I'll admit that while I'm always looking for a bargain, I'm way too anxious to do some of the things suggested in some of these posts. Show up in another country with no hotel reservations and just try to negotiate a deal. No thanks. Share a bathroom with strangers? Hard pass, I don't even like having to share with my H.
I mentioned those things because GBCN tends to live and travel at a high comfort level. Doing so is more expensive.
Oh it definitely is, but if I'm staying in a hotel I want my own bathroom. But I think part of that stems from growing up RV camping, and I spent so many summers taking lukewarm or cold showers in sandy communal bathrooms, and needing a flashlight to go pee at night, that I'm just not willing to put up with it if I'm staying inside a building. LOL!
Also, I have IBS as an adult, and I don't always know what my stomach is going to end up doing.
Post by sunnysally on Jan 29, 2023 13:20:46 GMT -5
If you are renting a car, check out Autoslash.com. You can continually rebook until your trip with no fees. Our rental car for Puerto Rico is down to $330 for the week.
I mentioned those things because GBCN tends to live and travel at a high comfort level. Doing so is more expensive.
Oh it definitely is, but if I'm staying in a hotel I want my own bathroom. But I think part of that stems from growing up RV camping, and I spent so many summers taking lukewarm or cold showers in sandy communal bathrooms, and needing a flashlight to go pee at night, that I'm just not willing to put up with it if I'm staying inside a building. LOL!
Also, I have IBS as an adult, and I don't always know what my stomach is going to end up doing.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to travel at a high comfort level
Last week there was the thread about cooking meals on vacation. I'm personally at a place in life where I prefer not to cook on vacation but I'll bend a lot for a fantastic destination. We each have our preferences. I think cooking in an expensive SoCal rental isn't a fun vacation. You think having to use cold shower communal bathrooms in Nambia isn't a fun vacation
(plus - a private bathroom in a country where your stomach takes a beat to adjust is a huge difference. I understand why it's non-negotiable for some).
Something to think about that I didn’t consider when we got a CC for points: we have service fees for using our CC places. For example, for daycare we get a 3% fee, so although we used our points to book travel to Disneyland in April, we did have to pay through those service fees. Still significantly cheaper, but definitely not free.
If a place charges a fee for using a credit card we typically pay cash. DD’s orthodontist offered a 6% pay in full discount or a 3% pay in full with a credit card discount. We paid with a check. The 4K points weren’t worth the 300 dollar increase in costs, for us. Other times it can be worth the fee (like a hotel that would be covered under a credit card with travel insurance.) It’s definitely worth doing the math!
If you are renting a car, check out Autoslash.com. You can continually rebook until your trip with no fees. Our rental car for Puerto Rico is down to $330 for the week.
I love autoslash. I will book and rebook repeatedly.
If you are renting a car, check out Autoslash.com. You can continually rebook until your trip with no fees. Our rental car for Puerto Rico is down to $330 for the week.
I love autoslash. I will book and rebook repeatedly.
Also check your work discounts. My employer has an employee code that you can use for personal use and it knocks weekly rentals down to about 240 a week anywhere. It has saved us so much money in the last 2 years with rental prices being insane.
Make sure you check the fine print of the code- you don’t want to use one that uses your work insurance for personal rentals. That is a bad move.
I love autoslash. I will book and rebook repeatedly.
Also check your work discounts. My employer has an employee code that you can use for personal use and it knocks weekly rentals down to about 240 a week anywhere. It has saved us so much money in the last 2 years with rental prices being insane.
Make sure you check the fine print of the code- you don’t want to use one that uses your work insurance for personal rentals. That is a bad move.
Yes!
Also review your credit card coverage and use it appropriately. I always use my Amex for payment and it covered every penny of the cost when our rental car was broken into on vacation a few years ago.
Also check your work discounts. My employer has an employee code that you can use for personal use and it knocks weekly rentals down to about 240 a week anywhere. It has saved us so much money in the last 2 years with rental prices being insane.
Make sure you check the fine print of the code- you don’t want to use one that uses your work insurance for personal rentals. That is a bad move.
Yes!
Also review your credit card coverage and use it appropriately. I always use my Amex for payment and it covered every penny of the cost when our rental car was broken into on vacation a few years ago.
