TRAVEL
10 Spectacular Overhanging Rocks. WOW! By The World Geography. Love this one!
The Caves of Puerto Rico. In Camuy River Region. By Seriously for Real?
21 Photos that will take you to the Edge of the World. By Dashburst.
Warning: This is a link to a site of Chris Elliott! I think it is a fantastic resource with Customer Care contact names and way to contact them. You can jump straight to the airlines and hotels!
Apparently you can get some great deals to the Maldives from Chinese travel websites! Check out this post by Travel Virtuoso (for some reason I can’t add the site to my Feedly list!) Knowing Chinese helps a lot too!
MILES/POINTS
Well, another cat is out of the bag. Vanilla Reload cards can be found at 711 stores. Some will allow you to purchase them with a mileage earning credit card. Some 711s with gas stations (and some not!) are coded as, well, gas stations which allow some credit cards to earn 2 points per dollar with specific cards (envision a bunch of imaginary affiliate links RIGHT HERE, CHACHING ME BABY). And of course this quarter’s 5 points per dollar category of the Chase Freedom card is…Gas Stations! I elaborate rant further on this unavoidable deal killing tactic in the Blog Buzz section below.
Visa Supplier Locator. How Visa categorizes the businesses it works with. Good website to bookmark. HT to this post by Will Run for Miles. I had deleted this bookmark but now I need it:-)
So, I guess we all breathed easier when United came out with the Mercedes Benz partnering announcement. But noooooo…United said that was not it! So, it is okay to go back to freaking out that the end is near!
ON MY MIND
I have started writing my Norway trip report! And I think it may snow today in Ann Arbor, Michigan! I am actually all the way up to beginning my first full day in Norway. I could have spent all this time learning about monetizing but I didn’t. Just saying:-) I am finding, for me, writing trip reports are up there with the equivalent of giving birth (hey, I was there…twice!). I will NOT break them up in multi installments to have filler material for you guys. I will post the darn Bible in one massive post in a separate page and you can read at your own pace and risk! It will justify my travel blogging business tax deductions. Doing great there by the way; not so great with the revenues at all so far!!
ODDZ & ENDZ
How clutter affects you and what you can do about it. By the ooomf Blog. Very interesting. Clients call me Clutter Buster for a reason. But I can certainly use some digital clutter busting myself too!
Wonderful smeared skies made from hundreds of stacked photos by Matt Molloy. By Francesco Mugnai.
21 Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity. This is part of the “Inspire” mission here at TBB.
BLOG BUZZ
It happened again. Some obscure blog finds a deal, publishes it and then some big time blogger links to it. And then every blogger feels compelled to report the same story. Yep, you guessed right. I am talking about the 711 stores with Vanilla Reload Cards. Is it just a coincidence that this obscure blog’s only post is about this deal AND there is a tab “Credit Cards” up there telling us they are coming soon? Sure they are! And here we go again, we have seen this movie before folks. I am sure there will be some idiots who will click on them links when they appear (probably much sooner than you expect!). I hope readers here think a bit harder before they click on them and try to reward bloggers who at least do their best to follow good blogging practices! And it is almost certain that some hogs will go nuts on this and kill the deal for everyone! But it appears 711 stores allow one Vanilla Reload card at the time? And many permit the purchase via cash only, so ymmv.
I also despise strongly dislike bloggers who offer contests and then allow MULTIPLE entries! All that tells me is that they want to increase the traffic on their site! Which creates a heck of a lot more entries which are inversely correlated to your chances of winning. In other words, DO NOT BOTHER! I never bother with multiple entry contest, NEVER! I only bother with daily contests if the prize is, say, a car! Show some respect for your readers and do not waste their time for your own gain. Oh, yeah, how nice you passed on that bunch of swag! Nothing personal.
Another credit card fest over the weekend at The Points Guy.
first!
Well it is Monday tomorrow so it is summer High School time for Jeff? 🙂
second
Up from 5 to 2…progress;-)
George, I am a second-year student at the University of British Columbia. You should know better 😛
You must be on an accelerated path for gifted students then;-)
That is correct 😀
TPG is a pimp
I could only buy one VR at 711 earlier. I’ll have to go back tomorrow and hope they’re not gone yet.
