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

[speedyfishy]

For those that have booked with AA miles (@SouthFayetteFan, @speedyfishy) a Disney hotel have you just called to get the reservation number to enter into MDE? Any problems with that? I know there has been chatter about it and I looked on dischurners but am probably looking in the wrong place and can't see the answer.

It would only be for one night, as we would start DVC next day but I am weighing out if it is worth it to blow the 107,000 miles for one night at Grand Floridian or if I should just cash out my AA points.

For those that are familiar with Grand Floridian: do all the rooms at GF have a pull down/trundle bed? If I book for 5 will I get one with that anyway or should I pay another 1000 points to have it? Basically 2 queens theme park view is 1000 points less than a 2 queens plus trundle garden view. Not sure which to book.

I just call the normal Disney world number and tell them I booked through a third party and don’t have that number. They look me up by date, last name, and maybe email?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

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[1st*toright]

For those that are familiar with Grand Floridian: do all the rooms at GF have a pull down/trundle bed? If I book for 5 will I get one with that anyway or should I pay another 1000 points to have it? Basically 2 queens theme park view is 1000 points less than a 2 queens plus trundle garden view. Not sure which to book.

I've stayed at the GF a few times, and the rooms can be pretty variable. I haven't always been in 2 queen rooms, so I don't know for sure (I'm sure you could call the hotel and verify) but I wouldn't count on having the trundle unless you book it that way. The theme park rooms at the GF are neat because you can see the fireworks, and the teeny tiny little castle in the distance, but unless you are sure that you will be in the room for fireworks, I wouldn't put a premium on that view, personally. If you don't mind watching from outside, there is a nice spot by the marina where they pipe the music in and you get a nice (but off center) view of the fireworks.

 

[Judique]

Access to an Ethopian food truck might almost make it worth living in the DC area and dealing with the traffic.

Almost.

Ha. The traffic. Today we had a small plane crash on route 50 hitting a car. A car chase on the interstate in Laurel area where the car tried to cross the median and u turn in the opposite direction, was hit by an 18 wheeler and had at least one fatality. And another car chase in the Laurel area where the police cornered a car in a court and opened fire. Tomorrow I travel these same roads to pick up my grandchildren from their preschool as Mom is gone to Oregon for a wedding.

 

[ten6mom]

Agree with @gottalovepluto. I was talking about Japan next year with someone at work the other day and another coworker said he needed to get married to have a double income. He wasn't trying to be snarky or anything, but I'm sure they all think my husband must make a ton of money with the vacations we take since they all know what I make (publicly available salaries). I wanted to say that I hadn't spent anything on this trip yet other than the $120 or so on taxes for the flights.

I just started adding up projected Japan costs (assuming flights and hotels are paid for). So far I have JR passes, DL tickets in the event I cannot figure out how to charge them to the room, MariKart, TeamLab Borderless, International Drivers licenses (for MariKart), and Skyliner tickets. That's already over $1000. Bleh!

I have lost it upthread but did I just read that someone managed to pay for a trip to DisneyLAND using points? Including tickets and such? I don't know if I've been asleep to have missed such information but can someone point me in the right direction?

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Does anyone have experience using Chase points for excursions on an Alaskan cruise? We're not going until next summer, but I'm curious how far in advance they pop up to get scheduled. We've never cruised, but we're traveling with family that is nervous that didn't arrange and book all our excursions months ago. Has anyone had problems scheduling a common excursion (we're looking for whale watching,) closer to sailing?

I booked thru the Chase portal for 2 excursions and booked a 3rd separately but on my CSR then used URs as a statement credit. Booked Chilkoot Charters privately, booked Juneau Whale watch (Mendenhall Glacier Tour & Whale Watch) and a floatplane excursion thru the UR portal. I think I booked about 6 months before for 2 of them, 4 months for the last one. Ended up canceling the floatplane due to multiple crashes last May but loved the 2 other excursions.

 

[Alexle2007]

Hi @tink1970 For your upcoming Qantas flights do you know how you received the email about them? I have a Qantas account set-up but I never receive emails from them. ANA I get all of the time although I have no desire to go to Asia.

 

[bernina]

Bank bonus info:

SoFi is offering another nice bonus. For those that don’t know, they call themselves a cash management app and currently have 2% APY and no fees (that I’ve found)

I opened a basic money account this summer for myself and then P2 joined with my support link. We both received a $50 bonus for opening and I received another $50 for the support link. This $150 just about covered the cost of our new cooler after a raccoon got into ours

DOC just published that they have a bonus for opening a free investment account with them. Invest $25 and get $50 in one of many (decent) stocks. It says you must use a support link to get the offer (although I logged onto the SoFi app and received the same offer so a link may not be required if you already have a money account and use the app).

Took me about 5 minutes to setup and move $25 from my money account to the new investment account.

