I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[SouthFayetteFan]

I humbly disagree... I recall a couple of fun trips when mine were young.... I think they were like 3 and 8.... yes it's different than Disney, but we all had a blast- the big kids (lol) did the scary rides, and the little kids (and me b/c I'm a wimp) did the kiddie rides.... it was fun! Our upcoming USO trip includes infant-70's ages again...we plan to have some FUN! My Dh liked the 'big' rides WAY better than at Disney,since most of those are not really scary and geared for all ages (he wanted scary!)

What kiddie rides? (I know, I kid, there are 4 of them). Perhaps your 3 yo was 36” - that would’ve made a huge difference per my other post listing height requirements. When I say little kids I am specifically referring to those <36”. It is really tough to tell a toddler over and over again “I’m sorry there’s nothing for you to ride”. You can only do 1 fish 2 fish so many times....

Also keep in mind that this discussion stemmed from @Haley R whose family will consist of her, husband and little son if they went. Unless they leave the child behind or bring somebody with them (friend or other family member(s)?); Their trip would entirely be spent riding things alone while the other spouse stays with the child. I just wouldn’t want to sink the money into traveling that way. I’d wait until 36” at least.

This is exactly why we have waited to go to Universal. I hope it’s worth the wait.

It is super fun once those kiddos reach a certain height. If you’re like me and you want to do things “together” as a family you’ll be glad you waited.

 

[LB002]

I can’t wait to hear more about HHV! And how old are your kids?

Kids are 6.5 and 9.5. Flight was 11 hr, plus we drove 2hr to Boston to get our flight. I'm honestly shocked they did as well as they did!

I'll definitely share reviews!

 

[hsmamato2]

I’ve heard good things about trails end. We most likely will eat other places while we’re out and about taking pictures

personally? I don't like the FW cabins- nothing at the Fort is simple or easy to transport to/from. I like the Fort for getting away from noise and crowds..... I'd much rather stay at a value resort for ease of transport around property,esp. a car

 

[Haley R]

What kiddie rides? (I know, I kid, there are 4 of them). Perhaps your 3 yo was 36” - that would’ve made a huge difference per my other post listing height requirements. When I say little kids I am specifically referring to those <36”. It is really tough to tell a toddler over and over again “I’m sorry there’s nothing for you to ride”. You can only do 1 fish 2 fish so many times....

Also keep in mind that this discussion stemmed from @Haley R whose family will consist of her, husband and little son if they went. Unless they leave the child behind or bring somebody with them (friend or other family member(s)?); Their trip would entirely be spent riding things alone while the other spouse stays with the child. I just wouldn’t want to sink the money into traveling that way. I’d wait until 36” at least.

It is super fun once those kiddos reach a certain height. If you’re like me and you want to do things “together” as a family you’ll be glad you waited.

I’m not a big fan of single rider. I’ve done it one time and that was at Tokyo Disney. I think that’s why we’ll wait until all of us can ride together.

 

[Haley R]

Here’s our new Japan vlog! This one is the first day at Tokyo Disney but not actually in the parks. It shows Ikspiari which is like disney springs and we did a lot of shopping.

 

[Haley R]

personally? I don't like the FW cabins- nothing at the Fort is simple or easy to transport to/from. I like the Fort for getting away from noise and crowds..... I'd much rather stay at a value resort for ease of transport around property,esp. a car

I would choose movies if it was available or cheap. I saw it for $157 which is a little high.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I would choose movies if it was available or cheap. I saw it for $157 which is a little high.

I’d probably pay that vs almost $300 for Cabins. I’m not a big fan of cabins like @hsmamato2

 

[Haley R]

I’d probably pay that vs almost $300 for Cabins. I’m not a big fan of cabins like @hsmamato2

Hmm that’s something to think about then. Maybe we’ll go that route. Really if I could choose anywhere it’d be YC. Tomorrow it’s $281 which is a good price but we can’t go tomorrow. The rest of the month it’s more like $390

 

[calypso726]

I have a question about planning for a big trip 2 years out.
How do you know which points to go for if you aren’t sure which airlines you would be taking?
My 40th bday is in June 2022. I really want to do an Alaskan cruise. I know I want nonstop flights New York to Seattle which looks like Delta, United or Alaskan Air. I have no miles at any of these since we usually fly Southwest or JetBlue.
Should I just pick one and hope the flights work out in 2 years?
I will be working on building up UR and MR with no particular use but can always find something to do with them.

Right now, Alaskan airlines is the cheapest option if we were going this year. I lIke that their credit card isn’t Chase or Amex.
What is the highest bonus I should wait for if perusing the Alaskan air credit card?

This why diversifying one's point portfolio is a good strategy. This is also why having multiple game plans is a good strategy.

If you stock up on UR pints and have a CSP or CIP you can pay for any of those flights with a point value of 1.25 via the UR portal. If you have the CSR those points will be valued at 1.5 via the UR portal.

