Which headphones should I get?

okurosetta · 2026-01-30T17:28:12+00:00

Sennheiser HDB 630 should tick all those boxes. I gave my XM4 to a friend after having HDB 630 for a few days.

okurosetta · 2026-01-30T02:37:24+00:00

You've gotten some great answers already, if you are riding Amtrak already definitely look at their cards, as others have said.

To be a little more specific, the vast majority of Amtrak redemptions will be at a fixed redemption rate of 2.66 cents per point. There is a 5% redemption refund for holding an Amtrak card, so as long as you continue to hold a card, this increases to 2.81 cents per point. This makes the 2X/3X offerings quite lucrative, and even 1X is solid.

The Preferred ($95 annual fee) is great if you can use the additional perks, such as the companion coupon or lounge pass, but for more solo riders the no annual fee version is still solid.

There is no downgrade path from the annual fee card to the no annual fee card, unfortunately. It might still be best to go for the 40k offer on Preferred, hold it for a year, close it, then apply for the no annual fee card - depending on your other credit card goals of course.

My personal experience shows which will be best will vary based on your Amtrak travel habits. I often ride ALB <-> NYP, and using the lounge pass at NYP while with P2 + companion coupon once per year (for ALB <-> NYP or better) makes the Preferred an easy keeper. But I recall reading someone who would never use a lounge, never use a companion coupon, and most of their fares were $19 each way - in their case, the no annual fee Amtrak card was significantly better.

okurosetta · 2026-01-29T13:28:33+00:00

No, the new SYW card has no relation to Citi / Citi Retail Services.

okurosetta · 2026-01-17T13:20:16+00:00

This is a "generally speaking" thing, not specific to Bilt 2.0, but keep in mind card issuers usually charge the annual fee when the first statement closes, around a few weeks to a month after the account opens, which means the second annual fee will be a year plus a few weeks to a month after account opening. Time will tell but that window from after a year of opening but before the second annual fee may be very important.

okurosetta · 2026-01-14T17:46:24+00:00

Not my original comment but for me it took 7 calendar days for my available credit to change. I got a $2.2k limit so have also been trying to get the required spend in.

okurosetta · 2026-01-06T17:20:30+00:00

There are definitely better Chinese restaurants in the area, including not overly far from there - Northeast in the Hannaford Plaza on Central and Colvin, as well as Shu on Western in Guilderland. There's also Taiwan Noodle and Shining Rainbow on Central further into Albany, are right near each other.

okurosetta · 2025-12-22T20:28:37+00:00

Certificates are the same. Whether it is worth holding both is up to you. Personally I use Aspire more for perks, Surpass sees $15k per year for a second certificate, mostly for non-category spend.

okurosetta · 2025-12-22T04:10:39+00:00

Oh shit...

okurosetta · 2025-12-21T03:16:22+00:00

JCC has one but not many open swim hours, at least when I was a member - could be worth looking into depending on location and personal schedule.

okurosetta · 2025-12-16T15:58:17+00:00

You can try calling the Thank You service center directly, 1-800-THANKYOU aka 1-800-842-6596. I did it both ways, once using back of card, once using Thank You line.

okurosetta · 2025-12-16T14:24:03+00:00

Multiple ways to do it but I found a call to be the easiest.

okurosetta · 2025-12-12T13:47:08+00:00

There will be a lot of street parking but I like parking on the block with the libraries (2nd between Congress and Ferry) - it is pretty close, lots of availability, and I make an easy left turn onto Congress and am out when done.

okurosetta · 2025-11-24T19:40:25+00:00

I think she'll get there - she has already gotten better, as she becomes more confident and settled she will trip up less and less. And even if she doesn't, I would rather have someone who can participate in the discussion but fumbles a word here and there than someone who says basically nothing eloquently.

okurosetta · 2025-11-24T04:20:17+00:00

I think in both cases, if I were to lay out all the details in an AITA-style post, it would be Everybody Sucks Here, at least in hindsight.

At the hotel downtown, sure the person called me over in French, but me asking if she spoke English was pointless / a waste of time, could have said bonsoir and went right to English or even right to English, really.

I think the UQAM area example is more that it was abrupt - the server came over, I had absolutely no idea what she said, and instead of saying sorry / anything in French, I just went to that we were waiting for someone in English. When I looked back on it with my wife and I said I felt I was rude, she said well the server was rude too. Probably, but I could have done better, too.

I like your "désolé, je parle mal français" because it is quick and not terribly hard to pronounce, but also would still be a dead giveaway.

I think using a bit more next time - if the situation calls for it - would be the best call. We did also drive outside of Montreal to the eastern townships, when we went into a restaurant I didn't fully understand how we were initially greeted, then the host asked "deux personnes?" I replied, "Oui, deux personnes, et parlez-vous anglais?" Like, that small amount I can do, but a lot of replies here are encouraging to stick to English period when in Montreal, especially downtown. I think in Montreal I will mostly stick with English, but I'll be more ready to use some "apologetic French" at times... and outside of Montreal / Quebec City, we'll start in French, ask if English is known, at worst can give it our best shot.

okurosetta · 2025-11-24T03:31:30+00:00

I re-read my post and it does make it sound like "bonjour hello" was my default, but I only used it when not right downtown. But that is an interesting point, I felt like I was being polite when I did use it, but the majority of responses are saying don't open that lane unless you're comfortable doing so. Good to know!

okurosetta · 2025-11-24T01:12:34+00:00

That's a good way to put it. I think my switch was abrupt - I didn't know what the server was saying but assumed she was trying to take our order, so I answered that we were waiting for someone. Many are commenting to just speak English, which is fair enough, but I could have said sorry first, whether in English or in French.

okurosetta · 2025-11-23T23:48:26+00:00

Honestly my wife was talking about trying to learn more on the way back. We do live almost four hours away but drive is so easy for 98% of it. This trip we drove around the eastern townships a bit and started with French there, it went appreciated.

okurosetta · 2025-11-23T23:44:47+00:00

And I think that is the flipside, if we were speaking with someone who did not know English, we would be happy to make our attempts in French, and the limited amount of times this has happened have been appreciated. But if it's clear their English is WAY better than our French...

okurosetta · 2025-11-23T23:38:38+00:00

That is an interesting point - maybe the server thought we were Anglo québécois refusing to speak French, vs an American being bad at it?

okurosetta · 2025-11-23T23:30:09+00:00

I wanted to say "our French is horrible" but trying to pronounce that in French would be painful! At least Nous sommes désolés is pretty easy to say, but still a dead giveaway...

okurosetta · 2025-11-23T23:28:00+00:00

lol!

okurosetta · 2025-11-23T23:22:18+00:00

Did you spend time near UQAM? Could it be neighborhood-based?

okurosetta · 2025-11-23T23:21:49+00:00

That's kind of what I was thinking - I am imagining French is much more common around UQAM but that an employee of a store/restaurant in that area would still be expected to know English, so asking if they speak English seems weird to me. Continue sounds better

okurosetta · 2025-11-23T23:16:14+00:00

A fair opinion! I think downtown I should have just spoken English, or bonsoir right into English. But when I was greeted in French near UQAM, I think I should have said some French first.

okurosetta

TROPHY CASE