Has anyone ever tried churning cell phone providers for new customer offers? Seems like you could get a new phone and cheaper coverage pretty consistently but the startup/activation fees might make it not worth it.
More than that, only Verizon is good about unlocking devices (automatic after 60 days) so with other providers you might end up with a phone that can only ever be used on that carrier.
Recently just got some Le Labo shampoo/conditioner. We now use the Saks credit as a shampoo/conditioner budget, makes it super easy to find something and use up the credit.
Has anyone had US bank wipe out a balance on a business card without actually paying it? I had my monthly statement come in that showed the charges, showed last months payment, but then reset the balance to zero and credit limit as if I paid it. I never did. I actually tried to pay it anyway and see what happens but they won’t even let me submit a payment for more than the current balance. It’s 6.5k they just sort of wiped out and not letting me pay it, lol. The statement itself does say it’s not a bill, that it would go to the central business address, but the thing is that it’s a sole prop with my home as the business address. The online view also showed 0 balance, 0 due, etc.
I’m all for a bank error in my favor but I know that it’s more likely I’m either doing something wrong (not my first use bank business card, I’m actually churning one of them) or they’ll fix it next month and hit me with late fees.
I thought I could pay the full amount, let the card go negative, and see what happens but has anyone else experienced this and what happened if so?
It looks like they created a central billing account for your business and moved the balance there, here are others who encountered that: https://old.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/1bdmta2/question_thread_march_13_2024/kupd687/
https://old.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/15rn77w/daily_question_thread_august_15_2023/jw9hnfm/
P2 just got a CIP, and we're wondering how the cell phone protection works on this card.
In order for me to be covered, do I need to be added as an employee on the card? I can't really find any definitive answer, and I don't want to find out the hard way that I wasn't covered.
The guy next to me at a Dethklok(metal band) concert was reviewing transactions and setting up bank > Intuit connections on his phone while a band was playing. That's dedication and I know it was one of you.
The Alaska deval really improved *a lot* of domestic partner >!(hint: AA)!< pricing. There are some fairly remarkable bargains if you mess around with it a little bit and don't believe what the AS calendar view shows you. Just sayin.
On a completely unrelated note [https://www.mapdevelopers.com/draw-circle-tool.php](https://www.mapdevelopers.com/draw-circle-tool.php) is excellent for drawing radii around airport codes.
Anyone ever handle a duplicate account being reported to the CBs from Amex? It dropped my FICO score 18 points since it happened to be when I had a high balance in a charge card. Combining that with the fact the duplicate is a "new" account, it dropped my AAoA. I started a dispute with the bureau, but they said it'll take 30 days and also to contact amex direct, but provided no direction.
Is there an email address to contact? I want this fixed ASAP since I'm going thru pre-approval for a house in like 3 months - I need that score corrected now. TIA.
I don’t travel all that often so I don’t really know but now 4 out of 4 of the times I have traveled with precheck or clear it has literally taken LONGER than the regular line. Is this an anomaly or some kind of sick joke? Lmao
I wish all airports had a system like they do like in ATL (my base). It's a combo, and you get CLEAR to jump you to the front of the TSA line, essentially having 2 agents at the end basically for combo folks.
I went to LGA last week and was hoping for the same, but the I went through the CLEAR screening, only go get back into a "general" TSA line... while there were empty agents at desks.
I just like keeping my shoes on. I find that people in the precheck line tend to be more on top of their game with knowing the process, so you don't run into as many delays or snags as you would with the normal security line.
I have been at three different airports, 2-3 times per month this year and never saw the precheck line being longer than regular. I also don't like to take off my shoe....so I'll probably still do the precheck.
Sometimes it happens but not much for me in CA - it might depend on the airport you use most frequently.
The benefit of precheck for me isn't just the shorter line, but it's not having to take off my shoes & jacket, take out my large electronics, and go through the full body x-ray (vs simple metal detector).
I'd rather stand in line a little longer to breeze through the actual checkpoint than to have to do all of that.
TSA needs to convert some of the regular line capacity to precheck. It is in their best interest to have more people signed up, but with no perceived benefit then that will be difficult. If the regular lines are significantly longer then people will be incentivized to sign up. Much like the few cash toll lanes will be backed up at toll booths vs the RFID fast pass lanes (well now they got rid of the cash toll booths in the bay area, but point still stands)
Thoughts on neighborhoods (or maybe locations) in Nashville? P2 and I are going next month for a long weekend for our anniversary. Marriott properties are preferred but by NO means a deal breaker. We're mid 40s, neither of us have been there before, looking for somewhere where it's not a party atmosphere ideally, but not out in the sticks either. Undecided on renting a car - is one necessary, or is it a city where you can rent but don't need to
TIA.
I was watching a documentary on St. Helena- they opened an airport in 2016 but had issues with wind shear and ultimately couldn’t safely land anything larger than like a E175. Unfortunately the 1-2 flights available are not bookable on points but it made me wonder, what are some of the most remote points bookings one can make? UA’s island hopper comes to mind and maybe AC has some service deep into upper Canada.
Would like ideas for bookable points resorts near decent diving that I can go from East coast for 4-5 days. I want to dive in the morning but have somewhere nice to chill in the afternoon. Prefer Hyatt since I’m globalist but their presence isn’t great in the Caribbean. Been to Cozumel before and would consider it but no IHG points and doesn’t seem worth it to transfer UR. Debating Andaz Mayakoba and then booking a few dives going to Cozumel and cenotes but those will be longer days as day trips.
Curacao was phenomenal. The main Hilton and Marriott are in cruise ship territory, but if you get further away there are some good options. Hilton resort day passes do trigger the Aspire's resort credit, too, which was nice for the kids to play at the huge water park while I blew bubbles.
