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

[disneybirds]

We were quoted $2100 for the two of us to receive all of the documents as a package. Otherwise he jacks up the price if you do certain documents by themselves. $2100 seems high to us

We were just quoted $1,500 to do a will, POA, and HCD for my MIL. I think $2,100 seems high unless you are having lots of extra items.

 

[Lain]

Looks like Amex is killing the double dip of the Hilton Aspire resort credit and Bonvoy Brilliant Marriott credit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/fdbgcu/_/fji53gf

Effective May 1, 2020, "The benefit terms for the $250 Hilton Resort Credit benefit are being updated to add clarifying language that statement credit(s) received during the reward year may be reversed if the eligible purchase is returned/cancelled, or if you engage in abuse or misuse in connection with the benefit (for example, if you do not maintain an eligible Card Account for the duration of the reward year)."

Last week, some people noticed a similar change coming to the Bonvoy Brilliant. Effective April 1, 2020, "The benefit terms for the $300 Marriott Bonvoy Statement Credit benefit on your card are being updated. A statement credit received during the reward year may be reversed if the eligible purchase is returned/cancelled, or if you engage in abuse or misuse in connection with the benefit (for example, if you do not maintain an eligible Card Account for the duration of the reward year)."

Basically, if you've used the Aspire or Brilliant credit and cancel (or downgrade?) the card during that corresponding cardmember year, expect a clawback.

Amex is also going to be holding Hilton points earned on spend in statement period for up to 12 weeks after close of statement. Currently, Hilton points earned from spend transfer to your Hilton Honors account at close of statement.

Fair warning. This will likely change the value proposition of these cards for many people.

ETA: Now DoC has a post up about it.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/amer...on-aspire-250-resort-credit-to-prevent-abuse/

 

[gottalovepluto]

I did some research today and it seems that it wouldn’t be advantageous for us to buy insurance now for our late spring (May-June) Europe trip since we are past the cancel for any reason time frame.

Since the chance we’ll need to cancel is rising at the moment, my thought is if needed, to cancel a little before a month out (when Airbnb cancel window closes and DLP final payment is due).

Our trip is such a mishmash of different reservations including points bookings (a few non refundable - I had thought I’d made them all refundable but was mistaken), small bits here and there on my CSR (some insurance there). It sounds like canceling a month out would not be covered under any policy anyway, and our loss would be somewhere around $1k, which I could cover with UR to make it no actual financial loss to us. We did buy the optional insurance that came with the DLP portion of our trip.

The policies I’ve read say that trip interruption/cancellation due to state department warnings for current terrorist events ARE covered, but say nothing about state department warnings against traveling where there’s widespread sickness.

Once we get past that one month out point if we’ve decided to go for it, will there be a problem then with buying insurance to cover medical issues? I’d hate to buy it now and then cancel before it would even help having it.

I don’t feel confident that I’m well enough educated on this, so I’m hoping anyone knowing more than me might be able to help me with any misunderstandings/blind spots I might have. I’m not stressed out about it, but just want to make the best financial decisions. TIA and sorry for being so long winded. Lol

It's suspected cc insurance won't cover this but the one we know absolutely will not cover this is Chase unless you are in a hospital abroad with the virus. Many Insurance companies have notices they will not cover costs associated with Coronavirus as it is now a known hazard. In addition to that many insurance plans don't cover epidemics and their related costs. You'll need to read the fine print of your DLP policy to find out if it covers what you hope it covers.

Trip insurance is stupidly overwhelming. If you decide you're going and you want that extra medical insurance you will have to literally read every potential policy to make sure it does not exclude epidemics or known hazards and that the company has not put out a notice coronavirus charges aren't covered for policies bought after X date as it's a known event.

Since you're too late for cancel anytime trip insurance (which still only gets you 75% back) your best bet if you decide to cancel will be to throw yourself on the mercy of the airlines, hotels, etc. Some are working with customers, some are not. Some are working with customers despite not having an official policy or travel waiver in place.

Like you mentioned you still have lots of time before you need to make a call

 

[StephPlum]

same
we have this as an add on option with my employer too. I’ve never done it since it seems like something I wouldn’t use much plus I want to be able to choose my own lawyer. But that does seem like a good deal for a trust preparation. Might consider it next year.

It is a lot like health insurance. You just have to pick a lawyer in network. At least that is how it worked for us. There were plenty to work with and I didn’t already have a lawyer so I didn’t have to worry if my existing lawyer was in network.

We just pulled our wills out last month thinking we needed to update them. We must have done them right after DS was born because it did mention all 3 but had provisions in case we had more. With the way they were worded we came to the conclusion we didn’t need to update. Besides guardian, which we wouldn’t really need any more (well I guess 2 more months till DS turns 18) everything else was pretty generic and still relevant. Kids would not get bulk of money until 25 and person we named as trustee is still good. We did POAs at that time also. So hopefully we are good for awhile.

