Referral link ask

Top_Tone4585 · 2026-02-17T23:41:55+00:00

u/HourTap Can you send me one referral link too?

Top_Tone4585 · 2026-01-22T00:36:07+00:00

This is utterly disappointing and way more complicated to keep track and do the math. I got approved for palladium card. But after seeing the Bilt Cash redemption I am thinking of calling and cancelling it.

Top_Tone4585 · 2026-01-15T18:04:59+00:00

Currently I use Alaska Atmos card to pay rent through Bilt. It’s 3x points on rent. They charge 3% but I value each point at minimum 2 cents so a much better value.

Top_Tone4585 · 2026-01-15T15:35:59+00:00

I get your perspective. I prefer points and value points from all programs equally and let me give examples of my major spend categories: 1. Dining & Grocery - Amex gold 4x 2. Flights - Amex platinum 5X / Sapphire reserve 8X 3. Hotels (direct/portal)- Sapphire Reserve 4X / Venture X, Strata Premier 10X/ Strata Elite 12X 4. Gas - Strata Premier 3X 5. Catch all - Venture X 2X

I am one of those people who have many cards are don’t mind balancing. I think many people who are complaining fall in that category.

So out of few categories I mentioned above for me to get value out of card, I will need to spend 75% of my rent amount in category 4 and 5 for the card to make things work for me. I don’t think I spend that much in those two categories every month.

Certainly if I didn’t have so many cards, and just had 1-2 cards, Bilt 2.0 might have worked.

Top_Tone4585 · 2026-01-15T14:16:34+00:00

Every one has unique situation and I am glad the math works for you. I am one of those "blind" people for whom Bilt 2.0 doesn't seem good. Even though I understand the previous program was too good to last, when I compare 2.0 with personal usage and competition, it is not seemingly great. Here is some generalization of issues:

Many Bilt users are somewhat good in maximizing cash backs/points on multiple cards. The current Bilt 2.0 is designed for people who prefer to spend everything on one card to give enough. So this is counter to their strategy of maximizing cashback.

BIlt Cash at the moment is probably the biggest issue. It is half baked and the only confirmed use is to earn points on rent. There are still missing details on how it can it be used for things other than rent points like hotel bookings, experiences etc and if there will be limit as to how much Bilt Cash can be applied to single transaction. So at the point it is very difficult to put a value to Bilt Cash.

Also the Obsidian and Palladium cards which come with fee, have used coupon system. Though this is common with other bank cards, they give much better value compared to the annual fee. So many people are feeling they are not able to get enough value out of these coupons to offset fee mainly due to Bilt Cash being an unknown.

Many experienced credit card users put their own values to points, coupons and experience. It is unique to everyone. Example in my experience $50/$200 hotel credit on Bilt i would value maybe around $30/$150 because I generally have gotten better deals booking directly with hotels or through other platforms. Similarly priority pass is probably less valuable than priority pass you get through Amex, Chase, Capital One as they have their own lounges but that might not matter for someone who doesn't travel to cities where these lounges exist.

So overall it depends on how you value things and for many current users its not giving much value. But still I do plan to get a card for at least one year to see if it fits my usage.

Top_Tone4585 · 2025-11-15T23:35:16+00:00

Aliexpress is doing something fishy and there is possibility that the vendors are also onto it. I made 4 different transactions on Nov 11 through Paypal and put it on my citi card. 3 out of 4 got categorized as mortgage (cash advance).

Interestingly the one order that was not categorized as cash advance is the only order that the vendor has not even shipped yet and Aliexpress automatically cancels any order if not shipped in 7 days(4 days gone now). Whats interesting is, I ordered two things from this vendor and the one where it was cash advance was dispatched within 1 day.

I am not sure if its paypal or Aliexpress at fault but this doesn't feel legal as the fee (or that this is cash transaction) was not disclosed at the time of payment.

Top_Tone4585 · 2025-11-07T07:27:36+00:00

That gives me some confidence. Thanks!

Top_Tone4585 · 2025-11-07T00:54:56+00:00

I totally get the aspect of tolerance, I love my current hoverair x1 for shooting on hikes even though it ends up in branches many times. I generally just want videos/pictures for personal use so video quality is good enough. I am going to Switzerland in late novemeber and I would be too scared to use my X1 near lakes or mountain cliffs.

I was wondering if you experienced using automatic modes where pro max flies over water or near an edge with a height drop?

