We show you ways to get Marriott Platinum status, get ready for Uber gift cards, learn of West Elm getting into the hotel business, tell you what to do not go get screwed over, read a fascinating story of a dude who hacked a TV game show decades ago, marvel at landscape photos, bring you the best Business Class airlines & more for you freeeeeeeeeee!
TBB Blog Mission: To Entertain. Educate. Inspire. In That Order!
4 new shortcuts to get Marriott Platinum status. This just in: Marriott exec assigned action items to intern how to plug these holes 🙂
Skift’s headline “Marriott and Starwood Loyalty Members Caught Off Guard by Integration After Merger” is, well, pretty close to reality. If I was an exec at Hilton, Hyatt and IHG Rewards…I would be thinking of ways to poach SPG members who are undoubtedly going to get pissed off at some point…
WTF News of the day was that West Elm, a home furnishings retailer, is going to start a hotel chain, wow! The first West Elm Hotels are slated to open in late 2018 in the following cities: Detroit; Minneapolis; Savannah, Georgia; Charlotte, N.C.; and Indianapolis. If they want a consultant to help design a loyalty program…I am much cheaper than “experts” and thought leaders lol.
How to Not Get Screwed Over. Excellent wrap up on what you should do if you have a complaint against an airline or hotel via Mile Nerd.
I guess Uber gift cards are coming…I could sneakily try to throw in my code on the link just like so many do to make money off their readers by cheer leading them to buy miles and points from the source which is something that, if you are a human being and do things right in this hobby, is something you should never do!
The Man Who Got No Whammies. Drop everything. Stop. Read this, it is a MUST read. Is this the original hacker or what? Of course, the dude was no good but what he did still is one of those things that was simply amazing! He basically killed a TV game “Press Your Luck” all by himself:
For the contestant, the show’s catchphrase, “Big bucks, big bucks, no Whammies!”, had just come to fruition: in an era where no single contestant ever won more than $40,000 — not even those competing on the ever-popular The Price In Right, or Wheel of Fortune — Larson had earned $110,237 ($253,000 in 2015 dollars).
Man caught using mannequin torso to cheat California carpool lane. What an asshole! And yes, there is a photo…you can’t believe how shocking it is when you click 🙂
Not recommending this guy’s investment newsletter by the way. But this piece titled “You don’t know anything” is absolutely wonderful and must read if you are interested in personal finance and investing more specifically!
An informational advantage is fleeting. Â Nothing lasts forever, and an edge in the investing world has a half-life that rivals francium (which is 22 minutes). Â There are simply too many people and too many dollars looking for more dollars. Â This is not unlike the washout that happened in the poker world.
The problem is we delude ourselves into thinking that by exhaustively researching a company we can rest confidently on our knowledge and make superior decisions. Â I have news for those who believe this, whatever you think you know is nothing, you don’t know squat!
I think sometimes we’re blinded by how much we think we know that we don’t realize how little we know. Â Sit back for a moment and contemplate how much we don’t know. Â You really have NO idea about what anyone is thinking, or what anyone else’s motivations are for anything. Â This extends beyond acquaintances to even to our spouses and kids. Â I can ‘know’ my family by living with them and observing their patterns. Â It allows me to understand how they think, but I never really know what anyone is thinking. Â When people tell us what they’re thinking we don’t have a way to know if that’s true or if it’s a lie. Â Maybe it’s partially true and partially a lie, we will never know. Â For anyone with kids you’re probably nodding along with me. Â We think we know our kids, but we really have zero understanding as to what drives some of the wacky decisions they make. Â We see them daily but we have no idea what’s going on in their head.
Being an outside investor shouldn’t be hard work, if it is you’re working too hard or looking for an edge in little nooks and crannies. Â The key is to take in all relevant measurable information, the company’s financial statements and then make a judgement call on the company’s valuation. Â Points aren’t rewarded to those who read 15 years of annual reports. Â Rather points are rewarded to those who can make accurate probability judgements. Â All that’s required for that is a bit of common sense and some patience.
Most Beautiful Landscape Photos. There are some mind blowing photos here, wow! The one below by fellow travel hobbyist Hans Mast.
Look at this…The change in 10 years! HT: The Big Picture.
The 10 best business class airlines in the wold. I admit I check these out just to see who is on them while sometimes shaking my head to oblivion screaming “how did XYZ make it on this list?” I will be trying out #1 Qatar (!!!) and #8 Turkish next month!
Things you learn at conferences: MMS has a staff of seven to eight. Including a Managing Editor. I so miss the credit card cautionary language inserted at the top of each credit card sales post lol.
And I leave you with this…
Please help bloggers you appreciate & make a positive difference in your life by spreading the word about their blogs, emailing and commenting and using their few $ links, thank you!
Check out my updated blog lists: Blogs I Love, Blogs I Like, Blogs To Ignore
TBB
travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com
Follow TBB on Twitter @FlyerTalkerinA2
You can subscribe to TBB below, winners only!
