Search found 4876 matches

by TravelGeek
Mon May 08, 2023 12:31 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: "Apple is a Chinese Company" - Financial Times
Replies: 14
Views: 1662

Re: "Apple is a Chinese Company" - Financial Times

drumboy256 wrote: Mon May 08, 2023 12:09 pm Here you go: https://archive.ph/7MUl3
That (and the OP's link) point to an obscure (to me) Bangladeshi website that perhaps reprinted the FT article accurately, but who knows...

So I went looking for the original FT article and make an archive link:

https://archive.ph/aXkS6
by TravelGeek
Mon May 08, 2023 11:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Hilton Honors
Replies: 43
Views: 5880

Re: Hilton Honors

BashDash wrote: Mon May 08, 2023 10:57 am Old thread I know.

Quick question. Booking a 3 night stay. I'm a diamond member which will give you a suite upgrade when available. This would be much more effective than paying upfront for the suite. Could be a 100 dollar rate difference per night. Only problem is if it is not available then I am in a tough situation with the family of 5. I think the answer is obvious but I am just wondering what others experiences are in getting an upgrade with diamond status. I'm sure it is location dependant.
What property are you looking at? Do they have suites that accommodate 5 guests?

I have been a Diamond for years, and I don't recall ever getting a suite that would have accommodated 5 guests. (also never needed one).
by TravelGeek
Sat May 06, 2023 3:16 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How does global entry work?
Replies: 29
Views: 3735

Re: How does global entry work?

Chuckles960 wrote: Tue May 02, 2023 11:23 pm
The GE card is not used for entry at airports, only at land borders. I have no idea why these two are different, The card is also useful as ID at domestic departure (TSA) if you don't have a Real ID drivers license and don't want to carry your passport.
The GE card is a RealID compliant ID. But TSA does not require RealID documents yet, so a regular drivers license will still work. The latest deadline is May 7, 2025.

That said, having a backup ID even for domestic travel is always good. So I take my Global Entry card with me in my backup wallet (together with a couple of spare credit cards, my ATM card, and some spare cash).
by TravelGeek
Thu May 04, 2023 12:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anonymous Online Cash Cards
Replies: 11
Views: 1489

Re: Anonymous Online Cash Cards

What anonymous address will you use? If you buy anonymously, but deliver to your house, it's no longer anonymous. One can purchase services and digital products that aren't shipped to a physical address. I'm looking for a reloadable card (similar to the Vanilla gift cards that you can find in stores). I intend to use it for online purchases to limit the use of my normal credit card info. Desirable features include anonymity, reliability, no purchase fees, and ease of use. Is reloadable a requirement? I have a stack of $200 Visa and Mastercard giftcards that I bought with my Ink Cash at office supply stores to category-shift spend to the 5X category. I don't use them for anonymous purchases, but it might work (registration seems optional). ...
by TravelGeek
Tue May 02, 2023 11:20 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tesla Model Y
Replies: 133
Views: 16186

Re: Tesla Model Y

prettybogle wrote: Tue May 02, 2023 8:43 am I am surprised there is not much discussion in bogleheads forums after recent price cuts on Tesla cars. We recently did a test drive and got price quote of 55k including taxes on Tesla model Y. Debating at this point if we need another car in addition to Honda Odyssey. Any here tempted with these price cuts ? Waiting or just don't like Tesla cars ?
I'll take (c) - already have a Model Y (2021 LR). Really happy with it.

I am no longer paying much attention to pricing changes given that I am not in the market for a new vehicle.

No one here can really advise you on whether you need another car.
by TravelGeek
Sat Apr 29, 2023 6:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Global Entry Interview Challenge
Replies: 106
Views: 16226

Re: Global Entry Interview Challenge

hvaclorax wrote: Tue Apr 25, 2023 8:16 pm Also TSA pre check is available through your airline, no need for interviews.
Can you elaborate on that?

When TSA PreCheck was new, the PreCheck indicator would most of the time appear on my United boarding passes because I was a 1K member. My understanding is that that stopped a long time ago.

