I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[SouthFayetteFan]

That's right, I did think of that, but didn't get a chance to look at the actual return. I do get a few of those credits, so that would definitely sense. Which would then mean that I effectively paid 38% on those bonuses.

ETA: You were right, I lost $400 retirement savings credit. So then the numbers totally make sense. Thanks for solving the mystery!

Just catching up now but this was my suspicion. Your AGI hit a phase out or cliff! That’s a bummer!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

.

 

[gottalovepluto]

what about an American Airlines CitiBusiness Platinum Select - 70,000 miles after $4k spend in 4 months? While we haven’t started down that path, we’ve also never had a CitiCard and could use AA miles in the next year or two. I thought I saw some type of“saga” but I haven’t been able to find all the details.

Well, if you only have 1 sign up bonus you should get to keep your miles and trips. 2 sign up bonuses are also safe for now. That's a good sign up bonus on Citi AA and also the card is useful if you want free bags. Do be aware they have recently moved to dynamic pricing so expect prices to increase wherever it is you are going. Play around with potential flights paying with miles to get an idea of how many miles you could be looking at. As mentioned above the biz variety won't hurt your 5/24 status.

TL;DR on the sAAga... If you got multiple sign up bonuses over the last few years you are in danger of having all your miles taken away from you and all your tickets cancelled because AA says you "exploited" their frequent flier program.

For general discussion and questions on the sAAga we've moved that to our Reddit group DISchurners which everyone here is welcome to join, just send @SouthFayetteFan a message here on the DIS.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

@alryan - is there anything you can do to get your AGI back under the threshold for that credit? It’s possible that your options on that closed when the year changed to 2020 though. I’m pretty aggressive with my tax planning each year and use a spreadsheet to make sure I control my AGI as best I can. Unexpected income (like bank bonuses) can certainly mess with things if I hadn’t been projecting for it.

Or perhaps you don’t want to be a crazy tax guy like me...and that’s fine too. I’m 100% insane with how I project and almost manipulate my taxable income to get it where I want to be (all legally of course).

 

[bernina]

@alryan - is there anything you can do to get your AGI back under the threshold for that credit? It’s possible that your options on that closed when the year changed to 2020 though. I’m pretty aggressive with my tax planning each year and use a spreadsheet to make sure I control my AGI as best I can. Unexpected income (like bank bonuses) can certainly mess with things if I hadn’t been projecting for it.

Or perhaps you don’t want to be a crazy tax guy like me...and that’s fine too. I’m 100% insane with how I project and almost manipulate my taxable income to get it where I want to be (all legally of course).

On a related note, other than 401k, HSA or FSA, charitable contributions and gifts, what other avenues are folks using to reduce taxable income? We max out all of the accounts available to us and that pretty much exhausts my knowledge of these items.

 

[castormom4]

Well, if you only have 1 sign up bonus you should get to keep your miles and trips. 2 sign up bonuses are also safe for now. That's a good sign up bonus on Citi AA and also the card is useful if you want free bags. Do be aware they have recently moved to dynamic pricing so expect prices to increase wherever it is you are going. Play around with potential flights paying with miles to get an idea of how many miles you could be looking at. As mentioned above the biz variety won't hurt your 5/24 status.

TL;DR on the sAAga... If you got multiple sign up bonuses over the last few years you are in danger of having all your miles taken away from you and all your tickets cancelled because AA says you "exploited" their frequent flier program.

For general discussion and questions on the sAAga we've moved that to our Reddit group DISchurners which everyone here is welcome to join, just send @SouthFayetteFan a message here on the DIS.

Found it on Reddit! I’ll check a couple flights to see if the points are useful to us. I assume there are no referral links for it anymore?

 

[castormom4]

On a related note, other than 401k, HSA or FSA, charitable contributions and gifts, what other avenues are folks using to reduce taxable income? We max out all of the accounts available to us and that pretty much exhausts my knowledge of these items.

Real estate! And my ungodly amount of kids (kidding, we have 4). Hopefully soon we can have a small farm as a tax write off haha!

 

[wanderlust7]

DH approved for Amex Plat! No pop-up! My heart was pounding out of my chest, though I think it was partly the tea, lol.

75k SUB supported from my Gold Biz for an extra 25k. Got it to pull up incognito, with VPN, while logged into my work computer. Thought it was interesting that only VPN didn't work. Then I quickly went and grabbed the upgrade offer on his Gold for an extra 60k. Hope everything works as it should.

Question for anyone who has taken an Amex upgrade offer - when does the upgrade show up online?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

On a related note, other than 401k, HSA or FSA, charitable contributions and gifts, what other avenues are folks using to reduce taxable income? We max out all of the accounts available to us and that pretty much exhausts my knowledge of these items.

So as far as manipulating AGI - I’m working with 401k, HSA, IRA. A combo of Roth and traditional to hit the number I need to be at if it matters.

I can’t get that retirement savers credit anymore so AGI isn’t quite as relevant to me as it used to be.

