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Limited-time 75k offer with $1,000 spending hurdle. The JetBlue Plus Mastercard is a rewards credit card that earns TrueBlue points for purchases and includes special perks for JetBlue customers. Right now, there is an increased offer above the common prior 50k and 60k offer levels, this time with a low spending requirement but without a first-year annual fee waiver. This is a limited-time inflight offer, where you can enter a 5-digit promo code to credit the flight crew. I have read that the code is 6+Flight number (ex. Flight 214 is 60214), but it seems that any 5-digit code will work. I’ve used 00000 on a similar Barclaycard app and it still worked fine. Here are the highlights:

• 75,000 bonus TrueBlue points after spending $1,000 on purchases and paying the annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days.
• First checked bag is free for the primary cardmember and up to 3 companions when you use your JetBlue Plus Card on JetBlue-operated flights.
• 6X points on JetBlue purchases, 2 points per $1 at restaurants and grocery stores and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.
• No blackout dates on JetBlue-operated flights & redeem for any seat, any time on JetBlue flights. Points required for an Award Flight will vary based on the published base fare at the time of booking.
• Annual $100 statement credit after you purchase a JetBlue Vacations package of $100 or more.
• Points awarded in your TrueBlue account don’t expire.
• Earn and share points together with Family Pooling.
• 50% savings on eligible inflight purchases including cocktails, food and movies.
• Points Payback option allows you to redeem points for a statement credit – up to $1,000 per year.
• Get 10% of your points back every time you redeem to use toward your next redemption.
• 5,000 TrueBlue bonus points annually after your account anniversary.
• $99 annual fee.

First checked bags on JetBlue usually cost at least $35 each-way ($35 off-peak and $40 peak), per person (technically $35 if prepaid or $45 if paid at the airport). The free checked bag perk applies to you and up to 3 travel companions on the same reservation when (1) the ticket is purchased with your JetBlue Plus card, (2) the primary cardmember’s TrueBlue member number must be entered at the time of booking. That works out great for a family traveling together. If you buy higher fare classes, a certain number of complimentary bags may already be included.

How does redeeming TrueBlue points work? TrueBlue works on a “dynamic” revenue-based system, where the points required depends on the current cash cost of the flight (with no blackout dates). If they sell it for cash, you can book it with points. This is different than traditional chart-based systems that charge a fixed point balance but imposes blackout dates and limited seat availability.

TrueBlue points are best redeemed for JetBlue flights. There are some other options like newspaper or magazine subscriptions, but I won’t cover them here.

TrueBlue points can be estimated at 1 points = 1.3 cents. Ex. 30,000 points would cover roughly $390 in JetBlue airfare. The exact value may vary, but 1.3 cents is a conservative average of what I found across Blue and Blue Extra fares. You can test it out yourself by pricing out the same flight on JetBlue.com using points or cash (you don’t need to sign-in or have an account). Here is an example of a randomly-chosen flight between SFO and JFK. Below are both the cash price and points required.

That means the $333 net cost ($339-$6 in taxes) was offset by 23,000 points, or a value of 1.43 cents per TrueBlue point. 1.3 cents per TrueBlue point is a conservative average estimate.

Upon the renewal of your $99 annual fee, you get another 5,000 TrueBlue points ($65 of airfare value at 1.3 cents/point). If you can take advantage of the free checked bag perk, there is definitely ongoing value for regular JetBlue fliers. I haven’t investigated the $100 off a JetBlue Vacations package, but it could be worth a look.

Redemption for cash. As a minimum baseline value, you can redeem up to 100,000 TrueBlue points per year at 1 cent a point for a flat statement credit. So 30,000 points = $300, and so on. You can nearly always get more value redeeming for a JetBlue flight, but I know some people may just want to cash out.

Bottom line. The JetBlue Plus card from Barclaycard offers several perks for regular JetBlue customers such as a free first checked bag for you and up to 3 companions. Right now, the sign-up bonus is slightly higher than usual. 75,000 points are worth roughly $975 in JetBlue airfare at Blue/Blue Extra levels, minus the $99 annual fee is still $875 in first-year value.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

There is also a JetBlue Business card that currently offers up to 60,000 bonus points. Also see: Top 10 Best Business Card Offers.

US Mobile is having some Super Bowl deals, which are actually the best deals I’ve seen on their Warp (Verizon) network. I wrote previously about balancing saving money on MVNOs with high data speeds, and their “Unlimited Premium” plan on Warp (Verizon) was my personal choice. In addition, they are offering 50% off their annual standalone watch plans.

