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

[Jax1023]

Interesting opinions. We are scheduled to skip Florence. What did you like about it?

Florence was just beautiful. I also felt we got the best and most reasonably priced food there. I don’t know that there was a particular thing that made me love it, it just felt more Italian and less tourist trap.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Did you get points? I’d probably take points over a breakfast. I like eating at DL lol we normally wait until like 10am and get lunch food. I never adjust to the time difference. One day I got Bengal beef skewers at 9am when they opened, there was no line lol

Probably so. I feel like also maybe there was an option for a free drink at Starbucks and we probably took that? I remember I banked a ton of Hilton points on that trip because there was like a triple points promotion going on so I got something like 40 Hilton points per dollar haha. The cash rate was only $125/night so I paid that instead of using points, which I'm glad I did.

And omg those skewers are so good. I can't remember if we got a beef one or not but I know we got a pork belly one. We bought them right before we left the park and walked back to our room to take a nap. we were walking down the sidewalk eating that and the rice by hand haha.

 

[Jax1023]

LOL-I had heard that Venice was smelly and old and full of tourists so I was worried it was going to be NoLA of Europe. When we went it was lovely and I can't wait to return. That said, it was December and I can understand how it would be crowded and stinky in the summer. Having been to Italy in July and December, no way would I return in summer. Winter or spring? Definitely.

I loved Florence too but Rome, meh. I could never return to Rome and be fine, which is sad because I thought I'd love it.



I loved Florence for the art (David is truly awe inspiring and the Uffizi is so huge and overwhelming but full of amazing things), shopping (gloves and jackets and boots oh my!), and it's walkable and charming. Oh, and the food, too, of course.

We were in Venice in October. It rained the entire time we were there, so I think that strongly colored my opinion. It was very smelly with all the rain, everything was flooded. I felt like everything was a tourist trap and there was no part of Venice where you could get away from the tourist area.

 

[speedyfishy]

And omg those skewers are so good. I can't remember if we got a beef one or not but I know we got a pork belly one. We bought them right before we left the park and walked back to our room to take a nap. we were walking down the sidewalk eating that and the rice by hand haha

The skewers are the best. We make them at home sometimes but it isn’t the same lol

 

[Judique]

Random thought - My REI credit card is issued by US Bank. No annual fee. It's $20 to join REI, depending on how badly you want to establish a relationship with USBank, may be a pathway.

The Radisson card is also issued by US Bank.

 

[WVMomof3]

I only mildly follow the gift card thread. Can you tell me if buying giftcards count for your Sams Plus membership rewards(spend $500 get $10). What about VGCs?

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

We were in Venice in October. It rained the entire time we were there, so I think that strongly colored my opinion. It was very smelly with all the rain, everything was flooded. I felt like everything was a tourist trap and there was no part of Venice where you could get away from the tourist area.

I've read to avoid Venice in the fall for the rain and flooding reasons. If we ever get back to Italy (first trip scheduled for November) I'd love to go in the springtime.

 

[amalone1013]

This must be a record... used biz mailer for Citi AA Biz 2 on Friday, instant approval. Paperwork envelope came yesterday!

 

[smmco]

You guys weren't joking about the Barclay Biz website being a piece a crap. I paid car registrations three days ago and transactions aren't showing up at all. It's a good thing I don't want to keep this card in my wallet. The website would drive me bonkers.

On a positive note, my 250.00 BCP credit posted two days after meeting spend. I've gotten all three Amex bonus within a couple of days of meeting spend. I don't MS on any cards Amex or otherwise. I stick to strictly organic spend. Hopefully, I can stay in good standing with Amex and remain out of pop up land.

 

[Natgridenergy]

What are you guys using for a high yield online bank account?

 

[Haley R]

Just wondering how the 'flexible points and money' work? Can you add points to lower the cash after the initial booking? I'm an honors member since way back but don't have any points right now and have never booked anything there except with cash.

I’m not sure if someone else has already responded to you but as long as the same room type is available (not sold out) you can add points to your reservation. I just used the chat on the Hilton website and they were able to do it for me that way

 

[platamama]

I liked Niagara Falls, but just because of the falls. We spent like 8 hours there.

And unpopular opinion- Venice. Loved Florence, would go back to Rome and Tuscany in second, but Venice to me was just blah.

LOL-I had heard that Venice was smelly and old and full of tourists so I was worried it was going to be NoLA of Europe. When we went it was lovely and I can't wait to return. That said, it was December and I can understand how it would be crowded and stinky in the summer. Having been to Italy in July and December, no way would I return in summer. Winter or spring? Definitely.

