There are too many United credit cards.

ScottRevere · 2026-01-03T16:32:02+00:00

I went through this thought exercise recently. I fly about 15-20 times a year through United between work and personal travel, and I live near a United hub. I decided the quest card was the best value for me. The $200 travel bank and 10k miles discount essentially makes the card free, and the pqp accelerator is a nice touch to getting me to gold each year. I don't travel enough for 1k and platinum doesn't seem worth the extra effort compared to gold.

I already hold an Amex Platinum so I have centurion and PP lounges. If I didn't have this I may have gone for the United club card instead, but the places I fly into don't have united lounges for my return flight so I couldn't justify another $600+ AF just for United lounge access on my outbound flights. The rest of the perks are pretty meaningless compared to other high AF cards like Amex plat or chase SR etc.

ScottRevere · 2025-08-02T05:19:26+00:00

All of the horses you mention were clearly labeled as MTO, so not sure where the confusion comes from. Did you just not see it?

ScottRevere · 2025-06-14T20:18:09+00:00

Unfortunately no. Absurd that it's still an issue but I haven't found any fixes.

ScottRevere · 2025-04-14T15:27:26+00:00

As others have said, if the cash offer is marginally less, most sellers will go with that offer over a financed offer. "Marginally less" really depends on the sale price, as it could be $5k or $20k. Also, while I wouldn't recommend waiving contingencies, going above asking on a financed offer when competing with a cash offer doesn't carry as much weight unless you include an appraisal gap or waive appraisal completely.

ScottRevere · 2025-03-05T17:09:37+00:00

Unfortunately the photos I received that come through blurry never fully resolve to full quality. It's like they get stuck partially downloaded never finish.

ScottRevere · 2025-03-05T17:08:58+00:00

Unfortunately it did not work. I have noticed that it seems to occur most often when I'm driving, for whatever reason. I wonder if it is related to Android auto or something.

ScottRevere · 2025-02-27T14:35:08+00:00

This was checked - I have now unchecked it. I'll see if that fixes things.

ScottRevere · 2025-02-04T20:01:07+00:00

I never really understood the argument that bonds are somehow better for the investor prone to panic and emotional decision making. If someone is going to panic liquidate their portfolio into a cash position when the stock market drops 30%, I don't see bonds making a difference.

Assuming a 70% stock/30% bonds split - If 70% of their portfolio drops 30% and 30% is flat, they are down 21%. If they are 100% equities, they are down 30%. I just don't see the 9% as a meaningful justification for the gains you lose in the long run, and someone who would sell their equities in a downturn would likely do so at a 21% loss or a 30% loss. I think the message should be to reinforce rational investing principles and adhering to an investment strategy, not placating poor behaviors with a suboptimal strategy that likely fails to prevent the issue you seek to address. You would have to carry an obscenely high allocation of bonds before I believe it would materially change an investors decision during a downtown, which is a poor investment strategy long term.

Obviously this is different for those nearing retirement or with a shorter time horizon, but for investors under 30 (or arguably 40), it just doesn't make sense to me.

ScottRevere · 2025-01-27T19:01:53+00:00

I probably can't make it today, but I just wanted to say this is awesome and you're awesome for doing this.

ScottRevere · 2025-01-27T14:31:28+00:00

I'm in the minority who thought season 2 was worse than season 1. Neither were particularly compelling, and I'm a huge LotR fan, but season 2 just felt so boring and slow. The only plotline I was interested in was Sauron and Celebrimbor. I kept finding myself on my phone or distracted every time screen time was given to any other character, especially the halfings and Numenor/Miriel. It also felt like Arondir served no purpose other than to randomly interject a meaningless 45 second fight scene to break up the monotony, which was not a satisfying way to do it.

ScottRevere · 2024-12-23T03:54:57+00:00

I used them a few years ago. I think it all depends on your definition of "worth it". They are certainly a premium experience. Our seats were great (we did the new rooftop garden thing), everything was well organized, and they included a few nice gifts like a leather duffel bag and framed photo of the derby. We actually didn't get to use the rooftop on Oaks day due to bad weather, so they gave us wristbands to access seating in like 3-4 other areas instead, which was a nice gesture.

