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

[havaneselover]

My 2020 plans:
We're ringing in the New Year at UO (part of a trip to Naples to visit my parents)

At some point this spring I'll make another trip to Naples to spend a week with my parents. The kids are with my ex for spring break this year, so it will be just me.

In August we're headed to Alaska on DCL again. We'll fly to Seattle, spend two nights, catch a Mariners game, then take Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver. Still working on details but probably using SW miles and Marriott points.

Not sure what else will come up in 2020. Maybe some college trips for DD but she's pretty set on UVA or VA Tech so no flights required. 2021 should be a big year because I'm taking DD to Europe (London/Paris) and promised DS a 16th birthday trip--maybe Chicago to see a Bulls or Bears game.

 

[tink1970]

Back from fantastic trip to Rome (report to follow) and catching up



very late 2019
Dec--India (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Ranthambore)

2020
March--WDW with our kids and ds's fiancee (her very first Disney trip ever!), split stay between Bay Lake and Kidani
May or June--back to CA to visit my aunties plus some hiking time
Sept--3 weeks in Australia

2021
--at least once to CA to visit my relatives
--a National Parks trip at some point, either Glacier or Utah parks or Death Valley (depends on which month we'd go)
--we are contemplating a choice between Hawaii, Africa (safari plus meeting up with Congolese friends in Mozambique--could be 2022), and a small ship Galapagos cruise with or without additional travel

I'm so happy it's a great road trip car!

Welcome back! Really excited to hear how your trip went, what you thought of your points utilization, etc.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Just signed up for the TD bonus of $300.00. DoC DPs suggest that a transfer from my Chase account will work -- fingers crossed! Sounds pretty easy.

 

[StephPlum]

We went to Glacier as part of our honeymoon in 2015. There was a huge wildfire that had Going to the Sun Road closed for several days before we arrived and we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to do our 2 night stay at Sperry Chalet. Luckily, they opened the road the day we arrived, but it was some ring to drive through the park seeing all of the fire damage all along the road. Sperry Chalet and Sperry Glacier were amazing. I am so glad they are rebuilding the Chalet since it burned down 2 years ago from another fire.

We got married at Grand Teton NP and went to 12 other national parks on our honeymoon. The majority of them had an active fire in or very near the park during our visit including Cascade Canyon, Olympic, Crater Lake, Yosemite and King’s Canyon. It is tragic to see so much wild land burning.

I your post for the amazing trip, not for with wildfires.

For the last 4 years, we've been on NPS vacations every year visiting 17 parks. I just added up the savings due to buying the America the Beautiful pass and my trip timing ($317). This year I bought our pass in July so we used for Olympic and Mt Rainier. I will be able to use for Joshua Tree, Death Valley and Glacier in 2020.

 

[Alexle2007]

Back from fantastic trip to Rome (report to follow) and catching up



very late 2019
Dec--India (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Ranthambore)

2020
March--WDW with our kids and ds's fiancee (her very first Disney trip ever!), split stay between Bay Lake and Kidani
May or June--back to CA to visit my aunties plus some hiking time
Sept--3 weeks in Australia

2021
--at least once to CA to visit my relatives
--a National Parks trip at some point, either Glacier or Utah parks or Death Valley (depends on which month we'd go)
--we are contemplating a choice between Hawaii, Africa (safari plus meeting up with Congolese friends in Mozambique--could be 2022), and a small ship Galapagos cruise with or without additional travel

I'm so happy it's a great road trip car!

Remind me how you are getting back from Oz? I am thinking of just flying Qantas Economy from SYD to San Francisco so DS can visit Stanford before we head home to MD.

 

[wanderlust7]

Shoot, if only our baby would be born by the lol. Seems like a really good deal. Hopefully they do another one next year

I don't think gift cards is an option for this offer. They have been running these offers a couple times per year so hopefully there will be another along later next year.

@GlamMistress - the offer is also good for Princess Cruises. Might work on a payment against your 2021 cruise.

I've used 3 separate offers on our Carnival cruise, between DH and my account, saved a total of $650. It's good to book early and then just wait for these offers. But for @Haley R , your plans are so up in the air that I'm not really sure. You wouldn't want to cancel, have it refunded back to your card and then clawed back.

Wish we could take advantage of the new offer, but we're PIF. Looked through all the posts on Cruise Critic, but for Carnival looks like OBC, excursions, etc won't work because they get charged by the Fun Shop. Only thing that looks like it works is prepaying gratuities. But our gratuities won't hit $500. Oh well. Our last cruise was on NCL and OBC worked for the Amex offer. We even got $400 unused OBC refunded in cash.

 

[wanderlust7]

Any opinions on Icelandair?

