Breaking up with my credit card

Plus: a first look at the OnePlus 15 camera, the YouTube TV–Disney dispute, and a magical Santa telephone

Nov 01, 2025

Greetings and welcome to another edition of my newsletter!

Hope you had a great Halloween and you’re not recovering from too much of a sugar hangover :) This week was a mixed bag for me. It started out strong with a fun night out at the beach, testing the cameras on the new OnePlus 15 smartphone. Then, we visited a corn maze that was tougher than we expected. However, by the end of the week, I was fighting a cold. Thankfully, I’m on the mend!

Also, I had a big breakup this week—I got rid of my premium credit card. They raised the price and added a bunch of perks I don’t need. Plus, it’s designed to make you spend more money. If you’ve listened to me at all, you know I don’t necessarily play the points game—I have a simple rule for my cards: if it leaves my hand or it’s a big purchase, I use my credit card; if it doesn’t leave my hand, then I pay with debit.

I know I’m leaving a lot of points on the table, but there’s a reason banks hand out points like candy (see what I did there?). They know you’re likely spending more overall just to get these rewards.

My biggest surprise? The card company didn’t even try to get me to stay. I also learned that you have 90 days to cancel the card—even after paying the annual fee, at least with this bank. Now I’m using a standard airline card that still earns me miles on purchases, but it’s not as flashy or exciting as the premium card I left behind.

However, it has one feature I still require—primary rental car coverage. Most cards only offer secondary coverage, which means you have to go through your own insurance first if an issue arises. Only a handful provide primary coverage, and that’s a must for me.

Speaking of that OnePlus 15 smartphone…

Their latest handset launches on November 13, and I already have a unit for testing. While I can’t reveal everything right now, I can tell you the camera already looks promising. Check out the sample shots below.

But here’s my issue with OnePlus—they are all over the place when it comes to their phones. The form factor changes wildly from year to year, seemingly based on the whims of other popular phones, and the camera can be hit or miss. Still, when it comes to raw power and specs, their phones are usually at the top of my list.

So far, the camera on this new model has been quite good, so we’ll see how things develop. Another challenge for OnePlus is that they don’t typically work with carriers to sell their phones, making things trickier for the average consumer to buy.

YouTube TV vs Disney Dispute

If you have YouTube TV, you might have noticed your Disney-owned channels are suddenly gone. The two companies are at odds over a contract renewal, and YouTube says it will issue a $20 credit if the blackout continues.

As a reminder, Disney owns a wide range of networks — including ESPN, ABC, FX, and Nat Geo — so this affects a lot of popular programming. These disputes seem to be happening more often, and it’s always frustrating for viewers caught in the middle.

In the meantime, you could try a free trial from a competing service. Fubo offers just one day, DirecTV gives you five, and Hulu has seemingly pulled its free trial for now. If there’s a game or show you don’t want to miss, sign up — but go straight to your account settings and cancel right away so you’re not accidentally billed. You could also do a Sling Weekend Pass for $10 and hope things get sorted out.

Stay tuned…

Hallmark+ Deal

Since it's the official start of the holiday season, you might be ready to watch some of those sentimental Hallmark movies. I checked my YouTube TV subscription, and the Hallmark Channel is definitely included (for now!)

But if you don’t have a costly cable streaming service, you might want to subscribe directly to Hallmark instead. That company is at risk of a dispute with Frndly TV, which was recently bought by Roku. Frndly carries the channel, and many people subscribe to it during the holidays because it’s inexpensive.

However, you can skip the middleman and go straight to Hallmark+, which, as my pal Jared Newman pointed out, is offering 50% off for a year with the code SAVE50NOW. That comes to around $40 for 12 months—less than the price of a single movie, giving you unlimited access to all the cheesy holiday movies you can imagine.

MP3 to phone

You’d be surprised how many people still want to listen to their old MP3 collections on their smartphones — and it’s easier than you might think.

On iOS or Android, my favorite method is to simply drag and drop your MP3s onto music.youtube.com. That automatically syncs your tracks with the YouTube Music app, and the feature is completely free.

If you’re on iPhone, another great option is WALTR Pro. You can drag and drop files right onto your phone — no iTunes needed. A license runs about $40 a year, though you can often find deals for less.

