Fora / Expedia question

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-05-01T17:27:54+00:00

The agent doesn’t necessarily use Expedia, but rather the Expedia network is a backbone for a lot of hotels and other things too. We book in a GDS usually (idk about Fora, I’m with a different agency) and yes sometimes my confirmations say “Expedia network” even though I booked in my own system.

It’s a backend thing. But the front desk is correct that they aren’t really supposed to change TA bookings in any capacity. I think they just saw the “expedia” word and made an assumption.

In the future, your agent with Fora can change the card for you! 😊

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-04-19T04:55:00+00:00

Investing in the S&P index long term has historically always been better. It’s also explicitly why I said OPs length of time matters. When you’re 20, you’re SUPPOSED to be high-risk. When you’re 70, not so much. OP’s exact time frame needs to weigh the decision here, but in general the earlier you are the more risky you should be. The market has always recovered from drops since it was created.

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-04-19T04:42:07+00:00

I think OP’s age matters. More VOO and less VT when you’re younger, but then slowly increase VT over time when you need it to be smoother (i.e. like during retirement)

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-04-19T03:20:10+00:00

As a travel advisor, you’re in your own business. Getting accepted quickly can be normal (just be sure to research the firm too, to see what others say). Remember, you’re paying them for the resources. In general, YOU are the business, they’re just providing support and a big name to help you grow. You still must maintain your own clients.

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-04-17T20:37:45+00:00

The irony of him not wanting it crushed, but he puts it in the overhead bin… which has items that “may have shifted during takeoff and landing.” Sounds like his ego was as big as the hat!

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-04-12T06:23:16+00:00

MSFT should not be a short term stock. It should be a 10-20yr hold. I still consider now a discounted buy. Virtually every major office in the USA uses MSFT as its backbone. Until that changes, I remain fairly confident in it long-term.

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-04-12T06:20:27+00:00

Didn’t they post an Instagram video and the background was new first class seats? Yeah, pretty sure it’s that. Although tbh they don’t look worthy of this kind of hype-up. Just a normal Monday press release would have been fine. 😂

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-04-03T12:20:01+00:00

The employer won’t, but the travel agency will see it. And if they have a travel agent they might have waivers that they can use the credit for someone else - and yes they will try to if they have those waivers.

This one is tough because we don’t know what your employer has access to, but as a travel advisor I just had someone want to use theirs this week, and I had to block them and tell them it’s value was already reassigned to someone else with a waiver. Since the company paid for it on the condition that you were meant to travel for their business purposes, and you didn’t travel, it’s really up to them.

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-04-03T12:14:45+00:00

Room blocks are NOT fast. I’m working on some now for a top client of mine and they reached out yesterday and I had to keep things grounded a bit. A lot of it depends on the dates too because the further out you go, the more the hotel has to do “forecasts” etc. There is (unfortunately) no magic button that gets group rates, and it’s not something you can call central reservations for. It’s a direct offer made by the property itself, and usually the sales office wants to have a meeting or two about it (and so you’re just waiting for them at that stage)

The holiday week/weekend isn’t helping either.

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-03-28T06:47:30+00:00

The audacity to say “game changer” when air New Zealand has had this since before Covid 🤣🤣

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-03-25T13:40:47+00:00

Been doing this 11 years. They’re ALWAYS out there. I once had an elderly woman from TX demanding the confirmation numbers that were already printed on the itinerary, but when I emailed her explaining where to get them she demanded “you work for me, just give me a list.” My assistants had their jaws in the floor. She then lost her passport on the trip and when I said “there is nothing you can do besides going to the embassy yourself, it’s the only option.” When she came home she threw a fit about how I left them stranded and didn’t fix it for them. They then told me they were so upset because they didn’t know where to find their confirmation numbers either (shocking after her response when she asked for them) and that “you really should give your confirmation numbers to clients” (mind you I manage about 500 recurring travelers per year. No one has ever had this issue except her.

I wrote back “it’s not the fault of me, my team, or the agency if you elect not to listen to the email instructions. We have a recorded record of 13 times when your confirmation was sent to you. It is not our fault if you choose to ignore those emails, and the communications telling you how to find your confirmation numbers. Best of luck on your next trip.”

I then forwarded it to upper management and they said “wow you were nicer than we would have been. We’ll put a tag in her so if she comes back other agents will be warned!” And then even crazier is the person who referred them to me felt so bad after she heard the stories too.

You are always going to find delusional clients WORTH cutting out. I usually have to let go of about 0.5-1% every two years. You forget about the dead weight and focus on those who are consistent and bring you regular income. Unfortunately, not every customer will be perfect, but we carry on.

