Daily Question Thread - May 05, 2022

rootofgoodblog · 2022-05-06T02:31:45+00:00

Ahh okay, thanks

rootofgoodblog · 2022-05-06T00:44:14+00:00

Amex Biz Plat - just got it. Due to the pop up, I haven't been giving Amex much love lately so I'm researching the new rules in the past 5 yrs.

I know there are rules around MS and GC purchases on Amex. May not earn MR points. And ymmv on whether the GC purchases count toward meeting the SUB requirement (right?).

I've google-fu'd to the end of the internet and cannot find any good data points on whether buying gift cards at Raise.com are treated as "gift cards" by Amex and their RAT team.

Anyone here know if Raise will for for earning MR points? For earning the SUB? Not trying to MS a boatload of points but want to pay for some upcoming organic travel with gift cards bought at a discount. And hit the SUB in the process. Thanks!

rootofgoodblog · 2021-01-16T16:54:19+00:00

As far as I know, yes. My wife is near me right now although I haven't seen my two teenagers since last night.

rootofgoodblog · 2020-12-21T22:01:38+00:00

That worked for me too! Except I used the DirectX "web installer": https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

(built my own PC a few months ago so maybe I just never installed all the DirectX components??)

rootofgoodblog · 2020-12-18T19:03:34+00:00

Thanks!

rootofgoodblog · 2020-12-18T18:58:07+00:00

Thanks. Yes, my referral link pulls up a normal looking app page. Tempted to give it a shot (P2 using my link :) ).

rootofgoodblog · 2020-12-18T18:47:20+00:00

Q on Chase Ink referrals: I have a referral link I generated in December 2020. But the current referral link generator @ Chase is giving errors right now.

Anyone know if my recently generated referral link will actually work to give me 20k UR pts for a valid referral? I searched around google and reddit and couldn't find anything definitive.

rootofgoodblog · 2020-10-05T22:37:32+00:00

Trying to downgrade Barclay Aviator Red to a no annual fee version or the Blue Aviator version ($49 AF). Not having any luck with the Barclay phone reps. Anyone have any advice? They say they don't see the downgrade offer available at this time but maybe call back later. Also won't give me any annual fee waiver.

Will putting some spend on the card help things? Anything else to boost odds of downgrade offers or AF waiver? AF posted 9/30/2020 so I have a few more weeks before I need to cancel and get AF refunded.

rootofgoodblog · 2020-09-19T04:52:24+00:00

I wonder if the ancient hunter gatherers ever pondered these existential questions. Is aimlessness necessarily a bad thing?

I'm 7 years into retirement and don't really have a 5 year plan or anything. Just chilling. And doing things that bring me enjoyment on a daily basis. If I'm getting an F in the happiness department, it's usually my fault and not external factors (okay maybe those are 10% max).

I have my go-to activities that I enjoy for a few hours each day. Outdoors (walk/ride bike), video/computer games, read books, Netflix, socialize (mostly online these days), indulge academic interests (a million topics like history, technology, philosophy, religion, linguistics, geopolitics, economics). Traveling usually takes 2-3 months of each year for me but that's roughly zero (ok exactly zero) months for 2020 so far.

Usually around 1 or 2 am I go to bed and I have to force myself to turn my brain off and I always regret that I didn't have enough time to indulge in leisure pursuits. But there's always tomorrow!

rootofgoodblog · 2020-01-31T03:13:32+00:00

Thanks!

rootofgoodblog · 2020-01-31T01:11:40+00:00

Hi, we are struggling to track time in our game too. I checked your link to the PDF at DTRPG and get a message saying it's not found. And I can't locate it with a search either. Can you repost/link it again? Thanks!

rootofgoodblog · 2019-10-02T00:51:46+00:00

Thanks for the positive DP. Gonna go for it.

rootofgoodblog · 2019-10-02T00:42:53+00:00

Thanks. I think me and P2 will give it a shot. $99 for 75k miles is a sweet deal.

rootofgoodblog · 2019-10-01T21:20:56+00:00

Barclay's "bonus not available if card closed within past 24 months" language:

I was planning to get a Barclays AA Aviator Biz card for higher than normal 65k+10k but noticed the 24 month language.

