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

[needsomesun]

CONGRATS on your approval. If you used a DISchurners link for CIU, Make sure to let that person know. If you were able to cross-support from a spouse, no worries.

Able to use DH's link through his CIC!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Able to use DH's link through his CIC!

Even better!! Double congrats! That’s a nice haul out of 1 card

 

[smmco]

I’ve never paid depart taxes flying out of US at least not on AA. I know BA charges fees. The depart taxes out of London are 175.00 for coach and around 300.00 for business. If your connecting through lhr you don’t have to pay the tax. Just don’t lose your original boarding passes if your flying in on another airline. We learned that expensive 1200 dollar lesson.

 

[smmco]

Just to add we liked premier inn when our kids were little. It’s the only place I could find in London that offered three beds at a reasonable price. We’ve stayed at premier inn at Aldgate twice. It’s walking distance to Tower of London. It’s a newer hotel Less the 10 years old.
Now that our kids are adult size we need two rooms. It’s stil the most reasonable. We paid 140 usd per night per room.

 

[mmmears]

The AF on my Amex Plat posted. Any advice as to when to call in and ask about a retention offer (or any advice on what to say?)

And if that doesn't work, is there something I can PC it to? I don't want to anger the AMEX gods at the moment.

 

[Albort]

The AF on my Amex Plat posted. Any advice as to when to call in and ask about a retention offer (or any advice on what to say?)

And if that doesn't work, is there something I can PC it to? I don't want to anger the AMEX gods at the moment.

Amex Plat retention has been pretty generous lately. saw a couple of 50k with no point spendings, saw a few $500 statement credit. there are some xxk points for xx spendings as well too.

 

[mmmears]

Amex Plat retention has been pretty generous lately. saw a couple of 50k with no point spendings, saw a few $500 statement credit. there are some xxk points for xx spendings as well too.

DH got that one (the $50K for nothing) but he's been a long time customer and puts decent spend on his. Mine has had spend each month (I try for a least a few hundred dollars but don't always get that high) so I'm going to try but not assume I'll get anything. Also the first time he called they offered him nothing, but then a week later gave him the 50K but I'm not sure why the timing mattered.

Thank you for giving me hope. I'll keep it if they give me a decent offer.

 

[LB002]

We will only have eight full days so one island may be best? Thought about maybe a day trip or something elsewhere but I have to start working on that research.

We looked at island-hopping on our 9 night (7 full day) trip, but there is plenty to do n Oahu and we wanted to make sure we had down time too, so we decided to stay put. We are staying the first 5 nights at the Hilton Hawaiian Village (on points) to do some more activity-based days on the east side of the island, and then 4 days at Aulani where we plan to mainly chill out. Of course, some people prefer a more go-go vacation, so it is all up to personal preference!

 

[elgerber]

We looked at island-hopping on our 9 night (7 full day) trip, but there is plenty to do n Oahu and we wanted to make sure we had down time too, so we decided to stay put. We are staying the first 5 nights at the Hilton Hawaiian Village (on points) to do some more activity-based days on the east side of the island, and then 4 days at Aulani where we plan to mainly chill out. Of course, some people prefer a more go-go vacation, so it is all up to personal preference!

Thank you for your input (and other hotel idea) I'd love to know what activities on Oahu are favorites of everyones. I will keep looking at DisChurners to see if anyone post some more stuff

 

[LB002]

I am interested in perspectives on booking travel insurance vs. relying on CSR insurance.

I typically do not book insurance because we drive or fly SW (easy to cancel/change) and stay DVC or at hotels that can be cancelled. However, as I am looking at putting down $$$ for an AK cruise that cannot be easily (or at all?) cancelled/rescheduled, I started looking at insurance options. Thanks for any feedback!

 

[LB002]

Thank you for your input (and other hotel idea)

The HHV gets mixed reviews (it is a large resort), but we are able to stay on points (no resort fee on points stays) and will apply the Aspire resort credit to cover the parking fees, so it is a free stay for us. As DH said to me (sarcastically) we will be "slumming it" in Waikiki instead of burning 2 years DVC points at a full 9 nights at Aulani.

Things on our list (may not get to all):
Hike Diamond Head
North Shore
Polynesian Cultural Center
Pearl Harbod
Swap Meet
Hanauma Bay
Waimea Falls hike
Makapu'u lighthouse hike
Dole Plantation
sea kayaking
Luau (Aulani? Paradise cove?)
Whale watch cruise and/or outrigger canoeing to see sea turtles
DH scuba trip

 

[wanderlust7]

I am interested in perspectives on booking travel insurance vs. relying on CSR insurance.

