Electronics

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Is This the Future of Consumer Journalism?

Last week, we examined what appeared to be a news story from USA Today touting discount site Temu.com. On closer inspection, however, that “story” may have actually been an advertisement, but it was not labeled as such.

This week we focus on another news story that popped up in MrConsumer’s consumer news feed recently. It was entitled, “The Nuclear Savings Rule: 10 Frugal Living Tips from the 1950s Era.”

It sounded like old-fashioned savings advice that might be of interest to Consumer World readers even today. Some enterprising reporter, I thought, must have done an awful lot of research to go back 70 years to find consumer tips from the ’50s.

Here’s that Go Banking Rates story to quickly browse — just look at the bolded tips.

AI Written Story GO Banking

Scroll down the story.

If you skip to the bottom of the story, there is a surprising editor’s note.

*MOUSE PRINT:

AI Editor's Note

Say what? This story was written by a computer using artificial intelligence and then fact-checked by a human editor. Wow! Or maybe I should say “oy.” Is this what journalism of the near future is going to look like — computers do the research and write the stories, and then a human double-checks them?

Please share your thoughts in the comments.

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Get a Free 55-inch HDTV*

Last week, a company called Free Telly came out with a once-in-a-lifetime offer: They are going to give away half a million 55-inch HDTVs for free in 2023!

Say what?

Free Telly

So what’s the catch? This novel TV has two screens: the main viewing screen, and then a second full-width but smaller screen below that will stream information like news and weather, but more importantly, interactive advertisements from which viewers can order merchandise or meals. And the content may be related to what is being viewed on the main screen. They also have the ability to collect a ton of user data via their privacy policy. And the TVs have a microphone and camera supposedly for voice commands and video calling.

Now a company like this is not going to willy-nilly send out 55-inch televisions with no strings attached. In fact, they have a detailed terms and conditions statement with a couple of interesting qualifications.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Free Telly terms

Many people have bigger or better TVs as their primary television and are not going to want to put this one in its place.

If you don’t play by the rules, you have to return the TV or you will be charged for it via the credit card you are required to provide.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Free Telly charge

Interestingly, the terms and conditions statement changed on its launch day last week. The previous version for beta testers spelled out the penalty for not returning the TV.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Free Telly penalty

Here are some more details about their plans.

Will this be a big financial success or go the way of MoviePass?

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Citi Drops Extended Warranty Benefit on Costco Credit Cards

One of the best perks of using certain credit cards is the extended warranty benefit that doubles the manufacturer’s warranty up to an extra year or two for free.

That was the case with the popular Costco Citi Visa card, but cardholders who read the fine print notice on their recent credit card statement or checked the Citi website were stunned to learn that that benefit is about to be discontinued.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Citi Costco Visa notice

That’s right, after January 22, 2023, the two-year extended warranty that the Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi card provided will be gone. This benefit has been worth its weight in gold for many a consumer who learned that their major appliance, computer, or big screen TV needed repairs after the manufacturer’s one-year warranty expired.

Costco, however, still appears to be offering its Costco Concierge Service whereby it provides a free second year warranty on major appliances, computers and television sets.

Citi continues the trend of removing most of the valuable consumer benefits that used to be standard on its credit cards, as we reported back in 2019 and also in 2018. The extended warranty benefit has also been dropped on many American Express cards and those of other banks.

You can still find the extended warranty benefit on some Chase credit cards, from some other banks, and on a very few Citi and AMEX cards. Particularly as we start the holiday shopping season, before you make that major appliance, TV, computer, or electronics purchase, check with your credit card issuers to see which of your cards still doubles the manufacturer’s warranty for free.

And while you’re at it, ask for or review your card’s current benefit brochure because you can no longer assume that other traditional benefits are still included like free collision damage waiver on rental cars.