I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 (see first page for add'l details)

[FreeDiningFanatic]

P1 (me)
03/23 - Chase Sapphire Preferred
07/23 - Chase Ink Business Unlimited

P2
03/21 - Chase Sapphire Preferred
03/23 - Chase Ink Business Unlimited

P2 is ready for the next card. We mostly use our rewards for travel and preferred Chase UR for flexibility.

What do you suggest P2 apply for next?

Just wanted to second the recommendation to get another Ink. Don't forget for P1 to generate a support link for P2.

 

[Sheree]

Sorry, I didn't mean bonus. I've never gotten that warning.

oh! i used the one time payment link

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

The Author of Iceland with a View is my next door neighbor. They are renting the house next to us. They have been back here for a year now after living in Iceland for 10 years. They are currently in Iceland right now for vacation. Very nice family.

Is Jeannie really your neighbor, this woman? Be sure to tell her we are big fans.

 

[platamama]

I just saw on DOC Plastiq was acquired after filing for bankruptcy. Has anyone used them since?

I had held off on using Plastiq after the bankruptcy was filed back in May (fallout from the Silicon Valley Bank failure), and only sent a payment earlier this month using Plastiq after I received an email from Plastiq saying that the acquisition was complete. The check is supposed to be deposited in about a week, so I can post back on here when it goes through. I've had a hard time finding DPs of success, so it's reassuring that @wanderlust7 has used it with no issues.

 

[amcc]

I wanted to update on all the cancellations from our Norway/Iceland cruise and land trip due to my son's accident.

AA flights with miles no problem (just rebooked today for next August)
Icelandair - non-refundable tickets but CSR trip cancellation came through and they approved the refund! Easy, organized process.
Norwegian - got the 25% back we were due for canceling and they extended a credit for the rest we had paid. Very grateful for this and we've booked the same cruise for next year.
AirBnB, car rental, Tour 1 and 2 - full refund
Tour 3 - they wouldn't refund the $372 paid (the policies are unclear at best, I thought I was due a refund with 6 weeks to spare) but I will file with Cap1X insurance.

All in all, we are out very little money. My son is hopefully close to back to normal although he still needs more physical therapy for pelvic mobility. He started school in a wheelchair but will be able to weight bear on Friday and use crutches or a cane. He has some hearing loss in one ear - I guess, the "but I didn't hear you" excuse is now the truth and hopefully time or surgery will heal it.

Back to credit cards - how long does it take for the Hilton FNC certificate to show up? The Amex email from 8/12 says I will receive an email from Hilton but no email and no certificate in my Hilton account.

 

[wanderlust7]

I wanted to update on all the cancellations from our Norway/Iceland cruise and land trip due to my son's accident.

AA flights with miles no problem (just rebooked today for next August)
Icelandair - non-refundable tickets but CSR trip cancellation came through and they approved the refund! Easy, organized process.
Norwegian - got the 25% back we were due for canceling and they extended a credit for the rest we had paid. Very grateful for this and we've booked the same cruise for next year.
AirBnB, car rental, Tour 1 and 2 - full refund
Tour 3 - they wouldn't refund the $372 paid (the policies are unclear at best, I thought I was due a refund with 6 weeks to spare) but I will file with Cap1X insurance.

All in all, we are out very little money. My son is hopefully close to back to normal although he still needs more physical therapy for pelvic mobility. He started school in a wheelchair but will be able to weight bear on Friday and use crutches or a cane. He has some hearing loss in one ear - I guess, the "but I didn't hear you" excuse is now the truth and hopefully time or surgery will heal it.

Back to credit cards - how long does it take for the Hilton FNC certificate to show up? The Amex email from 8/12 says I will receive an email from Hilton but no email and no certificate in my Hilton account.

Was it an Akureyri tour? I remember seeing some that had restrictive cancellation policies.

Looked through my e-mails and the Amex e-mail comes the same day or next day of the Hilton one. There's been DPs before where the FNC doesn't show up in the account online, but the reps can see it.

 

[miztressuz]

Back to credit cards - how long does it take for the Hilton FNC certificate to show up? The Amex email from 8/12 says I will receive an email from Hilton but no email and no certificate in my Hilton account.

Which FNC is this, an anniversary or spend one? Spend should be within days of meeting the threshold. The Aspire annual ones take weeks.

I got the email from Hilton for my sign up bonus one within 3 days of making MSR. The bonus points posted a day or two later. No emails from AmEx for either though.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I wanted to update on all the cancellations from our Norway/Iceland cruise and land trip due to my son's accident.

AA flights with miles no problem (just rebooked today for next August)
Icelandair - non-refundable tickets but CSR trip cancellation came through and they approved the refund! Easy, organized process.
Norwegian - got the 25% back we were due for canceling and they extended a credit for the rest we had paid. Very grateful for this and we've booked the same cruise for next year.
AirBnB, car rental, Tour 1 and 2 - full refund
Tour 3 - they wouldn't refund the $372 paid (the policies are unclear at best, I thought I was due a refund with 6 weeks to spare) but I will file with Cap1X insurance.

