I love credit cards so much!

[Oscar Madison]

Could be because it’s a newly issued card. Amex does a similar thing where their website can’t process a request for a replacement card of a newly issued card for, I’ve been told, at least 10 days after delivery of the original card. (You can call or chat with Amex, but pretty much the only way they’ll send another card to you during this time period is if you say you never received the card, then they’ll deactivate the original card and issue you a new card, which is not what you want.) I don’t know what kind of timeframe Chase has, but just try again later.

Yeah, what's weird is I went to the app and ordered the replacements a day or 2 after I received the CIC and CFU, so I thought CF would be similar.

 

[pillow]

I've been lost down the rabbit hole trying to decide on flights for Alaska next year but most options are looking like SW/Amtrak, United, or AA(and partners) for easy awards flights my brain can work with.

We are going back to Alaska next summer too. At the end of our trip, I'm thinking of using Alaska miles to fly from Anchorage to Seattle (direct) since we've never been there. Then we'll spend a few days in Seattle before flying home. Award flights are much more plentiful from there + cheaper as well. Its also easier to avoid a red eye it seems. Flights to the east coast from Anchorage aren't great.

 

[Albort]

We are going back to Alaska next summer too. At the end of our trip, I'm thinking of using Alaska miles to fly from Anchorage to Seattle (direct) since we've never been there. Then we'll spend a few days in Seattle before flying home. Award flights are much more plentiful from there + cheaper as well. Its also easier to avoid a red eye it seems. Flights to the east coast from Anchorage aren't great.

seattle was fun! i had a great time there when i went last month.
We used BA Avios to fly AA metal. 15k points RT. Worth looking at from SEA --> whatever city your flying home to.

 

[snugglebug]

Checked in for our SW flights tomorrow and one of my kids has Pre-check symbol on his boarding pass. Does that mean he "could" go through Pre-check? Of the 6 of us, no one else has that symbol and he can't/won't do that alone.

Getting GE for 4 of us is my goal after our trip.

 

[havaneselover]

Have you had any problems with them for claims? Have not looked at Geico because every time I have a claim with someone who has Geico, it’s a hassle.

I’ve had Geico on an off for 20 years. I had one accident (my fault) over 15 years ago. They were very easy to work with and my rate was not affected.

 

[georgina]

...............Anyone? Anyone at all? best card for a newb looking for int. flights? should I rec. a CSP?

I think it may not be different advice than for your 19 yr old. My nephew was 22 with a great salary when he was declined for CFU. But I guess it doesn’t hurt to try?

My DD was also 22 and making a great salary when she was declined for the Citi double cash. We saw on the Capital One website that you could find out if you would be approved without a credit check so she has a Quicksilver card now. She didn't want to go through another hard pull on her credit to be denied. I doubt she would have been approved for a CSP at that age with limited credit history.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I know but I just can’t imagine. They won’t remember anything. As much as I love Disney though I’m sure we will still take them. We talked about waiting until our kids are at least 6. Might have to leave them with grandma and grandpa while they’re little lol

They won’t remember but you will. The memories are for you. My kids have all been annually since they were infants.

 

[mmmears]

I used to think about cruises like you, but have found that a sea day can be a nice break in an intense itinerary. Since we go to explore places we have pretty active days while in new ports. So a sea day thrown in saves that feeling of needing a vacation from our vacation I also found if there is enough to do on the ship, and this will change ship to ship, even sea days can be busy if you want them to be. Or you can grab a lounger on deck and veg. I think that's why we like a cruise, gives options while being a floating hotel.

I was the same way. Not anymore. This summer's 10 night was so port intensive (and that was after roughly 20 hours of travel and then 2 crazy packed days in Copenhagen. We were desperate for a sea day after the flights, 2 days of sightseeing and then 3 ports where we packed in as much sightseeing as we could. I can barely remember what we even did that day, I just know we needed it desperately. So now I totally get it.

 

[pillow]

Mostly. It's a northbound cruise so I still have to fly back from somewhere in Alaska. We're staying a couple days in Alaska post cruise but not sure where yet since it's a Sep end of season cruise. I'd like to end in Fairbanks but I'll have to do more research on travel conditions in Sep, so for now looking at return from Anchorage. And we figured since we're on the west coast we might as well do a night or two in California. Hubby has never been further than Vegas, and I've only been for one night business trips so didn't get to see much, so we picked Sonoma/San Francisco area this time. (Originally I was going to throw a couple days at DL in there somewhere but it's just not working out. But if I can figure out this airline points thing might not be as long as we thought to get back and do a southern California/DL Trip )

I used to think about cruises like you, but have found that a sea day can be a nice break in an intense itinerary. Since we go to explore places we have pretty active days while in new ports. So a sea day thrown in saves that feeling of needing a vacation from our vacation I also found if there is enough to do on the ship, and this will change ship to ship, even sea days can be busy if you want them to be. Or you can grab a lounger on deck and veg. I think that's why we like a cruise, gives options while being a floating hotel.

