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

[DogCat]

We received a mailer for a Cap One Student Savor One card. It earns $100 cash back for first $100 spend. It has a 3% cash back category for dining, entertainment, streaming and grocery stores and 1% cash back on all others. I think this is a better deal than the Discover student card that we were planning to get. Does anyone have experience applying for this for their kid's first card?

 

[becauseimnew]

We leave for Japan in 48 hours, I hope I have prepared everything.
Any last minute tips? We have Ubigi on all our phones, I've added Suica card to my phone (everyone else wants a card that they'll keep as souvenirs). We have passports, I have printouts of everything we pre-booked. We usually carry refillable water bottles with us, but should we leave those at home?

 

[ten6mom]

Can someone remind me what the Chase "7-10 days" message means? Outright denial or I still have a chance?
Never mind... I found a new card in my list so yay!

I swear, every time I think I need to tone it down (especially now that I have a car payment I'm not spending as much other money), I regret that I wasted ANY spend... and I always learn that I spend way more money than I thought I do.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

We leave for Japan in 48 hours, I hope I have prepared everything.
Any last minute tips? We have Ubigi on all our phones, I've added Suica card to my phone (everyone else wants a card that they'll keep as souvenirs). We have passports, I have printouts of everything we pre-booked. We usually carry refillable water bottles with us, but should we leave those at home?

I'm not sure what your plans are, but I wish that I had gone a bit out of our way to get a Japanese ball team cap as a souvenir. I think they look so nice! Matcha soft serve ice cream is delicious (near one of the temples they have matcha soft serve with a 24k leaf on top -- very cool for pictures!). Have a fantastic trip!

 

[platamama]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a travel insurance outside of a credit card?

I always books on my CSP for the travel insurance, but I had to change an upcoming award booking that had to be done by phone. I had the customer service rep pay for the $5.60 fees with the “card on file,” not realizing it was my AA card that offers nothing in the way of insurance.

Now I’m paranoid we will be delayed/cancelled since our midday return flight home is only half full. I am thinking the best thing to do is to add on trip insurance that offers delay/cancellation benefits. However, I was burnt in my younger years by a travel insurance company, so I’m apprehensive.

Do any of you experienced travelers have any recommendations?

I've used SquareMouth which is very similar to Insure My Trip in that it is a site where you can compare different policies and companies. I can filter by certain features (pre-existing conditions, cancel for any reason, etc.) to narrow down the choices. I made my first claim ever this week so I should know the results of that process within a couple of weeks. I typically don't bother with insurance for domestic travel.

In your case, is it possible to cancel and rebook your award with the CSP instead?

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

We leave for Japan in 48 hours, I hope I have prepared everything.
Any last minute tips? We have Ubigi on all our phones, I've added Suica card to my phone (everyone else wants a card that they'll keep as souvenirs). We have passports, I have printouts of everything we pre-booked. We usually carry refillable water bottles with us, but should we leave those at home?

There was hardly anywhere to refill water bottles in Japan. I think we maybe saw one water fountain, maybe two, our entire trip. And there are vending machines everywhere (and the water is cheap, less than $1). I'd say refillable water bottles are pointless in Japan. We took just regular plastic water bottles to fill in the airports stateside. Japan is so efficient in a lot of things, but they do generate so much plastic waste with all the single serve everything there. They seem to have a really good recycling program though!

 

[platamama]

We leave for Japan in 48 hours, I hope I have prepared everything.
Any last minute tips? We have Ubigi on all our phones, I've added Suica card to my phone (everyone else wants a card that they'll keep as souvenirs). We have passports, I have printouts of everything we pre-booked. We usually carry refillable water bottles with us, but should we leave those at home?

This is not Japan-specific, but I've taken to making photocopies of our passports because I've read that if you lose your passport it's easier to get it replaced if you have a photocopy. Not that I've ever had any personal experience with that though. I've also started to pack scissors, a Sharpie, and clear packing tape into the check-in bag just because I find those items come in handy unexpectedly.

You've put so much effort into planning this trip, I hope you and your family have a wonderful time!

 

[becauseimnew]

There was hardly anywhere to refill water bottles in Japan. I think we maybe saw one water fountain, maybe two, our entire trip. And there are vending machines everywhere (and the water is cheap, less than $1). I'd say refillable water bottles are pointless in Japan. We took just regular plastic water bottles to fill in the airports stateside. Japan is so efficient in a lot of things, but they do generate so much plastic waste with all the single serve everything there. They seem to have a really good recycling program though!

