I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[amalone1013]

FYI: MICKEY WAFFLE LOVERS!​

The Mickey Mouse 90th Anniversary Double Flip Waffle Maker is back in stock at shopDisney. $64.95. Limit 2. Use code SHIPMAGIC for free shipping over $75. Remember to use a shopping portal for extra cash back.

ETA: This waffle maker makes deep waffles like the ones in the parks, not the pancake-y ones most waffle irons make. It's already sold out at least 2 times and I've seen it go for crazy amounts on eBay.

I ordered one last night and I'm ready to go to the mat on this one.

For my birthday last fall, MIL got me two Disney shirts. I typically buy one size in women's shirts and a size down in unisex tees, and DH told her the same size for both. So I tried to exchange the unisex tee, and they told me I could keep the extra... but when they sent the new size they sent the women's tee. Contacted them again, they told me sorry, now the size I wanted for the unisex tee was out of stock so here is a $20 GC and I can keep the new wrong sized women's shirt, so I gave it to MIL. Went online to buy the tee in the size they said was out of stock about two weeks later when it came up (It was in stock originally, of course completely gone off the website after they sent the wrong shirt, then came back). Used the credit, got an email a couple days later that my credit didn't work and they charged all of it to my card. This was right around Christmas so I didn't chase it down at the time. Remembered last night that I still have that credit, already got an email saying it didn't work. I WILL be getting my $20 this time darn it!

 

[Lain]

For my birthday last fall, MIL got me two Disney shirts. I typically buy one size in women's shirts and a size down in unisex tees, and DH told her the same size for both. So I tried to exchange the unisex tee, and they told me I could keep the extra... but when they sent the new size they sent the women's tee. Contacted them again, they told me sorry, now the size I wanted for the unisex tee was out of stock so here is a $20 GC and I can keep the new wrong sized women's shirt, so I gave it to MIL. Went online to buy the tee in the size they said was out of stock about two weeks later when it came up (It was in stock originally, of course completely gone off the website after they sent the wrong shirt, then came back). Used the credit, got an email a couple days later that my credit didn't work and they charged all of it to my card. This was right around Christmas so I didn't chase it down at the time. Remembered last night that I still have that credit, already got an email saying it didn't work. I WILL be getting my $20 this time darn it!

I remember this story. What a mess!

 

[Alexle2007]

With Amex, I’ve never had a new card get automatically added to my online accounts. When you receive the new card, you’ll be asked to confirm you received it, then you can add the card to an existing online management account or create a new one for it.

Gotcha. I just received my Hilton Biz not too long ago and did not remember that. I was curious what type of credit line they had extended to me And so glad I am not seeing pop-ups on my apps. With quarterly tuition payments, I am going to need more credit cards on a regular basis since I can make the $5k spend in a single transaction.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Catching up

I would be interested in why you decided to go with the solar shingles versus the contract solar companies (Solar City etc) that are swarming every roof these days? I thought it was a great concept, but didn't want to go the extra mile cost wise. Did you get a Tesla roof?

I'm so curious about the solar shingles. Would love to see a photo of it! We are finally at the break even point for our solar panels, so I won't be changing them any time soon, but they are pretty unattractive. What happens if one shingle gets damaged?

We have been saving for solar panels since we bought this house in 2006! The roof has an E-W orientation with no tall trees shading it so it was perfect for solar (perfect for Delaware lol). Within hours of Tesla announcing their solar roof project, I put down the $1000 deposit. That was May 2017. In *July 2018* we finally had the home visit with several engineers. They said we were the first roof to be measured in the MidAtlantic, and that we would receive our estimate etc in a few weeks. We waited a month and called--nothing yet. Two months went by. Dh called our contact person again, and they said that our roof wasn't suited to the Tesla product because our second story master bedroom windows were too close to the garage roof line and that it "wouldn't look right." I was STEAMING mad Three months and WE had to contact them to be told no.
And get this, we STILL have not received our deposit back from Tesla! It was easy to cancel on their website, but despite multiple phone calls we have not seen that money. We have now disputed the charge with Citi. Tesla's own forums are full of people who have not received deposits back for roofs, PowerWalls, and cars.