All in all, we are out very little money. My son is hopefully close to back to normal although he still needs more physical therapy for pelvic mobility. He started school in a wheelchair but will be able to weight bear on Friday and use crutches or a cane. He has some hearing loss in one ear - I guess, the "but I didn't hear you" excuse is now the truth and hopefully time or surgery will heal it.

Back to credit cards - how long does it take for the Hilton FNC certificate to show up? The Amex email from 8/12 says I will receive an email from Hilton but no email and no certificate in my Hilton account.

You are a champ for jumping through all those cancellation hoops while going through what you're going through. Congrats on getting it all sorted; that's no small feat.

Glad your son is recovering. My son started high school in a wheelchair as well, so I know it can be very, very tough. FYI, crutches are SO, SO tiring, especially when walking hallways, changing classes, etc. If he has to make it to an elevator, that can add even more to his journey. Hopefully he'll be able to continue with the wheelchair for a while if that's easier for him.

I'm assuming the hearing loss is the result of a head injury. I know right now it probably seems like it is the least of his medical concerns, but hearing loss can also have mental health effects. And I know for my son, being in a wheelchair/crutches had an impact on his mental health. If you aren't seeing an otolaryngologist and audiologist specifically for his hearing loss, it would be something I'd recommend doing right away. Depending upon the cause, mechanical or neurological, physical therapy may help "reconnect" or reteach some word discrimination, etc. Also, steroid treatment and steroid injections help with sudden hearing loss, but they have to be administered early in recovery. Again, that might not be applicable at all to your son depending on the cause of his hearing loss.

Sending healing thoughts your way!

 

[Haley R]

One recommendation if you want an indoor activity is The Phoenix Children’s Museum is awesome! My teenagers still talk about how much they loved going there when they were little. We always showed up just after opening and there were little to no crowds. We would leave around noon when the crowds started to build. So much fun for kids and parents. Highly recommend it.

Do you think the OdySea Aquarium is worth it or is it like most aquariums? What about the Phoenix Zoo? Ds isn’t super into animals so I’m leaning towards no since we don’t have much time. I think he would probably like the children’s museum more

 

[StephPlum]

I need some help. first time trying to plan an international trip. I’d like to do one week in Switzerland and one week in Italy, ideally flying into Switzerland/Italy and flying out of the other one. I’d like to do shoulder season, either May (first choice) or September. I’m trying to find flights and estimate # miles I’ll need for business/1st class. I’ve tried googling blogs to see how to find award flights but whatever I find either I‘m doing it wrong or the write up is pre-2020 so maybe no longer valid. Everything is 100-200k points one way which seems too high.

if anyone has gotten flights to/from Switzerland or Italy and willing to share their steps I’d appreciate It. Or a good link to a write up from a blog. I’d like to reposition to the Mid west or East coast since I’m in Ohio.

Thanks.

 

[ten6mom]

Do you think the OdySea Aquarium is worth it or is it like most aquariums? What about the Phoenix Zoo? Ds isn’t super into animals so I’m leaning towards no since we don’t have much time. I think he would probably like the children’s museum more

I haven't been to OdySea since my kids were much smaller.

If I lived in Florida, I'd never go to an aquarium in Phoenix! (I have to assume aquariums are much better in coastal states).

I do recall liking the Phoenix children's museum when they were small.

I'm not a zoo person so I personally wouldn't go... my kids were always more interested in the carousel and the little play area than they were the animals!

 

[snugglebug]

I had held off on using Plastiq after the bankruptcy was filed back in May (fallout from the Silicon Valley Bank failure), and only sent a payment earlier this month using Plastiq after I received an email from Plastiq saying that the acquisition was complete. The check is supposed to be deposited in about a week, so I can post back on here when it goes through. I've had a hard time finding DPs of success, so it's reassuring that @wanderlust7 has used it with no issues.

I use Plastiq each month for my HOA payment and haven't had any issues.

 

[IFlossU]

Do you think the OdySea Aquarium is worth it or is it like most aquariums? What about the Phoenix Zoo? Ds isn’t super into animals so I’m leaning towards no since we don’t have much time. I think he would probably like the children’s museum more

My kids aren’t zoo kids either. The only zoo they ever really liked was San Diego. I haven’t been to the Aquarium, because again not my kids’ thing. I think you guys would enjoy the Children’s museum. It has a wide variety of hands on activities that were fun for all of us. It’s perfect at your son’s age. A great place for little people to go explore and run around freely.

 

[Haley R]

I haven't been to OdySea since my kids were much smaller.

If I lived in Florida, I'd never go to an aquarium in Phoenix! (I have to assume aquariums are much better in coastal states).

I do recall liking the Phoenix children's museum when they were small.

I'm not a zoo person so I personally wouldn't go... my kids were always more interested in the carousel and the little play area than they were the animals!

My kids aren’t zoo kids either. The only zoo they ever really liked was San Diego. I haven’t been to the Aquarium, because again not my kids’ thing. I think you guys would enjoy the Children’s museum. It has a wide variety of hands on activities that were fun for all of us. It’s perfect at your son’s age. A great place for little people to go explore and run around freely.

