Archives for March 2025

Fidelity, Schwab Won’t Let You Trade Money Market ETFs (That Aren’t Theirs)

Posted on March 25, 2025 // 2 Comments

In case you aren’t aware that a huge profit source for every broker is your idle cash, Bloomberg reports that Fidelity and Schwab are blocking all new purchase trades of new money market ETFs (gift article) from Blackrock and Texas Capital. Here’s what Fidelity and Schwab say about it:

A Schwab spokesperson said its decision is consistent with the firm’s “long-standing approach” of only making available Schwab affiliate money-market mutual funds, while a Fidelity spokesperson said this is an extension of the company’s policy to “generally restrict” third-party money-market mutual funds.

The inflows to those new ETFs weren’t even that big, making this an interesting development:

Yet, the move stands out because trading platforms like Schwab and Fidelity typically don’t restrict exchange-traded funds, even if those funds are in competition with existing in-house offerings.

Indeed, I hope this doesn’t start a trend of more bans of competitor ETFs. Fidelity and Blackrock have worked very closely together in the past, so this is probably rather awkward.

For now, I still own lots of shares of iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) and probably soon Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF (VBIL). Fidelity and Schwab haven’t banned those, yet. Of course, Vanguard continues to not play funny games with their money market sweep funds. C’mon Vanguard, time for your own money market ETF to create even more tension…

I know that these brokers have to make their money somewhere, but they may have to become more transparent about it soon.

Filed Under: Banking, Investing //

Best Asset Location for TIPS Ladder: Taxable, Tax-Deferred, or Roth?

Posted on March 21, 2025 // Leave a Comment

If you are a DIY investor (or professional financial planner) that is looking to geek out on the intricacies of the tax treatment for holding Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), check out the new paper Best Asset Location for a TIPS Ladder by Edward F. McQuarrie. I’ve been building a ladder of individual TIPS for many years, and have been extending it and filling in gaps during the recent period when long-term real rates went up to ~2.6%. Here is a chart of historical 30-year real rates (TIPS pay this much above inflation):

The paper focuses specifically on TIPS ladders, where you hold individual TIPS with staggered maturities such that when one matures each year, it creates a level, inflation-adjusted stream of annual income. The primary unique feature of this ladder is that it is guaranteed to adjust for inflation (as measured by CPI), even if it is higher than expected. Regular, nominal bonds don’t provide this protection. Of course, if inflation is lower than expected, then those nominal bonds will outperform TIPS.

The paper itself is very detailed and took a few readings to fully comprehend it all, but I definitely learned some new wrinkles. However, the overall conclusions are still useful to keep in mind if you hold TIPS. The question is, where is the preferred place to locate TIPS? In a regular taxable brokerage account? In a tax-deferred account like a pre-tax IRA or 401(k)? In a Roth IRA or 401k(k)?

Here are my takeaways, in my own words:

Individual, longer-term TIPS should be avoided if possible in a regular taxable brokerage account. This is primary due to the unique taxation of TIPS and the “phantom income” they make you pay upfront if there is inflation. You can look up “TIPS phantom income” for more details elsewhere, but the bottom line is that it’s hurts you upfront and you don’t catch up. Things only get worse at higher income tax rates, and higher inflation rates. It’s also just an extra annoyance at tax filing time.

The overall preferred location for TIPS is a Tax-Deferred Account (TDA). In other words, a pre-tax 401(K) or a Traditional pre-tax IRA where the tax is deferred but you pay taxes at ordinary income rates upon withdrawal.

It’s better to put stocks and REITs in a Roth account, so also not TIPS ideally. Roth accounts are great overall, but it’s best to take advantage of them by putting stocks and REITs inside as there is not as much added benefit for TIPS (or bonds in general).

The paper also discusses the wrinkles from state income tax and RMDs, but they don’t change the overall recommendation.

Here is a direct quote from the paper:

It follows that if the client has a more aggressive asset allocation, perhaps 2:1 stocks versus fixed income, with three accounts of roughly equal size, then stocks should first fill the Roth and then fill taxable. A TDA is always the best location among the three account types for a bond ladder, especially TIPS. Distributions are required from TDAs, and bond ladders produce distributions. Bond income is taxed as ordinary income, and distribution from TDAs are taxed as ordinary income. Characteristics of the bond asset and the TDA account are aligned.

The paper also states “The paper does not consider the best location for TIPS bonds or bond funds during the accumulation phase.” I would then add myself that if you do really want to own TIPS in a taxable account, you should consider a low-cost index ETF which is really sort of a ladder of TIPS than replenishes on its own with a roughly constant average maturity. For short-term TIPS, there is the Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF (VTIP) with an average maturity of ~2.5 years. For a longer-term, there is the Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF (SCHP) with an average maturity of ~7 years. TIPS ETFs don’t expose you to the phantom income effect.

Again, this paper offered some additional insight for those so inclined. I hold all my individual direct TIPS in a pre-tax Solo 401(k), so I am following the advice. I am not building a strict ladder, so if I ran out of room in tax-deferred accounts, I would hold a TIPS ETF in a taxable account.

Photo by Nick Page on Unsplash

Filed Under: Investing, Retirement //

PeerStreet Bankruptcy Update (March 2025): Why I Avoid Fractional Real Estate Now

Posted on March 19, 2025 // 8 Comments

My last update on the PeerStreet bankruptcy was about a year and a half ago. PeerStreet marketed high-interest investment loans backed by real estate in $1,000 fractional increments. A few days ago, I received a big, thick envelope with lots of legalese. It appears that actual humans are manually going through each claim and verifying them against their database.