We sold our Tesla stock in November at a near-high

So I spent a few days researching solar (again) in November. We wanted to stick with solar shingles if possible since we had to replace the roof anyway due to wind damage from an August storm. They're pricier than panels + new roof but we like the flat look better and drilling holes into a new roof seems kinda wrong. One of the major roofing/siding companies in this region installs solar systems, panels and shingles, so we went with them.

We have the CertainTeed Apollo II system of shingles. They are installed right up to the edge of the traditional roofing shingles. Each "shingle" is actually about 18"x24".

This is a picture of the job in-progress. Our new regular shingle is the light gray. Unlike the Tesla solar roof, the CertainTeed solar shingles do not match the colors of the traditional shingles. That's fine with us. We can tell the difference already in the house temperature from the old black shingles.

(crud, I can't figure out how to imbed the picture from this silly MacBook---back to try later on)

The sneakers in dark gray! They are so comfortable I didn't take them off when I tried them on! I wore them around the house for a few hours, then to walk the dog and then to my (emergency) dentist appt.

Yay! But boooooooo on the dental work

In LA. Alas life goes on. Sad Panda.

View attachment 402596
The “suite”. They call it that but there is no door. Alas it is by far the largest see I saw between Cathay J, Q-Suite & Qatar old-school J! I reserved seat 1A after some research. The middle aisle opens the other direction so the only people using the aisle are 1A & 2A & FAs. Definitely felt more private than Cathay Biz I did. The amenity kit was my least favorite of all. I appreciated the mini hairbrush, but I really missed having a lotion in there and the lip balm was not made for air travel (as soon as you open the tube it starts squirting, QR’s solid substance lib balm was better in this regard.) They asked me which size PJs I wanted (I’m 5’10” I went medium, worked fine). They were soft and I think will be handy for future air travel if I feel like lugging then along so I brought them with.

The champagne on offer was Krug 2004. Yum yum yum! The whites were Lamblin & Fils Chablis Premier Cru “Fourchaumes” 2017 & Craggy Range Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2017. The reds and port...
View attachment 402603
A quick google search before take off suggested retail prices of the reds at about $25, $45, $145 going down the list. I had the Wagyu beef and switched from the Krug to the Chateau Lynch for that and the senior FA informed me that was many of her fliers favorite. It was good, I had another glass but do give it some air if you ever had it. It was most certainly not $145 worth good in my book fwiw but we all have different pallets!

The rest of the menu...
View attachment 402606
View attachment 402607
For tea fans here’s their complete tea rundown
View attachment 402610

After takeoff they served all of us an ahi mango appetizer along with a post-departure beverage which the FA hd taken the order for before takeoff. It was good and I’m not generally a fan of raw Ahi.
View attachment 402612

Caviar course (which Cathay F is famous for on the blogs). Alas caviar simply is not my cup of tea. I’ve tried it in multiple settings. Googled how to eat it prior to departure. Still don’t care for it. The fresh garlic bread in the bread basket however was excellent! (Yes, I’m a cheap date in the food department... Booze not so much.)

I had Waygu Beef for dinner (guess I’m not such a cheap date after all!). Mistake: ordered it medium. It came well done. Not a spec of pink. But still yummy & the wine sauce was excellent. The served a slab of it which really surprised me after my dinner experience in CX J was so small it left me hungry. Sorry forgot this pic!

Side tip: when you have a “maybe I should use the bathroom?” inkling and are on an airplane go. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Go to the bathroom stat. Or you will end up like me in the middle of turbulence deciding “screw it! I’ve seen tons of people use the bathroom on other flights when that light is on, I’m gonna try it!” Only to see a FA by the bathroom and be intercepted “Ms. Gottalovepluto! It’s not safe to be up right now please return to your seat!” The following 20 mins sucked guys. When it calmed down but the light was on I asked a passing FA but she said the light is on no. She took pity I think because 10 mins later she came back with the light still on & said I could use the bathroom at my own risk. I took her up on that offer. Moral of the story: extra service is a double edged sword. Everything about you is watched more closely.

Seriously jealous.

Timberline is the PP lounge (restaurant) at DEN. It's on concourse C where SW comes in so depending on which airline they are on, they may need to take the train to a different concourse.

Dh & I did use our PP there upon arrival a couple of years ago BUT I will say that Timberline has gotten so much busier than it used to be. I'm not sure what their current policy is on allowing use for arrivals. Maybe if it's a slower time they will allow.

