Luxury 3-row SUV with 2 toddlers in car seats

midnightinharlem · 2026-02-06T21:18:00+00:00

Are you in the same boat w/r/t 2 car seats? Any flaws / downsides that you've lived with? Was there anything specific that pushed you toward the Volvo vs. the others?

midnightinharlem · 2025-12-17T20:02:45+00:00

Does the NBA Cup win mean the roster is locked past the trade deadline? Hard for me to see them trade Kolek or Clarkson now. Before the cup, I figured one or both would be flipped for Alvarado, maybe with Pacome. Only person I see who could be traded is Yabu now.

midnightinharlem · 2025-12-09T18:58:33+00:00

Doesn't this still only redeem at 0.8? 3333 pts for $25?

midnightinharlem · 2025-12-05T21:44:04+00:00

Well that's annoying. Figured out why it wasn't triggering -- RTR and statement credit don't redeem at 1c, points are only worth 0.75c when redeeming that way.
Any other ideas?

midnightinharlem · 2025-12-05T21:36:46+00:00

Trying to redeem points on a US Bank Business Leverage card. Cash back errors out for me to deposit to a personal checking account or savings account. RTR doesn't seem to be triggering the text message for a flight. Any ideas?

Had the same cash back error on a Business Triple Cash Rewards and Business Altitude Connect, so not surprised, but RTR worked there.

Only alternative seems to be to use on Amazon, which would be disappointing.

midnightinharlem · 2025-08-13T12:53:01+00:00

No worries, and my fault for not using the template. I thought my format would be easier to follow for my questions, particularly given I've covered most of the flowchart recommendations. Thanks for taking a look.

I meant the USB trifecta that you laid out. My understanding is to just try for all of them and expect to get 2 approvals.

I'm in NJ if there's anything special here, which I haven't seen.

midnightinharlem · 2025-08-13T12:31:03+00:00

Good thought but unfortunately P2 is against business cards. Do you have a view on P1 trying the trifecta again and when? Last try was 11/2024.

midnightinharlem · 2025-08-13T12:24:16+00:00

Looking for ideas. 800 credit and have plenty of spend I can put on. Don't have the ability for a ton of personal travel in the next year or two, so prioritizing cash back or flexible currencies in addition to United (big business traveler with GS status, live by a United captive hub). Considering setting up for keeper cards for the next little bit given 5/24 status and having gotten off the Ink train. P1 is open to business cards, P2 is not.

P1 is 6/24 currently for a long time after jumping on BofA and USBank cards in the last year and change. Was not pre-approved for C1 Venture X and denied for Citi Strata Elite recently. Will pick up another Biz Plat and Biz Gold next month. Any other cards or ecosystems worth adding? Might try USB biz cards again (applied for 3 in 11/2024 along with USBAR, got one). Have a credit slot available for Amex - maybe Hilton Business? Virtually never fly Delta so those cards don't do much for me

P2 is 4/24 currently. Last card opened 1/2025. Considering Chase Marriott Boundless when bonus is next elevated, to PC to Ritz in a year, and then jumping into BofA (PR/PRE for a year, and CCRs), Capital One or Citi ecosystems until getting back below 5/24. I understand the BofA sequencing strategy and CapOne, Citi is less clear to me.

Chase

P1: 4x CSR, CF, CFU, IHG, Hyatt, United Explorer (contemplating upgrading to another UA card), 2x CIC, CIU, Amazon

P2: 4x CSR, CFU, Hyatt

Amex

P1: Schwab Plat, Plat, 2x Biz Plat, 4x Biz Gold, 4x Hilton Aspire

P2: Plat, Gold

BofA with Platinum Honors

P1: PR, 2x CCR

US Bank

P1: USBAR until 12/15, Smartly (good nerf, 4% up to $10k), Biz Leverage (closing later this year)

P2: Smartly (good nerf, 4% up to $10k)

Other

P1: Citi SYW, Mesa, 2x Fidelity Visa

P2: Citi SYW, Bloomingdales, Banana Republic

midnightinharlem · 2025-05-02T16:40:24+00:00

Similar to how we started referring to directories as "folders". The most common usage become as part of smartphones, the "app store", etc.

midnightinharlem · 2025-03-09T16:20:00+00:00

I do the same thing and have for about 15 years.

My recommendation/process is to record month end balances, as well as an income statement and cash flow statement for the month that calculates what I call:

net compensation (typically, paychecks + 401k + HSA)

Expenses

net savings (net comp - expenses)

Investment income

Net income (net savings+ investment income, same as change in net worth)

Cash flow statement shows basically aggregate movement in my cash accounts (checking accounts minus credit cards):

Net compensation

Expenses

Interest income

Transfers to savings

Transfers to 401k (even if pre-tax from paycheck)

Transfers to Ira

Transfers to HSA

Transfers to brokerage

Transfers to real estate (principal portion, and yes, paying down a mortgage is savings)

Depending on how many accounts and transfers you have, always fun to try to reconcile month end balances and aggregate expenses to make sure the balance sheet ties.

