We bring you the latest Chase Sapphire Reserve mania alert, Delta attacks with sales & new seats, visit Dubai’s rainforest inside a Hilton Curio Hotel, shake our heads at the FTC, shake our heads at the phenomenon named Bolt and more for YOU!
TBB Blog Mission: To Entertain. Educate. Inspire. In That Order!
One of those super slow days. Not much eclectic stuff to share so doing away with the separate BLOG BUZZ section, back to my roots!
We are entering the final phase of the hobby, it all started going downhill when these mega pumpers online expert salesmen invaded us and just started telling friends and family how to travel for free selling travel rewards credit cards for the fat commissions banks pay them. They are never letting up shoving plastic down readers’ throats as they do EVERY single day!
If you are super lucky maybe you can find some decent discounts on Delta Skymiles awards seats to Mexico and the Caribbean, good luck!
The miles/points world is abuzz with the 100k Chase Sapphire Reserve card. I mean, just imagine when Chase releases direct affiliate links to its sales rep Titan bloggers, it will make me lose it. Some argue that I am already losing it or have lost it completely. Not gonna argue. But you see this shit non stop by these so called “experts”.
Got bored so I got 18 year old son the Chase Sapphire Reserve card with MY links #winning. Saving 2 more spots for Chase cards before he is 5/24 limited too #sosad.
This new card certainly does not need direct affiliate links, this baby sells itself!
I almost choked in hazelnut coffee at Panera when I saw the news that Delta will have new Business Class Suites. I immediately checked the URL to see if I had drifted to the Onion website like I am known to do…
Travel Brands’ Influencer Campaigns Still Hide Too Much Says the FTC. Yeah, toothless FTC. “But few brands clearly label these posts as ads and many don’t make any disclosures that these people were paid for their posts.” You don’t say! Some online practices are just beyond disgusting, especially in our space #holdingnose
Personal Finance post of the day: The 2017 401k 403b IRA Contribution Limits Sadly, they remain mostly the same as in 2016, boo!
Dubai is building a rain forest inside a hotel. And it will be a Hilton Curio!
10+ Hilarious Reactions To Usain Bolt’s Winning Smile
And I leave you with this….Me bumping my imaginary intern for selling another CSP card lol.
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Hey Buzz-
Do you think if I get a Chase Sapphire Reserve card the gal down the street will have me over for drinks?
Definitely!
I also hear the card will cure world hunger as well.
I will have so much fun here beating up on the pumping machines when they sell the Amex Platinum and Citi Prestige cards LOL
Reminder: If you link to shit, you become shit. And TBB does not feature shit. Got it?
Enjoy the $ from the Surface Pros yesterday.
TBBon!
Gold medal for you!
Are you part of #TeamBlocked too? Seems to be quite the sizable group of people blocked by ultra thin skinned @renespoints.
Yep, “Renes” has the mentality and maturity of a 5 year old child. His list of blocked people must be longer than Richard Nixon’s enemies list! It’s no wonder Delta didn’t want their name associated with this crap blog – I’d be embarrassed to host it if I were BoardingArea but I guess it’s all about the clicks
I believe I was FIRST. Proudly 🙂
It’s all about the clicks. Just want to remind everyone that blog is a business, not a charity lol.
That is impressive!
You’re right they can’t stop pumping – Lucky even had time to pump while traveling back to the US for some sort of dire family emergency. Priorities!
They have quotas to meet so they must keep on pumping. That is the curse of direct affiliate links. Once you get them, you give up your soul to the Devil and you become a bank bitch. Reminds me of that hamster wheel where the hamster must keep on running so it does not off of it!
When you are a bitch, you do not inform your readers about the better Amex Platinum offers, Ameriprise anyone? And then so many bloggers like to kiss ass to get a back link from these blogs that they just shut up about these so obviously hideous conflicts of interest.
Can’t wait to make fun of these pumpers when the CSR comes out and they will still be trying to sell the Amex Platinum (40k offer=barf!) and Prestige cards. Oh man, what a joke that will be…
Thanks Buzz.
Waiting for the CSR link to come here.
Me too…
As my readers will be mostly 5/24 limited, I hope (if I ever get the indirect link) to get a few clicks from it. From you and my son at least haha.
Id be interested in reading how you got junior his cards. And if creativity was required.
This could have been a blog post but hey, don’t care about the clicks.
Has been AU on Chase Freedom for a few years, no SSN.
Got small student loan ON PURPOSE in first semester of freshman year, has been paying it off automatically every month. Only reason was to get his credit score built up!
Got him Discover it for College card as soon as he turned 18. Using it every month. Now I use it at Panera once or twice a month for him and I pay it off.
Got him AA Platinum card about 3 months after he turned 18. Instant approval. No problem for 60k AA miles (targeted). After meeting min spend, he now has the card and he uses it here and there for some one time expenses we cover and the occasional lunch/dinner.