As @Lain said, your dd will get $28 per person for herself plus two guests. Since a meal there is an avg of $15-18, your dd should be able to cover all 4 of them with the $84 she will have to spend. Gratuity is not covered with the PP.

Hope they are able to make it work!

Theres often a wait, I've never seen it above 20 mins though it always looks like a ton of people waiting. Last trip we got there just after 3pm and were seated immediately. Weve never used it on arrival. I think technically the website says for departure only but I've never seen them check boarding passes. They do ask for a boarding time so I'd just give them one that is at least an hour out.

We had a wait of about 15 minutes last Friday at lunchtime. They didn't ask for a boarding pass, just our boarding time. This was our second time at Timberline

 

[Lain]

And get this, we STILL have not received our deposit back from Tesla! It was easy to cancel on their website, but despite multiple phone calls we have not seen that money. We have now disputed the charge with Citi. Tesla's own forums are full of people who have not received deposits back for roofs, PowerWalls, and cars.

We sold our Tesla stock in November at a near-high

Tesla is burning through cash fast right now. End of Q1 2019, Tesla had $2.2B in cash on hand; 35% of that was in consumer deposits.

I shake my head whenever I see some numskull suggest putting a deposit on a new Tesla would make for easy MS.

I hope you get your deposit back soon. Good move on dumping TSLA.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Tesla is burning through cash fast right now. End of Q1 2019, Tesla had $2.2B in cash on hand; 35% of that was in consumer deposits.

I shake my head whenever I see some numskull suggest putting a deposit on a new Tesla would make for easy MS.

Yep. Bad news. And to think we were considering the solar roof, 2 powerwall batteries, and (eventually) a model 3.

<----me, every time Musk opens his mouth

 

[Alexle2007]

AmEx makes you manually add each card. If you don't have the card yet, you should have received an email with a link to setup the online account. If not if you have the reference ID from the app you can still get setup before it arrives... I just gotta find the link again to do it.

Thank you! Totally missed that on my congratulations email since I just filed it away. All set-up now Now to check my offers

 

[miztressuz]

Ok Chase, we give you so much positive press, stop making yourself look bad.

Congratulations! You are approved for the Ink Business Preferred. Your card, that you received last week and put $500 in spend already after confirming a fraud alert with a live person, is on the way!

Sent to my personal email address not associated in any way with any of my business applications or my business online profile.

Um ya, totally the warm fuzzies all around there.

 

[Lain]

Ok Chase, we give you so much positive press, stop making yourself look bad.

Congratulations! You are approved for the Ink Business Preferred. Your card, that you received last week and put $500 in spend already after confirming a fraud alert with a live person, is on the way!

Sent to my personal email address not associated in any way with any of my business applications or my business online profile.

Um ya, totally the warm fuzzies all around there.

Also, weren't you approved like over a week ago?

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Ok Chase, we give you so much positive press, stop making yourself look bad.

Congratulations! You are approved for the Ink Business Preferred. Your card, that you received last week and put $500 in spend already after confirming a fraud alert with a live person, is on the way!

Sent to my personal email address not associated in any way with any of my business applications or my business online profile.

Um ya, totally the warm fuzzies all around there.

Yeah same on CIU I got last month.

 

[Oscar Madison]

Which ship are you sailing? We’re sailing the Harmony but sadly not until March.

Mariner of the Seas - any good?

 

[LynnTH]

Free breakfast is a good idea. We'll check out the Country INN and Suites too. So for the two of us, how early do they let you on the ship? Thank you so much. Getting excited.

We were on Carnival and had purchased "Faster to the Fun" so that lets us be one of the first passengers on. We were on the ship shortly after 11:00 am. Have not cruised with RCCL for a while now. But I always like to get to the Port by 10:30 at the latest and beat all the other people there. Have to check out of the hotel anyway - I like to be one of the first ones on.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I have Priority Pass Select thru Hilton Amex with 10 visits per year. Never been in a lounge but thinking we could use it on return flight from YVR. I have the PP account set up and the card. Do I need to do anything else to activate it?

 

[LynnTH]

You guys I feel so stupid....Dh and I are watching the live action 101 Dalmatians on Netflix and I just now realized cruella de vil spells devil.....

