We report on Anbang coming back to steal SPG from Marriott, Virgin America gets takeover love from JetBlue & Alaska Airlines, learn about the Vipassana meditation & more!
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I am not finding much worthy stuff to share with you. I think blogs are just going down and/or I am being more eclectic. Probably both. So I just lay it all out here…
Well, well, well. As I informed you here all along, the counter offer by Chinese conglomerate giant Anbang for Starwood came and, as expected, it is all cash and it is higher than what Marriott was offering. If the Marriott deal collapses, Marriott walks away with a cool $468 million. I mean, how cool is that? Something starts to smell here you guys.
I wonder if Marriott will pay some of that back to the Starwood executives who were going to make a killing on this deal. Then you add that this Chinese company is something unlike we have ever seen and lets not stop there…I am going full conspiracy mode now. One of the partners in PJT, one of the private equity companies involved in this deal, was just indicted for securities fraud of $25 million (he tried to get another $70 million, hey he needed help to pay the bills, maybe he ran a blog lol). Someone is being taken to the cleaners here…Time will tell as it always does. BREAKING: Wall Street Journal has published a front page article titled “Starwood’s Mysterious Suitor”. Google it, must read. I told you these guys are…not normal!
In the meantime, your eyes will be relentlessly attacked by even more ridiculously pathetic attempts to sell the SPG cards like there is no tomorrow (there is). Just when you thought some of these blogs could not get even lower by pumping their readers YET one more time with the SAME credit cards…well, you are wrong again and again. BARF!
Okay, that above should have been in the MILESBUZZ section but sometimes I just can not control myself. Thanks for understanding. Screw it, I blend it all in now in this post. So what, cost me a few Alexa ranking numbers? Bwahahaha.
Some deals all in one spot via Mile Nerd.
This is a great post “How to book American Airlines Flights with Citi Thank You Points“. Not only that but it also goes into more details with the other TY partners. Well done again at MileCards. It goes to show you that you don’t have to turn into a screaming pumping machine selling/abusing your readers every freaking day! Breathe TBB, breathe!
I think we will be seeing more of this sadly: Airlines Look to Wider Redemption Options for Loyalty Programs. I have been known to say that you should burn your miles/points the way YOU want. But please, some of these are and will be even more ridiculous! Don’t play their game, play to win (as long as we still can…I am about to cry now).
Apparently both Alaska Airlines and JetBlue are looking to buy out Virgin America. My gut feeling is they are looking to buy it for a few bones. In the grand scheme, who really cares! Full Disclosure: I am not a Travel thought leader. Actually, I am not a leader in anything at all. And I won’t hold you back from making me a leader in my few crappy links #smooth #facepalm.
No more $160 reciprocity fee for US visas to Argentina. That Obama guy is ruining everything! 🙂
Have you ever disconnected from the world for 10 days straight and subjected your body to extreme pain and other sensations? I recently heard about this meditation technique from Out and Out who is doing a series based on his experience with Vipassana. Then I was blown away reading this post, spiders and all, by Legal Nomads: “Silence and Spiders: 10 days at a Vipassana Meditation Course“. Wow, highly recommended reading. The thought of doing without a wifi for a day, let alone a few hours, is a lot more terrifying to me than a few spiders creeping along with my sore muscles. Congrats to both for making it through, I am in awe!
AIRTime on Vimeo. 4k Drone Worldtrip. 12 countries. There are not enough WOWs here you guys, absolutely gorgeous video!
How Sex Workers Get Paid. I found this a fascinating read and very educational. It may have some applications to our hobby perhaps, think gift cards? #kidding
My never fail source for MOs is pretty much dead, it went “it’s a gift card, must be a debit card linked to a bank account”. Looks like they all received the same training. Come on people, how about our rights to travel for free? Okay, you get the idea it’s just rough out there…
Wow, so dry out there…I am completely out of bookmarked links to feature here! Wait, just found this one with pics of every day life in North Korea.
Best part of this blog is when you receive an email by a reader telling me they used my credit card links and they are thanking me for what I do here TBBing.
And I leave you with this…
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Back on top?
Unbelievable, these people. I’ll take silver, please
Bronze!
Marriott Bad!
Anbang Good!
TBB Board had an urgent meeting called to order and decided no medal can be awarded to “Anonymous”. So congrats to the Phelps of TBB comments, Helmhotz who can’t believe it (neither can I!0 and by default GringoLoco who sneaks into the Bronze!
Clap, clap, clap #respect
Not good enough today (ever?) for a medal.
Maybe I’ll blame that damned mail monkey who didn’t send me an email today?
Shoot, you are right, it did NOT go out. I have no idea WTF is wrong with this again. Time to pay the consultant again….This is just getting really sad now!
Email sent at 5.27 pm. Thanks for letting me know.
just want to show off my new gravatar
F Lying Ted
We need to speak about your campaign manager.