Current process requires an appointment for fingerprinting.

https://www.tsa.gov/precheck
by TravelGeek
Sat Apr 29, 2023 6:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Global Entry Interview Challenge
Replies: 106
Views: 16226

Re: Global Entry Interview Challenge

Agreed. It's like any "exclusive benefit"... it only works (and is most "worth it") when not a lot of other people have it. If all travelers in the US suddenly ponied up for GE, THAT line would look the same as the current "unwashed masses" line. It would not even take everyone traveling to sign up... I bet if the number of folks with GE simply doubled, you might have to wait in a line for a kiosk. I'd say enjoy it while you can! Cheers I have been enjoying it since 2014. Multiple trips every year. And most recent renewal was paid for by one of my credit cards. In all those years I have waited for a kiosk maybe two or three times (and just a few minutes). That was when they still scanned finger prints and pass...
by TravelGeek
Thu Apr 20, 2023 10:07 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Which EV should I buy in California?
Replies: 60
Views: 6722

Re: Which EV should I buy in California?

To be clear, the human driver is responsible at all times and needs to be ready to take over at any moment. But at least for a 50-mile roundtrip drive on a mix of city streets, interstates, local highways, I'm regularly able to go the whole way over an hour without disengaging -- other than to park the car, which theoretically will be handled in a software update in the coming months. Thank you for beta testing in your vehicle for the benefit of those of us who chose not to pay for that privilege :) I opted to save $10k when I bought by MY. Have been driving it for 15,000 miles so far. My guess is only half of it would have been suitable for beta (beta was initially not even available, and our local roads are covered with snow and gravel f...
by TravelGeek
Mon Apr 17, 2023 10:54 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Passport Online Renewal in Jan - still not gotten my passport
Replies: 33
Views: 3200

Re: Passport Online Renewal in Jan - still not gotten my passport

Recent story where a travel blogger had to get their congressional representative involved to get the passport issued prior to international travel:

https://frequentmiler.com/success-exped ... plication/
by TravelGeek
Sun Apr 16, 2023 3:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Which EV should I buy in California?
Replies: 60
Views: 6722

Re: Which EV should I buy in California?

In terms of battery degradation, what I’ve seen in Tesla is that the initial range drops by 10% the first year, then stays at. 90% after that. I think most Tesla owners would say the same thing. (You should be able to research that though, because Tesla tracks and monitors everything). I just checked my TeslaFi estimates. 2-year-old MYLR. I think it started out with nominal 327 miles range (TeslaFi estimated 325 miles after about 500 miles of driving, which is the first data point). Today, after 15,000 miles, it estimates 313 miles of range, which is pretty much fleet average for all the vehicles tracked by TeslaFi (about 80 MYLRs). So 14 miles range loss, or less than 5%. I don't have "scientific" data for our previous EV (Nissa...
by TravelGeek
Sun Apr 16, 2023 12:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Which EV should I buy in California?
Replies: 60
Views: 6722

Re: Which EV should I buy in California?

What would you use the vehicle for? Daily commute? Roadtrips? How many miles per day/year, how many roadtrips?

Is the Corolla your family's only vehicle?
by TravelGeek
Sat Apr 15, 2023 10:28 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: IT’S TIME: REGISTER FOR THE 2023 BOGLEHEADS CONFERENCE
Replies: 128
Views: 29954

Re: IT’S TIME: REGISTER FOR THE 2023 BOGLEHEADS CONFERENCE

Fins25 wrote: Sat Apr 15, 2023 7:24 pm
Yes Silver line is open from Dulles airport now.
Cool, finally! I will have to check it out some time this year, but sadly not for BH ‘23. Will spend that weekend in Hawai’i. Maybe next year I can avoid booking any travel for October until the date for BH ‘24 is known.
by TravelGeek
Sat Apr 15, 2023 7:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: All Business Class Airline: La Compagnie
Replies: 7
Views: 1213

Re: All Business Class Airline: La Compagnie

A friend of mine was due to fly from IAD to MAD on Iberia a few days ago. The only Iberia aircraft that was at IAD developed mechanical problems which became a crew issue, so the flight was delayed 24 hours thereby cutting short her vacation. This is the problem with flying foreign carriers that only have one flight a day to a US city. That’s certainly a concern (and one reason why I am rarely tempted by US low cost carriers that have a limited - often not even daily - many airports). On the other hand, you can face a similar problem the other way when flying a US carrier to a foreign airport. In general, in 30 years of flying across the oceans I have not once been stranded at a U.S. or foreign airport overnight. So I think the risk is not...
by TravelGeek
Wed Apr 12, 2023 6:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA: FBI Warns Against Charging Devices in Public
Replies: 24
Views: 3803