• Current US Mobile Warp promos (Verizon). Annual Unlimited Premium $288/year ($24/month). Pay full price upfront, get a $102 prepaid card at activation with code WARPDEAL
• Current US Mobile Plan Promos. Annual Unlimited Starter $180/year ($15/month) on all networks (Verizon/Tmo/ATT). Pay full price upfront, get a $90 prepaid card at activation with code BIGGAME.
• 50% off annual smartwatch plans (standalone or companion) with code WARPWATCH. $39 for first year with code WARPWATCH. We use this plan for our kids.
• Additional $25 prepaid card if you use my referral link first. See details below.
• I started out with a single standalone Apple Watch plan, but the customer service was both responsive and knowledgeable, and so I eventually moved my own phone over.

I chose their Annual Unlimited Premium plan on Warp (Verizon) because:

• The Unlimited Premium plan comes with 5G Priority data level QCI 8 with Verizon, which is equal in priority to the official Verizon postpaid plans. I just went to another crowded event and having high data priority made life easier. Plus, with Premium the “Unlimited Data” actually means unlimited. There are no speed reductions after 30 GB or 50 GB, for example. Also, you get 50 GB Hotspot on Premium. That’s enough to support a lot of work while in cafes/traveling.
• The initial year can be very cheap, right now $24/month if you pay the full year upfront. The net cost for the first year is $288, where you pay the full $390 upfront and get a $102 prepaid card at activation promo code with code WARPDEAL or BIGGAME.
• The Warp network comes with a free smartwatch plan, so I can use my Apple Watch cellular without the usual $5 to $10 extra per month. I like to swim/run/exercise with just a watch, and my previous provider Mint Mobile and many other MVNOs don’t support smartwatches at all.

$25 referral discount details. You can stack the current promo with my referral link to get an additional $25 off. Click on my referral link first, and then make sure to enter the promo code before checking out. You will get sent a $25 prepaid card after 6 months of service and spending $100.

To qualify for the $25 referral bonus, you must maintain active paid service in good standing for 6 months, port in a new line, and spend a total of $100 on Unlimited, By the Gig, or Smartwatch plans — Other plans, top-ups, devices, add-ons, roaming, and certain promotions (listed at usmobile.com/promo-archive) are excluded. Annual plans will be prorated monthly (e.g. $228 equals $114 after 6 months).

New limited-time offers. Delta Airlines American Express cards offer various special perks like free checked bags, priority boarding, and the ability to earn Delta SkyMiles with card purchases. As you can only get the welcome offers once per specific card name per person per lifetime (a Gold and Platinum card are considered different), I recommend waiting until a limited-time offer to maximize your benefit. I recommend the Gold card as the first sweet spot for many casual travelers, as it currently offers a $900 potential first-year value with no annual fee the first year, along with a free checked bag benefit. Details:

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

• Up to 90,000 Bonus Skymiles. 70,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 or more in purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership and an additional 20,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months, starting from the date your account is opened. Offer Ends 4/1/2026.
• $200 Delta Flight Credit. Get a $200 Delta Flight credit to use toward future Delta travel after $10,000 in purchases on your card within a calendar year.
• $100 Delta Stays Credit. Get up to $100 back annually as a statement credit after using your Delta SkyMiles(R) Gold American Express Card to book prepaid hotels or vacation rentals through Delta Stays on delta.com.
• First checked bag free (worth $70 roundtrip, per person) on Delta flights. This perk is worth up to $280 per round trip for a family of four ($35 each way, per person).
• 15% off discount on Award Travel booked through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Applies to Delta flights only, not applicable to partner-operated flights or taxes and fees.
• Zone 5 Priority Boarding.
• 2X miles at Delta purchases, at U.S. Supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 1 miles per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
• Simplified Pay with Miles option. Take up to $50 off the cost of your flight for every 5,000 miles you redeem with Pay with Miles when you book on delta.com.
• 20% back on eligible Delta in-flight purchases with this card in the form of a statement credit .
• No Foreign Transaction Fees.
• $0 introductory Annual Fee for the first year, then $150.

