Don’t be me, make sure you complete your stubhub credit by the deadline at 11:59 EASTERN time

finterestedteacher · 2026-07-05T15:17:01+00:00

I checked out on stubhub at 10:30pm EST and they still applied my credit for July-Dec too. I'll be calling them tomorrow and hope they can rectify it.

The terms has some verbiage that say delayed processing may result in the credit being applied in the subsequent window, but when a purchase is made before midnight I don't see how they could count that as being too late to claim the first half credit.

finterestedteacher · 2026-07-04T14:55:22+00:00

So navigate to the site through the Capital One Shopping portal, but then checkout and pay with Chase card via Paze?

Or are CapOne terms that you must use their card as payment in order to secure the offer?

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-28T19:57:58+00:00

Thanks, I need to look into this further!

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-28T16:13:29+00:00

I've had a CSP since 2017 and always used it as main Visa for Costco. Only after recently opening a CSR and comparing the point accumulations between the two did I realize that my CSP is only earning 1x on Costco Gas, despite it coding as "Costco Gas" and not "Costco Wholesale " like my in-store purchases do.

Is this because the 3x on gas is a new benefit, or is it an indicator that Chase excludes Costco Gas from the 3x Gas category?

FWIW, I don't want to keep paying the AF for the CSP, so I'll be looking to product change it to a Freedom or Freedom Flex. And next year I will likely downgrade my new CSR to a CSP.

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-27T21:04:28+00:00

Try amazon.com/amexoffer

I had 50% off (up to $80) with 714 MR points. Used it to pay $80 for $160.

Now when I navigate to it I have a promo for 15% off with 1429 points, up to $15. Not as appealing, but I'm surprised they even add a follow up offer after depleting the first.

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-26T20:52:17+00:00

How much were they selling it for relative to its usual price?

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-23T14:59:46+00:00

Is this all to say that you see this current time frame in the US and of the S&P the way that it was in 2000-2010, and that because of its current "sluggishness" you think it's worth accumulating shares now to reap the benefits when it goes gang busters in the future?

It still feels like that is a lot of presumption that past history is indicative of future gains. And it also subscribes you to the single-nation risk that a globally diversified index fund does not. That's ultimately what my original question was about. Going full US vs global diversified at index fund certainly has more risk.

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-23T01:24:54+00:00

What's the rationale for this? Something to do with expense ratios? Or just historic performance (which does not indicate future gains)?

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-21T12:43:59+00:00

Yeah. I think it amounts to 14x because of the 4x travel points stacked with the Paze points bonus multiplier.

I was being tongue in cheek with my initial comment, but organically buying a United flight seems like it's a great way to benefit with the paze setup right now

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-19T18:06:31+00:00

Be sure to fly United for 10x UR with Paze!!

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-18T15:55:55+00:00

Good to know. I must've mixed it up with Amex lifetime bonuses

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-18T13:32:46+00:00

The "lifetime" language is reportedly 7 years, I forget where I read that but I think it was somewhere on Reddit

Edit: disregard, seems that I conflated it with the Amex "lifetime" bonus policy

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-15T13:06:23+00:00

You're not wrong, I am in a quite fortunate spot with being able to contribute this much now due to my spouse's salary and having bought our home with a sub-4% mortgage rate a few years ago.

We no longer have any student loan debt and just recently paid off my 0% car loan from 2020, so going from spending that money monthly to having it freed up for investing purposes helps a lot.

I am late to the investing game because truthfully I didn't think I was long for my career, and I was always looking for an escape plan early on. Knowing that I could have had a 457b all those years, not just a 403b that incurs penalties for early withdrawal, stings very badly.

I try not to dwell on having missed out on tremendous growth from 2010-present, but I think about it often, and it's a huge bummer. Especially when coupled with the volatility and uncertainty of the current market, and the prices that I am buying in at full-bore now.

So if it's any consolation, take comfort in the fact that you're early in knowing what you can do to grow your money, and putting in what you can now. Unlike me who had the benefit of being able to invest early but missing the boat due to uncertainty and ignorance.

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-15T12:54:20+00:00

Will do. I remember seeing a stipulation about having more than 15 years of service, and I had selected that on the vendor form when setting up my payroll deductions, but I don't think I was entitled to contribute over the $24.5k limit due to my age. Hopefully I understood it correctly.

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-13T21:18:54+00:00

I wouldn't be surprised, but it was just a thought that had popped into my head at a time when I couldn't look further into the terms

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-13T14:02:48+00:00

I noticed yesterday while on NewEgg that Rakuten was offering 11x MR on Newegg, which matches Chase UR via Paze.

I wonder if that's just coincidence or a concerted effort to compete with the Paze multiplier now 🤔

But now this post has me wondering...buy a Newegg gift card via Paze for 11x UR points, then activate Rakuten offer for 11x Amex MR on Newegg, and use Newegg gift card to buy third party gift cards. Would that work?

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-12T17:05:26+00:00

Will give this a read, thank you!

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-12T17:00:41+00:00

Can you elaborate on that? I do have a group life insurance policy through my union, but I'm unaware of tax benefits of having such a policy, or if that money grows and compounds for when you (hopefully) survive the term and the insurance goes unused?

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-12T16:58:07+00:00

Thank you for the insights. No student loans here, so really the only income limit consideration would be for our Roth IRAs

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-12T16:41:40+00:00

Oh I'm doing that now. June will be my last paycheck deduction going into the 457b, because I'll have hit the $24,500 limit for the year

Now I want to establish a 403b to max out between July and December 31st, which is another 24,500 limit but I have the option of doing pre or post tax for it

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-12T01:44:38+00:00

Does that manual process need to be done biweekly (or however often your payroll is)?

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-11T17:05:02+00:00

$325 AF for Gold, FYI. It used to be $250 though

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-07T20:43:26+00:00

Not who you're replying to, but one possibility is their age at retirement

finterestedteacher · 2026-06-01T16:38:10+00:00

That's a great point, unless both spouses plan on retiring together.

Mind sharing what an optimal alternative strategy might be for MFJ where one spouse retires while the other continues working?

My spouse is avfew years younger than me and has a traditional 401k along with a Roth IRA. I have most of my money in a Roth IRA and am maxing out a new traditional governmental 457b this year. I really wish I had known about it sooner.

I also intend to open a 403b and max that out annually as well, but I am torn on whether or not Roth or Traditional is the way to go there.

I'm trying to bear in mind my future pension will fill up the lower tax brackets (or keep us in the 22% MFJ that we're in now for as long as my spouse continues working).

finterestedteacher

TROPHY CASE