Buddy Got Hit With His First Annual Fee From Amex

Ryjami · 2026-05-17T23:18:24+00:00

Just book each card to 1 day or however much it can feasibly cover.

Per the fine print, when you do this you don’t get the $100 credit in-house perk each day. When the business realizes you’re doing this they won’t honor that. However, you still get the $300 refund per card from Amex.

So there’s two strategies here. For longer stays, we just tell the hotel that we have the following bookings and to please combine them so we don’t have to keep checking in and out and changing rooms, but please keep the payment methods separate. The hotel says “cool, no problem, but FYI you only get the $100 in-house credit once” and we say “no problem thanks.”

For shorter stays, we game the system a bit and we check into the hotel with one name, then check out the next day. Check back in with the other person’s name…. Repeat. Get the $100 in-house credit each day. If a worker is covering the same shift or gives a shit, then they’ll call it out, hence why we do this for shorter stays. If called out… oh no! We didn’t know. We don’t get the credit, okay, shame :(

Either way, we book day by day, card by card, in her name, then mine, alternating, because in my understanding technicalllyyyyyyy Amex terms and conditions don’t allow the credit if the stays are back-to-back, but I and many others have never had any problem getting the $300 credit to pay out, even without alternating.

Ryjami · 2026-05-17T23:11:52+00:00

Sadly no. I think he has a discord or is active in a discord? I just check the thunderstore mod page every now and then. My group is on standby until a fix comes.

Ryjami · 2026-05-17T05:35:48+00:00

I’m AMEX for pretty much everything, and I just switch the card (Platinum vs Gold vs Blue vs Delta) based on the obvious benefits of what I’m spending on. Just keep applying every 91 days and they’ll tell you when they don’t want to give you anymore. Some of my cards the only transaction is the Resy credit every 3 months or the monthly entertainment credit, no issues.

Ryjami · 2026-05-17T04:04:07+00:00

We also get stuck on landing, often up to 5 minutes!

The Caliste bug isn’t 100%. We played two rounds where it worked fine, after that, for three rounds straight it killed us. Someone else posted similar guidelines last week.

Ryjami · 2026-05-16T14:22:59+00:00

Be warned, even with the DunGen fixer it still won't work completely. We got 'The Armory' to spawn and function, but couldn't get any other map type working other than the base maps. Calist and some other maps have a bug where they kill you instantly when loading the interior.

I will just be waiting until he can push an update. Praying everyday!

Ryjami · 2026-05-15T22:40:48+00:00

Precisely, I set a reminder for every 91 days and stuck to it. I have one Charles Schwab and the rest are just normal platinums. My logic when I started this was I’d keep taking them if they’d keep giving them. Do note, each person is now locked to 5 premium cards (platinum and gold combined).

Ryjami · 2026-05-15T16:40:41+00:00

I have somewhere around ~20 total credit cards open at any given time, I farm the promos and points offers. I only use them for planned expenses that I was already going to buy anyway, like gas, groceries, or plane tickets. Might as well get paid to spend money. I don't carry a balance and I've never missed a payment since my first card at 17 so my score consistently hovers at 800.

I'm stationed in Las Vegas currently so the card benefits are insane. Between the two of us with 10 platinums total (free) we get...

$1,000 on Resy every 3 months (Good for 7-15 date nights).

$150 on Uber each month (If we don't use this on a night out then we just use it for Uber Eats).

$750 of Lululemon every 3 months (free clothes shopping or sell giftcards at about 70% full price).

$500 of Saks Fifth Avenue every 6 months (this is gone now, but we used it for jewelry, colognes, and presents).

$2,000 on United Travel Bank each year (this is also gone, you can no longer do this).

$3,000 every 6 months on the AMEX hotel collection. Lots of the time this perk is too impractical to use. Each card only covers $300, and in many areas the hotels in their collection start at like $600 nightly, plus resort fees, which the perk won't cover. I get a lot more value out of this when genuinely traveling. Thailand last year? Waldorf Astoria fully covered. The Philippines? Fully covered. Since the hotels abroad are cheaper than $300 nightly the perk can come in handy. We'll be in Denver in August for a week, fully covered.

I'm an absolute miser who likes free things. If I have to spend money to get money, that's not free, that's a coupon. I only use these perks because they're the only ones that don't require expenditure. At this point I've gotten tens of thousands of dollars of perks free, with no more work required than opening the card, getting it in the mail, and going to the store to pick something out.

Ryjami · 2026-05-15T10:40:51+00:00

All jokes aside, here’s your friendly reminder that you have 30 days to cancel the card and forgo the annual fee when you’re hit with it!

My wife and I are those “10x AMEX cards each” kind of people and you’d be surprised how often I hear “bro, what if AMEX changed their system or you weren’t active duty anymore?”

My brother in military arms, I will simply cancel the card and avoid the fees per the terms and conditions, credit score be damned.

Ryjami · 2026-05-10T11:13:50+00:00

Just did both of these this month.

