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

[LynnTH]

What receipt trick?
I have a January 10-15th trip on miles. Anything that would give me some peace of mind would be
So nice.

Pmd you.

 

[mechteach1]

Oh, wonderful! We've chosen Emu Walk for the kitchen and the washing machine What kinds of foods were you able to get from the grocery store (IGA, right?)? I expect prices will be high but that's to be expected and will still be less expensive than eating out for every meal!

The washing machine definitely came in handy for us as well - everything was coated with a fine red dust, all of the time! (Also, speaking of the peculiarities of the area, make sure you have fly nets for your face - they sell them there, but at 5x the price on Amazon.)

They have all sorts of 'snacky' foods at the IGA (cheese, olives, meats, crisps, etc.) in spades, but for actual meals, I recall that we bought ingredients to do a baked chicken in peri peri sauce with rice, and pasta with red sauce - anything you can think of as a standard sort of AirBnB/hostel-cooked meal is available (nice chops, ramen, etc.). They also had frozen meat pies that looked good, and a tiny but decent selection of fruit and veg, as well as many breakfast options (cereal, pastries, eggs). There is one case in the store that has freshly baked bread that sells out super-fast, but is worth seeking out - the sourdough we bought there for sandwiches was very, very nice. (They also have standard pre-packaged bread if you can't get that.) Everything is much more expensive than in the cities, but definitely cheaper than the restaurants there! (The one exception is a little stir fry place in the main square, but that is only open for supper.)

Btw, if you spring for the Field of Light Starpass tour, it lists it as providing just canapes and drinks, but they were actually very heavy appetizers, and made a meal for us that night - huge sliders, veggie spreads, egg rolls, etc., plus so much wine and beer. Have an amazing time!

 

[WVMomof3]

In Barcelona, a lot of the boutique hotels the shower is kind of open and there are only glass doors. I looked at thousands of hotel room pictures before picking a hotel. The wall separating the bedroom from the shower was frosted glass with a painting on it. You couldn't see through it, but it was still kind of odd. It was funny reading the trip advisor reviews. Not everyone travels with a significant other. Some people travel with friends or kids and were a little shocked at the lack of privacy. It makes you appreciate American hotel chains.

I have been in a couple of American hotels with weird frosted glass into the bathroom. One was the W in Times Square. I was on a trip with 3 girlfriends and we were being silly and doing shadow like puppets through the glass to each other. lol It was definitely weird. I can't even remember where the 2nd one ones but I remember thinking WHY??? lol Like who thought that was a good design.

 

[Haley R]

I have been in a couple of American hotels with weird frosted glass into the bathroom. One was the W in Times Square. I was on a trip with 3 girlfriends and we were being silly and doing shadow like puppets through the glass to each other. lol It was definitely weird. I can't even remember where the 2nd one ones but I remember thinking WHY??? lol Like who thought that was a good design.

There’s a casino near my parent’s house like that but they have a switch for a curtain that goes around the shower. Otherwise it’s just a see through shower and you literally see it from the bed area. A little strange

 

[tink1970]

@LynnTH can you please PM me the receipt trick? I’m leaving on a cruise tomorrow but will try it when I return! Thanks

 

[tink1970]

I’m in Orlando before the Parents’ Golden Anniversary cruise. I decided to book the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Disney Springs hotel since it counts as a resort so between the rate of $348+$22 parking + $25 resort fee - $250 Aspire resort credit I’ll pay $147 which is pretty good. As a diamond I also received vouchers for 2 coffees and 2 bottled waters from the marketplace and free breakfast for two.

The location is great- an easy walk to Disney Springs and for the price, definitely a good use (for my family) of the resort credit.

We ate at Homecomin’ and the money I saved by cancelling our Marriott hotel was immediately spent- but worth it!

ETA-resort credit was $35 but rate was slightly less than I remembered resulting in $122 oop.

 

[elgerber]

Maybe the receipt trick could just go on the DisChurners thread LOL, since so many of us are worried

 

[palhockeymomof2]

But cute

 

[gottalovepluto]

Maybe the receipt trick could just go on the DisChurners thread LOL, since so many of us are worried

Excellent call

 

[gottalovepluto]

Anyone have opinions on Hyatt Place MCO? Thinking of using it for a midnight flight into MCO to save a bit vs Hyatt Regency. I know I’ll arrive hungry so 24/7 food sounds like a good idea, I’ll be solo so won’t have a fam I’m dragging around...

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

The washing machine definitely came in handy for us as well - everything was coated with a fine red dust, all of the time! (Also, speaking of the peculiarities of the area, make sure you have fly nets for your face - they sell them there, but at 5x the price on Amazon.)

They have all sorts of 'snacky' foods at the IGA (cheese, olives, meats, crisps, etc.) in spades, but for actual meals, I recall that we bought ingredients to do a baked chicken in peri peri sauce with rice, and pasta with red sauce - anything you can think of as a standard sort of AirBnB/hostel-cooked meal is available (nice chops, ramen, etc.). They also had frozen meat pies that looked good, and a tiny but decent selection of fruit and veg, as well as many breakfast options (cereal, pastries, eggs). There is one case in the store that has freshly baked bread that sells out super-fast, but is worth seeking out - the sourdough we bought there for sandwiches was very, very nice. (They also have standard pre-packaged bread if you can't get that.) Everything is much more expensive than in the cities, but definitely cheaper than the restaurants there! (The one exception is a little stir fry place in the main square, but that is only open for supper.)

