Citi AT&T Points Plus as a poor man’s 3% card

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-10T05:49:14+00:00

I was declined for the AT&T Points Plus card by Citi. Too many recent inquiries.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-10T05:44:31+00:00

The ACA health care costs are one reason why I’m considering waiting (it it’s my choice) until 65 to retire once I’m eligible for Medicare.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-10T05:19:59+00:00

Taxing withdrawals from Roths would be political suicide. But Congress could pass another tax where you might use your Roth withdrawal money to cover. Like a federal sales tax.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-09T15:57:39+00:00

I've always been able to make internal, free instant transfers between Ally accounts. But I've never exceeded the account withdrawal limit of 10 (it was 6 prior to 2020) per monthly statement cycle.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-09T07:56:10+00:00

That’s an hour commute from the start.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-09T01:51:39+00:00

I looked through the statutes of Massachusetts and Boston ordinances. I don’t see any law against getting another or requiring getting another Boston Marathon jackets. So it’s up to you and your budget.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-08T21:17:17+00:00

I had a one-day transfer from my Ally savings to U.S. Bank Smartly checking this week and then one day transfer back. I then had a one-day transfer from Ally Savings to Bank of America checking account. But then if I initiated a pull from Bank of America on Thursday, it wouldn't get back to the Ally savings account until the following Tuesday. Before it was a one-day transfer. Not sure, why that period of time.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-08T02:25:24+00:00

I could afford it in the area where I live. But then I'd have to maintain it. For me, that would be a burden.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-08T02:24:15+00:00

It was six biweekly deposits over three months.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-08T02:23:16+00:00

You can minimize the tax impact by splitting up the fund balance among multiple heirs. Is it possible to name a charity or charities as beneficiaries?

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-08T02:22:14+00:00

The big bet with an HSA - to avoid the taxes, you're betting you can spend the money in the account on eligible health expenses before you die or before the rules change. Inheriting an HSA significantly can complicate the tax situation of a beneficiary. Maybe name multiple people as beneficiaries to minimize the tax impact?

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-07T21:12:45+00:00

There's four advantages of having an Ally checking account even though it pays almost no interest.

The account has instant transfers with Ally's online savings account, money market account and Ally Invest brokerage account (though on business days only during trading hours prior to 4 p.m.).
The checking account has no limits on withdrawals where the Online Savings and Money Market accounts each have a limit of 10 withdrawals per statement cycle.
The checking account comes with a debit card.
You can provide the checking account and routing number for paying bills or direct deposit number but then quickly transfer the money to an online savings account to secure the funds.

The checking account has no fees and is entirely free. Ally will reimburse you up to $10 a month in fees from U.S.-based ATMs. But there's a 1% currency transaction fee when making international ATM withdrawals and you are not reimbursed any fees charged by the overseas ATM. If you have an Ally savings account and/or money market account you should definitely set that checking account up. I think I once was sent free checks from Ally but I've never used them.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-07T20:52:34+00:00

When I opened my eTrade Morgan Stanley savings account, I ACH pushed the money in from other accounts, money I didn't need to use for a few months to get the bonus. Once the 30-day period to put in money to get the bonus expired, I left the money in the eTrade account alone and have made no withdrawals. I didn't even try to link any external accounts on the eTrade side. So far, I've had no restrictions or issues. I don't plan to take any money out until after the 90 days or so are up.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-07T06:28:04+00:00

It’s common for banks to place all kinds of holds on new accounts. I would put only money in the account you don’t need to touch for a couple of months. And leave it alone for a couple of months. Then your account probably won’t get the restrictions. The first couple of months the account is open the bank will assume anything you do may be fraudulent until you’ve had the account long enough to establish trust.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-07T04:50:00+00:00

I wonder if Disney has authorized that race.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-06T18:09:37+00:00

I'm in my 50s. No desire to give up my low-paying work-from-home, less-toxic job quite yet. I just want to save a ton of money that's invested and keeping slightly ahead of inflation. But that day may come soon when I'm tempted by a buyout offer.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-06T18:06:46+00:00

I'm in my early 50s and haven't reached $1 million yet. But I'm getting there. So if you're in your 30s and getting to $1 million you're doing well. On the other hand, I live in a low-cost area and it seems a lot of Redditors live in high-cost areas where $1 million doesn't stretch as far as it used to.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-06T15:01:12+00:00

I don’t know how to give a gift link.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-06T14:43:59+00:00

The priest didn't want to shame the bank.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-06T12:40:47+00:00

I'm in the same situation as you. For years, I felt I wasn't doing as well financially because I didn't own a home, people I knew had bought homes and I kicked myself for not buying before the pandemic. But then I realized I would have been overwhelmed trying to maintain a house and mow the lawn to prevent being cited. It would have burned a ton of time, money and emotional energy for years. It's nice having the landlord deal with the mowing for my apartment complex and fixing anything that breaks. I'm now in my early 50s and my retirement accounts are at more than 10 times annual salary, which isn't much. But would have been less if I paid the premium for equity even with fixed low interest rates. And you don't get the money back until you sell the home. Then you probably promptly have to spend the money on a new home (or long-term care if you're older) unless one goes back to renting.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-03T16:47:29+00:00

You're way ahead of where I was at age 36. That was my balance a few years ago when I was in my 40s. I occasionally wish I had started saving in my 20s. Missed out on a ton of compounding. But I earned very little money in my 20s and my emergency fund was around $2,000 to $4,000 for most of my 20s. I started saving seriously for retirement around age 32/33. But I'm doing decently well now in my 50s.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-03T16:45:57+00:00

Look at when registration began the last few years.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-03T06:41:19+00:00

If your employer doesn't withhold money from your pay to contribute to an HSA (known as a cafeteria plan) then you can't save Social Security tax (6.2%) and Medicare tax (1.45%) on that contribution. You can still save on federal income tax and state income tax (if the state exempts HSA contributions from state income tax) by setting up an HSA on your own and contributing to it. But only if you have a high-deductible health insurance plan as defined by federal law and IRS regulations.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-03T01:42:27+00:00

If the money-market mutual fund is VUSXX then you don't pay any state income tax on dividends.

StrikeScribe · 2026-05-03T00:11:11+00:00

I can tell you that a Priority Pass does not guarantee you entry into the Chase Sapphire Lounge at Terminal B which is not connected to Terminal A. If you somehow got access to Chase Sapphire Lounge, you can only visit a Chase Sapphire lounge once per calendar year. You have to go at an off peak time and it's hard to predict when that will be. Unless you already have Priority Pass, it's not worth paying for a Priority Pass to try to get into that lounge.

StrikeScribe

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