For my part, I have two $1,000 notes that are still outstanding and have been in default for a while, well before PeerStreet declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023. The bankruptcy administrators mostly agreed, but needed to point out that my notes are not “secured” claims, but instead are “Mortgage Dependent Promissory Notes” (MPDNs). Here are notes specifically responding to my claims:

The Claimant asserted a secured claim for $1,000.00, but attached a copy of a MPDN supporting a MPDN Claim in that amount.

The Debtors’ books and records reflect that the Claimant is entitled to Investment Claims in the amount of $1,000.00, as reflected in the Modified Filed Claim column.

Reclassification Adjustment: The Debtors’ books and records and the MPDN support Investment Claims and reflect that the Claimant is entitled to MPDN Claims, not secured claims. The Claimant asserts that the secured claim is secured by real estate, but provides no support for the assertion. Accordingly, the Plan Administrator requests reclassification of the asserted claim to a MPDN Claim (Class 10, 11) (to the particular MPDN reflected in the Debtors’ books and records) in the amounts reflected in the Debtors’ books and records, as detailed in the Modified Amounts column.

With this adjustment, the Plan Administrator seeks allowance of the Investment Claims in the amount of $1,000.00 against Peer Street Funding LLC, as reflected in the Modified Filed Claim column, which matches the amount of the Investment Claims in the Debtors’ books and records.

The Claimant filed two claims for two distinct MPDNs. The other claim, Claim No. [redacted], is also addressed below.

Now, this is what PeerStreet used to say about their “Mortgage Dependent Promissory Notes” (MPDNs) on their FAQ:

A mortgage-dependent promissory note, or “MDPN,” is a note in which an investor receives stated interest and principal, provided the borrower makes payment on the underlying loans. PeerStreet issues an MDPN to investors, meaning they have a direct interest in the underlying loan and indirect interest in the underlying property.

The following is a partial excerpt of what the bankruptcy documents state about MDPNs:

For avoidance of doubt, although MPDN, RWN 1-Mo., RWN 3-Mo. and PDN Claims are all unsecured, holders of those claims are entitled to their pro rata share of the relevant Underlying Loans. All amounts paid with respect to those Underlying Loans are made available pursuant to the Waterfall in section 2.6 of the Plan even if those payments result in holders receiving recoveries in excess of the principal amount of their notes and accrued interest as of the Petition Date. See McLaren Declaration I 10. Notwithstanding this entitlement, however, the Plan provides that distributions on account of MPDN, RWN 1-Mo., RWN 3-Mo. and PDN Claims are made on a pro rata basis for the claimants’ proportional share of the asset or pool of assets tied to such Investment Claims. See Plan § 4.3. In order to properly calculate each holder’s fractional, pro rata share of a particular class of Investment Claim, each Investment Claims’ pro rata interest in the underlying asset or pool of assets tied to such Investment Claims must be measured as of the same date. As a result, postpetition interest needs to be removed from all Investment Claims.

Back in 2018, this all sounded fine. Andreessen Horowitz and other VC firms invested in over $121.9 million. Famous investor Michael Burry put in $600,000 of his own money. Actual, smart lawyers were saying that this was the only practical way to create these fractional investments for real estate loans. We all were comforted by the creation of “bankruptcy remote entities”.

Even if it was really an unsecured note backed that was contractually linked to another loan to a specific property, we’d still only get that money if it was collected by what was basically a small, risky start-up fintech business that may have nobody around to well, collect anything.

My current opinion is that even if the contracts technically still might be the best workaround available, I feel the practical execution and mismatch in the alignment of interests made everything fall apart. PeerStreet was no good at servicing the loans and getting the deadbeats to pay up. They also didn’t have enough skin in the game to care. They didn’t actually hold any loans themselves, they just took a small commission off the top. They were also incentivized to loosen their underwriting standards to feed the voracious demand for new loans given their early success.

I strongly feel that if every PeerStreet executive had to hold a certain slice of every single PeerStreet loan themselves, then things would have turned out differently. Their own net worth would be at risk. They would underwrite better. They would work harder at debt recovery. Just like a certain sub-prime mortgage crisis…

In the end, I put some experimental money into multiple real-estate loans, and thought that PeerStreet was best-in-class. I am fortunate that my overall return is positive, even assuming a complete write-off of my remaining two notes, but I know that many fellow customers were not that lucky. Given these new bankruptcy documents, it seems that there are still people working on the situation and there is a possibility that I will recover some money on my last two loans.

Even today, I still get e-mail pitches for new fractional real estate start-ups. I pass on them all. In the end, the most important promises of fractional real estate are broken:

Your investments are NOT secured by real estate. In every case that I’ve seen, you invest in “notes” that are “linked” to a real mortgage on a real piece of property. The problem is that your name is not on the property, not on the mortgage, and you don’t have any control over the servicing of that mortgage. The legal gymnastics that they did to be able to use the words “direct interest” do not change the fact that you are really just lending money to a tiny, risky start-up to handle everything.

Even if these notes were secured by real estate, I have seen no evidence that PeerStreet had any skill as a servicer able to recover funds from a foreclosure. Let’s take my two Brooklyn loans from 2018 and 2021. I don’t see any possible scenario where if you sold off those properties today in 2025, even in a fire sale, even if the initial appraisal was off, that you would not be able to recover the full value of the notes. It’s not like we had a crash – real estate values have risen so far up since then!

Even if PeerStreet was still fully in business, I wonder if it would have made a difference to my situation. It has been nearly 7 years since my earliest loan was due! Now that they are bankrupt and those same smiling executives have trotted off to their next shiny business, the alignment of interests is even worse. Maybe I’ll eventually get some of this money back, but after waiting for years, my faith in the ability of these real estate fintech companies is shot.

