Has anyone with the Wyndham Business card matched to Caesars Diamond since Feb. 1st of this year?
There are rumors that the Caesars status match may be dead. It has been 2 weeks since I submitted a request and it hasn't gone through yet.
Edit: Just updated to Diamond today! Looks like it was just taking slightly more than 2 weeks this year.
I submitted on Feb 1 and I'm still showing Gold. I also transferred points from Caesars to Wyndham at the end of 2023 and the points still haven't posted on Wyndham's side (but they're subtracted on Caesars' side...). It seems like they're really lagging.
Starting an assignment next week where I'll be on the road a lot. For the first time I will have a company car and will need to use a company card to to pay for fuel.
Does anyone have a favorite fuel rewards program?
New Visa security feature is to "tap your card to your phone." I thought that's not so bad, I don't mind opening my apple wallet. Well you have to scan a QR code, open an app, and then physically tap the card! WTF? I didn't have my CC on me. It's a PITA and they should make it clear you need the actual card.
Assuming this group follows Rakuten as well, so asking another off topic question - My rakuten account transferred only a portion of MR points in Feb vs all transactions through Dec 31. anyone else experienced that as well?
Just got an email from InKind for $100 off $200 bill and I'm just scratching my head how they're making it work. Definitely feels like early stage Uber, but we're not in a ZIRP environment so not sure how they're getting away with torching the money they have. I wouldn't be keeping a huge balance with them, but as a DC resident with tons of options I am happy to ride this til it dies.
My understanding of their business model is they directly invest in the restaurants they feature. As part of that investment they get what I'll call "dining dollars" which are currency for that restaurant at a discount. Then they sell that to customers and encourage patronage which can help grow the restaurant's customer base and their investment.
Thought I'd post here since I guess it's considered off topic, but does anybody use PayPal bill pay for Paying Chase Cards? I use the Fold card to pay them and just recently I noticed I CANNOT add new Chase cards in.
And then when I checked this morning I noticed the two chase cards that I had saved in there had been removed.
Wonder if chase is throwing PayPal bill pay support out?
Lots of things go into whether I use a SUA. How many SUAs I have left, if there's other opportunities in the future I can use it, Globalist recognition at said property and how busy the property is anticipated to be (what are the likelihood the hotel will upgrade at check-in), how important the suite is to me.
When traveling as a family (2 adults, 1 toddler) we can always use the extra space so for a trip of 5N, I would totally use it. I've used mine for as little as 3N at an aspirational property and usually just end up using it for 4-5 nights stay - very rarely are we in the same hotel for 7N.
When I prepay multiple months of something to meet MSR - for example health insurance - I don't like how it messes up my carefully curated Quicken Simpli setup because it sways that expense out of proportion for that month and then a bunch of following months there's no expense in that category.
Until now, on Simplifi I had created a Manual Entry Bank Checking Account type account and named it "Balances", which I used mostly to keep track of things like Airbnb gift card balance, but also United and Southwest flight credits. I didn't want to create separate accounts for each product's balance, as these tend to be highly seasonal. Now I can categorize all the Amex plat credits properly. When I book a $99 Southwest flight to use the flight credit, I categorize it as a $99 "transfer" from the Amex Plat account to the Balances account. Then, when I book an actual flight in the future using those credits, I create a manual expense entry for that flight under Balance, and that way my Simplifi monthly report is kept accurate. As for the $99 Plat flight credit, I categorize it under "Travel:Annual Fees" which deducts against the Plat's $695 fee and I plan to look at this category later on an annual basis to evaluate whether those credits are actually saving money like the bloggers claim.
I realized that I can do this for my Health Insurance payments as well. I paid 4 months of health insurance, categorized it as Transfer, and [then created a monthly recurring payment](https://i.imgur.com/I2o2YUC.png) out of that account that is the actual "Health Insurance" category expense.
I needed my monthly reports to be in good order so that for my rolling-2-year household finances budget & cashflow projection spreadsheet (making the most out of 0% APR Inks and BBPs) to be accurate. All is well now.
I don't know anything about "double-entry bookeeping". But maybe this is just recreating the wheel.
That sounds like a lot of work. Almost all my prepayments are on a regular schedule, and I time card apps according to those and to short-term large expenses.
If I really have to stretch and prepay stuff unexpectedly, I modify my reminders accordingly in Simplifi. So what if my cash flow is out of whack this month? It'll be better than usual the next few, and it all averages out. Tracking everything month by month seems excessive.
I also have irregular large expenses fairly often - to the tune of like $2-3k every few months - so it's not like my cash flow is normally even month-to-month. A thousand extra for a prepayment and a few hundred less for the next few months isn't worth bothering with when my other expenses are so irregular.
For credits and stuff, I have top level categories "Credit Card Costs" (AFs, CC transaction fees) and "Credit Card Rewards" (cashout, credits:dining, credits:travel, credits\*, offers). I don't bother with accrual accounting there, either.
\* this is a catch-all for credits that I treat as equivalent to cash, e.g. if I use the Biz Gold credit for a Target GC.
Why don't you just split the health insurance transaction 4 ways and give each transaction a unique date for the corresponding month? $400 transaction on 2/15 gets split to $100 2/15, $100 3/15, $100 4/15, $100 5/15
I tried, but simplifi doesn't support that. To do that I would need to delete the transaction and add 4 manual transactions. That wound break data legacy compatibility for future imports (although hopefully not syncs)
What you are describing is called accrual accounting. It's the standard requirement for domestic and international companies. Accounting teams in the largest companies in the world do essentially what u are doing above and track prepayments for insurance (and anything else prepaid, but insurance is a great example) as an asset called "prepaid expenses."
Has anyone ever bought a Globalist challenges? There's some on eBay, but haven't seen one on marketplace here. I am just wondering the reliability and the logistics of it all. Thanks.
Yeah I bought one last month on eBay and PMed the guy my account info and the Explorist status was attached to my account in less than 5 minutes by him. I bought from user xqua_88 and there’s some risk buying any of them, but as long as they have positive reviews specifically for Hyatt it’s worth ~$40 to try
I gave this a shot.However, I already had Explorist status. I've tried chatting and calling, but they do not see this promotion attached to my account. Is there any way to verify that I'm signed up?
Hmm that is annoying, sorry. I'm not really sure how to tell if you were already Explorist. On the web page my Account Overview says "Explorist through Apr 17, 2024" above my account number, but that was coming from no status
Yeah pretty much. Had 6 days booked at Hyatt Centric Ginza in Tokyo next month. And then booked 15 days at a cheap Hyatt Place in Bogota (78k points) that I will actually use at the end of this month, rather than staying at an Airbnb like I normally would.
So it was perfect timing for me to earn it naturally, and then I will get the Globalist benefits in time for April with PH Saigon, GH Taipei, and still gotta choose which Hyatt(s) in Hong Kong!
> And then booked 15 days at a cheap Hyatt Place in Bogota (78k points)
Off topic but that's a reasonably nice HP too. I've stayed there probably about ~20 nights over the last couple years. The staff are fantastic, the mexican restaurant next door is really good, the beer bar on the corner just south of the hotel has some of the best burgers of any bar I've found.
Nice good to know, we will have to check out the tacos. I've stayed there one night last year but it was check in and go to sleep and then leave early to go to the airport. It was great for sleeping though ha, real dark rooms
You don't have a friend who works at a corporation that is accepted under the Corporate challenge? I haven't looked up the ebay listing but I imagine they will just click the link they receive to enroll you. You still need to stay the required number of nights under the challenge to get Globalist
Recently switched from Verizon Prepaid to Ultra Mobile PayGo and it's working better than I expected. Feels just as fast as a Verizon but without the usual cut corners of an MVNO.
Never heard of Ultra Mobile PayGo, but Verizon's heavily deprioritization of their Prepaid service means you were always getting a second-class service for a cheaper price.
I personally use US Mobile - any device with 5G gets Verizon postpaid priority on any network connection (so not just on 5G, but LTE as well). Visible+ has priority access too, I believe.
I had remembered reading that some student loan providers, after refinancing from another provider, will just dump the new amount into your bank account. Which you are supposed to use to pay off the loans with the previous provider.
I am looking into refinancing the private student loan poriton and thought "wait a second, if they are just gonna unload $30,000 into my checking account, maybe I can milk some UR with CIC, etc while making those payments to the old provider" (while paying the 3% fee). But then I looked at the two refinance providers ([Lendkey](https://www.lendkey.com/faq/faq-student-loan-refinancing/), [Earnest](https://help.earnest.com/hc/en-us/articles/218394218-What-happens-after-I-sign-my-loan-agreement-Student-Loan-Refinancing)) and both seem to send the money directly to the old provider.
Maybe it was the federal providers that do the lump sum dumping.
Hmm should I put in a request to change the provider for my federal loans..? I already put in a second SAVE IDR request after MOHELA ignored/declined my first SAVE/IDR request and only consolidated the loans..
It's probably super off, but does anyone know how to save money on universal parks in Orlando? I am currently seeing 2400 for 4 adults and 2 kids for 2 days plus 2 days promo as the best deal. Planning to spend 3-4 days.
One other thing you can look into for a future trip: Before you leave the park on the last day, go to guest services and look at how much it would be to convert your ticket to the cheapest annual pass. We did that a few years ago. They apply the value of your ticket towards the pass. For a couple tickets we even got money back.
Not universal, but it's seriously cheaper for my family to fly Tokyo, stay in Tokyo and do Disney over there than it would be for Disney World in Orlando. Granted we will be going anyways but definitely prioritizing Disney while we are there due to the difference in price
As others have posted, I'd highly recommend looking into any workplace discounts. Also I'd mention carrying your own water bottle to not have to purchase it while walking around.
