arxcards

I have one somewhere.

Good enough for little Johnnie, good enough for me.

I still have one, bought on ebay prior to our 1st cruise. It is a lovely yellowy green colour, and early 70s vintage. It is quite "suit"able for formal nights on P&O and Carnival, or for a fun casual night on Princess. No way I would be seen dead in it on Cunard though. I recall a few Aussies being banned several years back for asking if they were OK to wear on formal nights. Those on the Cunard board at the time were not amused.

But who's counting anyway?

Coles no annual fee card is not a Platinum Mastercard. The Coles equivalent of a platinum card is their rewards card.

This 3% would set me back upwards of $700 next year. It isn't just the overseas use, but pre-booking overseas travel and accommodation. I am currently reserving UK hotels for next June/July, then I will also have $US onboard Princess from the UK, plus car rental, the tube, food, tours and tickets. This is where a real travel card is worthwhile, and a $0 annual fee is only a minor consideration. Many of the cards listed on this thread are indeed fee-free, but come with a similar commission built into currency conversion, which can make them rather expensive "fee-free" card.

Platinum? The $5 fee would be per any overseas cash transaction. There is a 3% conversion fee that is built into each purchase with a foreign currency. You need to compare your overseas purchase price with what your statement says in $AU to find out what your conversion rate is. As an example, if the Aussie is worth 65 cents US, a $US65 purchase should cost you $100. Most credit cards will instead convert it to around $103 (or more). As with most, your card will take 3 cents in every dollar you spend as commission. For small purchases though, it isn't a big deal. As with the topic of Latitude 28 Degrees, they are one of the few cards that don't take a commission from the conversion, and why they have been a popular travel card. Alas, like most financial institutions, they like to make a dollar and they are gradually changing from what was an excellent product when it was launched.

No guarantee it is the real dirty bird, but it tastes like chicken - allegedly.

It isn't me, just a meme.

Shut up and take my money!

I have just booked an airport hotel for a pre-flight night before we head to the UK next year. Rydges is significantly dearer than the other airport hotels for our date next June - more than $200 dearer. A lot of extra money to save on a cabfare or shuttle to the airport. Next door to Holiday Inn is Adina Apartments. Looks to be the best value of the lot, and we have booked there. I can't offer a personal recommendation yet, as we haven't stayed there before.

My error. I thought the Holiday Inn Express had taken over from the Stamford, but they are neighbours. On that basis, I haven't stayed at Holiday Inn Express, but the original Holiday Inn and the Stamford.

I have had no issues with the hotel shuttle from Holiday Inn at Mascot. The same company also provide flight crew shuttles, and that would be awkward if they were too unreliable. The shuttles start at 5am, so timing isn't a problem. I guess it comes down to price - the shuttles are cheaper than the airport train stations, but that only works in your favour if the hotel is the same price or cheaper. If the Mecure is cheaper, you will be in front. I have walked to the Domestic terminal from the Stamford Plaza. It was easy enough, but I was in my fit 40's with just a laptop case and the sun was shining. I figure it was close to 1km, and there were many others doing the same.

VV are not wrong in not refunding them, but they are way out of step with other cruise lines that will refund if you change your mind or let them expire. As for those deposits being sold on Resilient Lady after 24/25 itineraries were put on hold, that was deceptive.

A big relief.

Thanks for the heads-up. I just retrieved my email from the junk folder. It is a bummer, and I am keen to spot something better. Lots of mentions of no international transaction fees, and that is great, but are there any other cards that give you the midrate conversion without taking a couple of cents in the dollar for themselves. In the grand scheme of things, a $96 annual fee is competitive, as unfortunate as that sounds. If your card is idle and not travelling overseas, $8 a month is a lot just to keep it in your wallet. However, if you are travelling overseas a $400 spend will lose you around $8 on the conversion rate of an international transaction.

That is one of three versions we had at OPT in the past 18 months. That is the same way they have a card runner for the other ships. We have also had the version I described above and had the version where they give you the slip of paper with your cabin number on it after they have checked you in, and you go to the medallion collection area at the end of the counters to hand them the slip. It all works pretty good, but will be even slicker when you can just tap the medallion to begin check-in. As with blue lane in the US, that is to collect your medallion before heading for a check-in counter. Aussies hate queues, or others that get to bump the queues even more, so FOMO will win out. I can recall all the panic in the earlier medallion threads - ahh, the I am no longer green lane posts. No way I would pay for delivery, but I am happy to get them delivered if we are on plus which we usually are.

Indeed, not a big deal. If enough people have them delivered N/C by being on a package, the overall check-in speed will get quicker for everyone else. It is just one less step for the check-in staff to handle. If we have a package, we will get them sent. It will feel like the old days when your cruise docs would show up in the mail. For OPT, Green Lane will be straight to the escalator. Blue lane (no medallion) = a walk down towards the baggage hall to the medallion counter to get medallions before doubling back to the escalator for check-in. That is something they trialed 18 months ago, but it didn't work very well. It wasn't due to 99% not having a medallion, but your cabin number was your identifier, not your passport nor the QR code on the app. There was a quite a queue with much fumbling of paper docs.

A bit like not eating for a couple of days before going to Sizzler.

A bit late for your cruise, which is likely to have medallions only available from the terminal - but an upgrade coming very soon. From this coming 24/25 summer, according to the new Circle magazine, a Green Lane will be available in Australia. Cool, you will be able to get your medallions mailed-out for no charge to Plus or Premier fares, or with a delivery charge for standard.

Not to confirm either way, but it appears Dora is no longer up for sale. It may mean she has been sold for another life of cruising, but it could also mean that she has been sold for scrap. On way or the other, it would seem her future has been decided.

Scroll up to post 8437 (numbered in top right corner). Beside that are 3 dots - click there, then report post and select the one about the post being OK, but wanting them to check it out.

I think it is possible that your ISP mail server is bouncing CC notifications as spam, generating a complaint back to the CC postmaster. All the same, the language of that message seems a bit suss. Perhaps report your above post to CC and get them to confirm it is a legit notification you are getting.