Btw, if you spring for the Field of Light Starpass tour, it lists it as providing just canapes and drinks, but they were actually very heavy appetizers, and made a meal for us that night - huge sliders, veggie spreads, egg rolls, etc., plus so much wine and beer. Have an amazing time!

Thank you! And I think we'll do the Field of Light Starpass

 

[GlamMistress]

Regarding SiriusXM, do you just call and say you are thinking about canceling? What's your tactic?

Yes. I say it is too high. Then they immediately offer a discount. I'm paying $20 less than last year.

 

[DaveL]

Regarding SiriusXM, do you just call and say you are thinking about canceling? What's your tactic?

Most the time they go down to $25~$30 for five/six months. You will generally get an offer around $120 for 12mo that you'll have to decline and then they will offer something like $60 for six months and finally they will always happen to find a good offer. I have done this every five/six months depending on the offer for the past five years and have only been shot down once, so I just proceeded with canceling and they sent me a really good 1yr offer a month later. I must now have a note on my account because last time I called I just said I need to cancel because its going to renew at a high price I don't want to pay and if you do the previous offer I will continue service and the rep just responded with okay I will get that processed!

 

[smmco]

Anyone have opinions on Hyatt Place MCO? Thinking of using it for a midnight flight into MCO to save a bit vs Hyatt Regency. I know I’ll arrive hungry so 24/7 food sounds like a good idea, I’ll be solo so won’t have a fam I’m dragging around...

I haven't stayed there but my husband has. He loves the place. There's an Outback and a few other places in walking distance. I'm Not sure what might be open at midnight

 

[wendow]

Anyone have opinions on Hyatt Place MCO? Thinking of using it for a midnight flight into MCO to save a bit vs Hyatt Regency. I know I’ll arrive hungry so 24/7 food sounds like a good idea, I’ll be solo so won’t have a fam I’m dragging around...

We stayed there when arriving at midnight once. Most of the airport seemed to be shut down. I didn't see any places open. It might be worth calling the hotel to see if they have room service operating at least.

 

[ten6mom]

While I was on the Hilton website, I also noticed that the Hilton Tokyo Bay had dropped the points amount for the nights I was there by 4k points each night. I rebooked that and canceled my current reservation and saved 12k points!

I'm so glad you got a better deal on this (and your other Japan hotel stays!)

I just checked for my dates and the Tokyo Bay is still sitting squarely at 80K points per night. Still playing the waiting/watching game!

 

[calypso726]

Musings from the weekend: We just had a nice last minute weekend getaway to WDW. There were no DVC rooms to be had. Cash rates for all of the off property hotels were ridiculous and we didn’t want to blow UR points for surge pricing due to the holiday week. Marriott BonBlah Brilliant (old SPG lux) to the rescue. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott that was $276 per night with $15 per night parking. We got a late 2 pm checkout thanks to Gold status which was nice. We asked them to split the charges between the 2 cards upon checking out. Voila free unplanned weekend to WDW paid.

I know many don’t like to keep high AF cards and there is nothing wrong with that. The high AF cards like this one and the Aspire are factored into our yearly vacation budget. Their purpose is served when spontaneity comes into play. Between the resort credit and the FN certs they totally earn their keep.

 

[disfanforlife]

Musings from the weekend: We just had a nice last minute weekend getaway to WDW. There were no DVC rooms to be had. Cash rates for all of the off property hotels were ridiculous and we didn’t want to blow UR points for surge pricing due to the holiday week. Marriott BonBlah Brilliant (old SPG lux) to the rescue. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott that was $276 per night with $15 per night parking. We got a late 2 pm checkout thanks to Gold status which was nice. We asked them to split the charges between the 2 cards upon checking out. Voila free unplanned weekend to WDW paid.

I know many don’t like to keep high AF cards and there is nothing wrong with that. The high AF cards like this one and the Aspire are factored into our yearly vacation budget. Their purpose is served when spontaneity comes into play. Between the resort credit and the FN certs they totally earn their keep.

Good for you! That is great that you can get away for a weekend like that. My DH and I haven’t. For us, a spontaneous trip is one planned less than 6 months in advance. I do have friends that are Disney this week and seem to be having a great time.

 

[trenty]

Most the time they go down to $25~$30 for five/six months. You will generally get an offer around $120 for 12mo that you'll have to decline and then they will offer something like $60 for six months and finally they will always happen to find a good offer. I have done this every five/six months depending on the offer for the past five years and have only been shot down once, so I just proceeded with canceling and they sent me a really good 1yr offer a month later. I must now have a note on my account because last time I called I just said I need to cancel because its going to renew at a high price I don't want to pay and if you do the previous offer I will continue service and the rep just responded with okay I will get that processed!

Once, when I kept declining and was ready to cancel the rep offered three months free. Um, yeah, I will take that.

 

[Judique]

Once, when I kept declining and was ready to cancel the rep offered three months free. Um, yeah, I will take that.

A 3 or maybe 4 month free trial came with my Niro. I just got an email about expiration which I haven't opened. The trial probably started last couple days in October so probably expires end of January.

I haven't even set it up. I've been spammed with emails from them. Really hasn't been on my mind. I actually turned it on once for a few minutes, but turned it off because my mind was elsewhere.

Maybe I'll give them a call and see if they will extend my 'free' for another period, so I can explore it when I'm traveling in February. I had no idea what it cost but if I find it worth it in Feb when I'm traveling alone, maybe I'll keep it. Living around here, my mind is not on radio. It's more on staying alive while driving in town or on the Beltway. Once I am south of Richmond, Va, driving relaxes and is so easy until reaching I-4 West toward Disney.