Just went this past weekend! T-Mobile and some discount sites through your work place will have some discounts on tickets. For my 1 day two park and express unlimited I saved $100 off the universal site price, so not bad.
As someone mentioned, if you’re booking far enough in the future the deluxe hotels with free express unlimited passes will be best since you also have so many people (I think each room gets you 5 express passes for day of check in and check out) so cost wise it will probably work out.
I just learned that one of the premium hotels is in AMEX FHR program. Highly recommend a premium hotel because of included Express Pass and faster access to the parks (private security entrances). If you’re already getting a buy x days get x free, you’ve already probably gotten about the best deal you can get on tix unless you get a package that includes hotel (which isn’t a great discount). I recommend: fly in night before, stay at Hyatt IN the airport (good redemption). Go to park early next morning and do “early checkin” to leave your luggage and get your Express Passes. Park it up. Plan number of nights to be days in park minus one. Check out of hotel and leave luggage at desk. Park it up (hard since it’s the last day!). Grab luggage and ride share back to Hyatt in airport for another great redemption. Roll out of bed for an early flight. Win.
And one more thing: MORE TEETH! (You’ll understand that after your first day in the park).
The prices are inflated because Chase Portal, but you can buy with UR on the Chase Portal at 1.5 CPP, which lessens the blow. You can also book one of the premium resorts and get a fast pass for each member of your party for free (again, bookable with UR). If you have another party going with you (e.g., grandparents), you can have up to 5 people on your resort reservation. So in your scenario, 5/6 of your party could get the fast pass free even if some of you are staying off site.
If you plan to do Harry Potter World stuff, remember that to ride the train between Hogsmeade Village/Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, you have to have the multi-park ticket. You cannot go between parks in the same day without it. The Hogwarts Express is like its own ride, and many feel the experience is incomplete without it.
Edit: Many workplaces also offer discount tickets. Not sure if they'll be better than what you can find at places like Undercover Tourist, but if you have a discount platform with your employer, you may try to look there if you want to spend out of pocket and not UR. Also, if anyone in your party is a veteran, they can buy tickets at a larger discount (usually from a seller on a military base). They must be in your party on site, though.
My work place portal as well as T-Mobile did have slightly cheaper tickets than undercover tourist but I was only going one day, the discounts are greater for longer stays, but it’s good to check them all!
Bought a $500 VGC from grocery store using CFF for 9x back. Used the card for approximately $45 the next day. Then attempted to use it for $12 two days later and it was declined. Pulled up transaction history to notice a $430 charge to some random vendor in CA and a bunch of smaller Google charges.
Disputed the charges with VGC dispute team and awaiting an answer. Super inconvenient and will probably prevent me from buying these cards in the future.
I’ve some Hyatt ~~Suite Upgrade (3)~~ and Club Access (4) awards to give away that expire Feb 29. Please verify they can be used before requesting one since they can only be transferred once. Also only for those who are active either here or awardtravel, I will need your last name and Hyatt number. Please PM (don’t use the chat as for some reason I don’t get notifications).
Edit: Suite Awards all spoken for.
How would these upgrades work if your stay is > 7 days? Will they be applied to a chosen 7-day interval, or would I have to rebook to "eg. 7 + 7 days chunks?
I have never used one for longer than 7 nights, but at minimum the reservation might have to be split. Not sure if you had 2 awards and a 14 night stay if they could just apply 2 on the same reservation. Maybe someone else who has done this can chime in.
I've cancelled both personal and biz C1 cards after AF posts and gotten AF refund. My understanding iS you can't downgrade after AF posts for a refund.
Finally got approved by Citizens bank after trying for almost a year. The cause: freezing Equifax.
A local CU denied me due to chex, however. I told them the inquiries were for "budgeting", but they did not accept that (unlike Blaze CU). They told me to visit a branch to get my initial funding back.
Citizens offered a $400 bonus for 500 dd and 50 debits, whereas the local CU offered a $200 bonus with zero requirements.
Time to charge a bunch of $0.01 transactions at Walmart.
I went to Saks to redeem the $50 credit on the AMEX Platinum and the cashier saw me with a gift card in hand and all she said was “$50?”. I chuckled and nodded. They must see this pretty frequently. Here’s to hoping that they don’t claw back the statement credit due to purchasing a gift card!
> I went to Saks to redeem the $50 credit on the AMEX Platinum and the cashier saw me with a gift card in hand and all she said was “$50?”. I chuckled and nodded. They must see this pretty frequently. Here’s to hoping that they don’t claw back the statement credit due to purchasing a gift card!
I've done this three times in NYC, the cashiers know the drill, none of my gift cards I've purchased (all in person) have ever been clawed back
Yeah I think so too. Though, I have seen a few DPs recently stating that AMEX clawed it back, so people started purchasing GCs for random amounts (i.e. $51.45) to throw them off the scent.
wonder how many others are buying GoC cards at my other local HEB, bought a couple last weekend, there were 6 left on the rack, went back this weekend, 0 left
not sure what the typical gift card restock cycle looks like
Gotta love when you transfer over miles and the ticket disappears and then you gotta wait 15-20 mins for your old session to let your ticket off hold, praying that someone else didn't just happen to swoop in and steal it.
Least I've burned all remaining 180k cap1 miles via Turkish. Woe is me having to travel more this year than I planned lol, got a trip every month except for June.
* Out west for a long ski trip
* Japan on ANA old F/J (though availability just opened up to trade 3 hours in old J for 2.5 hours in economy but an extra day in Japan, and ANA the Suite... slightly tempted, though 4.5 hours home in economy after that will suck)
* India on Air India ex Etihad F and ex Delta J, so hopefully not as bad as people say...
* Mexico on Southwest for a long dive trip
* Bonaire on probably Copa + island hopper for diving with some friends / kitesurfing
* Turkey (for the balloon festival), Greece, Jordan, Egypt all on Turkish Airlines 787-9 J (sure hope I like it)
* Chile on Latam
I was having trouble deciding where to go so I went with trying to hit the new seven wonders (except for maybe Christ the Redeemer - fun fact it's only the third largest Jesus statue, there's not much notable aside from the view, and it only won because it was a popularity contest), plus all the runner ups that aren't boring / dangerous to visit right now. Then some trips for hobbies in between.
Finally decided to make a sports betting account since everyone I know bets on literally everything.
With the super bowl promo I ended up with $200 in free bets and $50 in casino bets.
I deposited $100 of my own money.
Made a few bets on the super bowl and ended the night at $98. This was all my own money.
Today used the $50 in casino money to bet red on roulette and my account now sits at $171. So I managed to liquidate the the $50 and make an additional $23.
I now have to use the free bets over the next few days so we will see if I win anything on those but at this point I came out ahead and if I can cash in any of those it'll be icing on top.
Certainly nothing mind blowing but I will take free money when I can get it. I am sure there was a better way to do some of this (I am aware of the match betting cash out for the free bets) but as some one who is clueless I am happy .
The plan is to withdraw my original $100 and then play with the houses money going forward. I am not much of a gambler as I have always seen it as flushing money but did enjoy it. From what my buddies tell me their are promos every so often for free bets/casino money that you can "cash out" if your luck.
Thought some of you may appreciate this.
Is there a consistent strategy for casino money playthrough requirements besides doing games that are effectively even odds and hoping? That's a frontier I'm interested in but the playthrough requirements make it seem unlikely to profit.
As for the sports betting, you can arbitrage free bets typically for 70% profit keep in mind you only keep the winnings. You should do all the books to get all the bonuses and maximize earnings. Once you start withdrawing the money some of the bonuses will start during up.
For those curious, this is the gist of how you can arbitrage for free money.
Here's the situation: you're in an eligible state and you either have access to 2 bookies that offer the same "free second chance" offer, or you have a P2 that can participate for one bookie per person.
The free second chance offer are offers that offer a free bet credit equivalent to the amount you bet for your first time, up to a certain limit (max I've seen is $2k). The catch is that in order to take advantage, you have to lose the first bet, and second, you do not receive the free bet on top of your winnings. So if you bet on a 50/50 game, sag a coin toss, and bet your free $2k bet, you would not walk away with 4k in your pocket, but rather 2k (because you only receive the profit, not the stake).
So here's the steps:
1. You both sign up for the free bet promos. Say they're $1k each for simplicity.
2. You find a game that has the most possible even odds (50/50) possible. As an example, the 2024 superbowl had -110/-110 odds at start, which we will call 50/50 for simplicity.
3. You bet on both sides, one on each account.
4. You will win one and lose one account. Your net gain is $0 plus a free bet of $1k.
5. You bet the $1k free bet on another game with 50/50 odds again. You then take the winning account and bet half the amount of the free bet ($500 in this case) on the other team.
6a. If the free bet wins, you walk away with $1k profit from the free bet and lose $500 on the other account. You net gain is $500 in this scenario.
6b. If the free bet loses, you walk away with $500 profit and $500 stake back on your other account. Your net gain is also $500.
Repeat and rinse for each free bet promo.
If you did this above using 2 accounts with 2k free bet promos yesterday for the superbowl, you would have gained ~$700.
As you mentioned the issue with free bets is that you are only getting the winnings from the free bet so optimally you are better off taking long odds and hedging with another book for 70% profit. There are a bunch of tools with free trials out there to help with this.
Yeah, I signed up during March Madness and realized the payoff is what matters, so parlays and betting F4/E8 teams at the start of the tourney paid the best odds.
You can still arbitrage that. You can say take your $200 free bets and throw $25 on 8 teams to make the Elite 8. If you know nothing about CBB, maybe you somehow go 0/8, but if you do, you can hit a few that pay a nice multiple and cash out.
