I love credit cards so much! v5.0 - 2022 (see first page for add'l details)

[djmeredith]

@FreeDiningFanatic the tour company is Exploro Tours. They pick you up at your hotel and then give you a ride back to your hotel, or wherever you want to go. Ask if they offer a cash discount.

 

[WardFam]

Thanks so much for the specific recommendations. @djmeredith I'd love to hear your tour guide. It's fine to share here but feel free to pm me if uncomfortable. My mother definitely wants access to the underground and we do want to do a tour for sure. It's a matter of balancing a long tour (kids can only take so much) and my mom who likes to putter and look at all manner of details.

@IFlossU We are doing Venice first and I've mostly heard the food is very touristy and expensive. I love to shop at open markets or supermarkets in other countries. We are staying in an AirBNB and we are a group of 8, so I don't mind getting some fresh goodies from the market and enjoying in our AirBNB. Thanks for the great Rome recommendations. I'll look into them for sure.

Loving everyone's input. Please keep it coming!

I think my favorite thing I did in Venice was an air bnb experience called learn to row like a Venetian. It was actually cheaper than a traditional gondola ride and we all got have a turn learning how to row. Our guide was so sweet and took us down some of the back canals and neighborhoods that we hadn’t already walked through. It’s such a fun activity for kids too!

 

[Haley R]

We are planning our rough Japan itinerary, to see how many days we need and cities we'll want to visit while there. Right now we plan for 11 days there, since with travel it's really like 13 days, and most we can take off at our jobs at a time is 2 weeks. To those that have been to Japan (I think @Haley R had a great trip report that I read but it's been a few years and I forget...), can you advise on if this itin looks good, or if there is something you'd change/skip, etc? I am most uncertain on if Nara and Nikko deserve a day, or if we should skip those and add another day to Kyoto. I also know Mt. Fuji is particularly shy, that's why we're opting for Kawaguchi area as I've read that's the best place/chance you have to see Fuji, and since we'll be there in November, those chances may be a bit better too.

3 days Tokyo
2 days Kyoto
1 day Nara
1 day Osaka
1 day Nikko
1 day Lake Kawaguchi area (Mt. Fuji)
2 days for Tokyo Disney

Thanks for the input! @Haley R if your trip report is still active somewhere, I'd love to read it through again now that we're actually going to go.

ETA: I know we're going to be cramming a lot into each day, which we're fine with since we have a limited time in Japan. Mainly wanting input on city selections.

I just realized I shared the wrong one with you. That one was for our vlog on YouTube. This one is the trip report:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/japan-trip-update-report.3751378/

 

[reliev]

Just a heads-up Ana is $434 a person now each way even in coach! https://onemileatatime.com/news/all-nippon-airways-fuel-surcharges/

 

[MouseOfCards]

We recently used Chase UR points to book refundable Alaska Airlines tickets for a trip to WDW. When one of the seniors in our party couldn't go due to surgery, it took the Chase rep a little while, but she successfully cancelled that one ticket for the one-way flight into MCO and we saw the refunded points within a few minutes. This was one of the smoothest cancellations with Chase travel. We had an appointment to get to, so called back later and spoke with another rep to cancel the ticket on the return flight out of MCO. After putting us on several long holds, the rep said he had to transfer us to another customer service rep. The next rep also took a long time, and eventually told us that the ticket was cancelled and that she had processed the points refund. A week later, we could still see the ticket on the reservation on Alaska Air's website and the points had not been refunded so we called back. This rep said that the notes indicated that the ticket was cancelled, but when we insisted she check, she confirmed that she could still see the active ticket. After a long wait, she transferred us to another rep, who also put us on several long holds. When the call got disconnected, she never called us back, even though she asked for our callback number in case of disconnection. The next day, we called in again. This rep also tried to work on the problem before transferring us to another rep. This next rep also put us on a long hold before the call disconnected. We again did not get a call back, even though she asked for our number. We called back in, obviously exasperated, and asked for a manager. We explained our issue and the manager put us on hold and eventually said that the ticket was cancelled and apologized for our ordeal, and we immediately verified that the points were back in our account. Strangely enough, we continued to see the ticket as active on Alaska Air's website.

One major problem is that the Chase portal has a disclaimer that our tickets our non-refundable, regardless of the fact we purchased refundable tickets (either from United or Alaska). Almost every rep we spoke with initially told us that our tickets were non-refundable, even though the ticket type clearly stated "refundable" ticket. Each rep had to take time to verify that the tickets were truly refundable.

So, after roughly 3 hours of time on the phone, speaking to 7 reps, and almost every one telling us that our refundable tickets were not refundable, and never getting a call back from dropped calls even though most reps ask for our callback number, we finally got our issue resolved. Just another typically frustrating experience with Chase travel!

By the way, the only way this is worth it for us is booking with the Chase Sapphire Reserve and their 50% points boost. And we mostly purchase refundable tickets now when the price difference isn't huge.

