I love credit cards so much!

[pillow]

Hello everyone. We just got back from a looooong vacation. I'm about a month behind here, and I know I'll never catch up so just jumping right in.

I can't recall who is tracking Marriott elite nights via credit card spend with me, but I just wanted to post that my July nights DID NOT POST today. Hmmm . . . I should have 2 more elite nights from spending $3,000 x 2 in July. I believe they posted on either the 8th or 9th last month, so I expected them today. Hopefully, they will post tomorrow. Hopefully Marriott IT has not imploded (at least not yet) due to the pending merge.

 

[wendow]

what do you mean 'hasn't worked'...how do you know if it has? ETA- sorry I'm new to RTMN..... I still haven't seen an instore purchase show as pending from 3 days ago(Big Lots) that should have been totally legit...I sent an email

My offer credit is not showing as pending and it’s been a week today. I can’t email them to look into it cause I only bought a GC and GCs are excluded.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Storytime my friends…

It was June 2016…Chase’s new 5/24 rule was running amuck . Churning plans had gone awry and a new strategy needed to be hatched . I was 15/24 at the time, Mrs. SouthFayetteFan was 16/24. We had just both gotten AMEX Hilton cards and I was questioning what I was even doing in the game at that point . One night after midnight, I read an article on DoC about the AMEX Schwab Plat and it’s 1.25x cashout . I knew there were tons of AMEX MR cards but previously had no use for them . A plan started to form…

If I could distract myself with AMEX MR cards …and allow my wife’s report to sit dormant …perhaps someday we could dream of being back under 5/24 . If we didn’t apply for a single card in her name we would be <5/24 in April 2018. It sounded a long way off …it was a long way off. So we began to implement the strategy, I went from AMEX card to AMEX card (never adding an AU). My wife would take my card at times, or we’d buy VGCs at our grocery store for her to use. I got 13 more cards in the last 6 months of 2016 (including our first business card – a Marriott Biz).

In late 2016, the CSR card came out. I was sick that we couldn’t get it due to 5/24 , I remained resolved to our strategy, to one day hold in my hands a CSR ! Then CIP comes along…also subject to 5/24. We continued on – I got 10 more cards in 2017, 6 personal and 4 biz cards. My wife got back in the act a bit too with 4 AMEX biz cards of her own.

Finally, April 2018 arrived and we chose to hit the CIP first. Since this was a biz card, it would only be an inquiry on the report. We met the spend, and earned our largest signup bonus EVER (in terms of value) . And so we resumed waiting…

Until today my friends. Yes today, the glorious 9th day of August, 2018. For today my friends…I am now approved for a CSR and CSP!! A card that was 26 months in the making. I almost want to cry …to see this strategy culminate today is just amazing! The fact that during those 2+ years, nothing changed to negatively impact my plan is amazing. In fact…many new AWESOME cards came out during that time.

So yes – I was approved for my double dip! I called in this morning to see if there was a way to get my BiL credit after the fact for the referral. I’m going to send some screenshots and see if it will work. Such a happy day!

 

[Judique]

Hello everyone. We just got back from a looooong vacation. I'm about a month behind here, and I know I'll never catch up so just jumping right in.

I can't recall who is tracking Marriott elite nights via credit card spend with me, but I just wanted to post that my July nights DID NOT POST today. Hmmm . . . I should have 2 more elite nights from spending $3,000 x 2 in July. I believe they posted on either the 8th or 9th last month, so I expected them today. Hopefully, they will post tomorrow. Hopefully Marriott IT has not imploded (at least not yet) due to the pending merge.

My 3 K spend didn't post either and its July 14 since points were last put in my Marriott account from Chase. So, it may be early but I'm not holding my breath. I signed up under the 3k deal and it ended Aug 1 but I made my spend well before then.

 

[Limes96]

I'm not getting this card, so I haven't looked into all the specifics, but here are the DoC posts about it:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-ihg-premier-100000-point-offer/
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/f-a-q-about-chase-ihg-premier-100000-point-50-deal/

I don't think the current 100k offer has an announced end date.

