I love credit cards so much! v5.0 - 2022 (see first page for add'l details)

[chattadisser]

Got back Saturday from a week at Disney. Girls trip. There were 5 of us. Rented points and stayed in a 2 Bedroom at BWV (our go to resort). Overall the trip was good. Weather was great this week. We did get Genie + for all 7 days. We got our $ out of it. Saved lots of time in lines. I would get it again for sure. Rode everything we wanted to - lots of walking.

But... DD and I both came home with Covid. Well, we made it over 2 years without getting it - figured it's probably going to hit us all at some point. Symptoms are basically cold/allergy symptoms. Except I did lose my taste/smell. Seems like it is starting to come back a little.

Any questions on the parks/resort let me know and I will try and answer!!

One off my co-workers just came back from Disney and also came back with Covid. Of course, they could have caught it anywhere along the way. They have had pretty minor cases so far too.

Oh and puppy picks. This is Jack. We picked him up 2 weeks ago. He will be 10 weeks on Wednesday.

Love, love, love. I so want another golden.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Getting caught up after three weeks in the UK, including a 7-day hike in Scotland on the West Highland Way (96 miles in total) with @Calfan We used Wilderness Scotland and really enjoyed both the guides and the group. Both my BA transatlantic flights were crazy busy and sadly no 1st upgrades from business. I was spoiled during the pandemic!

Anyway, since I fly to London so often (3-5 times a year), I took advantage of the Amex Avios 40% transfer bonus that ended on Sunday. I know both Calfan and I had alarms to remind us to do so Anyway, I'm THRILLED that I did because I just scored a QSuite redemption on Qatar for my Everest Base Camp hike in October/November. I have been waffling on the trip, but this might just be the carrot that I need to go. Mostly I'm worried about the 40lbs of TOTAL luggage, including sleeping bag For RT to KTM (Kathmandu) it was 340,000 avios (really around 250k-ish due to bonus) plus about $430 in taxes. Considering the 40% bonus and the cash cost of around $6k, I'm very happy. One thing we don't talk about here a lot, but is huge for me is the ability to cancel award flights for a refund (less a small penalty). I love the flexibility that gives me. With Qatar moving to avios and the ability to move miles easily back-and-forth, this was a no brainer since I fly BA all the time anyway. I wish I could do a stop over in Doha, but no time this time to add something. Next time!

I believe @calypso726 has flown in the QSuites as well as the uber fancy Qatar 1st class?

Super excited!

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

I've done it before but I wouldn't do it with the current state of things. I've only done it a couple times but it was always for late departures (like after 6 pm) and we had a early morning non stop with a couple other flights available, should something happen to that one.

Right now with all the airlines running lean (and I can't see it changing much by December, but hopefully I'm wrong), if your original flight gets cancelled, there might not be room to get on the next flights that same day. What would your backup be? Are you close enough that driving would be a backup plan in a worst, worst case scenario? What would be the cost to meet the cruise at the next port? (Actually, are they even allowing that? I'm not sure that's still an option.) What's the cost if you miss boarding? If you have good trip insurance that might kick in to recoup some of the cost, it might be worth the risk.

And I'm sure you're aware but if the cruise really departs at 4pm, that means you have to be checked in and boarding a few hours before that. The one we're booked on in Dec requires 2 hours before, so the all aboard is 2 pm. (Didn't want to just assume that's what you meant, that the all aboard is 4pm with a later departure)

Personally I don't want to stress that hard for a trip. It's supposed to be fun. Once I found this points game, I just figure out how to get more to pay for the extras - like your extra hotel room and dog boarding day. For me I'd look for a bank bonus or something to cover that! And it's why I keep a bunch of hotel cards with cheap annual FNCs. I don't tend to redeem them for glamorous stays, it's usually places I want to stay but don't want to really pay for, like a night before a cruise or a flight.

Thanks for your take! Lots of good points.

So, what is the earliest you guys schedule flights to return from your cruise? If we get into port at 8…. Could I make an 11am flight if airport is only 10 min away? Does everyone usually schedule afternoon flights to be safe?

 

[GZanta77]

Thanks for your take! Lots of good points.

So, what is the earliest you guys schedule flights to return from your cruise? If we get into port at 8…. Could I make an 11am flight if airport is only 10 min away? Does everyone usually schedule afternoon flights to be safe?

In the spirit of stress-free travel - and with the ship due to port at 8am - I would definitely be looking at an afternoon flight. It can easily take an hour to obtain customs clearance once the ship is docked, and there can be a number of reasons that might cause a delay.

that said, I have made it into FLL terminal by 9:30 from a ship that docked at 7am - so I guess it is possible to make an 11am flight, but not within my comfort level.

 

[mmmears]

We're flying back in economy at least it's a day flight.
I just hope that the new lounge at ORD is open by the time we fly in November.

Which new lounge? I need to know more! I am so tired of there being no lounge in that airport and it would wonderful if there was one I could access there.