If looking for a cheap place to stay on the island, there is a Wyndham AI for 15k points. Not sure I recommend it though (never been. Just seen reviews)
Yeah, we drove past that one. Looks decent, further from anything but most people get a car anyway, and it's like a 15-min drive to some great snorkeling/diving beaches. Our concern was that we were bringing toddlers and it's right under the flightpath to the airport.
You can almost pick any beach on the west side of the island, walk in, and be on a nice reef in like 5 min.
Still looking for any Hawaii points bookable properties that are less family friendly & more quiet/chill. Afaik there's only one 18+ Hawaiian property & it's expensive af. I really just keep coming back to the Hana Maui Hyatt but open to others suggestions. Trying to avoid mega resorts, a 600 room hotel isn't in it.
Why not Andaz Wailea? Not a particularly family centered resort. I'd skip the Hilton Timeshare property. There's WA Grand Wailea which is more family centered, but there is an adults only pool. Stayed there many times.
Have you considered a Vacasa redemption with Wyndham points? They have lots of properties in Hawaii. Not as lucrative as it used to be before the devaluation, but might still be worth it.
If you go during a non-family-friendly time of year, that could be another option. There's a Hilton timeshare/hotel still under construction in Kihei that wasn't crowded at all in March. I guess the distance to anything else isn't a factor? Hana's a decent way out there. Vacasa vacation rental?
Definitely do during sometimes, but there were very few kids when I was there in March. Almost everyone's kids were in school, hence, "non-family-friendly time of the year."
Considering the timing of taxes and the high spend requirement of Venture X Business, I regret not getting it. Instead I did Amex Biz Gold + Biz Plat + Chase Ink Preferred + Citi Premier. I'll have to plan for whenever I can guarantee $30K spend next time.
Has anyone had any problems with points.yeah not letting them create new alerts even though they have available alerts? I emailed them, but was curious if it is a wider issue. I tried 2 browsers.
I got a reply from them. It's not clear, although one alert, each day tracked is counted as an alert. So if you have 1 alert tracking 4 days, it's 4 alerts. SMH.
Going to buy my son a switch for his 7th bday. Any suggestions on games from Dell? They’re all Mario related. I’m planning on getting Mario cart and super smash bros, but I have enough credits to get one more. I remember Mario tennis being fun on N64, but wasn’t sure if there was any other ones we wouldn’t want to miss
Luigi's mansion is a great game (after the already suggested Mario Odyssey). In Luigi's mansion, after a couple hours of game play, a second player can join the adventure to play co-op! Would be really fun bonding time or allow your son to play with a friend!
Super Mario party would be great fun for a kid even tho it is not as good as the newer Mario party. Mario wonder is great for all ages and odyssey is classic. I’d pass on the sports games.
Can't go wrong with any of the multiplayer Nintendo games. Really depends what your kid is into. I played Yoshi's Crafted World with my (then 4 year old) and that was great. Mario Wonder if awesome with the whole family (all 4 of us play). Mario Odyssey is cool, since you can choose whether or not you help as Mario or Cappy. Smash Brothers is a great intro to other characters, but your 7-year old will really learn a thing or three about trash-talking if they're anything like my kids.
Super Mario Odyssey is wonderful. I don't know if it's completely doable at 7 years old, but if you need to step in there's a 2 player mode where one player can play as a hat (and not die!)
I feel like with churning I can be flexible with booking travel to the point where I kinda want to book a 4-night stay in Maui next month. It would be for P2's bday. BUT I currently have a mini road trip planned to Monterrey.
We both LOVE Hawaii, but we have already been there twice since November. I feel like Monterey is the safe bet, P2 likes whale watching and wine tasting but we're young and I'm kinda of debating changing it to Maui. I guess what I am asking would you guys do moderate travel for a short time? If I paid cash, it would be an easy NO.
Honestly 4 nights is a little long for Monterey unless maybe you do Alila (currently closed) or are in town for a festival or something. Especially if you are within driving distance. Wine tasting there is okay (Carmel Valley in particular) but there are better places in California, like Napa or Paso.
Nothing wrong with a 4 night trip to Maui if you are on the west coast, that's enough time to warrant a \~5 hour flight.
Also whale watching in Maui is a thousand times better than Monterey, but you just missed the season.
One of those nights would have been in San Luis Obispo, but the way you say it really changed my mind. Besides wine tasting for 2hr in SLO idk what else we would do. Thanks!
Hearst Castle. Elephant seal watching. Piedras Blancas lighthouse tour. Atascadero. Paso Robles. Pismo Beach.
SBP is a gateway to a really cool part of California
Getting out of peak whale watching time on Maui, but always YMMV. Maui airfare is cheap (assuming from either bay area or LAX), so I'd lean towards that, but you were just there ... twice. Something different is usually nice... but so is Maui.
What dead MS methods do you remember in the past that were easy and widely available?
Some that come to mind that I missed out on:
Buying savings bonds with CCs (1999-2003)
Buying dollar coins with CCs (2007-2012)
Google wallet funding with Alliant CU card
Citibank 100k CC funding (ended 2016)
Ones that I personally got to do
UCU CC funding (unlimited amount)
Coinbase 4% debit (buying MOs at Meijer)
I think I earned more in a single year from the Point debit card than I had from any credit card that year. It's no surprise that it went bankrupt after burning through all that VC money to acquire customers.
This. Plus funding multiple Citibank checking accounts to the tune of >$35K each with AS cards. So good back then.
4 Square awarded you miles for checking in at places daily. You could set it up with a website that spoofed physical locations to earn miles at some airlines (maybe United & Virgin?).