Deciding when DH should go for the IHG card kind of depends on what the longer roadmap for him looks like.

Technically, DH could go for the IHG now. DH's approval for the CIP last week won't bar him from getting approved for a Chase personal card. (Approvals for Chase biz cards require you to have no other Chase card applications in the last 30 days (0/30). But approvals for Chase personal cards limit you to only two applications every 30 days (2/30).) So, the CIP counts as 1, and DH could still apply for the IHG under 2/30.

However, that would be 2 cards and 2 hard pulls in 1 month. If DH then takes 3-4 months to cool off from Chase, it might be ok. Anything before then might be viewed as risky.

Thanks! We actually just got his CIP in the mail 20 minutes ago. I don’t have long range plans for him beyond referring him for the Sapphires maybe early 2019. I’ll read some more on DoC and check out Reddit today and think some more about it. This card would be a good fit for our family, so hopefully we can get it while the bonus is this good.

 

[Judique]

Storytime my friends…

It was June 2016…Chase’s new 5/24 rule was running amuck . Churning plans had gone awry and a new strategy needed to be hatched . I was 15/24 at the time, Mrs. SouthFayetteFan was 16/24. We had just both gotten AMEX Hilton cards and I was questioning what I was even doing in the game at that point . One night after midnight, I read an article on DoC about the AMEX Schwab Plat and it’s 1.25x cashout . I knew there were tons of AMEX MR cards but previously had no use for them . A plan started to form…

If I could distract myself with AMEX MR cards …and allow my wife’s report to sit dormant …perhaps someday we could dream of being back under 5/24 . If we didn’t apply for a single card in her name we would be <5/24 in April 2018. It sounded a long way off …it was a long way off. So we began to implement the strategy, I went from AMEX card to AMEX card (never adding an AU). My wife would take my card at times, or we’d buy VGCs at our grocery store for her to use. I got 13 more cards in the last 6 months of 2016 (including our first business card – a Marriott Biz).

In late 2016, the CSR card came out. I was sick that we couldn’t get it due to 5/24 , I remained resolved to our strategy, to one day hold in my hands a CSR ! Then CIP comes along…also subject to 5/24. We continued on – I got 10 more cards in 2017, 6 personal and 4 biz cards. My wife got back in the act a bit too with 4 AMEX biz cards of her own.

Finally, April 2018 arrived and we chose to hit the CIP first. Since this was a biz card, it would only be an inquiry on the report. We met the spend, and earned our largest signup bonus EVER (in terms of value) . And so we resumed waiting…

Until today my friends. Yes today, the glorious 9th day of August, 2018. For today my friends…I am now approved for a CSR and CSP!! A card that was 26 months in the making. I almost want to cry …to see this strategy culminate today is just amazing! The fact that during those 2+ years, nothing changed to negatively impact my plan is amazing. In fact…many new AWESOME cards came out during that time.

So yes – I was approved for my double dip! I called in this morning to see if there was a way to get my BiL credit after the fact for the referral. I’m going to send some screenshots and see if it will work. Such a happy day!

This all bears repeating - super dance party for SFF!!!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Storytime my friends…

It was June 2016…Chase’s new 5/24 rule was running amuck . Churning plans had gone awry and a new strategy needed to be hatched . I was 15/24 at the time, Mrs. SouthFayetteFan was 16/24. We had just both gotten AMEX Hilton cards and I was questioning what I was even doing in the game at that point . One night after midnight, I read an article on DoC about the AMEX Schwab Plat and it’s 1.25x cashout . I knew there were tons of AMEX MR cards but previously had no use for them . A plan started to form…

If I could distract myself with AMEX MR cards …and allow my wife’s report to sit dormant …perhaps someday we could dream of being back under 5/24 . If we didn’t apply for a single card in her name we would be <5/24 in April 2018. It sounded a long way off …it was a long way off. So we began to implement the strategy, I went from AMEX card to AMEX card (never adding an AU). My wife would take my card at times, or we’d buy VGCs at our grocery store for her to use. I got 13 more cards in the last 6 months of 2016 (including our first business card – a Marriott Biz).

