Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as the 2025 key tax numbers, Amway ruining lives, caviar pizzas, the Trump golf track website, tariff basics, Vanguard cuts fees again, more elaborate pig butchering crypto scams, amazing table tennis video, Santorini may blow up, top under-the-radar destinations, weird acoustic destinations, the best photography links again and of course always all of the most important developments in the crazy world of miles and points at the lower half of the post. Enjoy the weekend and file your tax returns early.
TBB Blog Mission: To Educate. Entertain. Inspire. In That Order!
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This blog started way back in 2012 focusing on my crazy hobby addiction of traveling with frequent flyer miles, hotel and bank points. It has since evolved to curated posts featuring the best web content along with my commentary.
This is a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts.
BLOG HOUSEKEEPING
Making some changes online. I killed my second Twitter account, my handle was “FlyerTalkerinA2”. And I have deleted this app off my phone for ever, good riddance!
I started a new Bluesky account. I will not start a second Bluesky account for my blog. Please follow me there, my handle is @feeonlyplanner again. It will be mostly personal finance stuff. Or whatever I come up with, this feels like the old Twitter app that goes well with my spontaneous personality I guess.
I am keeping the TBB Instagram account posting strictly travel related photos. And keeping my TBB YouTube account and will post only occasionally there as I have realized I don’t have the talent and time for it, maybe it’s my face.
I am done scrolling and posting on Facebook. Not that I did much of that in recent years. I will keep Facebook open because of Facebook Messenger I still use.
This blog stays alive until either of two things happen. No credit card is sold in a full calendar month or my 2nd credit card vendor kicks me out due to low sales again. This blog earns 90%+ of its tiny revenue that mostly covers the blog costs from credit card sales. It takes many hours to bring it to you. It also brings many psychic rewards making a difference in reader’s lives as many of you let me know, always a pleasure to hear from you. It also gives me a purpose to do my part to educate, entertain and sometimes even inspire. For 12+ years, which is insane! No spam, no sponsors, no ads, no AI. Ever. It is up to you to support causes you want to keep around. Thank you.
When this blog ends, I will most likely start a newsletter sharing my eclectic links. It is really odd mixing my two passions in this blog. I am odd so I guess this is why I am still here? Ok, no comment. That’s all for now, enjoy another post. And we’ll see what happens tomorrow, always enjoy the journey in what you do. And be kind, even among all the cruelty in the world lately.
PERSONAL FINANCE
I have been super busy with tax work these days so it is a miracle this blog post is here today.
So, here we go: Key Tax Numbers That Have—and Haven’t—Changed for 2025.
This is very welcome news: Announcing the largest fee cut in Vanguard history. Effective February 1, 2025, the firm reduced fees on 168 share classes across 87 funds. The fee reductions are expected to save investors more than $350 million this year alone.
Some really good explanations given in this piece: Let’s Talk About Tariffs. You know they will be back. At least, let’s keep it simple:
When the USA imposes a tariff the importing corporation pays a fee at the border. The foreign country isn’t the one paying the fee. The corporation pays the import fee. And this fee operates like a corporate tax. And corporate taxes aren’t paid by corporations because corporations pass on their costs to actual people. This means increased consumption costs, lower wages or lower share prices (or some combination of all the above).
This is on the softer side of money, you know, purpose and how money gets factored in, it is complicated: Why You Should Pursue the “Unnecessary” Things in Life. The five connections of the relationship between money and purpose:
Money can’t buy purpose
Purpose makes us happier than money
Purpose can fuel wealth
Money can help us nurture what gives us purpose
The purpose of money may be to give it away
And the article ends like this:
If your money isn’t changing you for the better, it’s not serving much of a purpose.
The Income Needed to Join the Top 1% in Each US State. Are you in the top 1%? Maybe buy me a dozen coffees, thanks! 🙂
SCAMS/CRYPTO/AI/TECH
Wow, this article shows how good the scammers are. And how they can play the long game, be careful out there. How I Almost Got Slaughtered in a Pig Butchering Crypto Scam. I think she messaged me too. I deleted it because I stay in my lane league lol.