Ours is like that too. Another reason I am glad we used a lawyer. he was able to word it so it doesn’t need constant updating. We used age 25 as well for the money.

 

[mmmears]

It is a lot like health insurance. You just have to pick a lawyer in network. At least that is how it worked for us. There were plenty to work with and I didn’t already have a lawyer so I didn’t have to worry if my existing lawyer was in network.

We did the same. Tried to hire someone years ago, and it was incredibly expensive. We used a quick online service as a stop gap, but I feel so much better now that it's all been set up properly. We had a list of attorneys we could use and chose one of them and were very happy with the service, but our finances are uncomplicated and we felt that DD was responsible enough now at almost 23 that we could take out the trustee part, which made it even simpler.

 

[Haley R]

We were just quoted $1,500 to do a will, POA, and HCD for my MIL. I think $2,100 seems high unless you are having lots of extra items.

We honestly went in just for a will but he brought up POA and the other documents which we hadn’t even thought about before.

 

[Haley R]

It is a lot like health insurance. You just have to pick a lawyer in network. At least that is how it worked for us. There were plenty to work with and I didn’t already have a lawyer so I didn’t have to worry if my existing lawyer was in network.


Ours is like that too. Another reason I am glad we used a lawyer. he was able to word it so it doesn’t need constant updating. We used age 25 as well for the money.

I see us needing to update our wills in the future (even though they aren’t even made yet). We currently do not have any siblings we trust enough to be guardians or trustees so we’ve picked both sets of our parents. Obviously we will have backups but those aren’t young either.

 

[mmmears]

I see us needing to update our wills in the future (even though they aren’t even made yet). We currently do not have any siblings we trust enough to be guardians or trustees so we’ve picked both sets of our parents. Obviously we will have backups but those aren’t young either.

That's where we got stuck when DD was little. We had one grandparent we trusted, and there was no way we wanted the others (or sibling) involved. So then we needed a backup, and then a backup for the backup and it was a mess.

 

[Limes96]

It's suspected cc insurance won't cover this but the one we know absolutely will not cover this is Chase unless you are in a hospital abroad with the virus. Many Insurance companies have notices they will not cover costs associated with Coronavirus as it is now a known hazard. In addition to that many insurance plans don't cover epidemics and their related costs. You'll need to read the fine print of your DLP policy to find out if it covers what you hope it covers.

Trip insurance is stupidly overwhelming. If you decide you're going and you want that extra medical insurance you will have to literally read every potential policy to make sure it does not exclude epidemics or known hazards and that the company has not put out a notice coronavirus charges aren't covered for policies bought after X date as it's a known event.

Since you're too late for cancel anytime trip insurance (which still only gets you 75% back) your best bet if you decide to cancel will be to throw yourself on the mercy of the airlines, hotels, etc. Some are working with customers, some are not. Some are working with customers despite not having an official policy or travel waiver in place.

Like you mentioned you still have lots of time before you need to make a call

Thank you so much for this response. I feel like with the research I’ve done so far and what you said here, I’m on the right track as far as putting together an intelligent game plan going forward.

 

[Limes96]

One more question for people familiar with Europe travel...will I be ok to wait until early May to buy train tickets? This would be one way Edinburgh to London (end of May), and then also the Eurostar from London to Paris (early June).

 

[Haley R]

That's where we got stuck when DD was little. We had one grandparent we trusted, and there was no way we wanted the others (or sibling) involved. So then we needed a backup, and then a backup for the backup and it was a mess.

Yep that’s exactly how we are right now. We’re choosing parents and one of my uncles. None of our siblings are in a place I would feel comfortable picking them.

 

[Haley R]

I need some advice for tomorrow since we’re trying to squeeze both Epcot and HS in. We won’t be able to leave home until around 3:30 and get there at 4:30. Our MMRR fp is at 6:30-7:30. We wanna do Epcot first because there are chances of storms later. Should we drive to each park or park at Epcot and take the skyliner to HS? I’m leaning towards driving but the parking lot is so far at Epcot

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I need some advice for tomorrow since we’re trying to squeeze both Epcot and HS in. We won’t be able to leave home until around 3:30 and get there at 4:30. Our MMRR fp is at 6:30-7:30. We wanna do Epcot first because there are chances of storms later. Should we drive to each park or park at Epcot and take the skyliner to HS? I’m leaning towards driving but the parking lot is so far at Epcot

I would park at the Boardwalk and walk or take the boat to Epcot for us usually walking is quicker....
then take the boat to the studios...
from the studios walk back to your car at the Boardwalk

 

[Haley R]

I would park at the Boardwalk and walk or take the boat to Epcot for us usually walking is quicker....
then take the boat to the studios...
from the studios walk back to your car at the Boardwalk

If we go that route we’ll definitely take the skyliner. I absolutely love riding on it and think it’s very quick. I’m slightly worried about parking at boardwalk or even beach club without an ADR.

