@FD1000. You probably mean Penfed ( Pentagon Federal CC). I have the 5% gas rebate card which is a great money saver!

I have been using the Fidelity CC for years but switched mostly to Pended CC with 2% cash back
https://www.penfed.org/credit-cards
Because Pended superior customer service and easier claim filing.
The other cards I have used for years are
*The Pended 5% at all gas stations, you must pay at the pump.
* Amazon CC paying 5% on Amazon purchases.
* Schwab world ATM which pays back all fees when you take out cash.

@msf I did some digging on U.S. Bank website and it looks like you might be able to get away with $50K IRA balance to avoid the $50 annual fee on their upcoming Smartly Visa.
This may need to be verified, but it seems like if you enroll in the free U.S. Bank Smart Rewards program they will waive the IRA fee starting @ $50K plus give you a few other perks.
If so: 3% cash back @ $50K IRA and 4% cash back @ $100K IRA - no annual fee.

Thanks! So it seems that U.S. Bank has a program (Smart Rewards) similar to BofA's Preferred Rewards.

I must be missing something about CapitalOne. None of their 1.5% cash back cards seem to have a higher rate on travel like others offering 4% or 5%. Price match is nice but it only works for 24h, only refunds in travel credits, and you have to go through the hassle of calling them to get it… So, for the unlikely chance that you have overlooked a good deal before booking and then find one within 24h afterwards, you’d have to give up extra 0.5% to 3.5%+ of cash back available at other cash back cards. Does this compute…??

The virtue of the price match is not that something will suddenly go on sale, but that bank travel "portal" prices can regularly be beaten. Getting 5pts/$ at a travel portal is worthless if you can beat their prices by even 5% at the time you make the reservation. This is why I consider travel bonuses with credit cards at other banks as useless if you have to use their "portals".
CapitalOne gives 5x on travel you book through them with their Venture cards, not their Quicksilver cards. Since much of our spending these days has been on travel, I've been willing to look at cards biased toward travel expenses.
I have never bought trip cancellation/interruption insurance, feeling that I don't need the former and I can "self insure" for the latter and come out ahead. These are expensive policies. But I'm beginning to reconsider. I didn't post the cards I'm looking at for travel because they're not coupled with brokerages (i.e. not investment related).
FWIW, Chase Sapphire Reserved seems to give the highest level of coverage for two or more travelers ($10K per traveler up to $20K per trip, up to $40K/year) for $95. I don't mind giving up around 2% in rewards as "payment" for the insurance. Wells Fargo Autograph Journey, also $95, pays 4x-5x on travel and provides up to $15K per traveler. But it limits coverage per trip to $20K, so if you're traveling with someone else, that's no better than Sapphire. And its annual limit is just $20K. And unlike many other cards, it looks like the insurance doesn't cover you if your traveling companion gets sick, unless you are needed as caretaker.
>> already got other cards that give me 5% on groceries
I missed it --- which one is that?
I didn't mention it because I was avoiding posting about cards with rotating categories. Citibank's Custom Cash reward pays 5% on the single category you use the most during a monthly billing cycle, up to $500. Not all that useful except I wanted to have a MC in my wallet that I might actually use, at least a little. Groceries seems to be the best category for me to use, so that's all I buy with it, usually.
If one is adept at managing rotating categories on other cards, then any quarter when one of those gives 5% for groceries, the Citibank card can be used for another category.

Credit card is a very profitable business. That is one reason Visa and Master stocks are often in growth funds. They charge the merchants up to 5% fee and give back the customers, 2-3% and pocket the rest. Our corporate credit card, American Express charges the most in the CC business, over 5%. Supposedly Am EX has no credit limit on the card and that is great for business travel. I have experienced, however, that it is less accepted in many places and I ending paying with my personal Visa card.
Cash payment is far from dead. Many utility companies accept auto-pay only through your checking account. Some grocery stores and small retailers accept cash payment in form of either checks and debit card, Gas stations offer two tier pricing on gas for either debit card or credit card.
The surcharges in restaurants are ridiculous. Many now are asking for 20+% for tips. In Europe there is no tipping required. The business pay their decent wages.

Some fascinating discussions re Fidelity at the source @msf linked above. A Fidelity rep decided to join an ongoing discussion. Here’s a snippet from what the Fidelity Rep posted on that site:
”I wanted to let you know that multi-factor authentication (MFA) is up and running! You can learn more about this through our formal announcement below.” Link to Rep / Discussion
Fidelity MFA announcement (Quoted from Announcement) “Why MFA is important - MFA helps prevent unauthorized people from accessing your account, by requiring you to log in with your password AND confirm the login via another factor (in this case, entering a code generated by an app on your personal device). This added layer of protection means that even if someone knows your password, they’ll have a harder time accessing your account. We strongly encourage you to add MFA if you haven’t already done so.“
What I’m having some difficulty grasping is how this is substantially more secure than the 2-factor authentication I already use? Why is the new fangled “multi-factor” method (being touted) more secure?
Here’s a link / source that explains it. MFA vs. 2FA: what’s the difference?

