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Travel Thread

Posted: Fri May 29, 2020 10:47 am
by LITT


In that case, I defer to TPG: https://thepointsguy.com/guide/best-cre ... ng-united/. Note: Unless your company is crazy and will reimburse you the annual fee, ignore any of those $450+ AF cards.
I'm the newest of newbies to credit cards. I've had one since I was in my early 20s and have never applied for another since. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is $95 yearly, but it's offering 60,000 points if you spend so much in the first 3 months which won't be a problem. What exactly would I be able to do with 60,000 points?
60,000 points = $600. You can use it as a statement credit, purchase gift cards, stuff like that. If you use the Chase travel portal thing you can book flights, hotels, vacation packages, etc. and travel goes at a 1.25 rate so the 60,000 points is worth $750.
question about trying to get more sign up bonuses
my wife and both have chase sapphire cards. based on the R&R it looks like we can combine her points to my account, cancel hers and have her sign up for a new card to get the bonus? does this make sense?
When did she open her Sapphire card? She needs to go at least 48 months between that one and opening a new one to be eligible for the bonus again. And yes, she can transfer her points to your account (add her card on your account).
shes had it since december of 2016 so we need to wait a few months it seems

Travel Thread

Posted: Fri May 29, 2020 10:56 am
by NTP66


I'm the newest of newbies to credit cards. I've had one since I was in my early 20s and have never applied for another since. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is $95 yearly, but it's offering 60,000 points if you spend so much in the first 3 months which won't be a problem. What exactly would I be able to do with 60,000 points?
60,000 points = $600. You can use it as a statement credit, purchase gift cards, stuff like that. If you use the Chase travel portal thing you can book flights, hotels, vacation packages, etc. and travel goes at a 1.25 rate so the 60,000 points is worth $750.
question about trying to get more sign up bonuses
my wife and both have chase sapphire cards. based on the R&R it looks like we can combine her points to my account, cancel hers and have her sign up for a new card to get the bonus? does this make sense?
When did she open her Sapphire card? She needs to go at least 48 months between that one and opening a new one to be eligible for the bonus again. And yes, she can transfer her points to your account (add her card on your account).
shes had it since december of 2016 so we need to wait a few months it seems
When the time comes, you can check out this link for the best sign-up bonuses on Chase cards: https://shorturl.at/vJMP6 (CSP = Preferred, CSR = Reserve).

Travel Thread

Posted: Fri May 29, 2020 1:01 pm
by shafnutz05
Re: WDW re-opening. The rumor is capacity will be at 1/3 of total capacity, since this is what Shanghai Disneyland has done. Magic Kingdom has a capacity of about 100,000, so theoretically 33,000 people will be allowed in. Epcot would go down to 32,000, Hollywood Studios would go down to 25,000, Animal Kingdom to 20,000.

That's still a **** ton of people. We attended After Hours at Magic Kingdom a few years ago and it was estimated that about 3,500 tickets were sold. The park felt empty, but the damn 7 Dwarfs Mine Train still had a 15 minute wait.
Yup, have had the same experience. It doesn't matter if the park is at 1/3 capacity when most of those people are still waiting in lines.

Travel Thread

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 5:25 pm
by NTP66
@DigitalGypsy66: Shifting the conversation here. Are you going to HH? The rest of my family is still planning on making the trip in early August, albeit driving instead of flying. I’ve thought about tagging along, but given that I’d still be leery about dine in service, that’s an uphill battle.

Travel Thread

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:49 pm
by DigitalGypsy66
The place we normally go is now booked through Labor Day. We're planning on going, but it will be a last minute type thing. Beaufort County hasn't been hit hard to this point, but we'll see. ..

Travel Thread

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:00 pm
by NTP66
The place we normally go is now booked through Labor Day. We're planning on going, but it will be a last minute type thing. Beaufort County hasn't been hit hard to this point, but we'll see. ..
My parents rented out their Marriott timeshare in HH this year and are staying here (mainly for Pool Bar Jim): https://www.hiltonheadseacrest.com/

Travel Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 7:49 am
by mac5155
My flight to Aruba in mid September was just canceled on Southwest. Seemingly they just canceled it without telling me at all. I only found out because they sent me an email that I had a rapid rewards credit coming.

Travel Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 7:50 am
by NTP66
My flight to Aruba in mid September was just canceled on Southwest. Seemingly they just canceled it without telling me at all. I only found out because they sent me an email that I had a rapid rewards credit coming.
They don't have to notify you outside of something like 45 or 90 days (I forget which). It's why I create my own reminders to routinely check my flights.

Travel Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 7:54 am
by mac5155
Still a shtty way to find out from an otherwise respected airline.

Travel Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 7:56 am
by NTP66
I agree, though all airlines do this.

Travel Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 8:08 am
by NTP66


60,000 points = $600. You can use it as a statement credit, purchase gift cards, stuff like that. If you use the Chase travel portal thing you can book flights, hotels, vacation packages, etc. and travel goes at a 1.25 rate so the 60,000 points is worth $750.
question about trying to get more sign up bonuses
my wife and both have chase sapphire cards. based on the R&R it looks like we can combine her points to my account, cancel hers and have her sign up for a new card to get the bonus? does this make sense?
When did she open her Sapphire card? She needs to go at least 48 months between that one and opening a new one to be eligible for the bonus again. And yes, she can transfer her points to your account (add her card on your account).
shes had it since december of 2016 so we need to wait a few months it seems
When the time comes, you can check out this link for the best sign-up bonuses on Chase cards: https://shorturl.at/vJMP6 (CSP = Preferred, CSR = Reserve).
@LITT: Thinking about this again, you may want to have her wait until 48 months from the time her bonus was posted for her to apply for a new CSP/CSR, and not from when the card was open. She can/should cancel the card before then (definitely before the AF hits).

