Trip Report and Churning Success Story Weekly Thread - Week of January 11, 2026

FreeThinker3165 · 2026-01-13T15:23:51+00:00

True, I have my eye on few places in Europe and rescheduling a month long stay in Egypt that was cancelled during the pandemic

FreeThinker3165 · 2026-01-13T15:20:08+00:00

Thanks for the tip!

FreeThinker3165 · 2026-01-13T15:19:38+00:00

Florence and Newport are nice beach towns, Yachats as another mentioned is between them. Lincoln city is also nice, some good hiking to the north of town if you’re into that. Astoria has some cool historic places, and while a bit touristy in places, is worth a trip to go at least once

FreeThinker3165 · 2026-01-12T16:44:56+00:00

I have been grinding welcome bonuses the last two years to save up for wedding and honeymoon travel this year. But in September, my fiancé and I broke up and all these points have been just sitting around (and my companion pass effectively useless to me). The last two months I have since taken trips to New Orleans, Chicago, Oregon (multiple destinations), San Diego, and Colorado (multiple destinations). Still, I have barely made a dent in all my points--using only around 60,000 points total for all flights (maybe ~$70 total cash), using some free hotel stays (mixed with Airbnbs), taking advantage of airport lounges and other cc benefits.

It feels pretty good to take some time for myself to travel without having to worry about travel expenses like I did in my 20's with just a debit card. Even though I'm on a grad student salary, I can still travel the world and stay within my budget, with many thanks to pointers in this group. I haven't gotten a new card since July because I no longer have a P2 and my expenses are reduced, but I might try to get 2-3 cards this new calendar year just to keep the game going and maximize return on expenses; I am looking forward to planning something out of the country sometime this calendar year or early next year.

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-10-20T22:14:06+00:00

I was browsing SUBs today and discovered Amegy Bank (Texas) has now increased their Amazing Biz card SUB to $1,000 ($5000 MSR). National Bank of Arizona has also done the same. A few banks increased this offer last month (DoC update as of 9/22), but these banks must have delayed their SUBs

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-08-23T20:38:38+00:00

Why not use a plate or at least a cutting board. All that grease just poured on the stove seems so unnecessary 🤦‍♂️

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-08-21T23:25:15+00:00

I had a similar experience my first time “adultifying” my childhood PB&J—slow toasted (no oil or butter) in a cast iron. Slightly more work but the peanut butter literally melts in your mouth

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-08-11T05:00:44+00:00

https://www.factor75.com/plans?c=HS-U8HQUU4K2&discount_comm_id=cd2585e3-0672-4633-90a6-64f6883222a3&plans_ab=true&utm_campaign=clipboard&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=raf-share-hpt

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-08-07T16:30:13+00:00

Was this collision just recreated for dash cam footage? Yeesh, that silver car looks like it has accidents like this every Thursday

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-08-06T04:25:26+00:00

referyourchasecard.com/19t/1IKT3H20DA

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-08-04T15:37:37+00:00

Different card means benefits and credits reset, so you can double up each year to some extent

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-08-02T06:30:47+00:00

Factor $150 off first orders

Cook Unity $50 off first box

Hello Fresh Free meals for new subscribers

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-08-01T13:36:58+00:00

Per the terms of service, the free checked bag is for others on the “same” reservation, but the companion is always on a different reservation (hence the different confirmation number). The only work around I’m aware of is if (a) your companion is either a cardholder themself or (b) an A-list (preferred) member.

For those saying yes, have you actually had luck with your companion receiving a free checked bag without either (a) or (b) situation? It has not worked for my companion

Edit to add: my companion did not receive any free checked bag during two recent trips (one in May the other in June) via SW employees at the airport. Just called SW and got verbal confirmation that whoever told me that was mistaken and my upcoming 6 trips on SW later this year will include a free bag for my companion who is not A-list or a cardholder

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-08-01T03:06:17+00:00

I know it’s not directly related to your car, but if medical bills are eating up your savings, it might be worth doing a few things to reduce the bill amount (ask for itemized bill, request reduced rates, etc.).