These facts change the risk/return balance on these debt instruments. The upside is maxed out at the interest rate you charge, maybe 7% to 10%. The downside was supposed to be very, very limited because you had a physical piece of real estate to back it up. If that doesn’t hold, then there is no point.

Filed Under: Investing, Real Estate //

American Express “Member Week” March 17-21 (Limited-Time Offers)

Posted on March 16, 2025 // 2 Comments

American Express is celebrating their 175th birthday (!) with a “Member Week” from March 17-21. They are touting various special offers. I honestly don’t know if they will be awesome or disappointing, but I figure that it’s worth logging into your AmEx account/app and checking your AmEx Offer. Here is the press release and the official Member Week page.

Besides a chance at tickets to see Gracie Abrams and a free martini at “participating restaurants in New York, Washington D.C., Miami, Atlanta and Chicago”, here’s their teaser on the retail offers:

In honor of its 175th year, American Express will introduce new, limited-time Amex Offers for eligible U.S. Consumer and Business Card Members. Eligible Consumer Card Members can access more than $290 in statement credits when they make qualifying purchases from brands like Kiehl’s, Levi’s, barnesandnoble.com, Brooks Brothers and Shiseido; eligible Business Card Members can access more than $500 in statement credits on qualifying purchases from HP, Lowe’s and more. More information about Amex Offers and redemption deadlines can be found here (terms apply).

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Helium Mobile Promo Code: Free Cellular Plan

Posted on March 15, 2025 // 3 Comments

Helium Mobile is offering a “free” cellular plan that includes 100 minutes talk, 300 texts, and 3 GB of data per month (no hotspot). You have to upload a government-issued ID (name, address, date of birth, ID number), but you don’t need to provide a credit card. You also have to always allow Location Sharing so they can always track your exact location. Helium Mobile is a T-Mobile MVNO, so you will need a compatible unlocked GSM phone.

The free plan is currently waitlist-only unless you have an invite code, but one of the following invite codes should work to provide you immediate access. Click on the “Got an invite code?” link on the front page. Both iOS and Android apps are available. Try these:

  • JGKOS6O (my referral code)
  • HELIUMCEO
  • HELIUMFREE
  • BREAKFREE

They offer both eSIM and physical SIMs, but as of now the physical SIMs are out of stock and the expected wait time is at least a few weeks.

This is not the first cellular carrier to promote a “free” plan, nor the first to try and build a network of people sharing their WiFi for theoretically low-cost data (“Helium Hotspots”), and you shouldn’t be surprised that the reason beyond this new one is “something something crypto”. They never seem to last very long, and in the past have had hidden fees (FreedomPop) and sometimes required too much effort (RingPlus).

I probably wouldn’t bother using this as your primary number due to the hassle of porting in and out again possibly soon, but having an extra phone number can be useful for a variety of reasons. Some special offers are effectively limited to one per phone number, and sometimes you may not want to give out your primary phone number. You might have an old phone you want to use, or you could just add an eSIM number to your existing phone.

I’m concerned that the always-on location sharing would be a drain on battery life (in addition to your privacy). They say they use Fitness data which is less draining, but I’m still dubious. I would probably learn towards using an old phone.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Pepper Gift Card App: $20 Bonus w/ $200 Purchase (New Users)

Posted on March 14, 2025 // 42 Comments

Update 4/23: Looks like the party is winding down. Pepper no longer sells Amazon or Sam’s Club gift cards when purchasing with credit cards. You can still redeem using points. 10X on Chipotle and DoorDash is all that remains. I would recommending spending your points.

Update 3/14: New extended sales from now until 11:59p ET on March 16th. Be sure you see the offer on your screen before tapping “Buy gift card”. For example, if you buy a $50 Sam’s Club gift card during an 10X offer you’ll get a total of 10,000 points – 2,000 instantly and 8,000 extra later (10,000 points = $5, example screenshot below). I check the Pepper app first thing every morning to see the limited-time Flash Sales and to redeem all my available points that arrived from past purchases. Also, check your AmEx Offers to see if you have a targeted $30 off $75 at Pepper.

  • Sam’s Club 10X/10% back. Sam’s Club codes work at Walmart, and vice versa. They are interchangeable, even after using it at one place you can still use the rest at the other. I’m topped up again.
  • Home Depot 10X/10% back.
  • DoorDash 10X/10% back.
  • Lowe’s 12X/12% back.
  • Chipotle 10X/10% back.
  • Giant Eagle/GetGo/Market District 10X/10% back.

I know these screenshots have older dates, but it shows what you’re looking for during a flash sale:

– Pepper points will now expire if 60 days pass without a purchase. If you made a purchase prior to 11/15/24, you’ll enjoy a grace period; this policy change will not take effect until February 1, 2025. Keep in mind you can buy a $1 gift card.

– Pepper has changed their referral offer to a fixed $20 bonus after spending $200 in your first 15 days. Stack with AmEx offers and a flash sale, if possible.)

Look to stack it with this $30 off $75 AmEx Offer. Search for “Pepper” in your AmEx app. You are less likely to find it again if you used it already.

Original post, updated:

Pepper continues to offer up “flash sales” that offer big discounts on gift cards from Sam’s Club, REI, Sam’s Club, and so on. Plus you still get whatever credit card rewards from the Pepper purchase. Examples are Sam’s Club (= Walmart) at 10% back, IKEA 18% back, Airbnb 14% back in the form of points. Stock up quickly when you see the sale in the app. Redeem instantly into your respective store accounts, if you wish. (Tip: The math will work out. Every 2,000 points is worth $1 in future gift cards. 10,000 points = $5, and so on. Must redeem in increments of $5.)

