I love credit cards so much!

[3 DD love princesses]

Loaded through April 7th for me. Maybe they are still loading them...maybe they won't be sold out once loaded fully. Fingers crossed.

Stupid app. They showing up using my computer but when I searched on the app and on safari they weren’t showing up. Got up early just to keep checking. Prices were higher than normal for release for our March dates

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Our journey so far:
Me (2/24) CIP on 7/20
P2 (0/24) until today: successful csr/csp double dip this morning

Phew. I felt like a kid taking a test I hadn’t studied for then boom. A+

Congrats!! What a way to start your day!

If you used DISchurner links, don’t forget to PM the people you used.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Thanks. DS and I looked at the AKL and have decided to give it a try. Trying to decide if I just got ahead and book it on the CSR since we are on vacation and I am not sure I could convince DH that I need to make a run to Staples or Lowe’s to use the AmEx offer.

I think you will like AKL. I think I’d have a hard time staying moderate after being deluxe for the last few trips. Big difference. Although pofq was nice but pool wasn’t all that.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Sorry for the multiple picture posts, but I figured y’all would get a kick out of this too...

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Where do you find the staples gift card deals? Are they posted somewhere? My order from Saturday morning just shipped today.

 

[WVMomof3]

WELL... You will most likely have to put those $$ meals aside unless it's just you and dh (though you could get away with a baby/toddler for free for a bit). Our family eats a lot simpler and cheaper

I am not sure how long you have been with your SO, but my dh & I dated for 4 years before we got married and then were married for almost 5 years before our first baby arrived. We did a ton of pricey meals and extravagant travel before kids so we were ready to 'sacrifice' and welcome a little one. I never regret my kids but life does change when they enter the picture. It's ok though cause change is good and the change children bring isn't like anything else. It's mind-blowing really how much 'change' one little person can cause lol. They leave footprints on your heart for real...nothing at Disney could ever compare to what having your own child brings into your life.

Having said that, I don't think everyone has to have children to have a fulfilled life. My dh & I are both only children (and he is only grandchild) and we both felt rather lonely growing up so our desire was to surround ourselves with a large family. I know you have siblings (not sure on your SO) but you could feel you are surrounded by family without needing to have kids...? Having kids can give you purpose though that I'm not sure siblings can.

It's such a personal decision! You still seem really young to me so just enjoy life for now. You'll know when it's time (or not time). I was 23 and never having kids. A year later, I was pregnant (on purpose) and couldn't wait to be a mom

Wow, I was thinking man she looks way too young to have been with DH 9 years before having kids, but looks like you started way early! My kids think my DH and I started way too early, lol we started dating at 19 and were married at 23, first kid at 26. So I guess we were together 7 years before kids. Though I have to say we didn't do much fun traveling before kids. We lived far away from family so most of our traveling was visiting family. And after kids, most of our traveling was still visiting family.

You will know when it’s time. One thing we regretted is not traveling some before kids but we were together 7 years and then 2 married years before we got pregnant. We were trying to get bills paid down First. We do more trips now that we have the kids though so don’t think you can’t take trips with kids. It just costs more to fly and the food bill! Age was also a factor we knew we wanted 2-4 kids so if we waited any longer it would put us in a higher risk category which we wanted to avoid if possible. I was 29 when we had our first so we were older compared to many of my kids parents

I kind of disagree about this. I always say to people if you wait till you are "ready" before having kids you will never have them!! I wasn't ready till after DD came out. lol But I do agree that kids are not for everyone.

 

[1st*toright]

Lol lately I have been questioning if kids are the best choice. I want them but then I went to Steakhouse 55 and Blue Bayou and spent $220 and $185 for just SO and I. How on earth could we afford those meals if we had more people??? I’ll get my final food costs when we check out Friday but I think we are approaching over $1k spent on food this trip. Are kids really worth giving up nice Disneyland meals? Lol maybe our income will also increase so I won’t have to make any sacrifices. Lol

Yep, been married for 5 years this year and we will not be having children. We both have large families with lots of nieces and nephews on both sides. They're great, but we've decided that children are just not for us. We're now 34 and 31. Surprisingly, that seems to be a sentiment that's becoming much more common.