I typically do not book insurance because we drive or fly SW (easy to cancel/change) and stay DVC or at hotels that can be cancelled. However, as I am looking at putting down $$$ for an AK cruise that cannot be easily (or at all?) cancelled/rescheduled, I started looking at insurance options. Thanks for any feedback!

I always get separate insurance for cruises. Main concern being medical evacuation off the ship. Second concern would be missing the ship (missed connection coverage). Even though we get there at least the day before, I always worry about the worst case scenarios.

The HHV gets mixed reviews (it is a large resort), but we are able to stay on points (no resort fee on points stays) and will apply the Aspire resort credit to cover the parking fees, so it is a free stay for us. As DH said to me (sarcastically) we will be "slumming it" in Waikiki instead of burning 2 years DVC points at a full 9 nights at Aulani.

Things on our list (may not get to all):
Hike Diamond Head
North Shore
Polynesian Cultural Center
Pearl Harbod
Swap Meet
Hanauma Bay
Waimea Falls hike
Makapu'u lighthouse hike
Dole Plantation
sea kayaking
Luau (Aulani? Paradise cove?)
Whale watch cruise and/or outrigger canoeing to see sea turtles
DH scuba trip

I'll add a couple. On your way to the North Shore, you can see sea turtles at Laniakea Beach. And if you have time, Lanikai Beach in Kailua is gorgeous. Names are kind of similar, pretty different places, lol.

 

[mmmears]

I am interested in perspectives on booking travel insurance vs. relying on CSR insurance.

I typically do not book insurance because we drive or fly SW (easy to cancel/change) and stay DVC or at hotels that can be cancelled. However, as I am looking at putting down $$$ for an AK cruise that cannot be easily (or at all?) cancelled/rescheduled, I started looking at insurance options. Thanks for any feedback!

I buy insurance for the cruises since they can't be canceled at a certain point. I'm ok losing one night of a hotel cost if I have to cancel at the last minute, but not the price of an entire cruise plus excursions. We look online, but can get the same price at AAA so usually just end up buying from them (same insurance company, too). We haven't needed to use it, though, so I can't say much about that. I think one doctor bill on the ship once for DD who had strep, and between our medical and the travel insurance it was covered, but it wasn't all that much to begin with.

ETA - we do our best to get decent air flight (medical) coverage since many of those ports aren't located in places that aren't easily accessible.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I am. I can try and check for you. What are you looking at?

Awesome!
Bna-mdw 10/31

bna-Mco 10/19 OR 10/23

thanks!

 

[elgerber]

I always get separate insurance for cruises. Main concern being medical evacuation off the ship. Second concern would be missing the ship (missed connection coverage). Even though we get there at least the day before, I always worry about the worst case scenarios.



I'll add a couple. On your way to the North Shore, you can see sea turtles at Laniakea Beach. And if you have time, Lanikai Beach in Kailua is gorgeous. Names are kind of similar, pretty different places, lol.

Thank you! I am copying and pasting all of these in a word doc.

I am leary of anything on small boats in the water, I get terrible motion sickness on water. The patch works on a large cruise ship, but not sure it will be enough on small wavy boats.

 

[calypso726]

I’ve learned from @calypso726 that this hobby affords us opportunities to splurge on some crazy things.

I am most pleased to be the one that adds a bit of crazy to this thread LOL I'm always game for something crazy!

 

[EACarlson]

Do Chase prequalified offers bypass 5/24? Got a notification when I logged in but IIRC only the green starred offers bypass.

 

[570traveler]

Awesome!
Bna-mdw 10/31

bna-Mco 10/19 OR 10/23

thanks!

looks like it needs to be a round trip booked. I put in 10/23 to 10/31 and only 10/31 shows kids fly free fares. If you have a set of round trip dates I’d gladly check.

 

[570traveler]

Awesome!
Bna-mdw 10/31

bna-Mco 10/19 OR 10/23

thanks!

Looks like leaving bna on 10/30 or 11/2 would have Kids fly free ($36 fare) with return on 11/6 ($36) 11/7 ($187) or 11/9 ($36) all with kids fly free.
Discount den savings of $40.61 each way. Subtotal was $71.98
Hope this helps!

 

[Ava]

Just applied for a new CIP (using DW's referral link) and got the "we need more time to review your request" message. Fingers crossed!