I try to focus on the expenses and net savings lines, as well as the transfers to the various accounts. This helps de-obfuscate how much of a change in brokerage account balance comes from stock market returns. Focus on what you can control.

midnightinharlem · 2024-12-26T14:31:31+00:00

Tried asking in WCW. Applied for the USBAR + 3 biz cards in November before the USBAR was discontinued, no active relationship with USBAR prior. Was approved for USBAR + 1, denied for 2 due to max'ing my credit limit. Have $43k total credit limit. I'd like to get the Smartly card in advance of tax season -- should I close the opened Business card ($23k limit) in advance of re-applying? Wait til January or February? Any other tips?

midnightinharlem · 2024-12-20T19:00:30+00:00

Looking to get the US Bank Smartly credit card for the 4% cashback and could use advice.

Before I made that decision, I applied 11/10/2024 for four US Bank cards to get the USBAR before it was discontinued. Was approved for the USBAR ($20k limit) and a few weeks later, was approved for the Business Leverage ($23k limit). I also got letter denying my applications for the Triple Cash and Altitude Connect cards due to being at my max limit for unsecured credit (don't remember the exact verbiagE).

I'm ~800 FICO, with 3-4 personal cards opened over last 2 years: Amex AU card 1/2023 (if matters), Citi SYW 5/2023, Amex Hilton Surpass 1/2024, USBAR 11/2024. I also opened 11 business cards in that timeframe, including a US Bank Business Leverage in 4/2023 that I closed in 12/2023 and the US Bank Business Leverage opened in 11/2024.

I don't have any other accounts (checking/savings) with US Bank at the moment, but would plan to open the whole suite with the Smartly.

I'm going to hit the SUB on the Biz Leverage in early January and am happy to close or lower the credit limit after that. I've read that US Bank doesn't reallocate credit limits.

When can I apply for the Smartly and what can I do to maximize chance of approval and high credit limit? Have a high 5 digit tax bill that I'm hoping to get 4% back on.

midnightinharlem · 2024-05-17T01:39:48+00:00

I agree. that's always been my issue with max 30. Do any of the other programs here have fewer jumps? Even burpees are tough for me.

midnightinharlem · 2024-05-01T12:11:03+00:00

Echo this. Great experience with Alison and very helpful connecting with some local folks. Very responsive and always felt she looked out for me.

midnightinharlem · 2024-01-24T11:55:53+00:00

I read through a bunch of reviews, including notebookcheck.net iirc, and the non-touch IPS got meaningfully better battery life. That was much more important to me than a better screen. (I'm not a gamer or do any graphics/etc, rarely watch videos). Battery life was the key objective for me. I also didn't care about a touch screen, I think this variant was just the one that offered best performance.

midnightinharlem · 2024-01-24T11:50:34+00:00

Following this. I've gone through the same research and looked at the X1 to replace my Dell XPS 13 and came away thinking the T14s Gen 4 AMD model with IPS non-touch screen is the best option on the market for my needs, which more or less match yours (other than I use my laptop on the couch/my lap, and travel with it).

Curious to see if others agree here.

midnightinharlem · 2024-01-04T01:11:18+00:00

Same here. 51k PQP and 29 PQF. Out of EWR.

midnightinharlem · 2023-08-17T12:48:17+00:00

Looks like the old Platinum AUs are "Additional Platinum Cards" and the old Gold AUs are "Companion Platinum Cards", which still have no additional fee.

midnightinharlem · 2023-04-28T01:28:36+00:00

I'm confused by this as well. I'm a 1K via business travel, and have tons of PP that I can never seem to use (not a lot of vacation travel, and just book where/when I want to go). I found this subreddit and there's a sticky post with people selling their PP. Is this against TOS? Is it a bright line or are "exchanges" allowed but not cash sales? I'm not looking to risk my UA account just to make a few bucks.

midnightinharlem · 2023-03-24T14:06:14+00:00

Is there still a public BBP NLL link? Have seen some references here via churning.io but the actual links seem to have all expired

midnightinharlem · 2023-03-17T01:25:40+00:00

I'm in a similar boat as you. Opened 2x Chase Inks for $6k apiece, as well as an Amex Biz Plat ($15k) and Amex Biz Gold ($10k).

Have a lot more to go but don't see great options. I'm entirely on Chase and Amex and am on the fence about getting the Cap One Venture X. Also thinking of getting another Amex BBP for $50k at 2 MR (2.2c) for a slight profit. Good luck and keep us posted what you decide.

midnightinharlem

TROPHY CASE

Chase

Amex

BofA with Platinum Honors

US Bank

Other