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

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I wonder if it’s a Midwest thing? You definitely should try them! They are delicious and so easy to make. You’ll want to set out the pickles to dry first then let the cream cheese soften before you put it on the pickles. Some people make pickle wrap dip that has small chunks of meat and pickles and is mostly cream cheese. Then they dip wheat thins or chips in it
Maybe it is kind of midwestern because I’ve definitely had it. Only we spread the cream cheese on the lunch meat, then roll around the pickle. Never tried covering the pickle with cream cheese. I think the whipped cream cheese is easier to spread too. Such gourmets. :rotfl2:
 
Ugh! Bonvoyed!
I had a points advance booking for next summer in Seattle for 2 nights. One night I was planning on having enough points for and then use my 35000 anniversary night for the 2nd night. Nope not anymore. Points went up to 40,000. :eek::eek::faint::faint: I'll still have enough points for one night, but I'll have to shell out the cash for night #2. No switching hotels either. Boo.
Wait did you book it at 35k points for 2 nights? Because you should be able to apply your 35k FNC to an existing 35k booking.
 
It helps with my kid’s spread out ages! My oldest is in college and no longer performing. She was my theater kiddo. Dd17 is a dancer and singer but parents can’t really sit in the studio and watch classes so I really only see dress rehearsals and performances. My boys are young enough that I do stay at practices and unless games are overlapping, go to all their games. My ds11 golfs now though too and that’s hard to go and watch so I don’t get to see much there.

My mom never came to a single track meet of mine (I ran for 5 years) and she only came to one theater performance of the many I did. I even competed at state and she didn’t go. So, it’s important to me to be at everything I can to show support to my kids 😊

We do our fair share of divide and conquer here with kids activities, but it is also very important to us that someone is always there. It's exhausting sometimes though!
I sort of want to buy this bag but I would only use it at universal and I'm also too practical to want to take two bags when we do a Uni/Disney trip lol

View attachment 436450
I SO want to get this for my DD for Christmas!
 
Thanks for the tips. I finally figured out how to search the partner sites for reward flights, but I didn’t even think about the fees. Had no idea they could be that much 😳. Is there a way to check what the fees are when searching?

I’m really hoping for Scotland, but we are open to other destinations too. We’ve never been to Italy or France (we’ve never been anywhere really). A typical tropical vacation really isn’t our thing, but Hawaii is appealing since at least there are some hikes and things we could do. The good news is our dates are flexible, assuming my parents are free to watch the kids. We’re looking at late May-early June or early August but honestly could do almost anytime.

What really appeals to me about Scotland is:
  • A tourist destination that’s not too touristy (sites to see but nothing we HAVE to see— if we went to Italy DH would HAVE to see Rome and do all the things).
  • I adore the culture and love the idea of just being laid back and immersed in the community with no big plans other than drinking whisky, seeing a castle here and a puffin there (Puffins!)
  • English speaking (ok I know, but I have an irrational fear of being the dumb, lost American that doesn’t know the language)
  • ETA also DH and I both have Scottish clan heritage and would love to visit the highlands
I search on google flights and kayak to get ideas of what flies where and prices. I think that late May - early June are much better than August.
 


@wendow I removed my AU card via sM. Probably should have waited lol.

@afan @kidsfirsttrip so I went into my account after PC to request my PP card but it already said activated. I SMd and they said they'd send it. It took about a week, I just got it Saturday or Friday

They're so consistent in what they do. I even explained it already showed activated and that when I logged into PP it said my card was expired. The stuff on the page says you have to activate it so that right there should tell you it's not working right if you've already had one.
 
Wait did you book it at 35k points for 2 nights? Because you should be able to apply your 35k FNC to an existing 35k booking.

Yes I reserved it at 35,000 a night, but it went up to 40,000. It was a points advance reservation. There is a disclaimer that says until points are applied to the reservation that it can go up or down in point cost.
 
Ok so I just did a search on United and we can both fly RT to GLA in early August for 354K miles and $562 in fees. Is that a decent deal? I have no idea.

