I love credit cards so much!

[kmc8826]

Maybe I have missed it before but there was an offer on my SPG Lux today to register and receive two times the points on grocery stores and restaurants. Register by October 31 and good until November 30. So check and see if you have it. Especially handy since I have shifted all my spending to the two Amex’s I am working on the minimum spends on.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Mostly. It's a northbound cruise so I still have to fly back from somewhere in Alaska. We're staying a couple days in Alaska post cruise but not sure where yet since it's a Sep end of season cruise. I'd like to end in Fairbanks but I'll have to do more research on travel conditions in Sep, so for now looking at return from Anchorage. And we figured since we're on the west coast we might as well do a night or two in California. Hubby has never been further than Vegas, and I've only been for one night business trips so didn't get to see much, so we picked Sonoma/San Francisco area this time. (Originally I was going to throw a couple days at DL in there somewhere but it's just not working out. But if I can figure out this airline points thing might not be as long as we thought to get back and do a southern California/DL Trip )

I used to think about cruises like you, but have found that a sea day can be a nice break in an intense itinerary. Since we go to explore places we have pretty active days while in new ports. So a sea day thrown in saves that feeling of needing a vacation from our vacation I also found if there is enough to do on the ship, and this will change ship to ship, even sea days can be busy if you want them to be. Or you can grab a lounger on deck and veg. I think that's why we like a cruise, gives options while being a floating hotel.

We took a northbound Alaskan cruise in mid-August 2015. We flew Southwest to Seattle (from BWI--the price was insanely good), did the touristy stuff and stayed overnight, and then took the train to Vancouver the next day. Our Seattle hotel was just a couple blocks from the train station, so getting there was super-easy. After the cruise we rented an RV and stayed inside Denali NP for four nights. We returned the RV to Anchorage, took the free rv shuttle to the airport, and flew home to PHL on United, with a change in ORD.

 

[pillow]

We took a northbound Alaskan cruise in mid-August 2015. We flew Southwest to Seattle (from BWI--the price was insanely good), did the touristy stuff and stayed overnight, and then took the train to Vancouver the next day. Our Seattle hotel was just a couple blocks from the train station, so getting there was super-easy. After the cruise we rented an RV and stayed inside Denali NP for four nights. We returned the RV to Anchorage, took the free rv shuttle to the airport, and flew home to PHL on United, with a change in ORD.

Which campground in Denali? We stayed at Tek and loved it.

 

[pillow]

Paradise had a crapload of ppl there... :\ we had a hard time finding parking there.
we did one called tipso lake... was very pretty and not a lot of ppl... easy walk too.

a lot of them are very steep walks :\

I don't mind a long hard hike as long as I budget the entire day. Will check out Tipso. I imagine we'll do a long hike one day and something short and easy the next. I can't find anything close to Rainier on the UR portal, which is a shame (hate that I have all these points and can't use them there). I'm not a very opportunistic traveler I'm afraid. I wanna go where I wanna go! If I have to pay out of pocket, it will need to be cheap though.

 

[Albort]

I don't mind a long hard hike as long as I budget the entire day. Will check out Tipso. I imagine we'll do a long hike one day and something short and easy the next. I can't find anything close to Rainier on the UR portal, which is a shame (hate that I have all these points and can't use them there). I'm not a very opportunistic traveler I'm afraid. I wanna go where I wanna go! If I have to pay out of pocket, it will need to be cheap though.

not much around... that was the only hotel place i can find on the other side of Mt Rainier. Everyone was the touristy spot before mt rainier. It took us over an hour just to get into the national park haha. so many cars trying to get in. we did go on a sat though. We brought in food and cooked our own meals at that condo, saving us money. Lots to do there(Swimming, hiking, basketball, movie rentals, board games, etc) . Take the gondola to the top of the mountain for a spectacular view of Mt Rainier(although we went during fire season and was very cloudy up top). It was also a quick drive to Sunrise peak(another great hiking spot) and is the tallest place u can drive to and hike to. also closest to mt rainier. We exited up north instead going back the way we came from.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Which campground in Denali? We stayed at Tek and loved it.

Savage River---we had the most beautiful clear view of the mountain

 

[StephPlum]

Their website is crappy and weird, simultaneously. There are actually two accounts, the master (company) account, and the card/user account. The AF posted in the company account, but doesn’t show on the user account. And the one $4 charge on the user account shows on the master account, along with the AF, then it shows I paid $99 (95 AF +4)with 0 balance but the user account still says balance $4

Just checked my Company account and there was my AF. And my bonus miles!! Not sure exactly when they posted since I never checked this company account.

 

[NewbieMom]

Fair warning - this is what DH and I said BTK (shorthand in our house for "before the kids"). Now we have a 2 year old girl who loves Disney songs and a 4 year old girl who loves Disney princesses and has been asking for months to go to Disney World "where all the princesses live." So we're going in May and bringing Grandma and Grandpa along. I can't wait to see them experience it for the first time!

It's amazing how much they do know and remember! We brought our then 2 year old and 9 month old to WDW earlier this year, and she was the first to spot Pluto in the square when we went to MK. She loved hugging all the characters at Chef Mickey's and was the one insisting on waiting in the 1 hr line to see Cinderella and Elena. Now half a year later, she still talks about the trip and going back to the "princess castle."

