I love credit cards so much!

[Alice Sr.]

I think Crystal Palace on the first day would be a good idea bc they will be so excited to be in MK Love, love Boma--it works really well for people with different likes and dislikes. BoG lunch is ok. We try to do it every trip mainly bc they have multiple interesting options that work for youngest dd's food allergies. Finding tables near each other for a group of 16 might be a bit tricky, though 2pm is late in lunch service. 50s PTC is a good choice for a group with lots of kids. Biergarten is a favorite when we go on extended-family trips
Of the 3 options on departure day, I have only been to 1900 PF. Chef Mickey's has never appealed to our family because it seems so loud and chaotic from the monorail platform We cannot eat at Ohana bc older dd is allergic to soy

My DD is Gluten intolerant and allergic to soy but we still went as it is her DH's fav. The chef came out and was fantastic. She loved everything they made for her and now it's one of her favs too.

Well, our magic bands came last night. Can't wait!!!! Only 18 more days. All this talk about sports.... in my house we bleed black and gold!!!! Pittsburgh pirates, penguins and steelers. Oh and sorry southfayette, The Ohio State buckeyes.

Our's came a couple of days ago too!

Woah, we will be at WDW at the same time. We declined Magic bands since we have customized ones. DH has Captain America and DD has Tink.

I can't find my Alice band, I'm hoping I left in the Owner's Locker.

My DH is taking our 2 boys for the outdoor game on New Years Day. I think winter classic or something like that. Anyways, it is at Notre Dame. It will be their Christmas gift. Tix were a bit over $500 for the 3 of them, but I did the hotel on points. I think they will drive up there but if I find flights those will be points too. We don't need any further junk in our house, so I'm all about giving experiences as gifts. Maybe something to look into for your son....unique way to see the Blackhawks.

That would be an awesome gift for my DD and her DH! I hope there are still tickets available.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Now I'm having ebay woes with the post office. Yesterday I dropped some packages off... they lectured me because the date on the postage labels were from Saturday/Monday, and over the zip code.

See where these say From XXXXX? Between the weight and date at the top?

They told me that they can't ship any more if I don't put their zip code on there. Okay.... you are simply my closest/most convenient post office. Why does it matter that we have different zip codes? They're not that different... You're 10min from my house. Ebay's new label printing page doesn't give you an option to change that... the classic page does, but then when I bought the label and printed it, it still showed my zip and not the one I entered. Googling indicates I may have grumpy postal workers.

Wow you definitely have grumpy postal workers..I’ve dropped off packages at 2 other post offices that are different zip codes with no issues

 

[Alice Sr.]

Looks like Marriott changed the rules of the 29 ways to stay sweepstakes. You can now win points once per day. P2 and I had both done the game previously and got 50 points each. Played again today and I got another 50 points, P2 got 1,000. So definitely check it out again!

https://29ways.marriott.com

Thanks, I got 1,000

 

[mmmears]

Not about cards, but at this point I trust the posters here more than on the DCL board. Has anyone done the DCL Baltic cruise and also the DCL Norway/Iceland/Scotland one? We loved N/I/S and I'm wondering if the Baltic holds up to that one or if it's too close to the same area or not as good. I'd appreciate your take on this. Thanks!

 

[Alice Sr.]

I've never been to Chef Mickeys but yes, the sounds coming from that restaurant sound so loud and obnoxious lol! I'd rather put them at Ohanas or 1900 PF for their departure b-fast. We normally do one of those two when staying on the monorail. However, the main lady who is kind of running the show (not paying for the trip...that is mom...this is one of her dd's I work with), she is really concerned about having to get going too early on departure morning, and already having everything packed up and them checked out super early. I definitely understand her thinking. The 1900 PF is 8:25, Ohanas 8:50 and CM 9:35 so the CM gives them more flexibility with their time all around.

That totally makes since but you might want to give her a heads up so she knows what she's in for if you think she might be clueless about the energy level. I can see where it would be a great ending to their vacation.

 

[calypso726]

Not about cards, but at this point I trust the posters here more than on the DCL board. Has anyone done the DCL Baltic cruise and also the DCL Norway/Iceland/Scotland one? We loved N/I/S and I'm wondering if the Baltic holds up to that one or if it's too close to the same area or not as good. I'd appreciate your take on this. Thanks!

@CaliforniaGirl09 and @Calfan family and DH and I were on N/I/S. I believe @CaliforniaGirl09 also did the DCL Baltic cruise.

 

[Lain]

Shoot, hope it gets here before we leave. I really want to be able to take advantage of the 20% off while in WDW, otherwise we don't eat out that much

I really hope your new Amex Gold gets to you in time! It might be worth chatting with an Amex rep to see if your card has shipped yet and when you can expect it; and if it hasn't shipped, then to light a fire that you have a trip coming up where you planned to do a lot of dining with your new card. Maybe they'll be able to do something to get your card to you sooner. Or maybe they'll give you some courtesy points for your inconvenience like with this guy: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/9p88j6/daily_discussion_thread_october_18_2018/e8152fi

 

[Psychodisney]

Yeah my dad was from Wisconsin but after college moved to Chicago where he lived the rest of his life. So he was kinda half cheesehead half FIB.
He would have friends or business associates give him Bears tix, so when in Rome I guess. But always a Packer fan at heart.

FIB ...Fine Illinois Business man...or not . I went to school in WI and my son went to UW Madison....we always called ourselves Velveeta (imitation cheese).

 

[Psychodisney]

Had some dental work done today. They are willing to wait until my SW Biz comes to get paid. Hopefully it will be here before I go back next week and get my stitches out. I’ll get 1/2 the MSR done and put it away until Jan 1.