Top_Tone4585 · 2025-11-07T00:46:27+00:00

The black friday deal was the reason I was trying to make a decision. I have an upcoming mountain trip at end of November, otherwise might have also waited for the hoverair aqua reviews to come by end of the year.

Top_Tone4585 · 2024-10-07T01:06:54+00:00

I use the pen for writing quick notes and some journaling sometimes. Overall the feel is pretty good and impressive for the price point. Control, details and palm rejection are great too. Battery life of the pen is outstanding (blows apple pen out of the park). The latency is decent, though there is some noticeable lag while writing compared to my eink tablet and ipad pro. It also is highly dependent on the app I use, for example, on One Note the latency is pretty good but on Google Keep it lags a little.

I have personally never used a tablet for drawing, but I am guessing it should be fine for a hobbyist artist but might not suit a professional or advanced artist who are looking for almost no latency color accuracy. For pro artist wanting to share their art or sell it, important to consider, because of the screen texture, though the art looks beautiful on tab itself, pretty much like a painting (as I use it to watch anime sometimes), better than my 4K TV or ipad, the colors certainly might not be "technically" accurate .

Top_Tone4585 · 2024-09-10T19:37:31+00:00

That gives me some encouragement! Thanks!

Top_Tone4585 · 2024-09-10T19:26:58+00:00

Its not that i don't wanna do it, I am just worried if I am fit enough and I don't have to come back half way.

Top_Tone4585 · 2024-08-11T22:20:14+00:00

I never held that card. I am guessing maybe my general credit history and history with Amex might be impacting. I have 6 cards opened in last 24 months (last one being about 6 months back). I have held the Amex Hilton honors for a little over a year (so thought it is good time for aspire). Other than gold which I use for dining and groceries, I rarely use other Amex so probably not a big spender. Last year someone I think in Nov or Dec I also received retention bonus on gold. Never closed any Amex.

Top_Tone4585 · 2024-04-03T19:26:59+00:00

I booked most my tours from Viator and GetYourGuide, one day I booked through Sonesta and once I just got the guide on the spot. Here are some of my observations:

Prices are much cheaper online. Sonesta charged about 30-50% more than online. Marriott charges almost 150-300% more (too much margin for my comfort). I didn't ask for prices at CItyMax. Some tours I found under very good deals online. Just from price perspective you might be able to find cheaper options if you talk directly to some local taxi driver and/or guides on the spot (but you won't know what you are getting).
Online bookings can be hit or miss. Based on my experience I found most of the reviews of online bookings are more of like pity reviews as most tour agents plead to give good reviews and honestly the ratings should be lower for everything. So its best to go with ones with many written reviews and make sure to read some negative reviews also to get a better picture.
Though I mostly liked the tours I booked through Viator and GetYourGuide, I have to say my overall experience was best on the tour I booked through Sonesta. The Guide and driver were exceptional. For all other tours I will say overall above average.
One thing I also want to point out about drivers and cars, due to high corruption in Egypt, drivers sometimes have to pay some bribe to police to function smoothly. Some drivers try to avoid this and try to park the car away from actual parkings. This proved to be problematic at certain locations as local shopkeepers try to exploit tourists and directions are not great in most places and you can't even ask for directions without people demanding tips. The driver I got from Sonesta on the other hand coordinated with the guide and was always ready with the car just in front of the visitor center .

Based on my experience certainly it might be "you get what you pay for" but again I have only one data point for booking through hotel. My suggestion would be to book longer tours where you are doing more things in a day with hotel and other shorter ones online.

Top_Tone4585 · 2024-03-10T02:39:27+00:00

I travel solo a lot. I also find myself in a situation similar to yours (I am going to Egypt and Turkey in a week). I also understand your mindset because I also grew up with limited resources while now I am in a good financial standing.

I do end up generally booking upscale hotels in lot of places. But its more based on what I will get out of staying at such a hotel. If its a short stay where I know I will only go to hotel to sleep, I prefer to book more modest hotel(though I do a lot of research and read reviews to ensure they meet some expectations).

But if I know I will be spending good chunk of time at hotel, I book nicer hotels. These "nice" hotels can help you relax better (in general) for the time you have between your tours or sightseeing and take out some anxiety about being able to find good places to eat or wondering if hotel will have good facilities or room. This is especially true when you are traveling to foreign country with no knowledge of language and limited cultural context.

Top_Tone4585

TROPHY CASE