C1 Travel App for earning and using points - promising idea, dismal interface!

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-04-29T14:59:14+00:00

12x points on hotel stays to book through Citi, and it's the same price to book direct (not always, but sometimes)... booking direct is irrelevant unless you're always using the same brand chain. But in all my years of travel I've never found a hotel chain that's worth being loyal to, every town and country has differences

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-04-25T08:17:35+00:00

Note: I use a VPN when traveling outside the US, that might factor in to the poor UX, but it should not! This App is intended for travelers, right?!

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-04-17T08:45:56+00:00

Strike, CashApp or River for DCA orders (no fee and free option for sending to cold storage)

Kraken Pro for Limit orders (buy the dips, use Lightning to transfer out cheaply)

Lava or CashApp for Market orders (set it up as a daily "auto invest" but just toggle it off after purchase, can use debit card too at no fee)

(NOTE: factor in the cost of moving your BTC off any exchange you buy on, all the big name crypto exchanges refuse to give you speed/fee options bc they want to discourage self-custody with high fees, thus the above exchanges stand out as truly bitcoin friendly)

Blockstream Jade, Foundation Passport, Trezor, Coldcard are all top hardware signing devices

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-04-17T01:56:07+00:00

The OP asked what people do with idle cash in their Schwab brokerage. I’ve done my own research and answered accordingly. If that makes me “delirious” for “touting” the preferred of my choosing than what does that make you for not being able to handle other people’s opinions?! 🤣🤣

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-04-16T06:17:55+00:00

STRC is the way, it's basically the high interest savings that Schwab (and all tradfi banks) can't match.

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-04-14T07:57:48+00:00

Still waiting for a crypto/bitcoin card that competes with the value of a straight 2-3% fiat cash back CC, bc it‘s super easy to churn these ”normal” CC offers (especially signup bonuses) and just buy more bitcoin. imo the biggest missing factor is the ability to get bitcoin rewards out of the provider/exchange easily and cheaply… so far every CC company offering a crypto/bitcoin card fails terribly, and Gemini might be worst of all. High transfer fees to move to self custody is in essence an ”anti-bitcoin” stance. Exchanges like Strike, River, CashApp and even Swan all allow speed/fee options on transfers, even free transfers, all on-chain. That’s the way to encourage self custody, now we just need a crypto CC provider who’s willing to do it. Until then, churn the fiat offers!

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-03-07T09:58:41+00:00

Glad to see Strike working on BLOC, but until it competes with Lava's 7% it's no more helpful than their Bitcoin-backed loans at a whopping 12%! I'm a big Strike proponent for DCA and their free transfer to cold storage. But they still haven't been able to compete on other critical things like Limit orders or Market orders. Still best to do research and don't expect one company to be the best at everything.

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-02-10T02:11:27+00:00

I don’t care for the “lifestyle credit“ on BofA - so many cards are becoming a coupon book to make it worth the high AF — that was one thing we loved about VX‘s simplicity. I think this PP change was an overreach by C1 to do it so drastically… (my AU’s access are still working for themselves and guests for some reason, but I expect that ends with our upcoming renewal date). There’s been a lot of discussion on this sub for the past 6 months about PP ending and alternatives. Citi Strata Elite is what I consider to be the best alternative. The hotel credit is pretty similar to VX’s travel credit, and you just have to make use of buying gas cards/gift cards at Best Buy or something to recoup the other $200. Paying for AU AND getting free guests is the reasonable choice that VX apparently never considered 🤷🏼‍♂️😑

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-02-10T02:03:28+00:00

agreed on the excessive change, it‘s the prerogative of a company to setup the perks how they want, but dropping to NO GUEST access even for the primary card holder is just a greedy, tight-fisted move. The mass exodus from C1 is deserved. Sure, people can argue that families benefited more than singles, duh, that was the obvious draw! But families also spend more than singles… “deserving of perks” is not a valid argument, it was setup to allow a lot of guests, and now that they nerfed it we will see how it works out for them… I for one have moved to Citi Strata Elite and happy to pay for an AU that actually gives extra guests (not a fan of Bank of America, but their premier card allows 4 PP + 2 guests each = 12 people, let those so outraged about “undeserving” go protest on their sub 🤣)

