Award Travel Series: Getting Approved For Cards after a Denial

by | Aug 30, 2021 | Award Travel Series | 7 comments

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Once you’ve been at this hobby for a while you will begin to amass not only points and miles, but also new accounts and hard inquiries on your credit report. Though each card issuer treats this somewhat differently, it’s inevitable that your ability to open new credit cards will begin to dwindle and you risk getting the dreaded, “thanks but no thanks” response from the bank. Even if you are not denied outright, you may begin to get “application pending” responses where they say you’ll receive a letter in 7-10 business days with their decision. This can be extremely frustrating if you’ve spent a long time choosing a particular card or have a large expense coming up that you were hoping to put on it to help meet the minimum spend and earn a hefty welcome bonus.

However, that’s not always the final word on the matter. Here’s what to do if you do not get instantly approved for a credit card application to help turn the situation around.
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Coming to America

by | Aug 23, 2021 | Life | 125 comments

For years we have comfortably resided abroad, enjoying a royal lifestyle that included fine dining, a deluxe apartment in the sky, a nanny, quality affordable health care, and frequent visits to the country club. And for the most part we even lived in a COVID-free oasis.

So of course we abandoned all of that and returned to the US.

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Net Investment Income Tax (and how to avoid it)

by | Aug 2, 2021 | Taxes | 14 comments

The United States has very generous tax rates for investment income such as qualified dividends and long-term capital gains, as low as 0%. This is a key component of the Never Pay Taxes Again strategy.

But sometimes you want (need?) to realize some large gains – say, if you are paying cash for a boat or a house, or if you are moving from a low-tax to a high-tax residence and want a massive step-up in basis. Or maybe you think the market is hot and you want to take some off the table.

In these cases you may come across the Net Investment Income Tax, a nice little 3.8% extra tax surcharge.

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