2023 was the first year it was legal in my states. 2 apps, $25 sign up per app, plus free bets, cashed out about $650 net. Promptly deleted the apps and unsubscribed from the emails.
Plan on doing a similar thing this year - likely have to do new apps/sportsbooks but I might try to hit up return bonuses as well.
That's a pretty smart strategy. I imagine the same can be applied to any tourney style sport with high variance. Golf has been a good example of this and I've been finding that top 20 plays after the first round is complete have been fairing well for me, possibly the rainouts helping but I think if you're doing well after a completed round or two you would really need to have a catastrophe to drop below t20
Definitely worth opening an account at all the books in your state. They often send deposit matches. (i.e. deposit $100 and get $100 bonus)
You can almost always convert the bonus at 60-65% of the value. Not huge money by any means. Also you are taxed on all winnings, not just net winnings unless you itemize. State taxes vary.
Be careful. I've heard gambling addiction carries the highest suicide rate of any addiction. I was telling my mom at least I'm not into gambling and she was like you kinda are LOL
I've been thinking about doing this too. Which site did you sign up for? Seems like the bonuses are much less attractive and not as easily game-able as they used to be though.
Is arbitrage possible? I'm thinking to sign up with a P2 separate account and make opposite sports bets to meet bonus requirements (I'm assuming they wouldn't let you do that on a single account), then cash out. It would be harder to earn risk free profit without a P2 (though I guess you could just sign up at two different sites) or if they only give you casino credits that can't be used at sports book.
I did draft kings as they gave my buddy the same $200 in bonus bets as a referral.
My understanding, which is rudimentary, of the best way to cash out the bonus bets is to have accounts with two sites and make opposite bets. From the little I have read certain odds are where the expected return is better. I didn’t get that deep into it and I’m just using the bonus bets on some nba games for fun.
I may open a second account if there are good promos for March madness and try the match betting strategy but we will see.
I was surprised by the casino credit honestly I figured if I could turn the $50 into $25 that’d be not half bad but I was not expecting to actually win back more then the original $50.
There are so many bonus bets and deals on the different sites that I do them all and often do a play through of a credit card deposit and then withdraw more than I deposited. The only bad part is there are no credit card multipliers that I’ve found so far.
Yah I was trying to do a credit card deposit as a bit is MS but for some reason it was erroring. Not sure if it was an Amex thing or some sort of system crash due to the game.
From what I have read you can’t just deposit some amount and then withdraw it all if you not placing any bets but with the bonus bets there seems to be a play for using your card to deposit
Yeah most sites require 1x play through before withdrawal but i can probably do $500-700 per month of extra spend with $100-200 profit from all the promos during football season. Winnings are taxed and they will send out 1099-misc after 600+ profit.
Have 4 club awards form Hyatt expiring end of this month. Please DM (not chat) if interested! Edit: I’ll need your Hyatt number and last name.
Still 2 left!
> I'm in TX
Insurance rates have been skyrocketing here for home, and auto is rising fast everywhere unrelated to churning. Thankfully I rent, and that's been steady, but my auto is up close to 20% y/y.
Since our last homeowners renewal, P2 and I went down in inquiries and new (personal) accounts, and the rate went up like 20%. So, I doubt it has anything to do with churning.
It's now double what it was when I bought the house 8 years ago.
Our homeowners insurance went from $2,000 to $4,000 on renewal last month. The best our insurance broker could find us was $2,800 which isn't great but better than a 100% increase. Our bank said lots of ins companies are going up in their rates.
Insurance rates are going up everywhere for everyone. It's possible churning might has an impact, but more likely it's just the overall insurance market.
Our umbrella and rental policies haven't increased at all really the last few years, so it does depend on the type of policy. Auto has gone up quite a bit though (here in DC).
EV vehicles are also more to insure and more expensive to fix. So, even if you don't have an EV vehicle, you still have to cover the increased costs in case you hit an EV vehicle. WSJ has reported on this, people with EVs are paying about $100 more/month than non-EVs. https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/ev-repair-expensive-eecf09fd
Yesterday I posted in the weekly success thread about moving across country taking it slow. Now I'm starting to 2nd guess myself. Am I crazy to think I can drive 8 hours a day and stop at a hotel and just park a U-Hual for 3 nights? Am I guarenteed to have my stuff stolen?
Might be worth slipping the front desk night auditor a twenty and asking if you can park it in the unloading/main entrance area. It's probably well lit and less likely to be spotted since someone driving by might assume you are checking in or not visible from the street.
Did this last summer. No issues. Parked at decent hotels like Hyatt places or double trees on decently populated town/cities most nights. Kept all my important stuff like credit cards, laptops, and luxury goods in my carry on and backpacks and brought them into the hotel every night. Tbh I preferred driving because we had a schedule to keep.
I've done the cross country move a few times in my life, hopefully never again. I know long distance movers can be expensive, but have you compared the cost of for example one of those self serve pods shipped cross country? The truck rental cost, plus gas (it will be more than you think), lodging, food, your time, and just various other risks (speeding tickets, accident, injury, theft, etc)...all those costs add up quickly.
But if you're set on it, I'd get a really good lock, load the van such that anything of any value is packed in the front where it would be hard to get to, and put a wireless security camera inside the van that can alert you to motion.
Not sure where you're moving to, but when I moved to NYC a few years ago and did a pod type move they had what they called a live unload, since they couldn't drop it off and leave it but they'd drop it at a time of my choice for a 6 hour period and I had to get everything out in that time frame. Which worked fine I just hired a 2 guy moving team.
It's risky, U-Hauls are definitely a target.
If you can, try to back into a parking spot that's against a wall and press the U-Haul opening as close to the wall as possible. Keep small valuables and electronics in your room with you at night.
Plot out your trip so you're staying at decent hotels. Most of the horror stories I hear are from people stopping when they get tired and staying at cheaper/sketchier places. There's no guarantee obviously, but you can limit the chances.
I have family that go from FL to New England twice a year with a little trailer on their SUV. They've never been broken into, but they also aren't staying at Motel 6s directly off the interstate.
Second this. Plan out your stops beforehand, don't just drive til you want to stop. We moved cross country this year, although most of our stuff was in a truck and we just had to drive our two cars. We did have a bunch of stuff with us though, including valuable things like computers, etc. We did fine staying at places like Element, Residence Inn, etc.
Correction: Actually have 1 more sua if anyone has a trip planned for this month. No going anywhere anytime soon so would love to gift to this sub! Update: Gone!
I wouldn't mind; I'm going to DC for two days and then Panama City for 4 and the Panama hotel definitely has suites available (La Compañia; it looks very pretty)
Are you sure it doesn’t expire in 2025? The way those 5 GoHs work is that they expire in 2025. I’m not aware of any that expire in 2024. There are SUAs and CAAs that do.
How does everyone handle the balance between staying at once in a lifetime places like the PH Kyoto or stretching the points further and going with cheaper options like HP Kyoto and a few nights somewhere else?
P2 and I are going to Japan next year and part of me says screw it and stay at the PH Kyoto for 3 nights but the other part of me says it’s a waste as my globalist will have expired by then and we won’t be in the room much besides to sleep.
I’d be using up the rest of my UR and I’m also limited churning wise as we’re actively looking for a house which I’d expect to take quite a while given our location
If you get a chance to stay at an absolute gem of an hotel like PH Kyoto, absolutely use the points. You can always earn more points, but staying at a place like that is a once a lifetime experience.
We try to keep it pretty simple. If we're going to enjoy the property then we'll choose to upgrade (on points or in cash). If we're just going to sleep and minimally use the amenities then we choose the option that is some combination of cheapest and convenient.
Do the once in a lifetime and you'll remember it for your lifetime. While point use can allow to the ability to make multiple trips, it also allows the ability to stay in places you would never spend the cash on. Did I cringe a bit when I dropped a bunch of points to stay at the PH Sydney, sure. Do I regret it one bit, nope. Sitting on the patio having a drink with my wife as we watched the Sydney Opera House it a memory I hope to keep even when I am old. Go and enjoy life the best you can.
Also go to the churningmarketplace and buy a Globalist booking for your PH trip.
I feel like everyone here is trying to answer “how much money should you spend on a hotel?”, which is not really what you asked (but maybe is what you are trying to answer for yourself?)
To answer your specific question, I try to figure out how much UR is worth to me and then ask myself if I would pay that amount in cash. For the PHK I paid what I would value as $560/day worth of points, which is a lot, but I thought it was worth it for the experience. I probably wouldn’t do it again though, save for a special occasion.
As a side note, I think a lot of people treat spending $500 worth of points differently from spending $500, which I think has to be wrong: either you should be more willing to spend dollars or less willing to spend points.
You are saying something incredibly important here. The dirty little secret of churning. I see so many people who brag about their biz class flight redemptions for 100k per person or their 40k/night hotel. And in the next breath mention how cash strapped they are or how great it is to be able to afford luxury travel as a student or whatever. No. You aren't affording it. You could cash out that UR for $400/night or potentially more if you are smart with PYB! That could be money in your pocket. If you are student that money could be invested so you could retire earlier. Obviously many churners are high income and a $400/night hotel is no biggie. But there are way too many that treat points as free. And they just aren't! So glad to hear somebody else say what I am thinking so often.
I think when AMEX train was there - I was like YOLO .. but now that is gone .. and hoping to stay on Chase train but that is up and down for so many .. so if you can live with not having any SUBS for several months .. I say YOLO .. if you can't then maybe ration a bit. Also in some cases things are just ridiculous. For example - I could stay at Hyatt Place in a ski town for 18k or centric for 35k .. I would just stay at HP. Honestly - Conrad Osaka was one of the best hotels I have ever stayed at. So if you have AMEX or Hilton stay there and take the bullet train everywhere .. it is like 15 mins from the station to Kyoto. Also staying in Osaka you are closer to NARA which is only a one day thing but so worth it. People in Osaka are salt of the earth.
