I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 (see first page for add'l details)

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Thanks for all of your replies re: Tokyo Disney Sea. I wasn’t sure if I’d go or not until I got off the flight this morning, but I was fine, so decided to go! I had so.much.fun! Felt like a little kid again on the rides, just enjoying myself and being in the moment for the day. ]

I had no game plan at all, didn’t even have a ticket or Tokyo Disney app. I took care of both of these things on the 15 min train ride to the park! I took the monorail from the airport to the JR Hamamouto (sp) line, then walked out of Tokyo station to the Tokyo Station Hotel. I was here just before 8, but I wanted to freshen up a bit and lock my passport in my suitcase. I left here around 8:10 and was at the park entrance just after 9. Wow was it busy. Like really, really busy. The security line was huge, but it moved quickly, same with the ticket line. A few people in line helped me get used to the app and showed me how to navigate it (the people here are super helpful).

As soon as I passed through the ticket gate I bought a Priority Passes for Soarin’ and Indiana Jones. I then headed for Journey to the Centre of the Earth. The line time said 80 minutes (I was in line by 9:35), but it took closer to 110 minutes. Headed from there to my Soarin’ PP time, boy does the PP line move quickly. Rode almost immediately and once I had scanned my FP I purchased a PP for Tower of Terror. Then headed to get something to eat (sausage goyza), took food to the line for 20k Leagues Under the Sea (around 45 min wait). By this time it was my time in McDuck shop (you have to get a ticket to get in some of the shops and they limit some of the merch you can buy). After McDucks I rode ToT which I LOVED. Then headed to Indiana Jones which I think was 1 of my favorites. After I rode IJ with my PP I lined up again as a single; it took longer to get through the line, around 20 minutes, but still waaaay shorter than the 120 standby line. Then headed over to Sinbad and rode that. While in line I was refreshing the app and was able to grab another PP for Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Rode that again, then went over to Nemo and waited around a half hour to ride it. Somewhere along the way I stopped for an orange hot chocolate which was delicious. By this time I was able to get into Emporio (which was code only until 5pm) and buy a few very small things. I got to do everything that I wanted to do and rode Journey and Indiana Jones twice. Toy Story is down for a few weeks BOOO —it’s one of my favorite rides. But without it in operation I was able to get almost everything else done.

I tried for lottery tickets for Big Band show and didn’t get any (that’s 0 for 2 — didn’t get them in 2019 either). Oh well. I watched the show on the water for 2 or 3 minutes — super cute ear worm song they’ve come up for the 40th. Will post pics later — too tired now and still have to develop plans for tomorrow.

The only ride that I did without a PP was Journey at the beginning of the day and I knew after waiting that long that I wouldn’t be doing any other standby lines. Soarin’ was at 150 mins from the time I got in the park, Journey was around 110 minutes, Indiana Jones and ToT were both around 120 minutes. Just no.way did I have the patience to wait in line for that long. Once was enough for me, but I got lucky and avoided lines . I was wondering how I managed the parks in the summer in 2019 and I have no clue. I think the weather was perfect today — around 44 degrees. Not hot, not cold, loved it.

Train back to Tokyo station was super easy (It takes just over 15 mins and costs a whopping $1.50ish). Man is that a huge station, my gosh. It took me a good 10-15 mins to walk from where I got off the train to the exit to the hotel. I did stop somewhere in the station for dinner (shredded chicken with rice which was good) — honestly I was so tired I just wanted to get to my room.

Glad you had a great time! Surprised the park was so busy on a weekday in January!

 

[jujubiee4]

I recently got trip insurance for an international trip for 2- 'cancel for any reason' etc added They had me input the value of the trip to calculate it- I think I paid $428 for it. I usually don't buy insurance but this was a biggie for us.

Who did you end up going with? Im also looking for international insurance. I always get confused
on what to include if you pay with points. The hotels and flights will be with points. The cruise out of
pocket. So just insure the cruise amount?

 

[LynnTH]

Who did you end up going with? Im also looking for international insurance. I always get confused
on what to include if you pay with points. The hotels and flights will be with points. The cruise out of
pocket. So just insure the cruise amount?

Only insure the $ amount I would be out if I had to cancel. Most won't cover points bookings and it all depends on what cancellation policy's you have for the hotels/flight.

For cruises. I mainly get for medical and emergency evacuation. So, look at those benefits - sometimes the difference between $100,00 medical and $250,000 medical is only a few dollars. And having to get a flight off a cruise ship can be costly so I always make sure the emergency evacuation has at least $100,00.

I have used cruise insurance twice on a cruise. One I was just sick and visited the Ships Dr. Other time DS broke his wrist on the cruise. So, visited the ships Dr and they made us an appointment in Cozumel at the hospital where they did more x-rays and had to rebreak the bones and then set in a cast. That appointment was about $2000 (10 years ago). We had to pay right then but got it all back with the insurance.