The latest monthly roundup at The Ponzi Scheme Blog for January 2025. They just keep coming. You know the expression death and taxes. It should be death, taxes and Ponzi schemes. I always believed that there must be a fraud gene or something as some people just can not stop. Like this guy:
Seth Adam Despiano aka Marcus Lazaro and Steven Baron Sr., 43, who is already in prison for running $24 million Ponzi scheme and is serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence, has been indicted for allegedly running more fraudulent schemes from prison. Despiano is accused of posing as a broker from his prison cell and using fake identities to market and sell property that did not exist.
Probably one of the saddest stories in a while in my blog. Oh, selling the dream while ruining the lives of so many. When someone offers you this, run away please. The ‘Exciting Business Opportunity’ That Ruined Our Lives. Amway sold my family a life built on delusion.
For some Americans, joining the business might have been harmless. For us, it was not. Soon my mother and stepfather had no other job. Their bad decisions ricocheted in the echo chamber of Amway culture, where they were encouraged to dedicate themselves more deeply. Surely, any day now, we would make it. Within three years, we were living in a filthy house without electricity, eating food out of a cooler that we kept filled with ice. Then we were evicted, and my mother and stepfather declared bankruptcy. Ordinary people might have thought twice about sticking with Amway. But by that point, we had left the small dreams of ordinary people behind.
And it got worse after that, yikes.
This blog is not going to blog itself. I rely on my readers helping it grow as I don’t have time to do any promotion/marketing. Which leaves the content clean of intrusive sponsoring posts and stupid ads and stuff like that.
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ODDZ & ENDZ
This article blew my mind. All you wanted to ever learn about caviar: Caviar Pizzas, New Money, and the Death of an Ancient Fish. Full disclosure: I tried caviar once flying First Class a long time ago and I did not like it. At all. Fancy fish eggs have become the latest luxury good to go viral on social media, raising questions about the future of sturgeon. Oh, all you wanted to learn about sturgeon as well, I had no idea!
Absolutely amazing: The Best Table Tennis Points of 2024.
Ok, this is funny. And sad at the same time. Trump Golf Track. I am so glad eggs got cheaper smh! Ok, I stop here. If you decide to unsubscribe from my blog or read it for the last time, good bye. Wait, maybe you will be interested to read this: This Is So Much Worse Than Last Time. Ok, I go back to normal programming and will try to refrain from politics here. Brace yourselves!
Always the absolute best photography links in my blog, enjoy: 2024 Winners of The Big Picture Competition.
TRAVEL
Oh oh, something is brewing in the Greek Isles: Thousands evacuate Santorini as more earthquakes strike island. The seismic activity has been absolutely crazy lately.
This is a pretty good list: The Top Under-The-Radar Destinations. What do you think?
This fits my quirky blog: 14 places you need to hear: the world’s most weird and wonderful acoustic destinations.
Shocking: The Countries that Speak the Most Languages. 840? WTF!
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This blog started with a focus on miles and points and travel. It has evolved since then. Everything below deals with the hobby of collecting frequent flyer miles and points and maximizing your travel experiences. If you are not interested, you can stop here, thank you.
MILES & POINTS
Here we go, buckle up:
Pretty good website to bookmark if you have an Amex Platinum card and want to use those hotel credits: Max FHR.
Some nice properties listed: The New Hotels We’re Most Excited for in 2025.
The next logical step in this: ITA Airways Has Exited SkyTeam & Joins Star Alliance In 2026. Star Alliance keeps getting bigger…
Thrifty Traveler is getting bigger, I recently saw the company advertising for a Marketing Director. I can assure you that this would not happen if banks stopped paying sales commissions selling travel rewards credit cards. Anyway, this was a good article aimed at newbies who have plenty of slots open for Chase cards #hint: The Basics of Booking First & Business Class With Miles.
I have several in my hands already. 1099 Megathread for the 2024 Tax Year. I still don’t get why I am not seeing them online in my Chase accounts. I dread the day IRS sends me a nasty letter telling me I never declared income from a 1099 I never received via snail mail.
This one at Fodors, I guess the company is still around: Is Earning Airline Status Actually Worth the Hassle? Or Is It Completely Stupid? Ask yourself these seven questions to determine if airline status is worth it for you. Lol, “completely stupid“.