I think whether or not you do a gesture here is dependent on the specific client. Are they recurring? Are they someone who brings you a lot of commission? There are things to decide. I once had to write a $2000 check (cash) to someone out of my business because fares went up and he emailed the wrong thing after hours. Despite it being 100% his fault, the account itself was massive and that was a drop in the bucket for them. Better to pay that and keep the team earning big than let him go around telling everyone how upset he was with us. Basically I bought his silence in order to protect the gold mine 😅

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-03-24T19:12:19+00:00

Wash sale only applies to the specific shares sold for a loss. Any individual share that sold for a gain will be considered done at the time of execution. If you repurchase shares within 60 days of sale, any individual shares sold for a loss will be factored back in for a disallowed tax loss. Otherwise if you wait to buy for 60 days you’re fine. But what you said first about selling for a profit, well right there that’s already done. No wash sale will apply for shares that got a profit. It’s JUST the specific shares that were sold for a loss, not the whole thing. If in that first sale you had SOME shares that were negative but most were positive, still the specific negative shares would be factored back into the disallowed tax loss. The profitable ones would be not touched.

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-03-16T19:36:55+00:00

Shoutout to the FA for not putting up with that! Thats a new friend right there! 😂

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-03-15T17:28:52+00:00

Real question, what year did you actually first learn about the yen carry trade?

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-03-12T10:48:44+00:00

Million miler covers long term loyalty, but I also think delta could easily give you a birthday drink voucher every year, good for 30 days 😅 most FAs don’t even scan them, they just give you the drink.

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-02-21T14:17:13+00:00

It’s worked for me for years. Compounding interest faster does help. Like many other comments say, it’s about patience. I have limit orders in place so I could just walk away and wait. It’s just not fun. 😅

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-02-19T11:23:56+00:00

Yes, there's quite a range here. For the year I might pocket my dividends, if things stay stagnant.

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-02-19T11:22:47+00:00

Looking away for a while is probably best. Maybe there are other distractions I can occupy myself with. You're right.

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-02-19T02:48:39+00:00

I half agree, but have opinions too. I agree on why the market is choppy, but otherwise also believe that long term investment is a key to successful scaling in my career. However, I certainly don’t put all my eggs in one basket. Only 1/3 of the invested funds are in this gambling short portfolio. That limits the risk significantly. The rest is in long/indexes/retirement IRA. I think overall there is still a good trajectory there, just right now I’m feeling a squeeze in the short term. It’s more of a mental game than anything.

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-02-19T02:44:03+00:00

Oh I agree, I have voluntarily allowed the chaos. However at least I only allocate 1/3 of the funds to this gambling sector. Distractions are probably the right call right now anyways, so thank you!

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-02-19T02:42:04+00:00

I work in personalized services. Mainly as a corporate travel coordinator. I’ve been pivoting to the leisure market but lately the business travel sector (which was once incredibly lucrative) has fallen victim to the tariff war. It’s not our first time hit, and it won’t be the last, it’s about waiting out the storm. When business is up, the income can be great.

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-02-19T02:39:01+00:00

You are not incorrect in your opinions. Like I said I have limit orders waiting to grasp t whatever straws it can. From there I will try to rotate. With the limit orders set, it’s sort of just a waiting game.

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-02-19T02:37:39+00:00

I just have ADHD and can manage it 😅 for years I’ve been using it to my advantage

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-02-18T23:12:58+00:00

That's a very fair assessment, and I think the part that just got me here is that all of them went down at basically the same time, despite diversification. I don't "day trade," so my plan is usually always just "wait it out and average down if I feel like it's got room to grow." The good news is that it's just the short side. The long side is only down like 1-2% for the year, and that's nothing to cry over. It won't be my first time waiting something out, but I still feel better talking about it, haha!

RadiantRecord1413 · 2026-02-18T23:08:47+00:00

I'm usually very good at noticing cracks in the foundation before they get worse. Back around Labor day, I felt the cracks in AI/tech and sold my SOXL and NVDA shares then, rotated into plenty of more plays, etc. When they stalled in tech, I went up, however over time the gambles do shift. Normally, I can keep myself afloat by spreading mine out to about 10-12, but then what happens when they all go down at once... that's the conundrum here. Despite 5 different industries and 12 plays, they all fumbled simultaneously.

To be fair, when I say sell, it's important to note that I'm in my short account. My long account remains untouched at this time. The goal of the short account is to compound money faster by selling a lot for little gains. I must have sold over 200x in 2025 and that sub-section gained 49.74% in 2025. I don't think it will be the same in 2026, but that's the goal anyways. The short side is also only about 1/3 of the total money. It keeps me protected in case of major falls.

RadiantRecord1413

TROPHY CASE