CyndiLouWho
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2013
Yes, they will. But 24 months I think. I didn't get the highest speed because I'm not getting used to that when I know I won't pay "regular" price for it when this offer is done.
I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)
- Thread starter SouthFayetteFan
- Start date
- Status
CyndiLouWho
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2013
Purchase dilemma. Need new fridge. On sale at Lowe's.
Do I:
Use CSP and PYB (probably would only PYB $500 worth) OR
Use CIC for 5x UR
WWYD?
Do I:
Use CSP and PYB (probably would only PYB $500 worth) OR
Use CIC for 5x UR
WWYD?
I always want more more more URs, so I would vote for the CIC.
FloridaNative8
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 31, 2012
Looking for my next MSR (especially with Christmas coming up so soon), and could use some ideas!
Stats:
P1
12/2019 - CIP
9/2020 - Aspire
4/2021 - Hilton Amex Biz
6/2021 - Schwab Plat
P2
9/2019 - CIP
3/2020 - CIP
8/2020 - Aspire
10/2020 - Hilton Amex Biz
1/2021 - CSP (via P1 support link)
I like URs for their flexibility, so I wouldn't mind another UR earning card (got the CSP in August 2018). I got the CS Plat to cash out over 500k of AMEX points I had sitting idle before the 25% bonus went away on that one. Besides a cruise (hopefully) in 2022, we don't have anything else planned for now. I'm hoping to travel to either Bryce Canyon/Zion or maybe Europe next summer, depending on everything going on.
I use my AMEX Gold as my everyday card right now, so I should be in their good graces if that's the best way to go. I probably should PC some of the CIPs I have, but unsure of what strategy would make sense there.
I appreciate any guidance you want to send my way!
Stats:
P1
12/2019 - CIP
9/2020 - Aspire
4/2021 - Hilton Amex Biz
6/2021 - Schwab Plat
P2
9/2019 - CIP
3/2020 - CIP
8/2020 - Aspire
10/2020 - Hilton Amex Biz
1/2021 - CSP (via P1 support link)
I like URs for their flexibility, so I wouldn't mind another UR earning card (got the CSP in August 2018). I got the CS Plat to cash out over 500k of AMEX points I had sitting idle before the 25% bonus went away on that one. Besides a cruise (hopefully) in 2022, we don't have anything else planned for now. I'm hoping to travel to either Bryce Canyon/Zion or maybe Europe next summer, depending on everything going on.
I use my AMEX Gold as my everyday card right now, so I should be in their good graces if that's the best way to go. I probably should PC some of the CIPs I have, but unsure of what strategy would make sense there.
I appreciate any guidance you want to send my way!
How about a CIC? No ding against your 5/24, and I absolutely love the 5% back at office supply stores. I buy $500 Amazon GCs and load them to my Amazon wallet - boom, all Amazon purchases are 5x. My Office Depot carries a huge assortment of GCs, so you could have lots of other options for Christmas spending. Oh, and Dosh (the cash back app), typically has at least 2% cash back at OD and Staples, and occasionally 4% (like this week) or even 6%. As long as I throw in a sharpie or something else small along with my GCs, my cash back has always tracked (knock on wood!)Looking for my next MSR (especially with Christmas coming up so soon), and could use some ideas!
Stats:
P1
12/2019 - CIP
9/2020 - Aspire
4/2021 - Hilton Amex Biz
6/2021 - Schwab Plat
P2
9/2019 - CIP
3/2020 - CIP
8/2020 - Aspire
10/2020 - Hilton Amex Biz
1/2021 - CSP (via P1 support link)
I like URs for their flexibility, so I wouldn't mind another UR earning card (got the CSP in August 2018). I got the CS Plat to cash out over 500k of AMEX points I had sitting idle before the 25% bonus went away on that one. Besides a cruise (hopefully) in 2022, we don't have anything else planned for now. I'm hoping to travel to either Bryce Canyon/Zion or maybe Europe next summer, depending on everything going on.
I use my AMEX Gold as my everyday card right now, so I should be in their good graces if that's the best way to go. I probably should PC some of the CIPs I have, but unsure of what strategy would make sense there.
I appreciate any guidance you want to send my way!
oh! And don’t Chase Biz cards refer to any other Chase biz card? So you and P2 could refer each other.