Here’s the current offer for new Pepper users:

  • Download the Pepper Rewards app and be sure to enter a referral code 588494 on the first screen when joining. Thanks if you use it!
  • Get $20 after spending $200 in your first 15 days. This bonus has changed from the previous offer, but still not bad astheir old double offer only applied on their standard 4X rates, while their daily flash rates are 10X to 15X.
  • You’ll also earn rewards from using your credit card for purchase. Use a 2% or better cash back rewards card, or use it to satisfy a credit card bonus spending requirement that is even better than 2%.

Pepper is an iOS and Android app that sells discounted, new gift cards in exact amounts that are delivered instantly on your phone. This lets you to wait until the moment before purchase when you already have the final purchase price (in-person or online), and then go buy a discounted gift card via the app down to the penny. The main problem with gift cards is when you don’t use up the entire balance. This helps to avoid the waste.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Southwest Becomes Just Another Commodity Airline (Basic Economy, No Checked Bags, Less Legroom, Paid Seating)

Posted on March 13, 2025 // 12 Comments

The big news in travel is that Southwest Airlines has basically given up their unique “We are different!” corporate identity and become just another commodity airline that tries to look as cheap as possible upfront (only $200!) while adding multiple fees on the backend for all the things that used to be included (want to sit next to each other? checked bags? decent legroom? ok sure it’s really $500). As educated consumers, our job is to understand the changes to their value proposition and adjust accordingly. Here’s a list of the new Southwest realities:

  • Basic Economy has arrived to Southwest. The cheapest fare tier is now called “Basic”, not “Wanna Get Away”. You can no longer make free changes; you only get a non-transferrable credit that expires after only 6 months. Earns only 2X points, down from 6X points (elite status-holders get a little more). They are stripping everything possible because Southwest believes that people just pick the lowest fare regardless of features when listed on a comparison site like Google Flights or Expedia.
  • No more free bags. Starting 5/29, on most fares you’ll no longer get two free bags included and they’ll start charging you like everyone else. Business Select fares and A-List Preferred elites will get 2 free checked bags. A-List elites and co-branded credit cardholders will get 1 free checked bag.
  • No more open seating. Must pay for seat choice. Southwest is moving to assigned seats as well, which means Basic fares will have to pay up to pick their seats or be stuck in the worst middle seats or in the back.
  • No more reasonable legroom for everyone. Southwest used to be known for decent seat width and legroom in all its seats. Southwest is now adding “premium” extra-legroom seats if you pay extra $$$. This usually means the rest of Economy loses a few inches in return (right now it looks like seat pitch will go down to 31″ from 32″, similar to Basic Economy for other major airlines).
  • Changes to Rapid Rewards points redemptions. When redeeming Rapid Rewards points for flights, it will not longer be directly linked to the current cash fare. Basically, they want to be able to charge whatever amount they want, and limit the number of award tickets available on certain flights.

I wouldn’t actually read this Southwest press release because it has so much PR-spin that it is quite trifficult to understand what they are actually doing, but this attached graphic is useful:

It’s almost funny because you can still look up their old talking points and interviews on why open seating is better, why keeping free checked bags is better, why the fact that Southwest treats everyone well is important, but now it’s just the exact opposite. Your unique brand was around for 50 years, but now you’ve traded it all for a temporary bump in share price.

Well, Southwest, if you want us to just judge you on price, that’s fine with me. Selling a commodity product is usually a tough business, though. Prediction: The next step is to be merged away with another major airline soon.

In the meantime, I’m not sure if this makes their co-branded credit card more desirable or not. The card has basically added a free checked bag benefit that can be valuable, and some of them offer seating choice perks, but if you were a loyal Southwest flier, these new changes may cause you to not fly them as much anymore and now try out other airlines.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

BlackRock/iShares Target Allocation 60/40 Model ETF Portfolio (Meant for Advisors)

Posted on March 12, 2025 // 6 Comments

As a companion to my post on Fidelity Model ETF Portfolios, I also found Blackrock’s version of their 60/40 Model ETF portfolio.

The was prompted by the fact that Blackrock recently announced that it was adding a 1-2% allocation to Bitcoin in their model ETF portfolios.

The world’s biggest asset manager is finally allowing Bitcoin into its $150 billion model-portfolio universe.

BlackRock Inc. is adding a 1% to 2% allocation to the $48 billion iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (ticker IBIT) in its target allocation portfolios that allow for alternatives, according to an investment outlook viewed by Bloomberg.

Of course, this coincided with the fact that last year they finally launched their own Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (ticker IBIT). That made me wonder, what exactly does Blackrock put into these model portfolio that are meant for advisors? The model portfolio below does not have the Bitcoin ETF added yet:

As with the Fidelity model portfolio, and probably all model portfolios meant for advisors, there is the appearance of technical complexity, with a lot of tiny allocations to ETFs to bump the total number involved to 18 different ETFs and cash (and possibly the new Bitcoin ETF as well). 1% to the iShares US Infrastructure ETF? 1% to iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF? 1% to iShares Gold Trust?

However, what surprised me the most was hidden in their performance stats at the bottom. With a relatively low net weighted expense ratio of 0.16%, their gross overall performance (before all fees) was pretty good and hugged the benchmark indexes very closely. However, they had to disclose that their NET historical performance (what clients actually got) was a lot lower… why was it so much lower? Because their managed portfolio apparently comes with a 3% annual fee, charged quarterly!!!

Tucked deep at the bottom:

Net composite returns reflect the deduction of an annual fee of 3.00% typically deducted quarterly. Due to the compounding effect of these fees, annual net composite returns may be lower than stated gross returns less stated annual fee.