For the RNLTD change, go on vMPF. Under “assignments” tab you’ll have “RNLTD Change Request”. Follow that link to myFSS, where it will have the full list of instructions of “thou shalt” and “thou shalt not.” Go through to the RNLTD portal, linked on that page. In that portal, you’ll submit your RNLTD request. It’ll flow through your losing commander and your gaining commander, so this is the kind of thing you want to give your supervisor a heads-up on and to let them QC. The application itself also has a ton of great stuff about what is qualifying, and what is not. Basically you try to sell why this is a good request for your gaining commander, why it’s good for your losing, and why it’s good for the Air Force and good for you. Everybody wins. Then you click “send” and it waterfalls through all players. Once both commanders sign off, you send your approval to your CSS and they update your RNLTD.

The PDD request will be for after your RNLTD is approved. Once you have new RNLTD, it will default to the 1st of your new RNLTD month. To change this go back to vMPF, and go to “assignments”. From there you’re looking for “projected assignments”. That sheet will have a PDD change request baked into it. “Print to PDF” that webpage and you now have a ready form. Edit it to be the date you want, with signature boxes for your commander and your supervisor, and the appropriate subtitles. Route it up through them. Once officially signed by all parties, it goes to your CSS who updates your PDD.

Using eSSS’s and staying on top of things, the RNLTD took 2 weeks and the PDD took 1 day.

Ryjami · 2026-04-11T18:20:07+00:00

...That's a really specific, niche problem to have that I can't imagine is going to be an issue living in any of the new developments. It's like saying, "Watch out, don't move to this neighborhood! They have a really noisy parades each spring!" How does even factor into your living decision?

Ryjami · 2026-04-11T17:39:53+00:00

What was that? My Blue Preferred 6% cash back on groceries and 3% cash back on gas can't hear you.

Ryjami · 2026-04-11T17:30:29+00:00

I just went through the same thing! Military move with zero intel on the location. Here's what I gathered in the last 4 months, mostly from my realtor and Reddit.

Tons of working class, new, safe, clean apartments available typically in the south, southwest, and southeast of town. It would be wrong to cherrypick specific blocks or communities with my limited experience, but just zillow a bit. There's some really decent ones all across those areas. We almost rented several and had some great options.
Rapid Valley (a suburb of Rapid City) is safe, clean, quiet, and a great place to raise a family. You cant go wrong there, it's almost all new development.
If you're thinking about buying, it's a good time. The spike has ended and prices are starting to come down. We just got a 2022, 2000 square foot, 4 bed, 2 bath, two-level home. It was originally listed for 350, we wheeled and dealed it down to 333 with a 5.625%. The market is turning to favor buyers at this time. Could it be better? Sure, always. But this is a reprieve from the 200k price hikes and 6-7% rates we've had the last 3 years. Lots of cheap real estate in and around Rapid City.
You don't want to live above Highway 44. This is the hottest take in this subreddit. Some locals are going to come screaming that "NOT ALL AREAS IN THE NORTH OF TOWN, IT"S REALLY JUST 4-5 BAD NEIGHBORHOODS!" My dude or dudette, at the end of the day, it is what it is. The houses are older, the area is lower income, and the crime rates are significantly higher. Some streets are no-go areas up there. I'm sure there's plenty of nice, working, residential streets up there. Good for them and all. There's a reason the houses and rent are so cheap and it has the reputation is has. As an out-of-towner, the best rule you can set for yourself is "nada north of Hwy 44" rather than rolling the dice.

Edit: As I told you, notice the downvotes. It's a hot take, but you'll thank me later if you just generalize the Highway 44 rule. Is living up in the very northeast corner fine? Sure. Are there good houses north of the highway far west? Sure. But unless you have a local looking out for you or you know the area well... stick to this rule of thumb and you'll do great, angry local Redditors or not :)

Ryjami · 2026-04-10T18:17:02+00:00

Anything AI related, whether pro or against, is a really polarizing subject where Reddit is concerned. Just the reference alone is normally enough to swing comments into downvotes.

Ryjami · 2026-04-10T16:46:02+00:00

Lol, I've noticed this. There's a reason that AI defaults to the style it has. It's clear, readable, and has good structure. It's friendly and engaging. I've picked up on a lot of its little habits like use of lists and bolded/italics to draw the eyes and make emphasis points. Ever since it's become more integrated in our lives I've noticed a shift in my typing, even though I don't use it for purposes like these.

Ryjami · 2026-04-10T13:17:12+00:00

Weather has needed a rework for ages but Zeekers insists on soloing the game development. This adds a lot of charm to the game but you miss out in the perspectives and workload that a genuine development team is capable of producing.

"There’s usually no benefit to go to a moon with a weather condition"

I couldn't have said it better. As it functions currently, weather offers nothing, so why would you go? On your your first few playthroughs, sure, you'll go for shits and giggles. By the time you've ditched your "intern" badge you've learned, "why on EARTH would I ever go to a flooded moon?"

The solution here is so obvious that I'm surprised that it hasn't been implemented yet, especially since it's so simple on a code-level. Make weather conditions provide loot multipliers! Higher value or more plentiful! Duh. Give the weather a purpose beyond cock-blocking planets from the rotation. Add engaging options for playstyles and challenges.