Thanks, we'll leave them at home.

This is not Japan-specific, but I've taken to making photocopies of our passports because I've read that if you lose your passport it's easier to get it replaced if you have a photocopy. Not that I've ever had any personal experience with that though. I've also started to pack scissors, a Sharpie, and clear packing tape into the check-in bag just because I find those items come in handy unexpectedly.

You've put so much effort into planning this trip, I hope you and your family have a wonderful time!

Thanks for the reminder, we usually take pictures of our passports but I need to just scan in a picture to my google drive.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

This is not Japan-specific, but I've taken to making photocopies of our passports because I've read that if you lose your passport it's easier to get it replaced if you have a photocopy. Not that I've ever had any personal experience with that though. I've also started to pack scissors, a Sharpie, and clear packing tape into the check-in bag just because I find those items come in handy unexpectedly.

You've put so much effort into planning this trip, I hope you and your family have a wonderful time!

From experience I learned duct tape can be a lifesaver. I always have a mini roll in my suitcase along with a sharpie and scissors.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I have a few Chase biz cards with offers for 15% back for Instacart business. Has anyone used one on personal Instacart account and had it trigger?

 

[newski_mom]

Just a reminder if anyone else signed up for the Tripadvisor plus that doc posted about back in March. I signed up for the free year thinking I'd never use it because I'd never booked anything through tripadvisor in the past.

Last night, I was booking excursions for our Alaska cruise and I was doing it through tripadvisor since some of my Chase cards had an offer for using them and when I signed in, it gave an automatic 10% off of the excursion price for being a tripadvisor plus member. I booked an excursion for the 5 of us @$150 each, so it ended up saving $75 just from that!

A lot of times, I don't sign up for things like that because I figure I'll never use them, but very glad I did this time!

 

[Snow L]

DoC is reporting that the 3rd quarter categories for Freedom/Freedom Flex are gas stations, EV charging, live entertainment. Just great, since Discover's 3rd qtr is also gas stations. Why do they always do this, lol.

Live entertainment includes amusement parks. I need to buy Disneyland tickets. Do we think third party ticket sellers like Under cover tourist will be included?

 

[NewbieMom]

Any tips/tricks for awards bookings for a family of 5? Whenever I've looked at using points (which is often on shorter notice than I'd like) the rooms that fit 5 are either crazy high points or simply not available. To be fair, that's true on cash bookings, too (that darn 3rd kid makes travel so much more expensive!!), but it seems like the problem is heightened when I switch from cash to points. I can usually get a room at a cheaper chain that has the sleeper sofa, but once I start looking at a nice hotel instead of just a place to lay our heads, things get difficult.

Are there chains that are better/worse about 5th sleepers? We've got a stack of URs and would be good to open chain specific credit cards to earn nights/points, if we knew which family of hotels we were targeting.

Starting to think about Hawaii summer 2024 and would love any suggestions to tackle it.

Family of 5 here also. This is more niche, but we've found value in the Wyndham/Vacasa set of properties. We've stayed in a Wyndham 2 bedroom in Kauai & Big Island. I find it more comfortable to have kitchen/laundry and more space, than the traditional hotel rooms. Wyndham has a card through Barclays, and Cap1 also transfers to Wyndham so the Venture series could get you several SUBs.

 

[NewbieMom]

I went a little crazy last night and made reservations for DH & I to go to Bora Bora in 2024. Originally I was targeting the Maldives, but DH was concerned over how far that is from the US, so I started looking at Bora Bora instead. I have us flying out on UA Polaris lie flat J in the Dreamliner, staying 2 nts in Papeete (day trip to Moorea?), 2 nts at Conrad Bora Bora, and 5 nts at St. Regis Bora Bora - all booked on points & miles for a trip that so far rings in just shy of $25K. I am still trying to figure out the flight home, and that has me a little nervous...

That has us in French Polynesia for 9 nights and I'm wondering if that's too long? Tagging @wanderlust7 and @calypso726 since Calypso was just there and Wanderlust was there last year. Thoughts/advice?

We are looking at the same trip! inspired by the pics and trip reports posted here
We're actually thinking about staying 2 weeks since it's such a long flight.

I couldn’t find availability at the Hilton Moorea either. We stayed at an Airbnb with a lovely view called Bluebay. Owner also has a very similar unit next door called Bellevue.