In late 2016, the CSR card came out. I was sick that we couldn’t get it due to 5/24 , I remained resolved to our strategy, to one day hold in my hands a CSR ! Then CIP comes along…also subject to 5/24. We continued on – I got 10 more cards in 2017, 6 personal and 4 biz cards. My wife got back in the act a bit too with 4 AMEX biz cards of her own.

Finally, April 2018 arrived and we chose to hit the CIP first. Since this was a biz card, it would only be an inquiry on the report. We met the spend, and earned our largest signup bonus EVER (in terms of value) . And so we resumed waiting…

Until today my friends. Yes today, the glorious 9th day of August, 2018. For today my friends…I am now approved for a CSR and CSP!! A card that was 26 months in the making. I almost want to cry …to see this strategy culminate today is just amazing! The fact that during those 2+ years, nothing changed to negatively impact my plan is amazing. In fact…many new AWESOME cards came out during that time.

So yes – I was approved for my double dip! I called in this morning to see if there was a way to get my BiL credit after the fact for the referral. I’m going to send some screenshots and see if it will work. Such a happy day!

 

[Haley R]

Storytime my friends…

It was June 2016…Chase’s new 5/24 rule was running amuck . Churning plans had gone awry and a new strategy needed to be hatched . I was 15/24 at the time, Mrs. SouthFayetteFan was 16/24. We had just both gotten AMEX Hilton cards and I was questioning what I was even doing in the game at that point . One night after midnight, I read an article on DoC about the AMEX Schwab Plat and it’s 1.25x cashout . I knew there were tons of AMEX MR cards but previously had no use for them . A plan started to form…

If I could distract myself with AMEX MR cards …and allow my wife’s report to sit dormant …perhaps someday we could dream of being back under 5/24 . If we didn’t apply for a single card in her name we would be <5/24 in April 2018. It sounded a long way off …it was a long way off. So we began to implement the strategy, I went from AMEX card to AMEX card (never adding an AU). My wife would take my card at times, or we’d buy VGCs at our grocery store for her to use. I got 13 more cards in the last 6 months of 2016 (including our first business card – a Marriott Biz).

In late 2016, the CSR card came out. I was sick that we couldn’t get it due to 5/24 , I remained resolved to our strategy, to one day hold in my hands a CSR ! Then CIP comes along…also subject to 5/24. We continued on – I got 10 more cards in 2017, 6 personal and 4 biz cards. My wife got back in the act a bit too with 4 AMEX biz cards of her own.

Finally, April 2018 arrived and we chose to hit the CIP first. Since this was a biz card, it would only be an inquiry on the report. We met the spend, and earned our largest signup bonus EVER (in terms of value) . And so we resumed waiting…

Until today my friends. Yes today, the glorious 9th day of August, 2018. For today my friends…I am now approved for a CSR and CSP!! A card that was 26 months in the making. I almost want to cry …to see this strategy culminate today is just amazing! The fact that during those 2+ years, nothing changed to negatively impact my plan is amazing. In fact…many new AWESOME cards came out during that time.

So yes – I was approved for my double dip! I called in this morning to see if there was a way to get my BiL credit after the fact for the referral. I’m going to send some screenshots and see if it will work. Such a happy day!

Congrats!!

 

[vanjust14]

Hello everyone! I just got back from a trip to Universal and we had a great time! I need to catch up on about 30 pages but I figured I'd give a summary on how I used points for my trip

I used southwest points and companion pass to fly 5 of us to Orlando. I used UR points to pay for two rooms at Royal Pacific for two nights which gave us express pass for 3 days, and one room at Sapphire Falls for two nights. I paid cash for the second room at Sapphire by booking an AP rate of $139/night. I used my CSR and my travel credit. This was my first time at Sapphire Falls and I really enjoyed the hotel. The Strongwater Tavern had excellent food and I highly recommend! If it weren't for the lack of express pass I would definitely stay at Sapphire again.