ETA that’s for business class

That sounds like a very good deal, considering often on United it's 110-155K/pp/per leg if you don't find a saver fare. The taxes/fees are reasonable too. I'd double check that all legs are business or if they're not, make sure you know that-United usually marks that with a red exclamation point though so it's obvious, unlike American that will try to bury it.


Where can I wield a claymore and shout, "There can be only one!"?

I do it in my living room, don't you?
 


Maybe it is kind of midwestern because I’ve definitely had it. Only we spread the cream cheese on the lunch meat, then roll around the pickle. Never tried covering the pickle with cream cheese. I think the whipped cream cheese is easier to spread too. Such gourmets. :rotfl2:
I’ve never tried putting it on the meat first. I feel like since we buy thin sliced it would tear the meat. I’ll have to try it sometime! I ate like 6 pickle wraps today 🤪
 
Ok so I just did a search on United and we can both fly RT to GLA in early August for 354K miles and $562 in fees. Is that a decent deal? I have no idea.

ETA that’s for business class

I think it's much more reasonable. 88K per person, one way isn't awful for a long flight IMHO. Also, those fees are reasonable, too.

Wait did you book it at 35k points for 2 nights? Because you should be able to apply your 35k FNC to an existing 35k booking.

Do you mean that I will be able to use DH's 50K free night for a Marriott we booked on points already? We booked it at 50K/nt but it's now 60K/nt and we don't yet have the free night certificate. This would be great it we can do it although I'm a little scared to touch the reservation since the hotel let us upgrade the room for cash when Marriott said we couldn't do it.
 
I reduced my CIP limit from $9k to $3k. I felt like it didn’t need to be that high. I had to use Firefox because on chrome there was no drop down menu to SM them.
 
Yes I reserved it at 35,000 a night, but it went up to 40,000. It was a points advance reservation. There is a disclaimer that says until points are applied to the reservation that it can go up or down in point cost.


The same thing happened to me...the problem is, I believed Marriott when it said that if you booked points advance reservations before The Big Change your rate would be locked in. So either 1) they lied or 2) their IT is making a hash of things, as usual.

TPG (I know I know) re-ran an article about arguing with Marriott to get the rate back when it changed in March (similar) and what a challenge it was, which is what made me check mine.

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/marriott-honoring-existing-points-advance-reservations/
The title is misleading since he didn't really say anything very helpful other than "be persistent" and "polite."

I bit the bullet and booked a refundable rate for my stay in case I run out of steam to fight it. Darn Marriott...

If you have your confirmation email with the original cost it might be helpful when/if you call in.
 
Ugh! Bonvoyed!
I had a points advance booking for next summer in Seattle for 2 nights. One night I was planning on having enough points for and then use my 35000 anniversary night for the 2nd night. Nope not anymore. Points went up to 40,000. :eek::eek::faint::faint: I'll still have enough points for one night, but I'll have to shell out the cash for night #2. No switching hotels either. Boo.
I’ll also add that I think there is a whole discussion on the r/churning DD thread today about this. I’d check that out too. I think you stand a chance to get this corrected.
 
I’ll also add that I think there is a whole discussion on the r/churning DD thread today about this. I’d check that out too. I think you stand a chance to get this corrected.

For someone who is reddit illiterate, can you tell me how to find that thread? Clearly I need to learn how to use reddit.
 
Almost certain if you close the AU ASAP you’ll get the fee refunded.
I did when I initially added DH as AU when I first got my CSR and didn’t realize there was a $75 fee. The fee was reversed after I removed DH.
 
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Can anyone help me decide what to do for our pre-nights in Lima (3 total before the ABD starts).

The JW Marriott overlooks the ocean and can be booked on AA Vacations for 26,100 points / night (cash price total $862.00). The hotel is apparently huge and older, though recently updated.

Hilton is a few blocks from the ocean but newer (I think brand new in 2014 or 2015) and smaller with a boutique feel (and according to TA still a great location). I have Hilton Diamond with my Aspire, so will get free breakfast and possibly an upgrade. Available on AA Vacations for 18,000 points / night (cash price $560.00).

