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Nov 04 2018

Three credit cards I’m changing my mind on

I was cruising along, dabbling in gift card reselling and pretty happy with my miles and points earnings. I was doing fine and had accrued enough miles to basically cover all our family trips for 2019. I started inching closer and closer to 5/24, but then gave up in September and started applying for cards on a regular basis again. Since I’ve started the credit card application cycle again, I’ve found myself looking more and more at a variety of cards.

Here’s where I note that there are some drawbacks to talking to Robert Dwyer of Milenomics on a daily basis. Between posts about the World of Hyatt card and our experiments in self/spousal referrals, he’s got me thinking of cards that I probably would have ignored otherwise. Here are the three cards that I planned to ignore but I’m starting to seriously get tempted by.

Hilton Aspire (American Express)

When the Hilton Aspire first came out, I decided I didn’t want to carry another $450 fee. But with the 150,000 point sign up bonus and the ability to do a spousal referral, I’m getting pretty tempted. There are some creative ways to trigger the $250 airline and resort credits that I might play around with, but the real draw is the 150,000 points. We stay at Hiltons enough and we also are starting to need two rooms more and more. So the 150,000 points should go to good use.

The free weekend night seems fine. I was also excited about having Diamond status until I read this post. I generally have been pretty happy with Hilton as a program, so I predict I’m probably going to end up changing my mind on this one. It wouldn’t be the first time.

World of Hyatt card (Chase)

I haven’t given this card much thought since it came out but since it’s not subject to 5/24 and I’m never going to be under 5/24 again, the 60,000 Hyatt points is pretty tempting. Hyatt is definitely due for a devaluation (even beyond the Category 8 thing) but I still find it valuable to stockpile hotel points in general (see above).

The card will even give me the ability to manufacture Globalist status if I’m so inclined (I’m not) (Am I?) (Let’s move on). In my mind, 60,000 Hyatt points will free up 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points for me to do something else with, so I’ll probably look into this card as well. I’m planning on exchanging my Hyatt 1.0 card for this World of Hyatt card as Robert outlined here.

City National Bank Crystal Visa Infinite

This one I blame Robert directly for. I’ve read that you might need to send in W2s to be approved for this card. I wasn’t interested in dealing with the hassle but Robert was so nonchalant about his experience that I’m pretty tempted.

3X on groceries looks pretty good, though I’d need to finish off my 25K at 4X on my new Amex Rose Gold first. But I’ve read that authorized users are free and each gets the $250 airline credit – that’s pretty tempting. I’m least likely to get this card, but I’m still thinking about it.

Final Thoughts

I’m not sure whether I’m looking to be talked out of or talked into these cards. The bottom line is, with an increase in spending coming up for the holidays, I feel like it’s time to capitalize on sign up bonuses. So I’m taking a second look at cards I chose to pass on in the past.

Do you have any of these cards? Are you happy you signed up for them? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter!

Never miss a post! Subscribe below and receive an e-mail once a day for new posts from asthejoeflies. Also, follow our family adventures on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Or, if you’re looking for a miles, points, and travel podcast, check out my podcast the Saverocity Observation Deck on Apple Podcasts or Google Play.

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Oct 16 2018

Walt Disney World Ticket Changes – What you need to know

As of today, Oct 16, 2018, Walt Disney World ticket changes are in full effect. They have a newly implemented dynamic pricing model. This means that the amount you pay for tickets will vary depending on when you take your trip. Travel during peak season will result in more costly tickets while off season will be cheaper.

Here’s what you need to know about the changes.

Your ticket price now depends on your trip dates

For the most part, the ticket buying process is the same. If you’re buying from Disney, navigate to their website and “theme park tickets”. At that point, you choose what type of ticket you want (regular, park hopper, or park hopper plus). The thing that’s changed is after THAT point, you’re directed to a calendar. The calendar displays the average per day price of tickets for trips starting on a given day.

In the example above, a 4 day Magic Your Way ticket for a trip start date of 2/3 is $94 per day on average, while a 4 day Magic Your Way ticket starting on 2/17 is $99 per day on average.

I’m guessing these prices are dynamic, meaning they may change with availability and demand. What this means is if you’re going during off times you’ll save money compared to going during peak times. In the past, you’d pay the same for your tickets regardless of your trip dates.

Honestly, for the average user, Disney made this fairly straightforward. Pick your ticket length, pick your trip start date, and buy your tickets.