We just did a cruise Southbound from Alaska. We flew in 10 days beforehand and did some traveling via RV. How much time do you have, and what kinds of things do you like to do? We went to Denali, Seward, and Homer. We've never traveled via RV before, but really enjoyed it. Plus, we were able to camp down in Denali which was terrific. Honestly, I think Denali was the most beautiful place I've ever been. You need a few days there though to increase your chance of seeing THE mountain (we had one cloudy day and one sunny one - not sure what the weather is like in September). Car rentals one way from Anchorage to Fairbanks will be outrageous. You might want to think about round trip Anchorage. PM me if you want help. Alaska in simply incredible!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

We have MetLife too. I was going to switch last year, but then my car got totaled in an incident with a guy jumping a red light - I was so impressed with how Metlife handled the claims process that I decided to stick with them and move my homeowners to them.

We generally have auto and homeowners together because there’s usually a discount. We have terrible luck and DH has been T-boned by another driver twice, totaling both cars. One time we had MetLife, the other, Mercury. Both handled claims well.

 

[pillow]

seattle was fun! i had a great time there when i went last month.
We used BA Avios to fly AA metal. 15k points RT. Worth looking at from SEA --> whatever city your flying home to.

I'm trying to decide what to do there and where to stay. I'm not really a city person - so thinking maybe only 1 night and then a couple of nights near Rainier so that we can hike. Where did you stay? I should have the 50k Marriott certs to use from the SPG Lux upgrade.

 

[Albort]

We generally have auto and homeowners together because there’s usually a discount. We have terrible luck and DH has been T-boned by another driver twice, totaling both cars. One time we had MetLife, the other, Mercury. Both handled claims well.

nice... i hate state farm. I backed into someone in a parking lot(like 1-2mph). got my side of the story and said that would admit fault... said i caused over $5000 worth of damage. they didnt even bother checking out the cars. :\

 

[calypso726]

I know but I just can’t imagine. They won’t remember anything. As much as I love Disney though I’m sure we will still take them. We talked about waiting until our kids are at least 6. Might have to leave them with grandma and grandpa while they’re little lol

Disclaimer: We do not have kids. With that said, we do have nieces and nephews. We have taken it upon ourselves to be the first to have them d̶r̶i̶n̶k̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶K̶o̶o̶l̶ ̶A̶i̶d̶ experience Disney World. It’s also another excuse to have a bunch of DVC points. So, every year we spring for the accommodations for one side of the family, then swap the other side the following year. This year we are doing both sides together. It will be an exercise in herding cats, but I digress. Anyhow, my fondest memory is the first time we went with our second nephew who was only 6 months old at the time. the way his eyes lit up and he smiled and interacted with Mickey Mouse is something I will never forget. Mickey Mouse was smitten with his reaction and spend a lot of time interacting with him and we got lots of great pictures. The Christmas cards his parents sent out that year were of my nephew hugging Mickey’s face and tasting his nose. My oldest nephew, we took when he was two years old. I will never forget the look he had on his face riding Its a Small World. It was worth having that bloody song in my head for the rest of that day, and even now the rest of today as I reminisce. Since those first trips we have taken plenty more with them. Nothing significant stands out in my memory about the subsequent trips. My niece’s mom didn’t come with us until my niece was a little older and it wasn’t the same. Anyhow, my point is, they may not remember, but you will. Just sharing the perspective and experience of someone who is not a parent but absolutely treasures those memories of being with babies and toddlers at Disney World.

