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

[mmmears]

Hi. First post to this thread. Our budget is tight, so I'm interested in taking advantage of some of these cc offers so that I can take a trip this summer. I saw an offer for the Chase Marriott Boundless --5 free night awards.

Cards I've opened in the past 24 months:

05/23 Bank of Amer Platinum (interest free with a balance of 12k until feb '25)

08/23 Barclay's Banana Republic (zero balance)

I have a Chase Sapphire with zero balance. I've had that card for years but rarely use it.

I mostly use a Marriott Bonvoy Amex card to get the points. I use to have the one with the $450 fee, but downgraded to the $95 fee when they changed some of the terms re the Marriott statement credit.

I charge around 3k to 5k per month to the card...groceries, gas, rent for college student, utilities, subscriptions. Last year I averaged 6-7k per month if you include the occasional big purchases like tuition, and a vacay. I do not carry a balance on it.

My goal is to travel at minimal cost. We do not fly--we like road trips. I would be open to flying if I could do it cheaply. Right now I'd just like to be able to drive a few hours and spend a week at the beach this summer. I don't have any big aspirations of world travel.

We mainly stay at Marriott properties because we usually have points. I have recently started branching out a bit. Last summer on a road trip to CO, we stayed at a Choice prop twice to break up the drive. We like Drury, too, but locations are limited. I know the Marriott brand well--the value of the points, etc. The recent change they made of getting rid of the categories has actually worked in my favor because we often travel during off peak periods. Of course my desire to go to the beach in June will be a stretch on a 50k fna. But I don't have to be beachfront.

I am open to other ideas. I have read that Hyatt has a good rewards program, but I have no experience with that brand. I am completely new to this churning thing. It's intimidating. Thanks for the help.

eta: I just saw my username. To clarify. My youngest is 18--graduating hs in May. I have one in college, oldest two are completely launched. When we travel these days, it's usually just me and the 2 younger dds. Sometimes its just dh and I. We live in Alabama.

Welcome! With your monthly spend and your very reasonable travel goals I think this can be accomplished pretty easily, really. You have received some good recommendations. I'd look into the Chase ecosystem since that will let you transfer points to both Hyatt and Marriott (but I lean heavily towards Hyatt these days). Frankly, now that you're mostly a party of 2 it's worth considering expanding your travel goals if you think you could be interested.

 

[disneybirds]

I had an odd thing happen with my Amazon Prime account. I knew I was supposed to get billed in August and was considering not renewing. About 2 weeks before I was to get billed I got a charge to my Amazon card for the Prime sub amount. I almost took the lazy way out and didn't do anything (and just decide to keep it), but decided to do a chat with support. They tried to convince me they just billed me early. That didn't seem like the appropriate response, so I did ask to cancel. They had to xfer me to the "cancellation" dept and that person was like "do you want to cancel both Prime subscriptions"? I was confused. Anyway, someone had used a different email to sign up for Prime, but used my CC. Oddly, they didn't order anything from Amazon using my CC -- guess they were trying to get Prime for free and hoped I wouldn't notice. Anyway, we canceled their sub and mine and I reported the card as stolen.\

This is exactly why I check every Amazon charge on the cc (and we have lots of them)! My Dad had a similar issue where he was being charged for the monthly Prime account and he never signed up for it. Took me awhile on the phone with them to get it taken care of. I have also had them recharge me for items that were returned if they never received them. Glad you got it fixed!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I love the Tokyo Station Hotel. I waited for my dates to open on points and jumped as soon as they did (29k Hyatt points / night). I knew from our visit in 2019 that being close to the JR line would be clutch and I was right. The Tokyo Station Hotels sits on top of the Tokyo Station which will get you anywhere you want to go!

I got upgraded to a Maisonette Suite, which is so much bigger than I need. It is a 2 story room with the main bathroom downstairs and a powder room upstairs. I love the room, but I’d be fine with a smaller room since I’m only in it to sleep. The room is old, but old in a good way. It exudes character and charm in a way that really speaks to me (it might not be for everyone). The bathrooms both have Toto washlets with heated seats — I do love a heated seat (if I ever build a house I’m going to put heated seats in all the bathrooms lol)! The Western breakfast is tiny (cereal, fruit, muesli and yogurt), but who cares? It’s all I need and because it’s buffet I can eat and get going quickly (it’s included with points bookings). I would book this hotel again in a heartbeat and highly recommend it.

A few pics before I head out for the day…..












The view from my room:

 

[elgerber]

This is exactly why I check every Amazon charge on the cc (and we have lots of them)! My Dad had a similar issue where he was being charged for the monthly Prime account and he never signed up for it. Took me awhile on the phone with them to get it taken care of. I have also had them recharge me for items that were returned if they never received them. Glad you got it fixed!

That happens to me a few times a year. Luckily they email me and tell me they are charging me. I do a chat and they refund it right away.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I love the Tokyo Station Hotel. I waited for my dates to open on points and jumped as soon as they did (29k Hyatt points / night). I knew from our visit in 2019 that being close to the JR line would be clutch and I was right. The Tokyo Station Hotels sits on top of the Tokyo Station which will get you anywhere you want to go!