We flew them to Iceland this past summer. I liked that they hand you a bottle of Icelandic water as you board and then keep refilling it during the flight. Kids got a cute drawstring activity backpack and a boxed lunch. On the cheapest fares, adults have to pay for food, but drinks are complementary. They also charge for checked luggage.

 

[Judique]

I your post for the amazing trip, not for with wildfires.

For the last 4 years, we've been on NPS vacations every year visiting 17 parks. I just added up the savings due to buying the America the Beautiful pass and my trip timing ($317). This year I bought our pass in July so we used for Olympic and Mt Rainier. I will be able to use for Joshua Tree, Death Valley and Glacier in 2020.

I absolutely love National Parks! But, I need a traveling companion for them and I'm unfortunately lacking in that department. Kids do like parks but don't really have enough time to do much with me.

Since I'm older, I was able to snag a Senior pass when they were $10 lifetime. Now I think this pass has gone to $80 for seniors but is still a great deal. There are a few entries it doesn't cover, but it covers enough and everything I've done so far. Just wanted to point out to seniors that you have a great option if you are unfamiliar. I'm also terrified that I will misplace it as it is not replaceable and would have to be purchased again at the new price. There are also discounts associated with having the pass.

 

[WVMomof3]

Just a reminder that if you use the MCO club you may have to exit and go back through security, especially if you are on Southwest. We have used it a couple of times and have been able to continue on to gate without exiting. DH used it today and was last one on plane because he wasn’t counting on having to go through security again. And he does have precheck so it could have been worse. I flew back on Frontier by myself on Thursday and the club was right by my gate, but I don’t currently have the PP card so had to sit at my gate. Like a peasant.

 

[Haley R]

I found Saturday was the worst for busy park in Epcot. Of course, I made a serious error in judgement.
This was the day I went to Dunedin. Since Dunedin is not that far, I decided to go to Animal Kingdom as they had early entry. That was outstanding...average crowds and I did the Safari a couple times as a walk on, with no wait, plus got a Cheetah picture fairly close and the Lions were standing.

Then decided to take the bus to Epcot and walk through from the front to get my Remy magnet and coasters. BIG mistake! From the bus it was mobbed and a longer walk - it took a half hour to get into the park!!!!! Yikes - I'm used to walking straight in at International Gateway. Or even off the monorail. I could have done it faster by taking a bus to Boardwalk from Animal Kingdom and doing the 10 minute walk.

And, I stopped at Flavors of Fire for a skirt steak and the chocolate dessert. I actually had a small wait here (less than 5 minutes) as it had just opened. Sat to eat and as I was leaving noted the line - huge line to get the food. Then what looked like a huge line for the magnet and coasters but this moved very fast and was maybe 10 minutes. The weekdays are so much calmer. My car was at BW and I don't remember if I took the boat or walked - if the boat is there or in sight I take it, if not I walk.

We got our magnets and left lol. It was super busy there. We did the tree trail at Disney springs which was also busy but not too bad. Now we’re on the monorail going to GF

 

[GZanta77]

On cruise stops in Roatan, which I super excited about, any suggestions on what to do in port (DH, DS13 and me)? We are not scuba people.

Our first stop there, we did an island tour with cultural experience. It was interesting but kinda slow paced. Cultural bit was basically stopping at some place where they demonstrated making crafts and a local bread - which you could try your hand at making. Also a cultural dance demonstration with volunteers invited to participate. It was an enjoyable trip overall.

Our second time there, we did the ATV Jungle Adventure which was a lot of fun.

 

[Haley R]

I've used 3 separate offers on our Carnival cruise, between DH and my account, saved a total of $650. It's good to book early and then just wait for these offers. But for @Haley R , your plans are so up in the air that I'm not really sure. You wouldn't want to cancel, have it refunded back to your card and then clawed back.

Wish we could take advantage of the new offer, but we're PIF. Looked through all the posts on Cruise Critic, but for Carnival looks like OBC, excursions, etc won't work because they get charged by the Fun Shop. Only thing that looks like it works is prepaying gratuities. But our gratuities won't hit $500. Oh well. Our last cruise was on NCL and OBC worked for the Amex offer. We even got $400 unused OBC refunded in cash.

Yeah we just can’t do it right now. We have no idea how the birth will go so I won’t book anything until after.

 

[tink1970]

Hey. I got some really good advice a few months ago about CCs and now my DH and I have got some UR points to spend! We want to go to Ireland for the first time next May or June. We plan to fly into London, maybe go to Scotland for a couple of days, and then spend a week in Ireland. Has anyone here traveled there recently and want to share their experience? I would love to know what we should absolutely not miss! Thank you!

