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

[afan]

I have a $25 off $99 for Max - but I added that a few weeks ago.

They've had better than that before, I think during members week. I know some on reddit were hoping it would be there this week and were waiting. I also don't think I got that one.

 

[Sheree]

Did you ask them about their reservation guarantee?

https://www.ihg.com/content/us/en/customer-care/book-with-confidence
“

Online Reservation Guarantee​

Your room is guaranteed.
By securing your online reservation with a credit card, you are eligible for our Reservations Guarantee. If your reservation cannot be honored, the host hotel will provide a room at, and transportation to, another convenient and comparable hotel, and pay for telephone calls to notify family of the lodging change. The host hotel will also pay the full cost of the first night's lodging rate, plus tax. Any advance deposit will be refunded.”

I booked with points.

I did ask about what can be done and the response was I’d have to call igh but I’d get a refund.

i looked and no igh property had availability in Baltimore

since I was”lucky “ to be able to stay with cousins I didn’t pursue it.

the lady at the hotel was useless and I’m sure getting beat up.

 

[Sheree]

One good thing happened today. Last minute trip to FLL. Friends booking delta from lga, ugh.
but found my delta ff and shock, there were 28k unexpected miles!
havent flown dl in over 15 years!
1 way 10k. Used dh JetBlue for return to ewr.

so finally a win this week

fingers crossed j to cdg gets realistic

 

[afan]

Never done an fhr booking via Amex but I could use it at a kimpton in Portland and it cover most of the rate.

Will the $100 experience credit maybe cover parking or the resort fee?

Trying to sort it all out to convince my head it makes sense because it does given the alternatives but the parking fee to me is nuts. Plus the resort fee though it gives you $10 in food credit. All hoping you like the food at the restaurant

 

[havaneselover]

I had $50 off $100 on Dell on my Amex cards plus both kids' cards which is great since you can split payment. DD wanted to get her boyfriend Bose headphones so I used three cards to get $150 off. I also had the Lowes offer so I'll probably buy a $200 Kroger gift card.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Never done an fhr booking via Amex but I could use it at a kimpton in Portland and it cover most of the rate.

Will the $100 experience credit maybe cover parking or the resort fee?

Trying to sort it all out to convince my head it makes sense because it does given the alternatives but the parking fee to me is nuts. Plus the resort fee though it gives you $10 in food credit. All hoping you like the food at the restaurant

It depends. Some of the experience credits specify that it must be used for things like food or the spa. Check if there is a stipulation with the Kimpton in Portland. If not, then it should be okay to cover parking.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Many of the Amex Member week offers are on the generic offers page, so you should be able to add them to the card of your choice, there. I saw the Dell, Bose, Hilton, and SLH offers there.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Never done an fhr booking via Amex but I could use it at a kimpton in Portland and it cover most of the rate.

Will the $100 experience credit maybe cover parking or the resort fee?

Trying to sort it all out to convince my head it makes sense because it does given the alternatives but the parking fee to me is nuts. Plus the resort fee though it gives you $10 in food credit. All hoping you like the food at the restaurant

I would contact the hotel directly bc I think sometimes the wording can just say "experience credit" but it turns out that can only be used at the spa, or something. The food at Kimpton restaurants tend to be some of my favs.

 

[havaneselover]

Just bought a new pair of sunglasses from SGH. I used one Amex offer on DD's card to buy a $100 gift card and put the remainder on my card to save $60. Rakuten was 15% off. I forget if it's just on the amount not paid by gift card or the full amount.

 

[LynnTH]

DD22 is looking to get a new Credit Card (in her words - to start scamming like Mom...). Looking at those with smaller spend on them. Looking at possibly the Disney Card with upgraded bonus of a $400 Statement Credit for $1000 spend or a SW Card with 50,000 points for $1000 spend. She is going to try and get her friends into the Credit Card game a bit. They all like to travel together but don't always have extra $. So, I thought the SW card would be good for all of them as that would pay for a trip or 2 or 3 of airfare. I can't remember if in the past - that SW had increased bonuses around this time. Wanting to see if they should wait or not. Will probably refer DD and then she can refer her friends once she gets the cards.