Let me know…I am doing one at a time
all the annoying stuff you mentioned today was spot on. good work tonight.
Well,thank you. Blogging is a release from pent up frustrations and internal inadequacies;-)
TBB I think you are great, but sometimes you shoot first ask questions later? You’re probably griping about the VFTW giveaway today which allows multiple entries? I hate these “enter as many times as you want” contests, too, mostly because I’m not going to sit there and enter 1000 times over and over so the prize probably goes to someone that can. But in this case I think you’re off the mark.
VFTW is picking the winner based on best tips, so extra entries don’t increase chances of winning, he’s just saying you can add more than one tip. And there are going to be fewer tips to choose from than a contest that’s, like, “what’s your favorite color? hit the comments!” will since it’s asking for specific tips ABOUT FRESNO for gawd’s sake. Entering 1500 times won’t increase the chance of winning if you’re just looking to pick the best tip.
But have more than 1 tip? I don’t see the problem with sharing that other than it means you’ve probably spent WAY too much time in Fresno.
Not sure the theory about extra clicks works. Do refreshes by the same user count as additional ad views? Do bloggers who generate BentOffersBucks even care about ad views? Seems like as they’d say in the Zimmerman trial, “assumes facts not in evidence” no?
Ok, maybe I was a bit harsh. I am still traumatized by those legendary FT and MP post fests Randy had done. I remember me getting into the act by giving constant updates what my pet giraffe was doing:-)
And Fresno, come on? Well, it could have been Cleveland I guess (waiting to stir up some passionate post from a Cleveland based reader, hehe).
I avoid entering contests that somehow are NOT one-time entries. I will enter a daily entry contest if the prize is a car or something that big! Any contest that is based on a skill, popularity, daily/unlimited entry is pretty much a waste of time and done only for the benefit of the entity holding the contest…I value my time a bit more than that. My reaction was an instantaneous reaction and wrote what came to my head.Many times stupid and wrong thing comes to my head. But I love releasing them out to the world on my blog because it is…all mine:-)
There is no doubt in my mind extra clicks WORK. I don’t have scientific proof behind it but, if that was not the case, they would not have these types of contests!
Thanks for reading and commenting. Keep me honest:-)
Ingy writes ONCE A WEEK and today we get a contractor wanting to overcharge him for modifying his bathtub?? That’s his ONE SHOT to educate miles and points blog readers? I want to slit my wrists. It’s my own fault. I still read it thinking one day there will be something useful there, that maybe Arianna will make it better. And Ingy has EDITORS now, they thought the post was somehow worth fulfilling his once a week contractual obligation??
I Love the handle. I should have bought the name and started another blog with affiliate links 🙂
Sorry you missed the point of the post. It is all about family and taking care of one another. If my word of caution saves one reader or a family member from getting ripped off, then the post was worth much more than the miles tip you missed.
I’ll be honest once Rick stopped providing the content I stopped reading the blog. He and it were excellent when he was in charge of it. Now its not a very good resource.
It stopped being useful a year before he sold it.
Rick(the person, not the blog): Come on, are you so much out of ideas of topics to write about? What was that today? It is like me coming here and giving financial advice to newlyweds? If I can reach just one newly wed couple my post would have been worth it? 🙂
Does IB have a right of refusal of your posts and say “Nope, try again”. Probably not.
I liked the message and it can help people no doubt. Just kind of weird seeing it in the Frugal TRAVEL Guy blog, that’s all. Nothing personal dude, just making an observation as a blog reviewer
Gotta go make a 711 run, see ya:-)
Absolutely they can refuse what I post. They own the blog. That concept seems so difficult for some to perceive?
And as far as TRAVEL? as a senior, I travel to the bathroom three or four times a night:) I should get status on segments.
>>>>>>>>as a senior, I travel to the bathroom three or four times a night:) I should get status on segments.
