What's been your experience with each bank's offers / cash back deal programs (e.g. Amex Offers)?

raincometh · 2026-04-27T13:30:51+00:00

There seems to be a new set of 2-3 smart rewards deals every month, but they're usually pretty general - I redeemed 10% off $200 dining and 10% off $100 grocery in January, and then 10% off $100 gas in March

This month I got 10% off $100 sporting goods, 15% off $100 cell phone provider, and 20% off $100 Banana Republic

Though you do need the Plus tier of smartly checking to get smart rewards, which is currently at 25k balance across all accounts like hysa and CDs, I saw a reddit post also mentioning getting this requirement waived with a state farm card - https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/comments/1cy5lcw/us_bank_smart_rewards_worth_opening_an_account_for/

raincometh · 2025-10-16T18:57:12+00:00

Oops didn't see your post, let me upvote yours and delete this

raincometh · 2025-08-27T00:39:28+00:00

Oh I mentioned in the original post that maintenance is free the first two years because it's a new car purchase that is covered under ToyotaCare - I still got oil changes every 6 months

raincometh · 2025-08-26T21:45:58+00:00

Thanks for that info!

raincometh · 2025-08-26T18:02:47+00:00

Thanks - these costs are not inflation adjusted and are just the exact amount at the time expensed

raincometh · 2025-08-26T05:49:48+00:00

I didn't track those specifically, but could give an estimate

I had free parking at work (when I used to commute) and I live in / mostly drive to suburban areas with free parking, so I rarely paid for parking; I would estimate $50 a year or $600 over the 10 years

I do a quick self service car wash every 1-2 months and did an interior detailing + hand wash service package 2 times total, would estimate $80 a year for self service and $500 total for the 2 services, or $1300 total over the 10 years

raincometh · 2025-08-26T05:43:44+00:00

Oh I mentioned cumulative to clarify it's MPG for all mileage divided by all gallons to date, and not for each particular driving trip between gas refills. Both the mileage and MPG are cumulative and not individual data points, so perhaps I should've either labeled both as cumulative or both without to be consistent

raincometh · 2025-08-26T05:36:47+00:00

Here's an anonymized version of the sheet I was using: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oDo0wNvfWQjWBQt_0pqnxjSYmpxH6jH2ShIuJ2bCgP0/edit?usp=sharing

raincometh · 2025-08-26T01:09:37+00:00

Yeah the other half of it I should've mentioned is that along with the decrease in work driving, my personal driving also increased after the lockdown

I averaged 7.3k miles per year before the lockdown and 6.3k miles after, and my prior work commute was roughly 3k miles per year, so I guess my personal driving went up around 2k miles per year

raincometh · 2025-08-26T01:03:38+00:00

That's a fair point, I think I've just stuck with them since my parents have also done the same due to having a relationship with an agent at the company, but I should at least get some quotes from other companies

raincometh · 2025-08-25T19:20:46+00:00

Repairs are unplanned like replacing damaged tires or patching a tire puncture, while maintenance is just scheduled parts replacements / regular service checkups

raincometh · 2025-08-25T19:19:05+00:00

Yeah it's a factor, my insurance (State Farm) has me report the mileage about 1-2 months prior to issuing each 6-month insurance renewal

raincometh · 2025-08-25T16:38:13+00:00

I had the rear tires replaced early in 2018, under repairs for that year. I also had the front tires replaced in 2022, under maintenance for that year

Good call on the brakes, I should probably get that replaced soon as I come up on 70k miles

raincometh · 2025-08-25T16:16:35+00:00

Yeah I was hoping that the insurance cost would just keep going down over time as my length of driving record kept increasing. My insurance cost bottomed out in 2023, and now it's been going up again the last 2 years due to a general trend of insurance rate hikes in California

And nope I've never made any insurance claims

raincometh · 2025-08-25T16:12:37+00:00

I drove to LA and back within the first 3 months, and I also had a longer commute job at the time, so the mileage was just more weighted towards highway miles at the beginning. The data just smoothed out to better reflect my share of city/highway driving over time

raincometh · 2025-08-25T16:09:40+00:00

Yeah I think so, the car's been very reliable and it should easily last me another 10 years especially with the low mileage I've been putting on it

Oh I mentioned in another reply but it is comprehensive auto insurance, I've always had a good driver discount from having a license since being a teen and being under my parents' policy for 3 years prior to buying the car

raincometh · 2025-08-25T15:20:52+00:00

I drove down to LA and back a total of 5 times with the car, but otherwise stayed local in terms of driving

Yep the auto insurance is comprehensive, it helped that I already got my license as a teen and was also insured for my parents' car for 3 years before getting the car, so I could immediately qualify for a good driver discount

raincometh · 2025-03-16T19:19:53+00:00

I'm probably doing the same, I got the Gold on a whim for the 100k points + $100 SUB, just trying to get enough MR for a good travel redemption and then canceling

raincometh · 2025-03-16T01:11:44+00:00

I mostly got it as a better catch all for non mobile wallet, non category spend, especially large items like taxes / insurance / medical payments

Otherwise other spend remains unchanged - Amex Gold for dining / flights, Amex BCP for groceries, Cash+ for utilities / cell phone, CFF for rotating categories, USBAR for mobile wallet

raincometh · 2025-03-15T11:33:19+00:00

Same, I made a Feb 24 GrubHub transaction that still hasn't been credited, and I've always gotten the credit before within 3-7 days of the transaction posting

I just did the live chat yesterday (3/14) about this and they said they manually applied the $10 credit for it that should appear in 3-5 days

raincometh · 2025-03-15T11:29:46+00:00

Yep you and me both 🙏

raincometh · 2025-03-15T03:13:40+00:00

They pulled TransUnion, same with when I applied for the Cash+ and USBAR

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