90,000 Skymiles is worth at least $900 in Delta airfare. Delta offers a minimum value out of your Skymiles via the “Pay with Miles” option. For example, that means 50,000 Skymiles can reduce the price of your Delta ticket(s) by $500 at the very least. (5,000 mile = $50 minimum redemption.) You can still search and book traditional award tickets and possibly get better value.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

• Limited-time offer: Up to 100,000 Bonus Miles 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 or more in purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership and an additional 20,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months, starting from the date your account is opened. Offer Ends 4/1/2026.
• $2,500 Medallion(R) Qualification Dollars with MQD Headstart each Medallion Qualification Year and earn $1 MQD for each $20 in purchases on your Delta SkyMiles(R) Platinum American Express Card with MQD Boost to get closer to Status next Medallion Year.
• $150 Delta Stays Credit. Get up to $150 back annually on eligible prepaid hotels or vacation rentals through Delta Stays on delta.com.
• $120 Resy Credit. Get up to $10 in statement credits each month after you pay with your enrolled Delta SkyMiles(R) Platinum American Express Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. Enrollment required.
• $120 Rideshare Credit. Up to $10 back in statement credits each month on U.S. rideshare purchases with select providers using your Delta SkyMiles(R) Platinum American Express Card. Enrollment is required.
• 15% off discount on Award Travel booked through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Applies to Delta flights only, not applicable to partner-operated flights or taxes and fees.
• Up to $120 Global Entry Fee Credit. You can get either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck(R) (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Delta SkyMiles(R) Platinum American Express Card. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
• Companion Certificate benefit. Enjoy a Companion Certificate on a Delta Main round-trip flight within the U.S. and to Mexico, the Caribbean, or Central America each year after renewal of your Card. The Companion Certificate requires payment of government-imposed taxes and fees of between $22 and $250 (for itineraries with up to four flight segments). Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. Delta Basic experiences are not eligible for this benefit.
• First checked bag free (worth $70 roundtrip, per person) on Delta flights. This perk is worth up to $280 per round trip for a family of four ($35 each way, per person).
• Receive Zone 5 Priority Boarding on Delta flights; board early, stow your carry-on bag and settle in sooner.
• 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
• 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
• 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees.
• $350 annual fee.

The Platinum version can be a worthy upgrade from the Gold version if you can take advantage of the added perks including Resy/Rideshare credits and especially the annual Main Cabin Companion Certificate (i.e. you plan to book two tickets together on Delta at least once a year). I’ve used it several times in the past and it is easy to use while booking tickets online at Delta.com. My savings from using the Companion Certificate for Delta Main has exceeded $500.

100,000 Skymiles is worth at least $1,000 in Delta airfare. Delta offers a minimum value out of your Skymiles via the “Pay with Miles” option. For example, that means 50,000 Skymiles can reduce the price of your Delta ticket(s) by $500 at the very least. (5,000 mile = $50 minimum redemption.) You can still search and book traditional award tickets and possibly get better value.

Updated for 2026. Tax time is here again, and if you earned interest from a money market fund, a significant portion of this interest may have come from “US Government Obligations” like Treasury bills and bonds, which 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.

(Note: California, Connecticut, and New York exempt dividend income only when the mutual fund has met certain minimum investments in U.S. government securities. They require that 50% of a mutual fund’s assets at each quarter-end within the tax year consist of U.S. government obligations.)

Vanguard has recently released the U.S. government obligations income information for Tax Year 2025 [pdf] for all their funds, which states:

This tax update provides information to help clients properly report state and local tax liability on ordinary income distributions received from mutual fund investments in 2025.

On the next page, you’ll find a list of Vanguard funds that earned a portion of their ordinary dividends from
obligations of the U.S. government. Direct U.S. government obligations and certain U.S. government agency
obligations are generally exempt from taxation in most states.1

To find the portion of Vanguard dividends that may be exempt from your state income tax, multiply the amount of “ordinary dividends” reported in Box 1a of your Form 1099-DIV by the percentage listed in the PDF. Note that on the IRS Form 1099-INT, there is a special Line 3 that includes “Interest on US Savings Bonds & Treasury obligations”. However, for the Vanguard funds, they report on 1099-DIV and not 1099-INT. My Vanguard 1099-INT was all zeros.

For the default cash sweep Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund (VMFXX), this percentage was 66.61% in 2025. (For reference, it was 59.87% in 2024 and 49.37% in 2023.) Therefore, if you earned $1,000 in total interest from VMFXX in 2025, then $666.10 could possibly be exempt from state and local income taxes. If your marginal state income tax rate was 10% that would be a ~$67 tax savings for every $1,000 in total interest earned. For 2025, this fund DID meet the threshold requirements for California, Connecticut, and New York, which require that 50% of the fund’s assets at each quarter-end within the tax year consist of U.S. government obligations.

In comparison, the Vanguard Treasury Money Market Fund (VUSXX) had a GOI percentage of 100% in 2025. (For reference, it was 100% on 2024 and 80.06% in 2023.) If your marginal state income tax rate was 10% that would be a $100 tax savings for every $1,000 in total interest earned.