At least if you're flying back to ORD your flights are quite a bit shorter than mine, if that helps with the economy seats.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

It's totally spoiled me to the point where I don't want to fly in a non-lie-flat seat.

I must be the only one on the planet that wasn't that impressed by having lie flat seats. I found them very confining and isolating. It would be fine if I was traveling solo, but not being able to speak with my family for 8 hours wasn't really a plus to me. The food in biz was good (AA biz which isn't generally reviewed as anything special) but the flight was noisy and no way I could sleep so maybe lie flat is wasted on me.

 

[wweazel]

Thanks for your take! Lots of good points.

So, what is the earliest you guys schedule flights to return from your cruise? If we get into port at 8…. Could I make an 11am flight if airport is only 10 min away? Does everyone usually schedule afternoon flights to be safe?

It took 4 hours one time for my luggage to be "found" at disembarkation - we had to just stand on the pier waiting for who knows what. I think it was noon when we finally got on the very last shuttle back to the airport. I am of the 3pm or later departing flights opinion.

 

[OhhBother]

Got back Saturday from a week at Disney. Girls trip. There were 5 of us. Rented points and stayed in a 2 Bedroom at BWV (our go to resort). Overall the trip was good. Weather was great this week. We did get Genie + for all 7 days. We got our $ out of it. Saved lots of time in lines. I would get it again for sure. Rode everything we wanted to - lots of walking.

But... DD and I both came home with Covid. Well, we made it over 2 years without getting it - figured it's probably going to hit us all at some point. Symptoms are basically cold/allergy symptoms. Except I did lose my taste/smell. Seems like it is starting to come back a little.

Any questions on the parks/resort let me know and I will try and answer!!

We were there last week too (celebrating my 50th) -- the weather was amazing! We also got our money's worth out of Genie+, and we got to ride GotG twice (AP and DVC previews). Unfortunately, my husband also came home sick. But his COVID tests are negative (we both had our second booster two weeks before our trip). We managed to avoid COVID, but he still picked up a garden-variety cold. Thankfully, he didn't start feeling under the weather until on the flight home. So it didn't impact our trip at all.

 

[disneybirds]

Got back Saturday from a week at Disney. Girls trip. There were 5 of us. Rented points and stayed in a 2 Bedroom at BWV (our go to resort). Overall the trip was good. Weather was great this week. We did get Genie + for all 7 days. We got our $ out of it. Saved lots of time in lines. I would get it again for sure. Rode everything we wanted to - lots of walking.

But... DD and I both came home with Covid. Well, we made it over 2 years without getting it - figured it's probably going to hit us all at some point. Symptoms are basically cold/allergy symptoms. Except I did lose my taste/smell. Seems like it is starting to come back a little.

Any questions on the parks/resort let me know and I will try and answer!!

We got back yesterday from a 5 day trip with our daughters. Stayed in BLT and BCV. DH tested positive this morning. Our oldest met up with some friends at Epcot and at least 1 of them has tested positive (others have mild symptoms but haven't tested). We have also made it 2 years without getting it. On the bright side, DH won't have to test for entry back into the US when we head to the UK this summer.

 

[becauseimnew]

Which new lounge? I need to know more! I am so tired of there being no lounge in that airport and it would wonderful if there was one I could access there.

At least if you're flying back to ORD your flights are quite a bit shorter than mine, if that helps with the economy seats.

The Delta lounge should open in the fall, and from what I've read AF/KLM Biz class will have access.

We are flying back to DFW, close to 11 hours, then an hour home.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

We're flying back in economy at least it's a day flight.
I just hope that the new lounge at ORD is open by the time we fly in November.

We flew AF biz and economy in March and were very happy with both. AF did switch aircraft on both our flights, so I really recommend you pay a service and set an alert that let's you know if the aircraft has changed. I think Expert Flyer and TripIT pro were mentioned as options. That was kinda junky bc it separated us from our kiddos/each other in biz class and as @CyndiLouWho said, the biz class seats can feel kind of isolating when you aren't right next to your family member. Especially when it's the first time, we felt like we really wanted to share in the experience together.

We were in the same boat, no decent lounge access at ORD. And we flew back in economy since it was a daytime flight. I think that was fine and it makes your points go farther. But I did have a bit of regret for not booking both in biz class since I think I got both a monthly promo and a transfer bonus and it would've been insanely cheap to have just done it when I had the opportunity.

And we didn't really get any good lounge access then because ORD sucks and we flew economy at CDG. So if you are on the fence about biz class on the return, you might wanna see if a Monthly promo is released on 6/1 that you could combine with the transfer bonus, and upgrade.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I have some AirBNBs that will be canceled- which was a big part of my spend for a recent Amex Biz Plat MSR.

1. If I replace the spend, is there any concern about the SUB clawback?
2. Is there a certain period of time I should plan to replace the spend by?

Anything else I should be thinking about?

