Grimas

Thanks!

Also, what’s the delay? I’m planning a trip over Christmas so should I wait until the trip is over in January before doing this? I’m not sure the delay in downgrading the CSR and the application and approval of the CSP lag...

I’ve have a Chase sapphire Preferred for the past 48 months and want to upgrade to the Sapphire reserve to get both the greater 3x as well as the sign in points. Do I downgrade the CSP to the Freedom card then apply for the CSR to get the 50k bonus? If I understand correctly, if I ask for the upgrade w/o the “downgrade”, I don’t get the 50K signin bonus. Also, I have 200k credits on the CSP, my understanding is those drop to 1x when I downgrade to the Freedom. What happens to these credits when I then get the CSR? Also, if I pay the extra 75 to add the wife, is she able to get the same benefits (300 travel credits, lounge access, 100 back for Global entry, etc)?

What were you really being offered $1000 for at the bar?

Before an overseas flight, I usually try to unload before boarding hoping I won't need drop one on the plane. I was very pleasantly surprised that the main business lounge in DFW for AA (I think it's in terminal C) have every toilet equipped with an every bell and whistle bidet - seat and water heater, frying fans, multiple sprays, etc. (I didn't see the brand) The first time I've seen one like this in a US "public" toilet whereas you see them pretty standard in Japan. Oh, and the wifi works in the stalls as well.

I like that burnt orange jacket Matthew McC is wearing. Anyone have a clue of the manufacturer?

I downloaded the whole season when I was in Europe last week - it was good enough to binge and to keep me awake on the flight home... Not a spoiler but not enough of the blonde girlfriend compared to last season...

My UT roommate and I decided to take a road trip/fly fishing trip the summer I finished at UT and was headed off to grad school (roommate dropped out of UT a few years earlier). We loaded up his 4 Runner and drove up the eastern side of the Rockies to the CA border and then headed south to San Diego along the Pacific coast for about 5 weeks before heading back to Texas. i had been fly fishing on the San Juan river the previous summer as part of my geology field camp class in the 4 corners area so we headed there first. Caught a bunch of trout there but decided if it was that good there, it would be even better as we headed north. We stopped a few places along the way but didn’t catch crap... Got to Yellowstone and after a few days of fishing but not really having any luck, we decided that we’d have one last fishing day before heading to the West Coast. We stopped by the fly shop we had been dumping money on the past few days and mentioned we were done and were leaving because the fishing wasn’t panning out as we had hoped. The guy in the shop said that before we left, he’d put us on a spot. He said to drive west past Quake lake west of W.Yellowstone, cross the first bridge we encountered west of the dam, park the truck there and walk west until we hit the first fence line and fish the hole there... i caught at least 40 rainbows within 2 hours and it seemed to get a hit on every cast. My buddy was doing the same but fell in at one point and filled his waders with ice water so we had to cut the session short as he was freezing. Best fishing I ever had in my life... That being said - the dumbasses we were - we ended up packing up camp and headed to the west coast the next morning rather than going back to the same spot for the next few days as we were meeting some girls we knew in San Fran and later in San Diego... Yes, each of us ended up getting laid in Cali but I still kick myself 25 years later for not having spent another few days going back to that honey hole... Best fishing spot I ever visited... Not sure if you can even access that spot any more but I plan on trying to get to the same spot next summer with my boys...

Thanks for the advice... I ended up cutting into 2 rib portions, added a Demi glacé/trinity mix to each bag and cooked for 48 hours at 167 and served over polenta. Wife complained it was “too rich” but kids and I sucked the beef down... Happy dog got a bone as well...

Picked up some beef short ribs from HEB already vacuum packed. Has anyone tried SV ribs “as-is” (without opening, seasoning and then repackaging)? The plan is to go 36 hours but I hate pulling out the vacuum sealer if I can avoid it because mine is a pain to always get a good seal.seal. I know the effort of adding seasoning before sealing should be worth it but has anyone tried to SV without seasoning the meat before cooking?

I purposely bought a George Foreman grill years ago just to make melted cheese sandwiches - this was before you could get panini grills in the US... Butter and mayo, thinly sliced tomato, basil leaves, Gruyere cheese and cured ham (Serrano, Prosciutto, etc) on a fresh French bread baguette put in the old Foreman until the cheese melts... Not strictly a "cheese" sandwich but you can leave off the ham if you want... Another favorite - especially if visiting Paris - is a hand-held crepe (galettes) with cheese from a street cart. Crepe made on the griddle and Emmental (Swiss) cheese put on the almost finished crepe - folded in half and in half again and served to you like a sno-cone. Got to eat it fast before the fat from the melted cheese runs down your hand/arm...

