I love credit cards so much!

[MrPTato]

Noted. And here I thought living in the DC metro area, I've seen it all...

Nice to know that June won't be 'summer' just yet. After going to WDW the last two years (8 day trips both times) in August and September, we need a reprieve from the heat on vacay. Will be a welcomed change for DH!

Heading to DC in a month to see cherry blossoms! Very excited.

 

[Lain]

I'm Chinese, but DH isn't (though he's an honorary one after all these years I tell him ), so I will certainly be seeking out the authentic stuff. Will have to check out your list! A friend told me I think, "Flower Lotus", is a must. Huge foodie here my eyes went straight for all restaurants and eateries listed

For more traditional Chinese cuisine that’s not dim sum, I’m a big fan of R&G Lounge in Chinatown.

In the Westfield mall off Union Square under the old Emporium dome, there’s also M.Y. China, which is a collaboration between Martin Yan and the owners of Koi Palace (a very popular Chinese restaurant in Daly City). I hesitated recommending M.Y. China because of Martin Yan’s fake “Chinese” accent and persona, and the price point is higher than other Chinese restaurants, but the food is actually quite good, especially the wild boar scissor cut noodles and Chinese egg puff donuts.

 

[SBWB48]

Heading to DC in a month to see cherry blossoms! Very excited.

Nice! This is sad, but seems like the norm for those living in the area. We are in MD, but being that close to DC, you'd think we'd be there more often. Think we've only done Cherry Blossoms once in the last 5-6 years...yet people like yourself planned trips just to come see them! They are beautiful though, especially when you catch them during peak season. Hope your trip was funded in some way with points/miles

 

[MrPTato]

Nice! This is sad, but seems like the norm for those living in the area. We are in MD, but being that close to DC, you'd think we'd be there more often. Think we've only done Cherry Blossoms once in the last 5-6 years...yet people like yourself planned trips just to come see them! They are beautiful though, especially when you catch them during peak season. Hope your trip was funded in some way with points/miles

Sadly, OOP...I do have some cash back on Discover...that will pay for a few nice meals.

 

[peel]

My experience with Chase Pay overall hasn't been great. They were running that promotion a while back for ordering from restaurants through Chase Pay and getting $20 off or whatever, so I did that and got our dinner for something like $2. Well, unbeknownst to me, when I picked up the to go order and added tip, I guess it never processed the tip since I went through Chase Pay? I don't know, but I felt bad for the poor girl who got my order together since she didn't get a tip.

We tried to max out the Shop Rite 10x promo, but they either shuffled us from register to register to get the payment to go through, or they had no idea how to use Chase Pay in the first place. And when we tried different stores we got different responses about whether they accepted it and whether we could buy gift cards with it. We finally gave up.
The best was when a manager spent a half hour trying all different kinds of combinations of items (GC and gum, GC alone, 2 GCs in one transaction, etc.) at 3 different registers and the customer service desk, and there was literally a giant banner by the registers announcing Chase Pay with a lady manning a table and handing out literature about it.

 

[linzjane88]

Just recently introduced DH to the wonderful world of ramen; he loves it now, but isn't familiar with Ippudo. I've heard great things about it because I LOVE ramen, so will go to the end of earth to find it (but that applies to everything that is yum), if I must.



Ok, so that makes me feel a bit better. Maybe we will go to the Giants game Sunday as a means to avoid the crowds, or head over to Fisherman's wharf and hopefully away from the masses

ETA: Feels like I'm hijacking this thread, so in CC related news, there's a post on DOC"s recap with a post about "Southwest Airlines Expects New Hawaii Routes Will ‘Ignite’ Credit Card Sign-Ups". Here's to hoping this doesn't mean reduced sign up bonuses for those with CP plans (me being one of them at the end of this year when DH's CP expires).

I hope they don't mess with the SW card negatively until at least after October. I'm planning on snatching up a CP.

 

[FredtheDuck]

@SBWB48 as far as pride my biggest suggestion is to be open minded and to expect anything and everything. Having lived in SF and being there during pride, the fulsom street fair and any random day of the week, nothing shocks me any more. Huge blue Mohawk ok cool. Shirtless guy in just leather chaps and leather cup great you do you. It might make public transit busier but you'll be fine. The city is always busy.

Oh and don't call it San Fran and it's just BART not the Bart these two will show you are a tourist. Also plan for it to be cold, it's not actually summer in SF in June. Another sure sign of a tourist is walking around in an SF sweatshirt or jacket.

As an SF native, I second all of this. Especially the "don't call it San Fran" tip. "Frisco" is even worse (like nails on a chalkboard), so be careful with that, too : ) HAVE FUN!

