Hi all,
Married couple in our 30s travelling to Scotland for the first time in September. We'd love to know what you think of this itinerary, especially for the Highlands, and any other hot tips!
We're flying in an out of Edinburgh and figured we would rent a car to explore the highlands (day 4 to day 10). We were also considering renting a camper van, since we have friends who did that and really enjoyed it. Any thoughts? Is it easy-ish to find parking?
We're still figuring out what sites to see in Isle of Skye, so any suggestions welcome.
We're looking for a mix of city stuff (restaurants, pubs, museums, music) and outdoor time (hiking, nature walks). We tend to like downtime too. We'd love to spend two nights in Glasgow, but unsure of what to cut to fit it in.
Day 1-3 - Edinburgh: Explore the city Day 4 - Inverness: Get rental car in Edinburgh. Cairngorms National Park. Visit Dufftown (Wife's grandma is from here so it's a must-visit). Day 5 - Portree: Is this a good basecamp for Isle of Skye? Visit Balmoral Estate, Loch Ness Lake on the drive. Day 6 - Portree: Another day exploring Isle of Skye Day 7 - Portree: Explore Isle of Skye Day 8 - Glencoe: Drive to Glencoe. Go hiking, see the Glenfinnan viaduct Day 9 - Glencoe: Hike, see other sites? Day 10 - Glasgow: Return rental car; city sites in Glasgow Day 11 - Edinburgh: Spend the day in Glasgow, then train to Edinburgh in the evening Day 12 - Flight out of Edinburgh in the AM

Hey everyone, I’ve had the CSR for almost a year now and I’ve been debating the card and it’s long term worth to me. Obviously the first year has been worth it due to the $300 flight credit as well as $85 TSA Precheck but for future years I really want to see if I should keep it or downgrade.
I currently have spent $5000 so far on travel (primarily not on the portal) and was wondering if those trips are still covered with the travel insurance for me as well as any flights I purchase for relatives using the CSR — my annual will hit around September or October. I’m also curious as to how the rental insurance works as I have only rented a car occasionally due to sub 25 fees. I also rarely use the lounges but have been a few times here and there just due to when I arrive at the airport. However, I do transfer my chase points to Hyatt when traveling.
I’ve yet to travel internationally but plan on a trip or two in the coming year.
Is it smart to continue keeping this card or downgrading to the CSP? I’ve had maybe one occasion in which travel was delayed for over 6 hours due to southwest issues but did not know how to necessarily access any additional reimbursement other than what was provided by the airline. Any help is appreciated to help maximize my card benefits!

