Programs: UA 1K, BD*G, AA EXP, EK GOLD, Hyatt/HH DIA, IC RA, PC/Marriott/SPG Platinum, National EE
Posts: 6,959
Quote:
Originally Posted by cstead
Does the CC get hit when it ships, or when you click on Submit?
They probably authorize your card at the time you place the order but merchants are not allowed to put the charge through before actually shipping out the order.
1. get coins on cc
2. take coins to bank and deposit
3. pay cc before incurring interest
if this doesn't work for you, then don't do it.
sam
I agree completely. If you break procedure on one or more of these points, the value of the procedure goes out the window. Consider additionally that if you value your miles at 2 cents each and you purchase $500 worth of coins, you are receiving $10 for the trouble of placing an order, making sure it arrives okay, and depositing (driving to the bank, perhaps) the coins. If you opt not to deposit the $500 in coins immediately, you begin to lose interest value on them. If you normally produce 8% returns on your liquid investments, you lose 2% (or the full $10 you sought to benefit) every three months you have the coins sitting around waiting to be spent or deposited. Buying $5,000 worth of coins for $100 worth of miles/points and immediately depositing them at a bank without a fee or hassle might be worthwhile.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam - DFW
strip clubs make the most sense...
Makes sense, as there are plenty of slots that accept the coins at those places.
... Consider additionally that if you value your miles at 2 cents each and you purchase $500 worth of coins, you are receiving $10 for the trouble of placing an order, making sure it arrives okay, and depositing (driving to the bank, perhaps) the coins. ....
The long-term FTers know to use cards that give us more than 1 mile per dollar.
Where is anyone earning 8 percent, risk free on liquid investments?
I didn't say risk-free. My point is that there is an opportunity cost to having $500 in coins sitting around waiting to be spent, as you can invest conservatively and earn 4%, fairly conservatively and earn 8%, and aggressively for 10%+.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChaseTheMiles
The long-term FTers know to use cards that give us more than 1 mile per dollar.
As do I; I cited a value solely for illustrative purposes. If you value rewards earned from charging $500 at $15 instead of the $10 I used, adjust the other numbers accordingly. For me, the time and gas required to make a deposit + the time and risk and stress associated with the order is not worth the value I assign to the expected rewards. YMMV.
I didn't say risk-free. My point is that there is an opportunity cost to having $500 in coins sitting around waiting to be spent, as you can invest conservatively and earn 4%, fairly conservatively and earn 8%, and aggressively for 10%+.
Yes but to compare the investments fairly, you should be providing the rate of return on a virtually risk free investment. And as someone else has pointed out you should factor in taxes.
Further, I'd love to find a liquid fairly conservative investment paying 8% - care to share one (or several)?
__________________ Click here to learn how to construct and book mileage runs.
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1P, CO Gold, SPG Plat, Hyatt Diamond, Marriott Plat, Intercontinental RA
Posts: 1,192
Quote:
Originally Posted by World_Traveler
I ordered two boxes. They took my PO box for delivery address (which is also my billing address) so I'm guessing it will be USPS...it is the government after all...
Ahhhhh! That explains why the tracking link on the Mint's order-confirmation screen, which brings you to usps.com's tracking page, always failed.
I plugged in that tracking number into DHL.com's tracker instead, and voila, the full tracking history comes up fine, including the final entry: "Arrived at USPS." Guess DHL does the heavy lifting all the way to the recipient's zip code, and the USPS guys do the final delivery...
Yes but to compare the investments fairly, you should be providing the rate of return on a virtually risk free investment. And as someone else has pointed out you should factor in taxes.
Further, I'd love to find a liquid fairly conservative investment paying 8% - care to share one (or several)?
You are correct that if the goal is to make a thorough comparison between investments, all risks, taxes, and other factors should be taken into account. I suggest that the risk associated with ordering hundreds coins in the mail (risk of loss in transit, risk of them being stolen while sitting around the house, risk of something changing with the offer and needing to dispute, etc.) is vastly greater than the risk of a CD or money-market, which will at least return a few measly percent, and vastly less than the risk of buying exposure to the NASAQ 100. Where precisely the two are equal is debatable.
Again, my underlying point is that every person has their own measure of risk and opportunity cost associated with having hundreds of dollars sitting around rather than being invested. I own a company that generates well into a double-digit ROI and has done so for years, so I prefer to invest a good chunk of my long-term assets there. For assets earmarked for use in a 5-year window (give or take), I invest a balanced fund such as EXBAX that will fairly reliably produce ~8% total returns over 5-year spans, of course with some risk of under or over performing this benchmark. You may not desire these options and might consider your opportunity cost of coins in a basket closer to the CD/money-market rate. If the coin purchase, your opportunity cost, and all else that is involved in the "conversion" is worth a few bucks to you - go for it!