So, you just never know what can happen. I am a firm believer in Trip Insurance anytime out of the country.

 

[jujubiee4]

Ugh Cancelled my Amex platinum today. Feel like I abandoned a family member. Granted I only had
the card for 1 year lol. Last year they emailed me 90k Gold offer but its gone now. Hopefully it comes
back. I did apply and approved instantly the VenX. Plan on keeping it for a while.

On another note some Airline schedule changes are driving me mad. United changed an Intl departure
time 3 1/2 hours. Hawaiian changed one 2 hours and just got an email from Jetblue who flat out cancelled
a Sept flight saying they are discontinuing the route! Grrrr

 

[LynnTH]

What’s the best card right now for large travel spend? The next year or so we will probably have $50k+ in travel spend. Right now I’m having a tough time finding anything better than just using my CSR.

Don’t fly Southwest so no interest in the companion pass.

If I had that much in spend coming up. I would definitely look at getting multiple cards and getting the SUB on as many as you can. More helpful if you have a P2 or P3 that can help get these cards too.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

On another note some Airline schedule changes are driving me mad. United changed an Intl departure
time 3 1/2 hours. Hawaiian changed one 2 hours and just got an email from Jetblue who flat out cancelled
a Sept flight saying they are discontinuing the route! Grrrr

Yeah they are changing so many flights! We have 2 AA flights that got changed, now we went from 1 hour layovers to 4 hour layovers. That really hurts, as we're losing time at the destination.

 

[jujubiee4]

Only insure the $ amount I would be out if I had to cancel. Most won't cover points bookings and it all depends on what cancellation policy's you have for the hotels/flight.

For cruises. I mainly get for medical and emergency evacuation. So, look at those benefits - sometimes the difference between $100,00 medical and $250,000 medical is only a few dollars. And having to get a flight off a cruise ship can be costly so I always make sure the emergency evacuation has at least $100,00.

I have used cruise insurance twice on a cruise. One I was just sick and visited the Ships Dr. Other time DS broke his wrist on the cruise. So, visited the ships Dr and they made us an appointment in Cozumel at the hospital where they did more x-rays and had to rebreak the bones and then set in a cast. That appointment was about $2000 (10 years ago). We had to pay right then but got it all back with the insurance.

So, you just never know what can happen. I am a firm believer in Trip Insurance anytime out of the country.

If you can please tell who you used...you can pm if you want. International insurance always makes
me nervous and I dont want to over insure or under insure.. Thank you for breaking down the
recommended amounts you got. Our last cruise there was 2 evacuations. Normally I never really think
about it but lately it has def got my attention to having really good insurance.

 

[afan]

Looks like my AS biz card is in the mail which is good since Tux has his vet checkup tomorrow. Approved on the 16th so 10 days to get the card. Was worried with all the new apps with the new offers that it wouldn't come until next week.

 

[mfly]

Wanted to report back: I had asked previously about methods to pay student loans via credit card. I decided to go for the 90k CIU signup bonus and use Gift of College to pay off the loans.

Gift of College allows you to make payments of up to $500 directly towards the loans for a fee of 5%, capped at $15 per transaction (so 3%, if you do the full $500 per transaction). There are some stores that offer their gift cards at a lower fee, but none in my area.

The payments went through quickly and without issue - they posted the day after I made the transaction.

For me, I had the funds to pay these off but wanted to find a way to make it seem less painful. Paying $180 in fees to pay off 6k in loans and earn 90k in UR points seemed worth it to me, but I know it's not for everyone.

Just wanted to share in case anyone else is in a similar situation!

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

If you can please tell who you used...you can pm if you want. International insurance always makes
me nervous and I dont want to over insure or under insure.. Thank you for breaking down the
recommended amounts you got. Our last cruise there was 2 evacuations. Normally I never really think
about it but lately it has def got my attention to having really good insurance.

Quoting both of these AND hoping that everyone who responded to me yesterday reads this. I discussed getting trip insurance with my husband for the 21 day European trip ( different countries, DLP, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, London and a cruise) and he said no, don't worry about it.
Um - I am doing it anyway. So you guys keep on posting all of your knowledge and I'm going to use it all and purchase trip insurance.
One big remaining questoin for you guys - I read about reimbursement of electronics -- for instance if your iPad or computer or phone gets lost or stolen. Is that worth it as a "rider"?

 

[AmyAnne]

Quoting both of these AND hoping that everyone who responded to me yesterday reads this. I discussed getting trip insurance with my husband for the 21 day European trip ( different countries, DLP, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, London and a cruise) and he said no, don't worry about it.
Um - I am doing it anyway. So you guys keep on posting all of your knowledge and I'm going to use it all and purchase trip insurance.
One big remaining questoin for you guys - I read about reimbursement of electronics -- for instance if your iPad or computer or phone gets lost or stolen. Is that worth it as a "rider"?

