of trips to the front desk to straighten things out (I remember you had some issues as well, so I think the kinks are not worked out). But all the food we had was excellent, the restaurant staff is great, and even the room service food impressed us. Did not try the rooftop bar so no idea how that is. For the Chase part of the stay I paid $250 plus points for those two nights and at the time it was point boosted (2x pp), hopefully Chase doesn't take away the boost for this property. So we paid $250 plus 59K URs for those two nights, which I guess it comparable to a mid-to-high tier Hyatt--I prefer this to Amex FHR since the $300 doesn't cover the one night.

When we weren't in the Snaefelsness tour, we had a lot of fun going around Reykjavik, shopping for wool items, and doing some museums (The Settlement Exhibit was my favorite, and it's not a full-day commitment like a lot of museums). We'll likely go back to Iceland at some point down the line but in summer since we've now seen it twice in winter, and we'd like to explore the northern parts and be able to drive on our own. Probably not going to happen for a few years.

I'm envious of people who have such a great travel relationship with their mothers; I really need to work on mine. We took my mom on some adventures and I'm really, really glad we did, but it was so frustrating for me and I really didn't like the person I was when traveling with her. So I took a travel break from her for two years. But she's turning 70 and I know I don't have unlimited time with her, so we are going to Amsterdam in the spring. She's excited and that makes me happy.

Thanks for the Iceland tips- really helpful. Seems like an eruption might be imminent again, so I'm wondering if I could swing in a long weekend if one hits...
 
I'm envious of people who have such a great travel relationship with their mothers; I really need to work on mine. We took my mom on some adventures and I'm really, really glad we did, but it was so frustrating for me and I really didn't like the person I was when traveling with her. So I took a travel break from her for two years. But she's turning 70 and I know I don't have unlimited time with her, so we are going to Amsterdam in the spring. She's excited and that makes me happy.

Thanks for the Iceland tips- really helpful. Seems like an eruption might be imminent again, so I'm wondering if I could swing in a long weekend if one hits...

We discovered years ago that in order to not ruin our own vacation, when traveling with family, it is best to have our own room to escape to. We got a GV at OKW for my DD's 5th birthday - she is 27 now. We stayed in the GV which served as the common area, plus the grandparents in a studio, so they had some quiet. All our family over one roof! Fun right? Not. By the 3rd day, DH was ready to throw his family out of it. Not to mention MIL resented being in the peaceful studio because she wanted to be the center of attention and sleep in the GV.

We did the whole family trip 2 more times over the years, at AKL and BWV. We always got our own 1 bedroom and let the rest of the family have the larger villas from then on. We would hang at one of the 2 bedrooms with everyone and then retreat to our own sanctuary when we needed peace and quiet. Our stress levels were soooo much better after that change!

I LOVE my parents to pieces and we get along for the most part but boundaries are needed to keep me sane.

When we vacation together, we like to cruise and have cabins far from each other! :rolleyes1

We live in the same condo building now but on different floors. I am a much better daughter when we are not on top of each other and we can avoid each other when we need to!
 
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Ok, these always go to waste for me. There's probably some hack I don't know about. I see I have $50, with $25 expiring on 1/15. Anyway to keep the funds if I don't have an immediate United need rn?
Unfortunately, I don't know of any hack. I typically never use all of our credits either. But I do regularly check if maybe one of our flights may be cheaper, or if I could score something else for little oop cost.
 
I don’t land in Singapore until 3:25pm and there aren’t any flights to Siem Reap that give me enough leeway to make a connection. I believe the PH HCMC offers a fast-track through immigration with pre-arranged ride to the hotel and my plan was to use that since I’d land around 7:30pm, which seems like a less-than-ideal time.
I looked at so many options from Singapore, but only a very few had flights that would work with my arrival time at Changi.
Any consideration of Bali? Multiple flights per day and easy, and lots of choice in terms of hotels and different locations to stay. The traffic is horrific, but you can get a driver for fairly cheap to get you around to all the cool sites. Pro tip, KLM has flights from SIN-DPS, and the business class fares can be ridiculously inexpensive.
 
Ok, these always go to waste for me. There's probably some hack I don't know about. I see I have $50, with $25 expiring on 1/15. Anyway to keep the funds if I don't have an immediate United need rn?

You can book a cheap flight, I think I did one from maybe SFO to LAX, some short distance flight where it was just around $50. Cancel after 24 hours and you will get a future flight credit. It just can't be basic economy if I recall.
 