The move to all dynamic pricing is like one of those things that are unstoppable. You know, kind of like how mutual funds are being abandoned and investors moving to ETFs, there is likely no going back. In our hobby here, we thrived on them loopholes for so many years. And they are all being sealed, surely and steadily. The bang is getting smaller/harder. Is there still value in this hobby? Yes. Is it as lucrative as it was years ago? Hell no. We are nearing the point to decide if it is time to wrap it up and just pay to travel, likely from dough from cash back cards preferably lol. More hits:
Iberia Plus Program Changes Announced On February 12, 2025
Air Canada Aeroplan Award Chart Changes On March 25, 2025
Just a few notes on the above devaluations. Kiss them 35k business class awards on Iberia to Spain goodbye. Maybe book asap, you have…5 days. Another sweetspot bloggers killed, they will not relent until they kill them all and sold you plastic along the way, wake up! And really glad I did not transfer any Chase points to Air Canada Aeroplan recently.
TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARDS
I can assure you Bilt already has decided what to do next to see how they can keep the company going after Wells Fargo finally ends the ridiculous contract with them. The hints are all over the place and bloggers just keep giving the company a lot more PR than it deserves smh: Bilt Card 2.0 – Changes to Fee-Free Rent Payments, New Premium Cards and More? I mean, they even spell it out in another BS press release:
Ensuring this benefit goes to members who genuinely engage with our broader program—rather than those taking advantage of loopholes—will allow us to continue delivering long-term value for our entire cardholder community. [bold font added for emphasis]
For the recently elevated World of Hyatt Chase personal and business cards, see the details HERE. If you want to be convinced about reasons to get the Hyatt business card, read this: The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card Review: Accelerate Your Progress Toward Top Status. If you want to help the blog, please check these offers from my favorite bank HERE.
NEW AMEX Delta Offers
New elevated offers from Delta again: American Express and Delta Introduce Limited-Time Welcome Offers, Earn Up to 110K Miles.
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
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Gold: Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after spending $3,000 in purchases on the new Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
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Gold Business: Earn 90,000 Bonus Miles after spending $6,000 in purchases on the new Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
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Platinum: Earn 90,000 Bonus Miles after spending $4,000 in purchases on the new Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
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Platinum Business: Earn 100,000 Bonus Miles after spending $8,000 in purchases on the new Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
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Reserve: Earn 100,000 Bonus Miles after spending $6,000 in purchases on the new Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
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Reserve Business: Earn 110,000 Bonus Miles after spending $12,000 in purchases on the new Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership.
Not going to add my affiliate links in every single card above, no time for dat. But you can find them HERE, please scroll down, they are all there.
More elevated offers finally from Chase:
100k CHASE United Business
And just like that, the welcome offer for this card went up to 100k from 75k. The annual fee is $99 and and the minimum spend is $5k in the first three months. The card earns 2x on United, gas stations, restaurants, office supplies, local transit and commuting. And 2x on everything else. If you buy 7 United tickets with it, you will get a $100 United flight credit at card anniversary. You get two United club passes every year. If you have a personal United card as well, you get a 5,000 mile “better together” bonus. 25% discount on United in flight purchases. Expanded award availability. Ability to earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQP). Free checked bag for credit card holder and one companion on the same reservation. Priority boarding. No foreign transaction fees. Can be a good fit for travelers flying on United a lot. Available from my favorite bank HERE.
170k CHASE IHG Rewards Premier
Suddenly Chase came out and increased this offer from 140k points. The minimum spend is $4k in the first three months. The annual fee is $99 (not waived in the first year). You get a free night (worth up to 40,000 points) on each card anniversary. Automatic Platinum elite status. Card earns 10x points on IHG properties, 5x on travel/dining/gas stations and 3x on everything else. Once you spend $20k in a calendar year, you earn a $100 statement credit AND 10,000 bonus points. You also get up to $50 United TravelBank cash each calendar year. You get the fourth reward night free on any stay of 4 or more nights. You can earn Diamond status if you spend $40k on the card each year (please don’t). Global Entry/TSA Precheck fee credited in case you haven’t done this yet with another card. No foreign transaction fees. 20% discount on points purchases. There is another offer floating around online to earn 5 free night certs worth only 40k points each, pass. If you regularly stay in IHG Properties (like Holiday Inns) this is a solid card to get and keep. Other than that, if you like to diversify, this is not a bad haul (I think the highest ever points offer has been 175k) and the card pretty much pays for itself. If you want to help the blog check these offers from my favorite bank HERE.