 

[LynnTH]

I was just coming to post about the AMEX Business Gold. I'm not sure who saw but there was a change this week which added a $20 monthly credit for Fedex, Grubhub, and office supply stores. I bought a $20 DGC from Office Depot and the credit posted the same day.

Thanks for the heads up. Just enrolled both mine and DH's card. Nice way to stock up on some Gift Cards.

 

[afan]

I would contact the hotel directly bc I think sometimes the wording can just say "experience credit" but it turns out that can only be used at the spa, or something. The food at Kimpton restaurants tend to be some of my favs.

I'll ask in a couple days when I call to let them know about Tux.

There's only a seafood restaurant and I can see that menu which doesn't excite me though there's some stiff that's not seafood. But they don't have their room service menu and while I imagine it comes from the restaurant it doesn't mean the menu is the same. Especially given the happy hour menu is slightly similar but not the same like a more simple cheeseburger with different cheese than the dinner menu.

 

[lsutigers03]

DD22 is looking to get a new Credit Card (in her words - to start scamming like Mom...). Looking at those with smaller spend on them. Looking at possibly the Disney Card with upgraded bonus of a $400 Statement Credit for $1000 spend or a SW Card with 50,000 points for $1000 spend. She is going to try and get her friends into the Credit Card game a bit. They all like to travel together but don't always have extra $. So, I thought the SW card would be good for all of them as that would pay for a trip or 2 or 3 of airfare. I can't remember if in the past - that SW had increased bonuses around this time. Wanting to see if they should wait or not. Will probably refer DD and then she can refer her friends once she gets the cards.

The 50k offer on the SW cards is the normal offer. I would go for the elevated Disney offer now. She could always do the SW offer later while waiting for an increase. I like to put my bonuses towards my travel. So I would do $600 of normal spend and then save that last $400 for DGC or something else that will go directly towards travel. Also, this is just a personal thing for me but with the Disney Premier card you can get a 100th anniversary metal card. I would go with that first as a keepsake. She could always request a different design that she likes more after having the card for a month. Between mine and DW's accounts I have a 100th, 50th, and retro WDW designs.

 

[LynnTH]

The 50k offer on the SW cards is the normal offer. I would go for the elevated Disney offer now. She could always do the SW offer later while waiting for an increase. I like to put my bonuses towards my travel. So I would do $600 of normal spend and then save that last $400 for DGC or something else that will go directly towards travel. Also, this is just a personal thing for me but with the Disney Premier card you can get a 100th anniversary metal card. I would go with that first as a keepsake. She could always request a different design that she likes more after having the card for a month. Between mine and DW's accounts I have a 100th, 50th, and retro WDW designs.

Thanks. I was kind of thinking the same thing. Get the elevated Disney Card now and then in a few months she can get the SW Card. She is working full time as a Nurse now, so has the income. But lives at home so not many bills. So, like to go for the smaller spend cards. May even have DS24 go for 1 or both of these. Nice that the Disney one is a $400 Statement Credit too. Plus I can refer them and get $100 Disney Dollars for each one.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

DD22 is looking to get a new Credit Card (in her words - to start scamming like Mom...). Looking at those with smaller spend on them. Looking at possibly the Disney Card with upgraded bonus of a $400 Statement Credit for $1000 spend or a SW Card with 50,000 points for $1000 spend. She is going to try and get her friends into the Credit Card game a bit. They all like to travel together but don't always have extra $. So, I thought the SW card would be good for all of them as that would pay for a trip or 2 or 3 of airfare. I can't remember if in the past - that SW had increased bonuses around this time. Wanting to see if they should wait or not. Will probably refer DD and then she can refer her friends once she gets the cards.