I must be missing something about CapitalOne. None of their 1.5% cash back cards seem to have a higher rate on travel like others offering 4% or 5%. Price match is nice but it only works for 24h, only refunds in travel credits, and you have to go through the hassle of calling them to get it… So, for the unlikely chance that you have overlooked a good deal before booking and then find one within 24h afterwards, you’d have to give up extra 0.5% to 3.5%+ of cash back available at other cash back cards. Does this compute…??

@msf I did some digging on U.S. Bank website and it looks like you might be able to get away with $50K IRA balance to avoid the $50 annual fee on their upcoming Smartly Visa.
This may need to be verified, but it seems like if you enroll in the free U.S. Bank Smart Rewards program they will waive the IRA fee starting @ $50K plus give you a few other perks.
If so: 3% cash back @ $50K IRA and 4% cash back @ $100K IRA - no annual fee.

Prime visa 5% Whole Foods and Amazon, Target 5% card, Lowes 5% card. I used to use WF visa 2% for everything else but today I ordered the 4% VZ visa which will replace that for gas/groceries and whatever else I get 4% on. Will use the WF 2% for anything the VZ card doesn't give me 4% like utilities etc... I need to see what the VZ card covers, maybe I can get rid of the WF card.

For Verizon cellphone customers I call attention to their black Visa card (Synchrony), as for all food-related purchases, gas, and Vz purchases (including Fios service) it gives you 4%
That's interesting. Verizon gives a $10 or $20 discount when you pay FiOS bills with autopay, so long as you don't pay by credit card. But it makes an exception for its own Verizon Visa. Doesn't work for me though. I've already got other cards that give me 5% on groceries and 4% on gas and can't see getting a card just for FiOS.
A few bucks gets put on my United Visa each year just to keep the ~1M miles I have active
United stopped expiring miles a few years ago. "Our miles never expire ..."
Perhaps there's something special about keeping a 1M balance?
If merchants neglect to mention surcharges for Mastercard or Visa purchases, they are not following defined rules for surcharging.
In NYS, a merchant must disclose total price including credit card surcharges (in dollars) prior to sale. AFAIK it's an open question as to whether out-of-state merchants selling to NYS residents must comply.
Still with CapitalOne at 1.5% for everything, no fee
CapitalOne seems to have an excellent reputation, and as I noted above, price matches on its travel "portal", making its Venture cards more valuable than other banks' for travelers.

"I have also noticed 'prepared food Tax' or 'Meal tax'... as much as 12%."
I live in the Seattle area and frequently dine at restaurants.
I scanned the Tax Foundation article and discovered Seattle
has the fifth highest combined tax rate on meals - 10.35%. :-(
"Then there's often a variety of suggested tip amounts 18% - 22%."
Tipping has gotten way out of hand.
Many restaurants and food trucks in my area provide tipping options for customers who pick up take-out orders.
During the height of COVID-19, I would leave tips for take-out orders due to the extraordinary circumstances.
I have now stopped tipping for take-out orders.
What additional service is being provided which warrants a tip?
I always tip when dining in a restaurant which provides service.

Since Symantec VIP is only installed on my desktop computer,
I can't comment on mobile versions of the app.
I'd prefer Fidelity support hardware authentication devices (e.g., Yubikey)

There is a pure physical authenticator that Fidelity currently supports. Symantec VIP packaged as a key fob:

Pay no attention to Fidelity's comment that it doesn't support this. Right below that is a comment by Harry Sit (The Finance Buff) that he has the fob and it works fine.

Still with CapitalOne at 1.5% for everything, no fee. No problem paying most recurring bills. The customer service is exemplary, something I’d not want to lose for half a percent. Schwab Visa used to deposit 2% directly into brokerage account, but long gone. Schwab Bank debit card is super for foreign travel because all ATM fees are rebated. Having committed to memory my checking account # at BOA and my CapitalOne card, I am reluctant to change. As a character in Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano says, “I have a good memory, but it’s short.”

Hi @WABAC
I added USFR, just below the BAGIX fund. The SEC 7 day yield as you noted, is 4.75%.
The etf closed the week with a +.11% and YTD of +4.56%.

Thank you @catch22.