100k CHASE IHG One Rewards Traveler
Just elevated from 80k offer. This is the no annual fee IHG card. The minimum spend is $2k in the first three months. Card earns 5x on IHG properties, 3x on dining/phone/gas stations/select streaming/internet and 2x on everything else. You earn 10,000 bonus points after $10k spend. You can earn Gold status after $20k in spend. Fourth night free on award stays. 20% discount on points purchases. No foreign transaction fees. If you hate credit card annual fees and don’t mind staying in a Holiday Inn a few nights for free, maybe this is a better fit? If you want to help the blog check these offers from my favorite bank HERE.
Please help the small independent blogs like mine continue to exist by supporting them with your CREDIT CARD clicks, thank you!
The 75K CAPITAL ONE Venture X card has a minimum spend of $4k in the first three months. If you like simplicity and looking for one (premium) card, I highly recommend this card (and yes, I have it myself!). It has an annual fee of $395 but it comes with an easy $300 statement credit for travel booked on its own travel portal, essentially turning it into a $95 annual fee card. But wait, there is more! On each card anniversary you earn 10,000 points essentially making it FREE! Every dollar of spend earns 2 points and flights booked on the travel portal earn 5 points per dollar. You get access to Capital One and Plaza Premium airport lounges and a Priority Pass Select lounge membership and, this is important, you can add FOUR authorized users FOR FREE who can also have their own Priority Pass Select airline lounge membership and, this is BIG, they can bring in unlimited guests with their FREE Priority Pass card! You can transfer your Capital One points to up to 18 Transfer Partners. No foreign transaction fees. Free Hertz President’s Circle rental car top elite status. Cell phone protection and PRIMARY rental car coverage. Awesome seats at baseball stadiums for just 5k points each. And lots more. If you prefer, this is my personal referral link.
Click on my TOP CREDIT CARD OFFERS to see a DETAILED explanation of the features of these cards.
Here are my three TOP CREDIT CARD OFFERS as of today:
The #1 Top Offer is the 75k Capital One Venture X card. It is amazing what you get for FREE with this card!
The #2 Top Offer right now is the 75k Chase Ink Business Unlimited card.
The #3 Top Offer right now is 75k CHASE Ink Business Cash card.
Learn more about these offers HERE.
BONUS OFFERS NOTIFICATIONS
Would you like to be automatically notified every time a card comes out with (or is about to remove) an elevated welcome offer? If yes, I highly encourage you to sign up if you haven’t yet. And when you apply for a credit card from a link in these emails you help support the blog (and you don’t have to hunt down the link in my Credit Cards page!)
Elevated Card Offer Notifications
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MY ACTION AND BLOG BUZZING
I am already up to 125,000 miles/points burned year to date. How it goes around here:
Son: Hey dad, I am going to Bali for a volleyball tournament that starts on Month/Date. I could be a little flexible arriving a bit earlier up to a week. I checked on Google Flights, crazy high prices, can you help?
Me: 10 minutes later. I see this route at only 37.5k American Airlines miles, you ok with it?
Son: Yes.
Me: Done. We’ll work on your return later, enjoy your flight 🙂
I actually did check Alaska Airlines just in case to see how many miles it would cost and it came out at 120k miles LOL. So, I guess I am sticking with using my Alaska Airlines miles to fly short distances on partner American Airlines only hehe. I need to focus on using up my American Airlines miles stash this year, preferably asap.
Also, I booked son plus one one night at the Cancun Four Points by Sheraton for 22,500 Marriott Bonvoy points on their way to yet another wedding. And this is how it rolls in the TBB household. One day I am looking forward to retire as the family travel agent lol.
I hit 10 Hyatt elite night credits after my one night in Boston and 4 coming from spend on the personal Chase Hyatt Visa. Throttling the next $5k of spend with it to hit $15k for the Free Night Cert and 2 more elite night credits. I am not seeing hitting 60 again to requalify as Globalist elite as I have a very bad feeling that the changes coming in this program will be very harmful to our hobby, I hope I am wrong. Also, about requalifying for Globalist, I was saying the same thing early last year too. And then we know what happened, I ended the year with 70.