The total income return for Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund (VMFXX) was 4.22% and Vanguard Treasury Money Market Fund (VUSXX) was 4.23% over the 12-month period of 2025, meaning the pre-tax return was basically the same. This is why many people chose to manually buy VUSXX instead of the default settlement fund as it can earn you a higher after-tax interest rate.

(Why doesn’t Vanguard let you use VUSXX as your cash sweep? Most likely due to the many inflow and outflows of a cash sweep, those liquidity concerns make it hard to hold everything in Treasury bonds. I’m guessing that repurchase agreements are more liquid.)

The following Vanguard funds and ETF equivalents have 100% of their interest from US government obligations:

• 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF (VBIL)
• Ultra-Short Treasury ETF (VGUS)
• Short-Term Treasury Index Fund (VGSH, VSBSX)
• Intermediate-Term Treasury Index Fund (VGIT, VSIGX)
• Long-Term Treasury Index Fund (VGLT, VLGSX)
• Extended Duration Treasury Index Fund (EDV)
• Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities
  Index Fund (VTIP, VTAPX)
• Inflation-Protected Securities Fund (VIPSX, VAIPX)

Note that several other Vanguard funds have a lower but nonzero percentage of dividends from US government obligations, including the popular Vanguard Target Retirement 20XX funds (up to 33-34% for Target Retirement 2020 and Target Retirement Income!). Definitely worth a closer look for residents with high state/local income tax rates, especially those closer to retirement (holds more bonds).

To obtain these tax savings, you’ll have to manually adjust your state/local income tax return. I don’t believe that TurboTax, H&R Block, and other tax software will do this automatically for you, as they won’t have the required information on their own. (I’m also not sure if they ask about it in their interview process. You may need to click on certain spot.) If you use an accountant, you should also double-check to make sure they use this information. Here is some information on how to enter this into TurboTax:

• When you are entering the 1099-DIV Box 1a, 1b, and 2a – click the “My form has info in other boxes (this is uncommon)” checkbox.
• Next, click on the option “A portion of these dividends is U.S. Government interest.”
• On the next screen enter the Government interest amount. This will be subtracted from your state return.

Standard disclosure: Check with your state or local tax office or with your tax advisor to determine whether your state allows you to exclude some or all of the income you earn from mutual funds that invest in U.S. government obligations.

[Image credit – Tax Foundation]

Vanguard just announced a new round of expense ratio drops spanning 53 funds (roughly 25% of them), totaling close to $250 million in fee reductions in 2026. See their press release and full list of changes. This comes almost exactly a year after their February 2025 cuts which spanned 87 funds with an estimated $350 in fee reductions that year.

Over the past two years, Vanguard has reduced fees on most of its fund lineup totaling nearly $600 million in savings for investors—Vanguard’s largest-ever two-year combined cost reduction. Vanguard’s product lineup across all asset classes and styles now has an average expense ratio of 0.06%, reinforcing the firm’s longstanding cost leadership position. These consistently low costs help investors keep more of their returns, contributing to stronger long-term performance.

Additional media coverage at the Wall Street Journal (gift article) and Morningstar.

At this point, most of their expense ratios are so low on their big funds that most individual investors won’t notice much of a difference. The largest index funds VTI, VXUS, BND are unchanged. Target Retirement funds are also unchanged. However, I do believe it is an important indicator that Vanguard is still lowering costs as their assets under management continue to grow.

As an individual investor, it’s also important to remember that costs matter and those costs directly affect performance. Jack Bogle was right in his past skepticism of ETFs in that over time, the group has grown to include a lot of complex, expensive options. While the overall, asset-weighted average expense ratio for ETFs has declined over time, the average fee of newly launched ETFs has actually increased. Be wary of all those new, fancy ETFs that make attractive promises like limited downside and extremely high dividend income. This “Boomer candy” almost always comes with a higher expense ratio, and I am willing to bet it will also end up with lower long-term returns. New tricks, same old story.

Personally, I note that the Vanguard 0–3 Month Treasury Bill ETF (VBIL) lowered its expense ratio from 0.07% to 0.06%. My current go-to is iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV), which is at 0.09%.

The 30-day median bid/ask spread on VBIL is now 0.01% of market price, meaning its liquidity is now basically on the same level as SGOV (also at 0.01%). I will probably start using VBIL instead of SGOV for the times when I want a short-term cash equivalent in a brokerage account. 0.03% is a small difference, but I gotta keep incentivizing those lower costs. Long live the Vanguard Effect!