These will be booked from dh's account and he has 365,000 AA points; I don't have any upcoming trips where I will need them so I am okay to spend a few points for these nights. Plus he is traveling with AA until the end of this month (when he switches back to AC until the spring), so he will easily accumulate 50,000 or so more points.

I am fine with walking a few blocks to the shopping area (by the ocean), but dd and ds are not always willing to venture outside with me to shop, so location is sometimes key for me in foreign cities (I am always very aware of my surroundings and have been known to shop after dinner when they want to "chill" in the room). Other than shopping I will be with them for tours (I will book a few with Tours by Locals) and meals.

Which hotel would you choose?

I will always go for the nicest view. I fthe hotel overlooks the ocean then that is where I'd book.

I think it was here we had the discussion about how much better it was to fly into SNA than LAX for Disneyland. However, I need some opinions. We're going next year for a milestone bday for my husband. From EWR (Newark). Looks like United is our best option.

I was pricing out using URs to book through the portal (1.5x CSR), but we don't like the regular seats on United and would want to upgrade to the premium economy. So I started thinking well I may as well look at how much business costs. And apparently you can get business saver fares for 25-35k points. Which I could transfer from UR. So now I'm set on doing that.

Now my conundrum. Looks like there's only 1-2 nonstop flights into SNA each day, and they're on the "old" style first class type seats, 737-700 I believe. Not that we need lie flat seats for a flight during the day, but the options into LAX look much nicer. Now, it's 25k points to SNA and 35k to LAX. Either way we'd be flying home from LAX since we're ending the trip in LA.

So we could fly into SNA on the older style, then have the nicer seats coming home from LAX. At least it wouldn't be going the other way around, I'm sure that'd be a letdown. But my husband knows nothing of any of these options, so any of them he'd think we're amazing I'm sure. I would be hoping I could hold out and surprise him. Not sure I could though, he knows we have to pay for checked bags on United. Although maybe I could fib a little and tell him I booked some fare that allows 2 checked bags each, but he may get suspicious.

Anyway, long story short, worth it to fly into LAX for the better biz class options, or save some points and take the ease of SNA? This is all assuming there's availability for saver fares when I need to book later this week. Today there were options for Aug 16 (my understanding is release is 11 months to the day? Just like DVC!), I'll keep an eye on the next few days to try to get a feel for it.

We also fly from the east coast to DLR. Lately we have chosen to fly into LAX simply because we can get the nice lie flat seat flights. I find we arrive much more rested and comfortable in the lie flats than when not.

Thanks for the tips. I finally figured out how to search the partner sites for reward flights, but I didn’t even think about the fees. Had no idea they could be that much 😳. Is there a way to check what the fees are when searching?

I’m really hoping for Scotland, but we are open to other destinations too. We’ve never been to Italy or France (we’ve never been anywhere really). A typical tropical vacation really isn’t our thing, but Hawaii is appealing since at least there are some hikes and things we could do. The good news is our dates are flexible, assuming my parents are free to watch the kids. We’re looking at late May-early June or early August but honestly could do almost anytime.

What really appeals to me about Scotland is:
  • A tourist destination that’s not too touristy (sites to see but nothing we HAVE to see— if we went to Italy DH would HAVE to see Rome and do all the things).
  • I adore the culture and love the idea of just being laid back and immersed in the community with no big plans other than drinking whisky, seeing a castle here and a puffin there (Puffins!)
  • English speaking (ok I know, but I have an irrational fear of being the dumb, lost American that doesn’t know the language)
  • ETA also DH and I both have Scottish clan heritage and would love to visit the highlands

Scotland is amazing and I'm sure you will love it. August is a great time of year to visit with the Fringe Festival and Military Tattoo going on. Taxes and fees on award flights can range as little as per person $5.60 each way like on AA to Hawaii. Or, they can be much higher. British Airways is one of the worst for that when flying to Europe because you will need to connect through London. First Class one way from Boston to London is $628 in taxes and fees.

Ok so I just did a search on United and we can both fly RT to GLA in early August for 354K miles and $562 in fees. Is that a decent deal? I have no idea.