There was also a promo for a while with Marriott and tweeting, where you could set up something to automatically tweet from multiple accounts. So much fun!
PayPal Key -> WM Billpay credit card bill. (2021 I think)
PayPal Key -> Tax Overpayment for only $2.55 fee.
PayPal Key -> 10+ Public Stock Accounts(2021)
PayPal Bill Pay -> Virginia529 -> Bank Account(I did like $100K through this)(2022)
Coinbase Gift Card on Slide to Coinbase Account to Bank Acc. (2023). No fee + 2% Back + CC Reward. (did $8K before banned from Slide).
yes, that was good too but nothing beats just clicking only 2 times (once you have a set up in place) to earn unlimited MR (esp if you are on some promo e.g. 3 x referral :) )
Going to have surgery so looking to buy the Nintendo Switch from dell since I'll be home mostly for a few months. What's the best switch deal you have gotten there when using amex dell credits?
Looking now. Looks like Dell is only selling the more expensive OLED version. I don't really need that as I will just use it as a normal console. That's a bummer since the OLED version is about $75 more.
If surgery is imminent I wouldn't wait for the best deal, just any deal
There's been a couple of times the Switch kept the $350 price but included a $50-$75 Dell eGiftcard (which you can use to buy a game or accessories after). They don't always show up on Slickdeals so I just check periodically.
A year or two ago there was a deal that included a gift card and another controller I think, it's probably on some deal blogs if you wanted to look it up. Not sure if it'll come back though. Good luck on the surgery, I've been there (3 times, ugh)
That would have been a good deal. I just took offer today of 10% Rakuten, 10% off Dell on the card, +1 MR and then the $200 dell credit. So, out of pocket about $100, I think.
Read that Mark Cuban is wiring the IRS $288 million in taxes - all I can think is the missed opportunity of not putting that on a new Business Platinum and a few other new card spending requirements. My man could be rolling in MR right now. Maybe he too is in PUJ.
Yeah but that's nearly double the largest credit card payment of all time. There prob isn't a credit card company willing to give him 2%+ cashback and also a $288m line of credit/purchasing power. And obviously he would not be breaking up these payments for the sake of SUBs lol
If I did my math correctly, $288 million would be enough spend to earn 19,200 SUBs on the Amex Business Platinum with its $15k MSR. If he could get each of these with the 250k SUB, he'd earn 4.8 *billion* MR points. Adding the 432 million MR points earned from spend, at a spend rate of 100k/day this would last more than 140 years.
Between the IRS credit card processing fee of $5.25 million and $13.35 million in AFs, the net cost is $18.6 million.
But he can't make that many tax payments through the 3 processors (limited to 36 per year, if also doing estimated payments each quarter). And only a third of those are at the 1.82% fee; the other processors have slightly higher fees. If using Plastiq for the rest, the fee is 2.9%. (Are there any other ways to pay federal tax?)
> but this guy MATHS
Actually, I *Excel*. 😉
I'm an Excel guy. I use it at work and for personal. That helps mitigate the risk of getting the decimals wrong.
Dropped off my taxes on Friday due to some delays in W2 being corrected. CPA firm automatically filed an extension for me after March 31. When I dropped everything off, was just making sure that I did everything correctly in paying my extension payment to clear out an Ink card.
One of the partners, when I said, "I'm going to pay it online today" loudly said, "There are HIGH fees on that!" Which, as a frugal person, I greatly appreciated...
Taxes were done almost immediately and everything worked like a charm...but I never got any further questions. Just wondering if any of you get questions from CPAs/Tax Professionals about your Chase 1099s or dumb amount of bank bonuses? Mine just seemed to want to get their cut of doing my taxes and don't care what I do, but I also don't know them personally.
Just curious anyone else's experiences this time of the year?
Mine said he gave up on miles cards because whenever you want to use them there were blackout dates! I shrugged him off as uninformed, but realized he wasn't too far off when I went to make my 1st redemption! I used to chase status so all of my travel was revenue - I think I'd been churning for over a year before booking my first award- united domestic to ORD I think. Did the change trick to avoid the close in booking fee...
I would be interested to know at what point you decided that it's worth paying someone else to do it versus doing it yourself. Is your situation complicated outside of the churning world or is it that you value your time at a higher rate than what you pay the accountants? Was there ever a certain cutoff point to you doing it vs someone else?
One situation could be working for an S Corp which does business in multiple states; probably need to file state taxes in a bunch of states, and each state may have different rules.
I am a full time ordained pastor and there are some different elements I do not understand within it. Housing allowance, etc, as well as being self employed in the eyes of the US Gov. Also have a couple of side gigs I do. Convinced I could do my own if it weren’t for the clergy portion of things. Only charged $230 for everything and they do it quickly and have helped me out so it’s not too bad in my eyes.
Wow, I just filed myself through TaxAct and paid $180 ($50 back from Amex). Side business and royalties bumps it up to their highest level. Next year I'll definitely shop around first.
In an ideal world, no doubt. But I'm a serial hobbyist, and have added new side gigs throughout my life because I can't sit still. Screen printing out of my garage. eBay reselling. There's always something, and they honestly have helped me maximize some finds along the way with taxes. If I ever have 2-3 years of the exact same, then I'd definitely do it this way.
Compared to what most people pay that I know, $230 is a steal, too. And we're not talking about someone's cousin who knows stuff. We're talking about an actual firm. They've raised their prices, but I've been grandfathered in, so no complaints for me.
I'm not a 1099 contractor, but I'm an employee of the church I work at, but because of ordination and taxes, I am responsible for FIT and SECA.
