I love credit cards so much!

[gottalovepluto]

I feel the same. This game allows us to travel more. Sometimes free and sometimes for less. Most of the time it allows for travel experiences wouldn’t choose to spend real money to experience.

I will say for you or anyone else considering Antarctica that you really look into whether or not you want to experience the Drake Passage. I did want that experience and fully knew what I was getting into. There are fly and cruise operators for those who are more limited in time or get really bad motion sickness. To be honest I am stunned that I’m not really sea sick. I’m only slightly nauseous. We are experiencing a moderate crossing of the Drake. The idea that this could get and often is much worse is truly daunting. I am currently laying in bed because it is less challenging than attempting to remain upright. Staying in the bed and not rolling off is somewhat easier to manage. Just avoid the edges. I can’t imagine doing this crossing on a ship that doesn’t have wicked awesome stabilizers.

View from my window

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Aaaaand OH. MY. My motion sickness prone self does not want to experience that. But the adventurer in me will not be able to turn it down if I ever start to see it as possible... I grew up in a travel agency and my first job beyond envelope stuffing was managing the brochures. I used to cut out the pictures of all the stuff I loved or wanted to see (when they expired of course!) to decorate with and the walls in my room were like 90% from the Lindblad brochures, mostly Antarctica. We never sold anyone on doing it but I definitely though it was the coolest thing out there in the travel world!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I wouldn’t get a Delta card for any other reason than to use the miles...not these days with Amex and the pop up. Just my opinion. Sorry @SouthFayetteFan and @wendow.

This is a very good point. It was a different world back then when AMEX handed out card after card to anybody who was breathing.

 

[wendow]

Yes it is a good offer and if you can use the skymiles (and other perks of the card) I would get it. I wouldn’t get a Delta card for any other reason than to use the miles...not these days with Amex and the pop up. Just my opinion. Sorry @SouthFayetteFan and @wendow.

I'm inclined to agree with you but like @SouthFayetteFan, when I got my Delta card, we were not seeing the issues with Amex like we are now

 

[mmmears]

I would fly to Spokane and then drive to Glacier. It is a full day's drive. But from Columbus Oh, that was the best place to fly into. There is a smaller airport closer to Glacier but it is just cost too much for me to justify. Plus I like road trips, you see so much more of the country in the car than flying! I did look at Calgary as well since we will combine with Canada NPs but again not a great way to get there from here. I usually don't have issues with getting places from here but some of the places in the west are more difficult. Good news is we have nonstop to Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix.

Ah ok. A full day's drive might not work well for us, but it's still much closer than from here. Definitely something I need to think about. I do love the idea of turning "family obligation" trips into true vacations.

 

[Haley R]

Okay I'm really sorry if I've already asked this, but is the BOA Premier Rewards card able to PC to a no AF card?

 

[afan]

I have to ask what there is to see/do around Spokane since we may have to take a trip up there to see DH's family. I've been a few times but we didn't tour around. I'd love to combine all these family visits with a little bit of travel and exploration. Any ideas would be appreciated!

Grand Coulee Dam might be close enough. We went there when I was in jr high to tour the dam and see the light show they did against the water at night. If not that one there's more than one dam on the Columbia and the Snake may have some. Silverwood theme park would be another I'd look at. We get the commercials and while it's not enough to make me want to drive to Idaho if I was close by I would go, it's about an hour from Spokane. The wooden rollercoaster looks great and there's a water park there too.

If you are there Oct-March/April and like hockey I would suggest a Spokane Chiefs game, it's junior hockey so they are 16-21 and in the WHL. A lot of NHLer's get drafted out of the league so you may see a future star. Also on the sports front is Gonzaga University and their basketball team or just college sports in general. I think Spokane also has a riverwalk or something like that. There's a race I've read about that looks fun but I'd have to make a weekend out of it and am not sure I want the 5-6 hour drive and an overnight in Spokane just to run

ETA There's also a Class A short season minor league affiliate of the Rangers, the Spokane Indians.
On another way more, I finally watched Casablana tonight. Having not known the whole plot I was surprised at that given the year the movie was made. I enjoyed it and can see why it gets talked about so much. Tomorrow I'll bring things way forward for the new Ocean's 8. Library holds finally came in

 

[Lain]

TGIF.