 

[GZanta77]

One more question for people familiar with Europe travel...will I be ok to wait until early May to buy train tickets? This would be one way Edinburgh to London (end of May), and then also the Eurostar from London to Paris (early June).

Best fares for UK train tickets can be often be found 8 - 12 weeks before travel, so whilst you will be OK to wait until early May - you probably won't get the best price.

As for the Eurostar, its been a few years since I booked, but the same applied - get in early for the best fares.

 

[Limes96]

Best fares for UK train tickets can be often be found 8 - 12 weeks before travel, so whilst you will be OK to wait until early May - you probably won't get the best price.

As for the Eurostar, its been a few years since I booked, but the same applied - get in early for the best fares.

Thanks! I’ll probably wait then and accept the higher fare as my “trip cancellation insurance”.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

If we go that route we’ll definitely take the skyliner. I absolutely love riding on it and think it’s very quick. I’m slightly worried about parking at boardwalk or even beach club without an ADR.

We tell the guard that we are eating and shopping so far no issues...

 

[SBWB48]

10 year treasury took it in the teeth today

We refinanced in 2012 too, but at a worse rate than you. 2.875% but looking at the payoff in 7 years is really encouraging.

So if the 10 yr Treasury is closely tied to mortgage rates and it's now at the lowest point since 1945, I don't see that reflected in the 15 yr rates I'm looking at now. They're all higher than 2.875%. Maybe I need to be patient.

Bond trader for a living. @SouthFayetteFan I see you on the SBA loans. I’m a buyer of SBA pools that have securitized those loans you are underwriting. Don’t make it difficult for me parsing through loan tape and underwrite some solid credit please

10-year Treasury took it to the teeth for sure the last week or so, but more in rally fashion depending on perspective. For buyers of the 10-year, sub 1%, not so much. As an example, I rotated the majority of my 401K into fixed income back in January, and this rally across Treasuries has been beneficial.

30yr mortgages are tied to the 10yr Treasury. Shorter term mortgages are benched closer to the 5-7yr depending on tenor. Tied to also means they move directionally, but are not one for one. The weighted average life of a 30 year mortgage (when securitized) in bond world implies half the principal is generally repaid within that 10yr window, hence the correlation, but they don’t mirror. Secondly, I’m a believer, and could certainly be wrong, that mortgage rates are floored to a degree. There’s a level where it’s uneconomical for a bank to issue, and we are seeing this taking place.

I'm surprised by the Fed's emergency cut--kind of makes me nervous about what I don't know. The FOMC meeting isn't too far away so the fact they had to move now makes me wonder. Plus the news about Ford basically eliminating travel (including domestic) makes me think the economy is going to take a serious hit. And the 10-year under 1.00% today--that's insane. It's down 86 basis points since 1/2. I try not to be an alarmist, but there's a lot going on and not much of it is good.

The Fed has no choice but to cut, and the market is pricing in additional cuts. Won’t be surprised to see us back at zero rates at least for the short term, but certainly not the 7 years we experienced. With fed funds well through the 10yr Treasury, there is absolutely zero incentive for institutions to issue credit or invest. Until there’s more bang for buck to invest in a 1% 10yr as an example over parking the cash at the Fed riskfree at the prevailing rates, they have to keep cutting unless there’s a pullback in treasuries, which has certainly priced in any contraction far faster than equities or credit assets in general.

This post is sounding more and more like an finance rant than a DIS post...

To make it relevant, DH gets to drink from the cup again

 

[Haley R]

We tell the guard that we are eating and shopping so far no issues...

Have you ever tried at BC? That would be closer to the skyliner I would think.

 

[fsjking]

Bond trader for a living. @SouthFayetteFan I see you on the SBA loans. I’m a buyer of SBA pools that have securitized those loans you are underwriting. Don’t make it difficult for me parsing through loan tape and underwrite some solid credit please

10-year Treasury took it to the teeth for sure the last week or so, but more in rally fashion depending on perspective. For buyers of the 10-year, sub 1%, not so much. As an example, I rotated the majority of my 401K into fixed income back in January, and this rally across Treasuries has been beneficial.

30yr mortgages are tied to the 10yr Treasury. Shorter term mortgages are benched closer to the 5-7yr depending on tenor.



The Fed has no choice but to cut, and the market is pricing in additional cuts. Won’t be surprised to see us back at zero rates at least for the short term, but certainly not the 7 years we experienced. With fed funds well through the 10yr Treasury, there is absolutely zero incentive for institutions to issue credit or invest. Until there’s more bang for buck to invest in a 1% 10yr as an example over parking the cash at the Fed riskfree at the prevailing rates, they have to keep cutting unless there’s a pullback in treasuries, which has certainly priced in any contraction far faster than equities or credit assets in general.

This post is sounding more and more like an finance rant than a DIS post...

To make it relevant, DH gets to drink from the cup again

So any idea what car loan rates should look like for the next few months? lol About to buy a truck, and am hoping for a rate drop.