u/ObjectiveWeakness373

I came across an ad claiming you could get instant cash from swiping your credit card, but with some interest involved.

Made me wonder, I’ve noticed shops with solid cash flow and POS machines sometimes push this.

A couple things I’m unclear on:

1. Is it fully legal and above board?

2. What’s the upside for the merchant? Just their swipe fees, or does it get booked as normal sales for other reasons?

3. Beyond the instant cash, why would anyone do it as a customer? You’re covering merchant fees plus bank interest too, right?

Anyone with real-world experience or insights on the mechanics?

Looking for recommendations for something that I’m not sure exists, but thinking this group could have some ideas.

As my husband and I have gotten older (mid-40s), we consistently stay at 5 stars for the spas, dining, comfort, etc.

What I could really do without though is the constant pretensiin — I’m really not any sort of special guest, just a person who likes to spend on quality travel experiences.

Constantly being called Mrs. So-and-So and being treated with a kind of deference that borders on fear of me turning into a complaining person just makes me so uncomfortable. We’re all human, people make mistakes, I would never scold an employee.

I hate feeling like hotel staff have to pretend to be my servants or something. Even having the valets run to open my door while I’m trying to stuff all my kids item into their backpacks just makes me feel kinda guilty. And I really hate seeing full grown adults treat my children like tiny kings who can do no wrong.

So my question is: Are there any truly great hotels that don’t have this type of old-school service?

Where I can enjoy kind and efficient service without feeling gross about the classist implications of the whole setup? Thanks!!

I got my Amazon Pay ICICI credit card in 2021 with a ₹50,000 limit.

Since then, the limit was never increased, and I never received any limit enhancement offer.

After reading suggestions on this sub, I emailed ICICI Bank from my official work email on July 1, requesting a credit limit increase.

Yesterday, my limit was increased directly from ₹50,000 to ₹4,00,000.

Looking for recommendations for something that I’m not sure exists, but thinking this group could have some ideas.

As my husband and I have gotten older (mid-40s), we consistently stay at luxury hotels for the spas, dining, comfort, etc.

What I could really do without though is the constant pretense — I’m really not any sort of VIP, just a person with an Amex who likes to spend on quality travel experiences.

Constantly being called Mrs. So-and-So and being treated with a kind of deference that borders on fear of me morphing into a crazed Karen just makes me so uncomfortable. We’re all human, people make mistakes, I would never berate an employee.

I hate feeling like hotel staff have to pretend to be my servants or something. Even having the valets run to open my door while I’m trying to cram all my kids shit into their backpacks just makes me feel kinda guilty. And I really hate seeing full grown adults treat my children like tiny kings who can do no wrong.

So my question is: Are there any truly luxe hotels that don’t have this type of old-school service? Where I can enjoy kind and efficient service without feeling gross about the classist implications of the whole setup? Thanks!!

My itinerary

Day 1 : Shinjuku,did some shopping in yodobashi camera, tried some street foods.

Day 2: shibuya & Akhibara ( sensoji temple, Shibuya crossing, 3D cat billboard, hachiko statue)

Day 3: odaiba divercity mall (Gundam base shopping)

Day 4: took bullet train to osaka, evening went to dotonbori(did shopping and tried street foods)

Day 5: kyoto ( hiked to fushimi inari shrine, yasaka shrine, gion district)

Day 6: Nara Day trip

Day 7: osaka castle, namba shrine, return to tokyo

Day8 : Had a lazy day

Day 9 : did some souvenir shopping in Akhibara and attended a japanese Tea ceremony.

Day 10: Disneyland,Tokyo

Day 11: Gotokuiji cat shrine, meiji jinju shrine,sake testing

Day 12: left japan

Axis Magnus Credit Card can now be gotten LTF. The key catch is it applicable to only salary accounts.

Sharing step by step guide below:

• Verify your salary: Your net monthly salary must be greater than ₹3 Lakhs (or ₹2 to ₹2.5 Lakhs for select corporates).

• Open the account: Open a salary-based Axis Burgundy account on or after July 1st, 2026.

• Get the card: Procure the Magnus credit card during or after the account opening.