 

[FredtheDuck]

Nice! This is sad, but seems like the norm for those living in the area. We are in MD, but being that close to DC, you'd think we'd be there more often. Think we've only done Cherry Blossoms once in the last 5-6 years...yet people like yourself planned trips just to come see them! They are beautiful though, especially when you catch them during peak season. Hope your trip was funded in some way with points/miles

Same. I've seen them once in the last seven years, even though I live just over the border in MD. But we're lucky: we can see lots of pretty cherry blossoms around here without going all the way to the mall (I'm partial to Dumbarton Oaks).

Agree that they're gorgeous... maybe I'll take an early afternoon and go see them this year.

 

[hsmamato2]

So....if I completely change my mind about Europe and try for LAX-HON... I can see availability on AA thru AK air using AA award points at 22.5k- I've literally been reading on this for 2 years and can't grasp the exact 'how' of doing this)

I want to thank you for helping me out here with this Avios stuff.... I appreciate it! Good news.... I pulled the trigger,and booked 3 of our 4 flights to Hawaii for next winter! (can't book the 4th till son confirms his email in my household acct grrr) It's costing me nothing but taxes oop to fly there,I plan to use my SPG points for 6 nights hotel,and to get us from east to west coast I'm using either SWA or JB points,plus free IHG hotel nights in LA on either end of our trip (to get used to the time changes!) so oop I will only have to worry mainly about food while there!!! very excited, never been....and I'm relieved to use those points on something cool!

 

[SBWB48]

For more traditional Chinese cuisine that’s not dim sum, I’m a big fan of R&G Lounge in Chinatown.

In the Westfield mall off Union Square under the old Emporium dome, there’s also M.Y. China, which is a collaboration between Martin Yan and the owners of Koi Palace (a very popular Chinese restaurant in Daly City). I hesitated recommending M.Y. China because of Martin Yan’s fake “Chinese” accent and persona, and the price point is higher than other Chinese restaurants, but the food is actually quite good, especially the wild boar scissor cut noodles and Chinese egg puff donuts.

Martin Yan’s fake “Chinese” accent and persona oh dear...

Will need to decide if I want to try or stick with the little guys. I'm a big fan of the smaller places, but will go to the big names as well, because it seems the little guys really do it right. In Hong Kong, the really good local places happen to also be the ones that tend to have the rudest owners that won't hesitate ("are you done? Then leave") to hurry you out if your plate looks almost done lol.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

As an SF native, I second all of this. Especially the "don't call it San Fran" tip. "Frisco" is even worse (like nails on a chalkboard), so be careful with that, too : ) HAVE FUN!

You beat me to the Frisco, lol! I was born in the city, but live 10 or so miles away now. That one grates ever since Blie Lagoon (I’m showing my age here).

 

[afan]

As an SF native, I second all of this. Especially the "don't call it San Fran" tip. "Frisco" is even worse (like nails on a chalkboard), so be careful with that, too : ) HAVE FUN!

I forget about that one because my grandpa used it as far back as I can remember. After WWII he went to work for united and had to go down there for classes both learning and teaching. When I decided to go to college there he told me it gets windy everyday at 2, which it often did, and told me to take a rain cost. My response to that was I've lived whole life in Seattle and haven't had one since I was 7 why would I get one now?

 

[calypso726]

So....if I completely change my mind about Europe and try for LAX-HON... I can see availability on AA thru AK air using AA award points at 22.5k- would that indicate that there is award availability to call BA and use? Or it HAS to appear on the BA site to use my Avios (I'm sorry I sound dense,I've literally been reading on this for 2 years and can't grasp the exact 'how' of doing this)

If the availability is an AA saver award then you can book it with BA Avios even if you don’t see it there. You might find it in BA searching segment by segment. Or, you can write down the flight numbers and times, call BA Executive Club and book over the phone. Just tell them you are unable to pull it up online. I think back on 571 or 574 I had posted screenshots of what it would look like to book flights Hawaii with Avios which don’t show up on BA by searching AA for saver awards.

I agree with that. I LOVE my DVC, but I bought in 2002 at $65 a point, it's more than double that now, way more.

It’s insane! I love my DVC too. We bought in 2006 at $86 pp and have added on a number of times. We have 1300 but I am still considering purchasing more points just to rent out and mitigate my current annual dues. But it seems even the resale prices are out of hand.

...And..... just one more question about booking on award points- I read an at=rticle about changes/ cancel fees etc for award tickets- but it's over a year old- it seems fairly liberal,anyone have any experience with making a change/cancel an ward flight ticket on either AA thru BA etc?

Each airline has their own rules. I have not had to cancel or change a flight where I used Avios. So I don’t know their rules off the top of my head. I have had to change flights with AA using AAdvantage miles. There is no charge as long as the origin and destination airports remain the same and the class of service too. BA May be different but they shoulda have their rules listed somewhere on their web site. I would imagine it would be under their Executive Club tab or drop down.