Tickets for off peak dates are cheaper than they were last year (and peak times are more expensive)

While this new system definitely has resulted in ticket price increases, for off peak dates they are actually cheaper in some instances. Take a 4 day Magic Your Way ticket starting on 2/3 as in the example above. Those tickets cost about $397 now, under the old system they cost about $404. So a $28 savings for a family of four.

Peak dates, however, will run you more. The absolute busiest time at Disney World is the week of Christmas and New Year’s. A 4 day Magic Your Way ticket where your trip starts on Dec 25th will set you back $462, almost $70 more! So it obviously pays now to visit during off peak times.

How do you determine off peak times? Avoid holidays and when the kids are out of school, basically! But another ancillary benefit of this ticket change is you can now figure out what times will have lower crowds – if the Disney ticket price is lower the crowds will be lower.

There’s no cost to change tickets but you CANNOT get a refund if you move to a lower ticket price

From Disney’s ticketing terms and conditions (bolding mine):

You can make changes to your tickets, including your ticket dates, prior to midnight ET of the day before your ticket’s first valid use date, XXX. There’s no change fee to modify, but an additional cost applies for dates with higher ticket prices. No refund or credit is given for changes from dates with higher prices to dates with lower prices.

This means that while changes are free, if your ticket price goes down (whether dynamically or because you choose new dates), you will not get a refund. But if you buy more expensive tickets you’ll get a credit for the value of the original tickets you bought. Something to bear in mind.

Tickets now have shorter expiration dates after first use

It used to be that if you bought a multiday Magic Your Way ticket, you had 14 days from first use to use up all your days. That means even if you bought a 4 day ticket, you could use your 4th day on day 14 of your trip. People would use this to their advantage and swing by Universal Studios or other local attractions while extending their time in Florida.

Disney has officially cut down their expiration dates. Basically, they’re building in some “off days” into your vacation, but you get a lot fewer. In fact, the only multiday ticket that still expires 14 days after first use is only the 10 day one! And remember, now when you buy tickets you have to state the first day of your trip, so you’ll have a hard “use by” date (Disney will tell you when you check out).

Also, if you buy the Park Hopper Plus option (includes waterparks) you get an extra day or two. You can also pay more for “flexible date” tickets, these basically are the old tickets with no start date and 14 day expirations.

Here are the new “use by” expiration in terms of days until expiration:

# of days on ticket purchased	# days you have to use tickets	# days you have to use tickets (Park Hopper Plus)
1	1	2
2	2	5
3	5	6
4	7	8
5	8	9
6	9	10
7	10	11
8	12	13
9	13	14
10	14	15

Parking and Annual Pass price increases

Also of note, parking at the parks now costs $25/day (up from $22). Annual passes have also increased in price, from $904.19 after tax for a Platinum Pass (the one without waterparks) to $952.11 after tax. The Platinum Pass Select (includes waterparks) now costs $1058.61.

I will update my Annual Pass Savings calculator soon, though for the most part it should work okay. You’ll have to account for whether you are traveling on peak dates or not, if yes, then it will make annual passes look more appealing on the whole for cost effectiveness.

Thoughts and analysis

Overall, I guess it could have been a lot worse. Time will tell how dynamically Disney prices (will prices drop/increase daily depending on demand, for example). For travelers who like to or can only visit Disney during peak times (when school is out), they’re going to need to pay more for tickets. For visitors who visit during off peak times, they’ll probably save a few bucks.

I should also note that in general, I give Disney IT, specifically the website and mobile app, a hard time because generally Disney IT is pretty bad. (Or, alternatively, they aren’t given the resources they need to make the website, you know, work.) But the website ran smoothly with no hiccups, at least as far as tickets were concerned, in all my searches today.

Like all things Disney, people who plan their Disney vacations far in advance will probably come out ahead on the whole while people planning last minute might get burned. If you need help with planning Disney vacation, feel free to check out my Disney planning podcast Disney Deciphered or the new site Miles to the Magic for miles and points savings opportunities.

Will the ticket changes affect your ticket purchasing plans? Or is it much to do about nothing? Let me know in the comments!

Never miss a post! Subscribe below and receive an e-mail once a day for new posts from asthejoeflies. Also, follow our family adventures on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Oct 11 2018

Quick Hits: New Plastiq Promotion – Earn one fee free dollar for every dollar spent with Mastercard (Targeted)

Got a fun little e-mail in my inbox a few minutes ago. Plastiq is offering one fee free dollar for every dollar spent with a Mastercard on Plastiq through October 31, 2018.