So you put your Managed Portfolio clients in a low-cost ETF portfolio, and then add a 3% annual fee on top. Wow, that’s… wow. I have trouble even believing it. I must be reading this wrong.

Another interesting note is that Vanguard’s new CEO, Salim Ramji, was the former global head of iShares and index investments at BlackRock and thus very involved in their push into model ETF portfolios and probably had a big hand in designing them. Will he adjust Vanguard’s suggested portfolios in a similar manner?

Filed Under: Investing, Retirement //

Wyndham Rewards Earner Cards: Up to 90,000 Bonus Points (Valid at Vacasa Home Rentals)

Posted on March 10, 2025 // 3 Comments

Updated with limited-time offers. The Wyndham Rewards Earner credit cards currently all have increased bonuses of up to 90,000 points. While these are not the highest amounts offered ever, they are above the normal bonuses. This hotel-chain co-branded card earns rewards that redeemable towards the Wyndham chain of hotels and Vacasa-managed vacation home rentals.

Wyndham Rewards Earner Card highlights:

  • 60,000 bonus points after $2,000 in purchases in the first 90 days.
  • 5X points per $1 spent on Hotels by Wyndham and qualifying gas purchases.
  • 2X points per $1 spent on dining and grocery store purchases (excluding Target® and Walmart®).
  • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases (excluding Wyndham Timeshare resort down payments).
  • Automatic upgrade to Wyndham Rewards Gold status.
  • 10% fewer Wyndham Rewards points required for go free® awards.
  • 7,500 bonus points each anniversary year if you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases.
  • No annual fee.

Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus Card highlights:

  • 90,000 bonus points after $2,000 in purchases in the first 90 days.
  • 6X points per $1 spent on Hotels by Wyndham and gas purchasess.
  • 4X points per $1 spent on dining and grocery store purchases (excluding Target and Walmart).
  • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases (excluding Wyndham Timeshare resort down payments).
  • Automatic upgrade to Wyndham Rewards Platinum status.
  • 10% fewer Wyndham Rewards points required for go free® awards.
  • 7,500 bonus points each anniversary year after annual fee renewal.
  • $75 annual fee.

Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card highlights:

  • 75,000 bonus points total. 50,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases and paying the annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days. Also, earn 25,000 bonus points after spending $12,000 on purchases within the first 365 days.
  • 8X points per $1 spent on Hotels by Wyndham and gas purchasess.
  • 5X points per $1 spent on eligible marketing, advertising, and utilities purchases.
  • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases (excluding Wyndham Timeshare resort down payments).
  • Automatic upgrade to Wyndham Rewards Diamond status.
  • 10% fewer Wyndham Rewards points required for go free® awards.
  • 15,000 bonus points each anniversary year after annual fee renewal.
  • $95 annual fee.

Wyndham hotels have a relatively simple system that charges 7,500, 15,000, or 30,000 points for a “Go Free” award hotel night with no blackout dates (as long as a standard room is available for cash, you can book it with points). You can also redeem toward a discounted “Go Fast” cash and points rate. Resort fees may apply and cannot be paid with points. Note that when you have one of these credit cards, you get a 10% discount, so for example the 15,000 points tier would be actually be reduced down to 13,500 points.

You can also use the points for Vacasa vacation home rentals (like Airbnb or VRBO). Starting 3/26/24, it will cost 15,000 points *per bedroom* per night if the cash cost (including all taxes and fees!) is up to $250 *per bedroom* per night, or 30,000 points per bedroom per night if the cash cost is up to $500 per bedroom per night. More details at here and here.

That means your family likes to stay at Airbnbs, then 90,000 points can get you 3 nights at a 1-bedroom Vacasa-managed property that would otherwise cost up to $500 per night when including all taxes and fees, or at a 2-bedroom Vacasa property that would otherwise cost up to $250 *per bedroom* per night when including all taxes and fees. You can browse Vacasa properties here and book by calling 800-441-1034.

Wyndham points expiration – Important!

  • Wyndham Rewards points will expire if you have no activity on your account for a period of 18 months.
  • In addition, all Wyndham Rewards points expire 4 years after being earned — regardless of account activity.

From the official Terms & Conditions:

Except as may otherwise be required under applicable law, Wyndham Rewards points expire four (4) years after the checkout date of the stay for which the applicable points are posted to the Member’s account (the “Four Year Rule”), unless the points are forfeited or cancelled earlier due to membership inactivity (as more particularly described below), or otherwise in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. All accrued points in a Member’s Wyndham Rewards account may be cancelled or forfeited if the Member has no Account Activity (as defined below) for a period of approximately, but never less than, eighteen (18) consecutive months. For purposes of these Terms and Conditions, “Account Activity” means any (i) point earning, (ii) stay posted to a Member’s Wyndham Rewards account, regardless of whether or not such stay earns Wyndham Rewards points, and (iii) redemption or transfer activity involving a change in the Member’s Wyndham Rewards point balance, in each case, conducted in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.

For example, earning points via this credit card will only reset the 18-month inactivity clock. Look for the exact date in your online account page.

Wyndham Rewards includes over 9,000 hotels worldwide – from Days Inn motels to Wyndham Grand hotels. You can use this link to filter locations easily by country, state, and/or point level. Participating hotel chains include:

  • AmericInn by Wyndham®
  • Dolce Hotels and Resorts® by Wyndham
  • Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham®
  • Howard Johnson by Wyndham®
  • La Quinta by Wyndham®
  • Ramada by Wyndham®
  • Days Inn by Wyndham®
  • Super 8 by Wyndham®
  • Travelodge by Wyndham®
  • Wingate by Wyndham®
  • Wyndham Grand®
  • Wyndham Hotels and Resorts®
  • Wyndham Garden®

Depending on the hotel, you might get over 1 cent per point value (i.e. $300 cash hotel night for 30,000 points), but you might also get closer to 0.5 cent per point value (i.e. a $75 hotel night might require 15,000 points).