I got upgraded to a Maisonette Suite, which is so much bigger than I need. It is a 2 story room with the main bathroom downstairs and a powder room upstairs. I love the room, but I’d be fine with a smaller room since I’m only in it to sleep. The room is old, but old in a good way. It exudes character and charm in a way that really speaks to me (it might not be for everyone). The bathrooms both have Toto washlets with heated seats — I do love a heated seat (if I ever build a house I’m going to put heated seats in all the bathrooms lol)! The Western breakfast is tiny (cereal, fruit, muesli and yogurt), but who cares? It’s all I need and because it’s buffet I can eat and get going quickly (it’s included with points bookings). I would book this hotel again in a heartbeat and highly recommend it.

A few pics before I head out for the day…..

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The view from my room:
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Very neat room! Have you stayed at the Grand Hyatt? That's where we're currently booked but I'm wondering if I should keep my eye out for availability with points at Station Hotel for the convenience. Trip is in late November. We're Globalist so I was thinking at the Grand we'd get the lounge access.

 

[iujen94]

Has anyone been to Normandy? I’m starting planning a trip for April 2025 for our 25th anniversary, primarily for the benefit of my WWII-obsessed P2. If anyone has any recommendations for a truly exceptional private guide, I’d love it. We will likely spend several days in the area. Also if anyone has any other recommendations - hotels, restaurants, non-WWII things to see and do, how to get there from Paris, etc., I’d love those too. We’ve only just picked dates so I’m at square zero right now.

 

[hsmamato2]

...

 

[djmeredith]

Has anyone been to Normandy? I’m starting planning a trip for April 2025 for our 25th anniversary, primarily for the benefit of my WWII-obsessed P2. If anyone has any recommendations for a truly exceptional private guide, I’d love it. We will likely spend several days in the area. Also if anyone has any other recommendations - hotels, restaurants, non-WWII things to see and do, how to get there from Paris, etc., I’d love those too. We’ve only just picked dates so I’m at square zero right now.

I don't have any info, but I'm following the responses you receive. I will likely be planning a WWII Europe trip for '25 or '26.

 

[iujen94]

I don't have any info, but I'm following the responses you receive. I will likely be planning a WWII Europe trip for '25 or '26.

I’ve just started and it’s quite overwhelming so far! Especially since P2 has the knowledge of what he wants to see and do, but not a ton of patience for the nitty gritty logistics!

 

[Sheree]

Has anyone been to Normandy? I’m starting planning a trip for April 2025 for our 25th anniversary, primarily for the benefit of my WWII-obsessed P2. If anyone has any recommendations for a truly exceptional private guide, I’d love it. We will likely spend several days in the area. Also if anyone has any other recommendations - hotels, restaurants, non-WWII things to see and do, how to get there from Paris, etc., I’d love those too. We’ve only just picked dates so I’m at square zero right now.

Heading there in October. taking train fro m Paris to Bayeux and staying at an air bnb. doing a full day tour with Overlord. 16 people max but usually no more than 8 per reviews.
then taking river cruise from Le Havre to Paris.

Train is direct and only about $25 each, about 2 hours

 

[djmeredith]

I’ve just started and it’s quite overwhelming so far! Especially since P2 has the knowledge of what he wants to see and do, but not a ton of patience for the nitty gritty logistics!

I will be in a similar situation planning the trip so my nephew can see what he wants.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Very neat room! Have you stayed at the Grand Hyatt? That's where we're currently booked but I'm wondering if I should keep my eye out for availability with points at Station Hotel for the convenience. Trip is in late November. We're Globalist so I was thinking at the Grand we'd get the lounge access.

I haven’t stayed at the GH, but in 2019 I stayed at the Park Hyatt which isn’t too far from the GH. I personally didn’t like the location too much, I found it quite far from the train station. The PH had a shuttle to the train station, but if you missed a shuttle it was a bit of a long walk. I like to be close to a train station, for me it’s all about location. The GH did look like a very nice hotel, at least from the outside! I’d choose the location of the Tokyo Station Hotel any day. Another good points hotel is the Hilton near Shibuya — it gets great reviews and is super close to Shibuya station.
With the amazing food in Tokyo I don’t know that you’d use the lounge much.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I haven’t stayed at the GH, but in 2019 I stayed at the Park Hyatt which isn’t too far from the GH. I personally didn’t like the location too much, I found it quite far from the train station. The PH had a shuttle to the train station, but if you missed a shuttle it was a bit of a long walk. I like to be close to a train station, for me it’s all about location. The GH did look like a very nice hotel, at least from the outside! I’d choose the location of the Tokyo Station Hotel any day. Another good points hotel is the Hilton near Shibuya — it gets great reviews and is super close to Shibuya station.