My 9 month old of course doesn't talk or remember, but I could tell he was having a blast at the parks. He would laugh and clap his hands just sitting in the stroller watching the parade. Surprisingly he was the one mesmerized by the fireworks show, and my 2 yo was too scared by the noise.

 

[tink1970]

And it so fun to see how babies/toddlers react to characters

That reminds me of Robin Williams' line when he did Live at the Met "Mickey Mouse to a three year old is a six foot ----ing rat."

I miss that comedic genius...

Okay, back to regular programming!

 

[Haley R]

Ahh...they wouldn’t remember anything at 3 months(but you will)....
.I am surprised what my kids remember from when they were about 3 on up....and take grandma and grandpa....they can watch the kids while you go on rides the kids can’t or have a date night

I’ve been trying to get my parents to go for the last three years and no dice but maybe when we have kids that would convince them lol

 

[Haley R]

My favorite age to take my kids was 4. I made sure they each went at 4, but that meant I also had younger too. The youngest I took was 17 months. They are just so fun and easy at that age. My 17 month old was terrified of every character but Jasmine. My son was almost 3 his first trip and he loved every character. Gave them all hugs. It’s just so cute. As they get older it’s actually harder. They have opinions. And their opinion usually is I’m tired of lines, let’s spend the day at the pool. I would say under 6 is the best time to take them!

Huh that’s interesting. I could see the characters being fun with a little one. Our niece was 9 when we took her and she did such a good job in the parks. We were doing rope drop to park close with her and she barely complained. We kind of spoiled her with dah so she got to ride practically everything with no wait there. When she first waited for a character she got a little restless but she quickly realized that that’s how things go at Disney and she ended up loving the characters.

 

[calypso726]

We arrived safely in DC last night and checked into the Willard. Once again, we are using our IHG free night at any IHG hotel. I know we just did this a few months ago but fortunately, we had booked that trip close to when our free night would expire. We also received the any IHG free night again in our accounts before the Chase/IHG fiasco. Whether or not we get one more after they back tracked, remains to be seen. The IHG card gives you Platinum status but I’m not quite sure what that actually gets you in terms of upgrades. Our first Platinums upgrade here last spring was a newly renovated room. This time it is a view of Pennsylvania Avenue. I’ll let you be the judge.



I’m not complaining, I just find it amusing. I love this hotel and don’t know why and don’t care what room they put me in.

I may have mentioned earlier in the thread that we went for a Platinum status challenge with AA. DH worked out how what the EQDs, EQMs mean and how they are calculated and realized that we’d be hitting it if we went for it with the trips we had on the books already. So, I am happy to report that we are both now Platinum with AA through Jan 31, 2020. I still have to figure out if this will be an advantage for us beyond earning more more miles on flights paid with UR, MR and AA gift cards. I suspect it might, depending on how we wind up booking the family trip to Hawaii on AS if I get a status match with them too. I have some homework to do on that front.

Thanks to the Wells Fargo chatter here, I decided to check out if I had any cool bonus point offers for using my WF Propel and saw 25 points per dollar at Staples, Od/OM, K-mart, and JC Penney. 25% back on Disney GCs is too good to pass up. This is one of those rare times I will be going for cash back over UR points! Thanks for the heads up on that!

 

[Haley R]

We haven't flown Frontier that much, but have had good experiences.

Even with our bad experiences we continue to fly with them. The price is unbeatable where we live and there aren’t any other airlines near us that fly nonstop to mco for that cheap. We have allegiant but they don’t fly into mco.

 

[Haley R]

Fair warning - this is what DH and I said BTK (shorthand in our house for "before the kids"). Now we have a 2 year old girl who loves Disney songs and a 4 year old girl who loves Disney princesses and has been asking for months to go to Disney World "where all the princesses live." So we're going in May and bringing Grandma and Grandpa along. I can't wait to see them experience it for the first time!

Awww that’s so cute!!! Well you just changed my mind in one post lol

 

[Haley R]

Disclaimer: We do not have kids. With that said, we do have nieces and nephews. We have taken it upon ourselves to be the first to have them d̶r̶i̶n̶k̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶K̶o̶o̶l̶ ̶A̶i̶d̶ experience Disney World. It’s also another excuse to have a bunch of DVC points. So, every year we spring for the accommodations for one side of the family, then swap the other side the following year. This year we are doing both sides together. It will be an exercise in herding cats, but I digress. Anyhow, my fondest memory is the first time we went with our second nephew who was only 6 months old at the time. the way his eyes lit up and he smiled and interacted with Mickey Mouse is something I will never forget. Mickey Mouse was smitten with his reaction and spend a lot of time interacting with him and we got lots of great pictures. The Christmas cards his parents sent out that year were of my nephew hugging Mickey’s face and tasting his nose. My oldest nephew, we took when he was two years old. I will never forget the look he had on his face riding Its a Small World. It was worth having that bloody song in my head for the rest of that day, and even now the rest of today as I reminisce. Since those first trips we have taken plenty more with them. Nothing significant stands out in my memory about the subsequent trips. My niece’s mom didn’t come with us until my niece was a little older and it wasn’t the same. Anyhow, my point is, they may not remember, but you will. Just sharing the perspective and experience of someone who is not a parent but absolutely treasures those memories of being with babies and toddlers at Disney World.

