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3, switched investments to Vanguard

BLUF: If you opened the CSR card prior to them starting to waive the fee for military (Sept 2017). Send them a message online stating you are thinking of closing your account as AMEX waives the fee on their platinum. They may grandfather you in to the new policy. So there's been some mention on here of Chase now waiving the fee on the Sapphire Reserve as of Sept 2017 for accounts opened after that date. Nothing retroactive. I contacted Chase late in 2017 asking to be grandfathered in to that policy as I had 2 accounts opened prior to that date. They declined to grandfather me in. Fast forward to a few weeks ago. After a few drinks, I again sent Chase a message through their online system asking them to grandfather me. I honestly didn't even remember I had asked them before when I sent the message or I probably wouldn't have sent it. I told them that AMEX was waiving the fee on their platinum card and I would start using that as my primary card if not grandfathered. I really didn't expect anything to come of it as I got a reply back that said they'd contact me by mail with a decision. Around 7-10 days later, I woke up to close to $5k in credit refunds split between two Chase accounts that I'd had for 4-6 years. I got a letter in the mail a few days later stating that they had applied SCRA benefits to my accounts going back to the day I opened them. I put $75-100k a year on the card so that may have factored into their decision. However, I'm not sure why they did it this time and not previously but I'm not complaining. It may be worth trying if you are paying for the CSR.

I’ve been sitting reserve oct 18 through present. I’ve worked zero actual hours. I’ve been paid about 360ish hours. So about $62k gross with zero actual work. Zero. We’re currently overmanned on my plane in my seat. I’m on year 2. Its been wonderful. My effective hourly rate for actual work performed in 2018 is up around widebody captain. The grass is greener.

Everyone's gotta make a call on what's best for them and their families -- I certainly don't begrudge anyone deciding to get out or deciding to stay in....but trading information that can strengthen your record, PRF, and chances for promotion on future boards is worthwhile to me and I appreciate the discussion. To those bouncing to greener pastures, fly safe and hook me up with a buddy pass....Cheers!

I think this is a really tough question to answer primarily because of the unknown future of health care in the U.S. IF (big IF) that remained status quo until the guy considering this question flew west, then I think pursuing a G/R retirement would be worth it, hands down. The Tricare option as you near and surpass retirement age is worth far more than hoping to grab some extra bucks on trip when you can. Maybe using the extra cash to fund some kind of long term health care policy might make it a wash, but I'm not sure such a policy exists. Unfortunately, what the mil retirement medical care might look like along with the changing landscape of US healthcare makes any assumption well down the road tough to make. That said, I think anyone considering pulling the handles on AD needs to strongly consider a G/R job at least for the first few transition years. Things are all unicorns and ice cream cones right now in the airline biz, but that can change quickly. Yes, I understand it's not 2001 again, but there have been many other periods of prosperity and "we all hit the lottery" attitudes immediately preceding a large downturn in the industry with large furloughs, pay-cuts and bankruptcy contracts. Don't get caught up in the euphoria that comes with massive hiring and record industry profits. It will stop again, it always does. You can always decide to cut the cord later, but it's much harder to get back in that door after you've let it shut behind you. If the party continues a few years from now and you really think you're out of furlough range, the Tricare isn't going to be worth it, the spreadsheet shows losses that outweigh the intangibles and mil leave options, then make the call then. But early on as you transition, it's more than just a math problem and still goes way beyond simple dollars and cents, in my opinion. Consider the source of those dollars and the potential volatility of them. I'll always remember my furlough and the relief I had knowing I could fall back on my guard unit or maybe return to AD with relative ease. Think hard before you make that choice.

Man, that's a loaded question with lots of twists and turns for lots of different circumstances as far as your goals at the airline and military and finances. I am an IMA in the Reserves, so I usually do my military in two, 2-weeek chunks per year, with a few single days peppered throughout the rest of the year for readiness items. On my first trip I lose a little money but I make a little money on the second trip due to knocking out so many double-drill periods in a row (narrowbody pay). I assume I would really lose money either way if I were widebody and definitely if captain. And, of course there are the guys who just fly their full schedule at the airline and work the drill and a few flying days in addition to the airline, as opposed to dropping an airline trip. So they make more money, but work a lot more. Day for day, even at year 2 narrowbody pay, you still lose money for each day of a trip that you drop to be replaced with a military day. Other factors to incentivize people to stay in the military, other than total maximization of finances at the airline: - camaraderie is basically nil at the airline, so the Reserves keeps up a network of regular friends to shoot the shit with - military flying breaks up the boredom of airline flying - ^^^as mentioned, retirement pay and healthcare - having a good backup plan is a good idea. I had 4 friends hired in 2000 who were very grateful that they had the military to fall back on for full time jobs while furloughed - healthcare costs are relatively high (at least at Delta) compared to the guys buying into Tricare Reserve Select. I think the civilians pay about $400-600 more in premiums per month, and from the horror stories I have heard, they pay anywhere from $2K-$10K more out of pocket then a typical TRS medical plan reserve guy does.