Two random questions and one random comment.

@Lain, @Albort (or anyone) when am I safe to close out my unused CIP card? It is my only business card with Chase...opened in April. I have not put any spending on it since probably June. DH has his and all recurring payments (phone, internet, etc go on it). Should I maybe put some spend on it before I cancel? I don't really want to product change as eventually might try to lower credit limits and get one of the business cards.

Can I product change Dh's Freedom back to a CSR? I just barely changed it from the CSR to the Freedom in November. BUT long story short I guess we are going to rent one of those huge 15 people passenger vans for our trip in 2 weeks since another family his going with us...I want DH to be the main driver and the other driver to be the dad in the family we are going with. (I want no part of driving that monstrosity and would feel better for insurance purposes if it was just on DH's CSR). Plus, I miss the CSR since my whole Amex personal Gold card for DH plan fell apart with the whole pop up. Not getting 3 times the points on his eating out is killing me. I assume we just need to call? That they won't do it over SM?

For those that are feeling bad about cashing out UR's...at least you are doing it to cover a trip. I just cashed out 50,000 today so I could pay our balance to Amex without taking money from savings. Christmas was painful and I am done with these $10,000 spend on Amex. It is too much. And we meet the spend too easy.

Chase doesnt care. Cancel at your 1 year mark is okay. u should product change, not sure why u dont want to. you can always just lower your limit on your biz card, but its up to u still.
Yes, u can upgrade from Freedom --> CSR. you can try SM, most likely they will tell u to call though.

Agreed with @Albort. Chase is not like Amex. They don’t seem to care (much) about ongoing spend. (Occasionally, a denial reason on a new app might include the reason that they want to see how you use credit already extended, etc.) And Chase doesn’t even seem to care if you close out one of their biz cards (via SM if you want to avoid any unpleasantly or awkwardness) before even a year is out. I always recommend keeping a card open for at least a year, but I’ve gotten pushback from Reddit that there are no DPs of Chase taking any adverse action against those who cancel a biz card before a year is done.

And yes, you can call to change a CF back to a CSR. Chase product changes have to be done by phone now.

 

[mmmears]

Grand Coulee Dam might be close enough. We went there when I was in jr high to tour the dam and see the light show they did against the water at night. If not that one there's more than one dam on the Columbia and the Snake may have some. Silverwood theme park would be another I'd look at. We get the commercials and while it's not enough to make me want to drive to Idaho if I was close by I would go, it's about an hour from Spokane. The wooden rollercoaster looks great and there's a water park there too.

If you are there Oct-March/April and like hockey I would suggest a Spokane Chiefs game, it's junior hockey so they are 16-21 and in the WHL. A lot of NHLer's get drafted out of the league so you may see a future star. Also on the sports front is Gonzaga University and their basketball team or just college sports in general. I think Spokane also has a riverwalk or something like that. There's a race I've read about that looks fun but I'd have to make a weekend out of it and am not sure I want the 5-6 hour drive and an overnight in Spokane just to run

ETA There's also a Class A short season minor league affiliate of the Rangers, the Spokane Indians.
On another way more, I finally watched Casablana tonight. Having not known the whole plot I was surprised at that given the year the movie was made. I enjoyed it and can see why it gets talked about so much. Tomorrow I'll bring things way forward for the new Ocean's 8. Library holds finally came in

Thanks! I'm saving this in case we do end up going there.

We watched Crazy Rich Asians tonight, which we also got from our library. I'm interested to hear about Oceans 8!

 

[Mopedmom1]

The van is for FL. I will double check but I don’t think we need to worry about a CDL. It kind of sucks because my husband hates the Disney bus so bad he has convinced his friend that it is a fate worse than death. They both thought we could just go in a car together but while that sounds good in theory it is for 9 people. Our 5 and their 4. You don’t have a lot of options!

