I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[LB002]

Wow, Costco is bananas today. I always go on Saturday morning right at opening and it’s usually pretty empty but today the parking lot is almost full And the lines just to get in are worse than holiday shopping. Wipes are handed out to everyone at the door. People are loading up on paper goods, water, cleaning supplies. I’m in Oregon and the affected person is at the Kaiser hospital a mile from my house. It’s hard not to get caught up in the hysteria.

Our Costco was similar, minus the hand wipes, yesterday. They were sold out of water! Target was almost entirely sold out of cold medicine , but we've had a tough cold and flu season, so who knows if that's Coronavirus related.

I spoke to my friend who I'm traveling with on the AK cruise. She is a primary care physician and similarly logic/statistically minded like me. Her (educated) opinion is that while Coronavirus isn't nothing, it is being hyped by the media and it shouldn't impact our trip. Hopefully she's right! My concern is that it's a new virus and there's a lot we still don't know.

 

[LB002]

It was just about $500 for my prep this year.

The good news is that we only owed about $2k over last year... so a best case scenario for us!

How sad is it that I am pumped for owing 2 grand? Ugh.

We always owe as well, I'd also be happy to only owe $2k! I'v been bugging DH we need to sit down and figure out what we owe so I can plan. We have some house projects this summer and the cruise to pay for, so I need some real numbers for my budget. Last year was particularly bad for us bc DH won a Samsung prize package and they sent us a 1099, so the taxes on that were over $2k alone.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I've been having trouble sleeping.

Anyway, Amazon is a funny one. Their cash/points back is only for purchases in select categories, which fall in an "up to" range.

I never get Amazon to track no matter which portal. Somehow I never meet their terms.

You can't really say what the mortality rate is at the beginning of an outbreak. You test the people who get really sick at the beginning and not the people who also got sick but stayed at home. Now there is fear, more people go to the doctor to get tested and then you'll eventually start seeing a more accurate rate.

We’re not at the point of having commercial testing for COVID 19. Right now it’s mostly state labs doing testing. In hospitalized patients. We had a possible case where I work and the state declined to test the patient. I’m sure testing will increase as tests are more available but right now I believe they are allocated. California reported using their first 200 test allotment rapidly.

I just hope and pray this whole mess doesn't get worse for everyone.

It will get worse before it gets better but we just don’t know how much worse. For now we’re not canceling plans (2 trips in March) but by our June trip, we might be at that point. My sister thinks I’m an idiot for flying now. I work in healthcare and am exposed to stuff at work daily. More likely to get COVID 19 or flu at work.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

That’s if we ever start testing people. All winter my hospital has had numerous pneumonia and acute respiratory distress patients that test negative for the flu, but we’ve never tested for CV. I figure at some point the hospitals in the US will have the ability to test everyone with symptoms. I don‘t think the numbers are accurate.

Interestingly, we’ve had lots of flu and pneumonia where I work but the docs have noticed the flu testing has lots of false negatives. We had rapid flu and flu PCR testing, they always do both on suspected cases (at least in ICU) They also send a respiratory viral panel which has come back positive for flu in a few patients who had negative rapid flu and PCR.

 

[amcc]

Sounds good. I am pretty sure you will recognize my DS from my profile pic. And we’ll have on matching grey Test Track tees for his birthday.

I love those shirts! Did you make them?

 

[DaveL]

I’m in Oregon and the affected person is at the Kaiser hospital a mile from my house. It’s hard not to get caught up in the hysteria.

I'm in Nebraska, Camp Ashland is just a few miles away from me. That and a place in TX is where they have been bringing all the quarantined people. People who have confirmed tested positive generally end up coming here to the Nebraska Medical Center National Quarantine Unit.

 

[afan]

I never get Amazon to track no matter which portal. Somehow I never meet their terms.


We’re not at the point of having commercial testing for COVID 19. Right now it’s mostly state labs doing testing. In hospitalized patients. We had a possible case where I work and the state declined to test the patient. I’m sure testing will increase as tests are more available but right now I believe they are allocated. California reported using their first 200 test allotment rapidly.

It will get worse before it gets better but we just don’t know how much worse. For now we’re not canceling plans (2 trips in March) but by our June trip, we might be at that point. My sister thinks I’m an idiot for flying now. I work in healthcare and am exposed to stuff at work daily. More likely to get COVID 19 or flu at work.

Not sure how it's working now but the news this morning said we have a lab (also a quarantine site in rv trailers) that will start testing daily and much more. And last nights news the person from UW said they are very close to a test, which I think is either faster or just in addition to what the cdc has so it can be done more.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Been gone all week so skipping through posts. Went on a cruise, then spent today at DHS. Had a great day. It seemed really busy, people everywhere, but we were able to do everything we wanted to. Arrived 1 hr before opening. Didn't bring a bag because I wanted to speed through the gates. However, there was zero line at bag check when we arrived so if you're a bag person, don't worry about it. Thanks to my 14 yr old, we were in boarding group 27. I couldn't get the "join boarding group" to refresh at all. DH was on it, but slowly trying to check off everyone in our party. Meanwhile, DS was on and got us in immediately. We went over to Smugglers first, which said 90 min wait. We waited about 40 mins. We were called for RotR at 8:48am. Went about an hour later. Ride was fantastic, this coming from someone who is not a star wars fan. Unfortunately, it broke down towards the end of our ride and they escorted us out. Fortunately, they gave us a fastpass and we did it again later. Boys each built a light saber, which was a ridiculous price (birthday presents), but they loved it. And blue and green milk is disgusting. That's it for now.