OMG. I never knew that either... Well, I have learned something new today - I think I should be able to leave work now...

 

[Alexle2007]

Mariner of the Seas - any good?

We have only done the Allure of the Seas so far which the Harmony is very similar too since it is part of their Oasis class. We did have a very nice experience on the Allure. It was so quick to check in at Ft. Lauderdale and we were allowed to go directly onto the ship and didn't have to wait like we have had to do with DCL. I think we got there at 10 am and we were on the ship by 10:15 am or so. Hope you have a terrific cruise and come back and tell us about it!

 

[hulagirl]

Beyond a hotel recommendation on Waikiki, I was hopeful for some suggestions on things to do in Maui and places to eat. There seems like a lot of things to do but I want to try and narrow it down a realistic list of activities while having enough relaxation time at the hotels and on the beach/pool areas.

I think this is a good plan. There is so much to do on Maui, it will be impossible in one trip to squeeze it all in. I have not yet stayed at the Grand Wailea but it is high up on my list, since I love my Aspire card so much. One year I will get there. I do however, think you've made a beautiful choice of place to stay and with the 5th night free.. it's a little more points economical. Just please please don't stay your entire time at the hotel. There is so so much more of Maui to see and experience and I'd hate for you to miss that. I've already shared the summit of Haleakala. It's practically a spiritual experience. Definitely don't miss that, but pay close attention to the weather report. I've been up there when it's completely socked in by clouds and have watched many a disappointed tourist make their way back down without ever experiencing the grandeur.

The views from the lavender farm in Kula are extraordinary and the surrounding botanical gardens really are beautiful. There's a little gift shop up there and I believe you can have lunch if you choose. It's also much cooler up there so it's a nice break if you happen to be there when it's really hot down on the beaches.


The road to Hana is beautiful, but it is very winding so if you are prone to motion sickness - especially if you are in the backseat, be aware of that and plan accordingly. There are lots of places to stop along the way so it's best to plan a whole day for that. For the truly adventurous, go ALL the way around, instead of stopping in Hana. The first time I came around the corner on one spot of the backside of this volcano, I thought I had somehow transported myself to my own personal version of heaven. I don't recommend it without a jeep though. You can see how crazy that road is.




A few scenes from the road to Hana. It really is the joy in the journey, not the destination. That advice was spot on. Coconut Glen's was a particularly fun stop.

 

[Alexle2007]

We were on Carnival and had purchased "Faster to the Fun" so that lets us be one of the first passengers on. We were on the ship shortly after 11:00 am. Have not cruised with RCCL for a while now. But I always like to get to the Port by 10:30 at the latest and beat all the other people there. Have to check out of the hotel anyway - I like to be one of the first ones on.

On my one and only experience with RCCL, there is nothing to purchase to be able to board in advance. We just walked up, checked in and boom, we were on the ship. It is so easy at Ft. Lauderdale.

 

[amalone1013]

I remember this story. What a mess!

It must be on your spreadsheet

 

[hulagirl]

@Kawnipi I will leave you with a few last pictures and an admonition. Step outside your comfort zone on this island. It will be richly rewarding and your son will never ever forget it. I hope you'll come back and tell us how much you enjoyed your time there when March rolls around... all too fast. Visit the upcountry towns of Makawao and Kula. Head off for a day of driving the incredible West Maui Mountains. Go on a Whale Watch out of Maalaea Harbor. Visit the quaint towns of Lahaina and Paia. Make a visit to Ulapalakua Ranch and sample some wine, while enjoying lunch with a beautiful view and some sassy trinkets in the general store. Step off the beaten path. I promise you won't regret it.;-)

 

[Judique]

The alert went off in my car as I had just left work for Columbia and Ellicott City. I am glad you are safe and it looks like nothing hit Columbia or EC where a lot of my friends live. Scary stuff!

The first alert I got was for Howard County and Ellicott City and Clarksville is where I have a lot of friends and my daughter lives right on the edge near Montgomery County. Then within a few minutes it was over DC and heading southeast - so fast moving! I'm just sweeping up leaves and twigs today plus my bags of grass and weeds got all rained on because I wasn't expecting the sudden down pour. Had to just go buy new bags so I can put them out for collection as they are all mushy now.