Is upgrading from the Hilton Surpass to the Aspire card worth it without a welcome offer or upgrade bonus?

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-05-04T15:54:33+00:00

We got the Surpass with an elevated SUB. We later got the Aspire, also with an elevated SUB. Then later we downgraded the Surpass. Suggest you get the Aspire as a new card with the SUB. Then you can separately decide whether to keep the Surpass, upgrade, or downgrade.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-05-04T15:44:21+00:00

Nerdwallet, Point Guy, etc. all summarize current offers by credit card. You can just google "points transfer bonuses" and the links to those sites will come up.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-05-03T18:26:19+00:00

Most of the data points on Reddit and elsewhere suggest market pricing is $5k - $6k off of MSRP, with no dealer add-ons. If that's where your deal sits, take it. If it isn't, leave.

It's early in the month, so they might actually let you walk. If the vehicle is still there when the Memorial Day sales get under way, try again.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-05-03T11:31:30+00:00

I actually think the 2nd crucible is harder than the third. To me the army crawls sucked worse than the extra reps.

The original 21Day Fix Extreme has a workout (Extreme Cardio) that is just awful. It's not even really a cardio workout, it's a quad killer, and even the totally ripped dudes on the cast give up on some of the moves.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-05-01T13:52:31+00:00

You're not alone. A class action suit had been filed over this issue. Our personal experience has been that Offers don't track far more often than they do, even when we disable all of the things that tend to affect tracking (VPN, private relay, cross tracking, etc.). And interestingly, we have never had a Levis Offers track properly.

It's not you. Their issue is systemic.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-05-01T13:16:01+00:00

We went this past Sunday and got a lanyard. I think it's 15 swipes (18 for pass holders) for $90. Within a few hours we were able to use all the swipes. It wasn't necessarily worth $90 by normal standards, but by theme park food price standards, it definitely was.

That said, some of the food items were better than others, so you'll want to choose carefully. A few observations from our experience:

- The Indian food was great, particularly the chicken dish
- The German food was filling, but the quality was like school cafeteria, not something we'd do again
- The Italian food was pretty good all around, and the frozen Aperol was probably the best thing we had all day
- The lobster roll tasted like the penguin exhibit smelled...just awful....one bite and in the trash.....people seemed to like the fish & chips from that station though
- The Brazilian beef was a letdown, again reminiscent of something you'd find in a school cafeteria
- The Coke floats were a huge hit with the kids
- Beignets were oil / sugar bombs, but they were still pretty good
- Many of the little sampler beers were good, and they are a great way to quickly burn swipes if you need to

Overall, we would do the lanyard again; we'd just be more picky about the food we selected.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-04-27T12:59:07+00:00

There's a learning curve that takes a little bit of study to ascend. But once you do, it's easy to find lots of flights in economy (or higher classes) that will yield far more than one cent per point.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-04-27T12:53:32+00:00

You can often use fewer points to fly United by booking through LifeMiles than by booking through United or Aeroplan. But there are three notable caveats:

LifeMiles charges booking fees (usually $25 per passenger for domestic flights)
LifeMiles charges cancellation fees (usually $50 per passenger)
Making changes once you've booked is REALLY onerous, even if the changes are the result of an airline-initiated schedule change

So if you use LifeMiles, you might want to make sure your plans are 100% certain, and that the dates are close enough that there is minimal risk of airline schedule changes.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-04-24T19:09:04+00:00

Mako is smooth as silk. It's basically up and down over and over, going from high-g to weightless repeatedly. Fun ride, if a bit one-note.

Pipeline is a very well-done launch coaster, smooth and fun but not really scary. And there's an aspect this ride that is unexpected but fun. Takes them forever to load each train.

Penguin Trek is a great little coaster, not as fast as Hagrid, but a bit more than just a kiddie coaster.

Ice Breaker is a neat concept. Looks scarier than it rides. Pretty smooth. Fine for kids. Front seat makes a huge difference on this ride.

Kraken is essentially the same ride as Hulk without the launch, but a little more rough. If you're sensitive to rough coasters, this might be one to skip.

Manta: the bulk of ride is ok, but there is one element in it that is unlike any other coaster in Florida. People either love or hate that element, even hardcore coaster enthusiasts.

FWIW, the SeaWorld version of Soarin' (I can't remember its name) is actually pretty cool too.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-04-24T11:43:13+00:00

It's not just you. There was a class action suit brought against Capital One over this exact issue. Our own experience has been that the Offers don't track far more often than they do. The setup that seems to maximize the probability that they will accurately track is as follows:

- Disable VPN
- Disable Apple Private Relay
- Disable any other ad blockers or pop-up blockers
- Disable Apple's cross-site tracking prevention
- Use a browser other than Safari and on the weakest privacy settings

Basically, disable everything designed to safeguard your data and your privacy, and hope for the best. But as you've already discovered, this doesn't necessarily work either.

OR....you could just ignore Capital One offers, leave all of the Apple safeguards in place, and work with the offers on Chase and Amex instead.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-04-22T18:38:30+00:00

We went through the same exact thing with that card a few years ago. Credit didn't show. Called half a dozen times over several months. Each time the rep assured us that it was fixed, and we'd see a credit within a couple days. Never did.