I dropped their car insurance 6 years ago when their rates got ridiculous. I still use them for banking right now, but after I separate and get settled I will find a local credit union for that. In my opinion, the company is run by a bunch of retired generals who have gotten too greedy. Instead of being an exclusive provider for military and their families, they have loosened up membership requirements to expand their customer base along with a corresponding drop in the quality of customer service. It’s kind of sad really. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just created an account with Navy Fed. Haven’t had any issues so far. I’m looking at moving away from USAA as well.

USAA has gone significantly downhill. They got too big for their britches. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

There’s always 1 or 2 workaholics in every squadrons, they usually become SQ/CC and promote their likeness.

Airline pilots aren’t always paid for the hours they actually fly. Some sit reserve and don’t fly, earning “credit hours” for their days on call. It’s very common to have some trips pay based on how long they are i.e. “time away from base” (TAFB). The TAFB is used to calculate a ratio of hours away to hours of pay (called trip rig). At FedEx we use 3.75 to 1. I get one hour of pay for every 3.75 hours I’m gone. This helps to compensate pilots on long layovers that aren’t flying every day or who only fly very short legs each day. If a pilot was only paid for flight hours, his company could build a trip with a 9 hour flight to Paris, a 3-day layover and a 10 hour flight back. 19 hours pay for 5 days of work. With trip rig, that 5 day trip would pay about 35 “credit hours” with 19 hours of actual block (aka flight time). Of course, if actual flight time exceeds trip rig, you get the higher. Regardless of whether an hour is actual flight time or credit, the pay rate for either hour is the same.

His logbook shows 340 hours of "time". However, he was paid for the equivalent of 850 hours.. So he made 510 hours of credit without actually flying. I have a friend that sits reserve at home on wide bodies. Last year, he worked around 23 days. So he probably logged about 100 hours of actual flying time (probably less). However, he makes a minimum of 75-ish hours a month as a guaranteed minimum, per the contract with his company. So he made around 900 hours of flight pay (credit) last year, while only actually flying 100 hours. There are a lot of permutations and ways to get "credit hours" but hopefully you get the idea. For example, deadheading: when the company needs to send you somewhere to go fly a plane, you are in the back as a passenger on a company ticket,... but you are paid like you actually flew the jet. Two weeks ago, I deadheaded from SFO to Honolulu. Sat in 1st class, worked on my computer, and slept for almost 3 hours. It was almost a 6 hour flight. When we arrived, I got in the cockpit and flew the jet back. That was about a 5 hour flight. So I logged 5 hours of time... but was paid for 11 hours of time for a single day out-and-back. The contract between the pilot and the company is a very important legal document. It defines how you will get paid, and for what. And vacation, number of hours per day guaranteed, reserve rules, et... I know corporate pilots that make bank. Big bank. However, the actual dollars that show up in to your account are only one piece of the puzzle. The contract defines all of those pieces. In the military, I was proud to be the guy at the top of the 30-60-90 day flying time sheet posted in Ops. In the airlines, it's the complete opposite.

I'm so glad I'm separating and DGAF about promotion stats anymore. Reading this thread makes me want to kick a puppy. Good luck fellas.

Spot on post. The new guys are doing just fine going straight to advanced shit (way more advanced than I had at their age). Their airmanship and decision making with degraded systems, shit WX, etc. is lacking. The naturally highly talented guys overcome at a decent rate, but the average guy today is far more dangerous than the average guy 10 years ago, and it takes him much longer to get to a reasonable level where myself and my counterparts across the CAF can finally stop watching the guy like he's going to kill himself or me any second for the entire sortie. I bet NEXT type stuff will work well to prep guys for advanced mission systems and employment, but their tactical knowledge and capability will rest on a foundation of balsa wood stilts stuck in the sand at Mexico Beach - good luck when that next hurricane hits.

Long story short: Go fly with an instructor once or twice, build a rapport with the place you'll be renting. All that certification stuff is great, get your mil comp, etc. But I know plenty of dudes who went into flight schools or FBOs like a big swingin' dick with their new wings and have almost killed their family, or been asked not to rent from the airport again. If you didn't start in GA or haven't flown GA in a while its really worth it to humbly go fly with an instructor for a ride or two, and just listen to them. The whole time you might be making fun of their multiple knee boards with information on the closest 69 airports, or the way they make radio calls like their flying AF1, but it'll be worth it in the end. UPT doesn't teach much about VFR flying with the rest of the civilian populace, and if you think you can take a rental airplane on an IFR adventure in the weather, I'd strongly advise against it. Not a holier than thou type of speech, it's just embarrassing to go rent from somewhere and hear from the school about all the AF guys who said they knew what they were doing and subsequently did not.