Any consideration of Bali? Multiple flights per day and easy, and lots of choice in terms of hotels and different locations to stay. The traffic is horrific, but you can get a driver for fairly cheap to get you around to all the cool sites. Pro tip, KLM has flights from SIN-DPS, and the business class fares can be ridiculously inexpensive.
I do love Bali -- will look into KLM flights -- I had no idea they flew from SIN-->DPS.
 
I'm trying to use a couple of Hilton FNCs this winter/spring before they expire. As much I'm trying to convince my DW to go to Park City, Punta Cacique, Maui, or a similar Waldorf Astoria (high end) location that we can get to via SWA (b/c of the companion pass), she's leaning toward WDW (where we would just drive).

Would you recommend the Conrad or WA Orlando? We haven't stayed at either. We'll probably visit a park one or two days.

TYIA
Have used FNC at both and definitely would choose Conrad.
 
I have not stayed at the Conrad Orlando, but I have stayed at the WA. The WA is older and more classical in style; the Conrad is brand new and more modern. I can't speak to the location of either since it's been at least 10 years since I was at the WA, but when I was there I had a car and was golfing, not visiting the parks. Tagging @calypso726 who has stayed at both and can provide you with a good comparison.
Can you talk your dw into a few days in Cabo? The WA there is very, very nice and an excellent use of FNCs. Or Monarch Beach? Perhaps a few days at the WA in Beverly Hills? What about the newly-renovated and apparently tdf WA in NYC?
Thanks for the response and suggestions. When I got the Aspire card and knew I would be getting FNCs and points, my goal was the WA in Cabo. At the time, standard rooms were very hard to find. Now, they are easier to find, but in the span of one year the points cost for a standard room has shot up from 140k to 190k to (now) 250k/night...crazy. WA in NYC is another I've been eyeing, but it's almost impossible to find 2+ night standard room availability right now...and none in the winter/spring. I briefly checked out Monarch Beach and BH, but wasn't sure it was worth flying across the country for a few days at those two.
 
I'm trying to use a couple of Hilton FNCs this winter/spring before they expire. As much I'm trying to convince my DW to go to Park City, Punta Cacique, Maui, or a similar Waldorf Astoria (high end) location that we can get to via SWA (b/c of the companion pass), she's leaning toward WDW (where we would just drive).

Would you recommend the Conrad or WA Orlando? We haven't stayed at either. We'll probably visit a park one or two days.

TYIA

We always have a car so I never pay attention to location in terms of distance to WDW. I would lean towards Conrad on enjoying the hotel experience and offerings. I like both but I think the Conrad edges out the WA.
 
Anyone have the old BILT credit card (WF)?

I signed my Dad up a while ago and he has so far accumulated 88k Bilt points after already redeeming some 18 months ago on flights from Taipei to Kyoto for 2. Haven't decided what to do yet until after the official announcements come out about the new system.

I only make the one monthly payment with it and I linked his card to the mobile app game that I play and I but micro stuff of 99cents on the game to make sure to meet the 5 required charges a month to get BILT rewards each month.

In the meantime, we have an investment property in NY that changed management companies starting 1/1/2026 and now the only way to pay the condo fees online is through BILT!

So, I had to create a new BILT rewards account (not credit card) and I used my name to open the account in order to pay the Jan 2026 condo charges.

I linked the bank account and paid the condo fees as an ACH because I didn't want to pay the 3% credit card fee. I earned 250 BILT reward points just by paying the condo fees electronically. Honestly, I don't know how any of this works anymore...

250 BILT points a month for making the payment is 3000 a year for doing something I was doing already. I wonder if I can pay multiple condo fees, HOA, or rent (electronically) through my BILT and get 250 points for each? Or is it limited to the one payment limit previously. The limit of one per month perviously was for the credit card fee waiver though.

I feel like when I haven't been to the Disney Parks in a while (I haven't) and everything has changed and I don't have the energy or time or brain cells to figure out all the changes! Lol.

I figure that I will spend the time researching AFTER the official announcement comes out. It is extra confusing because the BILT rewards account is technically separate from the BILT credit card that earns BILT rewards. Well, just like airline loyalty accounts and the credit cards that earns miles, I guess...
 
My mom came to me and wanted to do a $425 bank bonus for depositing $3k, Wells Fargo, this past Oct. Bonus just posted. How long do you all usually keep "bank bonus" accounts open? I checked and there's no early termination fee. I'll keep it open probably 6 months maybe, but I hate to have her money all over the place indefinitely.
 


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