FreeDiningFanatic
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2015
Trip report: Iceland, Golden Circle and South Coast
Thought I’d share a travel hacking/points based trip report for Iceland. We mostly paid cash for this trip and used it to meet MSRs on several cards. This is my absolute favorite trip of all time and we’ve been to Greece, Paris, London, Hawaii, Mexico, blah, blah, blah. I cannot say enough about the amazing diverse landscape. It’s so green, like you are in Ireland or Hawaii, but yet the temperature is cool. One moment you are at a hot spring or waterfall and a few hours later you are hiking a glacier or floating next to an iceberg. It’s just indescribable. If I could recommend one place to visit for active travelers, this would be it. We also really loved staying in the country. There was just a calm to this trip that was completely different.
Travel party of 6: Myself and husband, 44, our younger kids, 7 and 11, known as “the lils” and our older kids, 23 and 20.
Iceland requires PCR or Antigen testing 72 hours prior to departure, except for children born after 2005. Completed a PCR test at Walgreens on a Friday morning, including for the lils for peace of mind. The Walgreens in our area don’t provide rapid antigen test, only the Naat test (which we’d successfully used for Hawaii). By the time our departure day rolled around, Sunday, only my husband’s results had come in. We had to scramble and do PCR tests at O’hare for $120 each. Total cost= $360.
Pre-planning. We paid about $20 for an Icelandwithaview Guidebook (digital) and Map. I’m not kidding, this simple purchase basically did all of the work for us. It gave us all of the inside information on packing, currency, what sites to visit, where to eat, etc, etc. It was exactly what we needed.
Trip Insurance. I always buy trip medical insurance and did this for our travel party of 6 ($234 total). $250,000 primary medical insurance pp and $1M med evac, + more coverage. My husband and niece were once hospitalized in Mexico and during our hospital stay we met many American and Canadian families without insurance coverage who were facing bills in the tens of thousands of dollars. Over the years, I’ve filed 3 claims with various travel insurance companies and it is ALWAYS a hassle, but I’ve always been glad to have the coverage. Cost= $234
Airfare. We bought economy light tickets on Iceland Air in November 2020 for $421pp. Prior to our trip I read reviews that Iceland Air is very particular about luggage sizes and checking luggage would have cost us $140 pp/RT, so I bought us all some cheapo Rockland luggage which fit their requirements. Glad I did, because they did both weigh our carry-ons and make us test them in their carry-on sizer. Total airfare cost, seat selection + luggage= $2,766
Transportation. Blue Car Rental. This company comes highly, highly recommended and did not disappoint. Because Iceland can be a hazardous place to drive, we took all of the insurance. We also added 4G WIFI router. This was one of the best decisions ever. It was a tiny wireless router we could connect up to 10 devices and portable, so we carried it around with us when we weren’t in the car. Worked brilliantly. We got a seven seater SUV but man was this SUV super, super tiny. Thank goodness for that tiny luggage or we would’ve never all fit! Total transportation and wifi cost= $1486
Accommodations.
We stayed at 3 AirBnbs and one hotel.
Geysir cabin in the Golden Circle
It’s difficult to describe the gratitude we feel for being able to stay in this home away from home. The host welcomes you with little touches that make you feel like family. The location is perfection- we easily visited Geysir, Gulfoss, and Kerid Crater from this location. We dined at Fridheimer greenhouse (must-do! and make reservations) and visited the Efstidalur dairy farm. There are many options to stay in this area- but this was by far our favorite of our 4 stays, including those that cost twice as much. P.S. A washer AND dryer is a huge bonus in Iceland!
Cost per nt: $417, Total cost= $833
Seljalandsfoss tiny homes , 2 cabins
These tiny cabins slept 4 and so we got 2. Waterfalls are in the backdrop and it’s just the perfect setting along the south coast. Seljalandfoss waterfall is just up the street.
Cost per cabin per nt: $383, Total cost= $1530
AirBnB 3
I won’t provide much info on this stay, but we will receive a full refund on our stay. I’ll make a subsequent post about the protections of booking through AirBNB and how that has served us well in the past.
Kvosin Hotel, a Mr and Mrs Smith property, booked through IHG
We had to scramble to find accommodations when we could not continue staying in the AirBNB we booked. Only 4 other AirBNBs were available, and none fit our criteria. I had considered staying at the Kvosin in Reykavik and highly recommend it. Perfect location, boutique brand and mini kitchenette. They even got us rooms right next to each other, even though we booked at the last minute. They checked us in very early, around noon and provided 6 drink coupons at their bar, as well as late checkout. The Mojitos I enjoyed in bed were delicious!!!
Cost per room per night: $446, Total cost= $891
Total accommodation costs for 6 people for 7 nights= $3254 (this is about $1500 cheaper than we expected due to the AirBNB issue)
Free excursions.