Check VERY CAREFULLY to make sure this vehicle is covered by insurance. kittylady1972 elsewhere on this forum had an accident in Florida in a large passenger van and was not fully covered by her own insurance. I tried a quick search but didn't get any results back. Maybe you could pm her and find out more details.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

It’s been a year in April since I got the CIP and IHG. But right now I have 6 personal Chase cards. I haven’t wanted to push my luck. Other than the sign up bonus I get the benefits with my husband having them.



Yes it is a good offer and if you can use the skymiles (and other perks of the card) I would get it. I wouldn’t get a Delta card for any other reason than to use the miles...not these days with Amex and the pop up. Just my opinion. Sorry @SouthFayetteFan and @wendow.

Has it’s been 3 months since your last Chase application....that what most seem to recommend between Chase cards

 

[StephPlum]

I finally watched Casablana tonight

That is one of my favorite movies. It has been awhile since I've watched it, I should get it out. I like Humphrey Bogart. If you liked him, Maltese Falcon (another b&w with some of the same actors) is also really good. More of a mystery/detective movie.

 

[StephPlum]

@mmmears I listed what I was going to do from Spokane. Forgot to mention Sandpoint, Idaho. I haven't been but saw it on some travel show or something and did a small amount of research. It is just an hour from Spokane and looks very scenic. Has a lake, hiking, mountains, skiing in winter, downtown with some shops/restaurants.

I rechecked my Glacier travel time. To West Glacier it is about a 5 hour drive so that might not be a full day for you. I was adding that to after flying almost the same amount of time (including layovers) so my travel day would be 10 hours.

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

I did the PV Hyatt Ziva (No Zilara there). I can't compare it to Jamaica (haven't been). So compared to other Hyatts that I've been to:

Beach wasn't as pretty as Cancun's (What is?) but incredibly private. Cliffs on both sides, so you could only get in through the guarded gate and Hyatt itself. So no wristbands and beaches had no other tourists there. Very clean and waves broke very close to shore so great bodysurfing with no undertow. Boogie boarding would be ok on a calm day, but stick to body boarding on rougher days, otherwise you'd snap your foam pretty easily.

Food was better than Cabo but still just "better than average". Asian and italian weren't great for me. Brazilian steakhouse was average. Mexican was great. Breakfast was the standout. Never did the buffet. Can't stand them at Disney, can't stand them out of Disney.

Pools were small, hot tubs were not hot (none were). But because it is by far the smallest of the Hyatt Zivas I've been to (maybe half the size or smaller), it was more than adequate. No waits anywhere even though they were 100% occupancy.

As for PV itself: I've been to Los Cabos, Cancun, Cozumel, Progresso and Playa del Carmen. While the Gulf side is certainly the prettiest beaches, PV beaches were decent enough. But PV itself is vastly prettier than the other locations IMO. Very reminiscent of Hawaii with an ocean on one side and mountainous jungle on the other- but significantly less developed. I never leave Mexico ready to go back, but PV had me ready to go back. The food in the (large) town was jaw-dropping amazing and better than anywhere else in Mexico I've been as well.
Also much more family friendly with very little partying compared to other Mexico cities/beaches.

-----

Regarding your 4/24 and 5/24- It's up to you. Its only a 10k drop on the Hyatt, so not a massive deal. Maybe if DH can get it now @60k, and refer you when you're ready for it after the CIU, you can still makeup that 10k from the refer? Chase Biz is so lucrative, and if you still havent hit a ton of AMEX Biz (and are hitting Citi AA Biz w/ mailers), you're more than fine delaying busting over 5/24. You can only get what you can get, ya know? If you can't MSR $140kish a year or have it organic, you wouldn't be able to maximize life post-5/24 anyway.

Awesome! I’ve been eyeing Cancun for the family. I like the idea of PV over a busier time like Christmas. Thanks for the review!!