I also bought three 5 day park to park passes with UR's. There was a promo for buy 3 days get 2 days free. I price bridged the tickets at the park and upgraded to seasonal AP's for $0! The guy at the guest services thought it was a mistake and called his manager over to make sure it was ok to give me a seasonal pass for $0, haha. Tip: There is a guest services window at the Hogsmeade station where you can upgrade your tickets. There was NO LINE. Much better than waiting in line at the front of the park.

I used my priority pass for the first time at MCO. The rest of my group didn't want to risk going through security again but I have TSA precheck thanks to my CSR so I enjoyed the lounge by myself and going through security again was a breeze.

All in all, I was really glad to be able to take my dad and my son's friend along with us for this mostly free trip thanks to this thread!

 

[miztressuz]

This all bears repeating - super dance party for SFF!!!

Ok that's a better party than I was planning

 

[AmyAnne]

Storytime my friends…

It was June 2016…Chase’s new 5/24 rule was running amuck . Churning plans had gone awry and a new strategy needed to be hatched . I was 15/24 at the time, Mrs. SouthFayetteFan was 16/24. We had just both gotten AMEX Hilton cards and I was questioning what I was even doing in the game at that point . One night after midnight, I read an article on DoC about the AMEX Schwab Plat and it’s 1.25x cashout . I knew there were tons of AMEX MR cards but previously had no use for them . A plan started to form…

If I could distract myself with AMEX MR cards …and allow my wife’s report to sit dormant …perhaps someday we could dream of being back under 5/24 . If we didn’t apply for a single card in her name we would be <5/24 in April 2018. It sounded a long way off …it was a long way off. So we began to implement the strategy, I went from AMEX card to AMEX card (never adding an AU). My wife would take my card at times, or we’d buy VGCs at our grocery store for her to use. I got 13 more cards in the last 6 months of 2016 (including our first business card – a Marriott Biz).

In late 2016, the CSR card came out. I was sick that we couldn’t get it due to 5/24 , I remained resolved to our strategy, to one day hold in my hands a CSR ! Then CIP comes along…also subject to 5/24. We continued on – I got 10 more cards in 2017, 6 personal and 4 biz cards. My wife got back in the act a bit too with 4 AMEX biz cards of her own.

Finally, April 2018 arrived and we chose to hit the CIP first. Since this was a biz card, it would only be an inquiry on the report. We met the spend, and earned our largest signup bonus EVER (in terms of value) . And so we resumed waiting…

Until today my friends. Yes today, the glorious 9th day of August, 2018. For today my friends…I am now approved for a CSR and CSP!! A card that was 26 months in the making. I almost want to cry …to see this strategy culminate today is just amazing! The fact that during those 2+ years, nothing changed to negatively impact my plan is amazing. In fact…many new AWESOME cards came out during that time.

So yes – I was approved for my double dip! I called in this morning to see if there was a way to get my BiL credit after the fact for the referral. I’m going to send some screenshots and see if it will work. Such a happy day!

That's awesome! Congrats! I am curious how many cards your wife still has . . . I could be under 5/24 next year if I don't apply for any more personal cards between now and then, but I would still have something like 12+ cards that would be open. Which makes me fear the possibility of a Chase shutdown. I would like a CIP (I do have a CSR) but I'm not sure I want it enough to not open any more personal cards and close a bunch of other cards . . .

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Storytime my friends…

It was June 2016…Chase’s new 5/24 rule was running amuck . Churning plans had gone awry and a new strategy needed to be hatched . I was 15/24 at the time, Mrs. SouthFayetteFan was 16/24. We had just both gotten AMEX Hilton cards and I was questioning what I was even doing in the game at that point . One night after midnight, I read an article on DoC about the AMEX Schwab Plat and it’s 1.25x cashout . I knew there were tons of AMEX MR cards but previously had no use for them . A plan started to form…

If I could distract myself with AMEX MR cards …and allow my wife’s report to sit dormant …perhaps someday we could dream of being back under 5/24 . If we didn’t apply for a single card in her name we would be <5/24 in April 2018. It sounded a long way off …it was a long way off. So we began to implement the strategy, I went from AMEX card to AMEX card (never adding an AU). My wife would take my card at times, or we’d buy VGCs at our grocery store for her to use. I got 13 more cards in the last 6 months of 2016 (including our first business card – a Marriott Biz).