That was SUPER funny, I am still laughing!!! I also noticed in my 40s my trips to the bathroom are substantially increased from my first three decades on this planet! Thank God Delta has not gotten a hold of our bathrooms for MQDs lol.
lol! Does that loyalty program honor frequency or amount spent? 😉
BTW, thanks to my current newspaper subscription (10000 M&M miles for 12 weeks of quality broadsheet journalism for 98EUR) I currently don’t read any blogs on my commute to work. Its a bliss: just Merkelbashing, but no blogger bashing… 🙂
Rick, I was laughing about the bathroom thing too! Not just reserved for seniors! As a young(er) runner, I still travel a few times during the night as well. Hope it doesn’t get a lot worse with age…
that’s the spirit Ingy.. I’m glad you stopped your troll like behavior and started making it fun for all of us. We like you but not the affiliate link practices.
Does anyone know the phone number for 1800flowers.com?
Google it:-)
My blog is running a contest for 2 Southwest drink coupons. This contest allows multiple entries.
The contest is: “I know I was in Vegas when…”
So far there are just ten entrants so you have pretty good odds of winning. Plus the opportunity to offer up a great Vegas story. Just suggesting another perspective here.
Another rule I go by…No entering contests for Southwest drink coupons:-)
TBB, speaking of the FTG, I’m considering writing another article for IB in the next couple of weeks. Just a heads up to you and the only other poster that commented on the story. < #Doesn'tHaveAnEgo
Sorry to post so early in the morning instead of late in the evening, when no one is reading. 😉
I would charge IB, I hear they have deep pockets;-)
Ha! Where did you get that idea? Their budget was all spent on buying websites from you know who 😉
😉
Cheese is being fried in the background…again lol
Contest for 2 SWA coupons? SO WHAT! I have a contest for a pair of sox!!!!
Sox fashionista you!!
United Miles Are The Best. No Debate……. is the title of today’s blog from TRAVEL IS FREE The Ultimate Guide to United Miles: Part 29…………….is the title from today’s blog at MMS. Where are conspiracy theorist Agenda Guy, Oliver Stone and Jesse Ventura now when you need them?
I noticed that! Maybe TIF (the blog) just did the executive summary on his blog?.
I should have a contest how many parts the United series will be on MMS? I say, hmmm, considering Lufthansa was over 10 (if I remember well, lost interest after the first few parts!) I say: Nine. Anyone? The winner gets the Southwest drink coupons FishingforDeals will provide lol.
I call 13 parts
Hey guys. Southwest now offers lemon flavored VitaminWater, so I wouldn’t pass this up so lightly if I were you.
Yeah, the city choices for the National contest were difficult. The picked under-appreciated cities on purpose, and I was glad to have Tucson given the other options.
Tuscon has to be better than Fresno:-)
I am Rick I. I pimped more affiliate income links than anyone except MMS. I still troll other blogs trying to defend myself from the “angries”…but when I realized they couldn’t be silenced I sold the blog to a bunch of idiots who post on home improvement projects. *Slow clap*
For all, BIG News. Charles Ramsey buys a BMW and then runs out of money!!!
http://www.businessinsider.com/charles-ramsey-broke-and-used-donations-to-buy-bmw-2013-7?utm_source=feedburner&utm_campaign=Feed:%20businessinsider%20%28Business%20Insider%29&utm_content=bufferc5171&utm_medium=twitter
Et Tu, TBB, Et Tu?
Dude you blew the dough on a BMW???
Another “Angry” Speaks.
Yawn.
Sold long before the “Angries” appeared
And you were all doing so much better?
Rick: Try my method of responding to “angries”, it’s a lot more fun and will reduce outbursts. Your method of responding just…invites more. Think about it;-)
For the record, this term “angries” is soooo misleading!
Need to suit up for my soccer game tonight. For all who try to be the first commenter…it is going to be a loooong night!
Love that response Ingy. Enjoy the Lambos and Ferraris. Don’t give a rat’s poop about the angries 🙂
Do you have an in with any of the big banks? If so just talk to TBB offline and start squeezing his bealls a bit and throw a carrot here and there. He will fold. Weak sauce. An easier route to the constant back and forth in my opinion. Just an idea….
As for the other troll posting with different handles here …still trying to figure out an apt adjective. But then you have to stoop to that level.
