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OT: Vacations

oh cool ... didn't think about Bratislava. I know Vienna is by far the most expensive city of the 3 and I also think there will be plenty to see in Budapest and Prague, so I can probably make the Vienna stop shorter.

How did you commute from city to city? Did you drive or took train / plane?

I also find there's almost no direct flight to Budapest / Prague, so I most likely have to transit through Amsterdam or Lisbon. I may spend a day in Amsterdam (took a trip to Lisbon with wife just 2 years ago, but she's never been to Amsterdam) and that makes my trip in other 3 cities even shorter.

I didn't get to Bratislava but have been told, if you go to Prague, no need to go to Bratislava as it is basically a poor version of Prague.

I did Prague, Budapest and Vienna a couple of years ago. Spend the majority of your time in Vienna if you can. I took a day trip out to Salzburg from Vienna.

Prague is nice but in reality, it is only a small part that is really worth seeing.

Budapest is nice, but far poorer and few speak English.
 
Want to take my wife down to Jamaica for a week in February, any recommendations for resorts (preferably 5 star) where you won't bust your wallet too bad?
 
what is that?

getting the "sign up reward" and then cancelling?

how does that work?

Basically yeah. And then applying 3-6 months later and collecting the bonus again. Rinse and repeat. The best to do it with is Amex. If you grab one card in particular (and sign up through a referral) you can net about $800 worth of points. And if you self refer using that card to other Amex cards, you net about $400 a pop for each card, on top of the sign up bonus you get for the new card. Shit adds up quick.
 
Basically yeah. And then applying 3-6 months later and collecting the bonus again. Rinse and repeat. The best to do it with is Amex. If you grab one card in particular (and sign up through a referral) you can net about $800 worth of points. And if you self refer using that card to other Amex cards, you net about $400 a pop for each card, on top of the sign up bonus you get for the new card. Shit adds up quick.
Which card?
 
Which card?

http://amex.ca/share/marcopvWfM?XLINK=MYCP this is through a referral link (a random one of someone on Reddit as I do not have this card, you get extra points by signing up through a referral).

Basically you don't need to have a business, just sign up and you'll get 75,000 points which is worth about $1,125 in points if you sell them. There is an annual fee of $399 but you just cancel before the second year anyway. So in the end it's about a net of $730. And once you self refer to other cards or refer friends and family with this card you get 25,000 points a pop. Thats when it adds up.

You can also start with free cards if you're skeptical but yeah, this is just the most efficient way and best way to maximize profits.

Only catch is you have to spend $5000 in the first three months to get the bonus points. There are ways to manufacture the spend if you typically don't though.
 
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http://amex.ca/share/marcopvWfM?XLINK=MYCP this is through a referral link (a random one of someone on Reddit as I do not have this card, you get extra points by signing up through a referral).

Basically you don't need to have a business, just sign up and you'll get 75,000 points which is worth about $1,125 in points if you sell them. There is an annual fee of $399 but you just cancel before the second year anyway. So in the end it's about a net of $730. And once you self refer to other cards or refer friends and family with this card you get 25,000 points a pop. Thats when it adds up.

You can also start with free cards if you're skeptical but yeah, this is just the most efficient way and best way to maximize profits.

Only catch is you have to spend $5000 in the first three months to get the bonus points. There are ways to manufacture the spend if you typically don't though.

Interesting...

I was looking at the Cobalt -- 40,000 intro points and $120 annual fee. That's 35,000 less points but you save $270 in cash.

That shakes out as the same deal pointwise, plus 5x multiplier for dining out spends. The platinum has more airport perks...
 
Interesting...

I was looking at the Cobalt -- 40,000 intro points and $120 annual fee. That's 35,000 less points but you save $270 in cash.

That shakes out as the same deal pointwise, plus 5x multiplier for dining out spends. The platinum has more airport perks...
Cobalt is actually amex's response to combat churning.

There is a monthly fee of $10 and if you spend 500 per month you get 2500 points a month. And 10,000 welcome points. So basically to get the full 40,000 you need to keep it for the whole year. This eliminates the benefits of canceling and reapplying every six months or so. It's a good enough card for every day spenders but for maximizing your points and churning in general, it's the opposite of good imo. It's one of the first steps Amex had taken against churners and it actually deeply concerned the churning community because we all know that what we have today is a ticking time bomb.
 
Hey you'd want to be part of that community too if it meant spending three weeks in Japan flying first class and five star hotels, all free of charge.
 