You must:

Pay with a Mastercard credit card (though I tried a gift card, we’ll see)
Initiate payment on or after 10/11/2018
Have payment scheduled for 10/31/2018 or before
Pay the regular 2.5% fee on your payment (you cannot apply fee free dollars)
Be targeted – check your e-mails

The e-mail subject to search is “Earn FFDs when you pay with Mastercard”

If my math is correct, you can basically cut your payments down to a 1.25% fee, provided you use the fee free dollars in the future. I am now regretting recently completing my Mastercard minimum spend! 🙂

Plastiq says FFDs will be credited on 11/1/2018.

Hope you were targeted!

Link to Plastiq article

Oct 03 2018

7 Tips for taking a Disney Cruise with a baby

If you want to take a cruise with a baby, it doesn’t get much better than a DISNEY cruise with a baby. Disney Cruise Line caters to families and babies are no exception. The ships are designed to be family and baby friendly and cast members do so much to ensure you have a smooth sailing. We loved our recent cruise on the Disney Dream, so I thought I’d put together some tips for how to best enjoy your Disney cruise with a baby.

One important note: babies need to be a minimum of six months old to cruise with Disney. On some select cruises they even need to be one year old, so be sure to check the age requirements before you book your cruise. Also, since children use the nursery on DCL up until the age of three, we’ll consider 0-3 year olds as babies for this post! Be sure to check out Disney’s guidelines for traveling with a baby, too.

Disney Dream at Sea — The Disney Dream (Photo Credit | David Roark, dclnews.com)

1. Get as much equipment as you can for your baby from Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line provides almost any piece of large equipment you think you might need for your little one. You should definitely request a Pack-n-Play and a diaper genie before you even embark. (You can do this by calling Disney or your travel agent). If you forget, you could also ask at Guest Services or even just ask your stateroom host. You don’t need to bring a high chair either, they are all over the place in every restaurant.

If you’d like, you can even skip bringing a stroller. Guest services provides a limited amount. We actually regretted bringing our stroller on board, we never used it. Our baby was ten months at the time of sailing so she was small enough to be in our Beco carrier (affiliate link) the entire time. An 18 month old might need a stroller though. If you don’t borrow from Guest Services, make sure you bring a small umbrella stroller. Don’t be like that family we saw that had to leave their double stroller in the (already) tight hallway!

Finally, when you’re on Castaway Cay you can borrow a complimentary wagon which is sure to be a hit with your baby (or your older kids). Disney also provides bottle warmers and sterilizers on request.

Disney Dream Stateroom with a baby — Staterooms on Disney cruises have curtains to help divide the space – great for families (Photo Credit | Matt Stroshane, dclnews.com)

2. Find the stateroom that works best for your family

Choosing a Disney Cruise Line stateroom can be stressful. I think with a baby, space probably matters more than things like having a balcony, etc. A couple notes for you to consider:

Getting two connecting cabins can be a great way to travel with a baby, especially if there are siblings. We paid about $1000 more than we would have for a single room but the extra space was invaluable. This also prevented us from having to breakdown the Pack-n-Play everyday (great for naps).
Get an idea of the entire ship layout. If you book a stateroom above the movie theater, like we do, you might hear large explosions late into the night (luckily, we’re heavy sleepers).
If you’re looking to save money, you can save by booking “guaranteed staterooms”. You’ll basically book a certain class but can’t choose your cabin. Touring Plans does a good job of releasing what last minute deals are available weekly.
If you’re worried about getting seasick, staying towards the middle of the boat and on the lower levels minimizes the effects.
All staterooms have a heavy light blocking curtain both by the window/balcony and in the middle of the room to provide some separation, useful for your family.

All the cabins on Disney ships are pretty great (and suites on the concierge level are even better of course). You can’t really go wrong, but still I like to choose my cabin strategically. Won’t be staying on top of the movie theater again!

3. Trust your cabin attendant and restaurant servers

Disney Cruise Line crew members are some of the best service industry professionals I’ve ever worked with. Use this to make your Disney cruise with a baby easier for yourself.

Your cabin attendant takes care of all your stateroom needs. If you didn’t receive any of the aforementioned free of charge baby items, definitely ask them. They can also help you set up the room as you like and turn down your room while you are at dinner. Our cabin attendant was especially helpful as we had some wet bed incidents; he was very understanding and we felt bad he had to deal with it, even though it was minor. He even got us extra pens, haha.

