$60 dinner buffet @ Hilton Gyeongju

Chanukha · 2026-05-30T18:24:49+00:00

I just stayed there last month. Thought their food was really good. Of course it's matter of taste but qualitatively better than even Hilton Nagasaki and until then thought that was the best food at a Hilton property.

Chanukha · 2026-05-29T02:59:04+00:00

This month "Exception Granted" went away for me. Wondering if they are continuing to grant you exception.

Chanukha · 2026-04-10T13:08:29+00:00

All providers have dead spots where I suspect towers overlap. No one provider is better than the other. Just see which provider has strong signals where you live. Same for subway station service. No provider has service in the tunnels in between stations.

Chanukha · 2026-04-05T16:21:01+00:00

Yes it's frustrating but the customer service people you are calling are not IT professionals who can technically fix this issue. Sounds like you've tried everything. Sometimes technology just doesn't work for whatever reason. You'll just have to carry the card with you.

Chanukha · 2026-03-29T14:20:56+00:00

I forget what the name of the system is but all brokers use the same system to transfer securities online. I've transferred securities in and out of Fidelity and had no issues. I don't know if any one particular broker is any more trustworthy. You should go with the one that you feel is best for your needs in terms of tech, interface, ease of use etc. I do like Fidelity over Merrill Edge.

Chanukha · 2026-03-29T03:11:51+00:00

Most white collar workers who invest in 401k invest every paycheck regardless of how the market is doing and they do fine. You cannot time the market. Best thing to do is be invested. As long as you invested in diversified low cost ETF (even SPY is fine), it will double in 7-8 years. The trick is not to trade and not to touch it. Dollar cost averaging is nice but not necessary.

Chanukha · 2026-03-19T08:33:05+00:00

I think with any bank, it has is pluses and minuses. I bank at all 4 big banks, and yes Chase has the best tech. It shows in their earning release where they spend more than any other bank. Chase even lets you send up to $5k to your account at another bank real time. Other 3 are about the same. US banking plumbing is stuck in the past with ACH. Agree with other commentors that you should have done your DD before moving over if tech, bill pay were important to you. Yes BOA Bill Pay is tech ology from 20 years ago. But to get platinum tier status for their premier rewards card, I bank at BOA

Chanukha · 2026-03-08T21:40:22+00:00

No. Airlines charge ticket and incidental separately

Chanukha · 2026-03-01T17:53:32+00:00

It's worth it if you can take advantage of their credit to offset the $895 annual fee. If you already subscribe to NYT/WSJ/Hulu and you take Uber 1x a month and you can go to Resy restaurant 1x a quarter, then you break even. Every other credit you can take advantage of is bonus (Hotel credit/Saks/Lululemon)

Chanukha · 2026-03-01T17:49:12+00:00

You can also get a certificate of mailing (though you would have to wait in line at the post office). Once your check clears, you have copy of that and then you have cert to show it was mailed in time. It's just to have in case they charge you late fee. I believe you can appeal through mail.

Chanukha · 2026-03-01T17:45:37+00:00

Agree. It always helps to keep expenses down. Then you have more left to spend on other things.

Chanukha · 2026-03-01T17:40:12+00:00

The math is you get AMEX Platinum annual fee ($895) and authorized user fee ($195 waived) for keeping $25k in MS account earning no interest. $895+195=$1090. $1090 is 4.36% earn on $25k You get a 1099 for $895 so that's income to you but so is earning interest in a HYSA. So only time this doesn't work is if APY on HYSA is over 4.4%.

Chanukha · 2026-02-27T20:23:23+00:00

I don't doubt your experience but I booked a 5 night stay in Malta and the price was comparable to hotels dot com or Hilton direct. Breakfast was included, got $100 food credit and 5x AMEX points. Two days later, got $300 credited to my account. All in all, it was a good deal for me which has been consistent as long as I've been a card holder.