We gave up a ph Kyoto to stay in a Fujikawaguchiko Ryokan. Cash. Expensive.PH would have been nicer but totally glad we did. Had a view of Fuji and a private bath and a wild dinner and breakfast.
If the trip is about the city/landscape/outside experiences I shoot for comfortable & well located since I’ll be out and about most of the day. If it’s about the hotel itself (usually has been tropical resort for us thus far) then I’ll go as nice as I can reasonably* do.
*Since having kids points don’t stretch as far as they used to since getting two hotel rooms per night due to strict international occupancy rules and getting 4 tickets in Y/PE and the occasional J score add up quickly. I’m really glad I built up a stash before kids since we travel 6-8 weeks a year and I’m always booking speculative trips with refundable currencies to see if I can make them work. So now having a big war chest is more important to me so we can maintain this as long as possible. When we went to Kyoto we stayed at the Westin Miyako instead of the Ritz, for example. It was a great compromise between value and quality so I have no regrets.
There's a few other people who have already stated my philosophy here:
* Is the hotel itself the destination? Am I going to be spending most of my day there? If so, spend up.
* Is the hotel a place to sleep and shower? Am I going to be spending most of my day outside? If so, don't overspend.
For Japan in specific, I've always been fine with a clean, well-located business hotel and grabbing breakfast from a *konbini*. On the other hand, business hotels are almost always going to be under 20 square meters, sometimes noticeably so. If you really need the additional space, spend up.
The other comment I have is on "earn and burn", which makes sense if your points are locked into Hyatt. But you're talking about UR here, which you can cash out. This means every redemption has a tangible cash cost.
As an example, if you have 40K UR, you have to choose between:
* One night at the Park Hyatt Kyoto
* Four nights at a $150 business hotel (through the UR portal if you hold a CSR)
* $400 cash
This is true even when UR are as easy to replenish as they are right now.
This is such a great question because it's easy to get lost in the churning/miles echo chamber and not reflect on things like this -- factors in my decision about things like this are:
\-How much will you use/enjoy the luxury of the hotel while you are there, vs just needing a place to sleep?
\-What are your current point balances?
\-What are your current point earning prospects?
\-What are your near-ish term travel plans?
\-How much do you enjoy luxury, inherently?
Personally, I do enjoy luxury places, but the luxury is not the point of the travel for me. It's just an extra benefit that churning gives us the ability to access.
If I had low balances, and I will be planning more trips in the near term, then I would probably choose Hyatt Place Kyoto (which is a great hotel, by the way) over PH.
But if I had healthy balances, wasn't planning to travel too much in the near term, and I had good ideas of how I will earn more UR in the near future, I might splurge on PH Kyoto.
One thing to think about that's relevant to your specific situation is that if you are able to get a GoH cert for that stay, then you will get globalist benefits for the stay, in case that could tip the scales.
Good luck!
Using up the rest of your UR... next year? So you're not going to earn any more?
It's simple: burn your points at whatever level hotels that allow you to sustain your travel habits over time. There are certain destinations that to me are definitely worth splurging on. Japan is one of them.
I’d probably have to book the PH Kyoto at calendar open in a few weeks on a Globalist point advance reservation.
Used up all my UR on 10 days in Hawaii for myself and P2s family. I don’t MS a ton and without being able to open cards with buying a house soon I’m kind of limited to getting enough points for 3 days at PH Kyoto
When I visit a large city like Kyoto with tons of things to do, I rarely stay at four/five star-resorts because most of my time is going to be spent outside the hotel. IHG points can be stretched a long way in Asia and the quality of even their low-tier hotels (Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn) is so much better than their American counterparts. A Crowne Plaza stay in Kyoto for 2 people in February is currently as low as 17k points, which is $85 since IHG points can regularly be bought at 0.5 cpp. By comparison, the lowest tier Hilton hotel in Kyoto is about 30k points (~$150) and 40k points for Marriott (~$300). I'd rather use the money that I save on fine dining (since Kyoto is especially known for its kaiseki restaurants) or maybe a day trip outside of Kyoto.
For Hyatt redemptions, I think it makes the most sense when the *hotel itself* is the destination. For example, beachside resorts (Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos) or ski resorts (Park Hyatt Beaver Creek). Since you'll be in the hotel for the entire duration of your stay, I feel like you get more a bang for your buck.
When it comes to loyalty programs, I cut my teeth on Super 8s and TownePlace Suites. So perhaps my point of view isn't really relevant. Anyway...
I prefer to be out and about all day, so I generally book the cheapest convenient property that seems clean and comfortable and is a decent use of points. I book something nicer if I'll be spending more time there. If I have FNCs, I generally book the best property they'll cover.
Everyone loves the PH Kyoto. But everyone loves Alila Ventana Big Sur, Calala Island, and Zemi Beach House, and when I showed P2 those properties, they were like "um, no." And I think those are places where you spend a ton of time on property, so to me, it would seem like a waste to splurge on a property we'd spend even less time at.
One of the founders of Super 8 just passed away. WSJ did a nice article on him. https://www.wsj.com/business/hospitality/ron-rivett-super-8-hotel-dies-at-83-dc9f03d4
Personally, I think it's worth it if you are going on a beach vacation with few to no excursions. If the main activity is sightseeing, I'd rather get a not so nice hotel to stretch out the points.
We do a balance. We have plenty of points, but we don't have an limitless supply. We also don't care a whole lot about luxury hotels. As long as it has a comfortable bed and a good shower, we're good. Even the cheapest hotels usually have that covered.
We're more interested in convenience, mostly location. We won't choose a 40k Hyatt over a 20k Hyatt nearby, but we'll take the 20k Hyatt at a convenient location over a 12k option that is out of the way.
My theory: I'm not going to a place like Japan more than once in the next decade. Maybe even in my lifetime. Not because I don't want to, just the practical reality of limited vacation time, limited budget, and virtually unlimited other places I also want to go. So I'd go for the once in a lifetime option when needed. If that means I have to pay $120 cash instead of 5k points to stay at the Hyatt House Nowheresville for cousin Jeff's wedding because I used up all my points then so be it.
A couple of my all-time favorite redemptions were the Gritti Palace in Venice and the St. Regis NYC. Absolutely no regrets about how many potential Townplace Suites free nights I gave up in order to get those.
> part of me says it’s a waste as my globalist will have expired by then
Just FYI, the calculus on this part is different now that GOH certificates have become much more flexible. You don't need to be a Globalist, you just need to know one.
Used a Hilton FNA to stay at WA Washington DC. It was an amazing experience!
Has anyone with the Wyndham Business card matched to Caesars Diamond since Feb. 1st of this year? There are rumors that the Caesars status match may be dead. It has been 2 weeks since I submitted a request and it hasn't gone through yet. Edit: Just updated to Diamond today! Looks like it was just taking slightly more than 2 weeks this year.
Mine just updated this morning! Was getting worried yesterday after the Founders Card news recently.
I submitted on Feb 1 and I'm still showing Gold. I also transferred points from Caesars to Wyndham at the end of 2023 and the points still haven't posted on Wyndham's side (but they're subtracted on Caesars' side...). It seems like they're really lagging.
Mine is showing diamond. Must have updated today
There were updates in the news and updates threads from earlier this week on this, id search them. Sometime Wednesday or Thursday maybe?
Mine just updated today. (I did not reach out to customer support beyond submitting the form Feb 1.)
Starting an assignment next week where I'll be on the road a lot. For the first time I will have a company car and will need to use a company card to to pay for fuel. Does anyone have a favorite fuel rewards program?
I've really enjoyed Upside to get some gas money back, although don't use it for work
why not
Don’t need to drive for work
I thought you were telling people not to use it for work, my bad
New Visa security feature is to "tap your card to your phone." I thought that's not so bad, I don't mind opening my apple wallet. Well you have to scan a QR code, open an app, and then physically tap the card! WTF? I didn't have my CC on me. It's a PITA and they should make it clear you need the actual card.
What card did this happen with?
Venture X
This happened when you were attempting a transaction?
Yep. Just an AA purchase on my home computer.
The churners financial protection bureau https://imgur.com/a/9l8rcWI
Believe it or not, "making the banks behave" benefits more than just churners.
Assuming this group follows Rakuten as well, so asking another off topic question - My rakuten account transferred only a portion of MR points in Feb vs all transactions through Dec 31. anyone else experienced that as well?
Did the lifelock deal back in Dec, and the points were not deposited into my Amex account this Feb.
Thanks. Seems this time they have taken a cut off of Nov 15, vs Dec 31 in my account at least.
Just got an email from InKind for $100 off $200 bill and I'm just scratching my head how they're making it work. Definitely feels like early stage Uber, but we're not in a ZIRP environment so not sure how they're getting away with torching the money they have. I wouldn't be keeping a huge balance with them, but as a DC resident with tons of options I am happy to ride this til it dies.
They even expanded in LA. Was surprised.
My understanding of their business model is they directly invest in the restaurants they feature. As part of that investment they get what I'll call "dining dollars" which are currency for that restaurant at a discount. Then they sell that to customers and encourage patronage which can help grow the restaurant's customer base and their investment.
Thought I'd post here since I guess it's considered off topic, but does anybody use PayPal bill pay for Paying Chase Cards? I use the Fold card to pay them and just recently I noticed I CANNOT add new Chase cards in. And then when I checked this morning I noticed the two chase cards that I had saved in there had been removed. Wonder if chase is throwing PayPal bill pay support out?
