We bring you all the Marriott Rewards facts, show you the new Hertz Ultimate Choice, visit the North Korea China border, learn about airline tech, catch up with a fugitive, visit Cairo Illinois and lots more!
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Did you miss my posts over the weekend? I asked for help putting together a vacation to the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday and I had the usual feature of Three Links I Love that are never just three on Sunday. They say internal links are good for this SEO thing or something. I won’t do weekly summaries, I don’t want to waste your valuable time.
Marriott Rewards is one loyalty program I never bothered. I think I did get the Marriott Visa many years ago. When I got back in it I booked a Marriott property right next to a conference hotel on Hotels.com and it was just awful, wifi did not work and then something was growing in the curtains…yikes. For some reason, these guys always win these frequent flyer/guest awards…which I find ridiculous. No I am not angry, I just call it as I see it, always. Without integrity lol. Anyways, where was I going with this? With Marriott buying Starwood, we will have to endure Marriott from now on. So, here is a good synopsis of the Marriott Rewards facts and an opinion about its program which I mostly agree with.
Hertz is changing…a lot! Will you love or hate Hertz Ultimate Choice? I see I am down to “Five Star” status now…not that I rent often…I just like to maximize my experience when I do, which is the point of hacking, right? Please note that this pick your car from the lot thingie is only available in these locations (scroll to the bottom of the page!).
Apparently, this 72 hour China no visa thing does not work as advertised in Beijing, beware! So, choose Sanghai over Beijing then? 🙂
How Technology Has Failed to Improve Your Airline Experience. So true and…so sad really (HT: Sam). Interesting idea and…good luck with that!
A bigger disruption would come from altering how we pay for airfares. In the same way that Netflix changed the DVD business by charging a monthly fee, some consultants argue that a membership fee could radically improve flying.
“We’ve prototyped a subscription airline in the past, and it basically gets the airline out of the business of reducing service for offering the lowest fares,” said Devin Liddell, the principal brand strategist for Teague, a design firm that works with Boeing and other transportation companies.
Cat videos, United incident videos, fake news….so much bullshit online. And then…the internet birthed a young vaping god. Yeah, vaping…I had to look it up. Apparently, you do shit with smoke. Well, at least the dude has some real talent at something…
A long time ago, I had featured here a case of an investment adviser in a small Canadian town who just vanished one day. Apparently, he scammed many people. Well, after running away for 528 days…he had enough and turned himself in. How can people do this just baffles me…greed and stupidity. Some greedy bloggers will say it is about personal responsibility. How about personal responsibility to do the right thing all the time and not harm others mother frackers? Ok TBB, breathe breathe…
The huge and really sad contrasts of life in the North Korea China border.
From North Korea to…a Town Forgotten in Cairo, Illinois (HT: PFD). This is urban devastation and decline at its “finest”. So so sad. Democrats must find a way to help these towns, they felt abandoned. Don’t get me started how these people ever thought that Trump really gives a shit about them…which is a whole another argument by itself!
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This section is for advanced level hobbyists and veteran blog readers & personal rants & stuff
View from the Wing and many other blogs are STILL writing about the United3411 incident #barf. I think Gary Leff is now nearing over 20 posts about it, WTF!
Is it just me…finding this so so creepy? A former son in law who had a mother in law rule (helps conversions!) looking at ex mother in law, smh. Well, at least she is not buying salmon!
There is a LOT of ghost writing that goes on behind the blog scene. Maybe insider Deep Throat has something to add in the comments? #hint
The San Francisco Bay Area summer vacation is coming together in my mind, thanks to your amazing input! Here is my latest thinking about it…#developing
And I leave you with this…
Check out my updated blog lists: Blogs I Love, Blogs I Like, Blogs To Ignore
TBB
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Turkish Golden!
Yay!
How sadly ironic that the day Erdogan seizes Turkey in his fist I sat in the restored ruin of the very first Parliament, of the very first Republic (Democratic) government in history, in the Patara ruins in Turkey.
Fun Fact: the shade/color turquoise comes from…Turkey (the turq part should’ve given it away but I never realized!).