I am no YouTuber material. But I did post two more videos of hotel room reviews. Both ended up as Reels and not Videos, I need to make them a bit longer. But they were not Suites so it was hard to manage to keep them even this long.
Blogging is rough these days. And my blog has been completely independent. I could go to Boarding Area and solve the “cover the blog costs” issue once and for all. But that will make my independence suffer and I am not having that. So, be aware of what is happening and the reasons so many small blogs die and how this space has been hijacked by bigger companies that probably do not have a fiduciary mindset. Meaning, you do not come first if it does not make business sense. You always come first here, thank God the day job pays well. Ok, long intro, here is the article from a small blogger residing in Boarding Area: Video Killed the Radio Star (but we’re not dead yet!).
I am still shocked about this NBA trade: Luka Doncic to Lakers, Anthony Davis to Mavs in 3-team trade. The only explanation I can find is that Luca’s injury is way worse or the Mavs executive was bribed by the Lakers organization. Or something like that.
So, a follow up to my feet issues. I have stopped physical therapy because I was just overpaying. I have been doing daily exercises that I found on YouTube and now up to 3 miles walking daily. Actually, in the last week or so, 0.5 miles of the 3 miles was light jogging. In the last two days, that has gone up to 1 mile jogging of the 3 miles. Progress! #keepthefaith. I did sign up for the University of Michigan Big House 5k run by the way so I guess I am training for it. Oh boy, training for a 5k, oh how the mighty have fallen.
Been a while since I had a music song recommendation. I recently heard again the song “Folitician” from UB40 and it still sounds so sweet after all these years.
My cousin in my hometown back in Greece was interviewed by a local TV station as she is the President of the gas station owners association (she took over from my dad and my uncle). During the interview she said after the interviewer teased her about when she will retire and she said “I can not relax, I have a problem”. I think this runs in our family genes lol.
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS:
75k CHASE Ink Business Cash, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture X, 75k CHASE Ink Business Unlimited, 100k CHASE United Business, 150k AMEX Business Platinum, 200k CAPITAL ONE Spark Cash Plus, 150k CAPITAL ONE Venture X Business, $1,000 Cash Back CHASE Ink Business Premier, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards, 90k CHASE Ink Business Preferred, 60k Chase Sapphire Preferred, 80k CHASE Southwest Performance Business, 15k AMEX Blue Business Plus and many more!
Learn How To Apply HERE to support the blog. Or email me if you have any questions about any cards, I’m happy to help, thank you!
As of today, I have burned 125,000 miles/points year to date (2,027,816 in 2024) and have 4,414,831 miles/points in the bank.
Remember, you are NOT allowed to ever carry a credit card balance!
Let me leave you with this:
Some of the links are behind a paywall. You can try to read them using Archive.is.
Thank you for reading my blog. If you enjoy it please forward it to a family member or friend. Or Buy Me a Coffee, thank you!
Feel free to contact me anytime at travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com, all feedback is very appreciated.
George
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Well done breaking the seal and getting the redemptions going for 2025. It’s been slow going in our household as the enthusiasm is low at the moment, tired from 2024 travels. That said I am off to Singapore this week in Singapore biz and returning Emirates biz both for points and a few bucks. But as people keep telling me, these points things, they just don’t work, can never get a redemption.
Go easy on the increase in jogging! Slow will win. Glad to see such a wonderful post with a lot of good reading!! I always appreciate it. Just got the OK for a second short school, this one in Bologna. Looks like I have about 2 months travel planned out and mostly locked down so far, and still no return ticket purchased! Departure time is closing in. 2/26 I am on my way. DC area for a few days then straight to Italy.
You’re mighty generous to be the family travel agent. I guess I am lucky that neither of the kids like to travel much , and one won’t fly at all!
Appreciate the reminder about the coffees. I haven’t spotted you any for a bit. I’ll try and rectify that shortly once at my desk.
Thanks, George, for all the time and work you put into this blog. It’s a gift, really.
Good morning Buzz,
It will be interesting to see the opportunities created for quick wealth once the current administration annihilates most things we hold sacred.
I’m with Vicky, just putting the finishing touches on a 2 month trip starting in May, all on points.
Thanks again for another great post. Good luck with your exercise routine and please don’t overdo it like the last time.
Have a great weekend!