Basically yeah. And then applying 3-6 months later and collecting the bonus again. Rinse and repeat. The best to do it with is Amex. If you grab one card in particular (and sign up through a referral) you can net about $800 worth of points. And if you self refer using that card to other Amex cards, you net about $400 a pop for each card, on top of the sign up bonus you get for the new card. Shit adds up quick.

I've read about people doing the same with new bank account promotions. I can't be bothered (not that I'm rich - I'm just too lazy keeping track of such things heh).
 
I've read about people doing the same with new bank account promotions. I can't be bothered (not that I'm rich - I'm just too lazy keeping track of such things heh).

You're not going to get rich churning, but you can make some extra money if you have the patience. You do have to be careful about how often you get hit for hard checks on your credit, though, in case you are going in for a mortgage/loan later on. And obviously have to remember to actually pay off the balances and cancel cards - it can be easy to lose track of a card, and if you suddenly have to pay 20% interest on a 1000$ balance, well, that can be an expensive mistake.
 
Cobalt is actually amex's response to combat churning.

There is a monthly fee of $10 and if you spend 500 per month you get 2500 points a month. And 10,000 welcome points. So basically to get the full 40,000 you need to keep it for the whole year. This eliminates the benefits of canceling and reapplying every six months or so. It's a good enough card for every day spenders but for maximizing your points and churning in general, it's the opposite of good imo. It's one of the first steps Amex had taken against churners and it actually deeply concerned the churning community because we all know that what we have today is a ticking time bomb.

Interesting...

I foolishly focused on the 10,000 Bonus Points that could be gained in the first 3 months but overlooked that it takes the whole year to get the initial 30,000
 
You're not going to get rich churning, but you can make some extra money if you have the patience. You do have to be careful about how often you get hit for hard checks on your credit, though, in case you are going in for a mortgage/loan later on. And obviously have to remember to actually pay off the balances and cancel cards - it can be easy to lose track of a card, and if you suddenly have to pay 20% interest on a 1000$ balance, well, that can be an expensive mistake.

Yup it's not for everyone. I'm pretty obsessive and never had any issues but it's all fun for me. Like a hobby if anything. A hobby that nets me about 15-20k in cash and rewards per year. I'm not poor or anything either.. I'm fine. Have a fully paid house, large savings and make a good living.. but an extra 10k in cash per year, flying first class, staying at five star hotels etc. all for free makes it a very worthwhile hobby for me. Especially considering most of my other hobbies cost money.

Can't really beat this ROI on the market either.
 
I've read about people doing the same with new bank account promotions. I can't be bothered (not that I'm rich - I'm just too lazy keeping track of such things heh).

That's decent but ROI isn't as good. Usually 150-300ish per account. You can net a grand with a single credit card. Bank accounts are usually more effort too. Usually have to go in branch. Nope for me. I work smart not hard.
 
I started nibbling on Australian pot stocks -- I'm speculating they are a year behind Canada in terms of valuations.

Yeah, I snagged a bit of ASX a bunch of months back when I read about Aurora getting heavily involved with them. Australia and Germany are the next two plays imo. Canadian supplies have gotten deep into the German market already, but there's gotta be a domestic play who will challenge them at some point. I'm going to spend a bunch of time doing DD on both when my Cali plays mature over the next few months and I get looking to shift out of there and into the next hype market.
 
Yeah, I snagged a bit of ASX a bunch of months back when I read about Aurora getting heavily involved with them. Australia and Germany are the next two plays imo. Canadian supplies have gotten deep into the German market already, but there's gotta be a domestic play who will challenge them at some point. I'm going to spend a bunch of time doing DD on both when my Cali plays mature over the next few months and I get looking to shift out of there and into the next hype market.

I find the Japanese market fascinating

Lots of olds in need of pain management but extremely harsh weed laws. Australian growers will benefit when Japan accepts the health benefits.


While the West carries on its steady course toward legalization, piggybacking on the ever-increasing awareness of marijuana's medicinal properties, Japan's cannabis laws remain steadfastly harsh. However, a recently discovered loophole allows for the non-psychoactive compound, CBD, to be imported and consumed within Japan. CBD, which has numerous health benefits, is extracted from the stalk of the plant, whereas Japanese law only forbids use of the plant's leaves and flowers.

Shirasaka, head member of Taima Houdou Center, a legalization group and advocate for medicinal cannabis and the man who discovered the CBD loophole, is currently awaiting trial for marijuana possession but plans to fight his case on the basis of cannabis's remarkable therapeutic properties. We went to visit Shirasaka as he prepares for his trial.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/jmbgzy/the-battle-for-medical-marijuana-in-japan
 
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