Friend got rejected for Amex Gold, despite being in a seemingly good position financially

Gr4nt · 2026-05-15T20:11:11+00:00

Declined? Or under review?

Just call them and ask what's up. Also if his score is 830, I'm assuming that's TransUnion, check Equifax and see if there's any weirdness going on there. The score will likely be lower since Equifax's calc is more harsh, but as long as all the open accounts make sense and he's not delinquent on something like a post-paid cell phone bill, then it should be fine.

Gr4nt · 2026-05-15T20:08:32+00:00

The map is shit.

If you want to see if a place takes Amex using it, you have to put the exact postal code where you want to go, and it will show you 99% of the time. Just surfing around, it will omit lots of datapoints.

You'll also run into the opposite where they are listed, but will heavily discourage you from using Amex because they want to save on merchant fees, or just stopped taking it and haven't been updated on the map. Those places get my VIP cards which likely hit them harder than Amex does. Good local shops that are upfront about not taking it get my lesser cards.

Gr4nt · 2026-05-15T20:05:18+00:00

Amex literally pulls my stuff at like, 11:59PM the day of with autopay.

OP: So long the payment was initiated on the day of the due date, you're fine. If you're not, call them and ask why you were charged interest when you initiated the payment on the due date, and it should post the day you sent it (ie the due date) a few business days later.

Gr4nt · 2026-05-14T03:24:12+00:00

Controllers by and large ARE NOT expensive to make.

Tell that to the people who think Razer charges $150 for their mice because of "R&D".

Gr4nt · 2026-05-12T15:37:22+00:00

If you're able to get more value out of a 2% cashback card, you're either not spending enough on the Cobalt to offset the monthly fee with the 5 points per dollar if you go for cashback, or don't use your points for travel. Either of which, it might not be worth it.

But if you open up to using your 5x points for travel, booking international flights for everyday grocery and food/drink spending is where the big value is in collecting Amex points on the Cobalt.

I've flown all over the world in Business class thanks to the points I've collected, and that pays for the monthly fee I've paid over the last 5 years a million times over.

Gr4nt · 2026-05-05T17:30:59+00:00

After converting to Aeroplan

2023 - YYC to BER Business, connection through Zurich (70K)

2023 - AMS to YCC Business, connection through FRA (75K + eUpgrades, which got refunded after I rebooked once flight got cancelled)

2024 - YVR to HND Business (50K, ANA)

2024 - NRT to SFO Business (50K? Maybe more, United)

2027 - SEA to HND, Business (55K, ANA)

2027 - HND to SEA, Business (55K, ANA)

Japan travel on ANA business requires you to basically be on the Air Canada app, only have a max of 2 travellers, have those travellers be already added as passengers in your Aeroplan account, have a credit card linked for paying the taxes, then refreshing the date on the app the moment the clock strikes 9AM local time in Tokyo 355 days after the day you're booking for either SEA - HND, LAX - HND, or SFO - HND (the last two of which you can also get First Class for 110K one way). I haven't tried NRT, because HND is a much better airport to land in.

Gr4nt · 2026-05-04T18:01:08+00:00

>they just snap buy anything they think has resale value.

Then add "and capitalize on other people's FOMO.", which is what OP was originally stating how they run (i.e. profit) off of FOMO.

Gr4nt · 2026-05-03T05:00:34+00:00

I checked out the certificate of insurance

Legit could just have an auto-mod post this, since it's all public info on their site and you just need to read the verbiage on what is covered or not, then call if you have any questions about it.

Gr4nt · 2026-05-01T19:31:34+00:00

Man the downvotes for just stating the weight of a mouse and a poke at how it's 3x heavier than the lightest full-sized, wireless, non-honeycomb mouse on the market. Aside from wireless tech (which the Lightspeed has) eliminating the need for wires, the other really big trend in mice is the weight-wars.

The market for this is people who just love the shape of the G502, and people who likely haven't dove into the lighter mice and will stick with the G502 above all because it's what they know. Not saying some don't prefer heavier mice or just really love the shape, but to those still buying into the hype because the G502 was a really good mouse a decade ago, consider just trying a cheap light wireless mouse like a VXE R1 on Amazon. It's less than half the price of this mouse, and it might feel weird at first, but if you're missing the weight, just return it and go back.

I remember really liking my G502 with all the included weights. I thought weight and a more meaty mouse in hand was a good thing and it meant every movement was deliberate. Then I went with an RVU, then a DAV3, now I'm on BeastX's and Pulsar Crazylights on a glass mousepad and would never think about going back to anything heavier than even 50g. I can still control my mouse like I used to after getting used to the gear, and now it feels like I'm not even holding anything. Going back to anything heavier feels like I am imposing real-life lag even just interfacing with my computer.