Okay, I shut up now
Silver, which I think is Turkish sapphire…
Solid bronze
Maybe I’ll get Erdogan to award the medals today since he is celebrating a win which should make him realize almost half of Turks can’t stand his pompous ass!
Hey, he probably got 3-5% more of the vote of his people than our president. Brag away, I say! 😉
Ah well. The cats let me sleep.
It’s okay, you ‘ll be back 🙂
Ah yes another day to be grateful NOT to be TBB.
“How about personal responsibility to do the right thing all the time……”
Like telling your readers you NEVER wanted direct links? and then backpeddling like a high school quarterback facing the Michigan defensive line when the truth came out
LIke telling your readers that INGY was let go from FTG when the opposite is true? (let’s see if he has the INTEGRITY to correct the record??)
Like complaining and degrading others to make yourself look better to your readers.
And like BEGGING and cajoling everyday for clicks from your battered readers who obviously can’t or won’t support your efforts.
Ah yes, another day to be grateful I got out of the blogging game, and just get to watch what George will do or say.
Click Away TBB readers. Click Away
My Dad was a big fan of your Blog
Dad used to always say to me “Blanket, I am ONLY the King of Pop, Rick Ingersol, is the King of Conversions.”
Boy, I wish I could kick Dad’s ass for naming me Blanket.
Nice lecture on personal responsibility from the man who took credit card churning onto “Nightline”.
#StandWithBlanket
Sad yawn for the troll.
Talk about developing committed readers hey?
If anyone is interested to learn more ask me privately.
Stay positive, do not feed trolls.
Sam, always love your comments. So which camp are you in:
The incredibly selfish group that got in BEFORE the Nightline piece and wanted to keep all the goodies to yourself? (That appears to be George’s mantra
Or came in after the fact and was tipped off by maybe that piece or another blogger’s piece on the fantastic world of credit card churning? And the day after you got in, you wanted the world to stop talking about it?
Thanks for the opportunity to respond either way 😉
I hate it when Drunk Uncle gets on the internet…
Rick-
I wasn’t part of the group that went for the cash (too soon indeed) while telling the world I just wanted to help everybody else.
Blanket Jackson-
Great line about your dad liking FTG. I agree-it was good for a little while there.
OK now I get it. So you have an issue with me introducing thousand of people to the hobby that got to travel the world and prices they could afford AND I got paid for it.
Gotcha. Yep,that’s something to complain about when it wasn’t you who got the best of both worlds 😉
Zzzzzzzzzz…..so boring.
Ingy you are scum. You didn’t write your articles to help. They were to push affiliate links. You didn’t even post some bonuses until your link was ready. You’re the worst. Thinking of yourself as helpful is a joke. Do a Reddit like your scum brother TPG and you’ll see what people think of you.
Is this the minute he comes back with generalizing ALL blog readers here as a bunch of angries who don’t get personal responsibility?
Reddit: Who?
Melania is gorgeous!
We’re going to need to rent a minivan / large SUV (er need space for seven people) in Jackson Hole this summer. Anybody have any thoughts on the best way to accomplish that? I have Emerald Club Executive status courtesy of Amex Plat, should I book a mid-size and hope they have the right kind of vehicle available?
That should say “we” not “er”.
Hmmm….I don’t know. I think it is a big risk booking Intermediate car and hoping what you want is available.
I would try to book what you want and BarclaycardArrival it?
To help TBB keep going, all of them at Best Highest Offer and available with his links here:
http://travelbloggerbuzz.com/credit-cards/
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AMEX Hilton Surpass card for 100,000 Honors points & free weekend night Ends 5/31/2017
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STANDARD WORKHORSE CARDS:
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Let me know if you see any mistakes.
Updated 4/17/2017
Been a good month considering Amazon is on life support….Just two away from hitting the card minimum…to avoid not hitting it for third month in a row. Hitting the cc minimum helps to keep the whining down and the pathetic trolling up #winnning
With Marriott, it’s not that I love (or have really even stayed in many of their hotels, but their flights and hotels package is a pretty amazing way to get a lot of miles quickly. I used it once for 22 months of companion pass, and will probably do it again soon for Alaska miles, as it looks like I won’t be getting that card bonus again anytime soon…
I’ve asked many sales reps why they select Marriott. Most say that you can find a decent Marriott with a lounge in noplace USA. It seems that they have decent hotels in places that most hobbyists rarely visit.