Enchanted Garden Disney Dream baby — Meals were a breeze with Disney’s great food service team

Our head waiter at dinner was even better. Disney uses rotational dining, meaning you will stay with the same wait team for your entire trip. Like all Disney, they handle allergies spectacularly. But I was even more impressed with how they handled food for the baby. We received avocado, berries, banana, and more on request. Even better, after the first night, our waiter asked us to “order” what we needed for the baby the next day and we’d show up at the table with food already prepared for her. That really made traveling with the baby easier and it was great not to stress about what to feed her every night.

4. The nursery and kids club are great, but don’t count on them

Both times I’ve sailed on Disney Cruise Line, I’ve told myself I’d get free time because the kids would be in the kids club or nursery. Both times that backfired! The nursery and kids club are both great, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re great for your kids. So don’t count on them and be prepared to have your little ones with you.

The kids club is included in your cruise price but the nursery costs a modest $9/hour. The nursery covers children 0-3 years old, so it is a pretty diverse age range. Still, the crew members are great and there’s a lot for your child to engage with.

But your kids might not want to go or you might not feel comfortable dropping them off last minute. So it’s a great option, but be ready to be flexible if the nursery or kids club doesn’t work out for your children.

Disney Dream nursery baby — The nursery is great but doesn’t work for all kids so it’s good to be prepared (Photo Credit | Preston Mack, dclnews.com)

5. Take breaks

Just like taking a baby to Disney World, it’s important to schedule in breaks. This is especially important when you’re at a port of call. The baby will get hot and tired quickly. Make sure you have a plan for getting her rest!

For us, that meant my leaving Castaway Cay before lunch. I enjoyed a quiet date with our 9 month old daughter at Cabanas before putting her down for a nap. We also made sure we tried to get her a nap every single afternoon. Having quiet time for the baby (and the older kids) really helped us to combat exhaustion. There’s a ton to do on a Disney cruise and if you don’t slow down you’re liable to burn out.

Disney Dream sunset — It’s good to take some time to just relax and enjoy the view

6. Don’t feel pressure to do everything

On that note, don’t feel pressure to do everything. The cruise is set up so you can find something to do at any minute of the day. Watch a movie, go meet characters, play trivia, do arts and crafts, play bingo, swim – the list is endless! You’ll never do everything a Disney cruise has to offer (not on one sailing at least!).

So don’t feel pressure to do everything. Every day we like to choose two things that will be priorities. We schedule around those two things and let go of the rest. That’s not to say we don’t do anything else, we just didn’t put pressure on ourselves to make sure those things happened. For our family, that usually revolved around the shows and swimming at the pool. As long as we got those things done, our kids were happy and we were happy.

Disney Dream Pirate Night — Pirate and parrot

7. Take turns

Finally, my best advice is to take turns. Both my wife and I spent time in our cabin just relaxing with the baby while the rest of the family was off gallavanting and having fun. It works for us at home and it works for us on a Disney cruise. Taking turns helps to prioritize the babies needs while also helping us to meet the needs of the other kids. (Mostly, their need to have fun and make memories). I’m getting to the age where I no longer experience FOMO as intensely. I don’t need to do activities as much as I just need quality time with the kids. So if that means chilling in the stateroom with the baby, so be it.

Final Thoughts

We had a blast on our Disney cruise with a baby. Sure, we had to change things up a bit, but that didn’t mean we had any less fun. These tips definitely worked for us, but I’m curious what others do to enjoy their cruise with a baby. Let me know in the comments!

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Sep 22 2018

Using miles and points flexibility to plan travel for 2019

After taking a break from heavy travel for the last year due to family and life circumstances, we’re ready to hit the road again starting in 2018. We took a couple trips here and there, but I’m itching to spend some more time on the road. I’ve put three trips on the books for next year and my wife and I still need to choose a place to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. (I’ve been getting some great suggestions from guests on the Observation Deck podcast, should be deciding soon!)

One common theme running through my bookings for next year: flexibility. Since we need to book four tickets and prefer booking premium cabins to Asia, I prioritized getting our trips on the books as early as possible. I also prioritized having as much flexibility as possible since things change quickly for a family of five. I’m always willing to cancel if need be regardless of the fee, but I try to minimize that whenever I can.

