Cutting the cord

[MrTPlush]

The fastest, most efficient, and best outcome customer support is on Twitter. Not kidding. Part of the reason may be the fact they are all US based people and I also think the public complaint creates a motivation to make better amends. A phone call complaint is seen by no one else, but on Twitter the whole world can see it. Just make sure to tweet at the customer support page for a brand, most seem to have a dedicated page for support these days.

 

Calling Spectrum is usually a terrible pain in the butt experience...but Twitter is super easy and they are great.

[CheezWizHed]

I also can't imagine watching baseball on the TV. Like you sit there and watch baseball on the TV? Like, what else do you do at the same time?

 

My favorite way to take in a game is listening to Uecker on the radio while I'm out doing something else. Now that I'm out of state, I often use the MLB app to stream the audio feed.

 

Rarely do I watch a whole game on TV 1-9th innings. Often if I'm watching the game, I watch it late. The MLB app allows you to pick which half-inning you want to watch. I'll skip through to watch specific at-bats or innings pitched.

 

And I'm not a millennial.

[igor67]

Back when I would go fishing growing up, I could fish, listen to Ueck on the radio and read a book. Multitasking and doing nothing all at the same time it was great.

[thebruce44]

Of course I am the kind of person that will switch around my bank account every 6-12 months to get $500 account opening bonuses. I know many won’t go through that kind of effort.

 

Not 'cutting the cord' related, but a youtube channel I sometimes watch is of a younger couple who traveled the world for two years. They said that for a year before they left they signed up for a huge number of travel cards to get those sign-up bonus miles and those "spend $2000 in the first two months for a bonus" cards. Definitely a lot to manage, but it did get them a lot of free flights.

 

Similarly, I have a planned $4000 purchase coming up, so I got the Capital One card just to get that initial-spending bonus.

 

You should check out the churning subreddit on Reddit. The Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred are typically the most coveted first cards to get.

 

When my wife and I got married I signed up for a couple cards and payed for everything that way. A decent amount of our honeymoon was free or upgraded because of that. We've also managed to stay at some of the nicest Hyatt hotels in the world for free or very cheap.

 

Of course, I haven't kept up and stayed as organized as I used to. My New Years resolution is to look through my cards and figure out what to cancel.

[FVBrewerFan]

Your credit score is affected by opening and closing accounts, so do a little research on that. Not worth messing up your credit score for a free flight.

[nate82]

Your credit score is affected by opening and closing accounts, so do a little research on that. Not worth messing up your credit score for a free flight.

 

If you are not going to be making a big purchase any time soon like a car or a house then this is of little concern.

[FVBrewerFan]

Your credit score is affected by opening and closing accounts, so do a little research on that. Not worth messing up your credit score for a free flight.

 

If you are not going to be making a big purchase any time soon like a car or a house then this is of little concern.

 

Or if you plan to purchase auto insurance, change jobs, etc. And your credit score isn't something you can quickly change when you do want a loan. Just sayiing, something to keep in mind.

[thebruce44]

Your credit score is affected by opening and closing accounts, so do a little research on that. Not worth messing up your credit score for a free flight.

 

If you are not going to be making a big purchase any time soon like a car or a house then this is of little concern.

 

Or if you plan to purchase auto insurance, change jobs, etc. And your credit score isn't something you can quickly change when you do want a loan. Just sayiing, something to keep in mind.

 

Something to keep in mind, absolutely. If done correctly, opening cards to get free stuff can actually improve your credit.

[nodakfan17]

Credit scores are silly.

 

One of my best friends owned a modest condo which he had diligently paid off after only 10 years. He and his wife decided to build a new home when they were expecting their second child, but he ran into trouble obtaining a construction loan because his credit score had sunk to 650 as a result of paying off his condo early. Thankfully, he was able to find a lender that was willing to do manual underwriting (for a fee) based on his income and assets.

 

My mother is 68 and has enough money in the bank to last through her golden years, yet she struggles to get the best rates on home and auto insurance because her credit score is low on account of her home being paid off and only using credit cards ‘for emergencies’ like many in her generation were taught.

[homer]

Credit score could take a very minor hit if you open a new card due to the credit check. But as long as you aren't getting credit checks up the wazoo you probably won't even notice it. Credit checks account for 5% of your credit score. Closing an account though can really ding you especially if it's a card you've had for a long time.

[MrTPlush]

It isn’t the credit check that hurts, it’s the age of accounts that takes a big hit if you don’t have a ton of accounts, historically. Honestly, one should open up 2-3 credit cards ASAP in their early adult years. Your age of accounts is already pathetically low so what does it matter. Then never cancel those cards so it helps you down the road. Only if one can use them responsibly of course.

[sveumrules]

I also can't imagine watching baseball on the TV. Like you sit there and watch baseball on the TV? Like, what else do you do at the same time?

 

I've got a couple two tree TV trays with my PacBell PC set up in the living room right next to my La-Z-Boy so I can comment on the IGTs & also have TI-85 graphing calculator souped up with Tetris to play during commercials.

 

Sometimes I get up & refill my Jolly Good Sour Pow'r.

[homer]

It isn’t the credit check that hurts, it’s the age of accounts that takes a big hit if you don’t have a ton of accounts, historically. Honestly, one should open up 2-3 credit cards ASAP in their early adult years. Your age of accounts is already pathetically low so what does it matter. Then never cancel those cards so it helps you down the road. Only if one can use them responsibly of course.

 

I thought that as well but then I checked on Chase and the only thing they listed was the age of my oldest credit card. I always thought it was average age. EVen so, I opened two credit cards in the last two years and my credit score didn't move.