• Deposit salary: Ensure your monthly salary is credited into this new Axis account.

Anyone planning to get this? Card can then be upgraded to Magnus Burgundy for the benefits.

Had the most wonderful three-night stay at Fairmont Tokyo.

The suite was extremely spacious with a separate bedroom and living area and comfortably accommodated my family of four. The views from the room were breathtaking, overlooking Tokyo Bay, Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree. Access to the Gold lounge was also included for the four of us.

✅ The hotel held our luggage for three nights prior to our arrival.

✅ The welcome gift was the best we have ever received.

✅ Upon arrival, we were escorted to the lounge for check-in and offered drinks and afternoon tea. We were blown away by the service from Chem and the rest of the lounge team throughout our stay. We were genuinely made to feel like VIPs.

✅ Late checkout was granted until 2pm, with lounge access extended until 4pm. This was incredibly appreciated and worked perfectly with our late night flight home.

✅ The lounge on level 42 offered spectacular views and included breakfast, midday refreshments, afternoon tea, evening cocktails and night snacks. The food was delicious, beautifully presented and it felt like we were always eating!

✅ The lounge staff were consistently warm and welcoming towards our children, which made our stay feel very family friendly.

✅ A sofa bed was prepared for our children.

✅ We were able to choose a convenient time for turndown service and the staff who prepared our room each evening were always friendly.

✅ There were countless thoughtful amenities and personal touches throughout the room, including a Dyson hair dryer and airwrap. We even found our phone charging cables neatly organised with Fairmont cable ties.

✅ Both the indoor and outdoor pools were heated. Even on cooler evenings, it was blissfully relaxing in the outdoor pool enjoying views of the illuminated Tokyo Tower.

There was construction at the neighbouring building, which slightly obstructed the view and created occasional noise; however, this did not impact our enjoyment of the stay.

This is the most luxurious hotel we have ever stayed in. We will definitely be returning on future trips to Tokyo.

Great stay at Kimpton Seafire, and I now have a new favorite island.

Like many before me have said, the people really made the trip. Everyone was so helpful and accommodating.

They had a birthday treat in room and at the restaurant my first night.

I took advantage of the yoga, Pilates, and spin classes. The best seats at the beach do require you to get out pretty early. There were always plenty of seats at the pool.

The birds on the restaurant’s outdoor patio were out of control so we chose to eat inside after the first breakfast. Coffee and tea station in the AM and wine happy hour in the PM were both nice.

Concierge helped us book excursions and was very knowledgeable.

We loved the stingray excursion with Captain Marvin. The Turtle Park was underwhelming. The Library Bar was lovely. Let me know if you have any questions!

TL,DR: ICICI didn't close my card despite me having sent a request over email. 200+ days later, I complain to RBI and ICICI settles with me for 1.09 lacs

I remember having read the story of someone who got >2 lacs from their bank because bank didn't close their credit card. Which is why, the credit for this win goes to this sub.

I had gotten a Sapphiro add on card for a family member which was said to be free (my Sapphiro is LTF). At some point, the bank levied a 200+ GST add on card fee. I begrudgingly paid it and then asked them to close the card. Since Sapphiro gives you 2 cards - 1 AMEX and 1 Mastercard, they only closed one card and next year, levied 200 +GST again. I was very upset, but begrudgingly paid it and asked them to close the other card too. Third time, they levied 200 annual fee again. I have many card and once again thought that I might have closed only one card. Requested the RM to cancel the fee but she refused (very sweetly, I might say).

I went back to my emails to find the cancellation request and found out they I had explicitly requested to close the card for which they levied annual fee. That's when I remembered the story from this sub and emailed the Nodal Officer.

During this time, my RM, her manager and one other person from ICICI called me - first trying to hoodwink by saying we are reversing the 200 + GST fee, then emotional blackmail (job chali jayegi, pocket se dena padega etc.).

But I wanted the money, so said no (very sweetly) of course. I, in fact also gave them the heads up that you still haven't closed my card so the penalty is still increasing 500/day.

Nodal Officer just kept extending dates for response by 5 days every 5 days through automated emails. Finally after 30 days, I filed complaint on RBI portal. That's when I received an email from Nodal Officer with settlement request. I settled for around 10k less than what RBI would have given because I wanted to close the matter quickly.

