I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[WVMomof3]

My fun filled Thursday night activity- the Fafsa and the CSS profile. I detest these things. Especially the CSS profile where you get the privilege of paying for financial aid application to each school. And you get to answer questions such as how much toilet paper did you buy last year, and how much do you anticipate buying in the next 2 years. Ok, maybe it’s not quite that bad, but it feels like it.

 

[platamama]

My fun filled Thursday night activity- the Fafsa and the CSS profile. I detest these things. Especially the CSS profile where you get the privilege of paying for financial aid application to each school. And you get to answer questions such as how much toilet paper did you buy last year, and how much do you anticipate buying in the next 2 years. Ok, maybe it’s not quite that bad, but it feels like it.

I'm already detesting them, and I have a sophomore. Before anyone tells me I have plenty of time, those forms do a 2 year look back. So I'm trying to find out what I can do for the remaining 2019 tax year to make our 2020 tax year better situated for the 2022-2023 FAFSA and CSS apps.

Any tips?? Do 401k contributions count as earned income?

 

[LB002]

I've been out of the loop this week, but for good reason. I verbally accepted a new job today. It (hopefully!) Is a good next step career-wise, AND between PTO and buy-up PTO I can get 6 weeks of vacation time.
Hooray! I hate the descision/negotiation process. Now on to that uncertain leaving/starting period....

Unfortunately, no SW bonus point promo. However, I do have $25 off $150 at BJs on my SW Bus card, which could be helpful for Disney GC. We aren't currently members, but if they have a good GC sale this holiday shopping season it may be worth joining....

 

[smmco]

I've been out of the loop this week, but for good reason. I (verbally) accepted a new job today. It (hopefully!) Is a good next step career-wise, AND between PTO and buy-up PTO I can get 6 weeks of vacation time.
Hooray! I hate the descision/negotiation process. Now on to that uncertain leaving/starting period....

Unfortunately, no SW bonus point promo. However, I do have $25 off $150 at BJs on my SW Bus card, which could be helpful for Disney GC. We aren't currently members, but if they have a good GC sale this holiday shopping season it may be worth joining....

Congratulations! I've turned down a couple of job offers because of not enough vacation time. Starting a new job with 6 weeks is awesome.

 

[Oscar Madison]

Don’t forget your CIP URs can be transferred to your other cards.
Also you can upgrade and downgrade cards ie CSR, CSP, CFU, etc. DH had CSR, downgraded to CFU after triple dipping the travel credit (no longer possible) Then we upgraded his CSP to CSR when we needed it (booked cruise excursions thru UR portal) and used the TC last year. TC just reset in October, so I used it again and as soon as the AF posts, I will have DH call to PC to CF. Then I will upgrade my CF to CSR and use the TC. Between DH and I, we have CF, CFU, CSR, CIP, CIC and CIU. We pool all those URs on CSR now (will transfer to CIP before we PC the CSR)

Love all the different examples. I can see us using several. Appreciate it!

 

[LB002]

Congratulations! I've turned down a couple of job offers because of not enough vacation time. Starting a new job with 6 weeks is awesome.

Thanks. There was a lot of back and forth on it. I really wanted the job (from a career perspective) but they didn't come up on the salary as much as I wanted. In the end I went for it, and the vacation time was a factor.

 

[gottalovepluto]

So let’s see the Plat is $550, are thinking over $1k? Now I am regretting taking that retention offer.

For sure. This is supposed to be between the $550 Plat and $10k Centurian so I expect the AF on this card absolutely to be in the 4 digit range. And I suspect it won’t come out with an eye popping bonus that will make it “math out”. But I’m admittedly feeling a bit pessimistic when it comes to amex these days.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Call me optimistic, but I think Amex will price the AF at $995 just to avoid the $1,000 psychological barrier.

Oooooh- lines are being drawn!

 

[gottalovepluto]

My fun filled Thursday night activity- the Fafsa and the CSS profile. I detest these things. Especially the CSS profile where you get the privilege of paying for financial aid application to each school. And you get to answer questions such as how much toilet paper did you buy last year, and how much do you anticipate buying in the next 2 years. Ok, maybe it’s not quite that bad, but it feels like it.

Oof! I still remember my parents were SO glad I didn’t go the school that required the CSS so they only filled it out once. Kept their FAFSA griping to a minimum I think because anytime they’d say something about the FAFSA it was quickly followed up with at least it’s not CSS!

 

[mmmears]

I'm already detesting them, and I have a sophomore. Before anyone tells me I have plenty of time, those forms do a 2 year look back. So I'm trying to find out what I can do for the remaining 2019 tax year to make our 2020 tax year better situated for the 2022-2023 FAFSA and CSS apps.

Any tips?? Do 401k contributions count as earned income?

My understand is that what is in your 401K doesn't count, but contributions do (meaning it's not a way to squirrel money away from the college). I think it's smart that you're looking into it early. My friend said that the FAFSA wasn't bad, but the CCS felt like a very thorough colonoscopy.