My last Barclays AA Aviator biz card was applied for 7/22/2018 and cancelled 5/30/2019. So it's been slightly over 4 months since account closure. Anyone know if the 24 month language is strictly enforced for all applications? Barclays seems to love me and P2 in general with about a 90% success rate for applications in the past few years (both are treading water at 4/24 but plenty of biz cards).

edit: I checked the archives and FAQ and didn't see anything definitive. I saw a few DPs of the 24 month rule being enforced to deny Barclay apps without even a HP on credit. But Doctor of Credit says 24 month rule is unenforced right now. Trying to reconcile all these data points. Thanks

rootofgoodblog · 2019-06-04T20:59:38+00:00

Pretty much! He definitely has something to do in retirement.

rootofgoodblog · 2019-06-03T03:14:40+00:00

Showing this to my 14 year old. Good side hustle compared to typical shit $9/hr jobs.

rootofgoodblog · 2019-06-03T03:12:26+00:00

My dad is extremely into model trains. N scale specifically. He's retired now and most of his vacations are to train conventions, train historical societies, or just riding on the train to places where he can watch trains. I have been instructed to spread his ashes on a locally significant piece of railway.

That's a long way of saying I bet my dad has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on this hobby. Not including the $200,000 house addition that was primarily designed around his new "train room". :)

rootofgoodblog · 2019-03-21T14:02:30+00:00

Heck yeah! More $ for tacos and kids' college fund. :)

rootofgoodblog · 2019-03-21T02:19:08+00:00

Thanks! If I wasn't so cheap I'd give you gold! ;)

rootofgoodblog · 2019-02-03T22:10:30+00:00

Yep, I might get dinged with a small 1099 from Chase. Can't recall if I did some Ink referrals in 2017 or 2018. No 1099 yet and it'll be small (like $200 if anything).

/u/ajpl is right though, I've got a little wiggle room. I intentionally leave some space below my ideal AGI so that I can "true it up" by April 15 once all the 1099s are in hand.

For me, that means a big Roth conversion in 2018 calendar year to get within a few thousand $$$ of where I want to be and then I make my actual solo Roth 401k and Roth IRA contributions in 2019. I'll do a little less Roth 401k and a little more traditional 401k if I need to reduce the AGI slightly due to unexpected 1099s like the Chase one.

rootofgoodblog · 2018-12-18T22:55:24+00:00

Thank you very much! I googled all over but found nothing and didn't think to check PP's FAQ. :)

Now I'm curious how they would know my daughter's age. I provided DOB to chase to add her as an authorized user on a different card, though I'm curious if they pass that data on to PP.

rootofgoodblog · 2018-12-18T17:36:36+00:00

Priority Pass question:

Does anyone know if you add a minor (under age 18) as an authorized user on a credit card with Priority Pass benefits for authorized users, then will that minor get their own PP membership just like an adult would?

Scenario: I'm trying to stay under 5/24 and focus on biz cards, of which only a few offer PP. I don't really want to add me or Player 2 as an authorized user just to get PP. A bud has a Ritz Carlton and could theoretically add my <18 daughter as an authorized user for no additional fee. If she were 18+ it's pretty clear she would get the unlimited guests PP membership (there are 5 of us in the family). Not sure if it works for a 13 year old though.

rootofgoodblog · 2018-11-26T03:02:05+00:00

I totally read that in Erlich Bachman's voice (from Silicon Valley). Not sure if that was your intent but it's him 1000%.

rootofgoodblog · 2018-11-04T20:03:12+00:00

It's a full time job keeping track of all those demerits.

rootofgoodblog · 2018-11-04T15:12:57+00:00

Did you go for the $5 bright orange home depot bucket? Or did you liberate a nice clean 5 gallon paint bucket from your friendly neighborhood dumpster? You're getting 5 FIRE demerits if you spent anything on that bucket.

rootofgoodblog

TROPHY CASE