As always, this post will outline my thinking and hopefully help others as they frame their plans as well. I also advise people to check out Milenomics’ oldie but a goodie about demand schedules. Let’s get to the fun stuff!

Using Jetblue Mosaic for flexibility to California

Our first trip on the books I booked with Jetblue points on a direct flight from Boston to California. Since this trip is the one with the highest likelihood of cancellation, I needed maximum flexibility. Thanks to spending my way to Mosaic status on the Jetblue card, I can cancel these flights for free, change times and dates for free, and basically make the reservation work as I see fit.

I didn’t love the price either, it was around 90K points for four seats (taking the baby as a lap infant). Cash prices were a little over $300 round trip, which I can live with. Mosaic also would let me rebook at a cheaper price if it comes up. Since most of our travel is domestic and we fly Jetblue so much, Mosaic status was worth the spend to me. I’ll probably garden this reservation up until the trip.

I’m also tempted to book Mint, I had a taste of it on a last minute trip to California a few weeks ago and I’m hooked!

Jetblue Mint Amenity kit — I gave my wife my Jetblue Mint amenity kit – would love to get another of my own

Using cheap Delta award fares for the Women’s World Cup in France

People keep talking about Delta award sales, which definitely are a thing. Most miles and points ~~snobs~~ geeks (trust me, I’m mostly the same way) don’t pay attention to award bookings unless it’s in business class or better. But if you’re willing to fly in economy, Delta’s been having a lot of great award sales with cheap flights to Australia, Europe, and elsewhere.

One thing many people don’t know is that Delta has variable pricing even when they aren’t announcing award sales. I wrote a few months ago about how De lta was offering flights to Europe from the East Coast for as cheap as 36,000 miles roundtrip. This presents great value for economy fliers, and I just checked, there still are some pretty cheap award fares from the east coast. Most involve a connection now, but I still saw flights for as low as 42,000 miles roundtrip. For reference, most carriers charge 30,000 miles one way in economy.

Delta Dynamic award pricing - you can find super low and super valuable awards if you look closely — Delta award prices still remain pretty good in economy from the East Coast

I booked two tickets for myself and my daughter to London and returning from Paris for 46,000 miles roundtrip each. We plan to go see a Women’s World Cup game in Paris amongst other things.

Again, flexibility is key. We are so far out that I’d put the odds of a schedule change at at least 50% – so if that happened I could cancel for free if I needed to. If that happened, I could also move dates around if necessary. I’m really looking forward to this trip and it should be a great time bonding with my daughter and watching some high quality women’s soccer. Maybe we’ll even snag a USWNT game!

Asia using American Airlines miles on Cathay Pacific

Our final trip on the books probably will hurt our wallets the most if we need to change or cancel. I’m not as up to date on award space availability as I used to be, but what I still do know is Cathay Pacific reliably releases 4 J seats on at least some of their flights as soon as the schedule opens. (You don’t have to take my word for it, if you signed up for Spencer’s award alerts he pointed out some space the other day.

So, I kept an eye on CX availability using the British Airways website. British Airways can book Cathay flights 12 months out but American doesn’t allow bookings until 330 days out. Still, as soon as American’s schedule opened, I put 4 business class seats on hold and then eventually booked the flights.

Cathay Pacific Business Class — It’ll be nice to get back into CX J, if we don’t chicken out!

So, I’m 560,000 AA miles poorer (plus a couple hundred dollars in taxes and fees) but we’re going to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and hopefully Japan next July. Yes, it will be ridiculously hot, but I think we’re done taking ten day trips to Asia – jet lag just hits too hard.

We haven’t booked our intra-Asia legs yet, so I’ve got a lot of flexibility there. I may mess around with some United excursionist perk stuff or just pay cash, we’ll see. It’s pretty far out!

Final Thoughts

It’s pretty exciting to be ready to travel again next year. While I’m a little nervous about doing so much travel with the kids, I’m also super pumped. My kids love traveling and I love traveling and making memories with them. I’m sure it will be difficult but I’m glad we have saved the miles and have the flexibility to plan these trips.

Jess and I still need to plan a ten year anniversary trip, so taking suggestions. Check out the podcast to hear what people have recommended and I’d love to hear people’s thoughts! 8 hours of flight time or less, only 4-5 nights away total are the parameters. No connections preferably.

What travel does everyone have on the books in 2019? I’d love to hear about that as well!

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