 

[georgina]

Any tips?? Do 401k contributions count as earned income?

Yes, I am 99.9% sure they count as income in the year the contribution is made (you have to add them back in to your income). My last one graduated from college in 2017, so we are done, but I feel for you!

 

[gottalovepluto]

I've been out of the loop this week, but for good reason. I verbally accepted a new job today. It (hopefully!) Is a good next step career-wise, AND between PTO and buy-up PTO I can get 6 weeks of vacation time.
Hooray! I hate the descision/negotiation process. Now on to that uncertain leaving/starting period....

Unfortunately, no SW bonus point promo. However, I do have $25 off $150 at BJs on my SW Bus card, which could be helpful for Disney GC. We aren't currently members, but if they have a good GC sale this holiday shopping season it may be worth joining....

They advertise one day of free online access to trial their $10/year online only membership.

 

[ep1229]

Bonvoy experts, I need some advice please.
I upgraded to the Bonvoy Brilliant a couple months ago. I haven’t used up the $300 credit but the other day I noticed the renewal fee hit. Does that mean I missed out on using the $300 credit? Does it roll over? Thanks in advance.

 

[georgina]

It's hard to keep current with this thread, but I didn't see anything today about the AA economy web specials currently going on. Some good values there to be had...

FM has a post on it but I'm not able to submit a link

Those can be quite good. Back in July I booked PIT-MCO for this Feb for 5000 points/miles. It wasn't an ideal time and has a layover, and they already changed the flight times on me, but it was cheap!

 

[platamama]

My understand is that what is in your 401K doesn't count, but contributions do (meaning it's not a way to squirrel money away from the college). I think it's smart that you're looking into it early. My friend said that the FAFSA wasn't bad, but the CCS felt like a very thorough colonoscopy.

Yes, I am 99.9% sure they count as income in the year the contribution is made (you have to add them back in to your income). My last one graduated from college in 2017, so we are done, but I feel for you!

Thanks for confirming about the 401k contributions. I wonder if it's too late for this year for DH to max out his 401k. Darn, I should've started thinking about this during FRESHMAN year!! gah

 

[LB002]

They advertise one day of free online access to trial their $10/year online only membership.

Aha! Good to know! I'll keep an eye out for a sale, but either way "try out" the membership for a day to maximize the promo.

 

[WVMomof3]

I'm already detesting them, and I have a sophomore. Before anyone tells me I have plenty of time, those forms do a 2 year look back. So I'm trying to find out what I can do for the remaining 2019 tax year to make our 2020 tax year better situated for the 2022-2023 FAFSA and CSS apps.

Any tips?? Do 401k contributions count as earned income?

They do ask how much you contributed last year. And this year. And next year! Lol. It’s a freaking pain in the ****. Also they ask what your balances are. If they are not supposed to count your retirement savings I feel it is intrusive for them to ask. Also home value, car values etc. I guess they want me to reverse mortgage my cars lol. All 3 of our cars combined (13 yrs old, 11 yrs old and 5 yrs old) isn’t enough value to pay one year. Lol

 

[mmmears]

Thanks for confirming about the 401k contributions. I wonder if it's too late for this year for DH to max out his 401k. Darn, I should've started thinking about this during FRESHMAN year!! gah

It sounds like you know what you're doing, but in case you haven't done this l suggest looking at the net price calculator that each college has online. It can give you a pretty good idea about what your kids will qualify for (there can be a large variation from college to college) and what your expected contribution would be. It doesn't work well for those who are self-employed and some who are divorced, but it's pretty straightforward if you earn a regular paycheck.

 

[ski_mom]

Between the Staples MCGCs and VGCs from this week, I have now covered 3 nights at the Park Hyatt Sydney! The Australia trip is slowly coming together.

So do you use the MCGC and VGC to pay for your hotel? Or are you saying you earned enough points buying them to cover your nights? Sorry for the dumb questions.

 

[Lain]

For sure. This is supposed to be between the $550 Plat and $10k Centurian so I expect the AF on this card absolutely to be in the 4 digit range. And I suspect it won’t come out with an eye popping bonus that will make it “math out”. But I’m admittedly feeling a bit pessimistic when it comes to amex these days.

The Centurion card will have a $10,000 initiation fee and a $5,000 annual fee effective April 2020. If the rumored new card is positioned between the Platinum and the Centurion, we’re looking at between a $550 and $5k AF.

According to Amex, they’ve seen a 60% increase in growth in Platinum accounts in the 2 ½ years since the refresh, even after the annual fee went up from $450 to $550. Amex clearly sees a demand for ultra premium cards and seems to believe the market will bear an ultra high annual fee to match.

I’m not a bean counter who can say where Amex will settle on the AF. I think $995 is the sweet spot to avoid the psychological shock of (and perhaps rational resistance to) paying $1k for a perks card. (Amex doesn’t have a history of setting AFs at $x99.) But if Amex decides to price their new card over $1k, I think all bets are off. Why not $1,250, $1,500, or $2k? It’s just insanity at that point.