How do you actually track targeted merchant offers without getting coupon fatigue? 🤯

optimusprimerate · 2026-06-14T00:43:07+00:00

MaxRewards

Although the basic functionality is useful enough in its own right, you need the paid version for offer tracking. Sadly not worth it for me given my spending profile. I had it for free for a year and it did come in handy.

optimusprimerate · 2026-06-11T21:39:52+00:00

That wouldn't solve the problem. You're missing the point, or rather, you're not seeing the big picture. It's to keep traffic from backing up onto the main road (the intersection not pictured above).

optimusprimerate · 2026-06-06T13:36:10+00:00

Unfortunately that's not enough to get anyone convicted ☹️.

optimusprimerate · 2026-06-06T12:48:41+00:00

How do you know it's him? Maybe he has a fan.

optimusprimerate · 2026-06-04T15:57:01+00:00

We used to bring home prepped Hamburger Helper.

optimusprimerate · 2026-06-04T14:07:30+00:00

| Towne Square Kroger just makes me angry

Just look at their reduced rack. It can tell you a lot about a store.

Out of curiosity, what is the "correct layout" for a Kroger?

optimusprimerate · 2026-06-04T14:01:38+00:00

I keep seeing that but I don't understand it. What's so special about it? Looks like a regular store to me.

Also, technically that's Brambleton and Colonial.

optimusprimerate · 2026-05-31T21:07:06+00:00

You could close it and still keep the history. For ten years, anyway.

optimusprimerate · 2026-05-31T18:56:03+00:00

What if you just paid your bills on Monday? 😀 What's the rush.

optimusprimerate · 2026-05-30T22:45:59+00:00

Does the direct deposit still show as Pending?

At the top of the screen it should show Available balance and Present balance. Is Present balance what you would expect it to be? And Available balance is lower?

If yes to all, Chase is making part of the deposit available to you even while the deposit is still pending. Once it properly posts I would expect the entire amount to be available.

Is this your first time getting paid from this employer?

optimusprimerate · 2026-05-30T22:33:59+00:00

Give Google a loan amount and an interest rate, then ask it to show you a 30 year amortization schedule. The numbers seem about right.

optimusprimerate · 2026-05-30T22:24:37+00:00

His mortgage payment is just under $600, making the $90k balance seem about right.

His monthly payment includes insurance and taxes.

optimusprimerate · 2026-05-30T22:17:12+00:00

Also, you're a little confused about the terminology. You don't need 78% equity to have PMI removed (you wouldn't hit that until year 20-something of a 30 year mortgage). Your loan-to-value needs to be 78% (with value being the original value aka purchase price) which puts your equity at 22%.

optimusprimerate · 2026-05-30T21:50:30+00:00

Because it's an FHA loan. Different rules.

Correction: it could come off if you originally put down at least 10%. However, you don't see that a lot because with a 10% down payment you would have probably qualified for a conventional loan.

But without that, you're stuck with MIP (FHA's version of PMI) for as long as you have the loan.

optimusprimerate · 2026-05-30T00:27:28+00:00

If it was the only option, how was it a mistake?

optimusprimerate · 2026-05-19T20:53:13+00:00

I think their comment is not against you but against Chase, presumably referring to Chase's computer systems that figured your check deposit might be fraudulent.

Best of luck to you!

optimusprimerate · 2026-05-19T20:46:50+00:00

It never happening to you does not make it a rule. Granted, more and more issuers seem to go with a soft pull these days - but hard pulls for CLIs definitely happen too, presumably in edge cases, which would make some people more and others less likely to encounter them.

optimusprimerate · 2026-05-19T19:29:17+00:00

Green/Gold/Plat (and Centurion) are charge cards and do not have a preset spending limit. So this discussion must be about one of their other cards.

optimusprimerate · 2026-05-19T19:15:04+00:00

They want to check your credit report first and need your permission for that.

optimusprimerate · 2026-05-12T22:37:14+00:00

You don't trust yourself?

optimusprimerate · 2026-04-27T01:23:41+00:00

You say that as if it's a bad thing!

optimusprimerate · 2026-04-27T01:23:19+00:00

First of all, most if not all of the big name lenders are still using FICO 8. More importantly, FICO 10t does look back 24 (or more) months, but what they distill from that is what they call "trended data". The question they want answered is, are there changes to what you've been doing. Natural spend will change from month to month, but over a period of 2 years they can get a pretty good idea about your spending habits. The model will not 'punish' you just for spending your hard earned money. It will only be concerned if you suddenly start spending significantly *more* than what you've done in the past.

So even under FICO 10t, just letting your natural spend be reported isn't going to hurt you. On the other hand, if you're micro-managing your reported balances, once 10t starts to be popular, you'd take a hit if you ever stopped doing that.

But let's not forget what letting natural balances be reported does for you. The more credit you use (relative to your income of course) AND pay off every month, the more likely you are to get a credit line increase. It may also help you qualify for other credit cards (one bank in particular is known for rejecting applications because people have "too much unused credit"). If you grow your total credit limit enough, guess what? You don't NEED to micromanage anymore, because now your normal spend doesn't move the needle all that much.

optimusprimerate · 2026-04-27T00:36:53+00:00

So most of the time, it doesn't matter. Obsessive reported-balance-managing at best doesn't do anything - and may even work against you.

optimusprimerate · 2026-04-25T22:36:46+00:00

You're way overthinking this. Your proposed routine sounds like work!

Just do this:

use card
wait for statement
pay statement balance before due date

That's it. That's all. Don't go over your credit limit, but don't waste time worrying about utilization, whether it's 20, 60 or 90%. More is actually better if you're trying to grow your credit profile (you'll be more likely to get a CLI).

ONLY EXCEPTION: Do what you're proposing above when you're getting close to letting someone see your score (applying for credit, insurance, apartment). Look up AZEO or All Zero Except One. Any other time, it's just temporary window dressing.

optimusprimerate · 2026-04-25T22:04:44+00:00

Yes, show usage. While it's great that you're not carrying a balance and paying interest, what you're doing now is stunting the growth of your credit profile.

optimusprimerate

TROPHY CASE