How Many Credit Cards Do You Have?

[steve dave]

I think generally the tax advantages make it well worth it. Instant return on the front (or back if a Roth). We've argued this before in the investment thread.

[GoodForAnother]

north like princeville?  I thought you said not to book the st regis.  we've got the 4 free nights from hyatt and like 40k spg points.

you can't book at Regis with that amount of points but could have (previously) booked the Westin a couple. Either way I'd stay at the Hyatt for the 4 and stay anywhere up north for the other two. It's not a long drive but is worth it to not have to do it.

k thx I'll see what I can find up that way

if you can find a shack in Hanalei that would be perfect for a couple nights on the north end. Princeville is all expensive resorts. Hanalei is a surf town right where you want to be.

maybe westin princeville ocean resort villas?  at 20k a night I could technically afford those and just blow out my 40k remaining points.

[michigancat]

The fees are very low.

[steve dave]

north like princeville?  I thought you said not to book the st regis.  we've got the 4 free nights from hyatt and like 40k spg points.

you can't book at Regis with that amount of points but could have (previously) booked the Westin a couple. Either way I'd stay at the Hyatt for the 4 and stay anywhere up north for the other two. It's not a long drive but is worth it to not have to do it.

k thx I'll see what I can find up that way

if you can find a shack in Hanalei that would be perfect for a couple nights on the north end. Princeville is all expensive resorts. Hanalei is a surf town right where you want to be.

maybe westin princeville ocean resort villas?  at 20k a night I could technically afford those and just blow out my 40k remaining points.

It would be worth it IMO. You are going to need two days up north. It would save the hour drive each way. If you want another rundown of all elite things let me know.

[GoodForAnother]

north like princeville?  I thought you said not to book the st regis.  we've got the 4 free nights from hyatt and like 40k spg points.

you can't book at Regis with that amount of points but could have (previously) booked the Westin a couple. Either way I'd stay at the Hyatt for the 4 and stay anywhere up north for the other two. It's not a long drive but is worth it to not have to do it.

k thx I'll see what I can find up that way

if you can find a shack in Hanalei that would be perfect for a couple nights on the north end. Princeville is all expensive resorts. Hanalei is a surf town right where you want to be.

maybe westin princeville ocean resort villas?  at 20k a night I could technically afford those and just blow out my 40k remaining points.

It would be worth it IMO. You are going to need two days up north. It would save the hour drive each way. If you want another rundown of all elite things let me know.

yeah I'm gonna switch from the sheraton to that. do four nights at grand hyatt and then two up in princeville. super pumped to do/see all the cool crap. wiki travel makes it sound amazing.

[JavaCat]

I was trying to book a trip to NYC. I could not find one open seat going out. Only thing it would pull would be the occasional return flight.

Anything AA flys you can book if you find AA saver space

Was being stupid and wondering why a bunch of AA Saver flights weren't showing up on BA's site and then realized they were US Airways flights. In case you're stupid like me those flights should be showing up on BA in a week or so.

[Emo EMAW]

Chase has great customer service. 

[steve dave]

Chase has great customer service. 

yep

[mocat]

btw, if any of you are planning an international delta trip, use this thing. it is invaluable, however it is buried on delta's website and i only found it a few weeks ago. you can pick one or two cities and see if/when there are nonstops using the calendar. it does not tell you price or miles tho. still very great.

http://delta.innosked.com/(S(t5m5sb4500srqp55i1c33yqb))/Default.aspx

for example, you can do the one airport thing and type in CDG and see where Delta flies nonstop from CDG

you can also do the two airport thing and type in MCI-LHR, and see that you have options for layovers in MSP, DTW, or ATL.

I used this to find out that Delta flies SXM-ATL weekly (saturdays), and SXM-JFK daily. It helped me plan my itinerary.

turns out they all have one of these interactive route maps!

AA
http://aa.innosked.com/(S(l1djg4iouebaw4r1hgbpjm45))/default.aspx?lang_id=EN

USAir
http://us.innosked.com/

United
http://cgi.ua.flightlookup.com/routemap/routemap-fullscreen.html

Delta
http://delta.innosked.com/(S(houzpaqsuxroa455avo1ibv4))/Default.aspx

[michigancat]

YOU FORGOT ONE

http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/routemap_dyn.html

[Boom Roasted]

YOU FORGOT ONE

http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/routemap_dyn.html

Easily the most important one too!!

[GoodForAnother]

those DFW AA direct flights

[Mrs. Gooch]

Steve Dave, we might need you to plan our NY trip since Gooch isn't getting anything done. 

[steve dave]

Steve Dave, we might need you to plan our NY trip since Gooch isn't getting anything done. 

ok, give me dates. also point figures if you haven't booked flights and hotels.

[Mrs. Gooch]

Steve Dave, we might need you to plan our NY trip since Gooch isn't getting anything done. 

ok, give me dates. also point figures if you haven't booked flights and hotels.

Well the dates are flexible: Preferably Wed-Sun (but could be flexible) in June (not FattyFest weekend, obv)
130K BA miles and 101K UR

[steve dave]

Steve Dave, we might need you to plan our NY trip since Gooch isn't getting anything done. 

ok, give me dates. also point figures if you haven't booked flights and hotels.