Got him CSP card a few days ago. Instant approval. When I meet min spend, he will get the card and use it going forward while we cancel the AA Platinum card (after trying to get retainer a few times). He is on his own with this baby. I told him he can use the Chase Ultimate Rewards points (should be abt 60k) as he pleases. Which means he should now start getting into the habit of earning points by using this card and paying off the bill once a month instead of using Chase ATM card (checking account for college students, I am joint owner) and earning no points! Must do it gently. Kids this age feel more comfortable with debit cards. Which is probably a good thing. But he sure gets it now after flying Cathay Pacific Business Class and enjoying the lounges!
Credit score started at 750 when he turned 18! Got back to 700 and has been steadily rising every month every since, currently at 755 last time I checked.
Saving two Chase spots. Aiming for the CSR soon and next year for an Ink Plus. Will keep one Chase card going forward when all said and done, likely the Ink Plus.
Probably the brightest spot in this hobby is having your kid turn 18 🙂
Needless to say all the cards (assuming the best offers are available) will be from my links #winning
And now we make a run for the border, Taco Bell! He missed this the most after 2 months in Hong Kong, smh.
Yep, the CSP already shows up online in his account. Told him he will have about 60k UR points show up right below it. He asked “So, what I can do with these points”. I told him “Well, if you transfer them to United it is a round trip to Europe”. Before I finished my sentence, he said “I am going to Europe!”
I smiled. He has no idea what a lucky dude he is 🙂
Thanks for the very good info.
I don’t want to do the hassle of opening up a loan just to establish credit for the daughter. I’ve got the AU on 2 different cards for a couple of years now. Also, she went “solo” (almost) on a credit union card (I was cosigner) a year ago when she had a small job.
She has a summer job so I think this is a good time to apply. I’m thinking Discover (do you have a link, btw?) and then one of the juicy ones that you mention.
Finally, do you consult with junior on all your moves that you carry out for him? It’s kind of a hassle for me (as she is distant) and the kid does need to grow up and do this on her own, so I am torn here.
P.S. I’ll toss you the bone of opening cards through you (assuming htey are best, of course!)
I fully understand you dilemma!
You know your kids better than anyone. Every individual is different!
Key is to go slow and introduce this stuff to then as you deem appropriate they can handle it. This generation is very different. Not sure they have the necessary mind stamina and consistency needed to do this as methodically as we are proud to do. I mean, their attention span is so darn short!
I take care of the minimum spend with the first two cards. I handle the online accounting as well. I tell him to have a sandwich once each month with the Discover. He uses the AA card for school related items and just one time items we parents cover. Key is to keep using them at least once a month and keep building that credit history.
With the CSP card coming, I am going to take him to the mall and buy gift cards to speed up the minimum spend. Not sure if I am going to introduce the money order route yet, probably not. Then he gets the CSP card and he has been told he is on his own, including the almost 60k Ultimate Rewards points. So, I told him, you can use the debit card or use the CSP card and then pay the bill once out of your Chase checking account. He has allowed me online access to make sure the bill gets paid and just monitor his activity to make sure (heaven forbid) he does NOT miss a payment!
At some point we cancel the AA card after I try for a retainer bonus 🙂 I keep the Discover and do at least one Panera coffee per month, maybe some 5x categories of course too.
We have come to an agreement what we cover every year in school. This year we are taking it one step further. I paid the Fall tuition bill and transferred the remainder to his checking account and told him he is on his own until December 31st for everything. We cover his cell phone (in my family plan) and car insurance and that’s it. In early January we transfer all to him and he pays the tuition out of it so he feels the pain lol.
So far so good. He has two jobs, one teaching assistant and one as a note taker for handicapped students. Kid managed to get paid to take notes in his own classes, maybe he has some hacking genes lol.
Intend to keep the Discover for Students card forever…
Click on Credit Cards, click on the CreditCards.com banner, Click on “Card Type” on the top, click on “Discover” and Discover Card for Students is #5 on that page.
Everyone: Clicks matter. Choose your clicks wisely. Thank you for considering TBB. Hope this helps. Best.
Awesome. Thank you tons for taking the time to share all that with me.
Im gonna have mt daughter read your reply and we’ll discuss how to tackle it. I like your approach to it all.
Thanks again!
I get it. These selling Travelblogger suck. But you sound like a broken record. Don’t start to suck, too!
I am consistent!
The pumping has now reached deafening levels as bank restrictions have increased and MS tricks are getting killed….So I am just expressing what is going on. Keeping it real.
You sound like you-know-who, who tells us he “won’t pivot”!
LOL!