Thank you both for responding! I think we’ll skip the zoo and aquarium. We have a great zoo right where we live and go almost weekly. We also do the aquariums at seaworld and Epcot.

 

[orangecuse]

I have a really dumb question-

Will AA automatically feed us on our flight (main cabin extra) since its such a long flight? Its PHL to LAX over dinner. Just wondering if I need to plan to bring food on board. I did check their website but it only mentions JFK to LAX.

 

[Haley R]

I have a really dumb question-

Will AA automatically feed us on our flight (main cabin extra) since its such a long flight? Its PHL to LAX over dinner. Just wondering if I need to plan to bring food on board. I did check their website but it only mentions JFK to LAX.

I was actually just wondering this same thing but from MCO to SFO with United. We have to position there for our Japan flights and it’s 6 hours.

 

[afan]

I have a really dumb question-

Will AA automatically feed us on our flight (main cabin extra) since its such a long flight? Its PHL to LAX over dinner. Just wondering if I need to plan to bring food on board. I did check their website but it only mentions JFK to LAX.

Pretty sure no US carrier serves a free meal outside of 1st class on any domestic flight. Never had one mco to sea. Even in DL c+ it's just a snack basket.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I need some help. first time trying to plan an international trip. I’d like to do one week in Switzerland and one week in Italy, ideally flying into Switzerland/Italy and flying out of the other one. I’d like to do shoulder season, either May (first choice) or September. I’m trying to find flights and estimate # miles I’ll need for business/1st class. I’ve tried googling blogs to see how to find award flights but whatever I find either I‘m doing it wrong or the write up is pre-2020 so maybe no longer valid. Everything is 100-200k points one way which seems too high.

if anyone has gotten flights to/from Switzerland or Italy and willing to share their steps I’d appreciate It. Or a good link to a write up from a blog. I’d like to reposition to the Mid west or East coast since I’m in Ohio.

Thanks.

I feel like it's tougher to find award availability than even a year ago. But here are a few of my go to resources:

seats.aero This tool is completely free if you're looking for the next 60 days (which will sort of help you estimate the points cost of OW biz class award flights. If you're looking further out, you can do a paid subscription. Here's a good video on how to use it.

Point.me is another option. There's a free version through Bilt rewards (free, don't need the cc) or you can do a paid option.

United, American and Delta all have pretty decent search engines with calendar views, so that's helpful.

Do you have a stash of points already built up or is the goal to start earning them? If you have X points to use, we could try to help guide you that way. In general, I try to be under 80k points + $250 in taxes/fees between North America and Europe (or the reverse), OW, pp in business class. Just tonight I booked Chicago to Amsterdam on KLM for 56k + $200 using an alert I'd set on another site I like (seatspy- really super easy to use, but only works with nonstop flights).

 

[miztressuz]

I have a really dumb question-

Will AA automatically feed us on our flight (main cabin extra) since its such a long flight? Its PHL to LAX over dinner. Just wondering if I need to plan to bring food on board. I did check their website but it only mentions JFK to LAX.

They'll have food for a cost in the main cabin, but no freebies. JFK to LAX is one of the transcontinental routes that fly the Flagship service planes. They have a different service level even in main. There's only a handful of routes for domestic Flagship. Unfortunately for me too, PHL is not one of them.

You can see what's available for your flight in the "Details" link on a flight search. (If you already booked it should be in the reservation somewhere) Domestic main cabin is usually listed as "Snacks (for a fee)" no matter the time of day or length of flight. Well, not the super short ones, they just list beverage service for those.

I haven't bought food on a plane in years but I recall it's usually cheese plate or yogurt and nuts. Oh wait, I found a AA page with the snack list -
https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/experience/dining/main-cabin-food.jsp

Looks like not much has changed except for Pringles I didn't remember that. But otherwise these or similar options could be available.

 

[StephPlum]

I feel like it's tougher to find award availability than even a year ago. But here are a few of my go to resources:

seats.aero This tool is completely free if you're looking for the next 60 days (which will sort of help you estimate the points cost of OW biz class award flights. If you're looking further out, you can do a paid subscription. Here's a good video on how to use it.

Point.me is another option. There's a free version through Bilt rewards (free, don't need the cc) or you can do a paid option.

United, American and Delta all have pretty decent search engines with calendar views, so that's helpful.

Do you have a stash of points already built up or is the goal to start earning them? If you have X points to use, we could try to help guide you that way. In general, I try to be under 80k points + $250 in taxes/fees between North America and Europe (or the reverse), OW, pp in business class. Just tonight I booked Chicago to Amsterdam on KLM for 56k + $200 using an alert I'd set on another site I like (seatspy- really super easy to use, but only works with nonstop flights).

Thanks for the reply and thoughts.

I have diversified points but heavy on UR (1M UR, 350k AA, 140k Delta, 60k MR). So a UR partner might be better. I did create a flying blue and British airways account to have ready.

I’ll try some of the tools you listed.