Bottom line. The Wyndham Rewards Earner credit cards earns rewards that can get you free nights at Wyndham hotels and Vacasa vacation home rentals. However, know that you must redeem the points within 4 years at the longest, even with regular account activity. This is somewhat of a niche card, but if you’ve got all the popular ones, there is still good potential value here if you put in some legwork.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers and Top 10 Best Business Card Offers.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Best Interest Rates Survey: Savings Accounts, Treasuries, CDs, ETFs – March 2025

Posted on March 10, 2025 // 8 Comments

Here’s my monthly survey of the best interest rates on cash as of March, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. Banks love taking advantage of our idle cash, and you can often earning more money while keeping the same level of safety by moving to another FDIC-insured bank or NCUA-insured credit union. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to see how much extra interest you could earn from switching. Rates listed are available to everyone nationwide. Rates checked as of 3/9/2024.

TL;DR: Short-term savings accounts dropped very slightly overall, with top rates varying widely from 3.7% to 5% APY. Short-term T-Bill rates at around 4.3%. Top 5-year CD rates are ~4.30% APY, while 5-year Treasury rate is ~4.1%.

High-yield savings accounts*
Since the huge megabanks still pay essentially no interest, everyone should at least have a separate, no-fee online savings account to piggy-back onto your existing checking account. The interest rates on savings accounts can drop at any time, so I list the top rates as well as competitive rates from banks with a history of competitive rates and solid user experience. Some banks will bait you with a temporary top rate and then lower the rates in the hopes that you are too lazy to leave.

  • The top saving rate at the moment: Roger.bank is at 5.00% APY (no min), but does require an additional companion checking account. CIT Platinum Savings is now at 4.30% APY with $5,000+ balance, but also has a $225/$300 deposit bonus you can stack on top.
  • SoFi Bank is at 3.80% APY + up to $325 new account bonus with direct deposit. You must maintain a direct deposit of any amount (even $1) each month for the higher APY. SoFi has historically competitive rates and full banking features. See details at $25 + $300 SoFi Money new account and deposit bonus.
  • Here is a limited survey of high-yield savings accounts. They aren’t the top rates, but a group that have historically kept it relatively competitive such that I like to track their history.

Short-term guaranteed rates (1 year and under)
A common question is what to do with a big pile of cash that you’re waiting to deploy shortly (plan to buy a house soon, just sold your house, just sold your business, legal settlement, inheritance). My usual advice is to keep things simple and take your time. If not a savings account, then put it in a flexible short-term CD under the FDIC limits until you have a plan.

  • No Penalty CDs offer a fixed interest rate that can never go down, but you can still take out your money (once) without any fees if you want to use it elsewhere. Marcus has a 13mo No Penalty CD at 4.15% APY ($500 minimum deposit). Farmer’s Insurance FCU has 9-month No Penalty CD at 4.25% APY ($1,000 minimum deposit). Credit Human has 12-month Liquid CD at 4.26% APY ($5,000 minimum) that allows unlimited deposits and two allowed withdrawals. Consider opening multiple CDs in smaller increments for more flexibility.
  • Security State Bank has a 12-month certificate special at 4.65% APY ($25,000 min). Early withdrawal penalty is 180 days of interest.

Money market mutual funds
Many brokerage firms that pay out very little interest on their default cash sweep funds (and keep the difference for themselves). Note: Money market mutual funds are highly-regulated, but ultimately not FDIC-insured, so I would still stick with highly reputable firms.

  • Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund (VMFXX) is the default sweep option for Vanguard brokerage accounts, which has an SEC yield of 4.24% (changes daily, but also works out to a compound yield of 4.32%, which is better for comparing against APY). Odds are this is much higher than your own broker’s default cash sweep interest rate.
  • Vanguard Treasury Money Market Fund (VUSXX) is an alternative money market fund which you must manually purchase, but the interest will be mostly (100% for 2024 tax year) exempt from state and local income taxes because it comes from qualifying US government obligations. Current SEC yield of 4.25% (compound yield of 4.33%).

Treasury Bills and Ultra-short Treasury ETFs
Another option is to buy individual Treasury bills which come in a variety of maturities from 4-weeks to 52-weeks and are fully backed by the US government. You can also invest in ETFs that hold a rotating basket of short-term Treasury Bills for you, while charging a small management fee for doing so. T-bill interest is exempt from state and local income taxes, which can make a significant difference in your effective yield.

  • You can build your own T-Bill ladder at TreasuryDirect.gov or via a brokerage account with a bond desk like Vanguard and Fidelity. Here are the current Treasury Bill rates. As of 3/7/25, a new 4-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 4.31% annualized interest and a 52-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 4.06% annualized interest.
  • The iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) has a 4.20% SEC yield (0.09% expense ratio) and effective duration of 0.09 years. SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) has a 4.13% SEC yield (0.136% expense ratio) and effective duration of 0.15 years. The Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF (VBIL) hasn’t been around long enough to generate an SEC yield (0.07% expense ratio).

US Savings Bonds
Series I Savings Bonds offer rates that are linked to inflation and backed by the US government. You must hold them for at least a year. If you redeem them within 5 years there is a penalty of the last 3 months of interest. The annual purchase limit for electronic I bonds is $10,000 per Social Security Number, available online at TreasuryDirect.gov.