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I've last posted here. For anyone not familiar with my story, my JNMom, aptly dubbed "Cruella", has been quiet for a while. I thought we were making headway, and boy was I wrong. Buckle up, cause this is going to be looooong.
I got engaged to FDH in August of last year, and Cruella was thrilled. I'm her only child, and for the longest time, we had a very enmeshed relationship. She quickly got me a budget to work with, and I've been planning since then. FDH's family also provided us a budget from their side as well. Cruella also created a separate budget just for my dress.
Cruella came to visit me in February to go dress shopping with me and my FMIL who is absolutely JY most the time. This trip was an absolute nightmare. First, Cruella gets a hotel 45 minutes away from where we live and expects us to see her daily. Turns out, she and JMDad were here a few days early to go house shopping since they are thinking of moving back to our state. As a reminder, they moved to another state a couple of years ago as a knee jerk reaction to us getting a cold snap, and now ironically enough, Cruella works at the House of Mouse. Turns out that they moved because they expected me to follow, and when I didn't, they realized they may not get to see any future grandbabies whenever they wanted, so they started looking to move back. On the last night that JMDad was in town (he was flying out to let us ladies do some dress shopping), we had dinner with them at a very nice restaurant, which is a disaster I may need to post about on a later date. FDH and I were informed of the house hunting, which we promptly shut down. I let Cruella know that we are following FDH's job. He's only sticking with his current job for the PTO for our wedding, but then we are both job searching and house hunting. Cruella was not pleased with this, but eventually agreed it wouldn't be a good idea to move here just for us to move right as she gets here.
Wedding dress shopping will also need to be another post. Cruella was for the most part supportive, but she kept finding ways to try to start drama with FDH's family who I defended tooth and nail. On the second day, FMIL couldn't join us, so it was just Cruella and me, and we had a spat on the way to the first bridal boutique. I only got her to snap out when I told her she was ruining the say yes to the dress moment, and since it's a show Cruella obsesses over she stopped. During lunch though, we had a heart to heart, and I laid out all of my issues with her, especially that she never took any ownership of the shit she put me through as a kid. She seemed receptive and told me about some marital issues she is having with my dad. I told her I've played therapist since I was in middle school, which was never fair to me. I told her she and JMDad needed to go to couples counseling and get their shit sorted out because I would not let them ruin my wedding with their drama. Once again, she seemed to understand, acknowledge, and actually gave me what seemed to be a genuine apology.
That all went out the window when we came back after dress shopping, and my mom proceeded to get druuuuunk at my place on all my wine and started picking fights with me. One of the arguments was she wanted me to share a bed with her since she had checked out of her hotel (FDH and I offered to let her stay with us without expecting her to accept. Not a mistake we will repeat). FDH was sleeping on the couch, and I was staying on an air mattress. She said it would be more comfortable sleeping in the same bed. When I declined, she threatened to sit on me and tickle me until I peed. I used to have a bladder issue when I was a kid, not due to trauma or anything, just an issue I grew out of, and she has threatened me with that ever since. FDH told me after this happened that had she tried it, he would have pulled her off of me and kicked her out. She was one wrong move from getting kicked out, and I think she knew it cause she backed down.
So here I am in the present thinking that everything is going great when I get a text from Cruella telling me that she is feeling confused about something. She starts sounding more agitated with each text, so I just call her and ask her what she is getting so mad about. Turns out, she really doesn't like FFIL because he jokingly said he didn't want to get an appetizer she wanted BACK IN FEBRUARY. She's been holding onto this grudge for MONTHS! I told her that I didn't want to hear her complaints about the 2 times she's met him because he is a wonderful man who has helped me out tremendously and treated me like his daughter. Then she got into the REAL reasons she was annoyed.
FDH and I have a destination wedding planned. We aren't rich by any means, but we are careful with our money. We were setting up a shuttle to get us from the airport to the venue/hotel which is 1.5 hours away. Cruella said she was fine with taking a train. I told her she could do what she wanted, but there are train strikes going on, and I wanted to do something nice by paying for the transportation to make sure everyone got there ok. This past weekend, FFIL stated he was going to get a rental car and take FDH's brother and his SO to the venue so that we only had to worry about setting up a ride for my parents, me, and FDH. I told my mom about it and said that FFIL was taking one for the team to help us save money on that. Cruella didn't like this and said she had offered to do the same thing in the beginning, and now it feels like she's a burden. She thinks that when we told her in February not to move, we were treating her like a senile grandma who can't make her own decisions anymore. I don't talk to her about wedding planning at all and just expect her to pay for everything.
She's taking the train to get to the venue, and I told her that's on her, but if she is late or misses any of the associated events, I would be furious with her. We weren't trying to manage her or treat her like she was senile, just dropping some facts on her to make sure she made an informed decision when moving. And I tell her about wedding planning with every call I make to her. The real reason she wasn't happy about the wedding planning? I wasn't asking for her opinion! And there it is. She wants control over wedding planning. I don't need her opinion. I told her I'm happy to keep her in the loop, and I'm giving her the same info as FMIL. She had the audacity to say "I'm your mother! I should get more than FMIL!" What? She then told me we needed to talk more about the budget. I informed her that I was still well within the budget and that I was needing to get assistance with a few things soon.
FDH's ring? No, that's my responsibility since he paid out of pocket for my ring. Fair enough. My dress alterations? I no longer get a separate dress budget, and it's now part of the main wedding budget because I need to wear something to the WEDDING. Travel costs? That should come out of our honeymoon budget because it's for travel. How are we getting to the wedding again? Because of these changes, we are now having to significantly cut back on our honeymoon. 2 week trip? Nope! It's now 1 week. Fun sight seeing tours? Nope! Those are gone now. I specifically made sure that everything was under budget to take care of unforeseen things. We don't want to touch the money FDH's family gave us because that is for a down payment on a house.
FDH and I are fuming. We are only a couple of months from the wedding, and we are reeling to try to make this work. I was so shocked by Cruella that I didn't have a rebuttal for her for any of her budget changes at the time. This is pure retaliation. FDH said after the wedding, he's done and going NC with Cruella, and honestly, I'm going to join him. I will never forgive her for this. She's put me through so much shit growing up, and I thought the wedding that she always promised me growing up would be what she would be most agreeable on. I KNEW better. I've read similar stories on this subreddit. We wanted to elope, but I said no because I wanted the wedding and knew Cruella would turn into a fucking disaster if there was no wedding. I feel so stupid for walking right into this trap, and I can't even back out because we are locked into everything. Now we are trying to figure out how we are going to do this without dipping into our future house fund.
We are definitely going NC with Cruella, if not for the same amount of time that she lead me on with our "budget", then most likely forever. She will never get to be alone with our kids, and at this rate, she will never meet them. Guess it doesn't matter where she moves to now.