We did need XPF, but we also went to Raiatea and Huahine, which are a little more off the beaten path. The H2O snorkeling tour was half cc deposit, half in XPF day off. Maybe they would have taken the entire amount by cc in advance, I didn’t ask. Food trucks and little souvenir stands might be cash only. If you go to Snack Mahana on Moorea, that is cash only.

What did you do in Raiatea and Huahine? Since we're looking at spending 2 weeks, I think we have enough time to island hop.

 

[platamama]

We are looking at the same trip! inspired by the pics and trip reports posted here
We're actually thinking about staying 2 weeks since it's such a long flight.


What did you do in Raiatea and Huahine? Since we're looking at spending 2 weeks, I think we have enough time to island hop.

There’s a lot to do on Moorea if you can fit it in. We enjoyed our day at Coco Beach, which is a restaurant on an island. We also hiked to the viewing platform on Magic Mountain. Driving around the island was fun too.

After looking at the itinerary I had, I've come to the same conclusion that more time is the right choice. And it looks like I should allot more time for Moorea, especially because I've found a new item to add to my bucket list: snorkeling with whales! So that means I need to change when we go. Thank goodness for refundable points bookings!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Once again I find myself 357 pages behind, LOL. So as I sit on page 285....

However, for many/most of us on this thread, it couldn’t be further from the truth of what works for us. Those of us who have been on this thread for a long time know that there is no wrong way to participate in this hobby. What works for one person and their goals simply may not work for another.

The first rule of this hobby is there’s no wrong way. Congrats on the awesome stash and the upcoming purchase! More than once I’ve thought about cashing out to buy more DVC. Haven’t done it, but it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t.

THIS THIS THIS! While I get a lot from the 10x group on FB, I DESPISE the fact you "have to" follow THEIR course or you're doing this all wrong. I get that there are rules, like Chase, first and biz cards, etc. But everyone's needs are different. SW does NOTHING for me. So I don't even look at SW. I used the 5/24 spot last year on the HH card! But I had been waiting for a great SUB on that card, AND I knew I was dropping back under soon. Hacking is NOT OSFA!

lol side note on this, what do you think of Invisalign? I'm getting it soon, either that or something like Smile Direct/Byte where you do it at home instead of at the ortho. I can't decide which, but leaning towards Invisalign, so it's supervised and done correctly. Any input appreciated! I'll also get a new card to pay for it (probably CIU), but I doubt my travel hacking will be 1/4 as good as yours lol.

I was planning on doing invisalign. Until I learned you can't chew gum! LOL. I was going in for my tray fitting appt, and that's when I switched to old school braces! I'm so happy I did. I hated when I needed to wear my trays for 2 weeks after getting my braces off. I hate wearing them at night too, LOL. I had braces as a kid for 3 years, and they wanted to do another 3 years, but I was 19 and wanted them off! So I was scared to get them at 41. It was so much faster! My kids are both in braces right now. So all kinds of spends are being met. That reminds me, I should have changed the billing to my new Hilton Biz. DOH!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Well seems I can't access the Churning reddit anymore. I can't find it either. Can someone add me? I'm AimClickShoot on reddit. I have the dis group but the basics churning I can't find.

 

[punkin]

Well seems I can't access the Churning reddit anymore. I can't find it either. Can someone add me? I'm AimClickShoot on reddit. I have the dis group but the basics churning I can't find.

I think I'm locked out as well. I wasn't on it very often, but I liked the access.

 

[afan]

Well seems I can't access the Churning reddit anymore. I can't find it either. Can someone add me? I'm AimClickShoot on reddit. I have the dis group but the basics churning I can't find.

I think I'm locked out as well. I wasn't on it very often, but I liked the access.

Both them ans awardtravel have stayed private while the other subs I follow that went dark foe the 3 days came back this morning. No idea what their plan is but from what I'd read it wasn't to stay private.

I tried to go on flyertalk to see if I could find anything out or read about stuff but the way they have their cc stuf set up is too convoluted to me. Great if you are looking for a specific bank or card but just news and stuff no.

I'm on reddit way less which I guess is good and their goal but I feel like a huge part of one of my hobbies is now gone with them still dark.

 

[lsutigers03]

Well seems I can't access the Churning reddit anymore. I can't find it either. Can someone add me? I'm AimClickShoot on reddit. I have the dis group but the basics churning I can't find.

It has been set to private in protest to Reddit's API changes.