 

[snugglebug]

Oh, those rental cars. I was in an accident on Friday afternoon. The earliest Enterprise closest to me can get me a car is next Tuesday. We'll be making calls tomorrow to see if another location has a car, but I'm wondering if I can just rent one from some place else and bill the other party's insurance. He was 100% at fault. I'm frustrated, not that accidents are ever convenient, but we're just getting softball underway and this is not an easy time to be without a car. I'm waiting to hear from my neurologist and I need to get an appointment with a chiropractor.

So, yeah, those Harry Styles tickets- I'm totally due for a win this month. Just sayin'. May has not gotten off to a good start at all.

 

[wanderlust7]

I have some AirBNBs that will be canceled- which was a big part of my spend for a recent Amex Biz Plat MSR.

1. If I replace the spend, is there any concern about the SUB clawback?
2. Is there a certain period of time I should plan to replace the spend by?

Anything else I should be thinking about?

Are you still within your MSR period? If so, no big deal and just make sure you re-meet the spend before the end of the period.

If you're already past the deadline, then ASAP (I'd say even before the refund), cross your fingers and hope for the best. There is some thought that Amex might track the charge that put you over the MSR, so that would be more risky (I don't know if this is true).

 

[SleepyatDVC]

I'm in need of another card and a Chase Biz seems the quickest. Are support links and bonuses still available? Can't seem to find how to generate it. Happens to me EVERY TIME I need it.

Edited to Add: I found a referral link P2 generated and emailed to P1 on 3/10/22. Is it still good? Still can't remember how I generated it in the first place.

ITA

 

[iujen94]

I'm in need of another card and a Chase Biz seems the quickest. Are support links and bonuses still available? Can't seem to find how to generate it. Happens to me EVERY TIME I need it.

Edited to Add: I found a referral link P2 generated and emailed to P1 on 3/10/22. Is it still good? Still can't remember how I generated it in the first place.

ITA

In the Chase app, click on the card you want to refer from. Scroll down past the recent transactions and you’ll see “refer a friend” (just above Chase Offers). Hope that helps!

 

[calypso726]

Getting caught up after three weeks in the UK, including a 7-day hike in Scotland on the West Highland Way (96 miles in total) with @Calfan We used Wilderness Scotland and really enjoyed both the guides and the group. Both my BA transatlantic flights were crazy busy and sadly no 1st upgrades from business. I was spoiled during the pandemic!

Anyway, since I fly to London so often (3-5 times a year), I took advantage of the Amex Avios 40% transfer bonus that ended on Sunday. I know both Calfan and I had alarms to remind us to do so Anyway, I'm THRILLED that I did because I just scored a QSuite redemption on Qatar for my Everest Base Camp hike in October/November. I have been waffling on the trip, but this might just be the carrot that I need to go. Mostly I'm worried about the 40lbs of TOTAL luggage, including sleeping bag For RT to KTM (Kathmandu) it was 340,000 avios (really around 250k-ish due to bonus) plus about $430 in taxes. Considering the 40% bonus and the cash cost of around $6k, I'm very happy. One thing we don't talk about here a lot, but is huge for me is the ability to cancel award flights for a refund (less a small penalty). I love the flexibility that gives me. With Qatar moving to avios and the ability to move miles easily back-and-forth, this was a no brainer since I fly BA all the time anyway. I wish I could do a stop over in Doha, but no time this time to add something. Next time!

I believe @calypso726 has flown in the QSuites as well as the uber fancy Qatar 1st class?

Super excited!

Wow what an awesome trip. I'm always dying to go back to Scotland. I'm hoping to add St. Kilda and Staffa next time. Well done on snagging QSuites! I actually haven't had the pleasure yet. I was able to do SQ suites on both the classic older plane and also the new plane on the same trip the year new planes launched. I am actually looking for an excuse to fly SQ suites again.

We are going back to Dubai this year but I wound up booking Emirates in business on the way over since I had no plans to visit Doha this time. I'll eventually get around to booking Q suites somewhere. Looking forward to your review though!

 

[EACarlson]

The Delta lounge should open in the fall, and from what I've read AF/KLM Biz class will have access.

We are flying back to DFW, close to 11 hours, then an hour home.

The SkyClub is in T2, right now the AF lounge is in T5 which is where AF usually flies into. Is the plan to move AF to another terminal?

 

[becauseimnew]

The SkyClub is in T2, right now the AF lounge is in T5 which is where AF usually flies into. Is the plan to move AF to another terminal?

I’m not sure what the plan is with the AF lounge, but from what I’ve read Delta will move to T5.

Is the AF lounge open? I read one blog that said it closed permanently in September 2021.

 

[WardFam]

Did you try the Undercover tourist trick- bundling a ticket (AMC popcorn) with the car rental? I recently tried it because it was mentioned here and was amazed at how much cheaper the rates were. I thought it would be limited to ORD, but they aren't.

Just used this trick and it saved me so much! Thanks for the reminder!