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Okay, so.. let's say you rented a car and your friend stole it. You were napping with your newborn baby and this friend was supposed to be watching the 2 older kids while they napped. When you woke up, the friend and the car were gone. You texted her a bunch and begged her to bring the car back. After 7 days of this, you reported the car stolen to the company(company rhymes with nudget.) This happened the second week of February and now it's the last day of May. Today you received a letter in the mail stating that there were $12,000 worth of damage to the car, and the company took $5,000 out of your bank account (that is now $-5,000.)
Can you sue this friend for this entire incident plus emotional damage? How would one go about doing that? And how much would this person be able to sue for? Would you win the case?
I'm desperate. I don't have $12,000. I have exactly 50¢ to my name right now.

So I have a pretty permanent gig cleaning a Vacation rental. I'm having a hard time with transporting my supplies and carrying them around the house. The house is huge and has 3 flights of stairs. I have a tool caddy that works okay for now, but gets heavy fast. I also need an easy way to bring my supplies from my car to the house which has a large flight of stairs to the porch. Help!

Hi there people, I have an anxiety disorder therefore I can never plan things too early. I am trying to solidify my travel plans for Wakaan festival. I’m super excited since Liquid Stranger is my favorite artist and I can’t wait to feel the wooktastic vibes of a festival created and curated by him! Unmatched immaculacy!
I’m curious, what does travel look like for people coming from outside of the area? I already have my ticket and camping pass, but I’m coming from California so between flights, cars and equipment, I wanna get the ball rolling ASAP. If you’re coming from outside of the area what does travel look like for you? What should I consider looking into as far as flight and rental cars go? How far out of the way is this venue in relation to civilization and stocking myself up with camping supplies. Any insight would be super helpful!!! Thanks y’all :)

My brother and I are flying in from Canada for a two week trip in December (flying in and out of Auckland). We want to see as much of nature as possible and enjoy driving as well. We have done decent amount of camping but aren't the most experienced campers.
We wanted to ensure if the following ideas make sense:

1. We are planning to take a campervan from Auckland till Christchurch. I am reading online that distances are large and maybe its too much to drive both islands in two weeks. Thoughts?
2. Alternatively, does it make more sense to take a rental car in Auckland, give it up in Wellington (use hotels on the way for overnight stays), take the ferry and take a rental car+hotels combo or a campervan from Picton to Christchurch?
3. We booked a JUCY campervan online - the Crib option. Is that good enough? What else should be bring along to make camping easier?

What else should we keep in mind?