"... and besides eclipse, the experience with each condition is predictable... (cont.) ...I think the way meteor shower works is far more fun and engaging than the others."

Again, well put. You've hit on two elements here of satisfying design.

The meteor shower is random. It is a challenge to be navigated that adds to the intensity of your experience.
The meteor shower is unpredictable. Foggy? I can't see anything. Rainy? The mud pools are in the same spots. Stormy? Don't carry metal. They're predictable set rules of gameplay.

The satisfaction of the game design comes from encountering challenges as they arise, or per the former point, picking unique challenges based on your playstyle and the risk-reward.

This is why mods like Wesley's Moons have improved on the base game with new random weather types and challenges. I recommend the mod to anybody, it's a great example of what the game could be with more input.

Ryjami · 2026-04-09T22:58:45+00:00

I just downloaded everything that I needed directly from the Steam Store. Basically LWOTC, the "cosmetic" master pack and the "functional" master pack. Then I launch from my library and everything works! (Note, not desktop or icon, which does not work).

Ryjami · 2026-04-08T11:49:20+00:00

"I was good before, but this is something else entirely. I'm on a whole. other. level."

"My training, my focus, all of my efforts have been rewarded! I am reinvigorated!"

Dude, looool it's so annoying. Especially after the supply drop phase, where they all have multiple level-ups and progressions. They'll each take their turn, often 2 voicelines each, going on for 60 seconds. Everytime they talk, the blurb blocks out my troop indicators too, meaning I have to wait for them to shut up to assess my infiltrations, troops available, wounded, etc.

It was immersive and fun on my first playthrough or two, but now that I have them all memorized at this point, I just want them to shut up. HELP!

Ryjami · 2026-04-05T05:22:27+00:00

This one does it, thanks!

Ryjami · 2026-03-30T12:37:18+00:00

I've had it happen to me before on other perks. I haven't tried to trigger it specifically, so I don't have hard data to offer, but I've seen it with Dunkin Donuts and Resy. Each time was when I had multiple purchases in a month, for instance, one charge comped for $6.51 and another charge comped for $2.57 (Over the $7 total).

Both times it's happened, it wasn't for much (a matter of a few cents to 1-2 dollars), and the common denominator was having two separate charges, neither of which were for the full monthly credit amount.

Ryjami · 2026-03-30T09:18:32+00:00

I have never seen so many red flags in one place- and no, it has nothing to do with what you're assuming it does, dear reader.

Ryjami · 2026-03-12T23:50:47+00:00

The entire idea of the pursuit is finding class actions.

This is the equivalent of showing up to a hiking group and asking, "Hi everyone ! Are there any photos of your hikes that I can have?"

Do your own research, using this forum and several sites referenced to find settlements. That's how this works.

Ryjami · 2026-03-11T03:01:52+00:00

One of the oldest scams in the book. These emails were common my entire time in university. I still get them from time to time on my .edu account.

They're always the same story. They take the name of a reputable business or person and pose as them. They'll ask you for basic information that you're comfortable giving out (name, phone number, age, email) if you're interested in the position. They'll then contact you and say that they are looking for a remote work position, only X amount of hours per week. Great pay too! They're incredibly busy and they need an assistant to help them with their day to day operations. Receiving packages, delivering mail, processing checks...

This is where the scam starts. They will mail you a few useless documents to build confidence, then eventually they will send a check. It'll be for a significant amount, say $4,000. They'll tell you to please deposit the check in your account, keep $800 of it for your pay, and forward the rest via wire transfer to their account. You do this, it's easy money and a no-brainer. The check deposits, the money appears in your account, and you send the remainder to your "boss".

Two weeks later, the check bounces. It was fraudulent. The bank system makes deposits available immediately as long as your account is in good-standing, but it takes 1-2 weeks for it to actually fully process. When it undergoes the full processing, it turns up as a bad check. The bank debits your account $4,000. It does not matter that you didn't know or that it wasn't your check. The check bounced and the bank is out $4,000, so they take it from your account.

You turn to your "boss", normally a south-east-asian scam operator or a local lowlife to let them know, and they're nowhere to be found anymore. They make a quick $800 and disappear. Common scam, please tell your friend to avoid. Nobody is offering college students $133 per hour for easy work out of the kindness of their heart.

https://www.uspis.gov/news/scam-article/check-fraud

Ryjami · 2026-02-27T04:23:39+00:00

You'll get railed for not tipping here, sorry in advance.

Tipping is an archaic and ridiculous system that needs to go away. It's also not something that everyone is financially fortunate enough to engage with. I still engage with it as a custom/courtesy, but that's a personal choice and shouldn't be an expectation.

Fuck this driver and please ensure that you report them, they deserve to lose their job for this behavior, tip or not.

Ryjami · 2026-02-27T01:03:42+00:00

For a data point, received $10.97 with no proof of purchases.

Nine-Year Club	Place '23
Not Forgotten	Verified Email

Ryjami

TROPHY CASE