  • “I Bonds” bought between November 2024 and April 2025 will earn a 3.11% rate for the first six months. The rate of the subsequent 6-month period will be based on inflation again. More on Savings Bonds here.
  • In mid-April 2025, the CPI will be announced and you will have a short period where you will have a very close estimate of the rate for the next 12 months. I will have another post up at that time.

Rewards checking accounts
These unique checking accounts pay above-average interest rates, but with unique risks. You have to jump through certain hoops which usually involve 10+ debit card purchases each cycle, a certain number of ACH/direct deposits, and/or a certain number of logins per month. If you make a mistake (or they judge that you did) you risk earning zero interest for that month. Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others would rather not bother. Rates can also drop suddenly, leaving a “bait-and-switch” feeling.

  • OnPath Federal Credit Union (my review) pays 7.00% APY on up to $10,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and login to online or mobile banking once per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization. You can also get a $100 Visa Reward card when you open a new account and make qualifying transactions.
  • Genisys Credit Union pays 6.75% APY on up to $7,500 if you make 10 debit card purchases of $5+ each per statement cycle, and opt into online statements. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization.
  • La Capitol Federal Credit Union pays 5.75% APY (down from 6.25%) on up to $10,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases of at least $5 each per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization, Louisiana Association for Personal Financial Achievement ($20).
  • (new) First Southern Bank pays 5.50% APY on up to $25,000 if you make at least 15 debit card purchases, 1 ACH credit or payment transaction, and enroll in online statements.
  • Credit Union of New Jersey pays 6.00% APY on up to $25,000 if you make 12 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and make at least 1 direct deposit, online bill payment, or automatic payment (ACH) per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization.
  • Andrews Federal Credit Union pays 6.00% APY on up to $25,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and make at least 1 direct deposit or ACH transaction per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization.
  • Find a locally-restricted rewards checking account at DepositAccounts.

Certificates of deposit (greater than 1 year)
CDs offer higher rates, but come with an early withdrawal penalty. By finding a bank CD with a reasonable early withdrawal penalty, you can enjoy higher rates but maintain access in a true emergency. Alternatively, consider building a CD ladder of different maturity lengths (ex. 1/2/3/4/5-years) such that you have access to part of the ladder each year, but your blended interest rate is higher than a savings account. When one CD matures, use that money to buy another 5-year CD to keep the ladder going. Some CDs also offer “add-ons” where you can deposit more funds if rates drop.

  • KS State Bank has a 5-year certificate at 4.30% APY ($500 minimum), 4-year at 4.30% APY, 3-year at 4.30% APY, 2-year at 4.25% APY, and 1-year at 4.30% APY. $500 minimum. The early withdrawal penalty (EWP) for the 5-year is a huge 540 days of interest.
  • Mountain America Credit Union (MACU) has a 5-year certificate at 4.25% APY ($500 minimum), 4-year at 4.25% APY, 3-year at 4.25% APY, 2-year at 3.95% APY, and 1-year at 4.25% APY. Early withdrawal penalty for the 4-year and 5-year is 365 days of interest. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization American Consumer Council for a one-time $5 fee (or try promo code “consumer”).
  • Lafayette Federal Credit Union (LFCU) has a 5/4/3/2/1-year certificates at 4.28% APY ($500 min). Slightly higher rates with jumbo $100,000+ balances. Note that the early withdrawal penalty for the 5-year is a relatively large 600 days of interest. Anyone nationwide can join LFCU by joining the Home Ownership Financial Literacy Council (HOFLC) for a one-time $10 fee.
  • You can buy certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. You may need an account to see the rates. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance and easy laddering, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. Right now, I see a 5-year non-callable CD at 4.10% APY (callable: no, call protection: yes). Be warned that both Vanguard and Fidelity will list higher rates from callable CDs, which importantly means they can call back your CD if rates drop later. (Issuers have indeed started calling some of their old 5%+ CDs during 2024.)

Longer-term Instruments
I’d use these with caution due to increased interest rate risk (tbh, I don’t use them at all), but I still track them to see the rest of the current yield curve.

  • Willing to lock up your money for 10 years? You can buy long-term certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. You might find something that pays more than your other brokerage cash and Treasury options. Right now, I see a 10-year CDs at [n/a] (non-callable) vs. 4.32% for a 10-year Treasury. Watch out for higher rates from callable CDs where they can call your CD back if interest rates drop.

All rates were checked as of 3/9/25.

* I no longer recommend fintech companies due to the possibility of loss due to poor recordkeeping and lack of government regulation. (Ex. Evergreen Wealth at 5% APY is a fintech.)

Photo by insung yoon on Unsplash

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers, Investing // Tagged:

Raisin Marketplace: Up to $400 Deposit Bonus (and Why I’m Skipping It)

Posted on March 5, 2025 // Leave a Comment

Raisin is a financial marketplace that allows you to access high-interest certificates of deposit and savings accounts from multiple different banks and credit unions without having to open up a new account at each one. Right now, they have some new deposit bonuses that are pretty solid based on the bonus-to-deposit ratios and minimum holding periods. However, I will personally not be taking advantage of them due to their use of custodial FBO accounts. I think it’s most useful to both point out the existence of these bonuses and explain my take on them. Details below.

Here are the new bonuses:

  • New customer $250 bonus. Open a new account with promo code GET250, deposit $25,000 within 14 days, and maintain for 90 days for the $250 bonus.
  • Existing customer deposit bonus, up to $400. Must deposit $50,000 in new money. $200 on a 3–6 month CD. $300 on a 7–11 month CD. $400 for a 12+ month CD. Must maintain for full CD maturity period.

