We bring you the latest on United upgrades, how to get on Hyatt cruises, credit card history in tweets, visit the amazing Buzludzha monument, how I hit a conversions drought, another Hyatt brand, register for an Amtrak promotion, the biggest importers in the world, see an NPR article how Stefan traveled to every country before he was 40, Bank of America credit card rules, yet another award booking service, explain climate crisis to the choir (TBB readers) and lots more. I am also looking for tips on how to cure my blogging addiction, thanks, I need to move on, come on!
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United is enhancing (for real) the way it processes upgrades for its elites. You can find out more info here and also here. The good old days of 100% upgrades to First Class as a Northwest Airlines Platinum Elite have been over for many years now, sad!
Register for the latest Amtrak promotion HERE. You earn double points between October 1 and November 16.
It is very interesting how Marriott is doing this peak off-peak thingie. Is there any link between Marriott Bonvoy peak and off-peak dates and the actual cash price? Apparently, not yet! There may be some opportunities and I have no doubt that Marriott will close them soon and stick it to its members. You know, #Bonvoyed!
Big loss for American Airlines and OneWorld as it is now set to lose LATAM to Delta’s SkyTeam alliance: LATAM Will Leave OneWorld After Delta Buys 20% Stake In The Airline. Any of the old timers remember them wonderful US Air call center agents? 😉
Amazingly, hotel brand introductions just keep coming. And coming, it is becoming totally ridiculous! Hyatt introduces another one and they named it Caption. You know, you can be held captive there. Or something. Smh!
We are seeing a trend of banks killing some benefits we rarely used. Amex may saw an opportunity to gain some brownie points by adding some of them. I must admit I don’t really care for them and I have never actually used them. Maybe I did once or twice. But that’s about it. Dan has made a table of all the changes: Major Changes Are Coming For American Express Benefits! Master Chart Of What’s Being Added And Removed.
Dan is also very excited it appears about the latest Citi enhancement of its Double Cash card: On The Heels Of Removing Nearly All Card Benefits, Citi Creates Their Own Incredible Credit Card Trifecta. I wouldn’t go that far…Anyway, it is exciting for us bloggers when you use our links to get these cards lol!
Hyatt does it again. Is there another hotel chain out there that has been on a roll like this? No! Hyatt Announces New Partnership with Lindbald Expeditions. These small cruises look very nice. Maybe I blow my almost 200k Hyatt points on a special one? 🙂
One of our own, Stefan of Rapid Travel Chai, gets his well deserved media breakthrough at last: How One Man Used Miles To Fulfill His Dream To Visit Every Country Before Turning 40. Amazing accomplishment indeed. I am sure the places he has visited…he has probably picked up some radioactive material. This is the only way to explain the last time he visited my house we lost power! (true story) 🙂 I almost choked when I saw the writer’s first name, Darius! I thought..ahh, never mind!
The Norwegian dude Gunnar Garfors is back with his selection of The World’s 13 Best Countries.
Amazingly educational link! History of Europe: The Populations and Borders of Nations by Year.
Amazing Twitterstorm about something we know very well in this hobby, the credit card! How did we get here? Enjoy!
The Climate Crisis Explained in 10 Charts. Any questions?
Fantastic personal finance article: There Are No Secrets.
Investing is the perfect example of a complex problem with no known solution. The closest thing we have to a “solution” is to Buy and Hold a diversified portfolio. But, even Buy and Hold is anything but easy. Why do I say this? Because, as I have written about before, there is a big difference between the destination and the journey
Most people don’t want the truth. They want a secret.
Amazing article about that Bulgarian Communist building we have all seen: The conflicted past and uncertain future of the Buzludzha monument, Bulgaria’s ‘Communist UFO’.
Visualizing the World’s Biggest Importers in 2018. So so stupid to get the two biggest importers locked into a trade war smh!
I think we finally may have some concrete rules on how Bank of America handles how many credit cards it gives us. Bank of America ‘7/12 Rule’ & ‘3/12 Rule’ for New Cards.
Miles to Memories also adds an award booking service. This looks like the service Travel Codex added recently. Is it the same outfit behind the scenes doing all the work?
Reader Jed informed me that TBB blog troll Ingy/Rick has returned to write again at The Frugal Travel Guy. I wouldn’t know as I had not visited that site in years! So, I had to make a stop to read the post announcing his return. I made this comment if you are interested.