 

[ten6mom]

@SouthFayetteFan I just tried posting something on reddit that didn't belong in any of the posts you have and now I don't see it. Is it lost in cyberspace?
And if you "upvote" something it turns the "up" arrow red, right? And that's how you know you read it already? Do you have to upvote all the "children" too or just the "parent" comment?\

EDITED TO ADD: Just got slapped by the Auto-Moderator bot thing. Eeeeeek!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

@SouthFayetteFan I just tried posting something on reddit that didn't belong in any of the posts you have and now I don't see it. Is it lost in cyberspace?
And if you "upvote" something it turns the "up" arrow red, right? And that's how you know you read it already? Do you have to upvote all the "children" too or just the "parent" comment?\

EDITED TO ADD: Just got slapped by the Auto-Moderator bot thing. Eeeeeek!

We don’t allow new top level posts. Otherwise it would become a mess quickly.

Your post seems to fit perfectly here on this thread. I’d just ask here. The items we’re pushing towards DISchurners are more advanced in nature and things we want to protect from google searches and such.

Also - I upvote pretty much everything on DISchurners

 

[GlamMistress]

Since we have so many e bags fans here- does anyone have the piazza daybag?

DH and I are taking an adult only Disney trip this fall, which means I need to carry my massive diaper bag. My current every day bag is a massive leather tote- not an ideal Disney bag

DH is trying to convince me to go bagless- but ponchos and my phone and my sunglasses. And I like wearing athletic shorts which don’t have pockets.

So tldr: reccomend a Disney park bag to hold ponchos, a water bottle and my phone, a few credit cards and a chapstick.

https://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/anti-theft-medium-crossbody/342289?productid=10569583
Will work like a charm.

 

[GlamMistress]

It would only be for one night, as we would start DVC next day but I am weighing out if it is worth it to blow the 107,000 miles for one night at Grand Floridian or if I should just cash out my AA points.

For 120,000 American miles, DH and I flew RT from Cincinnati to Barcelona. That is a lot of valuable air miles to use on a one night stay imo.

On another topic - @tink1970 - do you know when DCL will announce the Jan/Feb 2021 cruise itineraries? I find it odd there is no speculation thread on the DCL forum now.

 

[Haley R]

I loooooove period dramas. Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, The Crown... sign me up. Even though I have no skill for sewing or anything, I've always been really into historical costume design. So all of those shows are fascinating to me to see what they're dressing them in.

I’ve never seen any of those lol. I like awkward comedies like the office and parks and rec. I also like friends, riverdale, and vampire diaries.

The Dora movie wasn’t too bad. Definitely had its cheesy moments but some things were really funny

 

[Alexle2007]

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[tink1970]

For 120,000 American miles, DH and I flew RT from Cincinnati to Barcelona. That is a lot of valuable air miles to use on a one night stay imo.

On another topic - @tink1970 - do you know when DCL will announce the Jan/Feb 2021 cruise itineraries? I find it odd there is no speculation thread on the DCL forum now.

I think the fall releases for Jan-May are the most anticlimactic (unless there's a HI release). IIRC it's usually in October but it has varied from the middle to the end a bit over time. I agree, there hasn't been much hype (yet) on the DCL thread.

 

[Jax1023]

https://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/anti-theft-medium-crossbody/342289?productid=10569583
Will work like a charm.

Any chance you think I could shove an iPad in there for the flight?

 

[tink1970]

My Good Deed For the Week (I aim low-weekly v. daily) was to tell my brother, who is a Titanium Elite with Bonvoy because...

https://www.vocativ.com/356376/sportswriters-love-marriotts-more-than-you-love-anything/
that he could convert Marriott points into Skymiles (or United or American) and how. He was amazed that it was possible. I really am the smart sibling...

 

[ten6mom]

This might be a very basic flight reward redemption question but since I've never done it before, here it is.

I am flying ANA from LAX>NRT, but flying home from KIX>LAX (at least that was the plan). However, ANA does not have direct flights from KIX... I'd have to stop at HND and go on to LAX from there.

I'm not near ready to book YET but when I do, does adding that stop still count as all one ticket, or will that be two separate tickets? I mean, can I still get home from KIX to LAX, even accounting for the stop, one one reward ticket?

Am I even making sense?

 

[GlamMistress]

Any chance you think I could shove an iPad in there for the flight?

I have an ipad mini and it fits very easily. How big of an ipad do you have? The jumbo one won't fit.

There's actually a built in tablet slot with padding and everything.

 

[kmc8826]

Probably extremely limited scope DP for anyone who booked a Delta Vacation they did not completely pay off with miles AND have an Arrival Plus: the charge I made on it did code as travel. Initially it did not (and I posted that it did not), but I happened to check today and it was on there (and promptly erased).

I also got the Plastiq promotion of spend $2000. My mortgage is $1850 but I guess it is not the worst thing in the world to pay a little more. I will have it paid off June 2028 but every little bit helps. DH also got the same promotion on his account. So now I guess I will be super good and pay another $2000 on our equity loan.

I might actually end up keeping our Arrivals another year. The ability to use with mortgages and Plastiq and then erase charges is tempting. Decisions...