Just installed 2… I assume water hitting bottom and defelecting out the side between bowl and seat means pressure too high and should be adjusted at the t valve?

I was able to monitor the flight, change her seats and she had an empty seat next to her on 2 of the 3 legs (she got business upgrade on the 4th). She's 5'3" and had enough room on the 15 hour flight... (At 6'1, it's hell no, I won't go if I can't get business class...) Only real error i made was moving her into the front row of economy extra which means the TV is in the armrest and you can't move the armrest to take advantage of the empty seat next to her...

Anyone try the new Cuervo boots from Rtic? Looking for a new pair of beaters and the price is right...

Matt Frost - O-line on White team is a preferred walk-on... Go Frosty!

Just off the phone with United and it appears the upgrade from IAH to LAX is a “free be” in terms of miles since the full trip wasn’t upgraded so I also get the full $500 back for the trip down there. The payment for the upgrade to Extra still applies. Looks like no business class seats available for the legs home so get those miles and copay refunded as well (but still charged for the upgrade to Extra)... not so pissed anymore...

Pissed at United and waiting to see how it all ends... Best friends of ours live in Melbourne, AU and the husband (bastard for raising the bar of what’s to be expected by the wives but that’s another discussion...) says he wants to fly my wife down to spend a week with his wife as a surprise for her 50th. Cost for a last minute business class ticket was about $7k so I said let me book an economy ticket for $1800 and then use my miles to upgrade to business class (60k round trip and additional $1000 copay (that he would cover)). As a fallback position, I paid an additional 250 each way to get her in Economy Extra in case she didn’t get the business upgrade. She got upgraded to business from IAH to LAX but not the LAX to MEL leg where she went Econmy extra. I now have to see what United will charge me as I really didn’t care about the upgrade from IAH to LAX (Extra would have been ok) but wanted the upgrade to MEL... she still has a chance for the return flight but I’m not sure how United will charge me for the miles and upgrade to Extra for the way home... I’m not out of pocket as i’ll Get paid back for the cost but it’s the miles I spent that I don’t want to waste...

Just wanted to drop a note that after 6 months, I’ve been happy that we got a Freedom boat club membership (Conroe)... I used the hell out of it in the fall last year and took one of the kids out last weekend on a pontoon fishing trip last weekend... only downside so far is you can’t book a boat for the day (8-2, 2-8 sessions) and the lack of a storage locker for skis and fishing poles at/near the dock... love being able to just show up and jump on the boat without the hassles having to pull a boat out of storage and launching it and then the reverse when done... not cheap but for the next few year with the kids at this age (13), it’s been a better option so far than buying my own boat... Haven’t tried using the membership at other locations yet but am hoping to do a fishing run this spring at the sister club in Clear Lake... (anyone have a good map of brush piles in Conroe for fishing?)

Thanks! Does that 48 month wait keep you from getting the 80K in points if I were to apply for an Ink card (different product)? (I confused the points in the email above and said incorrectly you could get them with a FU card). I was thinking to first get the Ink so i can get the 3x on travel (and the points) and then do your steps above the product change to the FU from the CSP... If i can't get the 80K points for the Ink, i won't be worth the hard pull. Also, if my wife is on my cards, does each application count as 2 pulls or one?

From what I see, the bonuses are allowed after 24 months...

Do you get the bonus points for doing a product change if it's been more than 2 years since you got any bonus points? I've had a CSP for years but now want to upgrade it with a CSR as well as add a FU (especially for the 80K signup points). I don't have 2-3 weeks to wait for a CS replacement... Do I apply and get the CSP first and then ask to downgrade my existing CSP to a FU? Do I need to apply for both? Can I get the 50K for applying for the CSR and the 80K for applying for the FU? (I've got no worries with the 5/24 rule...)

Thanks! Do you remember what they cost now? (Never mind-$270)

Dammit - your picture made me remember how much I loved my 30+ year old old Red Wings that got destroyed by my pup last year... Can you even buy them anymore (and if so, are they the same quality)?

Thanks! I soaked a label off a wine bottle and put it on my growler for my next refill...