Well the dates are flexible: Preferably Wed-Sun (but could be flexible) in June (not FattyFest weekend, obv)
130K BA miles and 101K UR

Getting back on Sunday is tough in June. Best bet is Tuesday to Saturday if you want 4 nights.

6/10
AA1476 & AA320 ICT-DFW-EWR 6:45AM-1:55PM 85 minute layover
6/14
AA1342 & AA2398 JFK-DFW-ICT 8:29AM-1:35PM 70 minute layover

Will be 58k Avios total for 2 RTs

If you want to burn through all of those UR points you could stay at either Andaz for 100k total Hyatt points. The brand new Park Hyatt would be amazing but it would be 120k. I wouldn't waste the points on the other options. The Lex just went up in points last year and it was the previous best value.

Andaz 5th Avenue.  100,000
Andaz Wall Street.  100,000
Grand Hyatt New York.  100,000
Hyatt 48 Lex.  100,000
Hyatt Times Square. 100,000
Hyatt Union Square New York.  100,000
Park Hyatt New York. 120,000

[mocat]

I don't think Park Hyatt is accepting reservations until the end of July

[steve dave]

I don't think Park Hyatt is accepting reservations until the end of July

EDIT: yes, July 20. Do either Andaz Gooch's

[Gooch]

Steve Dave, we might need you to plan our NY trip since Gooch isn't getting anything done. 

ok, give me dates. also point figures if you haven't booked flights and hotels.

Well the dates are flexible: Preferably Wed-Sun (but could be flexible) in June (not FattyFest weekend, obv)
130K BA miles and 101K UR

Getting back on Sunday is tough in June. Best bet is Tuesday to Saturday if you want 4 nights.

6/10
AA1476 & AA320 ICT-DFW-EWR 6:45AM-1:55PM 85 minute layover
6/14
AA1342 & AA2398 JFK-DFW-ICT 8:29AM-1:35PM 70 minute layover

Will be 58k Avios total for 2 RTs

If you want to burn through all of those UR points you could stay at either Andaz for 100k total Hyatt points. The brand new Park Hyatt would be amazing but it would be 120k. I wouldn't waste the points on the other options. The Lex just went up in points last year and it was the previous best value.

Andaz 5th Avenue.  100,000
Andaz Wall Street.  100,000
Grand Hyatt New York.  100,000
Hyatt 48 Lex.  100,000
Hyatt Times Square. 100,000
Hyatt Union Square New York.  100,000
Park Hyatt New York. 120,000

Do you mow lawns too?

[mocat]

if you do Andaz 5th Ave, i would like a report.

[steve dave]

Steve Dave, we might need you to plan our NY trip since Gooch isn't getting anything done. 

ok, give me dates. also point figures if you haven't booked flights and hotels.

Well the dates are flexible: Preferably Wed-Sun (but could be flexible) in June (not FattyFest weekend, obv)
130K BA miles and 101K UR

Getting back on Sunday is tough in June. Best bet is Tuesday to Saturday if you want 4 nights.

6/10
AA1476 & AA320 ICT-DFW-EWR 6:45AM-1:55PM 85 minute layover
6/14
AA1342 & AA2398 JFK-DFW-ICT 8:29AM-1:35PM 70 minute layover

Will be 58k Avios total for 2 RTs

If you want to burn through all of those UR points you could stay at either Andaz for 100k total Hyatt points. The brand new Park Hyatt would be amazing but it would be 120k. I wouldn't waste the points on the other options. The Lex just went up in points last year and it was the previous best value.

Andaz 5th Avenue.  100,000
Andaz Wall Street.  100,000
Grand Hyatt New York.  100,000
Hyatt 48 Lex.  100,000
Hyatt Times Square. 100,000
Hyatt Union Square New York.  100,000
Park Hyatt New York. 120,000

Do you mow lawns too?

not even my own

[CopperBowl]

TLDR

But you guys (especially Steve Dave) are really smart.

Here's the situation:

1. Large expense coming (>$10K) that can be split any way I choose.
2. Ditch the kids trip (with wife) next February.
3. Said trip needs to include warm weather, beach, and ocean. Probably Caribbean.

Which card(s) should I look at to maximize upfront offers and post-intro point rates?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[steve dave]

TLDR

But you guys (especially Steve Dave) are really smart.

Here's the situation:

1. Large expense coming (>$10K) that can be split any way I choose.
2. Ditch the kids trip (with wife) next February.
3. Said trip needs to include warm weather, beach, and ocean. Probably Caribbean.

Which card(s) should I look at to maximize upfront offers and post-intro point rates?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you've never had any point cards I'd do a huge churn of a Sapphire, Ink, and a couple airline cards of your choice. Probably AA depending on where you are based out of. Do you have any points in any programs right now? The easiest answer using just what you've given me is the above though. also have the wife do the same.

[mocat]

man Copper Bowl you really hit the jackpot

[Boom Roasted]

Just approved for one of the inks. Should I do the SPG business today too?