We also need to speak about your wife…what does she see in you? Oh wait…
F lying Ted, had affairs with 5, wonder if he had 5 Ashley Madison accounts too 🙂
Hey Buzz, question to your readers and you… I have the Amex Platinum, SPG Business, Ink+, Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Mileage Explorer. I am going to get the SPG personal too and I plan on getting the Crystal Infinite Visa. I am going to get rid of Mileage Explorer and the Platinum when the AF is about to hit. I was planning on getting the Arrival+ until SPG increased their sign-up. I am an Airbnb fan as it fits my budget more often than not, with occasional Choice Privilege and Starwood (low end categories). What would be the best card for things like staying at Airbnb, where I don’t have to keep paying out of pocket for it? Would the Barclaycard Arrival+ be a good move? My strategy is to stop churning and start putting spend on the cards I plan on keeping, with a little bit of MS here and there.
AirBnB? Blasphemy! We Vendomers don’t tolerate that sort of proletariat hovel lodging.
The shame!!! TBB, please excuse this guy for soiling your blog post section.
Seriously though, me too, and there’s no way to game it, unless you took advantage of the AMEX offers late last year. (And if you dont know what I mean, google it)
Haha, thanks bluecat. Yep, I know what you mean with the Amex offers, I will have to re-visit that. It would be cool if there was an Airbnb CC out there. Wishful thinking, I know.
I once converted Amex MR points to an airbnb certificate – it was $125 for 10,000 points. None of the other transfer partners appealed.
As bluecat points out, there’s not currently an Airbnb card, so you’re paying for it out of flexible bank points (UR/MR/Arrival/TY/CapOne) or straight cash. Get a card (or an occasional sign-up bonus) that gets the most in those categories.
Nothing wrong with the Arrival card, especially in the first year!
Good luck getting that Crystal card!
I think we will see an Airbnb card, just a gut feeling. Since I am not a leader in anything at all, I would not bet on this and/or its timing lol.
Seriously George, Why do you think your blog earnings are so much lower than the big blogs that make thousands per day and you make 61 cents?
You ask your readers at least three or 4 times per day to support your blog on twitter? You are constantly making remarks in the comments and text about supporting TBB.
II know there is some difference in the commissions paid on creditcards.com and the direct links, but the income difference appears to be huge?
Why don’t your readers support you?
What do you really think is the reason you don’t earn anywhere near what they do?
If I had to make a guess, it’s because They have legions of new-to-pretty-much-new readers who click blithely and repeatedly, while George has headed straight for the savvy “audience” — i.e., people who know very well when their clicks can benefit themselves better elsewhere.
Because my readership is limited as I am not known for being overly commercial? Or maybe it is because my readers are advanced and have had many of these cards before and can’t get them again like the newbie masses most blogs on the Ignore list tend to target? Or maybe it is because I don’t have the time to do SEO things, cozy up to other bloggers for backlinks/HTs/interviews/etc. Or it is because I can’t stand any ads on my blog. Or maybe it is because I like to call my own shots and not sign up under a blog network where I would probably make a lot just by the ads? Or, hint, all of the above!
4 times per day, really? Are you counting? Wow. Thank you for reading and following!
Yes there is a difference and it is yuge.
I earn enough now to keep entertaining myself and my readers. It is all about the journey dude, don’t take everything so seriously, sheesh!
Thank you for reading and following my Twitter feed so closely.
If you see the Troll, say hello 😉
Previously George has stated that he doesn’t earn money on this blog because his readers are all ungrateful freeloaders.
Taking my words out of context again….or you just like to phuck with me again as usual.
Ungrateful freeloaders: Yep, they are everywhere, it’s da Internet. So are blog haters. Welcome online.
I expanded on that in the new post. Closing this with “Last” to mess with dhammer53. So there…
Are you one of them? You probably are “Mr, I never click on affiliate links”. Yawn…
Oh I don’t follow you on Twitter. I can see all you requests for support on your Twitter feed embedded in your blog
I’ve told Buzz over and over that he needs to start taking more pictures of toilets, tarmacs, and letting readers know whether he turned right or left as he got off the elevator. Also, bitching about the size of the lime they give you wouldn’t hurt either-hell, we all know size matters, right?
Troll? Did somebody see the Troll? If so, let me know-I have something important to ask him.
Someone suggested I turn my wife into Emily holding gift cards and SPG cards in front of kiosks. Naaah 🙂
Oddly enough American Express is having IT difficulties posting credit card to frequent flier accounts. When I talked with a rep this morning she said this has been something AEx has
experienced for the last week or ten days. (That’s consistent with the delay I’ve seen.)
I’ve not seen any notice of this on a couple commercial blogs (the ones “to ignore”) but perhaps I’ve just looked in the wrong places. One would have though that the credit card venders would be all over this.
Amex customer service has gone to hell. It was the best.
The commercial blogs just want to make that sale, they could care less about writing stuff like that…it would slow conversions! As an old Titan mega pumping machine once said: “It’s ALL about conversions”.
Blogosphere has gone to hell…what am I going to bring you guys? Just more whining? 🙂
Hello.
Buzz your go to MO place went bad on you ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
That is news, dying to know what it was.
Hit my max on Ink for the year and taking a breather now. Kind of nice not to have to rush around to Staples and WM all the time.