I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

[elgerber]

The boardwalk bakery is open, you could get something there and eat at one of the tables on the boardwalk along the lake

The bakery is definitely quick and easy. The pizza window is pretty good too. I have also seen talk that Big River Grille was going to reopen soon but nothing concrete yet.

 

[Haley R]

The bakery is definitely quick and easy. The pizza window is pretty good too. I have also seen talk that Big River Grille was going to reopen soon but nothing concrete yet.

Do either of those take adrs (I’m guessing no)? The problem will be parking our car

 

[elgerber]

Do either of those take adrs (I’m guessing no)? The problem will be parking our car

The bakery has mobile ordering. Some people say that works. Big River hasn’t yet reopened so it’s hard to say. I’m not sure if they used Disney’s system before or not. You could park at DHS and stroll over.

 

[RhodyKP]

Is AMEX really strict about buying gift cards from supermarkets for the additional bonus? Is it better to add a gift card or two to a normal grocery purchase?

This can come down to a lot of factors. Primarily, level 3 data is AMEX's #1 indicator of gift card purchases. Suspect amounts also can tip them off. My feeling is that generally, you're going to be fine doing this as long as you don't do it at a super large scale. When I buy GCs at a grocery store, I always try to buy something that makes the total not an even number of ending in $4.95 or something like that.

So I am actually in the process of doing this with the Amex Plat. I already met most of the MSR with a VRBO booking, and now want to maximize the 10x on gas and groceries. Three times now when I’ve gone to the supermarket I’ve added on a Disney gift card. I keep looking at my recent activity and it’s not broken out (between groceries and gift card) but I don’t know if that means anything. I’m anxious to see what happens when my first statement cuts at the end of this month. Interesting DP: I got two of the GCs at Shaw’s, and one at Stop & Shop. I was back at S&S today picking up a couple of things so I tried to buy another Disney GC, but this time it wouldn’t go through because the cashier was trying to ring it up with my groceries (which is what I successfully did last weekend). The manager came over and said the GC had to be purchased separately. (Which I opted not to do.) So I’m going to stick to Shaw’s and try my luck at other S&S stores in the future.

 

[wanderlust7]

On the first trip I used a company called Anywhere Costa Rica to arrange for private or shared shuttles to drive us around, and that was great. I actually learn cool information when talking to the shuttle driver, like how the healthcare system there works and stuff like that. I don't think I have the nerve to drive in Costa Rica myself because I'm such a "what if" person (what if I get a flat? what if the road is washed out? etc.). I will say that the road signs in CR are NOT well marked, so a GPS device is essential imo. I remember thinking on that first trip, how could anyone give me directions that would make sense to me? Like "turn left at the pink house" since there's no street sign to help me out (what if it recently was painted white?). The main highway roads are well paved, but the ones you take to get to the final destination can be narrow and rutted dirt roads. I know lots of people have rented cars successfully, but it's not exactly cheap to rent either. A lot of the day trip companies will actually pick you up at your hotel, so if you're doing those then transportation is usually included.

The Andaz looks beautiful! We'll have to try that one!

Good to know, thank you! I think we'll go the shuttle route if we decide to move around.

 

[disneybirds]

I think I missed something. Is the Reserve reimbursing for something restaurant related, besides Doordash? Is enrollment or an offer required? Thanks in advance.

Check your Amex offers. It is for $20 off a restaurant charge each month this year.

 

[iujen94]

Good to know, thank you! I think we'll go the shuttle route if we decide to move around.

I’ll second that driving in Costa Rica is tricky. At the end of our Adventures by Disney trip, we stayed a few extra days on the west coast. One day we drove ourselves down to Tamarind to go surfing. We are usually pretty good with directions but managed to get very lost - and had trouble finding English-speakers to help us navigate.

 

[Minnie368]

Do either of those take adrs (I’m guessing no)? The problem will be parking our car

We did mobile order from Boardwalk Bakery twice in December. Had no problem parking and walking, and our food was ready quickly.

 

[WardFam]

I’ll second that driving in Costa Rica is tricky. At the end of our Adventures by Disney trip, we stayed a few extra days on the west coast. One day we drove ourselves down to Tamarind to go surfing. We are usually pretty good with directions but managed to get very lost - and had trouble finding English-speakers to help us navigate.

I’ll give the opposite opinion. We drove ourselves all around and Waze made navigating super easy even when we arrived to la fortuna in the dark. I can’t imagine not having the freedom of a car in Costa Rica!

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Check your Amex offers. It is for $20 off a restaurant charge each month this year.

Oh, I see what is going on here! I thought you were referencing the Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR). I didn’t even realize Amex had a Reserve card

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

So, I was messing around this morning and used my 50K Marriott certs to book a couple of nights at Swan Reserve for end of September. Chances are slim that I will go and/or keep this reservation but it just looked like a fun thing to do spur of moment.

Right now, hotel opening is 1st of September and who knows if it will even open?

Great tip and perfect timing on your part. I just looked into this and there aren’t any rooms for under 72K/nt now and most nights are 100k.

 

[Judique]

Great tip and perfect timing on your part. I just looked into this and there aren’t any rooms for under 72K/nt now and most nights are 100k.

Wow! That was quick.

Edit: Wait - what nights are you looking at? I am seeing 60K for the weekend nights and 50K for weekday.

 

[Haley R]

We did mobile order from Boardwalk Bakery twice in December. Had no problem parking and walking, and our food was ready quickly.

Awesome thank you! That’s probably the best option for us because it should be quick

 

[havaneselover]

Amex MSR data point - my 100,000 MRs showed up today for my Amex Biz Platinum. 13 days after hitting $15,000 in spend. So it's definitely taking longer than it used to. Transferring them to CS. Will let them sit for a while. Then using the proceeds plus a $500 money order (will use some URs to buy a $500 visa and use PYB) to get dd's car loan knocked out since it has $1,700 left on it.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Do either of those take adrs (I’m guessing no)? The problem will be parking our car

We have parked at BWV to eat, but it’s definitely YMMV depending on how busy the lot is

 

[570traveler]

Looking for advice on PC for CSP to CSR. Both P2 and I have one. Mine opened on 3/17/2020 and P2 on 9/19/2020. I will move all our UR's to one card to take advantage of the 1.5 towards travel. I've read previous posts and know that the annual fee will post a few weeks after PC. So which card would be the best to PC? I am thinking mine since my AF will be due soon? My plan then is to cancel the other card once that AF becomes due since I won't have a need for both.

 

[Judique]

@snugglebug - hoping you still have some power!

We haven't heard from you since Tuesday.

Edit: reading the news San Antonio area had 300K outages yesterday but many have been restored this morning.

 

[ten6mom]

Ohhhhh so my husband just bought 2 brand new Iphone 12 256 GB Pros for actual money and I have no new card and no MSR. He did it without telling me!

 

[amcc]

Do either of those take adrs (I’m guessing no)? The problem will be parking our car

There is a quick service at FW - P and J Southern Takeout. You can grab it and sit by the beach, playground, or your cabin. You can't drive to pick it up so you would have to bike, cart, or bus over there. We like the food there.

One of my amex paypal charges from 2/5 hasn't credited yet but one from 2/6 credited - their credit process is definitely slow. Spotify comes through on the 28 of the month so will charge something else to paypal to make sure I get this month's credit.

 

[havaneselover]

Ohhhhh so my husband just bought 2 brand new Iphone 12 256 GB Pros for actual money and I have no new card and no MSR. He did it without telling me!

These posts always remind me of the silver lining of being single.