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oncomp.com Without Gemini, Google’s artificially intelligent bot, I might never have figured out how to get the most out of my new Bilt credit card. Gemini is a whiz at finance.
A Bilt card works like a virtual bank. Besides having its own routing number, it offers a virtual bank account number. This way you can earn points for charging your rent, mortgage or Home Owners Association fee without incurring a “convenience” fee. But you also need to make at least four other regular credit card transactions. “Could I buy a pack of gum four times?” I asked. Yes, Gemini said, but it wouldn’t be ideal.
Here’s a better way to go. I could use my Bilt virtual bank account to pay a $700 mortgage, rent or HOA. Then, if I also charged $85 at the grocery story each week, and $40 at a restaurant or gas station each month, I’d accumulate around 17,000 points by year’s end. That would give me $300 in purchases at American Airlines, United, Air Canada, Hyatt Hotels, Holiday Inn, Marriott and others. Choosing a cash reward instead would only get me $93.50, or .0055 times the number of points.
But that doesn’t take into account Bilt’s new multiplier effect, which is huge if your non-housing purchases equal or surpass the amount you spend on housing. In that case, you’d get 1.25 times as many points as you would normally. For example, if your housing costs are $700 a month and you spent $700 on other stuff, you get 875 points instead of 700, just for the housing component. Adding in the points you’d get for your credit card spending, you’d accumulate a total of 1,575 points a month or 18,900 points a year.
Likewise, if you pay your recurring charges on the first of the month, it’s worth even more points. That’s why I changed my autopay settings to the first. For more info, ask Gemini.
Beyond Finance
Gemini is great for finance, but I use it for other activities too. For example, after Google Maps showed me an 11-minute bike route through dense traffic, I asked Gemini for a longer, but safer route. It was both safer and more scenic.
The easiest way to use Gemini is to fire up the Google Chrome web browser on your computer and tap the sparkling star in the upper right corner. That way it can see what you’re working on. It may ask you if you want to use “Connected Apps.” These allow it to search your Gmail, Google Docs and Google Drive to look up facts you’ve forgotten or answer questions about anything else.
One way to use Gemini on your phone is the “@” shortcut. If you type “@” without the quotes in the search box, a menu pops up with app suggestions. For example, if you selected Google Drive or Gmail, you might then ask the AI to instantly analyze a specific document or find an old email thread, saving you from digging through folders.
App Happy
“Voice Memos” is a free app for recording your thoughts. It sure beats my pen scratchings at bedside, since I usually can’t read my own handwriting the next day. It’s also better than telling Alexa to remember something since she garbles anything longer than a few words. Now I just tap the app and hit “record.”
📷Need a Foldable?
A reader wrote to say he’s disappointed with his iPhone Pro Max 17 since it’s not as big as he expected. Though he enlarged the font, the keyboard is still tiny. Should he get a much larger, foldable phone?
I don’t think so. He could save thousands by getting a phone stand and a wireless keyboard instead. Walmart and Amazon sell them as a set for around $24. Besides, Apple has yet to come out with its first foldable, and as a long-time iPhone user, he might not be happy switching to Android.
The first so-called Apple Fold should arrive sometime in 2027, not September as others have predicted. It’s expected to be sturdier, wider and squatter than current foldables, as well as ultra thin like the new iPhone Air, with a superior chip. Price: around $2500.
Foldables have been around since 2018, but I saw my first, a Samsung Z Fold6, only a few weeks ago.The owner said he was glad it was under warranty, because it got bubbles along the crease within two years. He mainly keeps it folded, opening it only for photos, videos and spreadsheets. But for spreadsheets, he adds a keyboard.
📷Free Aquarium
Ashampoo.com is offering free virtual aquariums for your computer’s wallpaper. Just search on “aquarium,” and type the code “FREEFISH” before July 15. The Live Aquarium 4K has 25 species of fish and a choice of backgrounds. I like the one with all the sharks. The company is offering this freebie to the first 65,000 who register.
Night Photography
If your iPhone uses iOS 26, it has the new “Night Mode Max” for taking pictures in the dark. According to CNET, this allows your phone camera to capture three times more light during a 30-second exposure. But you’ll need a tripod to truly capture the stars.
📷Internut
Search on “Stump House, 1905” to see an example of the days when Americans lived inside tree stumps.