 

[MrsAlexis]

For those that had Walmart Grocery AMEX offer: I got the credit twice on DHs card and now it appears I'll get it twice on mine. I just put through a pick up for tomorrow and got my Congrats email that I used the offer. Yall may remember when these offers weren't triggering with purchase and a couple of us chatted with AMEX and eventually the credit posted. So I'm thinking maybe those first credits were a manual 'push', so to speak, and now the offer is triggering like it is supposed to? Worth a shot!

ETA more detail

 

[CyndiLouWho]

My DH is taking our 2 boys for the outdoor game on New Years Day. I think winter classic or something like that. Anyways, it is at Notre Dame. It will be their Christmas gift. Tix were a bit over $500 for the 3 of them, but I did the hotel on points. I think they will drive up there but if I find flights those will be points too. We don't need any further junk in our house, so I'm all about giving experiences as gifts. Maybe something to look into for your son....unique way to see the Blackhawks.

Sounds interesting but cold! Outside in January, could be -20. Brrrr

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Last year it was really nice - warm days (not hot) and low crowds! Cheap DVC points too if you own/want to rent. Rental car and flight prices are decent and that is a nice plus! I know many say it's too "cold" in January but I'm coming from Ohio where it is cold and miserable.

I did pack jeans and sweatshirts for the nighttime.

Exactly. I am so jealous of my friend who has a conference at Yacht Club in January. She has never stayed onsite, so is taking her 5 yr old twins. Downside, it is MLK weekend, so busier than the rest of January I’m sure.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

FIB ...Fine Illinois Business man...or not . I went to school in WI and my son went to UW Madison....we always called ourselves Velveeta (imitation cheese).

My dad went to UW Madison, engineering. A million years ago.

I went to Illinois- Champaign (and Chicago later) and took my dad to the Illinois-Wisconsin football game. Me in orange & blue, him in cheese.

 

[DrFacilier]

Oops. See below.

 

[DrFacilier]

Thank you! We're going to renew that pass as a Platinum, because we already know it'll be used during one of the block out periods. I will definitely keep that in mind for future renewals though! I didn't consider the AP benefits when we looked into DVC, but I will say that it is a much appreciated perk!

Just be careful because I believe the AP benefits could change at the beginning of the next calendar year. I looked at the booklet that came with ours and it clearly states that we have a 2018 AP (expires in August) and that the terms are only guaranteed through the end of the calendar year. I think I heard on The Dis that at Disneyland they added lockout dates to existing APs. With SWGE coming the worry is that this could happen at WDW.
ETA just took a photo of the wording that COULD open the door for blockout dates on the Platinum in the future.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

@CaliforniaGirl09 and @Calfan family and DH and I were on N/I/S. I believe @CaliforniaGirl09 also did the DCL Baltic cruise.

Yep, @Calfan and I did N/I/S and the Baltic’s back to back a couple summers ago. We were on the ship for 23 days! Had a great time but the NIS is one of my favorite DCL cruises ever so it’s hard to compare We did The ABD add-on with the Baltic cruise and it was a big disappointment for me so that may have tempered my enthusiasm a little also.

 

[AmyAnne]

Any Capital One experts here, or anyone with the Venture Rewards? I'm thinking about this for my next card and wondering if there are any rules/guidelines similar to the Chase 5/24 rule.

Also wondering whether Capital One would approve a second business card (I have had the Spark for several years).

Also, I've read that for this card, there is a pretty expansive coding for travel, and you can use points for purchase up-front or use the points after the fact to "erase" the charges -- if you have the card, have you found it useful and easy to use?

 

[Livelovedance]

Just be careful because I believe the AP benefits could change at the beginning of the next calendar year. I looked at the booklet that came with ours and it clearly states that we have a 2018 AP (expires in August) and that the terms are only guaranteed through the end of the calendar year. I think I heard on The Dis that at Disneyland they added lockout dates to existing APs. With SWGE coming the worry is that this could happen at WDW.
ETA just took a photo of the wording that COULD open the door for blockout dates on the Platinum in the future.

Oh wow... I hope that doesn't become the case for 2019... Thanks for the heads up!

 

[calypso726]

Any Capital One experts here, or anyone with the Venture Rewards? I'm thinking about this for my next card and wondering if there are any rules/guidelines similar to the Chase 5/24 rule.

Also wondering whether Capital One would approve a second business card (I have had the Spark for several years).

Also, I've read that for this card, there is a pretty expansive coding for travel, and you can use points for purchase up-front or use the points after the fact to "erase" the charges -- if you have the card, have you found it useful and easy to use?

Not an expert but I have had the card and found it very easy to use and redeem points. I don't recall there being any rules like Chase's 5/24. They will pull from all 3 bureaus so keep that in mind.

 

[mmmears]

Yep, @Calfan and I did N/I/S and the Baltic’s back to back a couple summers ago. We were on the ship for 23 days! Had a great time but the NIS is one of my favorite DCL cruises ever so it’s hard to compare We did The ABD add-on with the Baltic cruise and it was a big disappointment for me so that may have tempered my enthusiasm a little also.

Yeah N/I/S is tying for out top trip ever with another we did 6 years ago (on our own). So yes, I'm asking if the Baltic holds up in comparison, with the other cruise as a tough competitor. And also the ABD add-on. I'd like to hear your thoughts on both the cruise and what went wrong with ABD. St. P is the main draw on that cruise (for me at least) but maybe it's time to fly west instead of East and try something completely different. I really liked the DCL part, too, even though we were so exhausted we didn't do all that much on the ship.