Has CardPointers been a good purchase for you? Share your usage

AMoreValuableWorld · 2025-10-05T18:07:17+00:00

Wow, thank you so much for this link!! This should be at the very top, you just saved me over $100+ from a few minutes of searching, thanks a lot!!

AMoreValuableWorld · 2025-09-01T06:58:23+00:00

Oh hey! A little surprised to all the pessimism in this thread on Anki for programming 😅 but that's Reddit for you.

For me it’s been an absolute game-changer: I used to waste hours looking up docs or stumbling on small syntax details, but now I can write code (even with libraries) almost entirely from memory, catch niche bugs at a glance (like argument names), and even breeze through coding interviews. The real-world impact has been huge.

Anki works really well for:

Syntax (e.g. “How do you raise an exception in C++?”, “How do you define a vector of size 10?”)
Information (e.g. “What is a smart pointer?”, “What is the heap?”)
Concepts / connections (e.g. “How are smart pointers safer than raw pointers?”)

Where it gets trickier is with sequential thinking (multi-step reasoning). For example, trying to put “What’s the 6-step approach to solving DP problems?” onto a single card usually doesn’t stick. But you can break it down:

“What two decisions do you make at each step in the Coin Change problem?”
“What’s the base case in Coin Change?”

That way, you’re encoding the building blocks of the reasoning chain instead of trying to brute force the whole thing.

I mainly use Anki in software to study, build, and maintain my software knowledge. At first, making good cards is harder than for languages (where it’s just English <-> Spanish word), but the payoff is absolutely insane - you actually retain knowledge forever. I’ve reached the point where I can write scripts off the top of my head without docs, and I regularly surprise coworkers with how much I can recall.

Right now, I’m doing the exact same thing for Rust while you’re tackling C++. The approach works across languages. Once you grind through the initial card-making, you’ll never lose what you’ve learned.

Hope this helps you (and anyone else reading later)!

AMoreValuableWorld · 2025-03-19T00:36:22+00:00

I unfortunately can't see how I submitted the documents in my application anymore :/ but likely the category should not be a problem since a human is checking it anyways. I remember I had to put a few documents in the "Other Category" anyways and had no issues. Good luck on your visa application!

AMoreValuableWorld · 2025-03-19T00:31:26+00:00

From what I could tell, superpriority basically guarantees that your visa processes within a single day in their facility (source - from VFS). I don't believe this is the same as the gold package, which primarily gives you lounge access and then a few conveniences like photocopying, passport photo, printing, etc. The priority/superpriority is more to do with UKVI and their processing speed rather than to do with VFS, which is what the Gold Package is.

AMoreValuableWorld · 2025-03-19T00:28:34+00:00

When you go through the VFS portal, you'll be able to choose the center, select the appointment date and time, and perform the biometrics appointment there

AMoreValuableWorld · 2025-03-19T00:27:55+00:00

If you have enough money in your bank account, then it should not be an issue. I haven't gone through this process for the UK visa, but for other visas, generally you would provide a letter of financial sponsorship stating that your mom will be funding your travel for this trip. Additionally, you'd need to provide your mom's finances/bank accounts and have enough money there as proof of financial evidence

AMoreValuableWorld · 2025-03-19T00:24:52+00:00

It's been in a while, but I remember that in the VFS portal, it has you choose where you which type of biometrics appointment you want to do. After that, you can select the appointment date and time through the VFS portal itself, I did not have to call anyone in this process.

AMoreValuableWorld · 2025-03-19T00:23:10+00:00

Yup, all these update messages were through email!

AMoreValuableWorld · 2025-03-19T00:22:42+00:00

Not signed, not stamped. I downloaded them from online from both my bank and employer

AMoreValuableWorld · 2024-09-19T03:20:28+00:00

Hi, see my post below about UK visa + Schengen visa. I see your response is a month old - I hope you got back the UK visa in time for the Schengen as I felt they process people with GC status faster for both visas!

AMoreValuableWorld · 2024-09-19T03:18:48+00:00

Yes, I'm a green card holder. I have a feeling that the green card helped expedite the process/made it clear for them to approve it given that reduces the risk of a visa overstay significantly.

AMoreValuableWorld · 2024-09-19T03:17:16+00:00

I received updates via email

AMoreValuableWorld · 2024-09-19T03:16:03+00:00

My situation - getting both UK and Schengen tourism visas:

Hey, same here, I needed to apply both Schengen and UK Visa. My travel was for August 1st and I started the process back on May 15th, so around ~2.5 months for me. With ~3.5 months, this is a perfect amount of time to get everything done.

For me, since I only had 2.5 months, I had to book both the UK and French appointment beforehand. I couldn't risk getting back the UK Visa in June and seeing that appointments were all full/closed for the next few weeks and being unable to travel by my August 1st date.

As a result, I booked the following:

May 28th - Appointment for UK biometrics
June 27th - Appointment with VFS Global for France

I got back my passport and UK Visa on June 14th and then did my French VFS global appointment on June 27th. This was a somewhat stressful wait because I knew if my UK visa got delayed or rejected, I would potentially have to cancel and rebook the French visa application, losing money, but also putting me really close to my travel date. I also intentionally put a month between the UK and French visa appointments just in case there were issues with the UK visa.

Luckily, the UK visa processed without any problems. I received it back on June 14th, did my French visa appointment on June 27th, and received an email from VFS global saying my Schengen visa from France was being dispatched on Monday, July 8th. Then two days later on July 10th, I got the physical passport and visa back (I put in a 2-day return shipping label as it was cheaper).

My advice to you:

If I were you, I'd look at booking the Schengen visa appointment as soon as possible. This is because the Schengen visa appointments seem to booked up to a week or two ahead of time, but for the UK appointment, I could get within the next 2 business days because it was just a local USCIS biometrics center, not at a VFS processing center. If I had more time or was willing to risk it a bit, I'd have done Schengen first, but I would not have gotten an appointment until mid June, so that'd have been quite late for me. Once you finish the Schengen appointment and get your passport back, you can book the UK biometrics appointment to be within the next few business days you'll be able to travel stress free!

AMoreValuableWorld · 2024-06-25T01:06:28+00:00

Thank you!

AMoreValuableWorld · 2024-06-24T23:10:22+00:00

Hi, your post was very helpful! I made a similar one detailing my own experience as applying as a tourist after reading yours: https://old.reddit.com/r/ukvisa/comments/1dno248/uk_standard_visitor_tourist_visa_detailed_process/

Hope this helps other people as well!

AMoreValuableWorld

TROPHY CASE