A New Goal!

[kristenrice]

I just went through my projected budget for spring break next year. We are hoping to go to HHI (using our DVC points) and I want to try and do it without touching our vacation savings account:eek:.

I calculated out conservative estimates of how much we will earn off of our rewards programs. I've figured that we will have about $220 in Disney Visa Rewards, $300 in AMEX travel rewards, $100 in Marriott gift cards and another $20 in Discover card rewards. That totals $640.

I've budgeted for food, transportation, lodging and entertainment and I think I will need about $1500 total. That means if I can earn $860 in Sunshine Rewards:sunshine:, we can take a FREE trip!:banana:

So.....BRING ON THE SURVEYS!!!:clap:

[kimntrent]

great goal

[~Kathie]

You can do it. Have you stayed at HH before? We did for the first time a few years ago and we liked it. We only stayed one night on the way to Florida.

What will you use the Marriott gift cards for?

[disney_girl]

Sounds like a great goal! Good luck!!:sunshine:

[3dog2kidmom]

You can do it. Have you stayed at HH before? We did for the first time a few years ago and we liked it. We only stayed one night on the way to Florida.

What will you use the Marriott gift cards for?

I wondered that too. I would like to go there someday -- loosely planning for spring break '12 since we are cruising on the Dream next summer.

[kristenrice]

What will you use the Marriott gift cards for?

Since we have two young 'uns (ages 5 and 7 when we'll travel), we plan on spreading the 14-hour drive over 2 days. I always pick a Marriott-branded hotel to stop at so that I can use the GC's that I earn through "another" site. (*I'm not a traitor....I only buy Lancome from them and it is not available here:sunshine:) There is a Residence Inn(?) in Gatlinburg that I am looking at for the first night. The quoted cost only comes to $73 with our AAA discount. So, I have enough to cover that already. I also have enough AMEX travel rewards already to cover a night on the way home. By sticking with Marriott's, I also earn the Marriott points, which we used to cover one of our night's in April when we drove to WDW.

I love the AMEX rewards! I found out that anything that is charged to the room gets processed as "travel-lodging"! That is awesome because now I can charge food, entertainment and/or souvenirs to the room and use my points to pay for it:love:. If we were flying, I'd use it towards airfare, but since we're driving, we don't have a lot of expenses classified as "travel".

[Alice28]

I was just doing this today as well. We are planning a 9-10 day WDW trip in August 2011. We usually stay in DVC with my parents. I am hoping to save...$1,000 in SR money from June 2010-June 2011. With all the surveys that are running, plus the shopping I occasionally do, I*think* it's doable if I keep at it. I have averaged about $620 the last four years....per year that is. BUT, with 6 surveys to take, I think it's doable. :D My earnings from this month are going towards our Sept shortie Disneyland trip. :) Anyway, that $1,000 would either cover most of our park ticket costs OR our meal costs. A Huge chunk!

It's great to have goals! :clap: Good luck with yours- i think you can do it and it would be awesome to have a totally free trip!

[~Kathie]

I thought that's what you would be doing with the Marriott gift cards. We did similar when we went on our Alaskan trip last year with Hilton and AMEX. Love it when I can double dip.

Good luck with your goal and keep us posted!

[Blessing and Miracle]

Have you tried Hilton. They are great with rewarding you with free nights. You can also earn them. They're a merchant with SR and there is a banner floating above our heads right now. I' ve been a member for quite awile.

[kristenrice]

I tried and tried, but just couldn't get the AMP yesterday to complete my quintet. Things haven't improved much yet today. I have to leave for work in about an hour and I've only been able to get the SH and MV. This is unusual for me since I almost always get the DS. Now, since I have to get the DS before I can try the SM survey, AND I have to go to work, I am probably going to have to settle for just the two survey completions today. It looks like I will not make my "goal" of $2/day. **UPDATE: Well, I'll probably be a little late for work, but I finally got the DS!!*** Oh, but I made a really cool spreadsheet to keep track of my survey earnings and competions.

Tomorrow is another day....but since I get home from work around 5:30am and I have to be back at work at 2:30pm, I really doubt I will have much time to try surveys. Maybe I'll get lucky and it will be one of those days when I get three surveys in 15 minutes:love:.

[kristenrice]

I have over $10 in surveys already this month:clap:....

....I finally got my friend to start here too, but she needs to get motivated so I can get that referral credit:D...

...and I just bought my dogs' summer heartworm medicine from 1-800-PetMeds:sunshine:. I was so close to being able to split the order in order to get two separate orders over $40, but the pills were $35 and $45 so it was a no-go.

....Next up? More Vitalicious! Why, oh why did I have to try those:rolleyes:?

[SunshineGirl]

....Next up? More Vitalicious! Why, oh why did I have to try those:rolleyes:?