I'll attach a few more pics at the end of this post, as there is a limit of 10.
There’s a volcano erupting right now and we were able to hike to the site following our visit to the Blue Lagoon. A 30 minute hike leads you to a fresh lava field. We were almost speechless. It’s breathtaking to behold this freshly drying lava (black, not red). It would have been a several hour hike to make it to the eruption site to see red lava, which was too much for our lils. We were so pumped to see what we saw and it was totally worth it. We finished off our amazing day with some gelato in town!
Paid excursions.
In addition to all of the places we visited for basically free, we also did these paid excursions and they were some of our favorite experiences.
Jökulsárlón Adventure Tour by Ice Lagoon. This is a Zodiak boat tour of a glacial lagoon, where you get up close to the glacier (you can hear it crackling) and ride alongside huge icebergs which have broken off the glacier. We selected this company because it is well reviewed and was one of the few companies that allowed 8 year olds in a Zodiak. They were very, very safety conscious. We suited up in their flotation suits and life jackets and then zipped off in Zodiaks to the glacier. We even got to see seals and grab our own mini icebergs right out of the water. I was really worried about the safety aspect of this trip, but we felt comfortable the whole time. It was a 6 hour round-trip drive to get to Jökulsárlón, and you know it’s worth it when your 8 yo says it was worth the drive.
Total cost= $415
Ice Cave by Katla Volcano by Troll Expeditions. This starts as a ride through moss lava fields on a super jeep. You are dropped off to do a glacial hike to an Ice Cave which sits atop Katla Volcano. You can see the glacier is crusted in volcanic ash. My kids really loved the experience of drinking fresh glacier water dripping inside of the ice cave. It was just totally unique.
Total cost= $940 paid for with 62,656 URs, booked through the Chase Travel Portal
Blue Lagoon. The iconic Iceland tourist experience. I was really worried about the communal showering and changing rooms, because I am a very modest person. But there were plenty of private changing rooms and private showers. We had a very relaxing time and were glad to have spent a few hours here enjoying Iceland’s unique geothermal energy.
Total cost= $252
Gas, groceries, dining, small souvenirs= $1480
Departure. US requires a negative covid test for re-entry. We pre-ordered eMed’s BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag At-home Test 6 pack and brought them with us. Easy proctored testing from our AirBNB with results within 15 minutes.
Total cost= $165
8 day trip to Iceland for 6 people= $10,432
Final thoughts, if this destination is one you’ve considered, I encourage you to do it. I think summer is the perfect time to go- even though it is busier, the weather is beautiful (50s for us) and we got to see seals, puffins, Icelandic horses and sheep roaming the countryside. The days were long with about 16 hours of sunlight, but the cool temps made hiking so enjoyable.
Thanks for the advance recommendations, especially @wanderlust7, @AndreaDM and @mmmears
Thought I’d share a travel hacking/points based trip report for Iceland. We mostly paid cash for this trip and used it to meet MSRs on several cards. This is my absolute favorite trip of all time and we’ve been to Greece, Paris, London, Hawaii, Mexico, blah, blah, blah. I cannot say enough about the amazing diverse landscape. It’s so green, like you are in Ireland or Hawaii, but yet the temperature is cool. One moment you are at a hot spring or waterfall and a few hours later you are hiking a glacier or floating next to an iceberg. It’s just indescribable. If I could recommend one place to visit for active travelers, this would be it. We also really loved staying in the country. There was just a calm to this trip that was completely different.
Travel party of 6: Myself and husband, 44, our younger kids, 7 and 11, known as “the lils” and our older kids, 23 and 20.
Iceland requires PCR or Antigen testing 72 hours prior to departure, except for children born after 2005. Completed a PCR test at Walgreens on a Friday morning, including for the lils for peace of mind. The Walgreens in our area don’t provide rapid antigen test, only the Naat test (which we’d successfully used for Hawaii). By the time our departure day rolled around, Sunday, only my husband’s results had come in. We had to scramble and do PCR tests at O’hare for $120 each. Total cost= $360.
Pre-planning. We paid about $20 for an Icelandwithaview Guidebook (digital) and Map. I’m not kidding, this simple purchase basically did all of the work for us. It gave us all of the inside information on packing, currency, what sites to visit, where to eat, etc, etc. It was exactly what we needed.