Re: PSA: FBI Warns Against Charging Devices in Public

johnnyc321 wrote: Tue Apr 11, 2023 7:27 pm I saw warnings about this years ago. Not surprised it took the FBI years to catch up.
This was not the first time the FBI and other 3-letter agencies warned the public about it. You may just not have noticed.
HawkeyePierce wrote: Wed Apr 12, 2023 6:28 pm
If this was possible, it'd be a zero-day attack on the phone. The idea that such an attack is regularly carried out and somehow Apple and Google don't know simply doesn't pass the sniff test.
I think years ago there were some PoCs, but those probably don’t work anymore with updated devices.

In any case, most USB ports at public charging locations or airplane seats seem to be so worn out that it is difficult to make any connection.
by TravelGeek
Tue Apr 11, 2023 2:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Replies: 7203
Views: 1421521

Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?

Pu239 wrote: Sat Apr 08, 2023 1:36 pm
tj wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2023 3:19 pm
Centurylink didn't code as a utility for on the US Bank Card. Cox does though.
How does Centurylink code? Internet? I'm considering an Elan Max Preferred card and Centurylink would be an important part of the calculation. Their autopay terms seem to be less consumer/reward card-friendly than my other utility providers. Very creative with new fees and gotchas.

On my Chase Ink Cash it codes as “Merchant Type: Telecommunication Services” and earns me 5X Ultimate Rewards points.
by TravelGeek
Fri Apr 07, 2023 4:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: [ACH transaction fraud - Fidelity and elsewhere]
Replies: 95
Views: 8869

Re: ACH fraud / drained accounts

tibbitts wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2023 11:27 am I know someone who had this happen via Zelle. … Equally - in some ways more - concerning was that email accounts (gmail) were also compromised at the same time.
How did the Zelle hack work? I did t know you could do pulls, so did someone log into their bank account and initiate a Zelle send? Then perhaps the email hack was the starting point. Once you have access to that, you can often use it to reset passwords for other accounts.
by TravelGeek
Fri Apr 07, 2023 2:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Choosing my next credit cards
Replies: 13
Views: 1370

Re: Choosing my next credit cards

Travel card Expecting this to have an AF I am expecting to travel at least once and at max three times a year. Card ideally covers hotels, flights, travel protections including insurance for rental card, trip delays/cancellations, lost luggage, etc. Card potentially can cover dining and gas - otherwise, this should be covered in the Everyday card. Tell us more about your travel habits/plans. Three weekend road trips are very different from multi-week overseas trips where you’d like to stay at a nice ocean resort and fly in business class. Do you have preferred airlines and/or hotel chains? Are you familiar with their loyalty programs and how to redeem their miles/points effectively? Also, how much do you expect to put in credit cards per y...
by TravelGeek
Thu Apr 06, 2023 5:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Global Entry Interview Challenge
Replies: 106
Views: 16226

Re: Global Entry Interview Challenge

exodusing wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 5:13 pm It's also faster at many airports due to the streamlined process. I recently returned from Europe and at JFK I only had to look at a screen for a few seconds, the system recognized my face, I walked to the agent, who noted my name and that was it. No questions, no looking at passport, no other process. It was about the same speed as just walking through the checkpoint. Not all airports are this simple.
That was my experience at SEA last week… and at three or four other airports since early 2022.
by TravelGeek
Thu Apr 06, 2023 5:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Global Entry Interview Challenge
Replies: 106
Views: 16226

Re: Global Entry Interview Challenge

cheesepep wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 4:29 pm
I have a question about this. Do I fill out the application online first and schedule the interview online to be taken at the international airport? Or do I just, upon passing through the airport (have an international flight) just walk in without any scheduling at all?
You need to be conditionally approved, pending interview. Then you can do the interview on arrival. So yes, you need to fill out the application and submit it and wait for the conditional approval.
by TravelGeek
Thu Apr 06, 2023 4:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Global Entry Interview Challenge
Replies: 106
Views: 16226