 

[ctinct]

Just checked my Chase offers, as I do nearly every day. On one of my six cards, there were multiple “flash sales.” Only good for five days, but 20% off at a bunch of places. Home Depot, Best Buy, cvs, macys, dollar tree, and McDonald’s. Hope some of you have these.

 

[becauseimnew]

Follow up question:

If I want both the Chase Sapphire Preferred AND the Freedom Flex, can I apply for both at once? Or should I wait a few days/weeks/months between applications?

Only CC in last 24 months: 04/21 AMEX Delta Skymiles Gold

You can't 2 cards in one day anyone. You'll have do a MDD, meaning you'll have to apply for the second card the day after your first card is approved.

Just checked my Chase offers, as I do nearly every day. On one of my six cards, there were multiple “flash sales.” Only good for five days, but 20% off at a bunch of places. Home Depot, Best Buy, cvs, macys, dollar tree, and McDonald’s. Hope some of you have these.

Just checked all our cards and nothing. But thanks for sharing.

 

[Psychodisney]

Just checked my Chase offers, as I do nearly every day. On one of my six cards, there were multiple “flash sales.” Only good for five days, but 20% off at a bunch of places. Home Depot, Best Buy, cvs, macys, dollar tree, and McDonald’s. Hope some of you have these.

Bummed I don't have any of these on any of our cards! I was luck with Lowes a few days ago. I had these flash deals earlier this year.

 

[Haley R]

Bummed I don't have any of these on any of our cards! I was luck with Lowes a few days ago. I had these flash deals earlier this year.

I don’t have any of them either

 

[elgerber]

Bummed I don't have any of these on any of our cards! I was luck with Lowes a few days ago. I had these flash deals earlier this year.

We have a whole bunch of Chase cards, and we didn't get any either.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Bummed I don't have any of these on any of our cards! I was luck with Lowes a few days ago. I had these flash deals earlier this year.

0/7 here too!

 

[ctinct]

Bummer. I have six cards and they were all on the same freedom card.

 

[wanderlust7]

Just checked my Chase offers, as I do nearly every day. On one of my six cards, there were multiple “flash sales.” Only good for five days, but 20% off at a bunch of places. Home Depot, Best Buy, cvs, macys, dollar tree, and McDonald’s. Hope some of you have these.

Thanks!! Got it on 1 card.

 

[AndreaDM]

0/6 on my Chase cards.

 

[AmyAnne]

Instacart Chase DP
Downgraded DH's CSR on Friday 9/23, when I logged in to our Instacart account this morning our Instacart membership associated with his CSR had been cancelled.
I activated my CSR Instacart benefit. We did use his $15 before downgrading, I'll use mine before the end of the month.

You should have some kind of Instacart benefit with whatever you downgraded to (e.g., a Freedom is 3 months of membership and a $10 quarterly credit I think).

I'm using our Chase/Instacart benefits but if the purpose was to convince me that I love Instacart and want to keep paying for it, that has failed--between the inflated prices, the delivery fee, the service fee, and the tip, I cannot see using this service on a regular basis. Hopefully most people have better stores to choose from, but I live in a major metropolitan area and there's only one store that even has a pickup option, and while the prices are the same as in the store, the store itself has inflated prices.

 

[4Hawks]

You can't 2 cards in one day anyone. You'll have do a MDD, meaning you'll have to apply for the second card the day after your first card is approved.

Just checked all our cards and nothing. But thanks for sharing.

Thanks! Does it matter which one I apply for first?

Should I apply first for the one that requires a higher credit score (Sapphire)?

Or maybe apply for the Freedom Flex first and wait a little while to see if I get a special offer for the Sapphire?

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Thanks! Does it matter which one I apply for first?

Should I apply first for the one that requires a higher credit score (Sapphire)?

Or maybe apply for the Freedom Flex first and wait a little while to see if I get a special offer for the Sapphire?

Apply to whichever you want more in case the second card is denied.
BTW love Ted Lasso

 

[afan]

Thanks! Does it matter which one I apply for first?

Should I apply first for the one that requires a higher credit score (Sapphire)?

Or maybe apply for the Freedom Flex first and wait a little while to see if I get a special offer for the Sapphire?

Unless you are at 4/24, are going for both csr and csp or need both cards right now, there's no reason to do an mdd. You cab get the saphire and then in 3 months get the freedom.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Speaking of Instacart, if you have monthly or quarterly credits, don't forget to use them up ASAP, especially bc the credits are based on post date with Chase. Personally, I wouldn't wait any longer than tomorrow if you're hoping for it to post in September.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I think my favorite thing I did in Venice was an air bnb experience called learn to row like a Venetian. It was actually cheaper than a traditional gondola ride and we all got have a turn learning how to row. Our guide was so sweet and took us down some of the back canals and neighborhoods that we hadn’t already walked through. It’s such a fun activity for kids too!

Just looked this up. I definitely plan to book this now; thanks so much for the recommendation.