 

[Albort]

I'm trying to decide what to do there and where to stay. I'm not really a city person - so thinking maybe only 1 night and then a couple of nights near Rainier so that we can hike. Where did you stay? I should have the 50k Marriott certs to use from the SPG Lux upgrade.

we did hyatt(15k a night). city center, only a couple blocks from the light rail. The light rails are a big confusing to ride from that station though cuz it uses the same station as buses. we were so confused. lol.
We also did mount Rainier. we rented a car from SilverCar(with Visa Infinite(CSR) was 30% off). We stayed at Crystal Mountain resort which is like a condo styled place. easy in and out to get into the park, not a lot of cars because people stay on the other side of the national park. If you have questions on where to hike, i can tell u the ones we went to.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We have MetLife only because no one else would insure us. Lol. We had a claim with our previous house and apparently are “high risk” for five years afterwards. Our 5 years are now up, so I could look elsewhere but I’ve had to deal with Geico when another car hit us and they took months to resolve the claim. We left State Farm when rates in the Midwest took huge jumps after there was lots of flooding one year.

Are you a Costco member?
I left State Farm for geico auto and Ameriprise thru Costco for home. We did have a homeowners claim and they were great.

 

[calypso726]

...............Anyone? Anyone at all? best card for a newb looking for int. flights? should I rec. a CSP?

I’d be happy to help but the newbie needs to answer a few questions before pointing them in the right direction.

When is the trip?

Where is the trip?

Do they plan to fly in coach, business, or first?

Is their home airport a hub for a particular airline or are they near an airport that is a hub?

Is there a Player 2?

Do they have a legit side hustle or are they comfortable having a “business”

What is their */24 status?

I think it would depend on the specific international locations. I am hoping to travel to Europe sometime in the next two years - I researched my possible airport destinations in Europe and found the the United Airline was probably the best for me so I am focused on that card right now for me and for DH. I am also trying not to use my CSP or my DH's CSP UR points right now since they can be transferred to United.

I would have your friend research various International airlines to see which he/she might be using the most...

That being said, I have not traveled internationally in the past 10 years....

@calypso726 may be able to help. She offered me good advice when I first started thinking about my trip.

Excellent advice!

 

[Judique]

<Haley R said: ↑
I know but I just can’t imagine. They won’t remember anything. As much as I love Disney though I’m sure we will still take them. We talked about waiting until our kids are at least 6. Might have to leave them with grandma and grandpa while they’re little lol>

Take lots of pictures! I've been through this with my own kids and with my grandkids. 'Gammy' (me) does not want to be left at home with the kids while someone else goes to Disney!

By the time you have your kids your thoughts on all these things will go in many directions. Plus, what works for one family may be very difficult for another. The kids will enjoy in the moment and pictures will fill in later when they 'remember' their trips.

Our 2 year old (at the time) was very frightened of Mickey and Minnie in life size with huge cartoon heads. The one year old was oblivious. She loved the face characters because they were more normal looking people. Prior to going the 2 year old couldn't wait to see Mickey - in toy size. We will see how she does this fall.

 

[pillow]

we did hyatt(15k a night). city center, only a couple blocks from the light rail. The light rails are a big confusing to ride from that station though cuz it uses the same station as buses. we were so confused. lol.
We also did mount Rainier. we rented a car from SilverCar(with Visa Infinite(CSR) was 30% off). We stayed at Crystal Mountain resort which is like a condo styled place. easy in and out to get into the park, not a lot of cars because people stay on the other side of the national park. If you have questions on where to hike, i can tell u the ones we went to.

This is great information - thank you. I will have Hyatt points (plus I can xfer from UR), so that would be an option. However, I probably need to prioritize using up our Marriott free night certs. With all of our Marriott/SPG cards, I will have 6 certs by then - lol. I'll check out Crystal Mountain and will PM you later about the hiking. I was assuming we'd hike from Paradise since there are so many trails there (pics look gorgeous), but I haven't researched other areas yet.

 

[Albort]

This is great information - thank you. I will have Hyatt points (plus I can xfer from UR), so that would be an option. However, I probably need to prioritize using up our Marriott free night certs. With all of our Marriott/SPG cards, I will have 6 certs by then - lol. I'll check out Crystal Mountain and will PM you later about the hiking. I was assuming we'd hike from Paradise since there are so many trails there (pics look gorgeous), but I haven't researched other areas yet.

Paradise had a crapload of ppl there... :\ we had a hard time finding parking there.
we did one called tipso lake... was very pretty and not a lot of ppl... easy walk too.

a lot of them are very steep walks :\

 

[kmc8826]

They won’t remember but you will. The memories are for you. My kids have all been annually since they were infants.

We are the same. It is for you and the memories. Our hallway has pictures of Disney trips and it is the best to see how they have gone from tiny until now. And it is actually surprising what they remember. Talking to my girls they actually have real snippets of memories of moments of trips when they were 3 or 4. And it so fun to see how babies/toddlers react to characters.