We have friends that decided kids weren't for them - they love spending time with their nieces and nephews, but just don't want the hassle and lifestyle impact of having their own kids. I get it, I feel the same way about pets - I like other people's animals, but I'm not willing to invest the effort into caring for one properly myself. Nothing wrong with choosing not to have kids (or pets ).

For us, the $$$ and time sucked up by our kids is well outweighed by the entertainment value of having them around. And ours are spaced out enough that the older one can now babysit the younger while Mom and Dad go to the nice restaurants. The little one would rather go to Shake Shack anyway.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Loving all the kid comments. Nice to see people who are supportive here since I've gotten some really nasty comments from people in the past as DH and I have been together for 11 and a half years and are child-free by choice.

Don't worry though, I probably spend the same amount on my horse every month as others spend on their kids... he's basically getting a private school education and eats better than I do

Ha! One of my coworkers said similar to me yesterday. She is like “ I have a horse, you have a kid”

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Booked my SW flights this morning while dropping DD off at before school care. So many flights were sold out or "1 Seat left" to Chicago and back. Anyway 17k round trip for two (w/companion pass) is pretty good but not what it used to be. I remember making this short route all the time for $60 RT now its $300.

That sounds great to me. Our MDW to MCO tix were 25k each x3

 

[pillow]

I would do it only if desperate. Which, I have been at times to finish off Amex MSR's and I've had to resort to putting spend on that I knew they could come back on me about. Thankfully, that never happened but I grow more nervous around them every day and I'm trying very hard to meet my new amex MSR without the help of plastiq.

Yeah I really don't know how we're gonna meet the $5k spend on the new Lux. I'm also working on Hyatt, but thats Visa and much easier. I need to see if my electric company takes Amex. Prepaying that is probably the easiest thing.

 

[hsmamato2]

Yes up to a 35K night at anniversary. So with the Lux upgrade, you would get up to a 50k night instead. Frequent Miler has done a couple of good recent posts on the Lux upgrade. Worth a read.

I'm off to read those articles.... but I vaguely recall the anniversary night NOT posting till 2nd year for certain card open dates(does that even make sense?) what was that all about? I thought it was if card got opened by a certain date or something.....

 

[DisneyMandC]

Ha! One of my coworkers said similar to me yesterday. She is like “ I have a horse, you have a kid”

Lol it's no joke. I spend about $100/month for supplements for my horse's health to promote stomach health, hind gut health, keep the bugs off him, and to make sure he doesn't stop sweating in the extra hot summer months when he's being worked.

Meanwhile, I have a rib that keeps popping out of place and I'm like "meh, I'm sure it'll go back in eventually."

 

[MrPTato]

Of course...our March return flight from MCO is now $25 for EBCI. Not surprised!

 

[pillow]

The current theory is Amex is tracking via SSN. Under that theory you should be fine.

Wait a sec . . . so my kids are AU's on BOTH mine and DH's SPG business cards. We used their Lowe's offers on both. I was assuming I'd see claw backs. Wouldn't Amex have their SSN's? It was so long ago, I don't recall if I had to input their SSN's or not when I ordered their "employee" cards.

 

[miztressuz]

Ok, I did it, SW Premier has been kicked to the curb. That wasn't as hard as I thought, been agonizing over it cuz I've had it so long just felt like it would be weird without it; and I haven't cancelled a credit card in probably 10 years.

What's the kicker is they really didn't care to keep me. I asked twice for a retention offer, both times they came back stupid quick that there was no offer to be had. (DP this morning from r/churning of a $50 credit, FYI) So ok, I've had the card well over 2 years, if they'd have given me anything I probably would have kept it. Instead, if an increased offer pops up in the next few months I'll probably reapply and get the points for the same money. Chase just doesn't make sense... $50 to keep existing, long term customer vs $500 for a "new" customer? Churn, baby, churn?