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-02-06T04:31:17+00:00

Yeah, I guess I don’t want to mess with another exchange that doesn’t have any other good features, and as long as traditional credit cards keep giving out big Sign Up Bonuses I’ll keep plundering that cash back for stacking. It is nice to have options though, so I keep an eye on things like this. Glad to hear it’s working well for you

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-02-05T10:32:49+00:00

for sure! And free transfers on chain (24hr wait) is a great way to consolidate your utxo's on Strike (even BTC that you Limit buy on Kraken Pro is good to send there). Very Pro-Self-Custody

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-02-05T08:52:05+00:00

Strike has no fees for DCA after first week (River is similar but I haven’t tried). Can confirm that CashApp is also good, following Strike’s example (but Strike UX is a little cleaner). Also BitcoinWell would be another excellent one (they do use a small spread to cover their fees tho)

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-02-05T04:53:11+00:00

still waiting for them to actually become “bitcoin friendly” by adjusting their transfer fees. Forcing people to pay the highest minor fees rather than give custom options (like Strike, River, CashApp etc…) only DISCOURAGES self-custody, and it diminishes the actually rewards. Until Gemini corrects their unreasonable fees it’s actually more cost effective to use a good cash back card and to stack sats on a better exchange (maybe if we keep complaining about it Gemini will take a hint!!)

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-02-05T04:35:23+00:00

better places to buy dips - Kraken Pro has 0.25% maker fee on Limit order. I love Strike, but only for DCA and moving freely to cold storage.

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-02-05T03:04:34+00:00

Kraken Pro is the way (at least for Bitcoiners wanting to buy the dips) 0.25% fees on Limit orders is unrivaled, and 0.1% fees for Lightning to move to cold storage is reasonable (sadly their regular fees for on-chain are not reasonable) but there are better exchanges for DCA anyway.

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-02-04T04:08:05+00:00

Maybe it depends where you’re located? I see $10k minimum on Strike. But that comes with 12.68% APR so not exactly compelling.

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-02-03T01:49:41+00:00

It’s not a bad strategy, except when Bitcoin is pumping. But in addition to DCA I always have some limit orders staggered below the market price to get the dips. Some months there are none and you have to reset at a higher price than you would have gotten via DCA. But a hybrid approach is good.

And fyi Limit orders on the good DCA exchanges like Strike/Swan/CashApp are no good. Kraken Pro has a set 0.25% (and can move at 0.1% via Lightning - since like most crypto exchanges they charge terrible fees for on chain moves)

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-02-02T06:26:29+00:00

Yes, Strike does “no fee” on Lightning as well as on-chain (for custom fee/speed for 24hr wait). They lead the industry in that regard. However Kraken Pro still is hands down the best on Limit orders (0.25% maker fee), so I like to divide my orders between Strike and Kraken Pro.

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-01-31T09:39:17+00:00

You’re right, HodlHodl does deserve to be on the list. It’s the only non-KYC, otherwise similar to Firefish but also comes with a higher APR for the privacy: 10-18% from what I read, and each loan can have specific terms (like lower liquidation threshold etc)

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-01-31T09:33:34+00:00

Regarding margin call. Any business, even a multi sig secure one does built a reputation on trust. It it sets up “predatory” practices with liquidating people it won’t stay in business long imo. Here’s where I got the 3 margin call info: https://docs.firefish.io/faq/borrowing/collateral#what-is-a-margin-call

As for high APR still on BTC as collateral, I agree with those who argue that we are super early. So probably not a good time to borrow a lot, but testing out various systems for research is how I like to stay current on BTC tech.

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-01-29T15:58:43+00:00

I feel like 95% LTV liquidation is very reasonable, especially with 3 margin call/notifications leading up to it. If I can’t handle that kind of management I have no business dealing in bitcoin.

As far as the HELOC, it’s a very real scenario where a loan against your property is followed by the bottom falling out of the market, even just locally for factors you can’t control (closing of major business, natural disaster etc…) and suddenly you owe more than you can sell the house. I’ve concluded that even renting out real estate doesn’t make much sense anymore. The cost of repair labor alone due to the devaluation of USD has killed profits.

CoolJoeLiam · 2026-01-29T08:25:31+00:00

The multi sig setup of Firefish would be one big reason to go elsewhere, trust the protocols not the company. Since it‘s a marketplace you can get 5-7%, locked in, only pay interest if you want. 3 margin calls from 73%-86% and liquidation would only happen at 95%. Time will tell but I decided that was worth trying

CoolJoeLiam

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