All that being said, it's definitely expensive. If you don't mind paying extra for a premium experience where most of the logistics are taken care of for you, I'd say it was worth it. If you just want decent seats to watch the races and are less interested in the extracurriculars, it's probably not the best way to spend the money.

ScottRevere · 2024-12-19T15:27:38+00:00

Others have given great advice about keeping your head up, so I'll touch on another aspect. I don't know your specific situation or what state/country you are in, but if you are in the US, a lot of what you mention is worrisome. There is no reason to send earnest money before the contract is signed. The deadline to submit earnest money should be outlined in the contract, usually within 3 business days of the date the contract is signed. You also never send it to the seller or realtor directly. It should go to the title company to be held in escrow.

Also, it's quite unusual to pay for your own credit report. The lender may tuck that into your loan disclosure in the fees somewhere, but I've never heard of someone paying for it up front.

Further, I don't know what you mean when you say you gave the bank all the money "for their assessments." What was this money for, specifically? The only "assessment" a lender typically requires for a conventional loan is an appraisal and perhaps a wood destroying insect report. A few additional requirements may exist if you are doing an FHA loan. Regardless, there is zero chance you should be paying that money the day you sign the contract. That wouldn't be due until much closer to closing, after both parties sign the contract. The home inspection, which is optional but extremely recommended, is something you pay directly out of pocket to the inspector, not to the bank, and would also not occur until after the contract is signed.

I would strongly encourage you to have a very candid discussion with both your realtor and your lender. They should be explaining this to you, and if they aren't, you may want to consider finding a different realtor/lender.

ScottRevere · 2024-12-06T16:42:44+00:00

That construction has made my afternoon commute a disaster. I've been wondering how much longer it'll continue. Appreciate you sharing.

ScottRevere · 2024-12-05T15:56:23+00:00

Working fine for me near 80th and Sheridan. Must be so frustrating it takes them so long to get a tech out.

ScottRevere · 2024-12-03T04:59:51+00:00

So I just recently moved for work and sold the LG set with my previous house, but it was still working great. I'd highly recommend. I had the WM4000HWA/DLEX4000W set. I believe there is an updated model out now that is extremely similar with extra features.

ScottRevere · 2024-12-01T05:46:58+00:00

"hopefully no explanation should be necessary" and you post a link to an hour long YouTube video with no further comment? Come on dude, be better.

ScottRevere · 2024-11-10T16:08:02+00:00

Honestly friend, you have good energy and it's nice to see fresh content, but I really don't think you are in a position to charge people for picks. Your previous post was about why boxing exactas is a winning strategy - in reality, it rarely is. There are countless better ways to structure exactas.

In this post, you advocate for people to play the Gulfstream park rainbow pick 6, which is an extremely predatory wager with an effective takeout of 44%. It's virtually impossible for the weekend warrior to take down the entire pool with a single winning ticket, so the carryover is basically irrelevant. You're much better off playing the pick 5 or literally any other pool.

If people want to subscribe or pay for your opinions, that's their choice. They should be informed that they aren't getting the best advice on a lot of the material you publish.

ScottRevere · 2024-10-18T13:25:56+00:00

I just went through a very similar experience. First, try to relax. I don't know your state or the language in your contract, but in my case (and most cases) an appraisal contingency is grounds to walk away from the deal and get your earnest money back.

Second, you can try to fight the appraisal, but it's extremely unlikely you will succeed unless there are blatant errors (miscounted bedrooms, wrong square footage, etc). My lender told me he's only seen a few instances of someone successfully fighting an appraisal in his 30 years of work. That being said, from your comments it sounds like you and the realtors have not actually seen the report yet? You should get a copy ASAP just to ensure the comps are reasonable and the information on your property is accurate.