Trip Insurance. I always buy trip medical insurance and did this for our travel party of 6 ($234 total). $250,000 primary medical insurance pp and $1M med evac, + more coverage. My husband and niece were once hospitalized in Mexico and during our hospital stay we met many American and Canadian families without insurance coverage who were facing bills in the tens of thousands of dollars. Over the years, I’ve filed 3 claims with various travel insurance companies and it is ALWAYS a hassle, but I’ve always been glad to have the coverage. Cost= $234
Airfare. We bought economy light tickets on Iceland Air in November 2020 for $421pp. Prior to our trip I read reviews that Iceland Air is very particular about luggage sizes and checking luggage would have cost us $140 pp/RT, so I bought us all some cheapo Rockland luggage which fit their requirements. Glad I did, because they did both weigh our carry-ons and make us test them in their carry-on sizer. Total airfare cost, seat selection + luggage= $2,766
Transportation. Blue Car Rental. This company comes highly, highly recommended and did not disappoint. Because Iceland can be a hazardous place to drive, we took all of the insurance. We also added 4G WIFI router. This was one of the best decisions ever. It was a tiny wireless router we could connect up to 10 devices and portable, so we carried it around with us when we weren’t in the car. Worked brilliantly. We got a seven seater SUV but man was this SUV super, super tiny. Thank goodness for that tiny luggage or we would’ve never all fit! Total transportation and wifi cost= $1486
Accommodations.
We stayed at 3 AirBnbs and one hotel.
Geysir cabin in the Golden Circle
It’s difficult to describe the gratitude we feel for being able to stay in this home away from home. The host welcomes you with little touches that make you feel like family. The location is perfection- we easily visited Geysir, Gulfoss, and Kerid Crater from this location. We dined at Fridheimer greenhouse (must-do! and make reservations) and visited the Efstidalur dairy farm. There are many options to stay in this area- but this was by far our favorite of our 4 stays, including those that cost twice as much. P.S. A washer AND dryer is a huge bonus in Iceland!
Cost per nt: $417, Total cost= $833
Seljalandsfoss tiny homes , 2 cabins
These tiny cabins slept 4 and so we got 2. Waterfalls are in the backdrop and it’s just the perfect setting along the south coast. Seljalandfoss waterfall is just up the street.
Cost per cabin per nt: $383, Total cost= $1530
AirBnB 3
I won’t provide much info on this stay, but we will receive a full refund on our stay. I’ll make a subsequent post about the protections of booking through AirBNB and how that has served us well in the past.
Kvosin Hotel, a Mr and Mrs Smith property, booked through IHG
We had to scramble to find accommodations when we could not continue staying in the AirBNB we booked. Only 4 other AirBNBs were available, and none fit our criteria. I had considered staying at the Kvosin in Reykavik and highly recommend it. Perfect location, boutique brand and mini kitchenette. They even got us rooms right next to each other, even though we booked at the last minute. They checked us in very early, around noon and provided 6 drink coupons at their bar, as well as late checkout. The Mojitos I enjoyed in bed were delicious!!!
Cost per room per night: $446, Total cost= $891
Total accommodation costs for 6 people for 7 nights= $3254 (this is about $1500 cheaper than we expected due to the AirBNB issue)
Free excursions.
I'll attach a few more pics at the end of this post, as there is a limit of 10.
There’s a volcano erupting right now and we were able to hike to the site following our visit to the Blue Lagoon. A 30 minute hike leads you to a fresh lava field. We were almost speechless. It’s breathtaking to behold this freshly drying lava (black, not red). It would have been a several hour hike to make it to the eruption site to see red lava, which was too much for our lils. We were so pumped to see what we saw and it was totally worth it. We finished off our amazing day with some gelato in town!
Paid excursions.
In addition to all of the places we visited for basically free, we also did these paid excursions and they were some of our favorite experiences.
Jökulsárlón Adventure Tour by Ice Lagoon. This is a Zodiak boat tour of a glacial lagoon, where you get up close to the glacier (you can hear it crackling) and ride alongside huge icebergs which have broken off the glacier. We selected this company because it is well reviewed and was one of the few companies that allowed 8 year olds in a Zodiak. They were very, very safety conscious. We suited up in their flotation suits and life jackets and then zipped off in Zodiaks to the glacier. We even got to see seals and grab our own mini icebergs right out of the water. I was really worried about the safety aspect of this trip, but we felt comfortable the whole time. It was a 6 hour round-trip drive to get to Jökulsárlón, and you know it’s worth it when your 8 yo says it was worth the drive.
Total cost= $415
Ice Cave by Katla Volcano by Troll Expeditions. This starts as a ride through moss lava fields on a super jeep. You are dropped off to do a glacial hike to an Ice Cave which sits atop Katla Volcano. You can see the glacier is crusted in volcanic ash. My kids really loved the experience of drinking fresh glacier water dripping inside of the ice cave. It was just totally unique.