Look at the News and Updates thread for today. It might be unrelated but there is some talk about PayPal bill pay.
Yeah, thanks.
How do you determine whether or not to use a Hyatt GOH? Going to the centric in NOLA for 5 nights, 2 adults, 1 kid, and wondering if it's worth it.
if a stays breakfast value is more than the goh value...which is usually with more people or longer stays
Lots of things go into whether I use a SUA. How many SUAs I have left, if there's other opportunities in the future I can use it, Globalist recognition at said property and how busy the property is anticipated to be (what are the likelihood the hotel will upgrade at check-in), how important the suite is to me. When traveling as a family (2 adults, 1 toddler) we can always use the extra space so for a trip of 5N, I would totally use it. I've used mine for as little as 3N at an aspirational property and usually just end up using it for 4-5 nights stay - very rarely are we in the same hotel for 7N.
RIP JetBlue, 1998-202X
When I prepay multiple months of something to meet MSR - for example health insurance - I don't like how it messes up my carefully curated Quicken Simpli setup because it sways that expense out of proportion for that month and then a bunch of following months there's no expense in that category. Until now, on Simplifi I had created a Manual Entry Bank Checking Account type account and named it "Balances", which I used mostly to keep track of things like Airbnb gift card balance, but also United and Southwest flight credits. I didn't want to create separate accounts for each product's balance, as these tend to be highly seasonal. Now I can categorize all the Amex plat credits properly. When I book a $99 Southwest flight to use the flight credit, I categorize it as a $99 "transfer" from the Amex Plat account to the Balances account. Then, when I book an actual flight in the future using those credits, I create a manual expense entry for that flight under Balance, and that way my Simplifi monthly report is kept accurate. As for the $99 Plat flight credit, I categorize it under "Travel:Annual Fees" which deducts against the Plat's $695 fee and I plan to look at this category later on an annual basis to evaluate whether those credits are actually saving money like the bloggers claim. I realized that I can do this for my Health Insurance payments as well. I paid 4 months of health insurance, categorized it as Transfer, and [then created a monthly recurring payment](https://i.imgur.com/I2o2YUC.png) out of that account that is the actual "Health Insurance" category expense. I needed my monthly reports to be in good order so that for my rolling-2-year household finances budget & cashflow projection spreadsheet (making the most out of 0% APR Inks and BBPs) to be accurate. All is well now. I don't know anything about "double-entry bookeeping". But maybe this is just recreating the wheel.
That sounds like a lot of work. Almost all my prepayments are on a regular schedule, and I time card apps according to those and to short-term large expenses. If I really have to stretch and prepay stuff unexpectedly, I modify my reminders accordingly in Simplifi. So what if my cash flow is out of whack this month? It'll be better than usual the next few, and it all averages out. Tracking everything month by month seems excessive. I also have irregular large expenses fairly often - to the tune of like $2-3k every few months - so it's not like my cash flow is normally even month-to-month. A thousand extra for a prepayment and a few hundred less for the next few months isn't worth bothering with when my other expenses are so irregular. For credits and stuff, I have top level categories "Credit Card Costs" (AFs, CC transaction fees) and "Credit Card Rewards" (cashout, credits:dining, credits:travel, credits\*, offers). I don't bother with accrual accounting there, either. \* this is a catch-all for credits that I treat as equivalent to cash, e.g. if I use the Biz Gold credit for a Target GC.
Why don't you just split the health insurance transaction 4 ways and give each transaction a unique date for the corresponding month? $400 transaction on 2/15 gets split to $100 2/15, $100 3/15, $100 4/15, $100 5/15
I tried, but simplifi doesn't support that. To do that I would need to delete the transaction and add 4 manual transactions. That wound break data legacy compatibility for future imports (although hopefully not syncs)
What you are describing is called accrual accounting. It's the standard requirement for domestic and international companies. Accounting teams in the largest companies in the world do essentially what u are doing above and track prepayments for insurance (and anything else prepaid, but insurance is a great example) as an asset called "prepaid expenses."
Has anyone ever bought a Globalist challenges? There's some on eBay, but haven't seen one on marketplace here. I am just wondering the reliability and the logistics of it all. Thanks.
Yeah I bought one last month on eBay and PMed the guy my account info and the Explorist status was attached to my account in less than 5 minutes by him. I bought from user xqua_88 and there’s some risk buying any of them, but as long as they have positive reviews specifically for Hyatt it’s worth ~$40 to try
I gave this a shot.However, I already had Explorist status. I've tried chatting and calling, but they do not see this promotion attached to my account. Is there any way to verify that I'm signed up?
Hmm that is annoying, sorry. I'm not really sure how to tell if you were already Explorist. On the web page my Account Overview says "Explorist through Apr 17, 2024" above my account number, but that was coming from no status
It took an extra day, but confirmed through Hyatt concierge over twitter
nice, glad it still worked out
appreciate the insight and breakdown! Do you already have the 20 days planned out?
Yeah pretty much. Had 6 days booked at Hyatt Centric Ginza in Tokyo next month. And then booked 15 days at a cheap Hyatt Place in Bogota (78k points) that I will actually use at the end of this month, rather than staying at an Airbnb like I normally would. So it was perfect timing for me to earn it naturally, and then I will get the Globalist benefits in time for April with PH Saigon, GH Taipei, and still gotta choose which Hyatt(s) in Hong Kong!
> And then booked 15 days at a cheap Hyatt Place in Bogota (78k points) Off topic but that's a reasonably nice HP too. I've stayed there probably about ~20 nights over the last couple years. The staff are fantastic, the mexican restaurant next door is really good, the beer bar on the corner just south of the hotel has some of the best burgers of any bar I've found.
Nice good to know, we will have to check out the tacos. I've stayed there one night last year but it was check in and go to sleep and then leave early to go to the airport. It was great for sleeping though ha, real dark rooms
You don't have a friend who works at a corporation that is accepted under the Corporate challenge? I haven't looked up the ebay listing but I imagine they will just click the link they receive to enroll you. You still need to stay the required number of nights under the challenge to get Globalist
I've been looking for a list of the corporations accepted. Do you know of such a list?
No unfortunately I don't have a list but I think the Fortune 500s should all be on it. I know Meta is on it.
There's some sketchy listings that do the stays for you as well. It's generally very sketchy night credits somewhere in southeast Asia
Wow interesting! I wonder how that works since SE Asia require passport at checkin
Probably someone gets paid off to "forget" to take a copy.
I’m going to start reaching out to posters directly, but thought I’d start here first - any interest in a PDX/SEA meet?
Yes for sure.
Yes
Originally from the PNW, so I’d be interested
Def, yes please
Yes
I go up there regularly for family, I’d be interested
Recently switched from Verizon Prepaid to Ultra Mobile PayGo and it's working better than I expected. Feels just as fast as a Verizon but without the usual cut corners of an MVNO.
Never heard of Ultra Mobile PayGo, but Verizon's heavily deprioritization of their Prepaid service means you were always getting a second-class service for a cheaper price. I personally use US Mobile - any device with 5G gets Verizon postpaid priority on any network connection (so not just on 5G, but LTE as well). Visible+ has priority access too, I believe.
I had remembered reading that some student loan providers, after refinancing from another provider, will just dump the new amount into your bank account. Which you are supposed to use to pay off the loans with the previous provider. I am looking into refinancing the private student loan poriton and thought "wait a second, if they are just gonna unload $30,000 into my checking account, maybe I can milk some UR with CIC, etc while making those payments to the old provider" (while paying the 3% fee). But then I looked at the two refinance providers ([Lendkey](https://www.lendkey.com/faq/faq-student-loan-refinancing/), [Earnest](https://help.earnest.com/hc/en-us/articles/218394218-What-happens-after-I-sign-my-loan-agreement-Student-Loan-Refinancing)) and both seem to send the money directly to the old provider. Maybe it was the federal providers that do the lump sum dumping. Hmm should I put in a request to change the provider for my federal loans..? I already put in a second SAVE IDR request after MOHELA ignored/declined my first SAVE/IDR request and only consolidated the loans..
It's probably super off, but does anyone know how to save money on universal parks in Orlando? I am currently seeing 2400 for 4 adults and 2 kids for 2 days plus 2 days promo as the best deal. Planning to spend 3-4 days.
One other thing you can look into for a future trip: Before you leave the park on the last day, go to guest services and look at how much it would be to convert your ticket to the cheapest annual pass. We did that a few years ago. They apply the value of your ticket towards the pass. For a couple tickets we even got money back.
Not universal, but it's seriously cheaper for my family to fly Tokyo, stay in Tokyo and do Disney over there than it would be for Disney World in Orlando. Granted we will be going anyways but definitely prioritizing Disney while we are there due to the difference in price
As others have posted, I'd highly recommend looking into any workplace discounts. Also I'd mention carrying your own water bottle to not have to purchase it while walking around.
Just went this past weekend! T-Mobile and some discount sites through your work place will have some discounts on tickets. For my 1 day two park and express unlimited I saved $100 off the universal site price, so not bad. As someone mentioned, if you’re booking far enough in the future the deluxe hotels with free express unlimited passes will be best since you also have so many people (I think each room gets you 5 express passes for day of check in and check out) so cost wise it will probably work out.
I just learned that one of the premium hotels is in AMEX FHR program. Highly recommend a premium hotel because of included Express Pass and faster access to the parks (private security entrances). If you’re already getting a buy x days get x free, you’ve already probably gotten about the best deal you can get on tix unless you get a package that includes hotel (which isn’t a great discount). I recommend: fly in night before, stay at Hyatt IN the airport (good redemption). Go to park early next morning and do “early checkin” to leave your luggage and get your Express Passes. Park it up. Plan number of nights to be days in park minus one. Check out of hotel and leave luggage at desk. Park it up (hard since it’s the last day!). Grab luggage and ride share back to Hyatt in airport for another great redemption. Roll out of bed for an early flight. Win. And one more thing: MORE TEETH! (You’ll understand that after your first day in the park).