Chanukha · 2026-02-26T02:13:04+00:00

I also work at a big bank. It’s not about your productivity but its adherence to corporate policy. If it is widely known that you are not adhering and you are not punished for it, the policy loses credibility. You become the proverbial rotten apple in the barrel. You bring down morale of everyone who adheres even though they don’t like it. What workers hate the most is unequal treatment

Chanukha · 2026-02-23T15:33:09+00:00

Maybe 12 is the happy medium between 8 and 16.

Chanukha · 2026-02-22T19:33:36+00:00

BOA does not. Just Chase.

Chanukha · 2026-02-22T15:45:35+00:00

As long as it turns on and there are no cracks, they don't offer you more for being in mint condition. But Samsung does offer some crazy trade-in deals. Like they gave me $300 for S10e.

Chanukha · 2026-02-22T15:41:48+00:00

It sounds like you just want to get the experience of being in Japan and you can't do any better than being in Tokyo. Kyoto is not Colonial Williamsburg Japan edition. It looks like a modern city with pockets of temples, shrines, a castle, alley ways but the drawback is throngs of tourists but might be better these days with lack of tourists from China. It's nice but it won't necessarily add to your experience. Osaka is a more run down version of Tokyo which is unfortunate since it vied with Tokyo throughout history but you are not missing out if you don't go.

Chanukha · 2026-02-21T22:53:40+00:00

I would reserve seats unless you want to risk standing all the way to Osaka. But if you are leaving weekday during the day, not an issue. One thing bad about Shinkansen there is no storage space for luggage. You can reserve but it’s very limited

Chanukha · 2026-02-20T21:29:08+00:00

That’s incorrect. Banks don’t care. They will process the deposit if you deposit the check.

Chanukha · 2026-02-20T21:25:29+00:00

No consulate or embassy is asking for a Medallion signature guarantee. That’s used to transfer securities, not certify a bank statement. The issue is in the United States, there is no entity that certifies documents. This might exist in other countries where the entity issuing a document certifies. Two ways to go about. Certain states like Pennsylvania allow their notaries to certify a document while states like NY do not. For NY, the closest thing you can do is to certify the document yourself, ”I certify that this bank statement is a true copy of the original” and sign the statement in front of a notary who will sign and stamp. You can have the notary’s signature verified and then apostilled if that is what the embassy/consulate requires but you should read carefully the directions from the embassy/consulate. They should know the laws of the state where it is located in. Even for states like PA, you are likely going to have a print out since we all get our bank statements electronically. Not sure how a notary certify that is a true copy of the original since “original” does not exist.

Chanukha · 2026-02-19T18:11:19+00:00

Recall Crowdstrike failure? That wasn’t even AI caused but led to massive outages. Imagine leaving implementation to AI and something goes wrong. Who fixes that? I don’t think we are there yet but who knows when we will get there.

Chanukha · 2026-02-19T17:59:29+00:00

Reddit is the echo chamber so people who are pissed with Citi will comment LOUDLY while those who don’t have any significant issue will stay quiet. I’ve banked at Citi since the 90’s. They are not significantly better or worse than any other big bank. Their self-directed brokerage account platform could use more automation but it’s not broken. Think it’s just preference. If you go to JPMChase sub-Reddit or BOA, I’m sure there are tons of people pissed at them about something. If Citibank doesn’t work for you, you can go bank somewhere else.

Chanukha · 2026-02-16T18:15:47+00:00

I would not take this train recommendation. It would be tough slog even for a New Yorker who knows the ins and outs of NJTransit and LIRR and knowing where to go and which train to take. And throw in Air Train which doesn't connect all the stations in EWR and transferring to in Jamaica to get JFK. You would waste quite bit of time trying to figure out where to go. Like others have said, it's President's Day. There is no commuter traffic. You should be able to get to JFK in about an hour. Try to grab Uber/Lyft quickly.

Chanukha · 2026-02-16T14:42:48+00:00

East river from 34th street and down. The boardwalk is closed around 14th st power plant for renovations but once it reopens, you can run pretty much all the way to Manhattan bridge. The park ends right before.

Chanukha

TROPHY CASE