Then below the AGI line, I’m working with charitable contributions primarily. Playing games with property taxes (prepaying) would I guess be another option but our prop taxes are so low it’s not worth the hassle.

 

[alryan]

@alryan - is there anything you can do to get your AGI back under the threshold for that credit? It’s possible that your options on that closed when the year changed to 2020 though. I’m pretty aggressive with my tax planning each year and use a spreadsheet to make sure I control my AGI as best I can. Unexpected income (like bank bonuses) can certainly mess with things if I hadn’t been projecting for it.

Or perhaps you don’t want to be a crazy tax guy like me...and that’s fine too. I’m 100% insane with how I project and almost manipulate my taxable income to get it where I want to be (all legally of course).

Thank you! I almost mentioned you, thinking that you would never have let something like this happen. But alas, I know I will never be a crazy tax guy like you. I do pay attention, but not nearly that close. I don't think there's anything I can do with my AGI. With the standard deduction going up, even with doubling up on property taxes and pretty good charitable contributions we don't even itemize deductions anymore. So there just isn't a lot to work with. I think you're right it only could be done in 2019.

I never received 1099s for any of my bank bonuses last year so I have to keep telling myself...Be honest.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thank you! I almost mentioned you, thinking that you would never have let something like this happen. But alas, I know I will never be a crazy tax guy like you. I do pay attention, but not nearly that close. I don't think there's anything I can do with my AGI. With the standard deduction going up, even with doubling up on property taxes and pretty good charitable contributions we don't even itemize deductions anymore. So there just isn't a lot to work with. I think you're right it only could be done in 2019.

I never received 1099s for any of my bank bonuses last year so I have to keep telling myself...Be honest.

So AGI wouldn’t be affected by the deductions. This is a function of earned income less IRA And 401k primarily. If you maxed out your traditional 401k then there’s almost nothing you could’ve done. I can’t remember the exact MAGI calc that affects retirement savers credit - can traditional IRA contributions help that? Did you max out your IRAs already?

 

[alryan]

So AGI wouldn’t be affected by the deductions. This is a function of earned income less IRA And 401k primarily. If you maxed out your traditional 401k then there’s almost nothing you could’ve done. I can’t remember the exact MAGI calc that affects retirement savers credit - can traditional IRA contributions help that? Did you max out your IRAs already?

Thanks I promise I'm not as stupid as my posts make me sound sometimes.

 

[ski_mom]

@alryan - is there anything you can do to get your AGI back under the threshold for that credit? It’s possible that your options on that closed when the year changed to 2020 though. I’m pretty aggressive with my tax planning each year and use a spreadsheet to make sure I control my AGI as best I can. Unexpected income (like bank bonuses) can certainly mess with things if I hadn’t been projecting for it.

Or perhaps you don’t want to be a crazy tax guy like me...and that’s fine too. I’m 100% insane with how I project and almost manipulate my taxable income to get it where I want to be (all legally of course).

On a related note, other than 401k, HSA or FSA, charitable contributions and gifts, what other avenues are folks using to reduce taxable income? We max out all of the accounts available to us and that pretty much exhausts my knowledge of these items.

I was wondering the same thing as well. DH and I are going to hit a few limits this year and I tried searching for ways to reduce, but didn't see much other than you bernina listed. If there are other ideas, I'd love to hear them!

 

[tink1970]

when does the upgrade show up online?

The card color changed almost immediately both times I've made changes (up/downgrades). Congrats on the approval!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thanks I promise I'm not as stupid as my posts make me sound sometimes.

I PMed you some thoughts

and I definitely don’t think your stupid.

 

[amcc]

I know this is triggering for some (so fair warning, LOL), but I found this article really helpful to link up my Delta and Hilton accounts for Lyft. The CSR part was a breeze. https://thepointsguy.com/guide/lyft...&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=thepointsguy

Thanks for posting this! Lyft is usually cheaper here anyways so all these promos will be great icing on the cake. Does anyone think that I can connect 2 seperate Lyft accounts to one Hilton or one Rakuten account?

 

[wanderlust7]

The card color changed almost immediately both times I've made changes (up/downgrades). Congrats on the approval!

Hmm...mine still looks the same. I still see the upgrade link too, but I'm afraid to click it. Hope it's nothing to worry about..

 

[tink1970]

Hmm...mine still looks the same. I still see the upgrade link too, but I'm afraid to click it. Hope it's nothing to worry about..

Maybe check tomorrow-did you screenshot the upgrade confirmation? If it's not showing tomorrow then I'd call/chat/communicate with them. You want those points

 

[wanderlust7]

Maybe check tomorrow-did you screenshot the upgrade confirmation? If it's not showing tomorrow then I'd call/chat/communicate with them. You want those points

I didn't screenshot. Should have. I'll see what it looks like tomorrow. Have a mailer too for the upgrade, not sure if that helps, lol.

 

[ten6mom]

I've been ignoring my CF in favor of other options so I completely missed the bonus categories. I can take advantage of a couple of them. Oops.

Oh, and I'm finally getting offers on my CIP (not fantastic ones and not a lot of them, but offers! Perhaps more will come later).