In late 2016, the CSR card came out. I was sick that we couldn’t get it due to 5/24 , I remained resolved to our strategy, to one day hold in my hands a CSR ! Then CIP comes along…also subject to 5/24. We continued on – I got 10 more cards in 2017, 6 personal and 4 biz cards. My wife got back in the act a bit too with 4 AMEX biz cards of her own.

Finally, April 2018 arrived and we chose to hit the CIP first. Since this was a biz card, it would only be an inquiry on the report. We met the spend, and earned our largest signup bonus EVER (in terms of value) . And so we resumed waiting…

Until today my friends. Yes today, the glorious 9th day of August, 2018. For today my friends…I am now approved for a CSR and CSP!! A card that was 26 months in the making. I almost want to cry …to see this strategy culminate today is just amazing! The fact that during those 2+ years, nothing changed to negatively impact my plan is amazing. In fact…many new AWESOME cards came out during that time.

So yes – I was approved for my double dip! I called in this morning to see if there was a way to get my BiL credit after the fact for the referral. I’m going to send some screenshots and see if it will work. Such a happy day!

Congrats on the double dip... Ive gone back and forth about doing it or not.....just don’t think I have the nerve to risk a Chase shutdown..of my SW cards and ability to get the companion pass every two years to do it

 

[wendow]

Storytime my friends…

It was June 2016…Chase’s new 5/24 rule was running amuck . Churning plans had gone awry and a new strategy needed to be hatched . I was 15/24 at the time, Mrs. SouthFayetteFan was 16/24. We had just both gotten AMEX Hilton cards and I was questioning what I was even doing in the game at that point . One night after midnight, I read an article on DoC about the AMEX Schwab Plat and it’s 1.25x cashout . I knew there were tons of AMEX MR cards but previously had no use for them . A plan started to form…

If I could distract myself with AMEX MR cards …and allow my wife’s report to sit dormant …perhaps someday we could dream of being back under 5/24 . If we didn’t apply for a single card in her name we would be <5/24 in April 2018. It sounded a long way off …it was a long way off. So we began to implement the strategy, I went from AMEX card to AMEX card (never adding an AU). My wife would take my card at times, or we’d buy VGCs at our grocery store for her to use. I got 13 more cards in the last 6 months of 2016 (including our first business card – a Marriott Biz).

In late 2016, the CSR card came out. I was sick that we couldn’t get it due to 5/24 , I remained resolved to our strategy, to one day hold in my hands a CSR ! Then CIP comes along…also subject to 5/24. We continued on – I got 10 more cards in 2017, 6 personal and 4 biz cards. My wife got back in the act a bit too with 4 AMEX biz cards of her own.

Finally, April 2018 arrived and we chose to hit the CIP first. Since this was a biz card, it would only be an inquiry on the report. We met the spend, and earned our largest signup bonus EVER (in terms of value) . And so we resumed waiting…

Until today my friends. Yes today, the glorious 9th day of August, 2018. For today my friends…I am now approved for a CSR and CSP!! A card that was 26 months in the making. I almost want to cry …to see this strategy culminate today is just amazing! The fact that during those 2+ years, nothing changed to negatively impact my plan is amazing. In fact…many new AWESOME cards came out during that time.

So yes – I was approved for my double dip! I called in this morning to see if there was a way to get my BiL credit after the fact for the referral. I’m going to send some screenshots and see if it will work. Such a happy day!

CONGRATS!! So happy for you too! You have been here with us each day supporting us in our CSR/CSP endeavors. Now it is finally YOUR turn! Hope it works our for your BIL to get the points also!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

So cute....I still haven’t figured out how to add them to posts

 

[mistyinca]

Just send me, @Albort, or @SouthFayetteFan a PM with your reddit username, and we'll get you added. And *fingers crossed* congratulations on buying your new home!

Thanks! Sent you a PM!