We loved that Tokyo Station hotel, too--such a grand place. I love your two-story room--so cool. We were there in 2019, too, on a pre-stay before our ABD. We stayed at the Peninsula that trip as well, but it was the Tokyo Station concierge who got us 4 seats to Jiro. Will never forget that. I loved being so close to ramen street in the station, too. Great memories. Enjoy the rest of your trip. Looks fantastic!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

We loved that Tokyo Station hotel, too--such a grand place. I love your two-story room--so cool. We were there in 2019, too, on a pre-stay before our ABD. We stayed at the Peninsula that trip as well, but it was the Tokyo Station concierge who got us 4 seats to Jiro. Will never forget that. I loved being so close to ramen street in the station, too. Great memories. Enjoy the rest of your trip. Looks fantastic!

It’s such a fantastic hotel and the staff are phenomenal. They got me my ticket for the Narita Express and will walk me to the platform (I arrived with 2 bags and am leaving with 3 — I carry the ABD tote with me and use it at the end of the trip for ‘extras’ I’ve picked up on my trip)!

The ramen pic is from Rokinshura, on ramen street. I had to wait 45 mins in line to eat there, but totally worth it! I passed it yesterday morning around 11am and the line was over an hour long. The tonkatsu was one of my fav meals ever. It was delicious — I savored every bite. Wish I’d written down the name of the restaurant, all I remember is that it was on the 8th floor of a department store in Marunouchi and I had to wait about 20 mins to get a table (the line culture here is a real thing!).

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

I just purchased an annual policy for my family a few days ago from Allianz. Covers all travel more than 150 miles from home. Comprehensive with medical evac of $500,000. It was $715 for 2 adults + our 7 yo. We also have a few trips this year, including a cruise and wanted to make sure we'd be covered for them all.

I hope you find one that fits your needs!

Can I ask - was it this one? We booked a Caribbean cruise next month for a week just a few days ago for us two adults, then the three of us will be in Europe for 21 days (I just booked DLP yesterday -- and with a cruise tucked in there), NY trip in December and I think we're headed to Mexico in September. And we always go to PA in January -- so that will cover almost one full year. If this is the one that you chose, I think it'll be the one that I choose too. We're ages 54 (him), 49 (me) and 17. All have June birthdays and will turn year older during the European trip in a few months.

 

[Love4Eeyore]

Can I ask - was it this one? We booked a Caribbean cruise next month for a week just a few days ago for us two adults, then the three of us will be in Europe for 21 days (I just booked DLP yesterday -- and with a cruise tucked in there), NY trip in December and I think we're headed to Mexico in September. And we always go to PA in January -- so that will cover almost one full year. If this is the one that you chose, I think it'll be the one that I choose too. We're ages 54 (him), 49 (me) and 17. All have June birthdays and will turn year older during the European trip in a few months.

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That is the one I went with. I did up the trip cancellation to $5,000 for this year because our DCL cruise in June is tipping at just over $15,000 without excursions, flights, and Disney resort stays on both ends. The smaller, nonrefundable bits certainly add up quickly! We also have a Disney trip coming up in 2 weeks, visiting family in other states over holidays, work trips for DH and maybe looking at Hawaii. For reference, DH will be 46 this March, I'll be 45 in June, and DS will be 8, also in June. The birthdays don't seem to matter unless maybe you'd be falling into the "senior" lower coverage at, I think, 70. The Allianz app seems rather handy and easy to use too. I can quickly reference my policy, find all their contact and help info, travel advisories, and enter all of our flight info. I'm very happy with all I've read and seen so far!

 

[wanderlust7]

Can I ask - was it this one? We booked a Caribbean cruise next month for a week just a few days ago for us two adults, then the three of us will be in Europe for 21 days (I just booked DLP yesterday -- and with a cruise tucked in there), NY trip in December and I think we're headed to Mexico in September. And we always go to PA in January -- so that will cover almost one full year. If this is the one that you chose, I think it'll be the one that I choose too. We're ages 54 (him), 49 (me) and 17. All have June birthdays and will turn year older during the European trip in a few months.

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Are you picking the $2000 trip cancellation/interruption limit? That seems low for the Europe trip as the limit is per policy and not per insured.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

Are you picking the $2000 trip cancellation/interruption limit? That seems low for the Europe trip as the limit is per policy and not per insured.

I selected this -- thoughts?

 

[wanderlust7]

I selected this -- thoughts?
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How much is the Europe cruise?

The coverage is also per year. So if you needed to use it and hit the limit, then subsequent trips wouldn't be covered for trip cancellation/interruption. You'd still be covered for the other things though. $50k medical seems low if your medical insurance doesn't cover you outside the US. If it does, then it doesn't matter.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

How much is the Europe cruise?

The coverage is also per year. So if you needed to use it and hit the limit, then subsequent trips wouldn't be covered for trip cancellation/interruption. You'd still be covered for the other things though. $50k medical seems low if your medical insurance doesn't cover you outside the US. If it does, then it doesn't matter.

Total price for the European cruise was $4700. The Caribbean cruise was $2k. DLP was $3865 for tix and room.

Is $50k low? Okay, I didn't realize that. None of us currently have any pre-existing conditions nor do any of us have any health issues (that we know of). I had a disc herniate a few years back radomly and had to have a discectomy, but that's the extent of that. I thought $50k seemed high, but that's why I'm here asking the DisExperts.

I just know that nothing has EVER happened to us on any of our trips, but it could.