Alaska Air card's highest bonus I've seen was 65k but it was targeted. The norm is 40k. The card does come with a companion pass for $99 and taxes and fees which would be $121. I have also seen where the card was offered and the taxes and fees were waived the first as part of the offer. Alaska Air also has a shopping portal and dining rewards network which makes it easier to beef up the points balance.

These two strategies would be Plans A and B for me. I'd be beefing up the UR points and then pick up an Alaska card to see if their CP works out better for me. You can always take a statement credit for the cost of the flights if you pay with your UR earning card if needed. Keep in mind if you have no use for AS miles and the AS card benefits down the line, then you may just want to stick with just UR points. I fly internationally and AS has partners that are valuable to me. The companion ticket is also valuable should I decide on a flight to DLR with friends or family.

MR points for flights can work by transferring to Delta that also incurs a transaction fee. Certain cards allow you to pay via the travel portal and depending on which cards you hold may or may not incur additional fees or hold greater or lesser value on the cpp.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Got some decent Amex offers (haven't checked in several days so they might be old news):

Mariott Bonvoy: spend $250, get $50 back, x 4-15
Doubletree and Tapestry: spend $250, get $40 back, x 6-30

Harry's: spend $15, get $5 back, x 5-5

 

[calypso726]

We got #Bonvoyed I know we have people here who travel often for work so I am channeling my annoyance from the events of a few days ago into what is hopefully a useful post...

DH and I are both in LA for work this weekend. We were at the W Hollywood for one night. As I'm sure you can guess, we did not choose this hotel. My employer booked it. DH's company uses Hilton & he has never, ever had these issues. In fact, we are now at an HGI courtesy of his employer. My employer offered to cover the first night because we were arriving early & they were glad not to have to pay the other nights. We thought this would be nice. @ us

1. They informed us that we were not eligible for any points or Gold status benefits because the room was booked on a corporate rate. Not once, ever, at any Marriott, Hyatt, or Hilton have I ever heard this. But, maybe I missed something & it's a rate that isn't eligible for points or stay credit. That's fine. But what does that have to do with my status benefits??? Eventually they gave me the wifi & acted like they were doing me a huge favor. Thanks for graciously giving me something I was entitled to anyway, I guess. (I'll let you guess whether or not we got any welcome points or a room upgrade.)

2. The woman at the front desk, who was smiling so nicely at the couple in front of us, stopped smiling as soon as she saw us. (For those who don't know, my DH is Japanese.) She asked us for the reservation name, then "have you recently traveled through China?" & "are you currently experiencing a fever or any other symptoms?" I could have gone either way on this. Maybe it's something they ask everyone. But sometimes, when you smell a rat, you know it's a rat. So I admittedly acted like a creep & went to stand where she couldn't see me, and listened as she checked in the next three groups. Not one person was asked a single question about China or the virus. I really didn't want to waste any more time but this was a "manager, now" situation & for his part, he seemed horrified. Not sure if it was really sincere but he called her away from the desk & we didn't see her again for the rest of the day or the next morning, so Whether coincidental or not, I'll take it. (I really wanted to go back & ask that woman if she is a racist in general, or just to East Asian people, & does she know China is in fact NOT the only country in East Asia? But I refrained.)

I'm really trying to find something nice to say about the hotel. It has a nice staircase? The bathrooms are nice? There's free yoga? I mean, overall, the accommodations are fine, but I was so put off by the check-in experience that I could not enjoy it at all.

So, if anyone has any upcoming Marriott stays booked on a corporate rate, be ready to fight for your points if you want them. And, if you or someone you're traveling with is of East Asian descent, be prepared to be treated like you're carrying the plague. You keep hearing that folks are being "tested" for the virus & the results take days to come back. Well, good news for all... coronavirus testing done on sight! Coming soon to a Marriott hotel near you

OMG! I would have been livid! I really don't beleive I would have been able to show that much restraint and I am usually really good about not reacting.

Wow, just wow! That is so rude! My DH is Vietnamese so I’ll see if we receive any inquiries when we travel over the next few weeks.

So is mine. Never occurred to me to perpare ourselves for that type of situation.

 

[reliev]

Correct. I don’t there is a way in my example SW to AA to get the CSR linked back SW. Or do you know a way to delete it?

I think in this case you have to either try to manually enter it again. or go to the card settings in your profile and delete it there. I added all mine to Rakuten so I can get the Amex bonus but if you are trying to get the SW status id go that route. Might not be popular here but im a delta fan over SW but I still use Rakuten because then I get a better bonus which I can use at delta if needed or any Amex partner.

 

[reliev]

View attachment 471553

From Hawaii to Washington D.C.... IF I can't make Hawaii happen I still need to burn 150K bonbons.
Second option is to use them for fall break instead of Hyatt Place National Mall.

Which of these hotels would work for a museum centered vacation? We won't have a car, we will use public transpiration and Uber to get everywhere.
View attachment 471557

foggy bottom or the one on h street is probably the closest I would choose foggy bottom if it was my $ better area.