You guys are killing me with these stories!

 

[Judique]

Maybe I have missed it before but there was an offer on my SPG Lux today to register and receive two times the points on grocery stores and restaurants. Register by October 31 and good until November 30. So check and see if you have it. Especially handy since I have shifted all my spending to the two Amex’s I am working on the minimum spends on.

I hope I get it! But haven't gotten anything new in the last week, not since the 5 of 25 showtime one.

I added every offer one afternoon to my account so it would be easier to scroll through to check and now nothing new - yet!

 

[WVMomof3]

What is there fun to do in the Orlando area for cheap? We fly into MCO at the end of October for a wedding in the Melbourne area. We will arrive on a Thursday night and don't need to be to the wedding area until Friday night, so we have about 24 hours. I had originally thought we would do Kennedy Space Center but did not realize it was so expensive! I'm looking for cheap/free. This wedding is already setting us back quite a bit between flights/hotels and gift. Ok, well, flights are technically free, but it was a lot of points. I swear it was the most expensive point weekend for SW to MCO. I guess busy Disney time as I think at least 3 or 4 on this thread were going during the same time. I suppose if nothing else we could go to Disney Springs for a few hours, but, blasphemy here, it is not high on my list of things to do and even lower on DH's list. We spent about an hour there in June and that was plenty of time. I am thinking seeing manatees, or other Florida unique things. Our wedding hotel is on the beach, so no beach either.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

What is there fun to do in the Orlando area for cheap? We fly into MCO at the end of October for a wedding in the Melbourne area. We will arrive on a Thursday night and don't need to be to the wedding area until Friday night, so we have about 24 hours. I had originally thought we would do Kennedy Space Center but did not realize it was so expensive! I'm looking for cheap/free. This wedding is already setting us back quite a bit between flights/hotels and gift. Ok, well, flights are technically free, but it was a lot of points. I swear it was the most expensive point weekend for SW to MCO. I guess busy Disney time as I think at least 3 or 4 on this thread were going during the same time. I suppose if nothing else we could go to Disney Springs for a few hours, but, blasphemy here, it is not high on my list of things to do and even lower on DH's list. We spent about an hour there in June and that was plenty of time. I am thinking seeing manatees, or other Florida unique things. Our wedding hotel is on the beach, so no beach either.

Have you ever been to downtown Orlando around Lake Eola...pretty area to walk around..lots of outdoor restaurants..

 

[Missyson]

I wanted to say thank you to everyone for your help a few weeks ago. I did not think I could apply for a CSP since I was an AU on my husbands account. You all corrected me, and also suggested he refer me to get 10,000 points. Thanks again! I was too afraid to DD with the CSR and after reading recent posts I'm glad I didn't.

Right now I'm working on using the card to meet MSR. I have a newbie story. We went to Disney a few weeks ago for a long weekend. We have AP's. I got my CSP card the day before our trip. We stayed at the Dolphin, and when we checked in I gave them my new credit card to use. When we got home I didn't see any transactions for a while. Then a charge for only $51.87 showed??? My husband looked and they put all the other charges on his upromise card that he had used for the reservation. I have no idea why he didn't use his CSP?? Ugh! Oh well

 

[Judique]

What is there fun to do in the Orlando area for cheap? We fly into MCO at the end of October for a wedding in the Melbourne area. We will arrive on a Thursday night and don't need to be to the wedding area until Friday night, so we have about 24 hours. I had originally thought we would do Kennedy Space Center but did not realize it was so expensive! I'm looking for cheap/free. This wedding is already setting us back quite a bit between flights/hotels and gift. Ok, well, flights are technically free, but it was a lot of points. I swear it was the most expensive point weekend for SW to MCO. I guess busy Disney time as I think at least 3 or 4 on this thread were going during the same time. I suppose if nothing else we could go to Disney Springs for a few hours, but, blasphemy here, it is not high on my list of things to do and even lower on DH's list. We spent about an hour there in June and that was plenty of time. I am thinking seeing manatees, or other Florida unique things. Our wedding hotel is on the beach, so no beach either.

On one of my trips (long ago) we went to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and we were able to drive along a road that had dozens and dozens of alligators in the ditches as you drove along. Don't remember the name of the drive but it was pretty intense to see so many of these creatures.

We went to the Manatee Observation Deck and saw quite a few Manatees lolling about close to shore - many more than I've caught sight of in other popular areas. I'm always wandering around Florida somewhere and haven't gotten back to this park since that trip, but would like to go again just to see the Manatees.

This Refuge is near Cape Canaveral as I remember. We also went through Cocoa Beach but didn't find it very exciting. On a different trip we did Cape Canaveral and that was interesting, but the price has definitely gone up, plus it has had some stuff added. I would still like to do the 'lunch with an astronaut' thing, maybe some day.