A staff 7 or 8? I am surprised because it appears for all the numbers that the public could see (like traffic, where they click, etc) that MMS would not be half as successful, financially, as the TPG operation is. Wonder who those writers are?
In this conference there were MANY of these writers out there looking for work assignments. They even had a separate “session” titled Marketplace. Someone could make a good living doing just that, writing as a ghost writer!
Have you really never flown Turkish?! They are really pretty nice to fly – not to mention that awesome lounge! 🙂 I will be taking Qatar from Greece next month to the US. Looking forward to that as it has been about 4 years since I last flew on them.
I have flown Turkish in Economy and a short Business class from SKG to IST. This will be first Business class flight across the pond and, finally, 8 hours in the IST lounge!
If you need to rest while you are there (if your flight does not qualify for the suites to sleep in – I missed it by 5 minutes on the schedule of my flights last time), head to the theater. I slept in there for a couple of hours last time very comfortably!
Enjoy it!
Only did one TATL on TK — the food was awesome and I guess I got lucky because I had a really nice crew. As a solo traveler, the seat config leaves *MUCH* to be desired as my seat opponent was (a) a talker and (b) a flip-flopper so not much sleep for me.
The lounge is cool for the first 3 hours or so and then it’s time to find a corner and hibernate…
I was hoping they have some beds…like in cabanas or something so I can sleep laid down 🙂
I’m starting to think you keep this blog for the credit card links…
What else would it be?
The groupies?
The fun at myself talking about my links?
The desire to create something that will make the world a better place?
Keeping out of trouble by blogging instead of doing troublesome things?
The interaction with readers here and in real life?
The tax deductions for blog “related” travel?
The opportunity to get paid to get own credit cards?
The additional EIN—>get more miles/points?
The opportunity to play off my celebrity travel blogger status to squeeze more bennies out of hotels?
The fantasy of getting a buyout offer?
Groupies…definitely the groupies!
Actually, the last 2 months the CSR has provided some real money for this blog that is not beer/dinner money. I like it. BUT, you know, it is the CSR…the card that sells itself! When bonus goes away we are back to doing this for minimum wage…and I am cool with it.
You asked, I answered.
Great answer. Yeah, my husband was one of those CSR apps. Enjoy the loot.
Yes it was…a few hours before I got some news…looks like the beer money will not be lasting too much longer around here…
Thanks for the CSR app! If it wasn’t for those…doing it for all the above would not have kept me for sooooo long 🙂
Now I go about dreaming about the groupies…
Nate Silver.
Adjusting the %’s after the debate I see….Too busy to type more?
It was nice to meet you!
I sure enjoyed meeting you too!
A guy in Denver was caught using a dummy in the HOV lane. The judge made him go out and stand by the side of the HOV entrance in rush hour with a sign “Don’t be a dummy”.
Restorative justice they call it.
I like it!
Really? MMS has a staff of 7 to 8? lol, are they the same ones that work for Bankrate-pointsguy? Like TPG, the MMS blog seems to be always late by 2-3 days about stuff other titans talk about.
And do they still use his templates with cheesy pictures, many exclamation marks, and 3rd grade writing? Man, I want that job..
Apparently, that is what sells 🙂
There are some other nuggets from this conference session I may throw out here and there…
What could 7 to 8 actually do?!
I have just hired a full time person, but she will mainly be doing stuff that other blogs don’t do – organising competitions, attending press conferences and PR events, doing hotel and flight reviews etc. Very little HFP writing. I will still, on my own, churn out 50% of the daily TPG volume and more than MMS churns out.
I have no plans to hire anyone anytime soon.
Actually, after today’s changes, it is a matter of time before I find something else to do…
With month to date revenue from Amazong at $74…just won’t cut it anymore…
#hints
“Today’s changes”???
Was their a seismic event I missed??
Yugely interested, I am!
I can’t say much…well, read tomorrow, between the lines. Barthdude #hint
http://mashable.com/2016/09/23/goat-man-wins-award/#7ictc_m3FEqR
All your comments are now showing…no idea why they were caught as spam!
To all:
If your comment does not appear here when you post it…it was caught in spam! I never go in that folder unless you let me know about it, just too many viagra spam in there, it’s a zoo!
I just unspammed several comments, sorry about that, especially to Charlie and Ramsey! NO CLUE why they were caught in it, no clue! Maybe I should update the plugins or something.
Oh oh…Expect A LOT of bloggers dropping out in the very near future…
So what is this “shakeout” you keep referring to?
Changes apply to small bloggers. You are not aware of them because they do not apply to you 🙂
See hinting comment above to GL.
Met the Ben dude (NOT the Titan), nice guy.
RE carpool lane: I couldn’t help but think about the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where Larry picks up a street walker so he could make the Dodger game (justifying use of the carpool lane). It’s on youtube I think – very funny indeed!
That sounds very funny!
Is it true? 10 card sales per month? All the JV bloggers in Boarding Area are going back to working for the man…100%.