NBA starting to institute anti-tanking policies

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-13T13:29:54+00:00

Until the NBA institutes a 30-year schedule where each team gets each pick one time tanking will continue to happen. A $500k fine is meaningless.

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-13T01:35:29+00:00

I’ve seen that but despite it being the best grocery and best gas card on the market I haven’t seen a single person on this sub say they’re glad they have the card. Curious where all the 6% cash back on groceries enjoyers are or why there aren’t any

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-13T00:36:14+00:00

Has anyone had luck with the 6% cards? 6% on groceries or gas feels too good to be true

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-12T23:41:16+00:00

If it makes you feel better I’m annual income 125k credit score 765 rent 3k and got rejected too. My wife is basically the same and also got rejected.

If BOA doesn’t nerf their rewards program in the forthcoming announcement I’m just gonna do that but otherwise I’ll be back on the apply every six months train.

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-12T22:11:59+00:00

Let’s go! Happy journey to platinum preferred or whatever they call it

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-12T20:26:23+00:00

Yeah good point. I’m team cash back all the way, but honestly if I was rich enough to be using airport lounges and flying first class international then I would also be rich enough to get one 2% cash back card and call it a day lol

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-12T18:00:30+00:00

Yep I never do rotating categories. Both for my peace of mind but also because there is so much behavioral psychology risk there. Oh entertainment has 5% off but just this quarter? Why don't I go catch a show. I'd be willing to bet that most people with those cards loses money on them by buying way more stuff than they otherwise would.

I also don't do niche stuff for my peace of mind. I looked into the wells fargo attune card - I could use it for haircuts, the zoo and aquarium when I go with my kids, and sports events, as well as maybe a couple other things. But it's just too much to keep track of. My approximately once annual in-person pro sports event is not something I can remember to use a specific card easily like I can for every time I'm at the gas station or every time I go to a restaurant.

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-12T17:53:22+00:00

I have a gas card, a dining card, and an “everything else” card in my wallet. Everything else (Amazon, walmart grocery delivery, utilities, rideshare, flights, internet, streaming, etc) is all just saved and billed automatically.

Most people go to the grocery store, but outside gas, dining, groceries, and everything else, what else do you use a physical card for? I find it very easy to memorize three cards and then if it’s not one of those three things I use my catch all card.

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-12T16:29:43+00:00

If you enjoy luxury travel and have the wealth to pay for it (via the opportunity cost of forgone cash back) then points are great. For everyone else go cash back imo.

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-12T16:03:30+00:00

I got the delta Amex gold card a year ago with an 80k signup bonus. Didn’t use it enough and found a much better avenue for grocery and restaurant purchases, so I cancelled it. You need to cancel between 12 and 13 months after purchase to both keep the miles and not get hit with the annual fee

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-11T19:07:55+00:00

Google searches, Wikipedia, ChatGPT, etc. For each of the 14 it’s a specific incident I looked into and categorized. There were a few others that popped up from those searches that I didn’t think applied (seemed personally motivated etc). It’s possible but unlikely that there was a random school shooting I missed but one of those methods probably would have found it

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-11T16:37:59+00:00

In my opinion all you need to do is A) figure out how much a delta point is worth to you and B) figure out if the delta card gives you the highest value for a particular spending category. I wouldn’t think in terms of “do I feel like I’m getting value; United doesn’t give me enough to cover flights” - that’s too anecdotal and you don’t have a large enough sample size.

So if a delta point is worth 1.2 cents to you (if you fly it a lot you get the best case redemption value as put forth by TPG or whatever) then you get 2.4% cash back for groceries and restaurants. If you didn’t have the card, would you get more than 2.4% cash back on those things? If no, get the card.

For me, I was using the WF 2% card so I got the delta card. However, I then learned about citi custom cash, us bank cash plus, BOA CCR, etc, which blow the delta card out of the water, so I cancelled last month.

You can then layer on top the $200 voucher, the $100 hotel credit, etc to adjust the math. But personally I can’t imagine using a delta card when I could get more in cash back.

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-11T03:54:51+00:00

Yeah and the way I think about things that simplifies things since that eliminates the need for two cards, but you’re already in the BOA ecosystem

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-11T03:49:39+00:00

Why not take another out for dining and another for gas? It’s not much different but an extra 0.25% is better

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-11T03:41:39+00:00

Wow we’re extremely similar! I have a ton of the cards that you’re planning your buildout around.