What a great day! Where did you cruise? (I can't remember---so many people here have cruises scheduled! Maybe I need a spreadsheet )

I'm nervously excited for our DHS days in a couple weeks!

I always look up flights and seat configuration on seatgurudotcom- sometimes planes change but it’s a good starting point to get an idea if one plane type is preferred to another

I do the same. I also look at youtube sometimes, because if I'm lucky enough to find a recent video of the plane that also helps me figure out if there's a marked difference.

I spent most of the day on seat guru and looking at blogger reviews. Just wanted to see if anyone here had experiences. I trust you guys more than TPG or this new one I found Monkey Miles. Cute name lol.

I've spent more time than I want think about on seatguru, random blogs, and YouTube comparing planes and potential seats

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Not sure how it's working now but the news this morning said we have a lab (also a quarantine site in rv trailers) that will start testing daily and much more. And last nights news the person from UW said they are very close to a test, which I think is either faster or just in addition to what the cdc has so it can be done more.

Right, but it’s still not commercial testing, which is what would be available to doctors’ offices. The CDC is now allowing labs to develop their own tests which would help. I’m guessing the lab near you is still state run. In Illinois we currently have one lab, but 2 more are scheduled to open next week.

 

[smmco]

Interestingly, we’ve had lots of flu and pneumonia where I work but the docs have noticed the flu testing has lots of false negatives. We had rapid flu and flu PCR testing, they always do both on suspected cases (at least in ICU) They also send a respiratory viral panel which has come back positive for flu in a few patients who had negative rapid flu and PCR.

We do the viral panel on everyone that has flu symptoms. It doesn’t seem like the flu has been that bad this year. The viral panels rarely come back positive.

 

[WVMomof3]

Sounds good. I am pretty sure you will recognize my DS from my profile pic. And we’ll have on matching grey Test Track tees for his birthday.

Maybe warn your DH this time. I think I scared him. Haha

 

[Oscar Madison]

It should, Online is now standard in their base package. I just have the 6mo deal and it included it.

Just called and got the $5/ month for a year deal, which is like $78 after the taxes/fees.
I wish they'd take it out in 1 lump sum so I could get the CF 5X, but it sounded like it'll come out monthly.
I could barely hear the CSR.

 

[elgerber]

Just called and got the $5/ month for a year deal, which is like $78 after the taxes/fees.
I wish they'd take it out in 1 lump sum so I could get the CF 5X, but it sounded like it'll come out monthly.
I could barely hear the CSR.

Mine was one lump sum.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

5% cash back on Staples online purchases today on RMN! Placed one order for DGC using my $30 off $100 Chase offer. I have more I need to place, but I can't remember if there's a limit of RMN purchased per day? I might be confusing it with Dosh? Anyone know?

 

[trenty]

Just called and got the $5/ month for a year deal, which is like $78 after the taxes/fees.
I wish they'd take it out in 1 lump sum so I could get the CF 5X, but it sounded like it'll come out monthly.
I could barely hear the CSR.

I was once offered this deal in one lump sum payment. Don't remember the specifics - may have been for 6 mos. I know I only pay monthly for DH's car and mine was one payment. Maybe ask for it next time? I plan to ask when I renew DH's.

 

[Oscar Madison]

Mine was one lump sum.

Darn!!!

 

[havaneselover]

I've had Sirius since 2011 and always paid in lump sum (5-, 6-, and 12-month deals).

 

[Oscar Madison]

5% cash back on Staples online purchases today on RMN! Placed one order for DGC using my $30 off $100 Chase offer. I have more I need to place, but I can't remember if there's a limit of RMN purchased per day? I might be confusing it with Dosh? Anyone know?

Ahhh...so it worked even though gift cards are excluded? I've been holding out doing these online b/c of the extra 1.99 staples charges per DGC. Thinking I may travel near a staples store. This may put me over the edge to go online now.

 

[Oscar Madison]

I've had Sirius since 2011 and always paid in lump sum (5-, 6-, and 12-month deals).

Wonder if I can call back to pay for the whole year? They've already done the first month charge.

 

[AndPeggy]

I found this forum about 2 years ago and while I rarely post I really appreciate how supportive and willing to share this group is.

I have the Amex Bonvoy and I can earn 2,500 by getting additional cards for my daughters. Will adding them to my card keep them from getting their own cards. They’re 13 and 17, so no immediate plans for them but I didn’t want to lock them out of earning bonuses.