Would the SW support points be helpful for you in maintaining or achieving CP? If so, the timing of that may be something to consider. I do think around this time of year is when they start messing with the norm SW SUBs and I sort of recall last year the 50k/$1k went away for a bit, which made it difficult for those with smaller spends.

Your daughter may think differently, but I guarantee a $400 SC would just be $400 in free cash for my daughter. It wouldn't go towards travel. And that's not bad, there's all kinds of different goals. Whereas, the SW card points can really only be used for one thing.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I am out of Dell ideas. Anyone?

 

[iujen94]

I am out of Dell ideas. Anyone?

I buy Bose headphones and resell them on Facebook Marketplace. I usually end up profiting about $150ish.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I ended up getting 2 Nest combo smoke detectors/carbon monoxide detectors + a webcam light ring light. I was definitely stretching this time. I'll be triple quadruple dipping this credit, but will cancel at renewal. I think I've run through any decent uses of the Dell credit for personal/family use, like several Bose headphones, nest and ring accessories, fitbits, etc.

ETA: opened late dec 2022, so will get 4 x $200 Dell credits on this card.

 

[havaneselover]

My CSR has a $50 off $200 at Sephora offer. I also had 10% off on my CF. I may pick up some gift cards. I don't spend a ton on makeup/skincare but I do tend to buy from Sephora. Plus DD likes to splurge occasionally.

 

[calypso726]

We are back from our travel hacked Virgin Voyages Irresistible Med cruise. We followed that up with a day in DLP, not travel hacked except for the flight. After that another flight on miles to Manchester and caught a train to Wales where we spent 4 nights touring before heading to London to crash at a Hilton on points before our morning flight on BA (using Avios) back home.

It was our first time flying Iberia and while their business class product isn't something to write home about, I'd definitely fly them again. It was only 51.5K miles for a lie flat seat.

We were traveling with my BFF TA so I didn't need to do much in the way of planning. We did a tours by locals on our Barcelona pre stay and visited Sagrada Familia.

I didn't like any of the excursions offered by Virgin during the cruise so we mostly explored each port. The exception was Cinque Terre. Here, I really wanted to see the villages from the ocean and not with crowds of people, hiking and trains and whatnot. My TA was able to secure 2 private boats for the day since 11 in our group of 13 wanted to come with on this adventure. We sailed around and stopped at a few of the villages and had time to swim in the Mediterranean sea for those who wished to do so. They provided local wines and local charcuterie for lunch among other snacks. This was my favorite day of the cruise as was for our other traveling companions. For those of you who enjoy cruising, it is definitely worth thinking outside the box when you don't like the excursions available with the cruise line.

We hired a local guide in Wales that my TA found as none of us were keen on driving on the left side of the road. Plus, I'd rather sightsee and hear about local culture and history than pay attention to and try to decipher road signs in Welsh. Here we stayed at Inns and B&Bs as the large corporate chains aren't as available in the countryside. Even if they were, I prefer the charm and quirks of an old fishing villages turned into an Inn or B&B. We stayed at one place that had nary a proper right angle to be found

We also stayed at the Wildings Hotel in Llandudno. Llandudno was the holiday destination of the real Alice in Wonderland, Alice Liddell, who inspired Lewis Carroll’s famous story. The Wildings Hotel’s link with the books began when Alice Liddell, stayed in Llandudno in 1861. The census that year shows the Liddell family, along with Alice aged 8, residing The Wildings Hotel. Back then the hotel was known as ‘Tudno Villa’ and then became St Tudno Hotel before being renamed The Wildings Hotel in 2021.

I attempted to pack carry on only as I am an over packer. I failed epically at this endeavor. Firstly, I did decide to pack a Dapper style dress with full petticoat, gloves, fascinator, shoes etc. for Scarlet Night on the ship. Secondly, I failed to recall that 54F in Wales is NOT AT ALL the same as 54F in South Florida. An extra jacket simply did not cut it. I now own a hoodie with a Welsh Dragon from the Visitor's center LOL

Below a few favorite pics from the trip.








^ Lessons in what NOT to pack for carry on only ^