Back when I was trading futures, they were the only way to act on things during the overnight sessions. There's a chance I might dabble with this 'feature' on stocks a few times just for kicks and to see how it works if there's something I want to do or respond to (I do well in the pre/post-markets when I use them) -- but I have no desire to become a 24x5 trader or investor that's glued to their screens.
I fear this will further turn investing into a Robin-Hood/Sports-Betting type of gamification for the masses that induces them to gamble with their savings in ways that provide a dopamine hit in the here-and-now while drawing down their retirement assets for the future.

Hi @WABAC
I added USFR, just below the BAGIX fund. The yield as you noted, is 4.75%.
The etf closed the week with a +.11% and YTD of +4.56%.

Schwab might provide a link to Gamblers Anonymous
-
@yugo - I resorted to Bing’s AI search engine for help. If it can’t pull up that list, I’d say nobody can. Here’s what their search turned up: ”Currently, Charles Schwab's overnight trading session includes access to approximately two dozen ETFs through their thinkorswim trading platforms. While the exact list of these ETFs hasn't been publicly disclosed, it's part of their pilot program that will expand significantly by mid-2025.”
If they’re currently running a “pilot program”, that list should be publicly available. Wouldn’t you think?

Given all the excitement, I'm surprised you don't have a floating treasury ETfund. If M*can be believed (And I count on @msf to check their work :) ) USFR ended the week with a yield of 4.75.

MOAT has good amount of turnover and I do not recall it ever having a cap gain distribution
The implication being that significant turnover such as that caused by a change in index being tracked does not necessarily result in an ETF recognizing cap gains. It is true that ETFs can handle large periodic portfolio rebalancings (e.g. due to index reconstitution) as described below. But changing indexes is not a periodic, routine event.
If the OEF/ETF structure of VIGI were a cause of the large cap gain distribution in 2021, then would one not expect some cap gains, however small, to have been realized in the other nine years the fund has been around? Further, the probability that the sole year any cap gains were recognized would randomly coincide with the sole year that the index fund was changed is just 10%.
What does turnover even mean for an ETF? Probably not what one thinks. It's certainly not what I would have thought - the value of portfolio shares sold (or bought) divided by the average AUM. Rather, turnover counts only those shares bought or sold for cash.

Turnover rate excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind purchases or redemptions of the fund’s capital shares, including Vanguard ETF Creation Units.

https://institutional.vanguard.com/investments/product-details/fund/4415
So we may be comparing apples and oranges in saying that MOAT and VIGI turnovers are comparable. Though the real issue is not the turnover rate per se, but the anomalously high rate that VIGI experienced in 2021 (1.5x - 3x its normal rate).
ETFs put a "heartbeat" mechanism in place to handle routine changes in portfolio composition (rebalancings). Even the large quarterly reconstitutions that MOAT has to deal with.
In a "heartbeat" trade, the APs buy the securities that the ETF must discard (due to rebalancing). A couple of days later they sell the new securities that the ETF needs. All done with in-kind trades, using ETF shares as "currency".
The audacity of these maneuvers is so great that Elisabeth Kashner used MOAT as a case study when she coined the term "heartbeat" trades for ETFs in 2017.
https://insight.factset.com/the-heartbeat-of-etf-tax-efficiency
One might ask what's in it for the APs. It turns out that they can make a nice, reliable profit for this service (on the order of 24 basis pts/year). At the (hidden) expense of the shareholders.
https://insight.factset.com/the-heartbeat-of-etf-tax-efficiency-part-three-trade-forensics
One might ask why the SEC lets ETFs get away with this sort of blatant tax manipulation.

Recognizing the potential benefits to ETFs and their shareholders of employing custom baskets, but also being cognizant of the potential for abuses, the SEC now permits virtually unfettered use of custom baskets. However, ETFs using these custom baskets must adopt and implement detailed written procedures that “set forth detailed parameters for the construction and acceptance of custom baskets that are in the best interest of the [ETF] and its shareholders . . . .” These written procedures are internal, non-public documents. Rule 6c-11 also permits ETFs to do heartbeat trades with non-APs on the day of a reorganization, merger, conversion, or liquidation.

Jeffrey M Colon, Unplugging Heartbeat Trades and Reforming the Taxation of ETFs, University of Chicago Business Law Review, Vol 2.1 (2022?), Section VII.
https://businesslawreview.uchicago.edu/print-archive/unplugging-heartbeat-trades-and-reforming-taxation-etfs#heading-6
In short, evidence that OEF/ETF structure causes cap gains is lacking (virtually no gains recognized across decades and scores of funds), ETF turnover isn't what one thinks so use is judiciously, and ETFs work with APs to handle periodic portfolio rebalancings (including reconstitutions).

M* Fair Values
SLB $57 10/25/24
PFE $42 12/13/23