I'm with you! I am so addicted to them now. I'm such a chocoholic and always trying to eat more healthy. They are perfect...except not the perfect price. LOL! So now I view them as a treat a couple of times a week.

[momof3lovebugs]

I have over $10 in surveys already this month:clap:....

....I finally got my friend to start here too, but she needs to get motivated so I can get that referral credit:D...

...and I just bought my dogs' summer heartworm medicine from 1-800-PetMeds:sunshine:. I was so close to being able to split the order in order to get two separate orders over $40, but the pills were $35 and $45 so it was a no-go.

....Next up? More Vitalicious! Why, oh why did I have to try those:rolleyes:?
I'm lovin' 800 petmeds! Their cs is outstanding and they are always sending coupons (although I never use them b/c I want my SR cashback!! :D)
You have a great goal! I set one of 200-300 before Oct, which means I need to cash out no later than mid Aug, just to be safe (our trip is 10/12) and I am already at 160 or so!
I am thinking I will change my goal to 400.00, but haven't put it in stone in my mind yet! :rotfl:

[kristenrice]

I'm lovin' 800 petmeds! Their cs is outstanding and they are always sending coupons (although I never use them b/c I want my SR cashback!! :D)
You have a great goal! I set one of 200-300 before Oct, which means I need to cash out no later than mid Aug, just to be safe (our trip is 10/12) and I am already at 160 or so!
I am thinking I will change my goal to 400.00, but haven't put it in stone in my mind yet! :rotfl:

Just a heads up...if you are planning on cashing out for PayPal and your trip is October 12, you'll want to cash out by July 31. Your payment will then post to your PP account on August 31. If you wait until mid-August to cash out, you will not get your payment until October 31. But, if you're like me, you can just pay with a CC on your trip and then pay it off when your payment shows up in October.

I have so far to go, but I love watching my slider move further and further to the right every day:love:. At this rate, I know that I can make my goal:sunshine:.

Now, the only question remaining....Will I get a room at HHI in April?????
I can't call to find out for another 4 months!

[momof3lovebugs]

Thanks Kristen...when I say cash out, I mean disney gc's! Taking all that free money with me!! :cooldance:
I have 200+ disney visa rewards $ too. And our disney give a day vouchers! Makes up for all the coin we are putting out for the WL/AKL split stay!! :rotfl:
Just a heads up...if you are planning on cashing out for PayPal and your trip is October 12, you'll want to cash out by July 31. Your payment will then post to your PP account on August 31. If you wait until mid-August to cash out, you will not get your payment until October 31. But, if you're like me, you can just pay with a CC on your trip and then pay it off when your payment shows up in October.

I have so far to go, but I love watching my slider move further and further to the right every day:love:. At this rate, I know that I can make my goal:sunshine:.

Now, the only question remaining....Will I get a room at HHI in April?????
I can't call to find out for another 4 months!

[kristenrice]

OOOOHHHH! You are going to LOVE the AKL!!

I love it so much that I made DH buy me a DVC membership at AKV:rotfl:. The only way that I'll get back there before 2013 is if our plan to stay at HHI next year falls through. If we can't get HHI in April for spring break, we're going to go to WDW in June. I'd like to try the BWV, but it is SOOOO hard not to book at AKV. Plus, if we did AKV, we could get a 1BR....but can only do a studio at BWV.

Dad is taking the extended family on a trip in 2012, but he has decided on OKW instead of AKV. I know...what is he thinking?:cry: But since he is footing the bill for 15 people, I guess he can pick where we stay.

If you need any info on the AKL/AKV, feel free to ask:sunshine2:.

[kimntrent]

Oh OKW is my favorite

[momof3lovebugs]

Thanks so much! I am sooooooooo excited to go there! It was my dh who suggested it as when we went back in '99 before kiddos, I fell in love w/the WL (we stayed at CSR, which was lovely too....)
I would love to do one of the safaris, but sadly, only CL guests can book :cry: I am looking fwd to trying some zebra domes and relaxing by the beautiful pools (which now have blue water apparently :( )Any info you want to give me would be appreciated! I love hearing about where we are staying!! (oh, btw, I didn't book sav view b/c I figure there will be plenty of opps for viewing other places in the lodge so why pay extra for it, right? we are spending enough to be there for 10 days and stay at two deluxes.....)
OOOOHHHH! You are going to LOVE the AKL!!

I love it so much that I made DH buy me a DVC membership at AKV:rotfl:. The only way that I'll get back there before 2013 is if our plan to stay at HHI next year falls through. If we can't get HHI in April for spring break, we're going to go to WDW in June. I'd like to try the BWV, but it is SOOOO hard not to book at AKV. Plus, if we did AKV, we could get a 1BR....but can only do a studio at BWV.