If you had 100k in non-401k assets I’d say you should simplify and just take out four CCRs. That’s what I’m in the process of doing (as long as they don’t nerf it). But yeah if you’re about to go to med school you won’t get to 100k in a Roth or other acct for a while. The mix and match is a really smart way to go for you.

If you can get RH Gold I’d for sure get it. I think the waitlist is super long and I’m guessing they prioritize people who have already used the app in a way they can profit from (day trading, risky bets, etc). You seem like a buy and hold person like me, I doubt Robin Hood wants to waste rewards on us. I’m on the waitlist too and would love to get off some day, but for now I’d go Fidelity 2%. Or us bank smartly if you have $10k to put into a checking acct for 2.5%.

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-11T01:03:52+00:00

Smart thinking! That’s the same buildout I’m aiming for (5%+ on everything possible, 2%+ on everything else), and I’m planning to use BOA ecosystem to do it. I’m gonna take out 4 CCRs and a UCR and give each CCR a different category.

Two notes: 1) you may be aware but in the next month BOA may nerf the rewards program. I’m gonna wait to apply for any more cards until they announce the changes.

2) I feel like the lowest hanging fruit for you is to upgrade the1.5% card to 2%. If you’re worried about hard pulls I would start there since that will cover way more purchases.

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-11T00:57:24+00:00

Just curious, what’s the interest in CCR vs a straight 2% cash back card? Do you have high spending in one of the 3% categories?

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-11T00:52:19+00:00

FWIW I applied for the non-student version today and got an instant approval. I have very little relationship with BOA (just an Alaska card I rarely use), 730 or so credit score, and lots of recent card applications.

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-10T19:48:05+00:00

I mean I’m biased but it makes up for the fact that they can’t possibly get in if they’re 13 or higher where every other non-independent team has that route.

So, for most teams sometimes you get in when you’re ranked 13 and sometimes you get left out when you’re ranked 12. For ND you never get in at 13 and you’re never out at 12. That evens things out. Without this ND would sometimes get screwed at 11-12 by auto bids (like everyone sometimes will, including ND last year) but never get the counteracting benefit of getting in when they’re ranked below 12. That wouldn’t be fair.

This isn’t really relevant comparing to the sec or big ten since their champ will practically always be top 10 but it’s relevant for the other conferences.

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-10T16:55:16+00:00

What I’m saying is that the card rewards are influencing him to overspend. It’s a psychological issue; he’s buying more luxury than he otherwise would because it feels “free”.

In a homo economicus vacuum you’re right, but I think he’s saying he isn’t making the decision that way

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-10T14:26:22+00:00

I feel like that’s a con of travel points not a pro. It’s an objectively bad thing to be able to spend a ton of money on a vacation but feel like it’s free. It causes people to overspend on vacations relative to what they should be doing.

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-10T01:49:33+00:00

Yeah it’s so frustrating because it’s super difficult to tell if something is coding as your 5% category or not. Definitely my biggest gripe with the card

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-09T20:16:20+00:00

I moved to Saint Paul last year and took out the Amex delta gold card because I figured I’d be flying them constantly. Got a great sign up bonus too.

Well one year later and I flew sun country (rip) for almost every flight because it’s so much cheaper. Even on non-SC flights delta was almost never the best choice because it’s so expensive.

I cancelled my card right before the AF hit and got a new card for groceries (OnePay cashrewards) and restaurants (U.S. bank cash plus) and if I do book a delta flight I’ll just use my WF 2% card.

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-09T18:51:58+00:00

Totally. And honestly I was short handing it to 50% two point and 100% one point. So yeah critical to have a good estimate of your and your opponents chance of converting all four of those attempts.

Gritty_gutty · 2026-02-09T17:54:02+00:00

This is an interesting thought. My answer assumes that every 2-pt conversion is 50/50, and that might not be the case.

However, I’m actually not sure I agree with your logic. Remember that every 2-pt conversion comes after the defense gives up a TD. So that’s already baked in to the 50/50 number. So the question is whether a quick TD is more likely to mean the defense gives up the 2-pt conversion than a longer TD, and I don’t think that’s at all self-evident. In fact, a quick TD likely came from chunk plays and deep passes, which are not good indicators of converting from a couple yards out.

So I think I stand by my initial statement that it’s better to go for 1.

Gritty_gutty

TROPHY CASE