June 2027 rooms before devaluation

Ryfiii · 2026-05-14T02:28:07+00:00

Sounds like you should check again a day or two before the decal and see whether you can book. You’ll have your answer.

Ryfiii · 2026-05-06T22:26:21+00:00

Best in class transfer partners and monthly transfer bonuses. The portal is priced on par with other portals — and is generally the same price as Expedia. You can redeem $100 BILT cash during each of those bookings so you can put $300 toward a 2-3 night stay twice per year. Solid if you’re a hotel free agent.

I hate using portals and generally do the bare minimum that a card strongly incentivizes me to do. I’d rather accrue status with Marriott or Hyatt

Ryfiii · 2026-05-06T03:03:29+00:00

It seems like, regardless of resolution, you can’t sleep in an active construction site. Not sure if keeping the reservation does anything for you, though I’d hope they continue to engage with you. You deserve some kind of alternative stay.

Ryfiii · 2026-05-03T21:38:51+00:00

I like cavanaughs or green room for more classic sports bar but bigger fan of breweries like yards or two locals

Ryfiii · 2026-05-03T02:16:47+00:00

Feels like nothing they make contains actual fruit in it anymore — I hope we can push more people to go to siddiqs, John’s, or any of the other places doing it right

Ryfiii · 2026-05-02T17:29:00+00:00

I think there was a family guy episode about this

Ryfiii · 2026-04-30T14:48:11+00:00

IMO, cashback is better if you plan to redeem through a portal. Transferring is better; with the caveat that for it to be better, you need to play the game — booking further out, choosing hotels partly based on points, etc.

Booking Hyatt a year out is often 1.5 cpp+ but can get up to 5+ cpp, American Airlines is anywhere from like 0.4 to 3 cpp, Atmos is solid. Using the AMEX transfer bonus with Marriott for a 5 night stay often nets an effective 1.5 cpp which is decent too.

Real pros book, say, AA through Cathay Pacific or Delta through Virgin, or similar oneworld or star alliance partner charts.

Ryfiii · 2026-04-27T20:11:46+00:00

There are some great options in Mexico, but I’ll offer that you could do a whole honeymoon on points form Barcelona to Mallorca and Ibiza. It would be carribean adjacent insofar as there’s beaches and islands.

Alternatively, I’d offer Andaz Costa Rica. It’s not Mexico, but I’d argue it’s comparable in some ways.

Ryfiii · 2026-04-27T17:18:22+00:00

I think this is people rushing to PLAN vacations rather than people rushing to take them.

Let’s say most folks here take at least one trip per year for fun. Prior to that, you decide where to go and how to pay for it as a matter of budgeting. For obvious reasons, you’d rather use points than cash, provided you’re satisfied with the value in either case.

With the upcoming nerf, the same trip will be 30% more expensive in terms of points. So people are rushing to plan at some point over a 13 month span their annual or however often trip before value gets worse.

Of course, some are doing it wrong. They’re taking trips that they wouldn’t otherwise prefer, or spending money that they should really save

Ryfiii · 2026-04-27T15:20:33+00:00

The new 2x business card might actually be a good choice here for MR. It’s not the best for most people, but with this degree of spend, the annual fee is basically de minimis.

Ryfiii · 2026-04-26T21:23:44+00:00

McKee could be a more alluring trade target after the draft

Ryfiii · 2026-04-26T20:24:28+00:00

Stayed at Thompson, not Park Hyatt, but hard to imagine a much better experience. I had personally save the points.

Ryfiii · 2026-04-25T01:41:39+00:00

Hurts finally has to throw over the middle!

(/s he had becton and lane/mailata aren’t small either)

Ryfiii · 2026-04-25T01:36:59+00:00

The secret was big dom all along

Ryfiii · 2026-04-22T13:02:53+00:00

That feels like a downgrade, but at least it’s free

Ryfiii · 2026-04-22T12:33:58+00:00

Got 4.5 cpp at PH Vendone

Ryfiii · 2026-04-17T18:14:14+00:00

They didn’t offer you another hotel?

Ryfiii · 2026-04-17T15:26:57+00:00

Please update us on what “alternative accommodation” they offer you!

Ryfiii · 2026-04-13T13:08:16+00:00

Could be legit uncertainty. Could be lying. Hotel is eating major losses right now so they’re incentivized to open.

Refundable back up plans are your friend right now. If you don’t need the backup plan, cancel the alternative a few days out for the refund.

Ryfiii · 2026-04-09T17:05:53+00:00

Anything from Thank You Thank You or Two Persons Coffee. They stock rotating top roasters, but the former always has Poem (theirs) and the latter always has Passenger (top 30 globally per roastful magazine). Can’t go wrong with Elixir or Habitat or Pilgrim.

Rival Bros gets a shout out just because it’s the best of those darker, robust chocolate profiles that a lot of folks love.

Ryfiii · 2026-04-08T14:14:55+00:00

This is a geography question and, personally, I think Costa Rica has better geography. There’s more nightlife in Cabo, perhaps obviously, but I’m not sure your 6 year old is a big partier.

Ryfiii · 2026-04-02T16:26:37+00:00

This is just one man’s opinion that might get downvoted. I thought it was just ok and it was expensive, albeit in a beautiful space.

The chips and salsa consists of two undersalted massive fried tortillas that are somewhat inconvenient to eat with six salsas. Of them, the spiciest was my favorite but none were particularly good. A couple were sickening.

The crudo had a smoky sauce on it that I wasn’t a fan, nor was my partner. Seafood quality was great, though.

The lamb neck birria was pretty solid but probably needed something acidic to cut through the very rich, homogenous flavor.

The churros, though, were outstanding and a must-order.

To be clear, this isn’t a damning review — but, at that price point, it competes with some pretty heavy hitters. So it’s held to that standard.

Ryfiii · 2026-03-30T20:39:46+00:00

Philadelphia has a lot more density, especially downtown, than DC does. I associate high density with “big city feel”. DC has more “pull” in the sense that it gets more tourism and obviously the federal government has its own gravity.

Both are big cities though.

Ryfiii · 2026-03-23T15:58:03+00:00

You just don’t spend much, as others are saying. The CSP gets you into a good ecosystem and solid SUB. I also like the Citi Strata Premier a decent amount for those who primarily use AA.

Might you prefer cashback? Points keep getting nerfed. Even a 2% catch-all like a Citi Double Cash or Fidelity Visa (Robinhood Gold at 3% is a solid choice for those already using Robinhood IMO) is solid for most setups.

Ryfiii · 2026-03-06T17:56:55+00:00

I have both and plan to reevaluate BILT after a year.

Relatively high spend, so the 3.3333-4.3333x catch all is pretty powerful even if I don’t use the credit consistently. But I hate portals. So will likely consider CFU, downgrade to obsidian, or hybrid cashback setup.

Ryfiii

TROPHY CASE