 

[hsmamato2]

Yes up to a 35K night at anniversary. So with the Lux upgrade, you would get up to a 50k night instead. Frequent Miler has done a couple of good recent posts on the Lux upgrade. Worth a read.

ok read the article.... I think I'm getting the point which is.... BEST time to upgrade is a month or two ahead of anniversary close date...pay the prorated AF, get $ back ofr AF on old card(?) then spend that $300 credit BEFORE the original card anniversary end date (in 1 or 2 months) -wait for the date to pass, should get a 50k nite dropped in acct- THEN $300 credit resets on that date also so another $300 to use- plus another 50k Nite on the next years ann. date (along with the full $450 AF) which ends up being a great deal IF I can use that $300 credit on gift cards from a front desk purchase at a nearby Marriott(right?) AND I need to use that first 50k nite within the first year too...(right?) so essentially If I could do this and keep the card for a year it would pay me $150 plus 2 free nights to upgrade with the offer....(right?)

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Historical Southwest Release Dates (for planning purposes)

• 5/18/17 - travel through January 7th, 2018
• 6/22/17 - travel through March 7th, 2018
• 7/27/17 - travel through April 6th, 2018
• 8/28/17 - travel through June 1st, 2018
• 11/2/17 - travel through August 6th, 2018
• 2/15/18 - travel through October 1st, 2018
• 3/8/18 - travel through November 3rd, 2018
• 5/31/18 - travel through January 6th, 2019
• 6/28/18 - travel through March 6th, 2019
  
• 8/30/18 - travel through April 7th, 2019
• NEXT RELEASE: 9/27/18 - travel through June 8th, 2019

This could be useful to approximate when your travel time may become available for upcoming releases, however they don't always follow the same pattern (as you can see above).

 

[elgerber]

I kind of disagree about this. I always say to people if you wait till you are "ready" before having kids you will never have them!! I wasn't ready till after DD came out. lol But I do agree that kids are not for everyone.

I totally agree with this!!
I met DH when I was 16, married right after I turned 21. I just turned 49 and my kids are 25 and 22 1/2. I wouldn't trade them for the world, but they do make Disney expensive LOL. We are all going to Food and Wine in a week, and this will be a record for most ever spent by us at Disney for sure, now that we are all legal LOL!

That said, I would never judge someone who chooses to not have kids. They are certainly not for everyone, and I have friends who have chosen not to, it's a very important personal decision, and there is no right answer for everyone.

 

[GZanta77]

Thanks. DS and I looked at the AKL and have decided to give it a try. Trying to decide if I just got ahead and book it on the CSR since we are on vacation and I am not sure I could convince DH that I need to make a run to Staples or Lowe’s to use the AmEx offer.

Just in case it is important to you - the Jambo House pool was due to close for renovations next week - not sure on the latest situation, but you might want to check if that would impact your stay.

 

[pillow]

ok read the article.... I think I'm getting the point which is.... BEST time to upgrade is a month or two ahead of anniversary close date...pay the prorated AF, get $ back ofr AF on old card(?) then spend that $300 credit BEFORE the original card anniversary end date (in 1 or 2 months) -wait for the date to pass, should get a 50k nite dropped in acct- THEN $300 credit resets on that date also so another $300 to use- plus another 50k Nite on the next years ann. date (along with the full $450 AF) which ends up being a great deal IF I can use that $300 credit on gift cards from a front desk purchase at a nearby Marriott(right?) AND I need to use that first 50k nite within the first year too...(right?) so essentially If I could do this and keep the card for a year it would pay me $150 plus 2 free nights to upgrade with the offer....(right?)

Exactly!! I just upgraded DH yesterday. I'm planning to purchase a $300 gift card tomorrow at a Marriott front desk. I will report back and let you know if I get the $300 credit. It SHOULD work. Will be seriously bummed if it doesn't.