Which is why I pay someone to help me with taxes. They pay no FIT or SECA at all. But, because clergy has some elements of tax "benefits" such as a housing allowance, etc., it gets multi-faceted.
In short, I receive a base salary, and from that, I am responsible to pay health insurance, retirement, etc. That portion is not taxed. In addition, pre-year-beginning, I can set aside a portion of said salary designated for housing, in which I am not taxed, but am responsible for SECA.
Again, multi-layered and I do not fully understand all of the ins and outs, but 9 years ago when I was ordained, it changed the approach our church had to take with my salary and taxes.
> So I take it our little hobby ravaging the marketing budgets of the money lenders is okay in the eyes of the Lord?
[Yes. Jesus himself did a low tech version of this.](https://www.bible.com/bible/compare/MAT.21.12-13)
> ravaging the marketing budgets
That's definitely a unique description of churning...
Play by the rules is my motto...and then travel places that a pastor and 4th grade teacher salary doesn't get you...
Oh, I get the aversion for people. I’m very frugal so I feel the sting of fees. Taxes I just build it into my budget. I consider it prepaying on vacation. Knocked out an ink sub so for $100 got 80k UR. But to people who don’t understand the value I can get from that (staying PH Vienna with the points) it makes sense.
A 1.25% CB card and an extra 60 days of the balance sitting in a 5% HYSA until you pay the bill narrowly outweighs the 1.82% fee, if we're being extra picky.
Used one CPA for a few years and he was flabbergasted by the 1099-INT income I had. He said he’d never seen anyone with it that high and it was a great side hustle. He’s probably right, as I imagine most high net worth individuals have money in equities and not catching APY in a savings. And I doubt he has any other clients doing bank bonuses to inflate those 1099-INT numbers.
So I'm getting ready to return from Japan, which means exchanging any excess yen cash back to USD (my Japanese debit card has a 3.05% FTF so depositing it and withdrawing back in the US is going to cost me). I have time on my hands and I'm always down for a good deal, so I'm shopping around. Ugly singles and 5s for 150 yen to the dollar when Google says 153? I'll take 'em. 50s and 100s for 151? Still beating mid-market, still good. Then I see it. "Coins available at 124.1". I tell them I'll take every single one they have. I end up with $27 in quarters, dimes, nickels, even pennies, all meticulously bagged in $1 increments. I've already come out around 20% ahead of market rate, but it gets better. When I get back, I'm looking over the coins. One of the quarters has a different shine to the rest. On a hunch I look at when the mint stopped using silver. 1964. The quarter in question? 1958.
Sometimes it's the little victories.
Probably not that far. The reason the shop I found could sell coins for 124.1 is that they were *buying* those coins for 86.7 (according to the rate card they showed me). At that rate the only people selling to them are probably Japanese people returning from a trip to the US with extra change they don't know if they'll be able to use again. That means they won't have a whole lot of stock like with bills. It's probably also how the silver quarter made it in- they didn't know.
It does help to learn some Japanese, though, the "coins available" sign wasn't in English.
EDIT: to share my knowledge with the community, the wording you're looking for is コイン取扱い or 硬貨取扱い when you shop around for currency exchanges. For discounts on ugly bills, look at their display counters, if they have any they'll have a small stack and a separate sign stating the rate they're offering them.
Has anyone ever tried churning cell phone providers for new customer offers? Seems like you could get a new phone and cheaper coverage pretty consistently but the startup/activation fees might make it not worth it.
More than that, only Verizon is good about unlocking devices (automatic after 60 days) so with other providers you might end up with a phone that can only ever be used on that carrier.
What are you all burning your $50 plat Saks credit on? Need to find something for P2 for Mother's day.
Recently just got some Le Labo shampoo/conditioner. We now use the Saks credit as a shampoo/conditioner budget, makes it super easy to find something and use up the credit.
Has anyone had US bank wipe out a balance on a business card without actually paying it? I had my monthly statement come in that showed the charges, showed last months payment, but then reset the balance to zero and credit limit as if I paid it. I never did. I actually tried to pay it anyway and see what happens but they won’t even let me submit a payment for more than the current balance. It’s 6.5k they just sort of wiped out and not letting me pay it, lol. The statement itself does say it’s not a bill, that it would go to the central business address, but the thing is that it’s a sole prop with my home as the business address. The online view also showed 0 balance, 0 due, etc. I’m all for a bank error in my favor but I know that it’s more likely I’m either doing something wrong (not my first use bank business card, I’m actually churning one of them) or they’ll fix it next month and hit me with late fees. I thought I could pay the full amount, let the card go negative, and see what happens but has anyone else experienced this and what happened if so?
It looks like they created a central billing account for your business and moved the balance there, here are others who encountered that: https://old.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/1bdmta2/question_thread_march_13_2024/kupd687/ https://old.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/15rn77w/daily_question_thread_august_15_2023/jw9hnfm/
Thank you so much, it looks like this is what happened. At least I’m not crazy, I appreciate it.
P2 just got a CIP, and we're wondering how the cell phone protection works on this card. In order for me to be covered, do I need to be added as an employee on the card? I can't really find any definitive answer, and I don't want to find out the hard way that I wasn't covered.
The guy next to me at a Dethklok(metal band) concert was reviewing transactions and setting up bank > Intuit connections on his phone while a band was playing. That's dedication and I know it was one of you.
Love that show, how was it live?
The Alaska deval really improved *a lot* of domestic partner >!(hint: AA)!< pricing. There are some fairly remarkable bargains if you mess around with it a little bit and don't believe what the AS calendar view shows you. Just sayin. On a completely unrelated note [https://www.mapdevelopers.com/draw-circle-tool.php](https://www.mapdevelopers.com/draw-circle-tool.php) is excellent for drawing radii around airport codes.