I loved Florence too but Rome, meh. I could never return to Rome and be fine, which is sad because I thought I'd love it.

I loved Florence for the art (David is truly awe inspiring and the Uffizi is so huge and overwhelming but full of amazing things), shopping (gloves and jackets and boots oh my!), and it's walkable and charming. Oh, and the food, too, of course.

I loved Florence too! On our 11 nt trip to Italy last June, I allotted 5 nights for Florence and it wasn't enough. Like @tink1970 I would be ok not returning to Rome, but very glad I was there once. I thought Venice was fine, and although it was stinky and crowded, I loved riding through the canals and wandering the maze of crooked streets. St. Mark's Square and the Basilica area are just nuts, but once you get away from there I think Venice is charming and I'd go back. But Florence, wow, I definitely want to go back there. We arrived there on a Saturday evening, and talented musicians (and full-on orchestras) were playing in the streets, and there were lots of people but it didn't feel frenetic or rushed. Our best meals were in Florence for sure, and we bought some really nice leather pieces. We also chanced upon watching an annual parade celebrating calcio storico go right by our hotel, with people all dressed up in medieval regalia playing instruments. It just felt magical there.

I saw this on another blog and thought it would be fun to do here. Name one place you've travelled to that you wouldn't return. For me it would be the Bahamas. Been there, done that. Not impressed. There are much better islands in the Carribean to visit such as Turks and Caicos, Aruba and Grand Cayman.

The blog responders said :Thailand, Dubai, Qatar, Bahamas and Ireland.

Niagara Falls, Jamaica, LA (unfortunately DH's family lives out there so we go fairly frequently), Cancun, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Belfast.

 

[smmco]

Just wondering how the 'flexible points and money' work? Can you add points to lower the cash after the initial booking? I'm an honors member since way back but don't have any points right now and have never booked anything there except with cash.

If you use points and cash it's non-refundable.

 

[Haley R]

If you use points and cash it's non-refundable.

I booked a points and cash rate at the Hilton Tokyo bay and was able to cancel when I saw the same room at a lower rate. I always make sure I book a refundable rate though

 

[platamama]

This must be a record... used biz mailer for Citi AA Biz 2 on Friday, instant approval. Paperwork envelope came yesterday!

Mine too! I've already forgotten how many days from now I should expect the actual card.

 

[amalone1013]

Mine too! I've already forgotten how many days from now I should expect the actual card.

Same. I just remember that last time it took something like 10-14 days just for the paperwork!

 

[bernina]

Just a few thoughts as I sit by the Turtle Pond pool at OKW (drink in hand of course) waiting for laundry to finish...

I totally agree with @wendow, for summer trips I think I would definitely book an interior corridor DVC resort like Wilderness, BLT, etc. This heat is just too much to be adding additional resort walking on top of the parks. It was only about a 5 min walk from our villa to the laundry but I’m sweating bullets. The same with walking to and from resort bus stops. The last time we stayed at OKW we were near the hospitality house so I didn’t realize how spread out things are (I knew the resort was huge but figured each “area” was compact, not so!). Those 10 mile long AKV interior corridors are sounding good right about now!

I have no complaints about the resort, it’s lovely. Our villa is not the best as it’s a corner and we hear busses all night (beep, beep, beep as they lower to let people on/off), but the remodel is so nice and fresh and clean. 2 queen beds are great too. If we had a car or it was cooler I’d definitely stay again.

We decided to scrap our FP for today and DH and DD are at the main pool. We plan to pop into HS for some evening FP and hopefully a bit less heat.

 

[amalone1013]

Arrggghhhh. For some reason I couldn't get our Discover Savings to validate with my Ally account, I wanted to move most of the savings because of the rate change. No problem I thought, I will just daisy chain it back through my Chase account. So transferred in the money, today I went to transfer to Discover since it's no longer pending with Chase... they locked my account.

 

[bernina]

I’m sure most know but since we have some new DVC members I thought I’d post the link. Real time status and alerts of washers and dryers at Disney are available online. It’s the little things...

Edited to add. Sorry for sideways pic. The way to fix it (at least on iPhone) is to go into the picture, rotate it (doesn’t matter which way) and save it. Then go back and edit and rotate it back to normal. Then upload. For some reason that works on my phone. Too lazy to do for this pic though.

 

[platamama]

Arrggghhhh. For some reason I couldn't get our Discover Savings to validate with my Ally account, I wanted to move most of the savings because of the rate change. No problem I thought, I will just daisy chain it back through my Chase account. So transferred in the money, today I went to transfer to Discover since it's no longer pending with Chase... they locked my account.

Wait, who locked it? Chase? Are you hitting up against daily limits?