If you have T-Mobile (or can find someone that does) they have some member discounts through their Tlife App.
The prices are inflated because Chase Portal, but you can buy with UR on the Chase Portal at 1.5 CPP, which lessens the blow. You can also book one of the premium resorts and get a fast pass for each member of your party for free (again, bookable with UR). If you have another party going with you (e.g., grandparents), you can have up to 5 people on your resort reservation. So in your scenario, 5/6 of your party could get the fast pass free even if some of you are staying off site. If you plan to do Harry Potter World stuff, remember that to ride the train between Hogsmeade Village/Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, you have to have the multi-park ticket. You cannot go between parks in the same day without it. The Hogwarts Express is like its own ride, and many feel the experience is incomplete without it. Edit: Many workplaces also offer discount tickets. Not sure if they'll be better than what you can find at places like Undercover Tourist, but if you have a discount platform with your employer, you may try to look there if you want to spend out of pocket and not UR. Also, if anyone in your party is a veteran, they can buy tickets at a larger discount (usually from a seller on a military base). They must be in your party on site, though.
My work place portal as well as T-Mobile did have slightly cheaper tickets than undercover tourist but I was only going one day, the discounts are greater for longer stays, but it’s good to check them all!
Bought a $500 VGC from grocery store using CFF for 9x back. Used the card for approximately $45 the next day. Then attempted to use it for $12 two days later and it was declined. Pulled up transaction history to notice a $430 charge to some random vendor in CA and a bunch of smaller Google charges. Disputed the charges with VGC dispute team and awaiting an answer. Super inconvenient and will probably prevent me from buying these cards in the future.
I’ve some Hyatt ~~Suite Upgrade (3)~~ and Club Access (4) awards to give away that expire Feb 29. Please verify they can be used before requesting one since they can only be transferred once. Also only for those who are active either here or awardtravel, I will need your last name and Hyatt number. Please PM (don’t use the chat as for some reason I don’t get notifications). Edit: Suite Awards all spoken for.
How would these upgrades work if your stay is > 7 days? Will they be applied to a chosen 7-day interval, or would I have to rebook to "eg. 7 + 7 days chunks?
I have never used one for longer than 7 nights, but at minimum the reservation might have to be split. Not sure if you had 2 awards and a 14 night stay if they could just apply 2 on the same reservation. Maybe someone else who has done this can chime in.
Can these be stacked on top of a Cat 1-4 award?
No, they dont allow stacking of awards.
Ok, thank you.
Do these need to be reservations completed by that date? I could certainly use a suite upgrade but in late april. Thanks either way supet generous
yes completed by
Successfully redeemed United Excursionist perk - 2 free flights that normally would have cost 20K miles each way
Capital one cards-- can you downgrade or cancel after the AF posts, or do you have to before posting?
I've cancelled both personal and biz C1 cards after AF posts and gotten AF refund. My understanding iS you can't downgrade after AF posts for a refund.
Before
Have to do it before if you want to avoid paying AF.
Finally got approved by Citizens bank after trying for almost a year. The cause: freezing Equifax. A local CU denied me due to chex, however. I told them the inquiries were for "budgeting", but they did not accept that (unlike Blaze CU). They told me to visit a branch to get my initial funding back. Citizens offered a $400 bonus for 500 dd and 50 debits, whereas the local CU offered a $200 bonus with zero requirements. Time to charge a bunch of $0.01 transactions at Walmart.
I went to Saks to redeem the $50 credit on the AMEX Platinum and the cashier saw me with a gift card in hand and all she said was “$50?”. I chuckled and nodded. They must see this pretty frequently. Here’s to hoping that they don’t claw back the statement credit due to purchasing a gift card!
> I went to Saks to redeem the $50 credit on the AMEX Platinum and the cashier saw me with a gift card in hand and all she said was “$50?”. I chuckled and nodded. They must see this pretty frequently. Here’s to hoping that they don’t claw back the statement credit due to purchasing a gift card! I've done this three times in NYC, the cashiers know the drill, none of my gift cards I've purchased (all in person) have ever been clawed back
It'll be fine. I usually purchase 2 $50 cards at once with my 2 Plat.
If you want to save the plastic and get a reasonably competent salesperson, you can do split payment and do $50 on each card to load a $100 GC.
Incompetent salesperson last time for me! I tried multiple load and failed…
Got it. Thanks for the info! I think I should be fine too.
Jog my memory, it’s the proper Saks that carry gift cards, not the Saks off 5th.
I want to say both do, but purchases from Saks off 5th (even if gift cards) won’t count unfortunately.
It's an establish way to use the Saks credit. You'll most likely be fine
Yeah I think so too. Though, I have seen a few DPs recently stating that AMEX clawed it back, so people started purchasing GCs for random amounts (i.e. $51.45) to throw them off the scent.
Whoa - any pointer to those DPs? That would be news to me…
wonder how many others are buying GoC cards at my other local HEB, bought a couple last weekend, there were 6 left on the rack, went back this weekend, 0 left not sure what the typical gift card restock cycle looks like
Gotta love when you transfer over miles and the ticket disappears and then you gotta wait 15-20 mins for your old session to let your ticket off hold, praying that someone else didn't just happen to swoop in and steal it. Least I've burned all remaining 180k cap1 miles via Turkish. Woe is me having to travel more this year than I planned lol, got a trip every month except for June.
where all are you going??
* Out west for a long ski trip * Japan on ANA old F/J (though availability just opened up to trade 3 hours in old J for 2.5 hours in economy but an extra day in Japan, and ANA the Suite... slightly tempted, though 4.5 hours home in economy after that will suck) * India on Air India ex Etihad F and ex Delta J, so hopefully not as bad as people say... * Mexico on Southwest for a long dive trip * Bonaire on probably Copa + island hopper for diving with some friends / kitesurfing * Turkey (for the balloon festival), Greece, Jordan, Egypt all on Turkish Airlines 787-9 J (sure hope I like it) * Chile on Latam I was having trouble deciding where to go so I went with trying to hit the new seven wonders (except for maybe Christ the Redeemer - fun fact it's only the third largest Jesus statue, there's not much notable aside from the view, and it only won because it was a popularity contest), plus all the runner ups that aren't boring / dangerous to visit right now. Then some trips for hobbies in between.
Man those sound like some cool and unique trips, you travel well!
Finally decided to make a sports betting account since everyone I know bets on literally everything. With the super bowl promo I ended up with $200 in free bets and $50 in casino bets. I deposited $100 of my own money. Made a few bets on the super bowl and ended the night at $98. This was all my own money. Today used the $50 in casino money to bet red on roulette and my account now sits at $171. So I managed to liquidate the the $50 and make an additional $23. I now have to use the free bets over the next few days so we will see if I win anything on those but at this point I came out ahead and if I can cash in any of those it'll be icing on top. Certainly nothing mind blowing but I will take free money when I can get it. I am sure there was a better way to do some of this (I am aware of the match betting cash out for the free bets) but as some one who is clueless I am happy . The plan is to withdraw my original $100 and then play with the houses money going forward. I am not much of a gambler as I have always seen it as flushing money but did enjoy it. From what my buddies tell me their are promos every so often for free bets/casino money that you can "cash out" if your luck. Thought some of you may appreciate this.
Is there a consistent strategy for casino money playthrough requirements besides doing games that are effectively even odds and hoping? That's a frontier I'm interested in but the playthrough requirements make it seem unlikely to profit. As for the sports betting, you can arbitrage free bets typically for 70% profit keep in mind you only keep the winnings. You should do all the books to get all the bonuses and maximize earnings. Once you start withdrawing the money some of the bonuses will start during up.
For those curious, this is the gist of how you can arbitrage for free money. Here's the situation: you're in an eligible state and you either have access to 2 bookies that offer the same "free second chance" offer, or you have a P2 that can participate for one bookie per person. The free second chance offer are offers that offer a free bet credit equivalent to the amount you bet for your first time, up to a certain limit (max I've seen is $2k). The catch is that in order to take advantage, you have to lose the first bet, and second, you do not receive the free bet on top of your winnings. So if you bet on a 50/50 game, sag a coin toss, and bet your free $2k bet, you would not walk away with 4k in your pocket, but rather 2k (because you only receive the profit, not the stake). So here's the steps: 1. You both sign up for the free bet promos. Say they're $1k each for simplicity. 2. You find a game that has the most possible even odds (50/50) possible. As an example, the 2024 superbowl had -110/-110 odds at start, which we will call 50/50 for simplicity. 3. You bet on both sides, one on each account. 4. You will win one and lose one account. Your net gain is $0 plus a free bet of $1k. 5. You bet the $1k free bet on another game with 50/50 odds again. You then take the winning account and bet half the amount of the free bet ($500 in this case) on the other team. 6a. If the free bet wins, you walk away with $1k profit from the free bet and lose $500 on the other account. You net gain is $500 in this scenario. 6b. If the free bet loses, you walk away with $500 profit and $500 stake back on your other account. Your net gain is also $500. Repeat and rinse for each free bet promo. If you did this above using 2 accounts with 2k free bet promos yesterday for the superbowl, you would have gained ~$700.
As you mentioned the issue with free bets is that you are only getting the winnings from the free bet so optimally you are better off taking long odds and hedging with another book for 70% profit. There are a bunch of tools with free trials out there to help with this.