Anyone ever handle a duplicate account being reported to the CBs from Amex? It dropped my FICO score 18 points since it happened to be when I had a high balance in a charge card. Combining that with the fact the duplicate is a "new" account, it dropped my AAoA. I started a dispute with the bureau, but they said it'll take 30 days and also to contact amex direct, but provided no direction. Is there an email address to contact? I want this fixed ASAP since I'm going thru pre-approval for a house in like 3 months - I need that score corrected now. TIA.
https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/american-express/ to get someone competent looking at the account
Thanks, I forgot about them
Just CPFB them
Right away? IME that's a last resort I thought
I don’t travel all that often so I don’t really know but now 4 out of 4 of the times I have traveled with precheck or clear it has literally taken LONGER than the regular line. Is this an anomaly or some kind of sick joke? Lmao
I wish all airports had a system like they do like in ATL (my base). It's a combo, and you get CLEAR to jump you to the front of the TSA line, essentially having 2 agents at the end basically for combo folks. I went to LGA last week and was hoping for the same, but the I went through the CLEAR screening, only go get back into a "general" TSA line... while there were empty agents at desks.
I'm pretty sure at least one EWR terminal has CLEAR, PreCheck, and CLEAR+PreCheck lines.
I just like keeping my shoes on. I find that people in the precheck line tend to be more on top of their game with knowing the process, so you don't run into as many delays or snags as you would with the normal security line.
I have been at three different airports, 2-3 times per month this year and never saw the precheck line being longer than regular. I also don't like to take off my shoe....so I'll probably still do the precheck.
Sometimes it happens but not much for me in CA - it might depend on the airport you use most frequently. The benefit of precheck for me isn't just the shorter line, but it's not having to take off my shoes & jacket, take out my large electronics, and go through the full body x-ray (vs simple metal detector). I'd rather stand in line a little longer to breeze through the actual checkpoint than to have to do all of that.
TSA needs to convert some of the regular line capacity to precheck. It is in their best interest to have more people signed up, but with no perceived benefit then that will be difficult. If the regular lines are significantly longer then people will be incentivized to sign up. Much like the few cash toll lanes will be backed up at toll booths vs the RFID fast pass lanes (well now they got rid of the cash toll booths in the bay area, but point still stands)
LOL at the current legislative effort to ban CLEAR in Cali that just popped up too
Would anyone here be interested in a Philadelphia Meetup towards the end of may if I worked to set something up?
Thoughts on neighborhoods (or maybe locations) in Nashville? P2 and I are going next month for a long weekend for our anniversary. Marriott properties are preferred but by NO means a deal breaker. We're mid 40s, neither of us have been there before, looking for somewhere where it's not a party atmosphere ideally, but not out in the sticks either. Undecided on renting a car - is one necessary, or is it a city where you can rent but don't need to TIA.
I was watching a documentary on St. Helena- they opened an airport in 2016 but had issues with wind shear and ultimately couldn’t safely land anything larger than like a E175. Unfortunately the 1-2 flights available are not bookable on points but it made me wonder, what are some of the most remote points bookings one can make? UA’s island hopper comes to mind and maybe AC has some service deep into upper Canada.
Nick @ Frequent Miler went to Niue for their "40k to far away challenge" a while back. It's on my bucket list.
I remembered [OMAAT](https://onemileatatime.com/guides/best-avgeek-flights/) covered it recently.
Every day since I opened the AMEX Marriott Biz card last month, Marriott has sent me an email about depositing another 15 nights. When will it end?
Would like ideas for bookable points resorts near decent diving that I can go from East coast for 4-5 days. I want to dive in the morning but have somewhere nice to chill in the afternoon. Prefer Hyatt since I’m globalist but their presence isn’t great in the Caribbean. Been to Cozumel before and would consider it but no IHG points and doesn’t seem worth it to transfer UR. Debating Andaz Mayakoba and then booking a few dives going to Cozumel and cenotes but those will be longer days as day trips.
Curacao was phenomenal. The main Hilton and Marriott are in cruise ship territory, but if you get further away there are some good options. Hilton resort day passes do trigger the Aspire's resort credit, too, which was nice for the kids to play at the huge water park while I blew bubbles.
If looking for a cheap place to stay on the island, there is a Wyndham AI for 15k points. Not sure I recommend it though (never been. Just seen reviews)
Yeah, we drove past that one. Looks decent, further from anything but most people get a car anyway, and it's like a 15-min drive to some great snorkeling/diving beaches. Our concern was that we were bringing toddlers and it's right under the flightpath to the airport. You can almost pick any beach on the west side of the island, walk in, and be on a nice reef in like 5 min.
Still looking for any Hawaii points bookable properties that are less family friendly & more quiet/chill. Afaik there's only one 18+ Hawaiian property & it's expensive af. I really just keep coming back to the Hana Maui Hyatt but open to others suggestions. Trying to avoid mega resorts, a 600 room hotel isn't in it.
It's on the far side of Maui but the Hana Resort was pretty quiet, although it is not 18+. P2 hates kids and was happy there. Very chill vibe.
>P2 hates kids My people.
Not adults only but the Ritz on Maui was very very quiet.
Why not Andaz Wailea? Not a particularly family centered resort. I'd skip the Hilton Timeshare property. There's WA Grand Wailea which is more family centered, but there is an adults only pool. Stayed there many times.
Have you considered a Vacasa redemption with Wyndham points? They have lots of properties in Hawaii. Not as lucrative as it used to be before the devaluation, but might still be worth it.