Re: Global Entry Interview Challenge

I haven't figured out a situation where Global Entry would have helped. I'm all for TSA Precheck and we do the little app thing so we can breeze through customs, but I have yet to stand in a line where I see people with Global Entry cruising past me. Global entry is NOT the TSA Precheck of international travel. Last week when I arrived at SEA the international arrivals hall was a giant mess. Line was snaking all over the place. With GE I just walked up to the kiosk, and was through in about 5 seconds (face recognition). It seems the regular line wasn’t moving at all - perhaps they had some technical issue processing people? In any case, judging by the length of that line it might have been difficult to make my connection without GE. Mobile...
by TravelGeek
Mon Apr 03, 2023 12:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Ripping CDs to cloud
Replies: 19
Views: 2357

Re: Ripping CDs to cloud

I ripped all my CDs to MP3 and FLAC and put them on my NAS (network-attached storage; basically a file server in a closet). I also uploaded the MP3s to Google Drive. On my mobile devices I have audio player apps that support Google Drive - I can either stream from the cloud drive or mark songs/albums as "keep local copy" so I can play them when I am offline (car, airplane). So I have a subset on my mobile devices, everything in the cloud, and everything on my local fileserver (plus backups of that). Oh, and one of my cars has the entire locally collection on an SSD drive.
by TravelGeek
Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?
Replies: 20
Views: 2371

Re: La Compagnie - Newark to Paris (Orly) - Anyone Use?

Cruise wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:04 am If safety is a concern, I could not find evidence that this airline is an IATA member
How much searching did you do when, using the IATA website’s current member search, it took me two seconds to find their membership record?

https://www.iata.org/en/about/members/a ... agnie/573/
by TravelGeek
Sat Apr 01, 2023 6:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Replies: 7203
Views: 1421521

Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?

snackdog wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 7:29 am Is there a web tool where one can input annual spending behavior (restaurants, travel, groceries, etc) and get recommends for cards based on preference for cash back, mileage, etc?
Bogleheads.org - type it into a message in this thread and you might get free expert advice :)
by TravelGeek
Sat Apr 01, 2023 11:57 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Global Entry Interview Challenge
Replies: 106
Views: 16226

Re: Global Entry Interview Challenge

logiclife wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2023 10:33 pm
I didn't realize you could renew online without going in person. how?
In my experience some people get renewed without an additional interview, some don't.
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 28, 2023 9:52 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: AirTags are not useful as a people/creature tracker
Replies: 40
Views: 6068

Re: AirTags are not useful as a people/creature tracker

EZ James wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 11:57 pm
The Tile has about 150' range on bluetooth, the AirTag about 30'.
WOMoney wrote: Sun Mar 26, 2023 10:21 pm This might be a little off topic, but airtag is similar to Tile. There was a speech at a symposium, where they used a tile to find a hiker.
They used BLE connection messages to stim his tile and locate the rough area where he was from a helicopter using grid search.

I know a little off topic, but cool.
I must be misunderstanding this - did they fly the helicopter within 150 ft off the hiker in order to connect to the Tile tracker?
by TravelGeek
Sun Mar 26, 2023 11:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is FIRE hokum?
Replies: 66
Views: 5129

Re: Is FIRE hokum?

This thread seems to be mostly an argument over the definition of "early". The "official" retirement age has always been a moving target. I’ll take the French retirement age as a yardstick since no one presumably accuses them to retire late (I am not French, and I don’t live in France, but I happen to be drinking a French red wine at the moment - enjoying a FIRE-enabled trip to Europe). 62 - and soon 64 - is much later than my own early retirement age. I think most French would say I retired early. If you had asked me at the beginning of my career, I would probably have predicted a retirement age in the low to mid-60s, too. FIRE is hokum if you can’t make it work for you. Many people do make it work for them… and withou...
by TravelGeek
Fri Mar 24, 2023 11:31 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Ally bank cannot login
Replies: 10
Views: 1529

Re: Ally bank cannot login

There are several earlier threads that discuss this. This one might be the most recent one. Perhaps there is some useful advice in those.

viewtopic.php?t=397931
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 21, 2023 4:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: MasterCard declining transactions - Card issuer shrugs
Replies: 48
Views: 4969

Re: MasterCard declining transactions - Card issuer shrugs

The problem may lie in the company if it is a foreign based company. For example, if the company is based in Spain, it may only accept credit cards issued in Spain (or even just certain credit cards by certain banks within the country) despite it still being a Mastercard or Visa. Happens to me a lot when I'm overseas. The company lacks the ability to do foreign exchange or something else. Iberia is a global airline flying from and to many countries (and a major part of IAG, which also owns British Airways). They have an English-language website for a reason -- they are more than willing to sell tickets to customers in the US and other countries. It would make no sense for them to only accept credit cards issued in Spain. But apparently AmE...
by TravelGeek
Mon Mar 20, 2023 7:36 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Stick with Amex or try BoA/Merrill?
Replies: 14
Views: 1336

Re: American Express Customer Service Issues - Alternatives?