Total cost= $940 paid for with 62,656 URs, booked through the Chase Travel Portal
Blue Lagoon. The iconic Iceland tourist experience. I was really worried about the communal showering and changing rooms, because I am a very modest person. But there were plenty of private changing rooms and private showers. We had a very relaxing time and were glad to have spent a few hours here enjoying Iceland’s unique geothermal energy.
Total cost= $252
Gas, groceries, dining, small souvenirs= $1480
Departure. US requires a negative covid test for re-entry. We pre-ordered eMed’s BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag At-home Test 6 pack and brought them with us. Easy proctored testing from our AirBNB with results within 15 minutes.
Total cost= $165
8 day trip to Iceland for 6 people= $10,432
Final thoughts, if this destination is one you’ve considered, I encourage you to do it. I think summer is the perfect time to go- even though it is busier, the weather is beautiful (50s for us) and we got to see seals, puffins, Icelandic horses and sheep roaming the countryside. The days were long with about 16 hours of sunlight, but the cool temps made hiking so enjoyable.
Thanks for the advance recommendations, especially @wanderlust7, @AndreaDM and @mmmears
Attachments
FreeDiningFanatic
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2015
FloridaNative8
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 31, 2012
wanderlust7
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2015
Great trip report @FreeDiningFanatic ! Love the photos. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. ❤
Judique
Dis Veteran, Beach Lover at BWV, BCV, HHI, VB
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2003
Good that you got 24 months. DD plays games (and worked from home) so will always want an increased speed internet. That's why she gets to pay for it. I'm totally spoiled. Can't deal with slow.
Judique
Dis Veteran, Beach Lover at BWV, BCV, HHI, VB
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2003
Probably both. PYB up to the $500 and finish with CIC.
Psychodisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2005
I'd compare the price at Abt in Glenview and use PYB. Good chance they'll beat the price.
CaliforniaGirl09
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2009
Ditto from me! I've been to Iceland, but definitely want to go back for a longer trip.
Arcades
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2021
Looking for my next MSR (especially with Christmas coming up so soon), and could use some ideas!
Stats:
P1
12/2019 - CIP
9/2020 - Aspire
4/2021 - Hilton Amex Biz
6/2021 - Schwab Plat
P2
9/2019 - CIP
3/2020 - CIP
8/2020 - Aspire
10/2020 - Hilton Amex Biz
1/2021 - CSP (via P1 support link)
I like URs for their flexibility, so I wouldn't mind another UR earning card (got the CSP in August 2018). I got the CS Plat to cash out over 500k of AMEX points I had sitting idle before the 25% bonus went away on that one. Besides a cruise (hopefully) in 2022, we don't have anything else planned for now. I'm hoping to travel to either Bryce Canyon/Zion or maybe Europe next summer, depending on everything going on.
I use my AMEX Gold as my everyday card right now, so I should be in their good graces if that's the best way to go. I probably should PC some of the CIPs I have, but unsure of what strategy would make sense there.
I appreciate any guidance you want to send my way!
I would apply for a CIU (for P1) or PC one of the CIPs to a CIU for P2 (or both). If you like UR, 1.5x as your daily driver/everyday card is the best option. You could even PC the other CIP to a CIC for gas (2x) and 5x on cable, internet and phone (unless you pay with a card for cell phone insurance). Another option is to use a referral link for a Blue Business Plus card from Amex so that you can earn 10,000 MR. It's not a great SUB, but it is 2x MR on all other spend up to 50k per year. This will leave you with better everyday cards than the Gold, which you can continue to use for dining and groceries. BBP is also a great card to retain MR after you have closed out your Amex charge cards since it has no annual fee.
For SUBs, I would get as many CIP/CIU/CIC as Chase will give you before moving on.
CyndiLouWho
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2013
Nope, $150 more right now. I’m watching the Labor Day sales which some places started today. I picked out the model I want last weekend and stalking the sales.
calypso726
Escaping reality one Disney vacation at a time
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2006
Great trip report and pic! Makes me want to go back to Iceland!
CyndiLouWho
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2013
We have an intermediate speed just not the highest, I think they go from 50 mbps to 2000. The highest is $300/month just for internet. Too much for me. DH works from home too and didn’t have a problem even with lower speeds
CyndiLouWho
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2013
Did not think of that. That’s why I come here.
palhockeymomof2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2001
I would use the CIC for the 5x…then transfer the URs to the CSP…and use PYB on other things if you can
- Status
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Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
