Thanks. I wasn’t aware of that. I guess was one of the “improvements” Trump added (was not allowed pre-2018). I definitely don’t hate it.
Of course 10K/kid is kind of a rounding error if we’re talking about 500K/kid total costs.
I’m with you on not worrying if I end up with too much money in the 529. If it looks like I’m going way over, then I can use some for pre-college tuition (thanks again, Florida Man) or we can always set it aside for grandkids.
I might even use it myself. There are all sorts of 529 scam programs (that’s what I call them) that have popped up. The purpose of these programs is to just exhaust unused 529 funds. So if the kids don’t use all of it, I can change the beneficiary to myself and take a study abroad class in Europe on wine tasting that is apparently fully eligible to be paid for with 529 funds.
It’s more likely I might use it for real when I retire. I’ve always kicked about the idea of going back to school when I retire. I imagine it would be kind of fun if there are zero stakes and I can spend time learning only the things I am interested in.
Amex raised the fee for Platinum to $700, which is…pretty ridiculous. You get $400 back pretty easily via airline credit and hotel credit, but that’s a pretty absurd annual fee.
I was actually thinking of getting one now that travel is back on the table. I was too much of a miser to do it before. Now at $700, I think the miser instincts are gonna win again.
You think it’s worth it at $700? I’m sure it has to be +EV still with substantial use and travel.
I’ll probably keep it. The Centurion lounges are nice but there is massive overcrowding. You get a $169 clear credit, no idea if I’ll use that, plus a $200 Uber credit that’s annoyingly like $17 per month instead of a flat $200. I get a lot of value out of the fine hotels program - free breakfast and late checkout, plus fairly common 4th night free promos are worth real money to me. The concierge service has come thru for me on occasion, plus 5x points on travel is like a 10% rebate.
From a purely financial perspective It’s definitely +ev for the first year thanks to the sign up bonus points. Renewal math probably depends on things like
how frequently can/will you use the lounges?
does stuff like Hilton Gold status have much real value to you?
will you really take the time/effort to use/track all the silly little credits like the Uber, Saks, digital services, etc? They’re valuable, but also really annoying. For example, the NYTimes apparently charges every 28 days, and I think Audible is 30, so some months will have 2 charges for those services. If you already subscribe to the NYTimes, just switch your payment method and thank Amex for the “free” money. But, if you don’t already subscribe, is it worth signing up and being annoyed when some of the charges don’t get reimbursed?
I just paid my annual fee last month, so I won’t get hit with the new rate 'til next year. If I had to decide right now, I’d probably not renew.
Sanity check request: my wife is planning on getting Lasik. I should probably just pay it via my liquid checking account over my HSA right? The $4k withdrawal over the next 20 years will be worth way more than that.
Yes if you can do it. I haven’t touched my HSA in the 10 or however many years I’ve had it. Max it out and use it strictly as a tax free retirement savings vehicle.
While you are at it I recommend having both block new accounts on your credit. It’s a bit of pain when you want to open a new credit line of some kind but prevents anyone else from doing so by stealing your identity.
Also, when you get your report read it closely. It is common for them to have errors that can effect your score.
I get mine from Borrowell. They send you an updated score every week. It was invaluable in figuring out my credit had been hacked last year — definitely worth the couple of emails a week offering me credit cards that I ignore.
My experience with the bureaus was that you had to pay to use their services (aside from your credit report, which is always free but different from your credit score), but that may have changed recently.