I have been an Amex customer for nearly 30 years. I have needed to contact customer service maybe 2-3 times for non-routine issues, and the experience has been terrible. Don’t know if Amex deserves the good reputation it has, but my limited data points don’t support it. I have had even fewer non-routine customer service interactions with Chase, Citi, or BofA. No issues, but again, very limited data points. Not sure that anecdotal “evidence” is terribly helpful in choosing a better bank. Routine interactions: opening, closing accounts, asking for credit limit changes or reallocations, disputing a charge, asking for retention offers. Non-routine interactions: (1) requested correction of bonus points and resort credit for Hilton stay charged t...
by TravelGeek
Thu Mar 16, 2023 1:21 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Replies: 7203
Views: 1421521

Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?

Beefriendly wrote: Wed Mar 15, 2023 11:45 pm In retirement. Travel rewards are too restrictive for us. Want to go where we want to go, not be lead by the "deal" leash
Interesting. Early retirement has given us a lot more flexibility in using travel rewards.
by TravelGeek
Wed Mar 08, 2023 12:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I successfully disputed credit card charge and now getting a bill!
Replies: 91
Views: 11854

Re: I successfully disputed credit card charge and now getting a bill!

None of the things you listed were changes to the terms of the contract--just info changes. “Info” is incredibly vague. I am not a lawyer, but most contracts I have ever seen are a template with value (info) filled in. Change the values, and you change the contract. Accepting a fee for the fuel purchase option seems very much like a change of the contract if adding or removing a second driver is a change of the contract. And again, in many cases I didn’t even have a contract because no car had been selected until I showed up at the gate with it. Basically, I find it hard to believe that anyone here knows what the agents at the gate are allowed to do or not do, for all the different rental agencies (and locations, some of which may be corpo...
by TravelGeek
Wed Mar 08, 2023 7:08 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I successfully disputed credit card charge and now getting a bill!
Replies: 91
Views: 11854

Re: I successfully disputed credit card charge and now getting a bill!

Really? I find this hard to believe. And anybody who has rented a car before would know that the attendant at the gate is not going to change the contract and reverse charges. How would anyone who has rented a car know what the policies of every car rental company are? And Thrifty renters who stand an hour and a half in line are probably not frequent renters with a ton of experience anyway. And for what it’s worth, I have successfully made changes to the contract at the gate countless times. For Hertz specifically I have changed the credit card to be used (because it had defaulted to a corporate one from my profile), I have had them update the fuel level reported on my original contract, and I even have had them update my drivers license (...
by TravelGeek
Wed Mar 08, 2023 6:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I successfully disputed credit card charge and now getting a bill!
Replies: 91
Views: 11854

Re: I successfully disputed credit card charge and now getting a bill!

Kookaburra wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 9:25 pm For all the suggestions to write the CEO, how does one actually get the message or letter into the hands of a CEO at a major company?
You generally don’t, unless you stalk them and hand it to them on the way into their home. But many companies’ CEOs have an executive assistant team that deals with emails or letters sent to the CEO. And they are often more empowered or, uh, capable of comprehending customer concerns than frontline (outsourced?) customer “service” reps.

Elliott.org has contact info for many travel and other companies.
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 07, 2023 9:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Travel to Seattle August 2023
Replies: 22
Views: 2174

Re: Travel to Seattle August 2023

NotWhoYouThink wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 8:22 pm Another one where you'll need a car, but we enjoyed touring Olympic National Park. The kids laughing about the banana slugs is one of my favorite memories.
Get them some UCSC t-shirts: https://www.ucsc.edu/about/mascot.html
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 07, 2023 9:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Adding EV charging to condo building
Replies: 35
Views: 2534

Re: Adding EV charging to condo building

I would buy a gasoline powered car or plug in hybrid in 2034. Within 6-8 years after the mandate, hopefully the electric charging issues should be resolved or the “electric only” car sales mandate may be lifted due to complaints by people that live in cities/apartments/condos where charging facilities may not be sufficient to keep all the electric vehicles running. I think the charging situation will be “solved” much sooner than you think (2040?). I see so many new chargers - L3 and L2 - pop up all over the place. And that’s without a single charger funded by NEVI. I think more and more apartment complexes will start putting chargers in. Public garages will get them. Workplace charging will become more common (my former employer put charge...
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 07, 2023 6:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I successfully disputed credit card charge and now getting a bill!
Replies: 91
Views: 11854

Re: I successfully disputed credit card charge and now getting a bill!