 

[reliev]

Did anyone else see this?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1225532260436316161

I’m not a big enough Star Wars fan to be interested and I already know it’ll be more $ than I’d be willing to spend.

I heard about this too im scared tbh because take my $

 

[reliev]

Whole Foods is my go to as well. I love, love, love our WF 365 store, which I guess is now just a Whole Foods. I don't know why they stopped opening them. It's small and uncrowded so not stressful shopping like HEB.

AFAIK they tried the 365 to hit lower price points but when Amazon took over they just tried to lower the prices across the board I dont find as much whole paycheck as before (on most items) but still when I see promotions there and I actually go in some items I scratch my head over.

 

[reliev]

We were bonvoyed. We made a reservation back in August using our 35k certificate at Sea World Renaissance for this March. We got an email confirmation showing the certificate was attached to the reservation. I recently checked the reservation and the certificate is gone and they want to charge us 40k points even though we made no changes to the reservation. When we called they claimed the best they could do was give us the 5,000 point difference and the certificate back. They say there’s no way to use the certificate on this reservation anymore. The 40,000 points are more valuable to me than getting back a certificate that I’m finding difficult and frustrating to use. They claim they’re opening a case but I’m not holding my breath. It was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had. The supervisor wouldn’t even listen while I was speaking. Anybody have experience with getting something like this resolved?

I've seen this happening a lot good luck let us know how it works out. I am 90% sure Im canceling this card myself. (after the increased point values that make no sense to me) I still have a certificate (just checked) for a reservation in April if I get bonvoyed im 100% closing the card.

 

[calypso726]

I heard about this too im scared tbh because take my $

You and me both!

Me:



Also me:

 

[DisneyMandC]

We got #Bonvoyed I know we have people here who travel often for work so I am channeling my annoyance from the events of a few days ago into what is hopefully a useful post...

DH and I are both in LA for work this weekend. We were at the W Hollywood for one night. As I'm sure you can guess, we did not choose this hotel. My employer booked it. DH's company uses Hilton & he has never, ever had these issues. In fact, we are now at an HGI courtesy of his employer. My employer offered to cover the first night because we were arriving early & they were glad not to have to pay the other nights. We thought this would be nice. @ us

1. They informed us that we were not eligible for any points or Gold status benefits because the room was booked on a corporate rate. Not once, ever, at any Marriott, Hyatt, or Hilton have I ever heard this. But, maybe I missed something & it's a rate that isn't eligible for points or stay credit. That's fine. But what does that have to do with my status benefits??? Eventually they gave me the wifi & acted like they were doing me a huge favor. Thanks for graciously giving me something I was entitled to anyway, I guess. (I'll let you guess whether or not we got any welcome points or a room upgrade.)

2. The woman at the front desk, who was smiling so nicely at the couple in front of us, stopped smiling as soon as she saw us. (For those who don't know, my DH is Japanese.) She asked us for the reservation name, then "have you recently traveled through China?" & "are you currently experiencing a fever or any other symptoms?" I could have gone either way on this. Maybe it's something they ask everyone. But sometimes, when you smell a rat, you know it's a rat. So I admittedly acted like a creep & went to stand where she couldn't see me, and listened as she checked in the next three groups. Not one person was asked a single question about China or the virus. I really didn't want to waste any more time but this was a "manager, now" situation & for his part, he seemed horrified. Not sure if it was really sincere but he called her away from the desk & we didn't see her again for the rest of the day or the next morning, so Whether coincidental or not, I'll take it. (I really wanted to go back & ask that woman if she is a racist in general, or just to East Asian people, & does she know China is in fact NOT the only country in East Asia? But I refrained.)

I'm really trying to find something nice to say about the hotel. It has a nice staircase? The bathrooms are nice? There's free yoga? I mean, overall, the accommodations are fine, but I was so put off by the check-in experience that I could not enjoy it at all.

So, if anyone has any upcoming Marriott stays booked on a corporate rate, be ready to fight for your points if you want them. And, if you or someone you're traveling with is of East Asian descent, be prepared to be treated like you're carrying the plague. You keep hearing that folks are being "tested" for the virus & the results take days to come back. Well, good news for all... coronavirus testing done on sight! Coming soon to a Marriott hotel near you

Wow. Unacceptable. I'm really glad you said something because that is not ok!!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Given the spate of Bonvoyed reservations lately, I’ve been watching my account. I have 2 res coming up in March and June on points and FNC. Both still look fine. It’s hard to see that the points were already deducted from my account because it just gives the total due as 50k points and $4. Does it look different if “Points Advance” is used?

Also I’m sure I ask this every year but where on the Marriott website do the FNC show up?

 

[trenty]

@Haley R next weekend and the weekend after are attached to winter break for schools in some areas. That might be why you are seeing higher prices for lodging. I know schools in LI, NY are off - and so are many other areas nearby.