On Death's Door

Yesterday afternoon I took advantage of the fact I was already in San Francisco for client calls to visit my friend, Del, who's in hospice at the VA medical center. When I arrived Del's inlaws were already sitting with him. They flew out from the east coast earlier this week. Recall when Hawk and I visited Del on Saturday he was in declining shape and seemed just days away from death. His husband, D., asked his parents to come out; they made plans quickly and arrived on Tuesday.

Del has been up and down over the past few days. "Down" was him seemingly days away from death over the weekend, when he'd stopped taking nutrition and even stopped drinking water. Not drinking water for several days can kill a person as surely as anything else. But then earlier this week he rallied. He became a bit more aware of his surroundings and able to communicate briefly (understand he's still bed-ridden, gaunt, and weak) and started drinking water and liquid nutrition again. But then by yesterday he'd weakened again. His state when I saw him Thursday was both better and worse than the previous Saturday.

"Better" was that he was still drinking water, even if in small sips. He was aware that people were around him and could respond in ways like gripping my hand when I held his. "Worse" was that his breathing has become a bit ragged in a way that's an indication of death being near. (When my father was in hospice the nurse called it a "death rattle".) He also looks more gaunt than 5 days ago. And although he was trying to talk he wasn't making sense.

I'm glad that D's parents are there to help keep Del company. He has no blood kin; people he's related to by birth are all long gone— either from passing away or disappearing decades ago. And many of his friends are staying away right now. ...I don't entirely fault them. Being around a dying person is difficult for almost anymore. For some it's extra difficult. Though difficulty is not a reason to stay away. Hawk and I have carved out time to make several visits, and I took a few hours in the middle of a workday yesterday to do the same.

United Credit Cards: And Then There Were None

About a year ago I opened a new Chase United MileagePlus Explorer credit card. A few weeks ago the $95 annual fee for the next year posted. As always, this annual fee-paying anniversary prompted me to count my wins over the past 12 months and decide if the card stays in the fleet to keep flying for another year or if it's time to send this airline miles-earning card to the hangar.

Details of the Offer

This card is one of actually two United affiliated cards I opened last year. I already closed the business card two months ago. The offer on this one, the personal version of the card, was 60,000 bonus miles with UA after spending $3,000 within the first 3 months, plus an additional 10k miles after reaching a total of $6k spend. I knocked out the first $3k in less than two billing cycles by focusing charges on the card. The next $3k was easy, too, though I partly shifted activity to other cards to complete this card's target in 5 months.

If you compare the details above to those of the business card you'll notice the business card actually offered slightly more points (75k) for slightly less total spend ($5k). Why do both? Well, why not! They're both valuable. And this card also came with a $100 credit for Global Entry that's worth more than the difference in points. My GE membership was up for renewal, so my timing in choosing this card was deliberate.

Adding Up the Score

Across 12 months with this card I spent a bit about $6,100 total and earned 77,500 UA miles. At my current valuation of 1.1 cents per mile, those miles are worth $853. Adding in the Global Entry credit the gross value is $953. In addition there were also $16 of miscellaneous other credits I earned through the year, bringing the value to $969. Almost a grand— that's a pretty nice haul! That's the gross value, though. To get the net value I subtract 2% of the amount charged as an opportunity cost. That's how much cash back I had to forego by using this card instead of a no-fee 2% cash back card. 2% is $122, so the net value drops to $847. That's still a great win!

Lather, Rinse, Repeat 🚿

Totting up how much I scored with a credit card over the past year is a fun little exercise but it's not in and of itself the answer to the question of whether it's worth keeping the card for the next year. It's just a point of comparison that helps put the estimate in perspective. And that perspective is grim in comparison.

While this card was worth so much in year one, its value in year two will actually be negative. That's because with the big signup bonus gone there's just the basic earning rate on charges. At one mile/dollar on general spend, and with miles being worth only $0.011 a piece, that's way less than the 2% cashback I can earn with a basic card. And on top of that there's the $95 annual fee. There's no way this card can even break even. Thus I've chosen to close the account, making room in my wallet for some new card with a year-one juicy signup bonus. Lather, rinse, repeat!