8foot7 wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 5:57 pm
You’re insinuating it would be unethical behavior to not pay a junk fee the OP didn’t ask for that the rep said would be removed? Interesting take.
Indeed, it would have been better if the OP hadn’t signed the contract as is, and I am sure it won’t happen again. But that doesn’t justify the employee providing incorrect information (perhaps intentionally, perhaps because of poor training) that the contract would be corrected. If it’s not ethical for the OP to follow through with the signed commitment, what would we call the behavior of the employee? Scam? Fraud?
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 07, 2023 4:16 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Adding EV charging to condo building
Replies: 35
Views: 2534

Re: Adding EV charging to condo building

Valuethinker wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 4:13 pm
Oddly that is one of the things which is considered! That's one of the standard tests -- Football Association Cup Final etc. At the Half Time Break, there is a power surge as everyone puts the kettle on (in the olden days, 2kw kettles but I imagine now the majority are 3kw).

Reading in the article it's more about the availability of generation. At that time almost all of Britain's electricity was "despatchable" ie could be firmly drawn on by the National Grid control room.
When I came across a story about this phenomenon (I think there are similar stories about flushing toilets during the super bowl), I was just surprised that it was tea that people in the UK desired, not a beer from the fridge. :D
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 07, 2023 4:14 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Adding EV charging to condo building
Replies: 35
Views: 2534

Re: Adding EV charging to condo building

Don't you mean Victoria, British Columbia? Gill No, I did mean Vancouver, but it wouldn’t shock me to hear that Victoria has similar regulations. I just happened to recall what Vancouver is doing from some podcast I listed to a long time ago. Quick Google search found this: https://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/2017-31_Electric%20Vehicle%20Building%20Code%20Requirements%20Survey_Bhat.pdf The City of Vancouver was the first jurisdiction in North America to require electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in new homes. In July 2009, the City of Vancouver passed a requirement that the parking garages in one- and two-family dwellings, and each one of 20% of the parking stalls in multifamily buildings be equipped with an EV charging c...
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 07, 2023 4:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Adding EV charging to condo building
Replies: 35
Views: 2534

Re: Adding EV charging to condo building

If we all plugged our electric kettles in at the same moment, we could well blow the building fuse (probably an exaggeration, but please don't try the experiment! :wink: ). Or the national grid. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-world-england-electricity/england-brews-up-sufficient-power-for-world-cup-tea-time-surge-idUKKBN0E92G220140529 It's probably worth noting that in Alberta, Canada, which must be one of the coldest (on average) inhabited jurisdictions in the world (about 5m people, 255k square miles so smaller than Alaska and Texas among American states, but larger than California), plugs for engine block heaters are ubiquitous in any public parking facility. At least they were in Edmonton in the 1980s (popn 1m or so). That w...
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 07, 2023 4:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I successfully disputed credit card charge and now getting a bill!
Replies: 91
Views: 11854

Re: I successfully disputed credit card charge and now getting a bill!

Nate79 wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 3:37 pm Sorry OP, you are wrong. The charge is correct and you owe it.
That may be, but apparently Thrifty staff themselves don’t understand their rules as you seem to understand them. One should be able to rely on the information they provide about fees for additional drivers. It’s their job. So a letter to the CEO might very well result in a positive outcome for the OP. Or not, in which case I would pay and then in the future avoid all Thifty/Dollar/Hertz rentals unless they were significantly cheaper than other options.
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 07, 2023 3:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Amazon Renewed Magazine w/o Sending Reminder
Replies: 9
Views: 1479

Re: Amazon Renewed Magazine w/o Sending Reminder

Talk (chat) to Amazon. Their customer service is generally pretty good if you don’t dispute too many things over time.
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 07, 2023 3:56 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Adding EV charging to condo building
Replies: 35
Views: 2534

