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

[amalone1013]

Ok, I'm trying to figure out cruise insurance. Thought I'd ask you lovely folk with the whole points part of it. Looking at ILs first because I am only a few days out from booking right now.

I've got cruise cost (fare + taxes, no gratuities/extras - do I include those? If we had to cancel I don't think I'm paying them?) and 1 night at Pop, since it's a 5 day cancellation penalty.

We're flying SW on points, renting cars with either cash or URs from Alamo (up to 24hrs out to cancel no penalty), one hotel night with a Marriott cert (up to 2 days out to cancel no penalty). Only non-refundable tickets now would be KSC, if we get them ahead of time (which would be more for extra tours at $25pp). We're not doing Disney or Universal any more (at least this trip).

The very biggest thing is peace of mind if something would happen to a grandparent, ILs could get back ASAP.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[wendow]

Yes, I only skip the lame ones, which this year seemed to be most of them.
My favorite was the Alexa Harrison Ford and Dog.

Our fave also!

 

[tink1970]

. The first thing I said when he came out was what in the heck is he wearing. Both the shirt and jacket were ugly. Twitter agreed with me.

Add me to that list!

Yeah, I mean total worse case scenario we fly economy on points... boohoo right? I would just prefer to arrive reasonably well-rested and ready to go haha.

I've done that trip twice in economy and I would give birth to another child with a half functional epidural before that. But if you're not claustrophobic and young then...nah, still wouldn't do it again.

My favorite was the Alexa Harrison Ford and Dog.

That one was good, as was the Budweiser one and the T mobile uber (or lyft) one made me LOL. Otherwise, not the best year for commercials.

 

[DisneyMandC]

I've done that trip twice in economy and I would give birth to another child with a half functional epidural before that. But if you're not claustrophobic and young then...nah, still wouldn't do it again.

Haha why do you think I’m in here asking so many qjestions! But we would’ve been taking this trip regardless of whether we’d gotten into churning, so we definitely would’ve been flying economy then if we were paying cash.

 

[havaneselover]

Ok, I'm trying to figure out cruise insurance. Thought I'd ask you lovely folk with the whole points part of it. Looking at ILs first because I am only a few days out from booking right now.

I've got cruise cost (fare + taxes, no gratuities/extras - do I include those? If we had to cancel I don't think I'm paying them?) and 1 night at Pop, since it's a 5 day cancellation penalty.

We're flying SW on points, renting cars with either cash or URs from Alamo (up to 24hrs out to cancel no penalty), one hotel night with a Marriott cert (up to 2 days out to cancel no penalty). Only non-refundable tickets now would be KSC, if we get them ahead of time (which would be more for extra tours at $25pp). We're not doing Disney or Universal any more (at least this trip).

The very biggest thing is peace of mind if something would happen to a grandparent, ILs could get back ASAP.

Any thoughts on this?

In this case i would go through insure my trip.

 

[happ]

I got my 1099 from Chase and it makes no sense. I believe I only had referrals for 2 cards and not in the amounts shown. It's showing 3 cards over $500! Are UR offers like the 10x Walmart one last year being reported as income? Plus, somehow there's $5 income from my Amazon card. How is that possible?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Well this is a fun warning on TaxAct...

Please confirm that the income on this Form 1099-MISC is non-business income
I confirm that the income reported on this Form 1099-MISC is non-business income and is not subject to self-employment taxes.

Warning! If the income on this Form 1099-MISC is self-employment income, and you indicate that it is not subject to self-employment taxes, you may be subject to penalties and interest by the IRS.

This definitely shouldn't be self-employment income...but boy they make me feel like a criminal claiming it that way!

So is everybody here just calling this "Other Income" and not self employment income? I feel pretty strongly that this is not SE income but I keep pausing on this question.

 

[BamaBoy]

So for a variety of reasons (Chase 5/24, AMEX bonus denial issues, etc.) I am looking at a Cap One card for the first time. What are some opinions on the Cap 1 Venture Rewards card? Currently 50,000 point bonus after 3K spend with a Travel Eraser feature. Also how widely accepted is Cap1? As widely accepted as Visa/MC, or more limited like AMEX? I have honestly just never paid attention. Thanks in advance for all opinions! Enjoy reading all of your posts. Great group of folks!

BTW, if all you NFL fans ever attended an SEC football home game you would never watch the the pros again. College football in the South is truly one of the greatest spectacles on Earth!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

So is everybody here just calling this "Other Income" and not self employment income? I feel pretty strongly that this is not SE income but I keep pausing on this question.