How Raisin works. The benefit of Raisin is that you can easily access aggressively high rates at a new bank or credit union without having to open yet another new account (and endure credit checks, identify verification hurdles, join partner organizations, leave funds in share savings accounts, etc). The price is added complexity, higher risk for miscommunication and errors, and a place in a regulatory shadow zone.

Instead of opening a direct account at a new partner bank, there are at least three different parties.

  • Raisin, which is the overall business (“financial technology company”) and not a bank and not a credit union. (Source #1)
  • There are the middlemen, Custodial Bank(s) and Service Bank. The Custodial Bank opens up FBO (For Benefit Of) accounts at each of the Partner Banks/Credit Unions in THEIR names. These FBO accounts are basically big pooled accounts, and the Custodial Bank is supposed to keep track of all the money going in and out for all the individual Raisin customers in their own virtual ledger. The Service Bank is in charge of moving your funds amongst the various banks. Central Bank of Kansas City (CBKC), Member FDIC, is the Service Bank. CBKC, Lewis & Clark Bank and Starion Bank, each Member FDIC, are the Custodial Banks. (Source #2)
  • There are the partner banks. These banks and credit unions are looking to grow deposits, but they have no idea who you are as an individual. They come and go on the Raisin platform. They only see that they opened a single, huge FBO account for the Custodial Bank. (Source #3)

While this setup appears to be perfectly legal (as far I can tell, I am not a lawyer), that doesn’t mean that there is someone to clean up the mess if something goes wrong. It’s like if someone steals your wallet and the cops are too busy with violent crime to track them down, it doesn’t matter if it’s illegal, you’re still not getting your money back.

The real-world example is what happened with Juno, Yotta, Synapse, and Evolve Bank & Trust. They had major disagreements about the ledger tracking all the deposits and withdrawals. They all blamed each other for the missing funds (~$50 million). Since no bank actually failed, the FDIC did not step in. No other regulatory agency stepped in. I was surprised. It was all left to a severely-underfunded bankruptcy court, and the mess still isn’t figured out. Someone ran off with tens of millions of dollars, and innocent individuals were left holding the bag.

Source #1:

Raisin is not a bank and your money is always handled by a federally regulated financial institution — whether in transit, stored in the Cash Account, or in an account at a partner bank. The Custodial Bank keeps records of all funds deposited through the Raisin platform for added security.

Source #2

Custodial accounts are accounts held on for the benefit of Raisin customers by a custodial bank at the banks and credit unions where customers deposit their money through Raisin. When a customer makes a deposit through the Raisin platform into a savings product offered by a given financial institution, the funds move from the customer’s external bank account (also referred to as their reference account) to a custodial account held by one of Raisin’s partner custodial banks at the financial institution offering the savings product. Central Bank of Kansas City (CBKC), Lewis & Clark Bank and Starion Bank, each Member FDIC, are the Custodial Banks.

Source #3:

An FDIC-supervised custodial bank opens the “For Benefit Of” account for each customer and agrees directly with Raisin’s customers to act as the custodian of their funds. This custodial bank is authorized by Raisin customers, as their agent, to hold their deposits at federally regulated banks and credit unions on their behalf in a custodial capacity. Customer funds are never co-mingled with Raisin funds.

Again, if everyone does what they say they will, then it’s all good. The problem is what happens when they don’t. If it happens with Raisin (or any of the parties involved, all relatively small institutions), it has the potential to be a complete mess that could take years to untangle. In today’s regulatory environment, I have zero interest in putting my cash into any sort of regulatory grey area.

In contrast, the CIT Bank $225/$300 deposit offer involves a simple, direct relationship with CIT Bank, an FDIC-insured bank, where you have an individual/joint account directly held in your name. There is a single system. There is no potential pointing of figures between multiple parties. There is a long, established history of the FDIC stepping in resolve a bank failure within days. It’s about as safe as it gets.

Bottom line. I’m doing the CIT bank offer, but not the Raisin offer.

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers //

SGOV, STIP, TIP iShares ETFs: Claim Your State Income Tax Exemption (2024/2025)

Posted on March 5, 2025 // 1 Comment

As a follow-up to my posts for Vanguard and Fidelity money market funds, iShares ETFs (Blackrock) has also recently released their US GOI percentages for 2024 tax year. US Government Obligation Interest (US GOI) like Treasury bills and bonds are generally exempt from state and local income taxes. However, in order to claim this exemption, you’ll likely have to manually enter it on your tax return after digging up a few extra details.

The tax document has a pretty good summary of the situation for all brokers:

The Form 1099-DIV (or substitute form) you received from your financial advisor or brokerage firm may include income derived from U.S. Government and agency obligations. This income may be excluded from state income tax (although in many states, only the income from Treasury obligations is exempt from personal state income tax). The information below is provided to assist with the completion of shareholder state income tax returns. The amount in Box 1a of 2024 IRS Form 1099-DIV should be multiplied by the applicable percentages below to obtain the dollar amount of income derived from the sources categorized below. Because the qualifications for exclusion vary by state (some states have investment threshold requirements), please consult your tax advisor for details.

It’s notable that even things like the iShares iBonds 20XX Term TIPS ETFs are not 100% US government obligations, so it’s important to reference this document and not assume. For iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP) and iShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF (STIP) the USGOI percentage for 2024 was indeed at 100.00%.

For iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV), the USGOI percentage for 2024 was 97.53%. This is pretty good and why SGOV is my default cash position at most brokers. The tax document also confirms that at least 50% of the assets of the fund were invested in Federal Obligations at the end of each quarter of the fiscal year. That means that SGOV met the minimum criteria for the dividend income to be exempt in the states of California, Connecticut, and New York.

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers, Investing //
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