Hi. I'm located in US, NC if that matters. I was in an at fault accident in Oct, 2022 and my insurance sent me to a specific body shop. I got my car back in Jan, after paying my $500 deductible and $1,400 in rental car fees after the 30 days my insurance covered. The head unit (screen for backup camera, radio, etc) was not fixed, along with some alignment and steering issues. They let me drive my car for about a week until they could get an appointment with the Subaru dealership to fix the screen and they said they would fix the other things. Said it would be a couple of days. At this point they picked up the rental car fees. March, I get my car back. The AC isn't working. The AC was working when I dropped it off... Took it to a 3rd party inspector, a multitude of things were wrong. Rusted weld points, no coolant in the car, the radiator hose wasn't attached (WTF?!?). I was put in contact with the regional VP, sent to one of their "good" locations. Assured everything is double and triple checked and my car is ready today. I pick it up, looks good, make it 2 miles and get the indication it is overheating. Pull over and call the guy and he had it towed to the Subaru dealership and they are taking it from there. At this point I want to wash my hands of it and get paid out for the car. Do I have any legal recourse? I will be contacting the inspector for advice as well as my insurance (USAA) to make them aware. Any other actions I can take?

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• Consider flying into a smaller airport. Sometimes, you can find cheaper flights if you are willing to fly into a smaller airport that is located further away from your destination.
• Book your flight in advance. The earlier you book your flight, the more likely you are to get a good deal.
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So this is kind of boundary breaking for me. An SB I chatted with wanted to just come over to my place. She says it's because she lives with her parents and she doesn't want any of her parents friends to see her. We live in a fairly small town (100k) so this is plausible.
I'm not comfortable without meeting in public first, though. Thoughts?
Edit: Texting with her now and her story is changing. She doesn't actually live here, her mom lives here? Now she is going to wait an hour before she goes back to the city and is upset I don't want her to just come to my house. This is all fishy.
Edit 2: She is really arguing with me now, saying I'm being paranoid.
Update 3: She has argued with me for the better part of an hour now. Her last texts:
*I’ve met 4 dates and none of them had a problem meeting at their place. Lol. One even picked me up to bring me to his place for first meet. It’s your call but I’m gonna start driving here in about 15 mins or so. Now or never, Tuesday, May 30 2023, 6:42 PM.
Not trying to pressure you, but I did drive all the way here and would hate to have made it for nothing…, Tuesday, May 30 2023, 6:46 PM.*
My last text:
Unless you want to meet for at least a bit somewhere to do a vibe check I'm going to have to politely decline.
Update 4: She is still arguing with me. I came to a quiet bar downtown, there is literally one other guy in here. She says at best she will park in the lot and I can go to her car. This is crazy.
Now saying she can't come because "this is her parent's neighborhood." WTF it is downtown, there are only vacation rentals here.
Latest texts:
This isn’t my issue it’s yours. Lol I have no problem with you coming to my car. But it’s happened to me once, I can’t play off a second time. Meeting you isn’t worth the shame from my parents.
Again, no one else has had a problem with it. You’re the one that’s making it weird. Lol, Tuesday, May 30 2023, 7:38 PM.

7:39 PM
Message from you, I've never had someone so resistent to a m&g., Tuesday, May 30 2023, 7:39 PM.

It’s my first time going to Lollapalooza. Tbh, I’m going alone and need some suggestions for clothing, items to bring, and most importantly- a car rental needed?
The more info the merrier. I want to be very much prepared as I can be. Thank you! ☺️

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Travelstart is a leading online travel agency that offers a wide range of flights, hotels, and car rentals at competitive prices. They have a team of experts who are always on hand to help you find the best deals on flights, and they offer a variety of features to make booking your travel as easy as possible.

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• They compare prices from a wide range of airlines and travel agents to find the best deals.
• They offer a variety of filters to help you narrow down your search, such as price, departure and arrival times, and airline.
• They allow you to book flights in advance, which can help you get the best prices.
• They offer a variety of payment options, including credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal.
• They offer a 24/7 customer service team that can help you with any questions or problems you may have.

Book Cheap Flights
If you are looking for cheap flights, Travelstart is a great option. They offer a wide range of flights at competitive prices, and they have a team of experts who are always on hand to help you find the best deals.