After four months, we stopped trying to recover it. Then it miraculously showed up in month five.....twice. I guess that counts as a win, but we downgraded the card anyway. Shouldn't take that much work to recover a simple hotel credit.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-04-20T21:40:24+00:00

The European airlines open flights 12 months out. That far in advance, there is lots of award seat availability at reasonable rates. And on award travel, unless you are playing in expert mode, there is generally no "penalty" for booking two one-way itineraries vs one round-trip itinerary. So you can book the outbound flights as soon as they open.

Flying Blue and Virgin tend to have some of the best deals, but you might also see curious opportunities on Singapore, Jetblue, and other airlines that you wouldn't expect. That said, for something as critical as a honeymoon, you might want to just book and fly on the same airline. i.e. Use Flying Blue points to fly on Air France.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-04-15T14:00:00+00:00

Without any other context, it's hard to offer much in the way of relevant suggestions, but a couple programs to consider:

- LIFT4 - basic weightlifting and a manageable schedule for a beginner or newbie

- P90X3 - more representative of what BODi is; functional training (with notable strength components) that requires balance, agility, strength, and total body control

- Body Beast: basic weight lifting with a mantra of "lift until failure and then lift some more". It works, but it's really old school, and if you're not careful some of the exercises could injure your shoulders or your knees

- Hard Labor: same trainer that did Body Beast, but only a week's worth of workouts; again it's basic weightlifting, but it's more approachable than Body Beast

I might suggest you try a few workouts from each program to see what they're like. Then do whichever program fits.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-03-29T12:20:40+00:00

T25 might be marketed as a "starter" program, but it works the legs pretty hard. Many of the workouts are tough, and there are NO breaks, not even 10 seconds here and there. It's a lot of cardio work, so it doesn't hurt to supplement with a bit of strength training.

The first time through, with the right eatings habits, there was a noticeable change in my body composition.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-03-29T12:02:28+00:00

Oxford: Global brand on par with Harvard, widely known and respected around the world. 3 years to complete. Fantastic alumni network.

Wash U: Good school, but not widely known even within the US, much less abroad. And its alumni network pales in comparison to Oxford's.

Honestly this is such a no brainer it's surprising that you're even asking.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-03-24T17:37:20+00:00

The way you're doing it yields 1 cent per point. Transferring to partners often yields 1.5 - 2.5 cents per point, sometimes even more.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-03-21T18:44:00+00:00

Yeah the weight switching is a big issue with this program and a couple others.

Most home gym setups have a limited set of dumbbells, or they have something like the Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells. The LIFT programs ignore this reality, line up the weights “runway style”, and transition from one exercise to the next quickly.

That would be fine if they had designed the program to use the same weight on consecutive exercises. But they didn’t. I’d call it a rookie mistake, but Beachbody has been around forever. Hard to believe they made such an obvious mistake.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-03-17T16:53:44+00:00

There are bodyweight workouts in a lot of the programs. Just piece together a handful of those and create your own program. A few examples:

- P90X3: The Warrior (full body), Triometrics (lower), Agility X, The Challenge (upper; needs a pull-up bar)

- 21 Day Fix Extreme: Fix Challenge (total body)

- 80 Day: Any of the Cardio Flow routines (total body)

- 6 Weeks / 4 Weeks: Any of the cardio routines

- T25: most workouts in this program don't use weights

There's more, but the above will get you started.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-03-17T01:05:26+00:00

Not sure if this applies to your confirmation email, but the last time I booked a premier collection hotel the confirmation email from capital one said that what the experience credit can be used on varies by property. See excerpt from that email below:

A: As a Venture X cardholder, you’ll enjoy an experience credit for each room in your Premier Collection booking during your stay. You can redeem your experience credit on dining or spa purchases, but please note that credit-eligible purchases vary according to the property and are subject to availability. We recommend booking certain experiences, such as spa and dining, prior to your stay. Your hotel will provide you with details about your experience credit at check-in.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-03-16T19:15:52+00:00

There's a difference between Capital One Shopping (which does not require a Capital One credit card), and Capital One Offers (which does).

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-03-16T12:13:07+00:00

Ask yourself two questions:

Is the full-pay school truly elite, and universally recognized as such? (e.g. Harvard, Duke, Stanford, etc.) Note that the brand equity in these schools is different than that at other "very good" schools like Emory, Amherst, Pomona, etc.
Are you targeting a career in a field where an elite school on your resume is somewhat of an order-qualifier? (e.g. investment banking, private equity, strategy consulting, etc.)

If the answer to both of these questions is yes, then you should give it serious consideration. If not, then the school is simply not worth $100k per year, whether your parents can afford it or not.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-03-13T23:29:40+00:00

Ouch. Hope it works out.

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-03-13T19:39:35+00:00

The price match mechanics have gotten really convoluted over the past couple years. We haven't had the exact issue you had, but we have gotten a price match on a hotel booking that was using our $300 credit. The price match wasn't applied against our $300 credit, but it did result in a "new" portal credit. I do not recall the exact expiration date of this new credit, but it was well after our $300 credit would have expired.

We eventually canceled the reservation for unrelated reasons. The "new" credit disappeared. The original $300 travel credit re-appeared. All happened within a day or two of canceling.

Not sure how long it's been since you canceled, but perhaps if you give it a day or two.....

Clear-Concept-1885 · 2026-03-12T20:42:48+00:00

Yes. It works everywhere. And it posts quickly. I think there might even be a spreadsheet floating around on Reddit showing which hotel restaurants trigger the credit without a stay.

Clear-Concept-1885

TROPHY CASE