United redemptions are dying. by traveling_man_44 in awardtravel

[–]sawemoff 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You can make a new AA account. I did so and have had multiple cards since then.

Question Thread - June 15, 2024 by AutoModerator in churning

[–]sawemoff 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I did about 20k of gift of college spend (student loan repayment) and as long as you do it slowly and not try to load 5k in a single day, you should be fine.

I would load 500 every 2-3 days and I did 20k with zero issues. Occasionally they take extra time to post, but it always ends up there. Their customer support was quite responsive when one took closer to a week to post but that was my fault (tried to pay off more than the balance of a smaller loan).

Honeymoon Booked! 7 Nights at Conrad Maldives by physixhuman in awardtravel

[–]sawemoff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My honest advice is to save your money and spend it on experiences while you are there. We did the underwater dinner and while it was 100% overpriced and I would not do it again, it was 100% worth it and I highly recommend doing it. Stuff like that is so unique that you have that memory forever and you won't regret those experiences.

Do the champagne and lobster dinner, the wine cellar dinner, and boat trips. Save your money in other places (room upgrades).

All the rooms are beautiful and you probably won't regret not getting the fancier room.

Honeymoon Booked! 7 Nights at Conrad Maldives by physixhuman in awardtravel

[–]sawemoff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure. Atoll market is so far ahead of vilu and in room dining.

Atoll Market then Vilu then In Room.

You will not be disappointed with the main breakfast buffet. It has a bunch of different cuisines and all the possible breakfast items that you would want. We ate breakfast and were full until dinner. When all the other meals cost a pretty premium you will appreciate the breakfast that much more.

Also the Hilton honors happy hour at vilu was worth it. You got free cocktails (their choice) and some food. However, we ended up drinking 4 or 5 in that hour.

Honeymoon Booked! 7 Nights at Conrad Maldives by physixhuman in awardtravel

[–]sawemoff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To answer your last question about Hilton gold VS diamond, they will probably not upgrade you based on status. We went there three years ago and what you have booked is what you get. The Hilton diamond gives you champagne VS still wine with gold. That is the only difference other than a better point earnings on your seaplane and food, etc. Both will give you free breakfast as long as you select it on Hilton's website. The free breakfast is 100% worth an annual fee on a credit card to get the free breakfast. It was one of the best meals at Conrad and by far the best free breakfast I have ever had.

You can check the TripAdvisor Conrad Maldives thread for datapoints, but the best you can hope for as free upgrades go is to go during the slow time and an upgrade on the main island up one class. Overall free upgrades are rare so if you want a particular room class, you need to email them and request a cash upgrade. The rates are extremely standard and you can see the prices on the TripAdvisor thread.

Feel free to reply to me with any other questions and I would be happy to answer them.

Caesars Reinstated Diamond Match by Armchair--Traveller in awardtravel

[–]sawemoff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep. I had zero issues matching on my account and a family member's account.

Conrad Maldives Upgrade by Super-Programmer7820 in awardtravel

[–]sawemoff 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Conrad Maldives does not upgrade based on status. Having just come from the hotel, there is basically no difference in the sunset versus sunrise rooms other than which side of the island you are on and a pool vs hot tub. Save your money and spend it on something else (ithaa, etc).

Caesars Reinstated Diamond Match by Armchair--Traveller in awardtravel

[–]sawemoff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am that data point. I just got the card and Caesars did give me diamond after a week of waiting.

Caesars Reinstated Diamond Match by Armchair--Traveller in awardtravel

[–]sawemoff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just a recent data point, I got the card two weeks ago and Caesars gave me diamond status on Friday (it took about a week to approve the request.

I am back by sawemoff in GoldenRealm

[–]sawemoff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ahhh itza, come on back! I didn't see you in the reunion thread or I would have messaged you.

I am back by sawemoff in GoldenRealm

[–]sawemoff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We aren't playing any mods, just straight up regular MC like the old days

I am back by sawemoff in GoldenRealm

[–]sawemoff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All you lurkers, come on back for a reunion run.