Yes we’ve gotten 2 car rentals fixed without using our personal insurance. Thank you Chase! They also paid for a nonrefundable hotel, food, and a bunch of replacement items when our flight got delayed and then our bags were lost.
Something to think about that I didn’t consider when we got a CC for points: we have service fees for using our CC places. For example, for daycare we get a 3% fee, so although we used our points to book travel to Disneyland in April, we did have to pay through those service fees. Still significantly cheaper, but definitely not free.
Yep, we had this with both the pool and the fence. Neither service charge was worth the points redemption.
We did put $5k on our card when we bought DH’s truck since there was no service fee. I was just said we couldn’t put more on the card for points.
Also review your credit card coverage and use it appropriately. I always use my Amex for payment and it covered every penny of the cost when our rental car was broken into on vacation a few years ago.
Yes we’ve gotten 2 car rentals fixed without using our personal insurance. Thank you Chase! They also paid for a nonrefundable hotel, food, and a bunch of replacement items when our flight got delayed and then our bags were lost.
Oh yeah - I also used the Amex coverage when we misconnected and got stuck. American booked us at an off site hotel in Dallas despite there being two hotels in the Dallas airport. I had been traveling all day with two kids and had an early morning flight the next day. I booked my own and filed it with Amex for reimbursement. They paid that and all our food.
Something to think about that I didn’t consider when we got a CC for points: we have service fees for using our CC places. For example, for daycare we get a 3% fee, so although we used our points to book travel to Disneyland in April, we did have to pay through those service fees. Still significantly cheaper, but definitely not free.
This is true. The rewards rate on my credit cards is 3% max (and that’s only for certain categories) so any time a fee is higher than 1 (maybe 2)%, it’s generally not worth it. And most travel cards I’ve come across only give you that 3% rewards rate on travel and dining-related purchases; something like daycare only converts to 1% back in points.
Other than maybe constantly churning your cards, being able to spend a lot in the specific categories you need to earn rewards is ALSO a sign of privilege. And if you’re paying any interest, forget about it. Those rewards cards usually have very high APRs.
suzubell Where are you staying for universal Hollywood? I’m looking to take my kids and I can’t figure out the best hotel. Will I have to rent a car to get to universal or do sone hotels have transportation like at the Orlando location? Sorry for the random question.
We don’t churn CCs for points but we do apply for 12-18m 0%APR cards and use those for big ticket travel. I’ll be honest, it gives me the sweats because we’ve taken on more debt than I sometimes feel comfortable doing (I’ve watched a lot of Suze Orman and she’d be horrified) but H has a good, common sense financial mind, we make good money, he stays organized and on top of when the 0% stuff ends, and so far we haven’t had a problem.
We have credit scores between 750-800, have a house, own two cars outright, and in general aren’t looking to do any radical changes that would require near-perfect credit scores, so we are comfortable with the fluctuations in credit that these cards sometimes cause.
We don’t churn CCs for points but we do apply for 12-18m 0%APR cards and use those for big ticket travel. I’ll be honest, it gives me the sweats because we’ve taken on more debt than I sometimes feel comfortable doing (I’ve watched a lot of Suze Orman and she’d be horrified) but H has a good, common sense financial mind, we make good money, he stays organized and on top of when the 0% stuff ends, and so far we haven’t had a problem.
We have credit scores between 750-800, have a house, own two cars outright, and in general aren’t looking to do any radical changes that would require near-perfect credit scores, so we are comfortable with the fluctuations in credit that these cards sometimes cause.
We don’t churn CCs for points but we do apply for 12-18m 0%APR cards and use those for big ticket travel. I’ll be honest, it gives me the sweats because we’ve taken on more debt than I sometimes feel comfortable doing (I’ve watched a lot of Suze Orman and she’d be horrified) but H has a good, common sense financial mind, we make good money, he stays organized and on top of when the 0% stuff ends, and so far we haven’t had a problem.
We have credit scores between 750-800, have a house, own two cars outright, and in general aren’t looking to do any radical changes that would require near-perfect credit scores, so we are comfortable with the fluctuations in credit that these cards sometimes cause.