 

[hsmamato2]

My offer credit is not showing as pending and it’s been a week today. I can’t email them to look into it cause I only bought a GC and GCs are excluded.

got it.... so ymmv if it will work...I get it- oh and in like three minutes lots of good news happening posts!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

That's awesome! Congrats! I am curious how many cards your wife still has . . . I could be under 5/24 next year if I don't apply for any more personal cards between now and then, but I would still have something like 12+ cards that would be open. Which makes me fear the possibility of a Chase shutdown. I would like a CIP (I do have a CSR) but I'm not sure I want it enough to not open any more personal cards and close a bunch of other cards . . .

Thanks!

My wife's report shows open:
1) AU on my Discover card (her oldest card)
2) 5 Chase Cards (all 2-3+ years old)
3) 2 AMEX Cards (both 2-3+ years old)

She also has 5 open business cards in the past year (but obviously they don't show up).

 

[miztressuz]

Storytime my friends…

It was June 2016…Chase’s new 5/24 rule was running amuck . Churning plans had gone awry and a new strategy needed to be hatched . I was 15/24 at the time, Mrs. SouthFayetteFan was 16/24. We had just both gotten AMEX Hilton cards and I was questioning what I was even doing in the game at that point . One night after midnight, I read an article on DoC about the AMEX Schwab Plat and it’s 1.25x cashout . I knew there were tons of AMEX MR cards but previously had no use for them . A plan started to form…

If I could distract myself with AMEX MR cards …and allow my wife’s report to sit dormant …perhaps someday we could dream of being back under 5/24 . If we didn’t apply for a single card in her name we would be <5/24 in April 2018. It sounded a long way off …it was a long way off. So we began to implement the strategy, I went from AMEX card to AMEX card (never adding an AU). My wife would take my card at times, or we’d buy VGCs at our grocery store for her to use. I got 13 more cards in the last 6 months of 2016 (including our first business card – a Marriott Biz).

In late 2016, the CSR card came out. I was sick that we couldn’t get it due to 5/24 , I remained resolved to our strategy, to one day hold in my hands a CSR ! Then CIP comes along…also subject to 5/24. We continued on – I got 10 more cards in 2017, 6 personal and 4 biz cards. My wife got back in the act a bit too with 4 AMEX biz cards of her own.

Finally, April 2018 arrived and we chose to hit the CIP first. Since this was a biz card, it would only be an inquiry on the report. We met the spend, and earned our largest signup bonus EVER (in terms of value) . And so we resumed waiting…

Until today my friends. Yes today, the glorious 9th day of August, 2018. For today my friends…I am now approved for a CSR and CSP!! A card that was 26 months in the making. I almost want to cry …to see this strategy culminate today is just amazing! The fact that during those 2+ years, nothing changed to negatively impact my plan is amazing. In fact…many new AWESOME cards came out during that time.

So yes – I was approved for my double dip! I called in this morning to see if there was a way to get my BiL credit after the fact for the referral. I’m going to send some screenshots and see if it will work. Such a happy day!

If only I could 'like' multiple times, once isn't enough Super awesome, congratulations, you made it to the summit!
( Well, p2 did, rest up for your own ascent, hehe)

 

[striker1064]

And, as of this morning, the last performance prices have been raised to 675-725 on Sep 11 and 12. The highest was $625 all summer. I may have to get the $349 seats - daughter can only do weekend.

I noticed this last week - the prices for most of September are going up. I'm really hoping we can snag some less expensive tickets now that I know they vary. I'm noticing $349 and $399 orchestra this weekend. That's great. We had mid-level orchestra seats on Broadway last weekend and they were some of the best seats we've ever had for a Broadway show, and they were $549. Worth every penny. So I kinda can't believe I'm seeing Hamilton in the $200-300 ranges.

And as I type that, I just received my daily "Sorry, you didn't win the lottery" email.

Oooh! We are toying with going back to DC and the Willard again during cherry blossom season. I will be asking for foodie advice and options! Or, with all this Hamilton talk, I may be going back sooner rather than later. I guess I do need some foodie advice.