Tips for finding cheap flights on Travelstart:

• Be flexible with your travel dates. If you can, try to fly on weekdays or during the off-season.
• Consider flying into a smaller airport. Sometimes, you can find cheaper flights if you are willing to fly into a smaller airport that is located further away from your destination.
• Book your flight in advance. The earlier you book your flight, the more likely you are to get a good deal.
• Sign up for Travelstart's email alerts. This will allow you to be notified of any special deals or promotions that are available.
• Use Travelstart's price comparison tool. This tool will allow you to compare prices from a variety of airlines and travel agents to find the best deal.

Book Cheap Flights

I worked everyday, 10-12 hours a day. No life, just Uber and my results are below.
I live outside of Philadelphia and rented a Buick Encore which got about 28 miles a gallon.
Car rental = $316 Gas = $316 Tolls = $50 Miscellaneous = $30
Earnings = $2,230
Results in images
I also made GOLD !

This is a long story guys if you don’t wanna read it’s fine. Okay, so where should I start. On April 4th me and my 2 friends decided to leave London and ditch reality and go Thailand to live a “new life” you could call it. This was our first long holiday outside of Europe and we was planning to go for a month +.
Long story short we went Bangkok first for a couple of days and then got cab from there to Pattaya in which we stayed for 2-3 nights I forgot honestly. Nothing to wild but Russian dancers in Pattaya and sight seeing in Bangkok. It was our most touristy moments of this story and we was doing what we planned and was living day by day.
After, my friend wanted to go to phuket for songkran in which we went to Bangkok and took a flight. We were staying just near the airport a little village (don’t wanna give location) where there was only families and not really anyone there but we didn’t know much about Phuket.
Once we checked in to our hotel we wanted to see what was near where we were staying. The guards told us there was no one here everyone’s near phuket town/pattong. We were far around 1 hour from pattong and we needed transportation and we went to a rental company literally next to our hotel in which they rented me a car but I didn’t have a license well he never actually asked me. I know what your thinking and yes we rented the car gave 16000 baht for the month and 3,000 for deposit. We had the car for about 2 weeks till everything went wrong.
We met someone famous and hung out with him for the night. We were caught up in this fantasy in Patong and we were on xannax and lean and by this point I had fractured my foot from a ditch in the floor and no I didn’t get travel insurance. I’m an idiot but I was never the injury guy I had broken 0 bones and injury’s in general prior to Thailand apart from a finger fracture.
I know I’m an idiot, I’m so dumb I shouldn’t have but we were so drunk I had a girl I had taken home the night before and my friend had a girl called Stacy. We had drove to pattong and must’ve just came out of illusion or empire me and my friends are 22. Forgot to say. I had never done xannax before this trip but my friends did it and I knew if my one friend did it it couldn’t have been that bad. I was so fucked we went to the car I was like let me drive all gassed and pumped up but I was so high I didn’t know it. I drove about 2/3 mins and crashed the car accidentally ( I know what I did please I have had to live with this I know I’m stupid) I blacked out, I don’t even remember crashing. I like woke up as soon as we crashed, I tried to drive and get away Thais we’re trying to stop the car, but my friend Rk was saying he should drive I got away not injuring anyone and I let him drive. We got about 5 mins from the crash and we got caught up with the police. They arrested Rk and thought he did the crash.
We went to the station and Stacy was Thai she was talking to the officers. I said it was me to the officers with Rk next to me I admitted what I did and he was saying go away. Not wanting to hear what I was saying I’m lying. They took Rk for drunk driving because he was over the limit.
I took out the car in my name which they didn’t know yet. They said they were detaining Rk till we got his passport and 30,000 Baht for the guy we crashed into he dropped it down from 40 he was a local and friends with the policeman to my understanding.
We had to be quick because they had Rk in the cells they let me see him before we left. I felt so bad for him I wanted to be quick. I only had 200 baht in my pocket and some money on card and my passport for deposit .I went to the nearest moped place (not knowing where I was in Patong.) My other friend drove mopeds at home and was a good driver so I let him drive me on the back. I should’ve drove how stupid that sounds. He crashed the ped and I fell off the back witch serious injury’s. Part one over it’s to laggy to continue.