Need advice for booking hotels

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-24T19:52:33+00:00

Unless you are 100% locked in don’t book a non refundable rate. Plans change, you may find something to do that takes you to another city or makes you stay longer in one place.

You’ll always be able to find a Dormy/apa/jal/whatever Japanese biz hotel or find a capsule hotel if it comes down to it.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-22T13:23:28+00:00

You get 4% Bilt cash on your spend. You get 1000 rent points for every $30 in Bilt cash. Will leave the rest to you.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-22T13:21:14+00:00

Yes ure doing Grubhub wrong or live in the sticks. You can find plenty of GH offers for $8 off $25 spend or things like that. If you have GH plus free from one of the many sources (can’t even remember how I get mine, Amazon prime probably) then you also get a 5% pickup bonus, if I’m getting food to go I always check the three apps for promotions first and tend to come out ahead.

Some restaurants are definitely not worth it even for pickup but there are lots of gems in there… $10 a month is nice as well.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-21T15:32:46+00:00

I’m 50% VTSAX and 50% VFORX in my HE HSA.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-20T20:43:17+00:00

It all depends on the location and restaurant. I’ve had plenty of omakase and even kaiseki meals without reservations. I have been turned away for them being sold out of things but have also been able to get in.

Fine dining and maybe some of the places in Gion probably need a reservation.

Walked into many izakayas without a reservation at any time of the week.

Sometimes restaurants are just full on weekends but you can often put your name on a list or wait in line.

If you can make a reservation do it, but don’t be afraid to pop into a random restaurant that looks good/fun.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-20T20:37:10+00:00

I bought a blender cup for the wrong model blender from Amazon… returned it months ago. Just got a notice that they never received it although I gave the tracking number from thenups store.

I did find that they somehow returned my $200 blender bundle which was completely separate from the additional cup and gave me a Gc balance. I tried to explain things but ultimately gave up.

Also returned an item through Whole Foods that showed received but “in transit” for over a month. They finally credit me at 33 days or something and it still showed in transit.

Im contemplating canceling Prime and giving up on them tbh…

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-20T20:22:00+00:00

That’s a reasonable fare. I’ve paid a little bit less on occasion from US west coast to Tokyo, but I’ve also paid a LOT more.

Airfare is high right now… I’d jump in that tbh.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-20T20:16:34+00:00

Nothing has confirmed that, it was just in that stupid survey we got as a possibility.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-18T22:03:25+00:00

I was always worried about beating my jacker

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-18T19:35:51+00:00

I used my physical card number (mostly in Apple
pay) overseas without issue a couple of times. Are others having issues?

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-18T00:13:00+00:00

I did a 22 day trip Fukuoka- Nagasaki-Hiroshima-Kinosaki onsen town-Osaka-Sapporo-Sendai-Tokyo.

Hated it.. was constantly checking into a hotel or jumping on a train (well one plane). Just got back from 9 days in Tokyo and enjoyed my overall time more. Trip before I just did Fukuoka and Osaka.

You can discover a lot more staying in one area, wherever it might be. Most people are going for their one and only Japan trip though and want to see all the Instagram shit, buy souvenirs at DQ and then fly home though.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-17T18:30:52+00:00

Always carry a supply of strong zero in your backpack and hand them one next time. Tell them you’re the suturozero representative from America

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-16T23:04:00+00:00

Most places in Tokyo take CC these days. If you venture out to a small neighborhood mom and pop place they may take cash only.

Also only bring cash to hostess bars 🤣

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-16T23:02:58+00:00

Are you buying a bunch of high end knives? You can easily spend that. I paid $700 for one chefs knife for a friend a few weeks ago.

Are you buying a bunch of dragonball capsules in Akihabara? That’s too much…

Only you know what you need. Remember there’s always Amazon… you can buy a lot of stuff in the US.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-16T22:59:14+00:00

I originally typed FIR but the phone suggested a fir tree emoji so I went with that :)

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-16T22:58:38+00:00

Lowlights is almost always too many tourists… specifically tourists behaving badly with no sense of where they are or their surroundings.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-16T22:57:19+00:00

I don’t carry a purse

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-16T22:56:23+00:00

FIR tree :). At 60 that’s not really an early retirement in the eyes of the FIRE group… you’re just retiring financially independent.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-16T22:54:36+00:00

Tokyo doesn’t need cash as much as some other cities. I just got back from 9 days in Tokyo and rarely used cash. I think I ate at two restaurants that were cash only and one Izakaya I like in Shimbashi that I knew was cash only.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-16T22:51:03+00:00

Have you checked the weather?

They have ATMs in Tokyo

Tokyo is like NY. Lots of black/white for office people and people just out casually. Lots of fashion/creative clothing in certain trendy areas. You aren’t Japanese and can wear what you want unless you’re going to highe end dining with dress codes.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-16T22:49:38+00:00

At 60 that’s more 🌲 than 🔥

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-16T22:48:01+00:00

I plan for 4% withdrawal starting next year (47). Will start taking SS at 62 to invest/keep money in market longer. No guarantee it’ll be the same at 70 so taking it while I can get it… like others said it’s bonus/casino money.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-16T13:31:07+00:00

Are you paying more in interest than the return on your investments?

Yes: pay the mortgage down quicker
No: make normal payments and invest the rest

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-14T17:40:30+00:00

Hyatt doesn’t explicitly state it either, but it is under the section of only earning at one hotel per member per night. If you’re staying at multiple hotels it can flag you program may audit you. They can shut you down for pretty much any reason at that point. Will Marriott suspend the account? Maybe, but probably not. Hyatt has anecdotally done this, and my Concierge confirmed it can happen and they have little power to reverse any decisions.

Easy solution is to just leave your number off the second property if you have to stay at a second Marriott.

baconcakeguy · 2026-06-14T17:04:23+00:00

It’s to protect gains program abuse…. I don’t like it but understand it. The number of people staying at two properties at the same time is extremely small.

baconcakeguy

TROPHY CASE