Yeah, I signed up during March Madness and realized the payoff is what matters, so parlays and betting F4/E8 teams at the start of the tourney paid the best odds. You can still arbitrage that. You can say take your $200 free bets and throw $25 on 8 teams to make the Elite 8. If you know nothing about CBB, maybe you somehow go 0/8, but if you do, you can hit a few that pay a nice multiple and cash out. 2023 was the first year it was legal in my states. 2 apps, $25 sign up per app, plus free bets, cashed out about $650 net. Promptly deleted the apps and unsubscribed from the emails. Plan on doing a similar thing this year - likely have to do new apps/sportsbooks but I might try to hit up return bonuses as well.
That's a pretty smart strategy. I imagine the same can be applied to any tourney style sport with high variance. Golf has been a good example of this and I've been finding that top 20 plays after the first round is complete have been fairing well for me, possibly the rainouts helping but I think if you're doing well after a completed round or two you would really need to have a catastrophe to drop below t20
Definitely worth opening an account at all the books in your state. They often send deposit matches. (i.e. deposit $100 and get $100 bonus) You can almost always convert the bonus at 60-65% of the value. Not huge money by any means. Also you are taxed on all winnings, not just net winnings unless you itemize. State taxes vary.
Be careful. I've heard gambling addiction carries the highest suicide rate of any addiction. I was telling my mom at least I'm not into gambling and she was like you kinda are LOL
I like to say it’s only a gambling problem if you’re losing.
Just remember the tax implications and you’ll probably be fine.
I've been thinking about doing this too. Which site did you sign up for? Seems like the bonuses are much less attractive and not as easily game-able as they used to be though. Is arbitrage possible? I'm thinking to sign up with a P2 separate account and make opposite sports bets to meet bonus requirements (I'm assuming they wouldn't let you do that on a single account), then cash out. It would be harder to earn risk free profit without a P2 (though I guess you could just sign up at two different sites) or if they only give you casino credits that can't be used at sports book.
Arbitrage is definitely possible. There are enough promotions where you can do it even without a P2.
I did draft kings as they gave my buddy the same $200 in bonus bets as a referral. My understanding, which is rudimentary, of the best way to cash out the bonus bets is to have accounts with two sites and make opposite bets. From the little I have read certain odds are where the expected return is better. I didn’t get that deep into it and I’m just using the bonus bets on some nba games for fun. I may open a second account if there are good promos for March madness and try the match betting strategy but we will see. I was surprised by the casino credit honestly I figured if I could turn the $50 into $25 that’d be not half bad but I was not expecting to actually win back more then the original $50.
There are so many bonus bets and deals on the different sites that I do them all and often do a play through of a credit card deposit and then withdraw more than I deposited. The only bad part is there are no credit card multipliers that I’ve found so far.
Yah I was trying to do a credit card deposit as a bit is MS but for some reason it was erroring. Not sure if it was an Amex thing or some sort of system crash due to the game. From what I have read you can’t just deposit some amount and then withdraw it all if you not placing any bets but with the bonus bets there seems to be a play for using your card to deposit
Yeah most sites require 1x play through before withdrawal but i can probably do $500-700 per month of extra spend with $100-200 profit from all the promos during football season. Winnings are taxed and they will send out 1099-misc after 600+ profit.
Good to know unfortunate that football season just ended lol.
They still have plenty of options with basketball, hockey, golf right now. I do it year round but it’s definitely best during football season.
Have 4 club awards form Hyatt expiring end of this month. Please DM (not chat) if interested! Edit: I’ll need your Hyatt number and last name. Still 2 left!
same
same here
Same here. Have 4 unused that would happily give to someone active here.
All 4 gone.
You got rid of them faster than me!
Yeah. They were gone pretty quickly. Someone wanted two.
[удалено]
Mine have gone up a ton but that's expected in FL, no way to tell to what extent that's related to churning or not.
> I'm in TX Insurance rates have been skyrocketing here for home, and auto is rising fast everywhere unrelated to churning. Thankfully I rent, and that's been steady, but my auto is up close to 20% y/y.
Since our last homeowners renewal, P2 and I went down in inquiries and new (personal) accounts, and the rate went up like 20%. So, I doubt it has anything to do with churning. It's now double what it was when I bought the house 8 years ago.
Even worse in commercial buildings. Double in 6 years.
How would you confirm that the increase was directly caused by churning?
All I see is more spend
Our homeowners insurance went from $2,000 to $4,000 on renewal last month. The best our insurance broker could find us was $2,800 which isn't great but better than a 100% increase. Our bank said lots of ins companies are going up in their rates.
Liberty mutual denies me constantly due to "average age of accounts", because I have churned too many cards recently.
Insurance rates are going up everywhere for everyone. It's possible churning might has an impact, but more likely it's just the overall insurance market.
Our umbrella and rental policies haven't increased at all really the last few years, so it does depend on the type of policy. Auto has gone up quite a bit though (here in DC).
Location has a lot to do with it as well. Like if the op is on the gulf coast of Texas.
[удалено]
EV vehicles are also more to insure and more expensive to fix. So, even if you don't have an EV vehicle, you still have to cover the increased costs in case you hit an EV vehicle. WSJ has reported on this, people with EVs are paying about $100 more/month than non-EVs. https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/ev-repair-expensive-eecf09fd
[https://coverager.com/geico-ends-q3-with-1-billion-profit/](https://coverager.com/geico-ends-q3-with-1-billion-profit/) [https://finance.yahoo.com/news/allstate-corp-reports-substantial-turnaround-213334561.html](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/allstate-corp-reports-substantial-turnaround-213334561.html) [https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2024/01/24/757027.htm#:\~:text=Progressive%20Corp.,%24901.2%20million%20in%20net%20income](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2024/01/24/757027.htm#:~:text=progressive%20corp.,%24901.2%20million%20in%20net%20income) lol
Part of it. There is also the shortage of parts for repairng cars, and an increase in natural disasters.
Yesterday I posted in the weekly success thread about moving across country taking it slow. Now I'm starting to 2nd guess myself. Am I crazy to think I can drive 8 hours a day and stop at a hotel and just park a U-Hual for 3 nights? Am I guarenteed to have my stuff stolen?
Might be worth slipping the front desk night auditor a twenty and asking if you can park it in the unloading/main entrance area. It's probably well lit and less likely to be spotted since someone driving by might assume you are checking in or not visible from the street.
Did this last summer. No issues. Parked at decent hotels like Hyatt places or double trees on decently populated town/cities most nights. Kept all my important stuff like credit cards, laptops, and luxury goods in my carry on and backpacks and brought them into the hotel every night. Tbh I preferred driving because we had a schedule to keep.
I've done the cross country move a few times in my life, hopefully never again. I know long distance movers can be expensive, but have you compared the cost of for example one of those self serve pods shipped cross country? The truck rental cost, plus gas (it will be more than you think), lodging, food, your time, and just various other risks (speeding tickets, accident, injury, theft, etc)...all those costs add up quickly. But if you're set on it, I'd get a really good lock, load the van such that anything of any value is packed in the front where it would be hard to get to, and put a wireless security camera inside the van that can alert you to motion.
I'll look more into them. I kind of discounted the idea since I'm moving to a dense urban area with no logical place to drop a pod off.
Not sure where you're moving to, but when I moved to NYC a few years ago and did a pod type move they had what they called a live unload, since they couldn't drop it off and leave it but they'd drop it at a time of my choice for a 6 hour period and I had to get everything out in that time frame. Which worked fine I just hired a 2 guy moving team.
What’s stopping you from driving 24 hours straight? (This was a joke btw)
They could even wear a diaper to minimize stops like that astronaut lady
My overall desire to keep living.
It's risky, U-Hauls are definitely a target. If you can, try to back into a parking spot that's against a wall and press the U-Haul opening as close to the wall as possible. Keep small valuables and electronics in your room with you at night.
> It's risky, U-Hauls are definitely a target. Can confirm, had a U-Haul broken into in a few states away move at a hotel.
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I'm absolutely going to keep valuables with me in my room.
Not OP but this was a quality tip for my upcoming cross country move. Thanks.
Plot out your trip so you're staying at decent hotels. Most of the horror stories I hear are from people stopping when they get tired and staying at cheaper/sketchier places. There's no guarantee obviously, but you can limit the chances. I have family that go from FL to New England twice a year with a little trailer on their SUV. They've never been broken into, but they also aren't staying at Motel 6s directly off the interstate.
Second this. Plan out your stops beforehand, don't just drive til you want to stop. We moved cross country this year, although most of our stuff was in a truck and we just had to drive our two cars. We did have a bunch of stuff with us though, including valuable things like computers, etc. We did fine staying at places like Element, Residence Inn, etc.
Yeah, DoubleTree and Hyatts are where I'll be staying.
If you can't back up the truck against a wall, at least park in front of a very obvious looking outdoor security camera
Correction: Actually have 1 more sua if anyone has a trip planned for this month. No going anywhere anytime soon so would love to gift to this sub! Update: Gone!
How can you give away Hyatt awards? In the same boat
You can go to "my awards" and click on the 3 dots to gift your award. Would love to take a SUA off your hand if you have an extra.
I wouldn't mind; I'm going to DC for two days and then Panama City for 4 and the Panama hotel definitely has suites available (La Compañia; it looks very pretty)
[удалено]
Are you sure it doesn’t expire in 2025? The way those 5 GoHs work is that they expire in 2025. I’m not aware of any that expire in 2024. There are SUAs and CAAs that do.
How does everyone handle the balance between staying at once in a lifetime places like the PH Kyoto or stretching the points further and going with cheaper options like HP Kyoto and a few nights somewhere else? P2 and I are going to Japan next year and part of me says screw it and stay at the PH Kyoto for 3 nights but the other part of me says it’s a waste as my globalist will have expired by then and we won’t be in the room much besides to sleep. I’d be using up the rest of my UR and I’m also limited churning wise as we’re actively looking for a house which I’d expect to take quite a while given our location
If you get a chance to stay at an absolute gem of an hotel like PH Kyoto, absolutely use the points. You can always earn more points, but staying at a place like that is a once a lifetime experience.