Travel Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 8:15 am
by LITT


question about trying to get more sign up bonuses
my wife and both have chase sapphire cards. based on the R&R it looks like we can combine her points to my account, cancel hers and have her sign up for a new card to get the bonus? does this make sense?
When did she open her Sapphire card? She needs to go at least 48 months between that one and opening a new one to be eligible for the bonus again. And yes, she can transfer her points to your account (add her card on your account).
shes had it since december of 2016 so we need to wait a few months it seems
When the time comes, you can check out this link for the best sign-up bonuses on Chase cards: https://shorturl.at/vJMP6 (CSP = Preferred, CSR = Reserve).
@LITT: Thinking about this again, you may want to have her wait until 48 months from the time her bonus was posted for her to apply for a new CSP/CSR, and not from when the card was open. She can/should cancel the card before then (definitely before the AF hits).
makes sense - good thought. TY

Travel Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 8:14 pm
by tifosi77
Carrying over from a mention in the PDT.....

Mrs Tif has been banging the let's-go-to-Portland drum pretty hard for a couple years now, and I'm just meh. Fellow 5AFers who have visited the Rose City, sell me on it.

Travel Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 9:07 pm
by willeyeam
Portland was okay imo. I was there for a NYE wedding so I didn't have tons of free time to explore. So I guess you can take it with a grain of salt. It was a cool city, plenty of foodie options and breweries. GREAT hiking at Mt Hood or skiing if you're there in the winter. Lots and lots and lots of homeless people.

Apparently bars and restaurants take collections for them and fund a travelling bathroom sort of setup where they can shower and get fresh clothes.

I'd go if I was invited on a trip but I wouldn't go out of my way to plan a trip there imo

Travel Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 9:14 pm
by RonnieFranchise
Went there many years ago. People were super friendly, good restaurants, but would have to have a specific reason to go back.

Travel Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 10:16 pm
by mac5155
X3. Food was good, brewery and bar scene was good. More homeless than I've ever seen in my life. I went for work and would go back but only on their dime again.

Travel Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 11:32 pm
by dodint
Carrying over from a mention in the PDT.....

Mrs Tif has been banging the let's-go-to-Portland drum pretty hard for a couple years now, and I'm just meh. Fellow 5AFers who have visited the Rose City, sell me on it.
It has a racetrack, PIR. Go when there is a TNiA event (they are midweek) and take a fun rental car. Cheap and insanely fun.

Travel Thread

Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 11:31 pm
by mac5155
So southwest offered to pay the difference when I rebook my canceled flight. But it has to be within 14 days. Spoiler alert... They aren't flying to Aruba again until November and my flight was supposed to be in September.

Nice gesture at least..

Travel Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 6:06 am
by NTP66
@tifosi77: You have any idea what’s going on with LAX? Before I was able to cancel our flights for our vacation later this month, our route was changed from PHL>LAX>OGG to PHL>DFW>OGG. The next week, that actually changed to PHL>DFW>HNL>OGG. I don’t see any flights from LAX to the islands now, which is odd because most of the flights going there were out of LAX.

Travel Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 3:41 pm
by tifosi77
I just did a quick Kayak search, and there are a number of options for LAX-OGG round trip from American, Delta, United, etc. for arrival dates in late June.

That said, Hawai'i is imposing a 14-day quarantine for all travelers arriving to the islands through the end of June. That applies to tourists and HI residents, and so might be impacting certain flight availability.

https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/ ... ronavirus/

Travel Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:22 pm
by NTP66
That’s been in effect for a while now. I just checked, and now I’m seeing the LAX>OGG routes. Weird.

Our old LAX>OGG leg is 80% full, which is incredible, given that it is usually 100% full by April. Fares are about $400 cheaper per person right now, too. If we get a vaccine this winter, I’m re-booking our trip for next summer and just doing two years in a row.

Travel Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:27 pm
by tifosi77
Given the quarantine requirement, I'm surprised that flights are any percent full right now. Can't imagine there are that many islanders who have traveled to the mainland in the last three months who are flying home now.

Travel Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:30 pm
by NTP66
There are quite a few people in the Marriott FB group I’m a member of still planning on going and staying in their rooms the entire week. That wouldn’t fly with me, personally. Maui has been very strict and following up on their threats of arresting violators and sending them packing, too.

Travel Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 6:43 pm
by mac5155
So southwest canceled my Aruba flights Sept 12 to 19.

I have two options. Book on another airline for over 500 per flight (there are 9 of us going...), or reschedule on southwest in November for about 450 per flight, though some of us have RR points to where we'd only be buying about 5 flights with cash.

Do we think airlines will add flights once Aruba "reopens" on June 15th? Just looking for opinions. I know no one can predict this sh!t

Travel Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 7:17 pm
by shoeshine boy
I'm a member of a couple of Maui Facebook groups and the tension in those groups, a mix of travelers and locals, is HOT right now. most of the locals never want the tourists to come back. I get not wanting people bringing disease but without tourism Hawaii would be in rough shape.