For a more Apple-native solution, iTunes Match lets you sync your MP3s (even from old CDs) across all your devices for $25 a year.

And for Android users who prefer offline playback, check out Musicolet. It’s free, lightweight, and plays only your local files — no streaming, no data usage, just your music the old-fashioned way.

Stop procrastinating your photo backups

I always enjoy talking with photo organization expert Krista Kowalczyk on my radio show. She recently told me, “The biggest threat to our photos isn’t a fire or flood — it’s procrastination.” I couldn’t agree more. Take the time to scan those old prints and make sure your digital photos are safely backed up.

FYI, I scanned my collection using a combination of DIY and sending out a bunch of my printed photos to ScanMyPhotos.com.

GM’s eyes-off future

I was in New York City for GM’s Forward event, where they showed off their upcoming “eyes-off” driving technology in the 2028 Escalade. The idea of putting a car in full autonomous mode — and actually looking away from the road — is going to take some getting used to. GM says other drivers will know your car is in self-driving mode thanks to turquoise lights that appear when the system is active.

Tech tidbits

Google’s Gemini voice — still not here - It’s still unclear why Google is taking so long to roll out its new Gemini voice on smart speakers. If you want to try it early, you have to opt in: open the Google Home app, tap your profile picture, go to Home settings → Early access, and turn it on. I did this ages ago and my speakers are still stuck on the old Assistant. Once you get it, here’s a list of 100 fun things you can ask it.

Meet Neo, the robot helper (sort of) - A company called 1X is taking preorders for its humanoid robot Neo, priced around $20,000 or $499 a month. It’s pitched as a household assistant, but what’s often glossed over is that it’s still remotely operated by a human—not fully autonomous. The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern did a fun piece testing it out.

OpenTable adds real rewards - If you use OpenTable, check out its revamped rewards program. Points can now be redeemed for Amazon gift cards, and reaching Gold status (six reservations in 12 months) gives you early notification of tables that open up plus six months of free Uber One. I was instantly Gold based on my past bookings.

Gadget of the Week: Santa’s Magical Telephone

This week I tested out Santa’s Magical Telephone, a retro-style rotary phone that connects kids directly to the North Pole — or at least a very convincing simulation of it. You plug it in, connect it to Wi-Fi, and press the big Santa button to start chatting. On the other end, an AI-powered Santa responds in real time, complete with a warm, believable voice.

I set it up in my office, and when my son came home, his first question was how to use a rotary dial — which made me laugh. But once he got talking to Santa, he was impressed. The responses were fast, natural and thoughtful. It stumbled a bit on newer pop-culture references like Labubu and K-Pop Demon Hunters, but that’s likely by design since the system filters what it says to kids.

You get 60 minutes of talk time included, and can purchase more if needed. My only gripe is that the audio plays through the base speaker, not the handset — though that actually makes it more of a family experience since everyone can listen in.

I requested a sample for review when the MSRP was $60, but since then the price has jumped closer to $100. It’s available at Amazon, Walmart and Target.

It’s probably a lot of fun for little kids and should make for some great photo and video opps for family members, as long as you don’t mind the pricetag.

Feedbag: Listener thanks for tips

Jack in Illinois

I’ve been listening for years and wanted to say how much I appreciate what you do for us “tech-troubled” folks.

The two Gmail tips from the last show were huge — the Unsubscribe tag and the Trusted Contact feature. I’ve already shared them with several family members.

Thanks, Jack! I appreciate you listening and spreading the word about those Gmail tricks. Glad they helped make email a little less stressful.

For the uninitiated, my unsubscribe trick is key to taming your inbox.

Create a filter for the word “unsubscribe” and apply a bright label — something like Unsubscribe Eligible. Now, every time you get an email with an unsubscribe link, you’ll see that label and know it’s a good time to ditch the mailing list if you don’t need it anymore.

The Trusted Contact feature is another great tip. It lets you designate a recovery contact who can help you regain access to your Google account if you ever get locked out.

I’ll see you on the radio at 11 AM PT — tune in on KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles or stream it on the iHeartRadio app.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you can listen anytime.

Have a great weekend — and happy November, or as I like to call it, the slide into the holidays!

Rich

Rich on Tech

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