DH won’t be 4/24 til March either. I’ll look into some business cards. I do MS but probably 2-3k month plus 5kish organic so probably not to that point yet

 

[Alexle2007]

Has anyone stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Grand Cayman? I might have just booked it for one of our summer vacations...My thinking...the points price will be jumping so 240k points + $425 for resort fees when the room would cost $5321 is a pretty good value for my points. And with being Platinum. I am hoping that gets us free perks. Plus I choose the dates where SW had the lowest fares. Now to sell the idea to DH and DS when they wake up.

 

[Judique]

*I reserve the right to change all plans...multiple times...between now and when I leave, lol!

Your plan absolutely scares me. Rope drop every day. Fireworks in the park at 8pm. I long ago gave up staying from opening to close. Not sure if I've ever done it. I've done rope drop at least once a trip but I would be having lunch somewhere or back in my room by noon. And I've been in a park until 2am, but I didn't get there at 8am. Going in the evening, with the exception of a few visits to other parks involves dinner of some kind in Epcot. Park time during a trip is usually 3-4 hours in a day and sometimes I don't even go but 3-4 times in a 7 day trip. Even with an AP.

Once I did a ride in all 4 parks one day. Just for the heck of it. Was actually pretty easy.

I either have an annual pass or a park hopper. Touring style is no plans whatsoever, except for a few rides that I will try to plan for such as recently FOP - had to try it once and now could care less. I have a few things that I enjoy doing and rope drop on an extra magic day will usually take care of that such as Toy Story, Buzz, the Safari in Animal Kingdom. I don't do thrill rides as I would first of all get sick all over everybody and 2nd, I don't enjoy heights or being spinned and turned upside down. Daughters who do like things get to make fast passes and ride twice on my ticket.

I do enjoy the Bay Lake rooms for the views. My all time favorite was a lake view on the North end where you had a sideways MK view and the fireworks were easily seen. We weren't directly looking at the castle but it was a nice surprise. I've also had a lake view corner room at Grand Floridian Villas where you could enjoy the fireworks but you had to be on the balcony to see them. Nice surprise again as nobody was posting about that at the time, as it was in the first few months that VGF were open.

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

Has anyone stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Grand Cayman? I might have just booked it for one of our summer vacations...My thinking...the points price will be jumping so 240k points + $425 for resort fees when the room would cost $5321 is a pretty good value for my points. And with being Platinum. I am hoping that gets us free perks. Plus I choose the dates where SW had the lowest fares. Now to sell the idea to DH and DS when they wake up.

I’ve been on a cruise. Gorgeous place don’t think you can go wrong!! Sounds like a good deal to me. Was thinking of getting in on the Ritz Aruba before price hike.

 

[striker1064]

Has anyone stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Grand Cayman? I might have just booked it for one of our summer vacations...My thinking...the points price will be jumping so 240k points + $425 for resort fees when the room would cost $5321 is a pretty good value for my points. And with being Platinum. I am hoping that gets us free perks. Plus I choose the dates where SW had the lowest fares. Now to sell the idea to DH and DS when they wake up.

It's most likely going to be an amazing getaway either way, but worth noting: almost every DP I've read has seen the Ritz not really acknowledging or caring about status. Maybe that's different now with the "new" Marriott, I dunno.

 

[Alexle2007]

I’ve been on a cruise. Gorgeous place don’t think you can go wrong!! Sounds like a good deal to me. Was thinking of getting in on the Ritz Aruba before price hike.

We have stopped there twice on Western Caribbean cruises. The first time we did the swim with the dolphins/turtle farm and the second time we just stayed on the ship. So this would be our first time actually seeing the beach there. Everyone I know who has been to Aruba has loved it!

 

[Alexle2007]

It's most likely going to be an amazing getaway either way, but worth noting: almost every DP I've read has seen the Ritz not really acknowledging or caring about status. Maybe that's different now with the "new" Marriott, I dunno.

Boo, my reservation notes complimentary room upgrade so hopefully I would at least get that along lounge access.

 

[Alexle2007]

I believe there are other feds on this board. I am lucky that my agency is fully funded so I will still get my paycheck on Fri. But DOI processes our payroll and those poor people are furloughed but some will work so they can process our payroll. Pretty sad state of affairs.