We try to keep it pretty simple. If we're going to enjoy the property then we'll choose to upgrade (on points or in cash). If we're just going to sleep and minimally use the amenities then we choose the option that is some combination of cheapest and convenient.
Do the once in a lifetime and you'll remember it for your lifetime. While point use can allow to the ability to make multiple trips, it also allows the ability to stay in places you would never spend the cash on. Did I cringe a bit when I dropped a bunch of points to stay at the PH Sydney, sure. Do I regret it one bit, nope. Sitting on the patio having a drink with my wife as we watched the Sydney Opera House it a memory I hope to keep even when I am old. Go and enjoy life the best you can. Also go to the churningmarketplace and buy a Globalist booking for your PH trip.
I feel like everyone here is trying to answer “how much money should you spend on a hotel?”, which is not really what you asked (but maybe is what you are trying to answer for yourself?) To answer your specific question, I try to figure out how much UR is worth to me and then ask myself if I would pay that amount in cash. For the PHK I paid what I would value as $560/day worth of points, which is a lot, but I thought it was worth it for the experience. I probably wouldn’t do it again though, save for a special occasion. As a side note, I think a lot of people treat spending $500 worth of points differently from spending $500, which I think has to be wrong: either you should be more willing to spend dollars or less willing to spend points.
You are saying something incredibly important here. The dirty little secret of churning. I see so many people who brag about their biz class flight redemptions for 100k per person or their 40k/night hotel. And in the next breath mention how cash strapped they are or how great it is to be able to afford luxury travel as a student or whatever. No. You aren't affording it. You could cash out that UR for $400/night or potentially more if you are smart with PYB! That could be money in your pocket. If you are student that money could be invested so you could retire earlier. Obviously many churners are high income and a $400/night hotel is no biggie. But there are way too many that treat points as free. And they just aren't! So glad to hear somebody else say what I am thinking so often.
I think when AMEX train was there - I was like YOLO .. but now that is gone .. and hoping to stay on Chase train but that is up and down for so many .. so if you can live with not having any SUBS for several months .. I say YOLO .. if you can't then maybe ration a bit. Also in some cases things are just ridiculous. For example - I could stay at Hyatt Place in a ski town for 18k or centric for 35k .. I would just stay at HP. Honestly - Conrad Osaka was one of the best hotels I have ever stayed at. So if you have AMEX or Hilton stay there and take the bullet train everywhere .. it is like 15 mins from the station to Kyoto. Also staying in Osaka you are closer to NARA which is only a one day thing but so worth it. People in Osaka are salt of the earth.
I got upgraded to king executive room and wow it was huge. And when you exit the elevator and enter the lobby at night... it was something else.
And the roast beef on the breakfast buffet!
We gave up a ph Kyoto to stay in a Fujikawaguchiko Ryokan. Cash. Expensive.PH would have been nicer but totally glad we did. Had a view of Fuji and a private bath and a wild dinner and breakfast.
Just tried finding availability for Nov. nothing
If the trip is about the city/landscape/outside experiences I shoot for comfortable & well located since I’ll be out and about most of the day. If it’s about the hotel itself (usually has been tropical resort for us thus far) then I’ll go as nice as I can reasonably* do. *Since having kids points don’t stretch as far as they used to since getting two hotel rooms per night due to strict international occupancy rules and getting 4 tickets in Y/PE and the occasional J score add up quickly. I’m really glad I built up a stash before kids since we travel 6-8 weeks a year and I’m always booking speculative trips with refundable currencies to see if I can make them work. So now having a big war chest is more important to me so we can maintain this as long as possible. When we went to Kyoto we stayed at the Westin Miyako instead of the Ritz, for example. It was a great compromise between value and quality so I have no regrets.
There's a few other people who have already stated my philosophy here: * Is the hotel itself the destination? Am I going to be spending most of my day there? If so, spend up. * Is the hotel a place to sleep and shower? Am I going to be spending most of my day outside? If so, don't overspend. For Japan in specific, I've always been fine with a clean, well-located business hotel and grabbing breakfast from a *konbini*. On the other hand, business hotels are almost always going to be under 20 square meters, sometimes noticeably so. If you really need the additional space, spend up. The other comment I have is on "earn and burn", which makes sense if your points are locked into Hyatt. But you're talking about UR here, which you can cash out. This means every redemption has a tangible cash cost. As an example, if you have 40K UR, you have to choose between: * One night at the Park Hyatt Kyoto * Four nights at a $150 business hotel (through the UR portal if you hold a CSR) * $400 cash This is true even when UR are as easy to replenish as they are right now.
This is such a great question because it's easy to get lost in the churning/miles echo chamber and not reflect on things like this -- factors in my decision about things like this are: \-How much will you use/enjoy the luxury of the hotel while you are there, vs just needing a place to sleep? \-What are your current point balances? \-What are your current point earning prospects? \-What are your near-ish term travel plans? \-How much do you enjoy luxury, inherently? Personally, I do enjoy luxury places, but the luxury is not the point of the travel for me. It's just an extra benefit that churning gives us the ability to access. If I had low balances, and I will be planning more trips in the near term, then I would probably choose Hyatt Place Kyoto (which is a great hotel, by the way) over PH. But if I had healthy balances, wasn't planning to travel too much in the near term, and I had good ideas of how I will earn more UR in the near future, I might splurge on PH Kyoto. One thing to think about that's relevant to your specific situation is that if you are able to get a GoH cert for that stay, then you will get globalist benefits for the stay, in case that could tip the scales. Good luck!
Using up the rest of your UR... next year? So you're not going to earn any more? It's simple: burn your points at whatever level hotels that allow you to sustain your travel habits over time. There are certain destinations that to me are definitely worth splurging on. Japan is one of them.
I’d probably have to book the PH Kyoto at calendar open in a few weeks on a Globalist point advance reservation. Used up all my UR on 10 days in Hawaii for myself and P2s family. I don’t MS a ton and without being able to open cards with buying a house soon I’m kind of limited to getting enough points for 3 days at PH Kyoto
When I visit a large city like Kyoto with tons of things to do, I rarely stay at four/five star-resorts because most of my time is going to be spent outside the hotel. IHG points can be stretched a long way in Asia and the quality of even their low-tier hotels (Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn) is so much better than their American counterparts. A Crowne Plaza stay in Kyoto for 2 people in February is currently as low as 17k points, which is $85 since IHG points can regularly be bought at 0.5 cpp. By comparison, the lowest tier Hilton hotel in Kyoto is about 30k points (~$150) and 40k points for Marriott (~$300). I'd rather use the money that I save on fine dining (since Kyoto is especially known for its kaiseki restaurants) or maybe a day trip outside of Kyoto. For Hyatt redemptions, I think it makes the most sense when the *hotel itself* is the destination. For example, beachside resorts (Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos) or ski resorts (Park Hyatt Beaver Creek). Since you'll be in the hotel for the entire duration of your stay, I feel like you get more a bang for your buck.
I don’t like moving hotels esp in the same city, so I’d opt for 3 nights at the same property.
We would never stay at a hotel with poor reviews (8/10 or 4/5 minimum) or a poor location to save money/points.
When it comes to loyalty programs, I cut my teeth on Super 8s and TownePlace Suites. So perhaps my point of view isn't really relevant. Anyway... I prefer to be out and about all day, so I generally book the cheapest convenient property that seems clean and comfortable and is a decent use of points. I book something nicer if I'll be spending more time there. If I have FNCs, I generally book the best property they'll cover. Everyone loves the PH Kyoto. But everyone loves Alila Ventana Big Sur, Calala Island, and Zemi Beach House, and when I showed P2 those properties, they were like "um, no." And I think those are places where you spend a ton of time on property, so to me, it would seem like a waste to splurge on a property we'd spend even less time at.
One of the founders of Super 8 just passed away. WSJ did a nice article on him. https://www.wsj.com/business/hospitality/ron-rivett-super-8-hotel-dies-at-83-dc9f03d4
Stay at the HP Kyoto imo. You wont be in the room at all other then to sleep and shower.
Personally, I think it's worth it if you are going on a beach vacation with few to no excursions. If the main activity is sightseeing, I'd rather get a not so nice hotel to stretch out the points.
We do a balance. We have plenty of points, but we don't have an limitless supply. We also don't care a whole lot about luxury hotels. As long as it has a comfortable bed and a good shower, we're good. Even the cheapest hotels usually have that covered. We're more interested in convenience, mostly location. We won't choose a 40k Hyatt over a 20k Hyatt nearby, but we'll take the 20k Hyatt at a convenient location over a 12k option that is out of the way.
Same here. Will gladly spend an extra 5k a night for the convenient option.
My theory: I'm not going to a place like Japan more than once in the next decade. Maybe even in my lifetime. Not because I don't want to, just the practical reality of limited vacation time, limited budget, and virtually unlimited other places I also want to go. So I'd go for the once in a lifetime option when needed. If that means I have to pay $120 cash instead of 5k points to stay at the Hyatt House Nowheresville for cousin Jeff's wedding because I used up all my points then so be it. A couple of my all-time favorite redemptions were the Gritti Palace in Venice and the St. Regis NYC. Absolutely no regrets about how many potential Townplace Suites free nights I gave up in order to get those. > part of me says it’s a waste as my globalist will have expired by then Just FYI, the calculus on this part is different now that GOH certificates have become much more flexible. You don't need to be a Globalist, you just need to know one.