Meanwhile, the dry spell for credit card conversions here is still going on for almost three weeks now and the last few days my Amazon link has lost money due to returns. “Keep up the good work” I am told so often. Hard to keep going when not only this site is not earning crumbs but I have to pay for them lol. Evolution likely coming very soon. Unless there is a conversion spree run amok (lol) or Ingy shows up 🙂
All bloggers are pumping the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card for 100k points. If you can fit it in, it really helps me to keep going and not feel like a loser if you get it here, thank you!
Leg rest day today. I have 10 and 16 miles to run this weekend.
And I leave you with this…
TBB
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Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
Good morning!
Lots of news today and links.
Have Daraius or Emily resurfaced since being ousted from MMS? Do they have a noncompete or something?
Darius must still be on his personal journey hiding in a cave, eating twigs and berries.
Man, oneworld just keeps getting thinner. Airberlin was a loss for intra-Europe and TATL…now this. Though award availability on LATAM hasn’t really been great the past few years.
Just came back from a trip to Brussels: with Labelexpo and the EU constituting sessions happening every hotel room was 350+€/night. While playing around with corporate rate I discovered that a Courtyard was available for 25k for the night I needed. Booked. So impressed by the dynamic awards system so far. The same hotel only had 500€ rooms.
I am the perfect compliment ti Stefan. I didn’t get a passport until I was 40.
And it looks like Customs and Border Patrol won’t review my Global Entry renewal app until I’m 100. Hey guys-the shutdown lasted 6 weeks and its was over 6 months ago. Oh, and your budget this year is $14 billion with a “B”.
Mine took forever, as well. Got it in just before the shutdown but didn’t end up getting conditional approval until May. Luckily was able to squeeze in my interview a week before our June trip to Switzerland. My wife submitted her application at the same time as me, yet had her conditional approval just as the shutdown ended.
@Sam – a great time start, better than 41. I have my NEXUS interview in a few weeks, took 3 months for conditional approval, just shy of three months I stopped regularly checking, turns out they didn’t email me or my wife so only noticed in mid-August we had been conditionally approved two months prior and needed to set up our interview. My recent travel may be an issue.
As far as I am concerned, I have no idea what Daraius and Emily are doing. And I could care less.
@Sam: Something is definitely wrong with your GE app. Maybe try to call? And good luck with that!
As I said, there may be limited time to get the few limited opportunities to burn Bonvoy points…before they eventually plug them.
Delta will kill all alliances by 2023. You heard it here first 🙂
Buzz-
My wife and I applied for GE renewal 15 minutes apart. She was approved in 8 days, I am into my fifth month of pending review. Renewals not handled in order received.
But, no, I am not unique as there are a lot of data points with similar stories:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trusted-travelers/1426118-global-entry-renewal-114.html
Swamp still draining.
You made me read that Ingy post. “Retirement is hard for Type A personalities. “
A=?
I am so sorry. And so am I. I have not felt well ever since I visited FTG after so long and had to endure the same old crap he is about to unleash there again. I guess he should have never sold so early….having to go back to work pumping plastic…Guess the Dosh app link does not pay that well lol.
George, Another clear example of your disease Ingy Derangement Syndrome. IDS
1. He writes for both PointChaser and Frugal Travel Guy,. didn’t dump PC
2. Not pumping plastic for conversions. He gets paid on both sites per post.
3. It’s YOU George that is pumping plastic for conversions
4. Dosh referrals were nice compliments of confidence unlike your “Conversion Drought”
1.PointChaser is paying for that drivel?? So, FTG pay per post can’t be that much then. Oh man, how the all mighty founders have fallen, SAD!
2. Just watch how many cards will be pumped in FTG so he…can be paid per post lol.
3. LOL. Obviously not working out well…this month.
4. Oh yeah, nice compliments…We all know “it is ALL about conversions”…a phrase Ingy has patented. And guess what….now he brought back the “credit is your most important asset”….something that totally vanished from any of his phoned-in blog posts.
Must be really sad to come back to get more conversions…must need the money….should have held out for more but…nope, FIRST to sell out…not very bright like your stable genius Prez!
Did someone say ‘stable’? Like, where horses sleep? (Knuckles crackin’).
Thank you, George, now I should try to out-gun Gunnar on irresistible, clickable listicles.
Lol…Yeah, his headline was pure clickbait but the actual post was not bad!
One day closer to the end of #40kFaraway, hang in there!