@mmmears gave you some good ideas about London-I was there in October and I'm always a fan of The Tower of London (the Crown Jewels!) and shopping. If you're a Harry Potter fan, the Harry Potter Studios Tour (which is outside of London) is excellent. If you're into castles, there's Buckingham Palace, Windsor, etc. If you're into museums, then the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert, the British Library, Churchill Wars Rooms, are all worth a visit. Going to the theater is also very popular-either modern or the reproduction Globe Theater for a bit of Shakespeare. Frankly, there's enough to do in London you could spend a week or more just there.

I was also in Dublin in October (and previously) and there I enjoy going to Trinity University and seeing the Book of Kells and the library attached to that (also featured in Harry Potter). Dublin has an active music and pub scene, several museums (Epic was surprisingly interesting) and of course cathedrals, a castle and Guinness factory and tour. From Dublin you could take several day trips to N. Ireland, the countryside, etc. Personally my favorite parts of Ireland are on the west coast-the Cliffs of Mohr, Dromoland Castle, as well as the countryside south of Dublin. If you and your DH are comfortable driving on the other side of the road (and possibly driving a manual transmission) then driving around and staying in B&Bs is an amazing way to tour. If you're like me and a scary driver in the US then day trips out of Dublin or escorted tours might be the way to go.

I know @calypso726 is a big fan of Ashford Castle, which is also on the Western side of Ireland and she recently was able to book it using URs. I've not been to N. Ireland but it has amazing scenery and of course Belfast is full of history.

Have a good time planning your trip! Ireland is a lovely country and London is a fun, historic, bustling, vibrant city.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Well sitting here trying to watch as much of the UM/MSU game as I can before having to head to OH for a hockey game for DS. I'm thinking I'm going to stop at every Walmart I can on the way there/back and unload the $1200 I have left from Staples this week. And maybe if I see a staples grab $1k more to throw on a card.

One of the new guys I'm kinda texting with (dating sucks, LOL), I was telling him I had to run into WM for my vacation "scam". He's like what is that? I told him I'll explain in person as it's complex. He's like is it MS? GCs and MOs? LOL! Apparently he knows a guy who does $100k/mo! I'm like DANG! I need to know where this guy is doing it!!!!

 

[wendow]

I think all this Disney+ headache has broken my dh’s MDE. His AP is gone from his account and he’s now missing from all our FPs for our trip in less than a month. On hold with Disney. So over all this.

 

[Judique]

We got our magnets and left lol. It was super busy there. We did the tree trail at Disney springs which was also busy but not too bad. Now we’re on the monorail going to GF

The Gingerbread House is awesome!

 

[StephPlum]

I absolutely love National Parks! But, I need a traveling companion for them and I'm unfortunately lacking in that department. Kids do like parks but don't really have enough time to do much with me.

Since I'm older, I was able to snag a Senior pass when they were $10 lifetime. Now I think this pass has gone to $80 for seniors but is still a great deal. There are a few entries it doesn't cover, but it covers enough and everything I've done so far. Just wanted to point out to seniors that you have a great option if you are unfamiliar. I'm also terrified that I will misplace it as it is not replaceable and would have to be purchased again at the new price. There are also discounts associated with having the pass.

I am not quite there for the senior pass but as soon as I am I'll be purchasing it. That is an amazing benefit even at the increased price of $80 for lifetime.

Other deals for those with young kids is the free entrance to the parks when they are 4th graders.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Welcome back! Really excited to hear how your trip went, what you thought of your points utilization, etc.

thanks! not much point utilization for this trip though

Remind me how you are getting back from Oz? I am thinking of just flying Qantas Economy from SYD to San Francisco so DS can visit Stanford before we head home to MD.

Nothing is booked yet, but based on my obsessive skillful tracking, United business seats for the planned return week should open on Monday and Tuesday (for Wed and Thurs flights only). No partner seats at all have been available for the past month, so my hopes of flying Air Canada all-legs-in-J, as we are on the outbound, are dashed. It looks like our best option will be SYD-LAX nonstop in J, then LAX-EWR in economy, for 80K miles each (I have UR to transfer).

If for some reason United doesn't release business seats for that week, I'd have to come up with a totally different plan. There is no way dh will fly that far in economy. We had Main Cabin Extra on AA to/from Rome (6" extra pitch) and he said that's his limit for flights longer than 5.5 hours (n/s to CA).

 

[Haley R]

The Gingerbread House is awesome!

The house was awesome. We bought a $10 gingerbread cookie covered in chocolate and it was disgusting

 

[havaneselover]

Just bought Mariners tickets--used my Amex credit from downgrading my Bonvoy Brilliant.