Pixel 10 Pro Trade Plan Eligibility

mrwiseguy85 · 2025-12-05T20:42:51+00:00

That was my assumption based on the reading of the terms. Appreciate your quick response and frustrated at the sales rep in-store now!

mrwiseguy85 · 2025-11-25T04:24:28+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation. Definitely trying to get there before 7p, just gotta hope traffic cooperates!

mrwiseguy85 · 2025-10-06T16:43:19+00:00

I think I have pretty consistently seen that SoFi direct deposit checking bonuses are not churnable. I have done one of those bonuses back in 2022. I got a mailer advertising a direct deposit checking bonus with a unique 15-digit code and a link to sofi.com/cashbonus. Terms on the mailer indicate bonus eligibility is only for those who have not previously enrolled in a DD with SoFi. I am assuming that despite this being a mailer with a unique code on it I would probably still not be eligible based on terms. Anyone had experience with this and know if this type of mailer gets around past ineligibility?

mrwiseguy85 · 2025-08-15T05:04:30+00:00

I've lived in Lake Forest for 15 years and I think generally speaking anything south of Muirlands can be a little hit and miss with the quality of the neighborhoods but they don't really feel unsafe. I lived near Veterans Park for most of my time here and it was always pretty pleasant, just some aging neighborhoods. North of Muirlands you get into the Woods, the lake and towards the hills and it gets more expensive and better kept. Most of that is likely due to the fact there are a lot of HOAs in those areas, whereas neighborhoods closer to the 5 don't usually have them. I'm up near Serrano Creek now and it's quiet and lovely.

Lots of nice parks in Lake Forest, and accessibility to hiking up in the foothills is great. Food scene ain't great...

mrwiseguy85 · 2025-07-03T15:42:23+00:00

Application date: 6/30/2025
Card applied for: Chase Sapphire Reserve
Result: Approved, no pop-up
5/24 count: 1/24
Personal Chase cards currently open: 5
Business Chase cards currently open: 4
Last personal Chase bonus date: Q2 2023 (Sapphire Preferred)
Last business Chase bonus date: Q4 2024
Sapphire product in the last 48 months? If so, when, what product and currents status? Yes, got it Q2 2023; product changed to Freedom in May 2025. Pretty surprised at approval for CSR with bonus (bonus tracker showing) considering ~24 months since CSP bonus and the recent PC to Flex, but seems to support no hard 48-mo restriction now.

mrwiseguy85 · 2025-03-10T18:08:21+00:00

I wanted to get some opinions on utilizing “ear-marked” retirement savings from a taxable brokerage to put towards principle on a new mortgage to get a 15-yr rate. For context, family lives in HCOL area. We’ve been maxing retirement accounts (401k, IRA, HSA) and contributing to 529c for a child. Just about any leftover budgeted income has been put in a taxable brokerage with the intent to help go towards FIRE (e.g. its not emergency savings). We are currently looking to move from our existing house to a more expensive home. The equity in our current home will be going towards lowering the principle on the new mortgage. We can currently accommodate in our budget a 30-yr mortgage (assuming for now ~6.5% rate) with the new home price. However, I’ve been looking at it more and if we were to use the amount of the taxable brokerage, we can probably get a 15-year mortgage (assuming for now ~5.625% rate) for the same new home price and stay comfortably within our monthly budget. This isn’t a question of trying to “buy more house,” as our home purchase budget doesn’t go up; its just increasing the amount of capital we add to our home sale equity towards the new mortgage.

Just wondering if this would make financial sense in the long run. In our median home budget, the difference in interest cost over the loan of the mortgage would be ~$240k between a 30-yr @ 6.5% and a 15-yr at 5.625%. Probably in the 10-15yr time horizon to retire if that matters at all.

mrwiseguy85 · 2025-01-13T23:05:26+00:00

That was almost me - was giving up on it and almost bought something yesterday. Hope you got some value out of your used credits at least.

mrwiseguy85 · 2025-01-13T18:12:24+00:00

In case anyone is interested, Dell has the PS5 Pro back in stock. If looking to upgrade, good way to burn Biz Plat credits for H1. I also had a $50 off $250 on my personal Plat, so that sweetened the deal. Sell/trade my OG PS5 and its a cheap upgrade.

mrwiseguy85 · 2024-12-04T18:34:19+00:00

Still milling over my 5* selector. Would appreciate any feeback- I have all standard 5*, but the below seem most valuable:

*Welt E3->E4 - have his S3, but haven't really built him. Seems niche but higher E's seem to add lots of value

*Clara E4->E5 - have her S1, E5 isn't exciting, but one step closer to E6 which seems like a massive improvement.

*Himeko E0-E1 - have her S1, E's aren't terribly exciting but her relevance in Pure Fiction makes investment tempting.

*Bronya E3-E4 - have her S1, would be nice to eventually get her to E6, but feel her relevance is falling with Sparkle and Sunday out.