JamaicanReefer exiled. The king is dead, long live Jay Reef! Viva Jay Reef. Great post yesterday in Personal Finance. Read it several times, the key and the puzzle: Appropriate balance of diversified assets. The life after 401k is the part of the puzzle. My nowadays first rule of the 401k is to fill the 401k pretax. What comes next is the puzzle (roth, wealthfront, whatever). Yet what comes to my mind is that we are at top of the cycle. There are plentiful jobs and the mall lovers are attacking their favorite stores and the travel lovers are going in aspirational styles. Time to store cash I believe under the most lucrative conditions even if that means multiple accounts and occasional transfers and wait patiently till tomorrow, next year, 2 years, 3 years, we know what is coming.
My favorite saying is:
Nobody Knows.
Really.
Agreed yet I don’t believe we are falling apart tomorrow and opportunities to buy are presented only to those with loads of cash when the time comes. We have seen it many times in the past and will see it in the future again. In some parts of the world such as EU the banks currently do not provide any interest any longer. Even term negative interest has been coined and placed into effect. However we are currently blessed with many bank accounts (although balances cannot be large and various little steps must be produced) generating 3-4-5% without actually investing into any stocks bonds or materials. This a secure predictable investment unless of course we are all going down the drain arming up with AR15 and AK47 starting Mad Max X 🙂
Not going to bother to open accounts that have these rates for small balances, have too many unread #’s in Feedly to keep this baby up!
We sure live in interesting times, very unique investing environment.
I am an eternal optimist when it comes to this stuff. People think I am such a pessimist but it is only for this hobby!
What makes me even more of an optimist lately is that there is SO much bitching and whining going on. People, US is doing great overall. The future is so bright I gotta wear shades!
I have never seen this before, thanks PointsCentric and the fine folks at Reddit circa 2013
This list is from back in 2013 but it can give you a general idea of what kind of motivation that bloggers can have when recommending cards. This is a big business, trust r/churning, not the bloggers.
[EDITED BY TBB MANAGEMENT: To see the list, please click on the link near the end of this post: https://pointscentric.com/2016/08/17/my-thoughts-on-the-chase-sapphire-reserve-its-100k-signup-bonus/ Thank you for understanding, please see comment below. Apologies to Ramsey, no offense intended!]
In this context CSR will make you feel like a luxury prostitute.
But this can’t be – we’ve been assured by ingy, Renes, Randy Petersen, gleff, and other pumping bloggers that they are only in this for love of the hobby and to help a few friends and family!!! No blogger would ever make a profit from blogging!! LOL!
Thanks for posting this is really enlightening!
To Ramsey and TBB readers:
With very heavy heart I decided to edit Ramsey’s comment and delete the entries with specific dollar amounts. Here is why:
Fellow blogger emailed me that he got canned by these very same creditcardsdotcom Compliance team after a phucking rat alerted them to it. He advised me to take them down asap. I have done so and inserted the link to the blog post where you can find them. To play along this murky world, we agree never to discuss in public the compensation rates! Have you ever wondered why these are considered sacred? Hint: Ask me anything you want in person, preferably after some beverages 🙂
These rates have been around forever and are very old. In general, $$ rates have come down. Ever wondered why the rates of that bank run by Jamie are missing?
Also read the link in today’s blog post by Running With Miles, it is right on. In short, the BIG bucks are with the direct affiliate links and those are given only to mega pumpers who, in turn, to keep the gravy going they must meet sales quotas…therefore the non stop pumping!
I know I thread a very thin line. In one hand, I despise the shilling and what it has done to my dear hobby. But I understand it as the economics behind it are so ridiculous! Amazon most months does not break double digits. I get no check from Randy for my page views every month. I get some cc apps every month and my own familia is my biggest customer! I trick Mrs. TBB with some good nights out to keep me going but I am sensing she is getting tired by my “I got to finish the blog post for tomorrow” excuse lol.
Ask me anything you want, just don’t post anything here that some rats will jump on to rat me out, thank you!
In the gravy trains of CC land, some certain business cards were paying a lot more! That was when TPG decided to stop doing award bookings for free and then for $75 🙂
Back to regular programming…
Waiting for the haters to jump on me now…proudly lol.
One more to add:
Before Ramsey posted his comment, I had this Pointcentric post LEADING tomorrow’s post with pointed instructions to check out “that” link. Word!
Pow! Right in the penis
Buzz, use this instead…..will get more Hits than Pete Rose……..
http://imgur.com/gallery/SOnDtsL
Out of all uniform colors…really?
There have been some really sweet Olympic spirit moments in the past few days ever since that cowardly Hope Solo act, great to see.
Buzz-
Help us, please. How can we hang on until the CS Reserve card is released on Sunday? There are tonight 50,912 readers on the Reddit Churning discussion. It’s like having the wagons circled and waiting for the Native Americans to strike.
It’s quiet out there. Too quiet.