But yes, the justice felt sweet. Also, ICICI posted a big profit, so it's not like the bank is struggling. So I have no qualms.

We recently stayed 5 nights at the St. Regis Bermuda.

This was our first St. Regis experience and it did not disappoint. This resort is relatively new as it opened in 2021. Our Platinum Elite status was recognized at check in by the concierge and we were upgraded to a partial beach view on the top floor.

Our studio room with king bed was amazing and spacious. It had separate shower and toilet, double sinks with plenty of counter space and cabinet space, a soaker tub in the middle of the room, two large hanging closets, in room safe, a large screen TV, multiple USB and USB-C charging outlets, large balcony and a bar fridge stocked with bottled water.

The buffet breakfast had a wide variety of hot and cold offerings, fresh fruit, pastries, juice and much more. The coffee was hot and tasted great.

We dined at the onsite BLT Steak restaurant once ($$$$) and had a fantastic evening. Our waiter was attentive and very helpful. The food and drinks were most excellent!

The beach has an easy slope into the blue water and plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas.

The resort is adjacent to the historic Fort St Catherine for all the history buffs. Tobacco Bay is about a 10 minute walk and has excellent snorkeling and a beach bar.

All the resort staff were very friendly and eager to make our stay special, which it was.

We highly recommend the St Regis Bermuda and will definitely return again.

I’m a real ITC fan.

Every time I travel in India, I always try to stay at an ITC hotel. I like their style — very Indian, grand, and full of character.

But after staying here, I felt a little bit disappointed, just a little.

The building is actually quite new, around 5 years old, but it feels like two hotels inside the same building.

One side is for Marriott Bonvoy guests and the other side is for ITC Club members.

So during my stay, even with my status, the upgrade couldn’t go to One Bedroom Suite.

I was upgraded only to a Junior Suite, which is still nice, but you can feel that some higher rooms are reserved for ITC Club members.

The happy hour / lounge experience is also different.

The area for regular guests is quite simple at Small restaurant space in the lobby that was not even in operation.

The furniture also looked quite cheap, like standard pieces imported from China

But I walked past the ITC Club lounge on a higher floor, and it looked much more luxurious with a beautiful view.

So you can clearly feel the difference between the two membership systems, which is quite different from other ITC hotels I stayed before.

Another thing was breakfast. The line was very long. I waited almost 30 minutes just to get in.

Inside the restaurant, sometimes you still need to wait a bit for some food stations, but I could see the staff working very hard to manage the crowd.

Even with some small disappointments, I still like the architecture and design of this hotel.

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Location Right in the centre of stone town - we stayed for 4 nights at the beginning of of trip in Zanzibar before we headed to the other side of the island to enjoy a beach holiday. There is a lot to do in stone town, many cafes, shops, restaurants, boutiques and gemstone museums.

Room Gorgeous room, with balcony and sea view. You have to go for this room type as it has the best sunsets I have ever seen. You can sit and watch the dhows sail past for sunset cruises and the fishing boats leaving in the morning. We booked a ‘DELUXE king room with balcony’

Service Staff were 7/10 friendly but didn’t go above or beyond. Housekeeping were extremely pleasant.

I did get quite annoyed one day as for the third breakfast in a row I received large amounts of chilli flakes in my omelet and every time I request no chili and told the breakfast manager no chilli, but I still kept receiving my food with chilli. It then happened at one of the restaurants during dinner again with chilli 🌶️ 🤷🏽‍♂️ I did complain as at this point I was extremely frustrated that they completely disregarded the fact I wanted no chilli and they comped my meal for that dinner. I think this is basic hospitality, listening to guests preferences.

Pool Pool was nice, but you would expect more for the price of the hotel. It could do with new sunloungers, umbrellas, and towels. amazing views around pool area and you have direct beach access that is guarded. The beach is public but it was so lovely watching everybody play and use during the sunset.

Conclusion Next time I’m in Zanzibar I will stay here for maximum of two nights. As it is a great location to start your trip to Zanzibar. Overall score 7/10.