Other people likely have different views, but my view is that the main reason to get trip insurance for an international trip is for the medical evacuation coverage. In my mind, coverage for anything else is a bonus.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Quoting both of these AND hoping that everyone who responded to me yesterday reads this. I discussed getting trip insurance with my husband for the 21 day European trip ( different countries, DLP, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, London and a cruise) and he said no, don't worry about it.
Um - I am doing it anyway. So you guys keep on posting all of your knowledge and I'm going to use it all and purchase trip insurance.
One big remaining questoin for you guys - I read about reimbursement of electronics -- for instance if your iPad or computer or phone gets lost or stolen. Is that worth it as a "rider"?

Electronic add on isn’t worth it to me but I do not travel with a laptop or iPad, I bought a cheap fire tablet so if it gets broken or lost I don’t care and it was one of the best travel decisions I made. Any work can be done from my phone, I only use the tablet for entertainment. I also don't have a $1k+ smartphone, if my phone gets stolen I’m out a few hundred bucks, I’m not gonna insure that.

 

[LynnTH]

If you can please tell who you used...you can pm if you want. International insurance always makes
me nervous and I dont want to over insure or under insure.. Thank you for breaking down the
recommended amounts you got. Our last cruise there was 2 evacuations. Normally I never really think
about it but lately it has def got my attention to having really good insurance.

There is not one certain company that I have used. I just look at the different plans and use the one that gives me the best benefits that I am looking for. Sometimes the ones with better benefits that I need are less expensive than the ones with less benefits. All of them seem to have pretty good ratings on insure my trip . com.

 

[hsmamato2]

Who did you end up going with? Im also looking for international insurance. I always get confused
on what to include if you pay with points. The hotels and flights will be with points. The cruise out of
pocket. So just insure the cruise amount?

I can't recall the name atm.... it was from that recommended site- and had good reviews. I use partial points to pay also for all of it, so I guesstimated the actual amount - it's pretty easy to figure out actual costs(in my case adding hotel,air etc together)

 

[becauseimnew]

I did apply and approved instantly the VenX. Plan on keeping it for a while.

Congrats! What credit bureau did they pull?

 

[jujubiee4]

Congrats! What credit bureau did they pull?

You know what? I don't know but I have the regular Venture AF $59 and I always get emails asking me
to "upgrade for free". I called and said I want to keep the Venture but get the 90k offer for X I have seen.
They took some info and came back on the line and said Congratulations your new card is on the way.

I will miss my platinum as I feel Amex CS is really good. It didn't help they went on this long spiel about
all the benefits the platinum has. I even canceled through chat and it didn't matter lol. I still have the
green and the everyday.

 

[jujubiee4]

I can't recall the name atm.... it was from that recommended site- and had good reviews. I use partial points to pay also for all of it, so I guesstimated the actual amount - it's pretty easy to figure out actual costs(in my case adding hotel,air etc together.

So when they ask you the first date of payment for your vacation do you count the down payment? I just
paid off the cruise but started last summer for 1st payment.

By the way the 3 hour schedule change United emailed me about I just tried to change. They
had the nerve to try to charge me more points after saying I can schedule another flight for free. After
arguing with 2 CS agents I had to talk to a supervisor who manually did the change.

Some airline's customer service is brutal.

*on another note all this talk about Insurance makes me wonder if anyone ever got an annual policy?
We have 3 maybe 4 trips for the next 12 months. (japan next year). Is there even such a thing as annual
policy for land/cruise trips?

 

[LynnTH]

So when they ask you the first date of payment for your vacation do you count the down payment? I just
paid off the cruise but started last summer for 1st payment.

By the way the almost 3 hour schedule change United emailed me about I just tried to change. They
had the nerve to try to charge me more points after saying I can schedule another flight for free. After
arguing with 2 CS agents I had to talk to a supervisor who manually did the change.

Some airline's customer service is brutal.

Correct. It goes by first payment. Most policy's have a clause regarding medical benefits for pre-existing conditions. In order to file a claim on something that you had a pre-existing condition on, the plan had to be purchased like 10-15 days after your 1st payment.

 

[georgina]

Cancelled DH's Chase Bonvoy Boundless in November after the free night arrived. Just went to book the free night, and he got an offer to reapply for the same card, with a $300 egift card and 75,000 points after $3000 spend. With all the trouble using the 50,000 night certificates lately, I'm thinking that $300 makes up for fewer points. I had been planning to wait a bit and refer him, he got both a SW card and CIC in December so probably will pass.

 

[afan]

Looks like my AS biz card is in the mail which is good since Tux has his vet checkup tomorrow. Approved on the 16th so 10 days to get the card. Was worried with all the new apps with the new offers that it wouldn't come until next week.

Boo it was just a notice of what the sub is. Nice but I want the card.