Disney World: 8 Free Nights Last Minute
Another last minute travel success story that could easily have been a nightmare were it not for our Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Start earning Ultimate Rewards with the Chase Ink Preferred business card.
While many are intimidated by business cards, if you have a rental property or a side hustle from which you earn income, you are eligible for a business card!
You can easily apply as a sole proprietor with your social security number!
Though I am typically the vacation planner when it comes to flights and hotels, potential activities and restaurants, I had never been to Disney World and Kristin really wanted to plan the whole thing. I booked our flights, but she took care of everything else. Most importantly, she found an affordable hotel that shuttled to each of the Disney Parks AND Universal Studios (I'm told it's a big deal to get a direct ride to each park and not just Magical Kingdom). As the months go by, she continued planning the rest of the trip: FastPasses, restaurant reservations, the whole nine yards.
Six months later, we're getting ready to leave the house for the Airport and Kristin pulls up her email confirmation email when I asked her where we were staying. To our surprise, the website link redirected to a page about the online travel agency's bankruptcy proceedings. She proceeds to call the hotel and after giving her name, date of arrival (aka, in a few hours), she learns that the agency cancelled our reservation in July without informing us and that the hotel is now completely sold out.
Kristin quickly called Disney directly and the only room available was an 8-person suite that cost about $1,300 a night! At this point, we're forced to leave for the airport without hotel reservations.
When we get to the airport, we breeze through security thanks to TSA Pre-Check we got through Kristin's Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Once through security, we went straight to the American Airlines Admirals Club lounge - we were reimbursed through Chase because we had not yet received our Priority Pass lounge access cards. The lounge access was a godsend thanks to the free fast wifi and outlets to charge our laptops while we searched for accommodations...not to mention a drink to take the edge off.
We were finally able to find a room at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress for 15,000 Hyatt points per night...with Kristin's Chase points, we were able to redeem 7 free nights and purchased the 8th night for 7500 points + cash.
While many are intimidated by business cards, if you have a rental property or a side hustle from which you earn income, you are eligible for a business card!
You can easily apply as a sole proprietor with your social security number!
Though I am typically the vacation planner when it comes to flights and hotels, potential activities and restaurants, I had never been to Disney World and Kristin really wanted to plan the whole thing. I booked our flights, but she took care of everything else. Most importantly, she found an affordable hotel that shuttled to each of the Disney Parks AND Universal Studios (I'm told it's a big deal to get a direct ride to each park and not just Magical Kingdom). As the months go by, she continued planning the rest of the trip: FastPasses, restaurant reservations, the whole nine yards.
Six months later, we're getting ready to leave the house for the Airport and Kristin pulls up her email confirmation email when I asked her where we were staying. To our surprise, the website link redirected to a page about the online travel agency's bankruptcy proceedings. She proceeds to call the hotel and after giving her name, date of arrival (aka, in a few hours), she learns that the agency cancelled our reservation in July without informing us and that the hotel is now completely sold out.
Kristin quickly called Disney directly and the only room available was an 8-person suite that cost about $1,300 a night! At this point, we're forced to leave for the airport without hotel reservations.
When we get to the airport, we breeze through security thanks to TSA Pre-Check we got through Kristin's Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Once through security, we went straight to the American Airlines Admirals Club lounge - we were reimbursed through Chase because we had not yet received our Priority Pass lounge access cards. The lounge access was a godsend thanks to the free fast wifi and outlets to charge our laptops while we searched for accommodations...not to mention a drink to take the edge off.
We were finally able to find a room at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress for 15,000 Hyatt points per night...with Kristin's Chase points, we were able to redeem 7 free nights and purchased the 8th night for 7500 points + cash.