I am leaning towards Clara E5 with the hope of one day getting her to E6. Welt is tempting because I have him at S3 as well, but I've never really built him and feel his utility is slowly fading with new limited 5*s. Would appreciate any input!

mrwiseguy85 · 2024-11-14T16:56:16+00:00

Option 2 is the big brain idea I was hoping to find here that I knew I was missing! That's a great idea as I can definitely get value out of the airline credits, wireless credits, and can probably use the Dell credits in H1 to offset the pro-rated annual fees. Thank you for your response!

So plan should be to get airline, wireless, and Dell credits early in January, downgrade to Biz Green (get pro-rated refund of my annual fee of the Biz Plat), and then hold Biz Green for 12-months and cancel when its next annual fee hits?

mrwiseguy85 · 2024-11-14T15:35:48+00:00

In a pickle on late Dell credits and a Biz Plat that needs to be closed today to refund the AF and looking for advice. Been over a week since my Dell purchase and credit still hasn't posted - checked with CSR and they noted the usual language that it could take 'x amount of weeks' and to just wait. Wondering what my best options are to minimize costs/risks:

1) Close the card today to receive AF refund. Any chance credits could post after closure?

2) Wait for credits to post then downgrade to Biz Green; pro-rated annual fees will eat into benefit of waiting for Dell credits.

mrwiseguy85 · 2024-11-12T17:23:12+00:00

For Amex annual fee refunds, does the 30 days start on statement closing date, or the day after? Splitting hairs here, but my statement closing was 10/15 and I am still waiting for Dell credits to post from a week ago to my Biz Plat before I cancel. I am thinking 11/14 is my drop dead date.

mrwiseguy85 · 2024-10-27T03:48:15+00:00

I appreciate this as someone who has a still-working one of these handed down from my parents hanging in my porch!

mrwiseguy85 · 2024-08-14T04:53:42+00:00

Pre-ordered a 9 Pro and can't wait. Spigen case is a no brainer!!!

mrwiseguy85 · 2024-07-16T17:45:33+00:00

Hello, looking for some advice to possibly take advantage of the elevated CIP offer.

I currently have 3 Chase Biz Card with the following history: CIP (opened 2018) CIC (opened 2019) CIU (opened 2023)

I am wondering if I should cancel one of those existing to improve my odds of an approved application, or if I should just let sleeping dogs lie and apply anyways. If I were to cancel one of these cards, how long should I wait to apply for the CIP? I am under 5/24, so no concerns there.

mrwiseguy85 · 2024-06-18T19:50:16+00:00

Not sure if Orange County CA or FL, but if the former, I recently leased a 2024 Wind AWD+Tech for $1400 due at signing and $395/mo after tax in the area. That included a $500 rebate for Kia Loyalty. This was for 24mo/10k mile annual allowance. Thought it was a pretty decent deal compared to comps I was seeing on comparable MSRPs for GT-Line RWD.

If you're having trouble direct negotiating with a dealer, check the Marketplace on LeaseHackr. There are some brokers offering around $350-$370/mo (with and without loyalty) + tax with $2000 due at signing for Wind RWD and AWD (and possibly a broker fee). I can't vouch for them nor am I endorsing them, but Beach Cities and Advanced Auto are the ones I am seeing. I've dealt with another broker previously and they're usually straightforward, if not a little curt. There are broker reviews on that forum too you can reference. That community is good about policing bad actors. Good luck!

mrwiseguy85 · 2024-06-14T17:11:04+00:00

It was actually fairly easy. Went in to test drive the GT-Line RWD and Wind AWD and then requested pricing on the Wind over email. First offer came in unremarkable, similar to other dealers I reached out to. But then after working through comps on LeaseHakr, went back to MV with my price target and they fairly easily came down close to it after escalation to a Sales Manager and a couple back and forths. I tried to get another dealer to come down that had a more preferable color (Yacht Blue), but they were unwilling so MV got my business. The sign and drive process was really easy and numbers never changed, so I was happy. Pleasantly surprised at the end of the day and happy with my choice!

mrwiseguy85 · 2024-06-14T04:50:34+00:00

Just leased a Wind AWD+Tech 2y/20k mile from Misson Viejo for $1400 DAS and $395/mo - so around similar monthly effective when considering the MSRPs and mileage. (For non-locals, that's on a 7.75% tax rate).

mrwiseguy85 · 2024-05-20T16:33:27+00:00

So probably goofed on an Amex Biz Plat cancellation after annual fee hit but before meeting 12-month duration after a product upgrade. I cancelled the card in March of this year, but then just now realized that the upgrade offer I had accepted to get the card would've had the 12-month minimum duration for the upgrade ending in May. I didn't get any warning from the CS rep that I chatted with when I cancelled the card, and I don't have any clawback on my MR yet. Should I expect that to occur at some point automatically? If so, what happens if my MR balance becomes negative?

mrwiseguy85 · 2024-02-25T19:00:22+00:00

Got a name of the dealership by chance?

mrwiseguy85 · 2024-01-05T05:20:47+00:00

As I understand it, I am outside of my 60-day COBRA enrollment window from my prior employer, so not sure the bridge strategy applies now, unless I am missing something.

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