Thanks for the tips! I am going to see if I can convince DH to go see it in DC too. Not sure how to play this. If I go home and cook dinner he wil know something is up. May go with the Foodie angle. @striker1064 - so where would you say is the best foodie experience in DC?

The cherry blossom bloom dates can vary so much especially if we have a late cold/snow like we did this year (we had more snow on the first day of spring than we did all of winter combined!), but it's so worth it. They're beautiful.

Food recommendations!

If you're hungry but not sure what you want, a good idea is to start at the Eastern Market Metro and walk down 8th St/Barracks Row. There are tons of restaurants. Here are a couple highlights:

Ted's Bulletin - they make adult milk shakes and homemade pop-tarts, and they're the closest thing DC has to true, home-cooked comfort food. Lines get long.

Ambar - Get the Balkan Experience! $49 per person, all you can eat small plates and all you can drink rail drinks for 2 hours. A true one of a kind experience, and everything is so delicious.

Cava Mezze - Greek mezze/small plates. This adds up price wise because you'll be ordering a bunch of plates, but it is very tasty. I think they also do bottomless brunch.

For other specific cuisines:

Dolan Uyghur - I had no idea what Uyghur cuisine was. Spoiler - it's wonderful. It's a blend of a couple of different cuisines. I had a noodle dish that I loved.

El Rinconcito - Salvadoran is pretty similar to Mexican cuisine. This is a small hole-in-the-wall type of place not far from the Convention Center. They have really interesting dishes if you're feeling adventurous, or the usual fare you might expect.

And now, my favorite, Ethiopian. DC has so many good Ethiopian restaurants I could write an entire blog post, but here are only two of my favorites:

Chercher - This is where I bring everyone the first time they try Ethiopian. It's my favorite restaurant. It's close to the Convention Center, at 9th and O St. I highly recommend the Ybeg Tibs (lamb tips) and the veggie platter. It's more food than you could possibly finish at once. A lot of people like to try Doro We't (chicken stew) for their first time, and it's pretty good. I'm not a huge fan of Ethiopian stews (We't) because I find the individual meats have more flavor. But it's worth a try - We't is hugely popular for a reason.

Quara - Quara is a small restaurant tucked away on the busy restaurant row of H Street. It used to be in Adams Morgan and recently moved. Quara has good meats, but the truly spectacular dish is Shiro (stewed legumes). They have the best Shiro I've had at any Ethiopian restaurant.

While you're on H Street, don't miss Dangerously Delicious Pies. I don't really have anything more to add about that one, it's pretty self-explanatory. And it's as amazing as it looks.

This turned out to be much longer than I expected.

 

[Alexle2007]

Hello everyone! I just got back from a trip to Universal and we had a great time! I need to catch up on about 30 pages but I figured I'd give a summary on how I used points for my trip

I used southwest points and companion pass to fly 5 of us to Orlando. I used UR points to pay for two rooms at Royal Pacific for two nights which gave us express pass for 3 days, and one room at Sapphire Falls for two nights. I paid cash for the second room at Sapphire by booking an AP rate of $139/night. I used my CSR and my travel credit. This was my first time at Sapphire Falls and I really enjoyed the hotel. The Strongwater Tavern had excellent food and I highly recommend! If it weren't for the lack of express pass I would definitely stay at Sapphire again.

I also bought three 5 day park to park passes with UR's. There was a promo for buy 3 days get 2 days free. I price bridged the tickets at the park and upgraded to seasonal AP's for $0! The guy at the guest services thought it was a mistake and called his manager over to make sure it was ok to give me a seasonal pass for $0, haha. Tip: There is a guest services window at the Hogsmeade station where you can upgrade your tickets. There was NO LINE. Much better than waiting in line at the front of the park.

I used my priority pass for the first time at MCO. The rest of my group didn't want to risk going through security again but I have TSA precheck thanks to my CSR so I enjoyed the lounge by myself and going through security again was a breeze.

All in all, I was really glad to be able to take my dad and my son's friend along with us for this mostly free trip thanks to this thread!

This is awesome! We LOVE Universal! I am no missing not having Annual Passes since they expired in June But we did get 4 trips from MD in with them.