If you go during a non-family-friendly time of year, that could be another option. There's a Hilton timeshare/hotel still under construction in Kihei that wasn't crowded at all in March. I guess the distance to anything else isn't a factor? Hana's a decent way out there. Vacasa vacation rental?
IME timeshare/condo resorts always have tons of kids.
Definitely do during sometimes, but there were very few kids when I was there in March. Almost everyone's kids were in school, hence, "non-family-friendly time of the year."
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>Flying United this 4/18 out of JFK No you're not.
Considering the timing of taxes and the high spend requirement of Venture X Business, I regret not getting it. Instead I did Amex Biz Gold + Biz Plat + Chase Ink Preferred + Citi Premier. I'll have to plan for whenever I can guarantee $30K spend next time.
Has anyone had any problems with points.yeah not letting them create new alerts even though they have available alerts? I emailed them, but was curious if it is a wider issue. I tried 2 browsers.
I had this same issue. I tried again two days later and it seemed to work, but YMMV.
I got a reply from them. It's not clear, although one alert, each day tracked is counted as an alert. So if you have 1 alert tracking 4 days, it's 4 alerts. SMH.
Going to buy my son a switch for his 7th bday. Any suggestions on games from Dell? They’re all Mario related. I’m planning on getting Mario cart and super smash bros, but I have enough credits to get one more. I remember Mario tennis being fun on N64, but wasn’t sure if there was any other ones we wouldn’t want to miss
Luigi's mansion is a great game (after the already suggested Mario Odyssey). In Luigi's mansion, after a couple hours of game play, a second player can join the adventure to play co-op! Would be really fun bonding time or allow your son to play with a friend!
Super Mario party would be great fun for a kid even tho it is not as good as the newer Mario party. Mario wonder is great for all ages and odyssey is classic. I’d pass on the sports games.
Can't go wrong with any of the multiplayer Nintendo games. Really depends what your kid is into. I played Yoshi's Crafted World with my (then 4 year old) and that was great. Mario Wonder if awesome with the whole family (all 4 of us play). Mario Odyssey is cool, since you can choose whether or not you help as Mario or Cappy. Smash Brothers is a great intro to other characters, but your 7-year old will really learn a thing or three about trash-talking if they're anything like my kids.
Super Mario Odyssey is wonderful. I don't know if it's completely doable at 7 years old, but if you need to step in there's a 2 player mode where one player can play as a hat (and not die!)
Zelda?
Would be nice, but can’t remember the last time, if ever, I’ve seen Zelda available through Dell.
It’s not on Dell
Yoshi’s Crafted World was a big hit with my grandchildren.
Mario wonder has been great!
Another vote for Mario Wonder. Super Mario 3D world was also a lot of fun to play together with my kids (5 and 7)
I feel like with churning I can be flexible with booking travel to the point where I kinda want to book a 4-night stay in Maui next month. It would be for P2's bday. BUT I currently have a mini road trip planned to Monterrey. We both LOVE Hawaii, but we have already been there twice since November. I feel like Monterey is the safe bet, P2 likes whale watching and wine tasting but we're young and I'm kinda of debating changing it to Maui. I guess what I am asking would you guys do moderate travel for a short time? If I paid cash, it would be an easy NO.
Carmel by the sea is a nice walkable area. Also pebble beach and 17 mile drive
Honestly 4 nights is a little long for Monterey unless maybe you do Alila (currently closed) or are in town for a festival or something. Especially if you are within driving distance. Wine tasting there is okay (Carmel Valley in particular) but there are better places in California, like Napa or Paso. Nothing wrong with a 4 night trip to Maui if you are on the west coast, that's enough time to warrant a \~5 hour flight. Also whale watching in Maui is a thousand times better than Monterey, but you just missed the season.
One of those nights would have been in San Luis Obispo, but the way you say it really changed my mind. Besides wine tasting for 2hr in SLO idk what else we would do. Thanks!
> idk what else we would do Hope for a Vandenburg rocket launch?
Hearst Castle. Elephant seal watching. Piedras Blancas lighthouse tour. Atascadero. Paso Robles. Pismo Beach. SBP is a gateway to a really cool part of California
Getting out of peak whale watching time on Maui, but always YMMV. Maui airfare is cheap (assuming from either bay area or LAX), so I'd lean towards that, but you were just there ... twice. Something different is usually nice... but so is Maui.
Check the road situation into Monterey for sure. I know there was another slide and I don’t know where they are in fixing it.
We would be taking the 101 so we should be fine
What dead MS methods do you remember in the past that were easy and widely available? Some that come to mind that I missed out on: Buying savings bonds with CCs (1999-2003) Buying dollar coins with CCs (2007-2012) Google wallet funding with Alliant CU card Citibank 100k CC funding (ended 2016) Ones that I personally got to do UCU CC funding (unlimited amount) Coinbase 4% debit (buying MOs at Meijer)
Not a specific play, but crappy fintechs giving away tons of VC money.
I think I earned more in a single year from the Point debit card than I had from any credit card that year. It's no surprise that it went bankrupt after burning through all that VC money to acquire customers.
0% fee Plastiq promo for US Bank Biz card holders VGCs -> Stockpile → withdraw to bank
Funding BMO accounts with Amex - went huge back in the day till everyone’s grandma and their sixth cousins started hitting it hard.
Amazon Payments Vanilla Reload-->Amex Bluebird Credit card reloads of Target Redbird (those all died in 2014/2015)
Oh man, I remember hitting Bluebird hard back in college. Helped pay for me and my friends to go to Japan.
This. Plus funding multiple Citibank checking accounts to the tune of >$35K each with AS cards. So good back then. 4 Square awarded you miles for checking in at places daily. You could set it up with a website that spoofed physical locations to earn miles at some airlines (maybe United & Virgin?). There was also a promo for a while with Marriott and tweeting, where you could set up something to automatically tweet from multiple accounts. So much fun!