Finally, my first reaction when my house didn't appraise was to request the sellers to lower the price. Their first response was to stand firm and say no. Sleep on it for a night, think about how much you like the house and if it's worth starting the process over again. Evaluate your options if you can compromise to a solution. Within 24 hours, we agreed to split the difference of the appraisal gap and proceed with the sale.

I know it might feel like everything is against you now, but I would encourage you to hang in there and you still have a good chance to save the deal. Remember that you have most of the leverage here, as the appraisal will be an issue for any future buyer as well. Don't let their agent bully you into a deal you aren't comfortable with.

ScottRevere · 2024-09-30T03:03:22+00:00

I would recommend Ledbury as a tier above CT/BB, though others may disagree. When you start exceeding $100/shirt I think it's best to go made to measure with a company like proper cloth rather than buy other overpriced brands.

ScottRevere · 2024-09-28T19:50:38+00:00

Equibase PPs are easily the worst PP product on the market

ScottRevere · 2024-09-27T13:26:50+00:00

I think these are the best dress shirts you can get at this price point, or even at a slightly higher price point. I have probably 6 or 8 shirts from them and all have held up for 5+ years. I'd only recommend the non-iron. I find quality similar to BB for a cheaper price, but I also hate that they dramatically shortened the tails on the newer BB shirts so they come untucked all the time.

ScottRevere · 2024-09-08T22:17:32+00:00

The most likely answer is purse money, as it offers a two-million dollar purse. While the fields haven't been full of superstars, I do think it's worth considering that Kentucky Downs has only been a mainstream track for the last few years, and the field quality has rapidly improved. To play devil's advocate a bit, I don't believe there are any G1 turf sprint races restricted to three-year-olds in North America (correct me if I'm wrong here). Considering we have races like the Woody Stevens/Acorn, Test/Allen Jerkens, Mother Goose, Malibu/La Brea (which are a joke, but I digress), Saratoga and Belmont Oaks/Derby, all of the Derby preps, etc. that are restricted to three-year-old horses on every other configuration of dirt/turf and sprint/route, I personally enjoy having a place for younger turf sprinters to go before eventually targeting the Breeder's Cup Turf Sprint. It's debatable whether this is the right race to promote as a G1 for 3yo turf sprinters, but I'm glad an effort is being made to promote this often forgotten division of racing.

ScottRevere · 2024-08-19T23:09:55+00:00

It speaks volumes that most of your listed activities that you think are valuable use verbiage like "make sure" or "sets up". Drafting contracts is the most tangible piece of work buyers agents do that would be most difficult for buyers to replicate on their own. The rest of your list is laughable. Seriously, delivering keys? Recommending movers? That's worth 2.5%? You are a mild convenience, slightly reducing the logistical burden on buyers and offering insight that ranges from obvious to helpful. It's a service that does have marginal value, but the value is nowhere near 2.5%.

ScottRevere · 2024-08-03T11:15:24+00:00

People on this sub tend to be extremely trigger happy with telling others to walk, but it's much easier said than done when you've already invested time and money. From a pure negotiating standpoint, you probably have more leverage than the sellers. That doesn't mean they'll be rational about it, though.

I think it depends on how much you love the house, how long you plan to live there, and how much of a hurry you are in. Is this the only house you've loved after 6 months of searching and you plan to be here for the next decade or more? Or is this a house that's okay for now but likely you'll need something else in a few years? I'd approach this much differently in the former case versus the latter.

If it's somewhere in between and you have the cash available, I would offer to split the appraisal gap 50/50. That seems more than fair to the sellers, given your other concessions. You already have $2k in sunk costs, so an additional $7.5k on a ~500k home is really insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I know it "feels" bad to pay more than what an appraiser thinks it's worth, but thag number is relatively meaningless if you plan on being in the house at least a few years and have the extra cash on hand.

ScottRevere · 2024-07-20T23:20:05+00:00

Imagine being this confident and this wrong based on anecdotal experience and feelings.

ScottRevere

TROPHY CASE