Re: Adding EV charging to condo building

DoubleComma wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 1:54 pm Its totally inconceivable they would install a charging station and allow users access for free.
In my town there are multiple new-ish apartment developments that have a small number of (at this time) free chargers. In the long term, they will have to expand that, and I suspect there will be some sort of billing system implemented (Chargepoint? Not exactly rocket science). I hope they considered the increased electrical load when building the car port structures and garages.
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 07, 2023 3:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Adding EV charging to condo building
Replies: 35
Views: 2534

Re: Adding EV charging to condo building

LilyFleur wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 1:26 pm
It is much easier to install a large capacity electrical charger in a single-family-home garage. I'm not sure what would happen with apartments and condos with detached garages if only electrical vehicles were to be sold in this state.
I think British Victoria and Vancouver in particular has long had building codes/regulations requiring EV chargers in multi unit housing developments. If you research that, you will probably see how billing could work.
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 07, 2023 3:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: US -> Europe this summer - Airline Recommendations
Replies: 15
Views: 924

Re: US -> Europe this summer - Airline Recommendations

The problem with a Europe connection is that you have to clear emigration in the connecting airport. Lines can be long (CDG especially) and changing terminals there can also be time consuming. Have a backup flight home if you can. When you connect in the US, there are usually more backup options if you miss the connection. If we are talking about a flight to a Bilbao, there probably isn’t a choice since I don’t think there are any non-stops to/from the US. One other benefit of connecting in Europe: if you misconnect in Europe, you have already flown the long and often once-a-day leg and can more easily be rebooked on a more frequently operated later local flight. Or take the bus/train. Obviously, many people in the OP’s situation would hav...
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 07, 2023 3:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I successfully disputed credit card charge and now getting a bill!
Replies: 91
Views: 11854

Re: I successfully disputed credit card charge and now getting a bill!

GreendaleCC wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 2:22 pm Complain to their CEO. Make his team clean up after their poor service.
Thrifty is a Hertz-owned brand, so Elliott.org lists Hertz contacts for Thrifty.

https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/hertz/

When you complain, try to condense the story as much as possible.
by TravelGeek
Tue Mar 07, 2023 1:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Paying property taxes with CC to get bonus?
Replies: 21
Views: 3157

Re: Paying property taxes with CC to get bonus?

jplee3 wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 1:41 pm
Interesting! I'll have to look at that option for property taxes! What state are you in? And did it give you the option to select Paypal for billpay? Or did you go through Paypal's site? I'm in their "Bill Pay" section but it seems to be indicating that the provider needs to make Paypal available as an option... I'm in California btw
Probably county-specific, not just state. At least in my state and, AFAIR, in California the county collects property taxes.
by TravelGeek
Mon Mar 06, 2023 9:22 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: European vacation suggestions, DW/family
Replies: 43
Views: 3946

Re: European vacation suggestions, DW/family

niagara_guy wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 7:20 am The short story is that my 15 year old child and I did 7 cities in 6 days many moons ago, it was a great trip, we lived out of backpacks. England, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, used Eurail pass and several overnight trains. Not for everyone, worked for us.
If it’s Tuesday, we must be in Belgium :)

I have done similar trips in the past. And bounced around the east coast of the US many years ago in a similar style (mix of Greyhound and rental car). Was great fun, but I was a lot younger and poorer.
by TravelGeek
Sun Mar 05, 2023 11:56 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: European vacation suggestions, DW/family
Replies: 43
Views: 3946

Re: European vacation suggestions, DW/family

boglefreak wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 4:48 pm
-DW, 2 teenage daughters and 1 teenage 10 year-old.

Perhaps an opportunity to utilize/practice a foreign language learned in school could help drive the location decision?
Bogle7 wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 6:31 pm More days.
At least 7 more days.
Agreed.

I think in some parts of Europe it may actually be against the law to go on vacation for just a week :twisted:
by TravelGeek
Sun Mar 05, 2023 5:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: European vacation suggestions, DW/family
Replies: 43
Views: 3946

Re: European vacation suggestions, DW/family

boglefreak wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 4:48 pm -considering France, England, Portugal, Spain, Italy

Was planning on Rome, but would appreciate suggestions!

Many thanks in advance.
We had a great time in Rome and it’s on our to-do list to go back and expand to other parts of Italy. We have also had wonderful trips to Portugal and France.

For Spain (on our calendar for this year actually). There is a thread ongoing right now that discusses Spain:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=399190