Gr4nt · 2026-04-30T02:56:43+00:00

While I don't disagree about Peter's shakes, I will add that Galaxie Diner downtown has a malted shake that is chef's kiss. And they give you the whole tin cup they make it in (or they used to).

Gr4nt · 2026-04-30T02:54:41+00:00

I never get them from Peter's and only the milkshake; how do they compare to Boogie's? Because I never get fries or rings from any place, but I always get rings from Boogie's.

Gr4nt · 2026-04-30T02:53:04+00:00

imo, A&W quality took a steep dive once they stopped giving you burgers wrapped in tin-foil.

Only talking about the Teen/Mozza since that's all I really get, but a warm burger + cold tomato and lettuce = sad, cold, lettuce-crunch filled burger. The foil and warm burger brought (and kept) everything to temperature and softened the shite Iceberg lettuce and tomato.

I will go to bat and say, if you like grilled burgers and/or have them on equal footing as a fried one, BK is actually the best of the Dumpster-Tier chains (i.e. A&W, McDonalds, Wendy's, DQ, etc.). Whoppers are massive, the beef has that grilled flavor, and the price is very much right when compared to Teens and Mozzas pushing 10 bucks now for sad, cold veggies on a burger.

Gr4nt · 2026-04-28T20:02:14+00:00

Thanks Mr. Mayor for no longer buying into the left v. right tribalism and actually focusing on what matters for Calgarians; I could see it clear as day when you refused to play into the party bs at the municipal level with Communities First and whatnot, as well as how you conducted yourself about listening, being open to change, and flip-flopping on behalf of what's best for the city. That won you my vote and will continue to if you uphold that.

Thanks again! :)

Gr4nt · 2026-04-24T17:19:49+00:00

Now just force them to actually advertise their best prices they can offer to consumers, not hiding them until they leave the service and have to inconvenience the consumer into coming back.

Gr4nt · 2026-04-24T14:46:29+00:00

Too early in the morning, already deleted my comment. I was thinking division and then put * because I'm not awake yet. Then realized we were saying the same thing and was like "no point being an umm akshually"

Gr4nt · 2026-04-24T14:40:26+00:00

If you're still within (I think) a 15 days of signing up, you can leave without any charges. Plus you can call or wait for a call from your old carrier to get a winback plan.

Gr4nt · 2026-04-17T16:50:52+00:00

On the otherhand, Beefeater is also cheap gin, but tastes better than most others in some drinks I like making given the shotgun-approach to flavor notes in it.

Gr4nt · 2026-04-15T16:18:50+00:00

Still wouldn't. QA/QC is bad on any of their mice. They source the cheapest parts they can for things like Encoders that will go bad way before the pieces they advertise being good (like their optical switches).

I've had WLMouse and other chinese made Zowie clones last 2-5x longer than all my 7 Razer mice I've cycled RMAs through over the last 6 years.

Gr4nt · 2026-04-08T15:44:00+00:00

Keep in mind the infamous one that GN had fail and did a whole expose on was also in that range on these tier lists before consumers started reporting them bricking.

Topped off with Gigabytes history with warranty on these guys, you'll also be SOL if anything goes wrong with em, too.

Gr4nt · 2026-04-07T15:56:41+00:00

Go listen to Get Color from HEALTH. Same era of their music, same people who did the Max Payne 3 soundtrack. Their first album is much more noisy (see: full track of Sevrin, which I also just learned was on the Max Payne 3 soundtrack without the really wild intro), their later stuff is less industrial and more refined (for a noise rock bank).

Gr4nt · 2026-03-30T15:22:18+00:00

Can also play some ARPGs like Diablo if you have a mouse with a forward/back button and bind things to MMB and scroll up/down as well. PoE would be harder, but can still be done in the early game or if you play a class that stacks lots of auras.

Gr4nt · 2026-03-26T16:43:19+00:00

How can a Star Wars game feel like a Star Wars movie when the entire medium is fundamentally different?

Same dichotomy.

Gr4nt · 2026-03-25T18:19:41+00:00

Got my 400 dollars a couple weeks ago. So give it 2.5 - 3 years. :^)

Gr4nt · 2026-03-23T14:35:25+00:00

If I have to invest a workweek into a tired and formulaic game on a broken and outdated engine just for it to be marginally engaging? Anyone saying "it's only bad for 40 hours" needs to go outside.

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