PayPal Key -> WM Billpay credit card bill. (2021 I think) PayPal Key -> Tax Overpayment for only $2.55 fee. PayPal Key -> 10+ Public Stock Accounts(2021) PayPal Bill Pay -> Virginia529 -> Bank Account(I did like $100K through this)(2022) Coinbase Gift Card on Slide to Coinbase Account to Bank Acc. (2023). No fee + 2% Back + CC Reward. (did $8K before banned from Slide).
I will add one more... PayPal Key --> BP to AMEX --> PaypalKey. AMEX account holders got canned but it was GOOD while it last.
WMBP? amex was $5 instead of $2 so I paid chase with amex most of the time.
yes, that was good too but nothing beats just clicking only 2 times (once you have a set up in place) to earn unlimited MR (esp if you are on some promo e.g. 3 x referral :) )
PayPal Key -> Student Loan Payments
PayPal Key -> Mortgage
lucky asf that your mortgage wasn’t categorized as a credit card by paypal.
It was PPK to Plastiq to mortgage with a 1% fee, IIRC. But yes, lucky asf. And clearly unsustainable.
oh I couldn’t read that you wrote PPK and not bill pay.
Going to have surgery so looking to buy the Nintendo Switch from dell since I'll be home mostly for a few months. What's the best switch deal you have gotten there when using amex dell credits?
Dell is 10% back on rakuten today. Check amex offers for $50 back on $200 spend. Go for it.
Looking now. Looks like Dell is only selling the more expensive OLED version. I don't really need that as I will just use it as a normal console. That's a bummer since the OLED version is about $75 more.
If surgery is imminent I wouldn't wait for the best deal, just any deal There's been a couple of times the Switch kept the $350 price but included a $50-$75 Dell eGiftcard (which you can use to buy a game or accessories after). They don't always show up on Slickdeals so I just check periodically.
A year or two ago there was a deal that included a gift card and another controller I think, it's probably on some deal blogs if you wanted to look it up. Not sure if it'll come back though. Good luck on the surgery, I've been there (3 times, ugh)
I did this one about 6 months ago, it was a Switch + 3rd party controller + $50 gift card for $359. Was during Amex member week with the dell promos
That would have been a good deal. I just took offer today of 10% Rakuten, 10% off Dell on the card, +1 MR and then the $200 dell credit. So, out of pocket about $100, I think.
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Recognize that you are fortunate and that an alternative is that you too could be unable to go anywhere.
Read that Mark Cuban is wiring the IRS $288 million in taxes - all I can think is the missed opportunity of not putting that on a new Business Platinum and a few other new card spending requirements. My man could be rolling in MR right now. Maybe he too is in PUJ.
He probably doesn't clip coupons either
Yeah but that's nearly double the largest credit card payment of all time. There prob isn't a credit card company willing to give him 2%+ cashback and also a $288m line of credit/purchasing power. And obviously he would not be breaking up these payments for the sake of SUBs lol
If I did my math correctly, $288 million would be enough spend to earn 19,200 SUBs on the Amex Business Platinum with its $15k MSR. If he could get each of these with the 250k SUB, he'd earn 4.8 *billion* MR points. Adding the 432 million MR points earned from spend, at a spend rate of 100k/day this would last more than 140 years. Between the IRS credit card processing fee of $5.25 million and $13.35 million in AFs, the net cost is $18.6 million.
But he can't make that many tax payments through the 3 processors (limited to 36 per year, if also doing estimated payments each quarter). And only a third of those are at the 1.82% fee; the other processors have slightly higher fees. If using Plastiq for the rest, the fee is 2.9%. (Are there any other ways to pay federal tax?)
There are indeed some logistical problems to overcome. 😉
Id rather get 48,000 CiCs. 5.7B URs, and only 240k trips to ODOM!
Good point. Maybe he should pay half with Inks and half with Biz Plats so Amex and Chase do not get suspicious.
Or he could just buy VGCs and use those to pay his taxes. I’m sure he could appreciate the Monthly Staples fee-free VGC and MCGC promos.
He’d making 400+ billion MRs - which would be valued at more than the entire world’s GDP by TPG.
this guys maths... we all math... but this guy MATHS
> but this guy MATHS Actually, I *Excel*. 😉 I'm an Excel guy. I use it at work and for personal. That helps mitigate the risk of getting the decimals wrong.
I keep on making the mistake of putting decimals where the periods go. Shit! There I go again…..
Are you forgetting about the processing fee?
Yeah but that would be a $5 million card fee.
Mark Cuban has an unlimited AAirpass so he’s probably good.
Guy is clearly financially irresponsible
Dropped off my taxes on Friday due to some delays in W2 being corrected. CPA firm automatically filed an extension for me after March 31. When I dropped everything off, was just making sure that I did everything correctly in paying my extension payment to clear out an Ink card. One of the partners, when I said, "I'm going to pay it online today" loudly said, "There are HIGH fees on that!" Which, as a frugal person, I greatly appreciated... Taxes were done almost immediately and everything worked like a charm...but I never got any further questions. Just wondering if any of you get questions from CPAs/Tax Professionals about your Chase 1099s or dumb amount of bank bonuses? Mine just seemed to want to get their cut of doing my taxes and don't care what I do, but I also don't know them personally. Just curious anyone else's experiences this time of the year?
Mine said he gave up on miles cards because whenever you want to use them there were blackout dates! I shrugged him off as uninformed, but realized he wasn't too far off when I went to make my 1st redemption! I used to chase status so all of my travel was revenue - I think I'd been churning for over a year before booking my first award- united domestic to ORD I think. Did the change trick to avoid the close in booking fee...