ETA that’s for business class

If it is a lie flat seat I'd do it. You can check seat configuration on www.SeatGuru.com

Where can I wield a claymore and shout, "There can be only one!"?

Where I can walk among the standing stones and call out, "JAAAAAMIE!"
 
I also fly from the east coast to DLR. Lately we have chosen to fly into LAX simply because we can get the nice lie flat seat flights. I find we arrive much more rested and comfortable in the lie flats than when not.

I had a feeling you might be the one dissenter :). I think, since it will be our first time in anything more than coach, that if the SNA morning flight is available for the saver rate, I'm going to go with it. Then we can be spoiled with lie flat on the way home! Thank you for weighing in. At least I know if the SNA flight isn't available, we'll arrive extra rested. We can't lose!
 
I think it was here we had the discussion about how much better it was to fly into SNA than LAX for Disneyland. However, I need some opinions. We're going next year for a milestone bday for my husband. From EWR (Newark). Looks like United is our best option.

I was pricing out using URs to book through the portal (1.5x CSR), but we don't like the regular seats on United and would want to upgrade to the premium economy. So I started thinking well I may as well look at how much business costs. And apparently you can get business saver fares for 25-35k points. Which I could transfer from UR. So now I'm set on doing that.

Now my conundrum. Looks like there's only 1-2 nonstop flights into SNA each day, and they're on the "old" style first class type seats, 737-700 I believe. Not that we need lie flat seats for a flight during the day, but the options into LAX look much nicer. Now, it's 25k points to SNA and 35k to LAX. Either way we'd be flying home from LAX since we're ending the trip in LA.

So we could fly into SNA on the older style, then have the nicer seats coming home from LAX. At least it wouldn't be going the other way around, I'm sure that'd be a letdown. But my husband knows nothing of any of these options, so any of them he'd think we're amazing I'm sure. I would be hoping I could hold out and surprise him. Not sure I could though, he knows we have to pay for checked bags on United. Although maybe I could fib a little and tell him I booked some fare that allows 2 checked bags each, but he may get suspicious.

Anyway, long story short, worth it to fly into LAX for the better biz class options, or save some points and take the ease of SNA? This is all assuming there's availability for saver fares when I need to book later this week. Today there were options for Aug 16 (my understanding is release is 11 months to the day? Just like DVC!), I'll keep an eye on the next few days to try to get a feel for it.

We also fly from the east coast to DLR. Lately we have chosen to fly into LAX simply because we can get the nice lie flat seat flights. I find we arrive much more rested and comfortable in the lie flats than when not.

I am in the same exact boat! I've been looking at the award redemption in anticipation of October 2020 and I think I am doing it correctly. I have an ABD and it only mentions LAX so that is what I have been pricing.

For example, this is what I see for the first saver award one way on 8/16:
Screen Shot 2019-09-16 at 9.09.47 PM.png

And this is what I see for cash one way on 8/16:
Screen Shot 2019-09-16 at 9.10.58 PM.png

I could get it by transferring 35,000 URs to United and booking that way with the $5.60 taxes/fees or I could use straight URs through the Chase portal with a CSR and use about 44,000 URs. So I would be saving at most 9,000 URs per person. Am I looking at this correctly or is there something very off? It also looks like a 757-200 which I believe has the nice lay flat seats from past research.

I don't see first saver awards for any other date than 8/16 right now so it looks like the book immediately as the fares are released is great advice. And harm booking each leg separately? I'm not sure how else one could do it with the current availability.
 
It's exhausting sometimes though!

It's always exhausting to me lol! All I do is run, run, run...

I tell my dh that someday I will be bored silly and wishing I could drive kids all over the town going from one activity to another but I think I'm just trying to make myself feel better while I'm in this season of life. I look forward to grandkids where I can go watch their shows and games but their parents have to do all the paying and running around 😆
 
Maybe it is kind of midwestern because I’ve definitely had it. Only we spread the cream cheese on the lunch meat, then roll around the pickle. Never tried covering the pickle with cream cheese. I think the whipped cream cheese is easier to spread too. Such gourmets. :rotfl2:
That actually sounds kind of gross but really good at the same time! How is that possible!?!
 
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