I’m calling it other income.... don’t consider the few referrals and retention offers SE income

 

[braysmommy]

Ok, I'm trying to figure out cruise insurance. Thought I'd ask you lovely folk with the whole points part of it. Looking at ILs first because I am only a few days out from booking right now.

I've got cruise cost (fare + taxes, no gratuities/extras - do I include those? If we had to cancel I don't think I'm paying them?) and 1 night at Pop, since it's a 5 day cancellation penalty.

We're flying SW on points, renting cars with either cash or URs from Alamo (up to 24hrs out to cancel no penalty), one hotel night with a Marriott cert (up to 2 days out to cancel no penalty). Only non-refundable tickets now would be KSC, if we get them ahead of time (which would be more for extra tours at $25pp). We're not doing Disney or Universal any more (at least this trip).

The very biggest thing is peace of mind if something would happen to a grandparent, ILs could get back ASAP.

Any thoughts on this?

We always use Insure My Trip to select what we need. My mom travels with us so having it is reassuring.

 

[tink1970]

College football in the South is truly one of the greatest spectacles on Earth!

So very true! Gig 'em!!!!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I’m calling it other income.... don’t consider the few referrals and retention offers SE income

I'm feeling that one too... If asked how I earned the income, "I found a thread online where you could post your link and people clicked mine". Doesn't seem like much of a business...

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I got my 1099 from Chase and it makes no sense. I believe I only had referrals for 2 cards and not in the amounts shown. It's showing 3 cards over $500! Are UR offers like the 10x Walmart one last year being reported as income? Plus, somehow there's $5 income from my Amazon card. How is that possible?

It should give you the full account number for each card. What programs are each of the 3 cards showing > $500? Can you go back through 2018 statements to see your clicks on those cards as well as any other random earnings?

 

[afan]

I'm feeling that one too... If asked how I earned the income, "I found a thread online where you could post your link and people clicked mine". Doesn't seem like much of a business...

To me it's no different than interest on my checking/savings account just on a different 1099. It's also too complicated for it to suddenly be self employment for people that don't actually have a side gig of any sort. And like you said there's no work involved. Stop over thinking it!

 

[pillow]

Well, I have a 1099 for an account I don't recognize. I THINK it was the personal Marriott card that I canceled last January. Chase is showing $450 income. If referrals are 20,000, how in the world are they getting $450?? I don't recall getting a retention bonus, so not sure what's up. I guess a call is in order.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Well, I have a 1099 for an account I don't recognize. I THINK it was the personal Marriott card that I canceled last January. Chase is showing $450 income. If referrals are 20,000, how in the world are they getting $450?? I don't recall getting a retention bonus, so not sure what's up. I guess a call is in order.

I had to look at my online Chase account to reconcile the SW retention offers.....you can look up your closed accounts to see exactly which account the $450 is from

 

[gottalovepluto]

Well this is a fun warning on TaxAct...

Please confirm that the income on this Form 1099-MISC is non-business income
I confirm that the income reported on this Form 1099-MISC is non-business income and is not subject to self-employment taxes.

Warning! If the income on this Form 1099-MISC is self-employment income, and you indicate that it is not subject to self-employment taxes, you may be subject to penalties and interest by the IRS.

This definitely shouldn't be self-employment income...but boy they make me feel like a criminal claiming it that way!

I've looked into this just a touch today and feel like I'm going around in circles and down rabbit holes. You become subject to self-employment tax if this is business income- but I can make a case this is hobby income and I can make a case this is business income.
Hobby income: I love credit cards, they're my hobby, I spend money to get rebates (see, I'm learning the terminology!)
Business income: I paid $95 for my CSP with the sole intention of using it to refer people, in other words- I did it solely to make a profit
IRS Hobby or Business?

My inclination right now is to run the numbers and see what comes out better. Guess I'll be spending some quality time with TurboTax soon. I'm not too concerned about tripping any IRS radars here but since the banks opened this stupid door I'm going to squeeze every dollar I can out of it.

 

[amalone1013]

Now I'm scared of the Chase envelope in the mail. Its gonna be like, you got $5k in value

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

To me it's no different than interest on my checking/savings account just on a different 1099. It's also too complicated for it to suddenly be self employment for people that don't actually have a side gig of any sort. And like you said there's no work involved. Stop over thinking it!

Thanks - this is what I needed to hear!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Now I'm scared of the Chase envelope in the mail. Its gonna be like, you got $5k in value

I'm not @Andysol levels - I know he got blasted on this, but my 2 Chase envelopes today combined to $6k - add about $5k from AMEX and yeah this is having quite an affect on the tax plan for 2018! I'm just trying to laugh it off....trying...