Are financial strategies allowed to be discussed here?

[capriccio]

1 minute ago, Stowaway LFC said:

Thanks for the info!  Since my cruise is over a year out I was going to retire the Discover Miles as soon as it matches my points at the end of the first year.  I only plan to carry a bit of cash in the ports plus a Mastercard or Visa for anything I can't leave without lol.  

Carry at least 2 different credit cards should something untoward happen with one of them:  be stolen or otherwise compromised; the card doesn’t work under certain circumstances (just happened to my sister on public transportation in Australia); you reach your credit limit due to some emergency (for example a large medical bill from the ship’s med center); or the merchant doesn’t accept credit cards (most unlikely with Visa and Mastercard these days but it can happen).

[Stowaway LFC]

1 minute ago, capriccio said:

Carry at least 2 different credit cards should something untoward happen with one of them:  be stolen or otherwise compromised; the card doesn’t work under certain circumstances (just happened to my sister on public transportation in Australia); you reach your credit limit due to some emergency (for example a large medical bill from the ship’s med center); or the merchant doesn’t accept credit cards (most unlikely with Visa and Mastercard these days but it can happen).

Very good advice!  Thank you!

[capriccio]

7 minutes ago, Stowaway LFC said:

I have encountered that here in the US. You would think, since they are so picky , you could use it anywhere. But noooo....

They have always charged merchants higher processing rates than Visa and Mastercard,

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, Stowaway LFC said:

I have encountered that here in the US. You would think, since they are so picky , you could use it anywhere. But noooo....

 

I've heard from several small local merchants that their fees are just too high.  I finally dropped Amex as I was using it so infrequently.   

[fruitmachine]

The European Union wised up to the card industry charging the huge interchange and merchant fees that fund all these cashback and point-accruing cards.  They correctly realised that the cost is just added to the retail price, but the benefit is only available to those that chose to (and have sufficient credit rating to) have and use a credit or charge card.

Those rewards cards are all but gone in the UK (and I suspect this will apply to the rest of the EU) as the economics don't stack up.

[Eli_6]

There is an Alaskan Airlines card.  I don't have one so don't know much about it, but it might help you to get that credit card and save miles. 

 

We run all of our business expenses through our BA card.  So far, we have paid for 8 transatlantic business flights (about 5k to 7k each) to Europe with it and I am currently saving my Avios to pay for 4 more for 2024.

[Eli_6]

As an aside, we went on an Alaskan cruise last summer through a Carnival casino deal. Had a suite and an inside room for not a lot. (Albeit, this was purchased during the shut down so probably more now.)  In Icy Strait Point, we just road the gondola and it was fun. It was an experience in and of itself.  We also did the excursion off the boat where you went up the fjord and that was definitely worth it!!!  We did a helicopter tour to the glacier in Juneau and a privately chartered fishing trip in one of the other place. Both of those were $$$ and IMO could be skipped.