Dad is taking the extended family on a trip in 2012, but he has decided on OKW instead of AKV. I know...what is he thinking?:cry: But since he is footing the bill for 15 people, I guess he can pick where we stay.

If you need any info on the AKL/AKV, feel free to ask:sunshine2:.

[kristenrice]

Thanks so much! I am sooooooooo excited to go there! It was my dh who suggested it as when we went back in '99 before kiddos, I fell in love w/the WL (we stayed at CSR, which was lovely too....)
I would love to do one of the safaris, but sadly, only CL guests can book :cry: I am looking fwd to trying some zebra domes and relaxing by the beautiful pools (which now have blue water apparently :( )Any info you want to give me would be appreciated! I love hearing about where we are staying!! (oh, btw, I didn't book sav view b/c I figure there will be plenty of opps for viewing other places in the lodge so why pay extra for it, right? we are spending enough to be there for 10 days and stay at two deluxes.....)

If you REALLY work on your Sunshining, you can save up and do the Wanyama Safari!! That is the afternoon safari that includes a delicious, family-style dinner at Jiko. This is open to ANY guest at the AKL, but it is pricey. (Clarify...any guest over age 8...no youngsters allowed) When we did it in June 2009, it was $210/person. If you were staying concierge, it was "only" $170/person. The good news is now, there is not a difference in pricing. I believe it is $170/person across the board. If you can find it in your budget, I HIGHLY recommend it. DH and I considered it an early anniversary gift to each other and it was wonderful! The dinner alone was worth it. Since it includes wine pairings with each of the 4 courses, tax and gratuity, the dinner alone is worth about $100 per person.

The safari was awesome! You get so close to the animals, but you cannot touch them. They take you out onto each of the savannas at the AKL in an open truck. They stop and let you take as many pictures as you want and you can learn all about the animals and how they care for them. We learned that it is not easy to chase down pelicans in a hurricane:rotfl:. The safari portion takes about an hour and a half. Then, you and your group (maximum of 12 people) get a personal escort to your table at Jiko. You are seated as a group so it is a great way to meet other people. You have a dedicated waitstaff and the chef comes out personally with each course to describe it in detail. If something is not to your liking, they will get you something that is. The dinner lasts as long as you sit there and they absolutely do not rush you at all. We were the first of our group to leave since we were paying Kids Nite Out by the hour to watch our kids in our villa:eek:. All total, for the safari, dinner and 5 hours of in-room childcare for 2 kids, our adventure cost us about $500.....and it was worth every penny. The only downside? I want to do it again:love:.

[momof3lovebugs]

Wow! That sounds so amazing! I would love to do it, but the rest of my picky family would not like JIko, which is why I didn't choose to book an adr there.....:( My ds is 7, too, which puts us out of the running for that and there is no way my dh would go for childcare...sigh.
I would love to leave them all behind and go myself. (oops! did I say that out loud?? :D )
I have heard that if the sunrise safari is not completely booked by cl, then they sometimes open it to others. Have you heard that?
I know that this will be the trip of a lifetime for all since it will be the first one for the kids, which is why we are doing 10 days instead of a week. We didn't want to feel rushed at all.....
Well, it appears we have hijacked your thread!! :rotfl:
We can get back to your regularly scheduled topic, if you'd like!! :p

[Pooh's Pal]

OOOOHHHH! You are going to LOVE the AKL!!

I love it so much that I made DH buy me a DVC membership at AKV:rotfl:. The only way that I'll get back there before 2013 is if our plan to stay at HHI next year falls through. If we can't get HHI in April for spring break, we're going to go to WDW in June. I'd like to try the BWV, but it is SOOOO hard not to book at AKV. Plus, if we did AKV, we could get a 1BR....but can only do a studio at BWV.

Dad is taking the extended family on a trip in 2012, but he has decided on OKW instead of AKV. I know...what is he thinking?:cry: But since he is footing the bill for 15 people, I guess he can pick where we stay.

If you need any info on the AKL/AKV, feel free to ask:sunshine2:.

Great Goal!! I love AK, but you are going to LOVE Old Key West too, sooo quiet & tropical!!!

(if dad needs any help planning, feel free to ask me for help!!) ºOº
;)

[3dog2kidmom]

I love AK, but you are going to LOVE Old Key West too, sooo quiet & tropical!!!


Good to know, Deb! DH and I are staying there for F&W... Our first trip home :)

[3dog2kidmom]

OOOOHHHH! You are going to LOVE the AKL!!

I second this!!! We stayed at AKL last year over spring break and loved it!! I am anxious to stay at AKV too... maybe for a couple of nights before our anniversary cruise if I can get it at the 7-month window.

Enjoy!!!!!!