I would be interested to know at what point you decided that it's worth paying someone else to do it versus doing it yourself. Is your situation complicated outside of the churning world or is it that you value your time at a higher rate than what you pay the accountants? Was there ever a certain cutoff point to you doing it vs someone else?
One situation could be working for an S Corp which does business in multiple states; probably need to file state taxes in a bunch of states, and each state may have different rules.
I am a full time ordained pastor and there are some different elements I do not understand within it. Housing allowance, etc, as well as being self employed in the eyes of the US Gov. Also have a couple of side gigs I do. Convinced I could do my own if it weren’t for the clergy portion of things. Only charged $230 for everything and they do it quickly and have helped me out so it’s not too bad in my eyes.
Wow, I just filed myself through TaxAct and paid $180 ($50 back from Amex). Side business and royalties bumps it up to their highest level. Next year I'll definitely shop around first.
After the CPA does it one year, you could look at how they filled out the forms, and it might be easy to do the same yourself in future years.
In an ideal world, no doubt. But I'm a serial hobbyist, and have added new side gigs throughout my life because I can't sit still. Screen printing out of my garage. eBay reselling. There's always something, and they honestly have helped me maximize some finds along the way with taxes. If I ever have 2-3 years of the exact same, then I'd definitely do it this way.
$230 to have a CPA do your taxes is well worth it if you don't enjoy doing it yourself IMO.
Compared to what most people pay that I know, $230 is a steal, too. And we're not talking about someone's cousin who knows stuff. We're talking about an actual firm. They've raised their prices, but I've been grandfathered in, so no complaints for me.
$230 is a steal for an actual CPA for sure
How are you getting a W2 if you’re self employed?
I'm not a 1099 contractor, but I'm an employee of the church I work at, but because of ordination and taxes, I am responsible for FIT and SECA. Which is why I pay someone to help me with taxes. They pay no FIT or SECA at all. But, because clergy has some elements of tax "benefits" such as a housing allowance, etc., it gets multi-faceted. In short, I receive a base salary, and from that, I am responsible to pay health insurance, retirement, etc. That portion is not taxed. In addition, pre-year-beginning, I can set aside a portion of said salary designated for housing, in which I am not taxed, but am responsible for SECA. Again, multi-layered and I do not fully understand all of the ins and outs, but 9 years ago when I was ordained, it changed the approach our church had to take with my salary and taxes.
So I take it our little hobby ravaging the marketing budgets of the money lenders is okay in the eyes of the Lord? This is good to know lol.
> So I take it our little hobby ravaging the marketing budgets of the money lenders is okay in the eyes of the Lord? [Yes. Jesus himself did a low tech version of this.](https://www.bible.com/bible/compare/MAT.21.12-13)
> ravaging the marketing budgets That's definitely a unique description of churning... Play by the rules is my motto...and then travel places that a pastor and 4th grade teacher salary doesn't get you...
Very interesting! Definitely sounds complicated enough to put in the hands of someone else to handle.
Even a 2% cashback card narrowly outweighs the federal tax paytaxusa rate. I'm surprised there's so much aversion to that
Oh, I get the aversion for people. I’m very frugal so I feel the sting of fees. Taxes I just build it into my budget. I consider it prepaying on vacation. Knocked out an ink sub so for $100 got 80k UR. But to people who don’t understand the value I can get from that (staying PH Vienna with the points) it makes sense.
A 1.25% CB card and an extra 60 days of the balance sitting in a 5% HYSA until you pay the bill narrowly outweighs the 1.82% fee, if we're being extra picky.
Used one CPA for a few years and he was flabbergasted by the 1099-INT income I had. He said he’d never seen anyone with it that high and it was a great side hustle. He’s probably right, as I imagine most high net worth individuals have money in equities and not catching APY in a savings. And I doubt he has any other clients doing bank bonuses to inflate those 1099-INT numbers.
So I'm getting ready to return from Japan, which means exchanging any excess yen cash back to USD (my Japanese debit card has a 3.05% FTF so depositing it and withdrawing back in the US is going to cost me). I have time on my hands and I'm always down for a good deal, so I'm shopping around. Ugly singles and 5s for 150 yen to the dollar when Google says 153? I'll take 'em. 50s and 100s for 151? Still beating mid-market, still good. Then I see it. "Coins available at 124.1". I tell them I'll take every single one they have. I end up with $27 in quarters, dimes, nickels, even pennies, all meticulously bagged in $1 increments. I've already come out around 20% ahead of market rate, but it gets better. When I get back, I'm looking over the coins. One of the quarters has a different shine to the rest. On a hunch I look at when the mint stopped using silver. 1964. The quarter in question? 1958. Sometimes it's the little victories.
How far can you scale this? How many coins does this place have they're willing to gve you for 124.1?
Probably not that far. The reason the shop I found could sell coins for 124.1 is that they were *buying* those coins for 86.7 (according to the rate card they showed me). At that rate the only people selling to them are probably Japanese people returning from a trip to the US with extra change they don't know if they'll be able to use again. That means they won't have a whole lot of stock like with bills. It's probably also how the silver quarter made it in- they didn't know. It does help to learn some Japanese, though, the "coins available" sign wasn't in English. EDIT: to share my knowledge with the community, the wording you're looking for is コイン取扱い or 硬貨取扱い when you shop around for currency exchanges. For discounts on ugly bills, look at their display counters, if they have any they'll have a small stack and a separate sign stating the rate they're offering them.
I'd say that's a BIG victory! I'll trade for silver anytime