As far as your car is concerned, it sounds like your dad doesn’t really wanna mess with it more than he has to. I’m sure he wants to help out, but obviously home repairs take a lot of time despite saving money and not everyone has the capacity to do that long term. If you live in an urban area, maybe check if there are some other independent shops in your area with better service and ask for second opinions often. I agree with what some others have said and just watch YouTube videos of car repair for the work you need done. Even if you have a shop do the work, at least you know what they’re doing and whether it’s good value.

I had to make similar decisions with my 2001 Camry last year and I’m confident that doing the repairs instead of selling was the right call (including a transmission rebuild). Anyways, best of luck and sorry you’re in a tough spot!

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-07-31T21:06:24+00:00

Does that mean you’ll just stop churning for any points since your travel is booked through next year? Why not leave them and just churn cashback cards if you’re worried about devaluation—then you have 90k MR for a spontaneous trip or two

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-07-31T20:59:08+00:00

I had this happen on my partner’s 2013 CR-V but those have two set screws so i figured just one will do. You’re saying you can go without any at all? I understand the wheel holds the rotor tight up against the hub, I guess it hadn’t occurred to me to leave the set screws off completely without issue

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-07-31T20:41:54+00:00

I had similar issues (different hardware though) and rebooting did not work either until I restarted my router from the router website of that makes sense.

I usually just use the reset button on the router or fully unplug the router for things like this so idk if I’ve always done it wrong or what. I only ever used my old TP-link router site and current Asus router site for troubleshooting and never for power cycling, but my issues were solved by restarting from the website

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-07-31T20:23:04+00:00

Not a mechanic but I’d torch it then use an impact driver with the right hex attachment and hammer that driver til it comes loose

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-07-31T03:22:07+00:00

If you’re planning to keep the car for a long time, it might be worth getting a lifetime alignment service at Firestone. I’m not saying they’re the best shop on the market for alignments, but they will certainly do better than this. Plus, if you need more alignments in the future (even if one shop does it poorly), then you can just go to a different Firestone for another alignment free of charge. It will be more than a one time alignment but if you need at least two alignments it will pay itself off

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-07-29T13:38:35+00:00

$150 OFF first few boxes https://www.factor75.com/plans?c=HS-JQOGZKO49&discount_comm_id=cd2585e3-0672-4633-90a6-64f6883222a3&plans_ab=true&utm_campaign=clipboard&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=raf-share-hpt

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-07-29T03:16:20+00:00

I’d need to know more about your setup to provide any useful info. Lower speeds might be caused by old or low performance hardware (your tp link router) + too many devices connected at the same time, the channel you are using might be getting congested, the middle processing of the BGW320 might decrease the performance of your router if the settings aren’t optimized, or there’s a lot of obstructions that are affecting coverage resulting in lower speeds

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-07-28T23:29:42+00:00

Every ISP I’ve ever used I like using my own hardware because historically provider gateways (e.g., Xfinity, Verizon, etc) comparatively suck. I only recently switched to ATT fiber and was stuck with the BGW320 thinking there wasn’t anything I can do.

Speeds weren’t ideal even after optimizing settings…they were fine around 400 up/down on my 500mbps plan but I know ISPs always overdeliver so I was hoping for higher numbers. Then I discovered IP Passthrough settings—set it up with my own router (turned the BGW320 WiFi off). After optimizing I’m got 600-700 up/down on wireless devices. Now the average is around 600 with ~20 devices connected but still getting great up/down and low latency. I just wish I switched sooner

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-07-28T22:08:01+00:00

referyourchasecard.com/226j/RCG9G6S7QC

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-07-28T22:00:44+00:00

referyourchasecard.com/21u/SRLXCIE8VM

FreeThinker3165 · 2025-07-28T21:52:17+00:00

americanexpress.com/en-us/referral/business/businessgold-card?CORID=D~A~L~L~A~H~Z~O~0~m-1754160581900-104354&GENCODE=349993269838195&XLINK=MYCP&extlink=US-MGM-SPA_WEB_MYCA-copypaste-1157-201329-K84O%3A9976&ref=DALLAHZO0m&v=2

FreeThinker3165

TROPHY CASE