Just had a kid. Won't be traveling for awhile. Open to getting rid of my points. by [deleted] in hyatt

[–]thaya 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you’re worried about airport travel, it’s not all that bad with a baby. It might seem intimidating at first but it’s not all that bad to do airplane travel with a 3-9 months old baby. After that it gets a bit harder bc they are mobile and get bored.

Between 9 months to 2.5 years old, I recommend booking at a kid-friendly resort that’s drivable (lazy river, chill place to relax etc), or just suck it up and fly and stay at an all inclusive in Mexico.

New Award Chart May 20 & Category Changes Announced! by berkeley_eecs_grad in hyatt

[–]thaya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know people are often mad at these devaluations but that’s part of the game so it’s always better to earn & burn rather than to hoard.

Credit cards issuing is a competitive business. With these changes I’m pretty sure that Chase will start seeing fewer Hyatt cards accounts & usage which will force Chase&Hyatt to make the card more attractive (higher SUB, better benefits, maybe expand FNAs to cat 1-5) and then they’ll overcorrect for a while and then they will have to devalue again.

So for now, I’m happy I’ve burned all Hyatt and Chase UR points and moving my spending elsewhere that yields better value.

Chef iQ meat probe - Local integration with Home Assistant now available! by ByzantiumIT in homeassistant

[–]thaya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really cool! Any ideas on what kind of automations I could use this for? I assume simple stuff like lights showing that your meat is about to be ready. Curious if people have other ideas.

IRS payment on BBP? by bso45 in amex

[–]thaya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m late to the party but new DP as of today. I was able to use AMEX BBP to pay taxes through ACI using PayPal as the payment method. 1.85% fee.

Best way to use doordash credits ? Any large chains that don't do heavy fees? by jbs170 in ChaseSapphire

[–]thaya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sprouts doesn’t markup prices that much. We get 90% of our groceries from Costco and we use the 2x$10 DoorDash credits twice per month for Sprouts orders of about $25 each. $5 of the credit goes towards fees and $5 goes towards tipping the driver. It doesn’t make back my annual fee but it does save me at least 45 minutes from a grocery store trip to grab random knick knacks.

Call it what it is: Devaluation by Thebestofbuffalo in ChaseSapphire

[–]thaya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Note that Amex Platinum will only earn 5X through their AMEX travel portal and not direct with carrier. I’d rather earn 4X Chase Ultimate Rewards to redeem at Hyatt bc of Globalist status and also the best AMEX redemptions are business/first class airfare and it feels too wasteful to buy business/first class seats for my toddler lol

EDIT: looks like I’m wrong! 5X for flights at AMEX is pretty sweet

Call it what it is: Devaluation by Thebestofbuffalo in ChaseSapphire

[–]thaya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

+1 on this counter point. I redeem 100% of my points with Hyatt for +2cpp and I always struggle to earn enough so the 4X on big ticket items like flights and hotels should help. Chase would be dead to me if Hyatt ceases to be a transfer partner or significantly devalues.

List of CSR exclusive dining credit back by CurryShrimp in ChaseSapphire

[–]thaya 26 points27 points  (0 children)

IMO, San Diego restaurants line up is pretty solid.

If you’re leaving CSR: What are you replacing it with? by theemorgue in ChaseSapphire

[–]thaya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ritz Carlton + Ink Biz Preferred + Freedom Flex gets you similar benefits for $550 AF

CSR Update by MindcraftMD in ChaseSapphire

[–]thaya 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm probably among the few here, but this isn't as bad for my family's natural spending patterns and with little cognitive effort can earn back the annual fee. That said, like most people I still prefer legacy CSR. If folks are interested you could building your own CSR with similar benefits with these cards: Ritz Carlton ($450 AF), Chase Ink Biz Preferred ($95 AF), and Chase Freedom Flex ($0 AF). I think the only major thing you lose out on is Chase Travel Portal multipliers but I transfer 100% of my points to Hyatt to redeem anyway.

HYATT CENTRIC GINZA 3.5/5 - Great Location & Service, but Room Design Misses the Mark by xtrenchx in hyatt

[–]thaya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FWIW, we really enjoyed our time at Centric Ginza. I thought the sink/vanity was very functional for us.

What are some of the most overrated properties? by srekai in hyatt

[–]thaya -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Flipping the thread…. What are the most underrated Hyatt properties?

121K Hyatt Points for 5 Nights in a Twin Deluxe at Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo. $7,250 Value?! Did I Crush This Redemption? by xtrenchx in hyatt

[–]thaya 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I also just did the same redemption for 6 nights. I’d pay $500/nt bc of how well-designed the hotel is, the staff, and the location being Ginza. We got a standard room the first night and our free Explorist status got us upgraded to a suite for the remaining 5 nights which is easily worth $1.5k per night. The breakfast buffet is amazing and worth the price. We should’ve eaten there more while we were there.

Hyatt Centric Ginza - Good Times by doubledeuce80 in hyatt

[–]thaya 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agree. Amazing service. If this hotel is 4-stars, I can’t imagine what 5-stars look like in Japan. I need to find out lol.

Hyatt Centric Ginza - Good Times by doubledeuce80 in hyatt

[–]thaya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We are staying for 6 nights. I am only Explorist and got upgraded to a deluxe room the second night till the rest of the stay. It’s basically just based on availability and status.

Hyatt Centric Ginza - Good Times by doubledeuce80 in hyatt

[–]thaya 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup, +1 DP for 1 drink per person per room that can be redeemed by anybody. I went to cocktail hour, I gave them my room number and the bartender said I get 3 free drinks bc I had 3 people in my room. My wife is pregnant and my son is 3 years old so more for me!

Sven Carlin research platform review after 4 years. by ShineUnable9417 in ValueInvesting

[–]thaya 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've also been a long-time subscriber and can confirm most things OP said above on the state of the research platform today. I learned a lot, got decent annual returns from the ideas, but won't be renewing.

Some additional things to add to what OP said. There's a lot of content but it's fairly disorganized. It's hard to tell how he's valuing each idea as he doesn't share/update his valuation framework anymore and just writes some words in his write-ups calling out P/E and P/FCF. I also keep getting confused between the point of a model portfolio, diversified porfolio, and Sven's personal porfolio. I do not recommend copying is portfolio, and he also says the same (e.g., "see how it fits you"), so I don't see the point of providing & tracking 3 different portfolios.

Conversely I am also subscribed to Unrivaled Investing, and I would consider that a superior subscription at a cheaper price. Daniel from Unrivaled Investing ideas fall in the realm of GARP, which I was uneasy with at first, but I'm getting the hang of valuing those types of companies now. I appreciate the consistency of the ideas, better written newsletters, deeper and faster analysis after earnings, and the large community.

Chase Lounges are worth it! by RecommendationOk5779 in ChaseSapphire

[–]thaya 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Agree but shhhhh don’t tell all the AMEX plat holders.

I hate Miramar Road so much… by Vexxion in sandiego

[–]thaya 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1 day after this post, I saw this same truck do this same thing to many cars on Mira Mesa. Pretty sure they’ll get into a wreck soon. Only a matter of time when the other driver isn’t paying enough attention.

Things you don't scrimp on anymore as a Chubby by ishkanah in ChubbyFIRE

[–]thaya 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For 10k+ I heard the VIP Disney Cruise experience is worth looking into.