Yeah I find the loyalty of their Plats to be kind of insane. I wonder how many of them pay out their own pockets…I bet most are corporate types…the company pays…as they are everywhere, so pile up on points and elite benefits….I would do the same if I were them too 🙂
Happy Monday, everyone!
TBB, I need help planning 6-8 July days in Greece, starting in Athens, and ending at the same or another airport. (This is a repeat visit for me, but new for wife and daughter and son.) Car rental or not? (No need for an island, either, unless it has good air connections) Major plus if we can squeeze in one of those cliff-hugging monasteries!
Best site to use to plan trips to Greece is:
http://www.greecetravel.com/index.html
I heard good feedback on the drivers the site recommends.
If it is first time for them…it is sad to bypass the greek islands! Mainland is just a wholly different experience.
The drive from Athens to Thessaloniki is easy, the highway is good now. May have a few issues navigating around to get to Delphi, Meteora, Olympus areas.
Driving in the cities of Athens and Thessaloniki is not recommended and you don’t need a car.
Spend some time on that site above and see what they like.
Thanks for the advice. Good to hear that driving is possible. 😉
I will check out the site and I’m sure to have more questions!
An adjustment to the meds appears long overdue, Ingy. Healthy folks don’t begin a beautiful morning that way.
I slept in…so I biked with my laptop bag to my local Starbucks this morning….The sound of the birds was wonderful 🙂
“Making Mom’s Paris Dreams Come True”. Well, I find this entire series repugnant. Not the fact that Emily takes her mom to Paris—that part is cool—but the fact that she exploits it for commercial purposes!
I imagine too that, before she even considered taking mom to Paris, she wondered how she could turn the (on-the-surface altruistic) gesture into a multi-part cash, generating series of posts.
Reminds me of Ben taking his dad for a luxury trip. Oddly, I did not see that as disturbing as this series. (Maybe I was more innocent then…..)
I much preferred the post written by his mom where she assumed the cranky flight attendant was “on her period”…
Yeah, can’t wait for part 17 “Mom eats a dozen macarons”…
Need to shake off lamb coma from yesterday….I will get to the comments later today.
To Linda: U see, there was no baiting. At all. He just won’t leave!
Do not feed the trolls.
Enjoy your Monday, it is a glorious day in Ann Arbor!
You say you cant understand how people think Trump would help them? Any different than the people who believed Obama would help them. I bet most are the same people. Always looking for someone to help them instead of helping themselves.
Obama tried to help people, and now trump is trying to undo it all.
I see your point. My point was about these two ACTUALLY caring as human beings for these people. Based on life experiences, I think Obama cared about them more than Trump. Actually, I don’t think Trump gives a shit about anyone else other than himself!
History will show who helped more people…
I live down by Cairo. Take a look at some of the coverage from the local paper, the Southern Illinoisan. Some pretty intense stuff what’s going down there with HUD. Number one population decline percentage of any city in the country. They hosted US Grant’s homecoming when he finished his presidency… Wanna really get depressed? Take a drive by some of the stately turn of the century mansions down there, many of which sell for under $50K now.
Maybe one day I will take a drive. Places like this always interest me…I always liked dark music too…
Or maybe seeing things like this makes me angry.
And just saw some horrific scenes from that bus bombing in Syria…Mother fracker attracted kids with chips and then blew himself up.
It’s just a sad world sometimes…
But some things stay constant…FTG will jump on the next credit card sale, looks like it is the BA Visa 🙂
If you buy this book https://www.amazon.com/Frugal-Travel-Handbook-Rick-Ingersoll/dp/1453661530 , the author will donate $ to the Wounded Warriors Project.
Hey, do you remember when Trump said the same thing and he got called out on it? (Trump=FTG?)