I only stay onsite if I can get a good rate via a promo, AP discount or Dapper Days rate ($289/nt for the Grand this April!). I also use points whenever possible. In the past I've booked using the UR portal (using points with CSR), used the CSR travel credit and points earned on Barclay Arrival+ and CapOne Venture. I love staying onsite, but there's no way I will pay $500/nt out of my own pocket! Thank goodness for credit cards bonuses!

There were no DVC rooms available for Dapper Days weekend when I decided we’d be going. Fortunately, we had 2 free Marriott nights to use so we are nearby but off property for the cost of our Marriott AF.

Heading to DC in a month to see cherry blossoms! Very excited.

We are headed there at the end of this month!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Four of us in this house have Chase Pay and we all got the offer so hopefully you got yours working!

Great timing as I was already planning to meet a friend in the morning for coffee at Starbucks

If you didn’t have this offer before, check again. I checked my app this morning and nothing. After enviously reading here again, I just now checked and the offer was there. Yay!

 

[Calfan]

@SBWB48 as far as pride my biggest suggestion is to be open minded and to expect anything and everything. Having lived in SF and being there during pride, the fulsom street fair and any random day of the week, nothing shocks me any more. Huge blue Mohawk ok cool. Shirtless guy in just leather chaps and leather cup great you do you. It might make public transit busier but you'll be fine. The city is always busy.

Oh and don't call it San Fran and it's just BART not the Bart these two will show you are a tourist. Also plan for it to be cold, it's not actually summer in SF in June. Another sure sign of a tourist is walking around in an SF sweatshirt or jacket.

Just seconding the advice to plan for it to be cold and foggy in San Francisco in June. Better to plan and be pleasantly surprised by some warm weather than to be unprepared. I live in Boise now, but I lived in California (all in the Bay Area) for 48 years before relocating. However, the only time I ever actually lived in the City (another proper way to refer to SF, BTW) was the summer after my second year of law school when I clerked for a law firm in SF and sublet an apartment in the Richmond District. I ended up having to buy my first ever overcoat for my *summer* in San Francisco, lol.

 

[wendow]

It’s insane! I love my DVC too. We bought in 2006 at $86 pp and have added on a number of times. We have 1300 but I am still considering purchasing more points just to rent out and mitigate my current annual dues. But it seems even the resale prices are out of hand.

We almost bought into DVC back in 2011 but my dh told me it wasn't a 'good idea'...still mad at him about that!...Anyways, as much as I want to buy in, I refuse to pay the current prices. They have almost doubled since the prices back then. Even the rental prices have gone up a lot. I used to be able to rent points back then for $8-$10pp. I haven't rented points the last couple of years due to how high they have gotten.

ETA: we've only considered resale.

 

[SBWB48]

@afan, @Lain, @Angrose, and others, what's the best way/avenue to buy tickets for Alcatraz?

 

[Albort]

I want to thank you for helping me out here with this Avios stuff.... I appreciate it! Good news.... I pulled the trigger,and booked 3 of our 4 flights to Hawaii for next winter! (can't book the 4th till son confirms his email in my household acct grrr) It's costing me nothing but taxes oop to fly there,I plan to use my SPG points for 6 nights hotel,and to get us from east to west coast I'm using either SWA or JB points,plus free IHG hotel nights in LA on either end of our trip (to get used to the time changes!) so oop I will only have to worry mainly about food while there!!! very excited, never been....and I'm relieved to use those points on something cool!

might be too late but have u looked into Korean airlines? a friend of mine recently got lax to hnl for 25,000 UR points .

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I'm trying to max out my Discover quarter and even after buying a BJ's gift card to cover shopping the rest of the year I still have a couple hundred to go. So I'm thinking about gas stations but I've never used a gift card at a gas station before. I haven't noticed a GC option at the Sunoco pumps so I assume if they can be used for gas I have to go inside. Is there any brand that takes gift cards at the pump? Or do you have to apply them with the cashier? Speedway and Sunoco are our top two, but Shell and Exxon/Mobile are doable. Is there someone easier than the others?

I’ve used a gift card at BP. You just put it in the credit card slot. Look on your preferred gas station websites for more info

ETA: Are there other gift cards you could use, like restaurants, etc? Or are you including that in your BJ’s purchases. Speedway sells restaurant GCs, Kohl’s, stuff like that.

 

[wendow]

So, to follow-up on my new card and needing it by Friday. I called Amex and they were already expediting the card but it's still 3-5 business days, rather than the normal 7-10. So csr says, I'll definitely have it by NEXT Friday but he means a week after I need it. I also asked for the number over the phone and he said he couldn't give it to me I was hopeful Amex might do that. Oh well. I'm going to talk to the surgeon's office about allowing me to write them a check and see if they will hold it and let me come back with the card. They expect payment on surgery day and they tell you that over and over at the pre-op appt so I think that may be my only option.