[JackNicholson1974]

Forgive me, for I am sure this has been asked and answered already. My parents recently moved to Arizona. If they buy the MLB package with their address and billing zip, will I be able to watch (Brewers games) with their account in Wisconsin?

[zurch1818]

Forgive me, for I am sure this has been asked and answered already. My parents recently moved to Arizona. If they buy the MLB package with their address and billing zip, will I be able to watch (Brewers games) with their account in Wisconsin?

 

Unfortunately they use your ip address...so those games would be blacked out. I've had something similar happen to me in reverse. I was trying to watch the Coyotes in AZ on NHL.TV...and I couldn't. The place I was staying did not carry the channel they were on.

 

Blackout rules are outdated and need to be updated to current times. It's kind of like having the a city speed limit of 12mph for horseless carriages so the horses don't get spooked (actual law in Connecticut from 1901) in today's society.

[Samurai Bucky]

Forgive me, for I am sure this has been asked and answered already. My parents recently moved to Arizona. If they buy the MLB package with their address and billing zip, will I be able to watch (Brewers games) with their account in Wisconsin?

 

Unfortunately they use your ip address...so those games would be blacked out. I've had something similar happen to me in reverse. I was trying to watch the Coyotes in AZ on NHL.TV...and I couldn't. The place I was staying did not carry the channel they were on.

 

Blackout rules are outdated and need to be updated to current times. It's kind of like having the a city speed limit of 12mph for horseless carriages so the horses don't get spooked (actual law in Connecticut from 1901) in today's society.

https://nordvpn.com/??? You can connect to different servers around the world allowing you to appear as if you are in a certain region... I think...

[AKCheesehead]

I’m pretty excited about Elon Musk’s new polar orbit starlink. When our cable/internet/cellular provider finally has competition (and should be much better overall, too) it will finally be feasible for me to cut the cord. I am looking forward to when the time comes.

[GAME05]

I'm looking forward to Starlink, too. My boss can't get internet at all and I have a max 3mb speed on a shoddy line. They're saying it'll be 15-50mb speed and starting to roll out in North America around the end of this year. More expensive for the box and the service but not prohibitively so.

[FVBrewerFan]

Forgive me, for I am sure this has been asked and answered already. My parents recently moved to Arizona. If they buy the MLB package with their address and billing zip, will I be able to watch (Brewers games) with their account in Wisconsin?

 

Unfortunately they use your ip address...so those games would be blacked out. I've had something similar happen to me in reverse. I was trying to watch the Coyotes in AZ on NHL.TV...and I couldn't. The place I was staying did not carry the channel they were on.

 

Blackout rules are outdated and need to be updated to current times. It's kind of like having the a city speed limit of 12mph for horseless carriages so the horses don't get spooked (actual law in Connecticut from 1901) in today's society.

https://nordvpn.com/??? You can connect to different servers around the world allowing you to appear as if you are in a certain region... I think...

 

The leagues have caught on to that, vpn doesn't work anymore. Well, it works, but local team is blacked out.

[LouisEly]

Looks like I am going to be moving in a couple of months, and my 2-year xFinity "promo" discount is up thus so is my bill - total now up to $200. If I sign another contract it will get down to $170 (was $156 before). But they are trying to tell me that if I move to somewhere that they don't service I will have to pay the cancellation fee of $220, which is BS - if they don't service the area, I don't see how they can legally charge the fee.

 

I gave YouTube TV a try and am in the 5-day free trial period. Has all of the channels I currently have that I watch (including NFL, MLB, and NBA networks), but it is... a hassle. The "streamlined" remote is a little too streamlined and missing some features that are quite handy. Perhaps my biggest complaint is that the "fast forward" function isn't really fast-forwarding - it skips 15 seconds ahead at a time. There is no 2x/4x fast forwarding where you can see what is going on, just quicker (I like to fast-forward while watching basketball when they are dribbling the ball up the court or have a whistle/in-bound play, etc., to speed up the game; for baseball, I like to fast-forward between pitches). I also dislike the channel guide - the font is too big and I don't need the mini image of the show and would much rather have a smaller font and no mini-image so I can see more channels on the screen and further ahead in time.

 

I think I'll keep it until I move, then go back to cable after I move since I can cancel YouTube TV anytime.

[nate82]

Another streaming service at $50 a month doesn't have the regional sports networks.

 

https://www.t-mobile.com/tvision

 

I didn't see this one posted here. Could always do the free MLB TV if you have Tmobile as your cell provider.

[LouisEly]

One more thing about YouTube TV - they only deliver audio in 2.1, not surround sound. I think cable is worth the extra $30/month.

[nate82]

One more thing about YouTube TV - they only deliver audio in 2.1, not surround sound. I think cable is worth the extra $30/month.

 

I don't really watch anything on YouTube TV that I would want to watch in surround sound so to me that is not really a factor. When I am watching YouTube TV I am watching from my PC or from a tablet and I have my headphones in and it sounds decent enough. If I want to watch a movie it is usually on Amazon or from RedBox. I never really liked surround sound when watching sports just doesn't sound all that great to me.

[TURBO]

I have Spectrum cable. For some reason, my bill dropped $21 last month. I have no clue as to why, but I'm not going to call and ask them either.

 

Just hoping next months bill isn't $21 higher to make up for their "error."

[DHonks]

I'm looking forward to Starlink, too. My boss can't get internet at all and I have a max 3mb speed on a shoddy line. They're saying it'll be 15-50mb speed and starting to roll out in North America around the end of this year. More expensive for the box and the service but not prohibitively so.

 

Ordered it for my condo in Montana and we were told 80mb speeds initially, pushing towards 200 by the end of summer. Tech guy is hooking it up this week. I can report back then