Psycho Killer / Qu’est Que C’est / Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better / Run run run run run run run away / Psycho Killer / Qu’est Que C’ … Psycho Killer, / Qu’est Que c’est
no lambos or ferrarris for me. I’m a ford escape kinda guy. I’ve got no ins with the big banks. just a humble affiliate in my days but never had no trouble with them. I always got to say what I wanted early in the game.
George is a big boy and will make his own decisions I’m sure re links and signing up if he gets the chance and they like his content. it sure is improving IMHO.
it sounds to me though that the game is past the halfway point. it may be a race against the clock to score the big bucks .
AgendaGuy: Can I fold and do it in a courageous & non shameful way? Do you like how Frequent Miler has folded? 🙂 I am too busy going through blogs to look into it. I can’t even finish my darn Norway trip report from April man! Give me some credit will ya? Just reread that…give me some CREDIT…LOLOLOLOLOLOL
Another Troll: I always loved that song by the Talking Heads!
Rick I: Yeah, Ford here too. Edge now. Wife works for them too. Only individual stock me and clients bought in the past, well, almost decade! I am no stock picker. But held nose and swooped in for less than a coke & fries per share. Sitting on some crazy gains. All luck:-)
Yeah I will make my own decisions. Going to Banff Springs and Lake Louise next week and will ponder my future as a blogger. I feel the same about this thing being past halfway point. Maybe it is time to get back to…reality for me as I just don’t see I will ever follow the “market aggressively” motto, just not my cup of tea.
It’s been a stressful but fun kind of ride so far! I am shocked so many care what I have to say. All I am here is to “Entertain, Educate, Inspire”. The rest will follow, God willing.
Lost the game, ice pack time.
I have told you several times that I do not have any beef with you. I have told you multiple times that it is not my intention to coerce you into writing something bad specifically about a blogger. I have repeatedly posted that all I request is play fair. Yet you come up with this woe-is-me and play victim multiple times along with that pissant mop who is just creating handles here to troll (and your obvious support for such practices even when you can see the IP)
Your blog, your playground, your rules. But I am going to object to certain points when I don’t like them. Feel free to alienate more commenters by constantly focusing on this kind of diatribe.
I believe Ingy has a legitimate point about all this being a race against time, but I think it is nowhere near the end. There is going to be more dodginess and douchebaggery in the landscape until it goes away.
I do not consider FM to have folded. Guy is in his own league and makes you want to root for him in real life.
I am not easily coerced:-)
I try to play fair at all times.
I feel like a victim sometimes who has not jumped on the bandwagon of monetizing this thing:-)
PLEASE object to all points when you don’t like them! I encourage that, I learn this way!
What are you referring to? “Feel free to alienate more commenters by constantly focusing on this kind of diatribe”
Time will tell how much douchebaggery this space can take. I hope I do not become one of them. I am aiming to join Frequent Miler and be in my own league:-) I just need to figure out how to do it. Based on how fast I move, don’t hold your breath is going to happen.
I appreciate the feedback always!
*Yawn* look at me selling at peak because I have run out of interesting material to write. At least George gives us awesome photo’s and doesn’t pimp CC affiliate links :o)……Angries were in existence on FT, and in other circles criticizing you before you sold. You need to get off your throne, although maybe you are to old now and permanently stuck with an affiliate link where the sun don’t shine.
Some truth to what you say say about selling at the peak and being tired of blogging and the stress that goes with it. Six years was plenty long enough and the joy of grandfatherhood has easily replaced dealing with characters like you.
As far as an affiliate link where the sun don’t shine, you could always put your ear by the entrance way and we’ll see if you can still hear them talking to you? OOPS. I’m so bad.
I agree about the stress:-)
I am trying to make it to year 1 before I lose all my eyebrows.
Need to find a way to add affiliate links and at the same file feel like that place where the sun doesn’t shine. #developingextremelyslow
>>>>>>>>>>At least George gives us awesome photo’s and doesn’t pimp CC affiliate links 😮 )
True dat! So far anyway. One day I will look into it and it will be the day before this affiliate system…collapses for good:-)